What Rules Did You Make Then Break?

[TeniBear]

I don't think I had many rules as such. More "I hope I don't do this..." kind of thing. Pretty much everything said above was one.

I don't use a dummy regularly, but Amelia likes chewing and playing with them.

I dress her in pink a lot, but only because she looks good in pink and it's hard finding pretty girls' clothes with no pink. She looks awesome in red too, and I love her in blue

I planned to babywear every time we went out, but sometimes I prefer the pram or strollers. So does Amelia.

I have a pretty large stash of cloth nappies, thankfully I bought them second-hand, because the majority have never touched her bum. I've used a few when I felt like putting cloth on. The other day she had cloth on only because my cousin's daughter is doing a childcare course and wanted to practice folding flats.

No OTC medicine unless necessary? Broke that within a month when I thought she had reflux and gave her a little infacol.

One important (to me) rule was no bottles/formula, and I came so close to breaking it early on. I had been going through some pretty bad pain trying to get breastfeeding going, and one night was almost out the door to the 24 hour chemist. DH, bless him, actually had had something sink into his head all the times I drilled into him not to let me do that, so he talked me out of it

I'm also planning on refusing her chickenpox vaccination. Considering the fuss I DIDN'T make when the hospital gave her the Hep B one against my wishes, I wonder how I'll go keeping that rule...

[Gigi]

i must be very stubborn, i read the title of this thread, and all i can think of, is things i set out to do (with my bub), that other people said i WOULDN"T do, yet i did do. (prolly cos so much other stuff failed, the few things i COULD control/make happen - i did).

But the one i broke so much - "sleep when your baby sleeps". My baby and toddler - woke EVERY two hours, 24/7 - NO BREAK - constant sleep deprivation - i have never been a napper - because i knew she would be awake again in two hours, i coudln't see the point in trying to get to sleep myself - i was a zombie. At about 20 months, she began to sleep five hours at night. By that time my insomnia was so bad, i still coudln't sleep.

i broke the "you need to keep yourself healthy, eat right, to be able to parent your baby". Was unwell, sleep deprived, not supported in real life, unable to drive for months, ended up surviving on iced coffee and weetbix for a long long time.

i had set ideas in my head "my child will grow up with access to a back yard, a sandpit, a shady tree to play under, a piano in the house etc etc". None of those happened. I really thought, when baby arrived, her father would man up, and we would move to a family friendly home. And "we will always eat as a family, at the dining table". ANother epic fail.

and my initial rule - only have a child when you're married - sigh. epic fail. (me, not anyone else).