For Moms of 2 or more: Is it true that the second (and subsequent) come(s) sooner and faster than the first?
My DD was 8 days early. I'm due 9/1. Therefore, I've just naturally been thinking about/expecting a late August baby. Am a setting myself up for the possibility of weeks of torture with the potential of going overdue? (I did the opposite with DD. I was due 9/20. Everyone said the first comes late. So I was mentally preparing myself for that...and when she came 8 days early, I was in total denial and *almost* think it may have attributed to some of my PPD (because I wasn't "done" being pregnant yet)).
I know no one can say for sure and I'll just have to wait and see. But I'm dying for some stories - show me the statistics - so I can at least attempt to better mentally prepare myself this time!
I know this is an older question and plenty of others have replied, but my first was a few days early and a 30+ hour labor + 3ish hours of pushing (water broke on its own but had to be induced because of lack of contractions after the water broke). Second was right on his due date, but an 18 hour labor + 2ish hours of pushing (exact same situation as #1). I would take an 18 hour labor over 30 any day! My body sucks at delivering!
@blondie080300 teeth marks over here too! DS chewed on the rails when he was teething and could pull himself up. One morning I went to get him out of his crib and it looked like he had chocolate all over his face. I freaked and tried to get as much as I could out of his mouth. It makes me never want to paint a crib if they're going to be eating it!
Much like @blondie080300, I'm trying to figure out what to do about getting a crib. DH and I were thinking of using a pack & play (like the Graco ones that have the removable bassinet, changing table, storage, etc.) for the baby to sleep in- but I'm hearing so many things about how that's good for about 3 months and then you need a real crib. I'm worried about safety too, of course. I was looking at the Ikea cribs- definitely affordable and smaller. We have a one bedroom apartment so we need to be creative with space. I know there was a separate thread earlier about pack & play versus cribs, but wanted to get input from the experienced mamas on this thread
So DH and I went and looked at cribs last night. We fell in love with the wooden ones but I worry that as LO grows, he/she may chew on the crib and leave teeth marks. If we go with a convertible, that means they will have to deal with teeth marks on their bed for the rest of their use of it. Lol. Does this happen or am I just being paranoid? I was surprised at just how many cribs are made of such gorgeous, soft wood.
I don't post on here much (don't have time to be consistent with my two other little ones!) but just wanted to chime in here. We have a wooden crib we've used for both of our first two and will use for this one. Our first one (girl) never chewed on anything. But our second (boy) chewed like a beaver! There are definitely tiny little teeth marks in sets of 2, where those first two teeth came in, all over the crib rail. Maybe it's weird, but we personally love it. It's such a tangible 'keepsake' and I think it adds character. Again, I might be alone in that - and I tend to be super sentimental - but I think it's cute . And I think you'd have a really hard time finding a crib not made out of wood .
In my search for smaller cribs, I found a metal crib on Babies R Us website in the "standard cribs" section. They even have it in a few colors!
@blondie080300 My daughter has never once chewed on her crib. So it just depends on the kid. We bought a convertible crib from Target for her, but we will be giving it to the baby and buying her a twin. And since they've discontinued the crib, and we hadn't bought the pieces to convert it (because those are separate and cost extra), we won't be converting it for the baby either.
@SarahMConnors We kept my daughter in her PnP for 5 months. And we still use it now when we stay over night anywhere (she's almost 19 months). It should be good for far longer than 3 months. That said, I don't know if a LO would fit in it until they were ready for a toddler bed. But a mini-crib sounds like a good option, too, if it is what you prefer. Just didn't want you to worry that the PnP wouldn't last very long.
We have a PnP and an IKEA crib. We used the pack n play for about two weeks in our room then she went to the crib. She has never chewed on the crib yet, but she just isn't a huge biter. However if she did, I wouldn't be too upset since I didn't spend hundreds on it. I couldn't imagine using a pack n play long term, but I know lots who do so its just what works best for your family and baby. We all sleep best when we have our own rooms.
@blondie080300- Coming up on 16 months and my little man has all of his teeth - there are very very few teeth marks on his crib.. he has never been one to stand up and gnaw on the crib. We bought a convertible and will take off the front rail for a toddler bed, but we have twin beds (from us growing up) that he will change into when he's older (4 maybe?) so I don't think we'll end up fully converting this crib.. but really it's a white crib and I could touch up the damage if I wanted to use the rail as a footboard and fully convert (Obviously wouldn't touch up if selling it as a crib as I don't want a future baby to chew off whatever paint I use!)
@SarahMConnors yay for mini cribs! I would also say that LO would be fine in a pack n play for longer than 3 mos. DS slept in his on vacay and at day care and he was well over a year old.
I've used the same crib for all three of my children. There are no teeth marks on it. However, the brand new bunk beds that I bought for the 4 year old and 2 year old? Those are covered in bite makes. Especially the top bunk, where the 4 year old sleeps. Big chunks out of it. I thought about painting it to cover them up, but there's so much missing I don't think it would help.
So, a pack and play will work just fine for a crib I'm gathering. Any cons of using it for a while? We are doing bassinet and then ??? I'm buying a pack and play so I figure I can just use that if it works for baby. Anyone against it? Any pro crib arguments I should be aware of? Also- how long did you use your bassinet? We are doing the Halo.
@mom2adoodle- we only use our pnp while traveling but the only con I have is that it can be noisy. We put a sheet down in it but it still sounds plasticy while he moves around (my kiddo moves a lot in his sleep). That might not be as noticeable when they're younger and move less. Otherwise, I don't see a huge difference. We had a pnp that had a higher level to it, so you wouldn't have to bend over very far to put baby down if you used it early on - we didn't use our pnp for sleeping at that age - we had a bassinet/changing bin attached to it at that stage and used the pnp mostly for baby clothes storage in the living room since we did most changes down there.
@mom2adoodle If you are using the pnp as a crib I would get a different mattress. You wouldn't need it right away if you get one with the basinettes and crap on the top, but eventually when you move them down the mattress it comes with is pretty stiff.
Our crib has been used for 2 boys, still in use with our younger son. There are some teeth marks, but more so the color is wearing off on the top front piece from them standing and hitting things on it, and sucking/chewing on it etc. It's not terrible, and this baby will use the crib too.
As far as the pnp, we bought one with a bassinet that clicked in. The first 6 months both our boys slept in our room in the pnp because it was easier when nursing and when they'd wake up more often. First they were in the bassinet part, then the pnp at the high level, then we lowered it. Our youngest is 19 months and we still use it when we travel. He's a bigger kid too, in the 90th percentile.
I'm a planner and have a need to get things done. With our first the nursery was done by 22 weeks and we had everything. My advice is to not rush. It's hard with the first one, but if you take your time you can drag out the setup and enjoy it throughout the pregnancy. I was sad when I finished and didn't have really anything else to do but wait. if you're between pnp and crib you can always start with the pnp and get a crib a little later.
@mom2adoodle We had a bassinet (co-sleeper) for Ellie but she hated it...never used it past her 1st night...just be prepared with a back-up plan...we will be trying the Halo this time...those weren't around when Ellie was born
Thanks ladies. DH and I found a few PNP's that have the little napper, have the higher bassinet level for the mattress, and then it can be turned into a normal PNP, plus they all have the removable changer and extra storage spots for diapers and whatnot. This is the one DH and I liked: https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=68454126&cp=&parentPage=search It's a "nursery center" with a full-sized removable bassinet, so we thought it would work in place of a crib. Graco makes some really nice ones too.
I think my want for a mini-crib comes from feeling guilty that we won't have a nursery for this baby at all- it's just a side of our room. I see all these expecting mothers decorating a beautiful nursery with beautiful cribs and things, so I felt like using a PNP instead of a real crib cheapened it even more. *no disrespect to anyone at all, it was just how I felt personally not having a nursery to prepare and decorate. BUT I think using the PNP at first and then transitioning to the mini-crib is a good idea. Plus, DH and I both work so we will need a portable for when our baby travels to be watched. DH definitely won't let me rush into prepping lol- he thinks I'm nuts for looking into all of this now when we aren't even halfway there. I just love looking to get ideas on what we can do, what to expect, etc. I do plan to rearrange our room so one whole side along the wall will be the baby's area. This way I can fit a mini crib (or PNP), hang some wall decor, make it look special. I think that will make me feel better overall. It will take a while to get the room rearranged just to do that anyway. I'm tackling little things every week so it's a long process, organizing the apartment, cleaning, and rearranging with DH.
@SarahMConnors The nice thing with PnPs is that they fold up and store easily. So if you start with the PnP and switch to a mini-crib, the PnP won't take up a ton of space when you aren't using it as frequently. I really have loved our PnP, so I can't sing their praises enough. And I'm sure you can create a lovely place for the baby in your room. Honestly, a cutesy nursery isn't really for anyone but the parents. A baby has no idea if their room is a Pinterest perfect nursery, and they aren't going to remember it.
From my last BMB (I wish I still had the pictures) a few moms decorated a corner of their room for the baby's crib and it was SO adorable. Just installed a floating shelf high up and put a decorated wooden initial and some stuffed animals for baby, etc. Really really sweet.
Also, I've realized that the few marks that are on our crib aren't even teeth marks. My little man has had a lot of colds and when littler we had to use his cool mist humidifier right up close to the crib (doctor's orders) and the condensation on the top rail left a few marks/tiny splits in the wood. My son has also always enjoyed gnawing on the edge of a blanket to soothe himself so maybe he just does that instead of on his crib, but no teeth marks!
Thanks ladies. DH and I found a few PNP's that have the little napper, have the higher bassinet level for the mattress, and then it can be turned into a normal PNP, plus they all have the removable changer and extra storage spots for diapers and whatnot. This is the one DH and I liked: https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=68454126&cp=&parentPage=search It's a "nursery center" with a full-sized removable bassinet, so we thought it would work in place of a crib. Graco makes some really nice ones too.
I think my want for a mini-crib comes from feeling guilty that we won't have a nursery for this baby at all- it's just a side of our room. I see all these expecting mothers decorating a beautiful nursery with beautiful cribs and things, so I felt like using a PNP instead of a real crib cheapened it even more. *no disrespect to anyone at all, it was just how I felt personally not having a nursery to prepare and decorate. BUT I think using the PNP at first and then transitioning to the mini-crib is a good idea. Plus, DH and I both work so we will need a portable for when our baby travels to be watched. DH definitely won't let me rush into prepping lol- he thinks I'm nuts for looking into all of this now when we aren't even halfway there. I just love looking to get ideas on what we can do, what to expect, etc. I do plan to rearrange our room so one whole side along the wall will be the baby's area. This way I can fit a mini crib (or PNP), hang some wall decor, make it look special. I think that will make me feel better overall. It will take a while to get the room rearranged just to do that anyway. I'm tackling little things every week so it's a long process, organizing the apartment, cleaning, and rearranging with DH.
Thanks for all the help ladies!!
I completely understand wanting to have a special place for the baby. I've never had a nursery and this is my 4th baby. We're going to be moving soon and will have a nursery, I'm so excited to set up a space for the baby. Even though he or she will sleep in our room for the first few months anyways.
With our oldest we had the nursery done very early. With our second it was done in the 3rd trimester and we moved Ben to his big boy room. This time we are keeping the same nursery colors, theme, etc. because we made it neutral. James will move in with his big brother in August, around when he hits 2. Then I'll clean the nursery but keep it all the same. With each one I feel more practical/reasonable about it all. No rush, baby just wants a comfortable place to sleep. Color, theme, etc is more for the parents. Same with their toys...you spend so much money on toys and all they want to do is play with Tupperware, or the box your Amazon order came in. Plus we've been thinking about listing our house so I don't want to put too much into it for short term, but I think we're going to wait until next spring. I don't want to move when I'm pregnant. I've done that before...it wasn't fun.
Ha, I wish we'd gotten on with the nursery sooner for my first! We drug our feet and then ordered furniture that had an 8 week lead time... I couldn't decide on bedding... (I'm an indecisive person as it is and pregnancy hormones just amplified it...) We finally got our bedding on a Wednesday. I was working from home so I threw it all in the wash and made the bed that afternoon to surprise DH when he got home from work. It was a good thing I did, because I went into labor that night and DD was born at 3:52pm that Thursday, lol!
I plan on having the nursery complete MUCH sooner this time around...partly because I've learned my lesson and partly because we're reusing everything so I don't have any decisions to make.
I will be 15 weeks in two days. I just started last week (twice) and now yesterday and today with a very light spotting at work. I went to ob. They can't find any explanation. The baby looked healthy. Did anybody have spotting during their pregnancy (2nd trimester) and go on to have a healthy normal pregnancy? How long did it last? Thanks
@langur I had light brown/pinkish spotting a few times in the first trimester and I've had it once in the 2nd. A couple of times I had it the morning after sex including the one time I had it in the second tri. Each lasted only during the morning and I only saw it on tp after going to the restroom. The other times no rhyme or reason. I had an 18w ultrasound yesterday and everything was fine! The consensus seems to be unless it's red and you're cramping, you're probably fine but it's worth keeping track of to let your dr know the next time you go in.
Thanks ladies I feel much better about using a PNP for a bit and then doing the crib transition. I'll definitely keep it low-key, but wanted to add a little touch to that side of the room so it's not like we just tossed a new piece of furniture in the corner and called it a day. I have some cute ideas, now I just have to wait till the end of April to find out what we're having so I can decide on which theme I'm going with! I thought of keeping it within the color scheme of our room already- white walls (we rent, don't want to paint), our furniture is light colored wood, and our bedspread is beige with white and bright teal leaves. Even for a girl we could do teal, pink and another color and it would work
I just posted this in Randoms and realized it should probably go here. Too bad I don't know how to delete a comment! :P So I apologize for the repeat post but...
DH and I have a tour scheduled tonight at the Birthing Center within the hospital I plan to deliver at. Does anyone have any tips of things to look for or questions I should ask on the tour? I really have no idea what I'm doing! LOL
Married: 3/21/15 First time mom to a human but have been a puppy mamma for over 12 years
I just posted this in Randoms and realized it should probably go here. Too bad I don't know how to delete a comment! :P So I apologize for the repeat post but...
DH and I have a tour scheduled tonight at the Birthing Center within the hospital I plan to deliver at. Does anyone have any tips of things to look for or questions I should ask on the tour? I really have no idea what I'm doing! LOL
They do these tours all the time so most of your questions will be answered before you even have a chance to ask them. The kind of questions you should ask are determined by what kind of birth you want. For example, you will want to ask about anesthesiologist availability if you plan on an epidural. If you want to go without pain meds, you will need to ask about what kind of support they have for that.
A very important question is to ask about parking when you show up in labor. My hospital allows laboring mothers to temporarily park in a drive right by the door, with the condition that the car will be moved as soon as possible. Another hospital where I live has complimentary valet that laboring mothers are encouraged to take advantage of.
They should go over triage, labor/delivery, and recovery. In my hospital, I had to go to a separate room for each. My friend delivered at a hospital that where she could labor, deliver, and recover in the same room (she did get transferred to an OR for delivery when they had to do a c-section.)
@blondie080300 It might be useful to ask what they provide. The hospital I delivered at provided everything (diapers, onesie, thermometer, disposal washcloths (we still have some left!), blanket, hat for baby, mesh underwear, pads, etc. for me) that I really didn't have to bring anything to the hospital other than a hair brush for me and the car seat for the LO. It was nice to be able to ignore all the "you have to have a hospital bag packed at your door starting from week 30"-advice. Also, for me it was key to know whether I'd be able to have a private room/shower, but that depends on your personal preferences. I'd also check out the sleeping arrangement for spouses. I really enjoyed having DH there the entire time.
Again, personal preferences, but I really enjoyed not having to switch rooms - labor, delivery, recovery was all in the same room and felt really relaxed.
I've never been on a hospital tour but what @marajay6 makes perfect sense - they've given so many tours, they'll answer all the questions you ever had and more before you even get a chance to ask them :-) Also, internet is an amazing source of information - you can probably find out the answer to most of your questions before you go on the tour. Many L&D floors seem to have very nice websites.
Thanks everyone! I asked all of the questions suggested to me and received answers that I liked on all of them! It is crazy how a little bit of anxiety crept in...I can't believe I will be back in like 5 months having my own baby! :-0
Married: 3/21/15 First time mom to a human but have been a puppy mamma for over 12 years
@blondie080300 That reminds me of my last childbirth class when I was pregnant with DD. We were waiting for it to start, and I looked over at DH and told him that the next time we were going to be at the hospital, it was going to be to have the baby. It was a thought that was both extremely exciting and equally terrifying.
Does anyone remember when to register the baby with a pediatrician? We don't take DS for his next appointment until I'm 35-36 weeks and I'm wondering if I can just do it then.
@Shiva14 My pediatrician didn't require us to do anything before the baby was born. When registering at the hospital they asked who our pediatrician was, and if they travel to that hospital, they set everything up. Our pedi doesn't, so they used one on staff while we were there. The day after she was born, I called them and set up her first appt.
I did mention I was expecting at DD's 18 month appt because she won't be back until she's 2 and baby will already be born. I wanted to make sure they were still accepting new patients.
@Shiva14- exactly the same as Camichael, we asked my husband's doctor (who does family medicine) during my last prengancy if he would be our pediatrician (I think when husband was getting his Tdap vaccine, good husband). This time around we mentioned it at our last appointment just to see if he anticipated to be taking patients at that time, oh yes - no problem. He is not associated with the hospital so we will see whoever is on-call for pediatricians during our stay, which is no big deal and will call our doctor's office after discharge and set up that first 48-hour appointment or whatever it is! Hooray!
@blondie080300- I remember our hospital tour during childbirth class and it being a bit overwhelming. On the day of delivery though i felt right at home on the maternity unit within a few minutes of being there... I guess that's what 10,000 laps will do for you I'm interested to see how I feel this time around, and I can't wait for those little pellets of ice they have in the ice machine. YUM!!
Interesting that everyone was able to just wait. I remember with DS we had to fill out a bunch of stuff beforehand, EDD, hospital we would be delivering at, baby name etc. It's not like they come to the hospital either. But then again we were also brand new to the practice since he was our first. I agree @PSUBecky23 definitely worth a call.
@Sbrown721 I'd just go with the turtle and white noise machine. I'd planned on getting a mobile, but never found one I liked. Then my mom gifted us a Baby Einstein aquarium, and I decided to just use it. DD loves it and neither she nor I have missed her having a mobile.
Re: Ask a BTDT mom
In my search for smaller cribs, I found a metal crib on Babies R Us website in the "standard cribs" section.
@SarahMConnors We kept my daughter in her PnP for 5 months. And we still use it now when we stay over night anywhere (she's almost 19 months). It should be good for far longer than 3 months. That said, I don't know if a LO would fit in it until they were ready for a toddler bed. But a mini-crib sounds like a good option, too, if it is what you prefer. Just didn't want you to worry that the PnP wouldn't last very long.
Our crib has been used for 2 boys, still in use with our younger son. There are some teeth marks, but more so the color is wearing off on the top front piece from them standing and hitting things on it, and sucking/chewing on it etc. It's not terrible, and this baby will use the crib too.
As far as the pnp, we bought one with a bassinet that clicked in. The first 6 months both our boys slept in our room in the pnp because it was easier when nursing and when they'd wake up more often. First they were in the bassinet part, then the pnp at the high level, then we lowered it. Our youngest is 19 months and we still use it when we travel. He's a bigger kid too, in the 90th percentile.
I'm a planner and have a need to get things done. With our first the nursery was done by 22 weeks and we had everything. My advice is to not rush. It's hard with the first one, but if you take your time you can drag out the setup and enjoy it throughout the pregnancy. I was sad when I finished and didn't have really anything else to do but wait. if you're between pnp and crib you can always start with the pnp and get a crib a little later.
This is the one DH and I liked: https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=68454126&cp=&parentPage=search
It's a "nursery center" with a full-sized removable bassinet, so we thought it would work in place of a crib. Graco makes some really nice ones too.
I think my want for a mini-crib comes from feeling guilty that we won't have a nursery for this baby at all- it's just a side of our room. I see all these expecting mothers decorating a beautiful nursery with beautiful cribs and things, so I felt like using a PNP instead of a real crib cheapened it even more. *no disrespect to anyone at all, it was just how I felt personally not having a nursery to prepare and decorate.
BUT I think using the PNP at first and then transitioning to the mini-crib is a good idea. Plus, DH and I both work so we will need a portable for when our baby travels to be watched. DH definitely won't let me rush into prepping lol- he thinks I'm nuts for looking into all of this now when we aren't even halfway there. I just love looking to get ideas on what we can do, what to expect, etc. I do plan to rearrange our room so one whole side along the wall will be the baby's area. This way I can fit a mini crib (or PNP), hang some wall decor, make it look special. I think that will make me feel better overall. It will take a while to get the room rearranged just to do that anyway. I'm tackling little things every week so it's a long process, organizing the apartment, cleaning, and rearranging with DH.
Thanks for all the help ladies!!
Also, I've realized that the few marks that are on our crib aren't even teeth marks. My little man has had a lot of colds and when littler we had to use his cool mist humidifier right up close to the crib (doctor's orders) and the condensation on the top rail left a few marks/tiny splits in the wood. My son has also always enjoyed gnawing on the edge of a blanket to soothe himself so maybe he just does that instead of on his crib, but no teeth marks!
I plan on having the nursery complete MUCH sooner this time around...partly because I've learned my lesson and partly because we're reusing everything so I don't have any decisions to make.
DH and I have a tour scheduled tonight at the Birthing Center within the hospital I plan to deliver at. Does anyone have any tips of things to look for or questions I should ask on the tour? I really have no idea what I'm doing! LOL
First time mom to a human but have been a puppy mamma for over 12 years
A very important question is to ask about parking when you show up in labor. My hospital allows laboring mothers to temporarily park in a drive right by the door, with the condition that the car will be moved as soon as possible. Another hospital where I live has complimentary valet that laboring mothers are encouraged to take advantage of.
They should go over triage, labor/delivery, and recovery. In my hospital, I had to go to a separate room for each. My friend delivered at a hospital that where she could labor, deliver, and recover in the same room (she did get transferred to an OR for delivery when they had to do a c-section.)
Again, personal preferences, but I really enjoyed not having to switch rooms - labor, delivery, recovery was all in the same room and felt really relaxed.
I've never been on a hospital tour but what @marajay6 makes perfect sense - they've given so many tours, they'll answer all the questions you ever had and more before you even get a chance to ask them :-) Also, internet is an amazing source of information - you can probably find out the answer to most of your questions before you go on the tour. Many L&D floors seem to have very nice websites.
@anneb644 love your answers- I have to copy that down for when I go on my tour!
First time mom to a human but have been a puppy mamma for over 12 years
I did mention I was expecting at DD's 18 month appt because she won't be back until she's 2 and baby will already be born. I wanted to make sure they were still accepting new patients.
I have registered for a turtle that projects 8 different constellations onto the ceiling https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3813330&fromRegistryNumber=57972104&product_skn=346142# and I will also have a soft music player/white noise machine. I can turn the turtle and noise maker on at the same time or use one or the other depending on what baby likes.
Any thoughts?