It's in the Water

We've recently learned that a handful of our friends (and family members - wink, wink) are pregnant. Tonight, when we met our financial planner, he was so pleased to tell us he and his wife are expecting their second child. This is all such wonderful news! There's nothing more precious than the ultimate gift from God - a baby. Congratulations to you all. I wish you all pain-free pregnancies and short labors.

And now, of course, the pregnancy rant.

A few words of (unsolicited) advice, mostly for new parents, but you seasoned parents out there can nod in agreement...Amanda, Heather, Kelly...

• If you're a neurotic mom like me, pay the subscription to consumerreports.com. It's worth it. I was able to research car seats, strollers, play yards, cribs, etc. The most expensive brands aren't always the best, but in some cases, they are (eg, Britax carseats).
  
• Keep the name, and maybe even the sex, of your baby a secret. Unless of course, you're willing to listen to the crap-ass opinions of your friends and even better - your loved ones. I normally have thick skin but when my hormones were raging out of control, I wanted to stick my foot up everyone's butt when they said "Oh, don't name your baby this" or "You should only use XYZ brand of diaper rash cream."
  
• Raise your child however you want, but for goodness sake, use some freakin common sense. For instance, don't put your baby in a Bumbo seat, and then place the baby and seat on your kitchen counter. And if you do, don't come crying to me when both the baby and seat come tumbling down. Don't shower with your newborn baby, they're very slippery. You know, these are all very common sense things...It doesn't take a college degree to raise a kid! Heck, Britney has 2!!
  
• Yes, I am concerned about the environment, yaddah yaddah - but sorry, I'm not into the whole cloth diaper thing. I clean up crap at work all the time, I don't want to do it all night long, too. Disposables are just fine and Noah's butt is not suffering. :)