Me: 28 | Husband: 39
Married March 2016
DD: born 7.22.16
DS EDD: 6.23.18
- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
June 2018 Moms
sunshineandwhiskey
member
STM+ Check-In [12/6]
sunshineandwhiskey
member
How you doing this week ladies? Anything new? How are the LOs?
and for fun: What is the BEST piece of advice you got about pregnancy/parenting and the WORST?
and for fun: What is the BEST piece of advice you got about pregnancy/parenting and the WORST?
Re: STM+ Check-In [12/6]
The boys are excited for the move and started boxing up their own rooms last night. I tried to tell them we're not moving for almost 2 weeks, but they were putting all their favorite toys in first because they don't want them to be forgotten. LOL
First Son - born 2013
Third Son - due June 9, 2018
We haven't announced on social media yet, I'm thinking after the New Year for that. Just waiting and hoping for this nausea to go away at some point. Hopefully the light at the end of the tunnel is near..
Best advice: To try and enjoy every moment, because you'll never get to experience this particular pregnancy again. Also, not to worry about losing the weight right after baby is born..and NOT to try on your pre-pregnancy jeans until several month post-partum.
Worst advice: All the idiots who think that a pregnant mama wants to hear their horror birth stories and all the things that can go wrong during pregnancy, labor and afterward. It goes along the same lines of.. "Oh, just wait!" and "It gets worse." Why do they think anyone wants to hear that? This was during my first pregnancy so I guess we'll see if it happens again with this one.
yyyyaaaaaassss to not trying on non maternity pants until WELL after having the babe...I sadly made that mistake when I felt like I was much smaller...but was really only 2-3 weeks pp and no where NEAR ready for pre preg pants yet. Man was that depressing.
I told my boss yesterday so the cat is out of the bag. I feel like less of a liar now, haha.
We took DD to see Santa last Saturday. She didn't cry and I was a little disappointed after our Santa discussion a few weeks back. The pictures were adorable (I know I'm biased, but I mean look at this!)
I'm still waiting on our NIPT results to come back before announcing- but it's been 7 business days since my blood was drawn, so I'm getting VERY IMPATIENT.
I think the best advice I got was to use lingerie bags to wash baby socks- they tend to disappear in the wash and the bags help keep them together.
Worst advice was to not give a pacifier until she was gaining weight. I wish I had given a pacifier sooner. DD used me as a pacifier and would cry all night if she wasn't attached to my boob. It made for the worst first month of parenthood, and she still comfort nurses more than feeds.
BFP#4- 9/26 edd 6/5/18
I'm 14.5 now. Haven't told my office yet - holding out for after reviews in 2-3 weeks. I don't want any raise / review to be colored by my upcoming leave. I'm hoping to hid it for a bit longer. I've resorted to using a maeband on my pants (I think that's what its called).
Best advice: don't make claims like "I will never do X [give formula, co-sleep, give a paci, etc.]." Chances are, you'll end up doing exactly those things.
Worst advice: Breastfeeding is natural, everyone can do it, you just have to keep trying. Some women, for whatever reason, simply can't breastfeed. The world puts too much pressure on women to EBF and sometimes, it's not the right choice.
Not much new around here! I ordered everything on my Amazon Christmas shopping list yesterday. Just have 2 or 3 items to run around town for now. Maybe I will get everything wrapped before Dec. 23rd this year!
I definitely felt some tiny little baby movement yesterday so that’s a thrill!
The best advice I received I think was probably at DDs 1 mo appointment, the pediatrician had asked what kind of formula we were feeding and I told him (brand name) formula and he said to me, Don’t be afraid to try the generic formula, it’s like a third of the cost, probably made in the same facilities but just packaged differently, and held to the same standards as the brand name is. I had been thinking, you know FTM thoughts, well I don’t want to just go the cheap route and maybe it’s not as good for my baby... I definitely needed to hear what he said. We saved ourselves so much money.
The worst... I guess just hearing what everyone else’s kids were doing so much earlier than mine. DD was a chunky, lazy baby. She didn’t crawl until 11 mo and walk until 14 months. People had me so convinced something was wrong with her and now you’d never know the difference. She was just more interested in talking and learning than moving at the time.
Best advice: do whatever you need to do to get some sleep, especially in the first few weeks/months with baby. For us, that meant a lot of bedsharing & cosleeping.
worst advice: I’ve gotten a lot of questionable advice from my mom in regards to parenting. She had 4 kids before she turned 21, so I mean, I can’t really blame her for not knowing better. She was young & in survival mode most of the time. When DD had a fever for the first time, she told me to put rubbing alcohol in her bath. It was only after giving her said bath that I googled it and rubbing alcohol is a huge no-no and I panicked for the rest of the day that DD was going to get alcohol poisoning. Lesson learned, always google my mothers advice before following through with it lol
My Littles are doing great, bit sometimes annoy me. I know a lot of it is the hormones (theirs and mine), but give mama a break.
Best advice: Always follow your gut. Mother's intuition is not wrong often.
Worst advice: sleep when the baby sleeps. I got a lot of things done (e.g. reading e-mails, watching tv, quiet me time, etc.) while the baby slept.
DS is doing really well. He has been a trooper and been really good about doing his own thing for longer stretches since I am feeling like crap and spend a lot of time on the couch. I am having major guilt that he is doing his own thing so often now though. I feel like I am not spending nearly enough time with him. And I can tell in his behavior that he feels disconnected. So I am hoping to make a more mindful effort to try and be more present for him. Especially on days when I am feeling a bit better.
Best parenting advice: was to not compare your baby to other babies. They all develop at different rates and it is hard not to compare, but it’s really true.
Worst: Was to not use a paci for the first month. We didn’t want to use one at all if we could avoid it, but it quickly became clear he was a paci baby. And I killed myself for a month being stubborn and waiting the whole four weeks before giving him one. I wish I had done it sooner and saved myself some sanity in those early days.
Um - laundry bags for baby socks - genius! That’s a new one for me!
@jsl82 It's been exactly 7 days from my NIPT blood draw too and I'm not so patiently waiting on the results! I've already been thinking about when it's okay to call and inquire. I think I'll wait until Monday since it can be 7-10 days...but I just want to know. Your daughter's picture is so precious! That little ponytail
We took DS to see Santa on Saturday too. It went exactly as I expected:
Poor guy...but he got a cookie right after and was all smiles
Best advice: Don't wish time away, try to savor every stage...I know this can be really annoying advice when you're a brand new mom trying to keep your head above water. But I think about it a lot when we are having a rough day or LO won't sleep (again...) I've caught myself many times thinking, "I can't wait until...(he can eat solids/he can walk/he can sleep anywhere besides on me!)". Trying to stop and enjoy the little moments (however fleeting it seems) helped me enjoy his babyhood more.
Worst: Don't spoil the baby! I got this from both my mom and MIL when he was a newborn. My MIL said I shouldn't hold him all the time or he's get used to it and never let me put him down (cone to think of it she might have been right
DS 2 used a pacifier from day 1 - provided by the hospital. For various reasons related to his health I exclusively pumped at the beginning and wasn't even able to try nursing until he was 6 weeks old. And guess what? He figured out nursing just fine. He nursed I weaned him at 13 months old. He loved the pacifier and was heartbroken when we weaned him from that a few months before his 3rd birthday.
First Son - born 2013
Third Son - due June 9, 2018
Worst advice - Sleep when the baby sleeps. This is only bad advice because it's just not practical. I don't know about you, but even when exhausted I cannot fall asleep on cue just because the baby is sleeping. Also, nap time for the baby turns into time to clean, laundry, catch up on Netflix, shop online, make phone calls, shower, exercise, read a book, prep dinner, and anything else you found you couldn't do while the baby was awake. Sure, that includes a nap sometimes, but it's awful when people make it sound like it's so simple to get all those things done when the baby is awake and that you can just turn off life and nap when the baby naps.
General advice - Do your best to NOT compare your child to what other children his/her age are doing. Sarah is already sleeping through the night but your child wakes 3 times a night still? Peter eats all food without fuss but your child refuses solids until he/she is 11 months old? Alex is walking at 9 months and your child isn't even crawling yet? Don't let it get you down. Each child develops at their own rate. It will happen. Don't think you're doing something wrong just because your child is progressing at a different rate (be it early or late) from others.
First Son - born 2013
Third Son - due June 9, 2018
So completely off topic, but DD is 3 weeks away from turning 1 and the temper tantrums have already started. I feel like she's about to start walking or start speaking in english rather than babble, because she's always tired even though she is sleeping normally (sometimes even taking longer naps). I really could use a glass of wine- not sure how I'm going to survive this tantrum age (which I think last until I kick them out of the house at 18) with 2!
BFP#4- 9/26 edd 6/5/18
First Son - born 2013
Third Son - due June 9, 2018
First Son - born 2013
Third Son - due June 9, 2018
Good advice: Once you're feeling physically ok...it is SO easy to start to feel isolated and it can be very scary/intimidating to leave the house. Try to make a plan to leave the house, even for little things, so you can start to feel like yourself again. You will feel so accomplished and human. This might just mean going through the drive thru at Starbucks...or it might mean getting brave and going INSIDE Starbucks to sit and drink your coffee. It sounds so trivial but really does make a big difference. Just having a feeling of normalcy and accomplishment is HUGE.
I 2nd to whomever said don't wish the time away. It goes so damn fast and there WILL be challenges at every age. You'll quickly find yourself looking back and wishing to have that time back.
I also agree with the fear of leaving the house- it is so important to get out of the house even if it's just for a 5 minute walk. I went days without showering with DD- and couldn't image how we were going to adjust to me going back to work.
BFP#4- 9/26 edd 6/5/18
Worst advice: A few months ago DS went on a bottle strike and I couldn't get him to take anything but purees. It was too early for him to wean and so I was freaked out and called the pediatrician. Pediatrician swore up and down that the best remedy would be to put chocolate syrup in his bottles. I told her she was crazy and we actually fought about it. Real problem was he was about to come down with a small cold and everything eventually worked itself out. But seriously, chocolate syrup? You can get out with that advice.
Worst advice- formula is bad. I tried so hard to breastfeed DD and it didn't work. I switched to formula and never looked back. Don't feel bad if you need/want to switch to formula.
BFP#4- 9/26 edd 6/5/18
We found out we're having a girl and all the markers are negative. We are so excited about this! My daughter has been asking for a baby sister for the past 3 years and I was so happy when I heard the results because I knew this was a wish come true for her. It's funny that she thinks having a little sister will be less annoying than having a little brother, but it's going to be fun seeing her with the baby this time. When my son was born she was still just 2.5 so she didn't really like the idea of this baby messing with her world. Now that she's older, she's excited about the baby and asking me all the time how baby is doing and wants to see the app that shows how big the baby is growing. It's nice to go through this with her.
Best advice came in the form of a gift when DD was a few months old. My husbands cousin gave us a sound machine. We had no idea we needed it. Then we started using it, and the baby started sleeping SO MUCH BETTER! It is now the gift I bring to every baby shower I attend.
Worst advice - don't give baby a pacifier or bottle while nursing, it will cause nipple confusion. We tried this for the first week after bringing the baby home and finally at 3am after I knew she was full but just wouldn't stop crying, we cracked open one of the packages of pacifiers and she went right to sleep. I also struggled with horribly cracked nipples and she had a poor latch so I had to pump and give her a bottle for a while. She managed to go back and forth between breast and bottle just fine with no confusion. Figure out what works for you and go for it. Don't let crazy mom shaming make you do something that's not working well for you just because "that's what you're supposed to do"
My son would typically nap for about 10-20 minutes and I've always been someone who is slow to fall asleep. So if I put him down and went and got in bed I'd get maybe 5 minutes of sleep before I had to wake up with him. 5 minutes of sleep is worse than no sleep in my opinion. Plus typically if my son was asleep that was just the easiest time to get things done like dishes or laundry.
And the formula thing: my son was never successful breastfeeding. He had a really tight lip tie and just couldn't really latch. And then whatever little bit he'd get breastfeeding would make him sick. Apparently he has primary lactose intolerance and just couldn't tolerate breast milk. Plus I had supply issues probably mostly from his inability/refusal to ever drain a breast during feedings. So between all that breastfeeding just wasn't a viable option and I had so much guilt over it. But once I switched my son to formula he stopped having diarrhea 25+ times a day and projectile vomiting after feedings. And those changes finally lead to real weight gains. He was healthier and happier. Guilt aside I was happier also. I'd still have well-meaning relatives and family friends who would give me the "You should breastfeed.Breast is best!" speech. Even though I knew I was doing the right thing for my son and myself it still hurt to hear those comments. It always meant so much to be when people would tell me that formula is OK and baby will be just fine.
TTC#1: January 2015- September 2016
Infertility, Recurrent Pregnancy Loss
Rainbow baby born June 6, 2017 ❤️
Baby #2 due June 12, 2018
I'm a little nervous for myself this time around with baby plus toddler. I don't do well on no or little sleep. Praying that DS's nap times will sometimes coincide with LO also sleeping because those tiny naps saved my life last time.
@Austenista Coordinated naps are not a guarantee but you can try to build a nap schedule around getting them to nap at the same time. You can also do screen time for the older one while baby naps. You can nap on the couch snuggling your older kid so you know they're safe.
+1 to screw nipple confusion. I didn't introduce pacifier/bottle early enough with DD and she never took a bottle. It was a killer.
Worst advice: So many articles advise new moms "the laundry can wait, the dishes can wait." No, they can't. We need clean underwear and pants. We also need dishes to eat off. Certain things can wait like scrubbing the toilets and washing the windows. Laundry and dishes must be kept up with or the household shuts down.