Ten Things I Think I Think About Parenting After Seven Months

Hello Friends and Family,

It is once again time for my monthly hot takes on parenting. As a reminder, each month for the first year of Mills’ life I am going to put some initial thoughts down about parenting in real time.

I might be completely wrong about some or all of these, but here’s where I am today after seven months.

Ten Things I Think I Think About Parenting After Seven Months

1. It takes time to trust your parenting instincts. No one has ever been Mills’ dad before and the more practice I get the better I am at learning the best way to parent him. I am becoming more and more comfortable navigating the unknown.

2. Seeing your child sick is not fun. Especially when they are this young and can’t communicate. Mills just looked pitiful. He caught a stomach bug from day care and gave it to Courtney. Thankfully, we had already planned for this scenario. Courtney and Mills hung out away from me for a couple of days until they recovered.

3. Living as close as possible to your child’s daycare is critical. We chose our house in Denver because it is less than a mile from Mill’s daycare. Not only does this mean we can take him to school without a car, it also means that traffic is never a factor in our morning routine.

4. Babies are more hearty than people give them credit for. If you have the right clothes even babies can enjoy being outside in the cold. If you know me at all, you know that this is something I believed before I had kids. I am very pleased to say: I was right. Mills had fun at the Denver Zoo for 2 hours with temperatures in the low to mid 30s.

5. Everything takes longer with a baby. Getting ready for church, getting from the car to the store, bathroom breaks, car rides…you name it. Most of the delay at this stage is because of all of the stuff that you have to carry every where you go. Eventually it will be due to: “I want to walk myself.” or “I forgot my shoes.”

6. Some families go to church every week, but when you have a baby you go from weekly to try-weekly. That’s “try-weekly” as opposed to “tri-weekly”. Meaning: We will try to make it to church this week, but there is a high likelihood that Mills will either be sick or his nap/eating schedule make that impossible.

7. Once again, formula is absolutely overpriced. Nothing else needs to be said.

8. Watching your kid on the monitor while he plays in his crib is the best TV show. Mills just loves blabbering away to himself while he’s going to sleep. It is just the most adorable thing to watch as he talks, laughs, and plays with his pacifier.

9. It isn’t worth it to drive yourself crazy trying to to avoid screens, find organic baby food, have fragrance free wipes, etc. Just live your life and do your best. As long as your kid has a full belly, clothes, and love that is all they need. Everything else is a “nice to have”.

10. Learning how to reliably make your kid laugh is the best. The uncontrollable belly laughs never get old. Soak it all in every time to avoid regret later.

We are finally unpacked and finding some routine and rhythm for life here in Denver. Thank you for being patient as we found our footing! Glad to be back on our regular schedule again!

Until our next Adventure,

Austin, Courtney, Mills, and Willow

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