Best Advice

PeggyOlsonFTW · August 2015

Second (or more) time moms - what's your best piece of advice for those who are preggo with their first? Anything you wish someone told you before had your first?

CCLow87 · August 2015

When it gets to the end, cherish the last moments of being pregnant with this baby. Once they are out, there's no going back. For now, he or she is all yours and you don't have to share with anyone. When you don't feel them kicking inside of your anymore, I guarantee you'll miss it. Also, they're WAY easier to take care of inside than they are out! lol

PeggyOlsonFTW · August 2015

1. Don't spend a ton of money on a crib. Your kid will probably hate the crib at first, and then when you get them in there, they're gonna chew it. Seriously. It's gonna look like a woodchuck sleeps in your crib. Save some money and go to Ikea.

2. Make mom friends. It's so cliche, but you'll lose your sanity if you don't!

3. Babies don't sleep. Don't stress about it, it's normal! Go with the flow, do what feels right.

PeggyOlsonFTW · August 2015

@CCLow87 So much easier in than out! And all the people that visit and hog the baby after it's born.... it sucks having to share them once they're out! Which reminds me.... Take plenty of time at the hospital for just you, your baby and your partner. Don't have visitors come rushing in right after you squeeze the baby out.

CCLow87 · August 2015

Laugh at yourself when you do 99% of the things you swore you wouldn't. You'll be in survival mode, just embrace it.

saraeric · August 2015

Be sure to make your expectations clear about the delivery room and post partum with family members and especially in-laws. Nothing like having a emergency c-section at 9:45 pm, getting to your room at 4am, and have MIL come by at 7am (she saw DS after the cs) w/o a call or text while we're struggling to breast feed for one of the first times! Ugh. *end rant*

chantzies · August 2015

Don't get a lot of clothes for 0-3 months. Mine was over 10lbs and he never even wore that size. I had to send DH back home to get another outfit because the one I chose was too small. They grow so fast, you don't need a lot of clothes. Don't be afraid to do stuff with your newborn. We took ours cross country skiing when he was 3 weeks old. We travelled with him, and tried our best to continue with our regular life. And please, don't stop accepting invitations because of your baby's schedule. Ours slept through xmas parties, etc. A baby doesn't mean your life stops!

AliSummer · August 2015

Don't buy a ton of newborn clothes, they'll grow right out of them really fast. Also, keep a pregnancy journal. You'll love looking back on it.

brie_and_almonds · August 2015

On labor: trust your body, it's not trying to betray you.

On parenting: invest in stain remover; babywearing can save your sanity; stock your freezer with easy meals.

PeggyOlsonFTW · August 2015

@saraeric Our rule was (and is): If you're not there for the conception, you're not there for the birth! We told everyone to wait for a phone call or text telling them when we were ready for visitors. If we didn't, my MIL would've been in the waiting room the second she knew I was in labor and she would've busted into the room right after his birth too!

ekneipp · August 2015

Give yourself and your partner plenty of grace! For yourself and each other. It's amazing how it can be so rough and so sweet at the same time.

orangegoggles · August 2015

Soo true about the woodchuck crib eating @ kdhB13

HAHAHA

My best advice is to enjoy this time being pregnant. When your pregnant with your first, you can nap when you want to, go to bed after dinner, and watch whatever you want. You have more time to work out, date nights with your partner, dinners with friends. I really didn't take advantage of that last time and now with a toddler running around there isn't a ton of "me" time left.

Don't buy a ton of newborn diapers or clothes. My son was 9 pounds, 6 oz and graduated straight to size 1 diapers in the hospital. You don't need nearly as much stuff as you think you do.

When the baby comes newborn pictures are a must. Write down your birth story and other memories right away. You think you will remember but you won't remember the details.

Buy a rock n play & sound machine. Seriously. Do it.

Get out of the house as much as you can. A lot of people think they shouldn't leave when their baby is younger but the first few months is probably the easiest time to zip around and do your errands, dinners out, etc. The baby will sleep a lot and tend to be more content people watching than an older baby.

Ask for help. Ask for advice. Be open minded that what you planned may not work out. Take it one day at a time.

saraeric · August 2015

KDHB13 said:

@saraeric Our rule was (and is): If you're not there for the conception, you're not there for the birth! We told everyone to wait for a phone call or text telling them when we were ready for visitors. If we didn't, my MIL would've been in the waiting room the second she knew I was in labor and she would've busted into the room right after his birth too!

I was absolutely LIVID! I could not believed she just showed up without any form of warning. There will DEFINITELY be explicit communication with her this time. ugh! I'll have to use that line about conception though! ha! I'd be okay with my mom being there but that's only because of her background- she worked mother/baby for 15 years and is a lactation consultant! She was a huge help with our first because I really struggled BFing.

RNJH2010 · August 2015

I second the rock n play, life saver!
Also the newborn pictures are worth every penny. I didn't with my first and regretted it, I love the ones from my second and really cherish those pictures.

ekneipp · August 2015

Ditto the rock n play...awesome!

imrachellea · August 2015

Trust your mommy instinct! I had such an inkling that something was wrong that caused my DD to struggle BFing, I was right but we didn't find out until 2 months that she had a tongue tie.

mumidi · August 2015

I totally was not prepared for how little she would sleep. I had a lot of trouble breastfeeding and went to formula but she only ate like an ounce at a time which meant for the first week or so she woke up almost every hour to eat. That was really hard and she only wanted to sleep on me or DH for a week or so, after that we got her to sleep in her crib but she still got up often to eat.

mrstrax · August 2015

Write down everything you want to remember - birth story etc. On a related note, get an app to track feelings/diapers/your meds for those first few weeks. That way when they ask how many wet and poopy diapers at your follow up appt, you don't feel like a doofus.

TKtravels · August 2015

Try to relax and not stress out over all of the little details.

SO many of the things people tell you that you MUST have for baby are unnecessary.

If you want to have an unmedicated birth and others are telling you need to have an epi, idon't listen to them. Or better yet, invite them to GTFO. If they can't be supportive of you when you're at your most vulnerable, they don't deserve to be there. Trust your body to do what it was meant to do.

If you don't want to deal with folks invading your hospital room or home, and don't want to share your new baby with everyone, don't. You're well within your rights to be assertive and advocate for yourself and your family. If your ILs don't like it, that's their problem.

emiliothetall · August 2015

I feel like these can be loaded questions, because everyone inevitably will find what works for them.

for me personally, it was letting go of the birth planning etc. you can have all the best intentions in the world, but you know, murphy's law and all that. babies come how they come.

oh, and for the IL/parents/family stuff, if they do come and show up even when you asked them not to, let your husband deal with them, and let go of the anger when the moment passes.

I put my son in his crib the night we got home from the hospital (a week old) and have never looked back.

and This piece of advice might be controversial, but I stand by that it kept my sanity: if you are breast feeding, PUMP. have a bottle ready so you can split the evening shift. for example we usually fed my son ever four hours. (so at night around 11 and 3). if Hubs does the last night shift, and you go to bed shortly after the previous nursing session (around 7 for us) you can get SIX hours of sleep, and dear husband will still have gotten a full nights sleep!

DougalMcG · August 2015

Dying at the woodchuck comment. So true. My advice would be to check your insurance before the routine blood work they do on your first visit to make sure it is covered. And also check that they aren't sending it to an out of network lab. You could end up with a lovely $4k bill like I did @-)

morganmanages · August 2015

Don't feel like there are a million things you HAVE to do just because it's on some list, in a book,or because your nosey neighbor says to. Do what feels right for you and your family.
Don't even worry about most of the baby crap. You won't need the VAST majority of it until at least 6 months. I agree with @KDHB13 on the crib! We didn't even buy one until our son was 3 or 4 months, and used a. Ingenuity sleepy ad with changing table and bassinet until then. Then we just got a Target crib and changing table. And then he chewed it..

kvm2908 · August 2015

Don't worry so much! With my first I worried through the whole pregnancy - about everything I ate and did and how it would affect my baby. Then when she was born I worried about every little sound she made and every little bit of baby acne an EVERYTHING. I really needed to calm down. I'm getting better about learning how to go with the flow and trust that my body and my baby will tell me what they need.

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