nuffnang

Monday, March 15, 2010

I wish I had known.....

There are so many things I wish I had know before having giggle girl and as I have many friends who are pregnant at the moment (for the first viable time, I don't want to say the first time as this implies that their angel babies never existed) so I have been asked for quite a bit of advice recently so I thought I would share my thoughts and encourage anyone who reads this to do the same.

As a fairly young first time mum there were some things that are learnt on the job and some are hindsight

- I wish I had heard about MCNs (modern cloth nappies) I didn't find out about these until giggle girl was over a year old and it seemed a bit late in the game to get some. I wish I had known about these and used them from the beginning.

-I wish I had known about ways to stimulate the production of breast milk when mine started to "dry up" at around the five month mark (lucky I had a months sully in the freezer) I wouldn't have given up so easily had I known there was ways to improve the situation

-I wish I hadn't bothered to buy a pram until she was no longer interested in being worn. I did have a sling but it wasn't right for my height and build so I found it uncomfortable and cumbersome. The mei tai style wrap sling things look fantastic and so comfy for mum (or dad) and bub.

- I wish I hadn't spent $150 on the very cute Moses basket for her as a newborn (that now stores her teddies) Co bedding is so much easier! (I will admit to laziness here) and made nighttime feeds in winter for everyone involved! All I had to do was unclip my maternity bra and then go back to sleep. She would feed and drop off back to sleep with zero complaint or disruption. Ahh bliss!

- I wish I hadn't been so hard on my self in those early days and just enjoyed her being so little rather than worrying about how clean the house was (or wasn't)

- I wish I had had a mirror in the labour room thingy so I could have seen the moment that she entered the world.

- I wish I had taken more than one photo of me breastfeeding her. Not only for a beautiful reminder but also to put on facebook to show that breastfeeding isn't obscene.


In saying all of that I did so many things o am proud of....but I will save that for another blog.


What do you wish you had known as a new mum??


Love and smiles
Z
xox


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4 comments:

Loraine Hardy said...

I wish that I had spent more time playing with my oldest, instead of fussing over everything else. I wish I'd have known that a baby doesnt have to be spotlessly clean every second of the day and that 3 year olds are supposed to get dirty when they're playing at the park lol I wish I'd known that bicarbonate of soda can get rid of almost any stain left by a small child on a wall, floor or cupboard lol I know now. Most of all, I wish I'd have known years ago that having a bigger family is wonderful, and watching all 3 of my children playing together is one of the most heart melting scenes I have ever experienced :) I wouldnt have waited so long to have more kids xx

Anonymous said...

I wish I had known that pregnancy does not garentee 'glowing'. you have a 'hangover' for the first three months along with constipation and other fun symtoms, exhaustion is a norm. breathlessness and baby bouncing on bladder causing immediate need to pee are also a coupld of fun ones- I could go on and on.
I wish i had enjoyed or taken note of the good/cute/ loveing moments of bubs early life instead of living in a miserable haze. Cant recall much other than tears and sleep deprevation from the 1st four months!
I wish I had not stressed so much about breastfeeding. yes breast is best but not always right or possible for everyone. The amount of guilt you put on yourself when you cant do it can be overwhelming.
I wish someone had told me babys must learn everything (and I mean everything) not that many enjoy things to start with. They have to learn to be comfortable in the car, sleep in the pram, sleep in general, not to lose the plot when startled by loud noises, and two year olds whilst crazy are not that scary!
For the next one:
I wont stress the little things, I will remember that all the stages pass so quickly and things will not be hard forever, If i cant breast feed i wont beat myself up with the thought that my child will end up a malnourished baby then an obeast child with a low IQ. (not going to happen!) If I show any signs of anxiety or PND I will get it seen asap and not keep putting it off. and I will enjoy the moments as they pass so quickly.
Huggies change mats brilliant, a dozen nappy bags for different occasions not needed (just a good one, lots of wraps needed for the early days (buy the bigger ones as they last for longer before bub gets too big for them) lots of 0000 clothes bought before birth- waste of money. expensive clothes are lovely but clothes from coles, woolies, target etc more practicle for everyday wear esp when they start to feed themself.

Sarah said...

Sometimes i ask myself that, and i think the only true thing i was i knew is that it wont last forever so make to most of the time being pregnant and try to enjoy every minute of it. before you know it your two year old is drawing with his poo in his bedroom.

xoxo

Anonymous said...

I wish I had let people help out more.

I wish I hadn't been so hard on myself.

I wish I hadn't bought that useless baby bath! She's almost eight months old and hs only used it twice.

I wish I hadn't listened to other women's horror stories... It meant I only got to hospital 15 minutes before I gave birth!

I wish I had trusted my intuition more. I realsie now that I knew far more than anyone, including myself, gave me credit for.

Apart from all that, I'm so happy and proud that my Darling Girl is part of my life!

Pamela.