How to Have Your Second Child First + all Free Clear Giveaway

How to Have Your Second Child First, by Kerry Colburn, shows new moms the take-it-easy approach to bringing baby home. The book has 166 beautifully laid-out pages of great advice for moms who might just be stressing about the wrong things. (We all do it. It’s OK!)

Since I’m cooking baby #4 right now, I feel comfortable calling myself an expert on this particular subject, and I can whole-heartedly recommend most of the advice laid out in this book! Here are a few of my favorite tips (Tips are from the book. Comments are mine.):

• Tip #40: Let your partner do things his way. I know, I know! Daddies aren’t mommies! What the heck does he know about a baby? Well, maybe he hasn’t perused 12,000 different websites in preparation for this baby the way you did, but I promise he is NOT going to mess up your baby. Hovering over him and telling him how to do it just causes fights. Let him put the baby powder on a little too thick if he wants to. The baby will survive. Trust your husband.
• Tip #52: You don’t have to bathe your baby every night. Speaking as 4th-time mom, I can tell you that not only do you not have to bathe baby every night, but you don’t even need to do it every other night. When was the last time he went outside and got all sweaty and stinky? Just wipe baby down with a washcloth when he gets a little milk on his chin. Save the baths for every few days. It’s better for his skin anyway!
• Tip #14: Formula is totally fine! Now, this one is going to come as a shock to my readers and family who know that I have never given my babies anything but breastmilk. The reason I chose to highlight this tip is that I cannot abide the nipple-nazis who want to make formula-feeding mommies feel bad. My mom fed me formula. I’m (arguably) OK! I prefer breastfeeding because I’m too lazy to wash bottles and too cheap to buy formula. I do believe breast is better for baby’s health, but if you need to bottle feed and hate to pump, do what you need to do! Don’t let social pressure make you miserable. It’s not like you’re pouring Dr. Pepper in the kid’s bottle. Formula is fine!
• Tip #20: Wash all the family laundry together. You’ve got enough to do. Skip the pricey, made-for-baby detergents. I washed baby things separately with one of those detergents for about 3 loads before I realized that the special stuff was no better for baby than the brand I was washing the rest of our things in. It just smelled kind of babyish. I don’t like scents, so that wasn’t exactly a plus for me. I was (truly and coincidentally) already using all Free Clear when I had my first baby because of my own skin and breathing sensitivities. See how well this review opportunity worked out for me? I don’t even have to try the stuff to review it. I already love it! (I haven’t actually used all Free Clear in about 6 months, though, having won a year’s supply of another brand. I can vouch for its effectiveness and gentleness, and look forward to using the bottle the company sent me for review!)

If you have baby questions you’d like to ask an expert, you can connect with all Free Clear on Facebook and ask Kerry Colburn yourself. Just click the “Ask a Mom” tab to submit your question.

Now, on to the giveaway! In honor of tip #20, all Free Clear will be giving one of my lucky readers 2 coupons good for a free full-size bottle of detergent and a copy of How to Have Your Second Child First!

How to enter: Just leave a comment letting me know you want to win!

Extra Entries: If you’d like to increase your odds of winning, you can do any or all of the following things for one extra entry each. Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

• Do you have a new mama tip, or maybe a question you’d like to ask? Leave a comment below offering your advice or asking your question. Unlimited entries. Just leave a new tip or question every time you comment.
• Follow Get Along Home via Google Friend Connect (Right sidebar) and let me know your username in comments.
• Follow me on Twitter @getalonghome and leave your Twitter ID in the comments.
• Tweet about this giveaway and link to this post in your tweet. Leave the link to your tweet in comments. (Up to 3 times a day for the duration of the giveaway, but please space them out by at least an hour. Spamming is rude!)
• Post about this giveaway on your own blog. Leave the link to your post in comments. If you don’t have a blog, you can take advantage of this entry by emailing 3 of your own friends or family about this giveaway. Please cc me {dmajik at gmail dot com} so I can see your entry!

This giveaway will be closed for entries at midnight, July 9, 2010. This giveaway is open to everybody but my immediate family (sorry, Mom). Please use a valid email address in your comments so that I can contact you if you win! Good luck! Please use one email address per entrant, per household, per IP address. Cheaters will be permanently banned from this site.

I was provided a copy of How to Have Your Second Child First and a free bottle of all Free Clear laundry detergent for review purposes. I haven’t been monetarily compensated for this post.

DISCLOSURE