- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
August 2017 Moms
lewliv
member
Veteran Moms Advice
lewliv
member
What are some things that you wish you knew during your first pregnancy? What things you found out to be indispensable? What things you wish you had done/got sooner?
Re: Veteran Moms Advice
DD: 10/23/2012
#teamzoey #defeatdipg #pumpkinpatch2012
Sucking on Jolly Ranchers helped relieve my nausea a lot.
I wish that I had just bought a double stroller right off the bat and not a single. I had 5 strollers at one point. This would have worked better for me because I had planned on having kids close together.
Babywearing (whatever type of carrier you get) is awesome provided your baby likes it.
I wish I would have known earlier to invest in poise pads instead of just pantyliners for pee leaking.
DD 1 10/2012
CP 9/2013
DD 2 6/2014
CP 3/2016
BFP 12/8/2016
5.5.16 | 8.14.17 | 1.30.19
Also, for your registry get recommendations from friends with kids! I tried to do my whole registry myself (just going off of online reviews) and I ended up with a bunch of stuff I never used (like glass bottles)
later, trying to remember being in that moment.
2. Formula is AMAZING. Your mental health is so important and if BF isn't working for you, accept formula.
On the same note. Baby brezza machines are gods gift to formula feeding moms.
3. Baby baths are a waste of money (IMO). Bath babe in the sink or in the bath with you. Much easier.
4. Totally agree on second hand items. We wasted sooo much buying new. Once I saw how quickly he grew out of things / didn't use anymore, I became addicted to thrift shopping.
Delivery: I wished I had known how often the nurses would come in and bug us. If I had, I wouldn't have allowed friends and family to visit. I think I went 72 hours with maybe 3 hours of broken sleep.
After bringing baby home: I wished I had known how content and happy a newborn could look. I would have switched to formula much sooner. I cried when I saw her beautiful, contented face after we made the switch. (Her mouth was too small to get a good latch.)
I second the buying second hand thing too except I don't believe in buying car seats second hand. We paid a ton of money for our top safety rated car seat but we 1)love it and 2)cannot put a price on safety. I've known several people who have been in accidents with their kids and I never want to wonder "What if" I would've gotten the good seat.
I love having a good video monitor also. It's pricey, but worth it imo.
This will vary from person to person..but the thing we didn't use is the crib..I was so stressed about getting a nice crib with attached changing table and getting it put together in time. Here we are 10 months down the road and have never used it for anything other than storage. DS outgrew the changing table at like 5 months. Also he is breastfed and he nurses allll night long so we co-sleep. He'll probably never sleep in his crib. We'll transition him to a toddler bed shortly before the new baby gets here.
Pregnancy #2-Due 8/24/17 MMC-01/09/17
DD-Due 10/24/17
The biggie for me was my rocking/nursing chair - I knew i wanted it badly when pregnant, but because of a move we only bought it when dd was 3 months - and it was amaaaazing! Even though a bit pricey, it was worth every penny, made night feedings so comfortable and totally saved my back. Cant wait for nightime snuggles with baby #2!
We started out with 3 Dr. Brown's bottles but found we were much happier with 4. Someday your LO will be holding his/her own bottles, and when your LO decides they are tired of drinking out of it and throws it at your toes or your dog's face, you're going to want it to be plastic, not glass.
We should start a thread all about cloth diapering! There's a lot to it.
I cloth diaper my son and I love it! We use One Size diapers that are advertised to fit from newborn to around 35lbs...but these typically will still be large and may leak on newborns.. they start to fit better around 12lbs or so. They do sell specific newborn cloth diapers though..but they only fit for a short time. The brands I prefer are smart bottoms, thirsties, and glow bugs. Natural fibers like hemp and bamboo are much more absorbent than microfiber but they're also more expensive. Microfiber is awful imo. Once baby starts solids, spraying poo off is a must..or it won't come out in the wash. I'd start with a stash of at least 24, but more would be better. And experiment with a few different brands because some will work better for your baby than others.
Pregnancy #2-Due 8/24/17 MMC-01/09/17
DD-Due 10/24/17
Dont buy a ton of newborn clothes, they might not be a small baby! Plus they grow out of them so fast.
talk with your SO about expectations before baby arrives--what can he do to help.
take photos of everything even if you don't feel like it.
Think long term. If you're sure you want more kids and things will be used again, invest in the higher quality item (strollers, baby carriers, monitors, high chairs, etc.). All the things we tried to "skimp" on, we ended up selling and buying the nicer one that we wanted from the beginning.
Personally, some of my favorite items were: a good double stroller (Britax B-Ready is a single and a double!), Ergo carrier (lifesaver. Have used it almost daily for 6 years), video monitor, rock-n-play sleeper, tight Velcro swaddles, zip up sleepers for newborn days. We also love our doorway johnny jumper thing.
When people ask about gifts you need, after you have all the essentials, either ask for diapers or think ahead to what you'll need in a few months as baby grows. A swing for outside, a high chair, activity table, exersaucer, convertible car seat, etc.
I think after three kids, I've really just learned that most of the stuff I thought was such a big deal with my first really isn't that big of a deal. Don't stress about the small stuff. Go with the flow. Listen to your body and your baby and do what works for YOU. For a while I tried to fit into this other "mold" and then realized it wasn't me. I'm much more "crunchy" than I realized at first and it felt good to embrace it rather than try and be someone else. And if you're in a stage that you think will never end and will eventually drive you insane (teething, constant nursing, whatever), it WILL end and it'll be a distant memory that you look back on and laugh. You WILL sleep again. You WILL be able to leave the house without 30 minutes of preparation. It really all goes too darn fast and I wasted too much time worrying/stressing about inconsequential things with my first that I wished I hadn't.
Married 7.28.07
DS 9.16.10
DD 8.3.12
DD 3.1.15
#4 EDD 8.7.17
Married 7.28.07
DS 9.16.10
DD 8.3.12
DD 3.1.15
#4 EDD 8.7.17
Married 7.28.07
DS 9.16.10
DD 8.3.12
DD 3.1.15
#4 EDD 8.7.17
Waste a days cuddling that newborn because they get big WAY faster then you could ever imagine!
Be be patient and trust your doctor when your in labor. Its hard cause you want that baby out, but your Dr is always going to do best for baby and you. At the same time don't let anyone walk over you in the prosses cause it's your first.
Don't feel bad about things that are uncomfortable or hard to do while your pregnant. Things make you sick, or tired all the time and you want to sleep don't let that kind of stuff make you feel bad, let other people help you.
Whatever exact birth plan you think you're going to have, toss it. All I wanted was an epidural, but when it came down to a rapidly dropping heartrate, and pushing or a possible c section, I pushed without any meds and made it just fine.
Episiotomies suck, but they aren't the end of the world.
You don't need a bottle or wipe warmer.
When going to places like dinner or target, bring the diaper bag, but when you actually go inside, just take some wipes, a couple diapers and a bottle or two. Don't lug a huge thing around if you can easily go back to your car.
If you want to ebf, you may find its not in the cards for you. You may never want to BF, and then find that you love it. I EPd for almost a year, and it wasn't always easy, but it was worth it.
Make sure your DH/so is helping you as much as possible. They helped make this tiny human, and even if you're BFing, you can pump a bottle so they can do a MOTN feeding.
Make freezer meals. Lots of them.
If someone offers to watch your baby for a couple hours, for the love of god, take them up on it. You will both be fine, and it's really important to your mental health to get some space from the LO, and to reconnect with your SO.
A huge one for me- you may not bond with your LO right away. For days, weeks or months. It's okay. You may have PPD or PPA, not do well on low amounts of sleep, or just do better with older babies. It's okay.
That got longer than I thought it would. Another thing- so many topics that you will see explode here in the coming months aren't nearly as important as you think they are. Cloth or disposable diapers, breastfeeding, formula feeding, exclusively pumping; circumcision vs not, if your parents tell everyone before you do about the pregnancy/ delivery, co-sleep vs crib, etc etc.
Final thought- do what you have to do to survive the newborn stage.
Edited for grammar, my phone hates proper grammar.
DS2: EDD- 09.08.17