Before Gracie was born, there was no way I was going to allow my child to have a pacifier. My distaste of them stems mostly from parents who allow their children to use them into the age of 3 and 4, well past a child's need for oral soothing.

Grace definitely was a binky baby, and still uses one to soothe herself to sleep in the crib.

A year ago, I maintained that Grace would be cloth diapered exclusively. When we went for her second 2-week weight check, I'd only brought cloth diapers with me, and she pooped on them both while I was there.

It's only been recently that I have cloth diapered Grace at night. She has always slept for such long stretches at night that cloth diapering her didn't seem feasible. I also use disposables when I go somewhere for any length of time. A common refrain in this house is, "go put the baby in a disposable" five minutes before we walk out the door.

Before Grace was born, I insisted on nursing her. I am known for my laziness, and what easier way to feed a baby than to simply throw a boob at her at necessary intervals during the day? No bottle washing, no formula mixing. You don't even have to wake up fully in the middle of the night; just reach over, attach baby to boob, and continue snoozing.

With our (not very necessary) separation immediately after birth, nursing just did not work out for Grace and me. I never was engorged and my milk never came in. In some ways I am thankful for this. I don't have to deal with a baby who lifts up my shirt in public, and I don't have to deal with people who believe that nursing is something that should not be done in public. I was able to go back to wearing regular bras, and I don't have milk spots on all my shirts. But I think if I had been able to nurse Grace, that would have been pretty darn cool.

A year ago I swore I would make all my own baby food. I had read that baby food tastes disgusting, and that the nutrients are killed off when the food is jarred for distribution. I figured I could make more healthful and nutritious food for my baby than I could buy at the grocery store.

When Grace was still eating baby food (which she hasn't had in at least a week), I fed her mostly homemade baby food but I supplemented with jars, especially the jarred fruits. I am so bad about buying fruit because I just don't like it, so it was easier for me to buy little jars of pureed fruits. Also, I tasted everything I gave Grace, and the commercial baby food tastes just like it's supposed to. The chicken noodle dinner tastes just like Campbell's chicken noodle soup, minus the salt. I did go away from giving her as many jars when she was about six months old because I managed to turn her skin orange due to an overdose of carrots. Carrots are in EVERYTHING, at least all the jarred baby dinners. And now she just eats regular table food for the most part.

I guess we always have these preconceived notions about how we're going to do something, and the trick is just to stay open about other options. Else you'll give yourself a heart attack trying to maintain too much control.