What do you wish you had known with your first newborn?

YumPumpkinPie

I wish I had known how fast the time would go...enjoy every single second! x

Mojisola

Lots of brilliant advice! This information should go into a sticky - it will make those first weeks go so much easier for a lot of new Mums.

bexta

It's much nicer to sit and have a cuddle while you can - washing up will still be there, but your baby will only be tiny once.

You will learn to do most things one handed.

You will be pestered about contraception almost the second after baby is born.

Take advantage of any help on offer.

Sometimes Mum does go to Iceland

Best of luck!

clairec79

warn people beforehand that you may not want visitors, it's not personal and to only stay for a short period of time, you need time for you as a family

Feeding all the time for the first 24hours or so is normal, it's not a sign that you don't have enough milk it's the baby establishing your supply so that you'll make more.

That baby will be fine crying for a few minues while you go for a pee

You need time to recover, if you have a healthy baby it doesn't mean they can't go out in the pushchair - each time now my husband has taken the baby out for a walk the following day so I could nap for a while without stirring at the baby moaning (this can be done even if you are feeding the baby yourself. I fed the baby before he left he was only gone about 1hour and then baby slept for another hour or so when he got back by which time he was ready for another feed)

First day or so wear two maternity pads in your knickers so you feel more secure.

get some of the pads used when toilet training toddlers to put over your sheet for the first night or so

Spend time in your pyjamas till you feel like 'hosting' visitors - if you are still in jammies they'll offer to make you cups of tea etc, wearing normal clothes people think you are back to normal.

bylromarha

I wish someone had told me to be more bolshy in the hospital in the hours after birth.

I didn't want to trouble the midwives as I could see they were busy, but there were things I wanted to know and I felt I'd be intruding to ask. I was also woken up at midnight to ask if I wanted some medication to help me sleep.

I was then woken up at 5am to be told to wake my baby up to feed him. He'd chosen to sleep the birth off with a 15 hour nap, and waking him up to feed him was completely the wrong thing to do. He was too tired to feed, so keep drifting off whilst having a boob shoved in his mouth by an inexperienced mum "trying" to feed him. He didn't want it, midwife was little help, covering my boob in formula to "encourage" him. I got emotional as I began to worry something was wrong. I finally had the balls to say, please can we leave it for a bit.

I put him back in the cot fast asleep at 6am, I lay awake worrying he was starving, he stayed sleeping. He woke up at 10am and took to the boob immediately as he was finally hungry.

2nd time round, I was as vocal as needed. I was told to wake my daughter up to feed her after she'd been asleep for 12 hours post birth. I told the midwife I'm sure my daughter would wake up when she was hungry. Sure enough, 16 hours after birth, she woke up and was happy to feed.

fernliebee

SugarSpun wrote: »

If your baby cries inexplicably in the evenings, this is frustrating and annoying and a good sign. Crying is a release of stress for a baby and the stress of learning thousands of new things every day can get to them. Think of it as a noisy version of sitting down with a cup of tea and a film.

What a great way to think of it! I have 2 girls and still feel emotional every evening as both need a little cry before they will sleep. I always beat myself up, feeling bad as they both actually prefer going to sleep having a cry, than cuddled into me, they push me away and my toddler says "get out of my bed now mummy, I;m going to sleep" then cries for about 5 mins before going to sleep. Thinking of it like this means they are just unwinding.

threemuttleys

dont bother with loads of cute baby jeans/ tshirts etc...baby grows/sleepsuits are much easier

get plenty of rest

Online grocery shopping is your new best friend

New borns sleep a lot

Colic is normal

You will bleed alot after the birth

Sitting down will be painful for a wee while

When you are in labour, no matter how desperate, you cannot pee (i tried,,,no go LOL)

clearingout

stock up the freezer and cupboards with everything you usually eat, if you normally shop weekly, think nuclear holocaust and stuff your cupboards so you don't have to go out for a month for anything other than fresh stuff (although if you have the room, milk, cheese and bread all freeze so it's just fruit and veg you'll be needing once a week!)

Internet shopping is a god send with a newborn - you can shop when you want and have it delivered when suits you

drop your standards when it comes to housework, washing, ironing etc. etc. etc. None of it matters.

don't have bottles in the house if you want to breastfeed - if you give up, you (or your other half!) can get bottles, a sterilizer and ready made milk from a 24 hour Tesco/Asda if needs be! You are more likely to stick with it this way.

Join as many baby and toddler groups as you can stomach and work out which one works for you! Isolation and tiredness play havoc with your self esteem....getting out and seeing other mums at least one morning a week will do you the world of good. Find 5 groups you like, and you're away!

You can spend £1 on an item of clothing or £20 - the baby won't know, let alone care. Think practical, think warmth, think comfort but most of all think it'll be covered in baby sick by 9am so what's the point?!

make time for a bath or half an hour to read or watch TV everyday - just do something for you. Breastfeeding a new born is a fab excuse to sit in front of the TV for 12 hours at a time!

your health visitor/doctor/A & E would rather send you away with a healthy baby than have you sat at home worrying about whether or not a baby is really ill or ill enough. NHS Direct is a very useful service for talking through an issue - and in at least 3 instances, saved me from a trip to A & E!

cazscoob

for the first few days unplug the phone, lock the door and shut the curtains. Sleep when you can and enjoy the first few days! nothing worse than everyone cuddling your new baby when thats all you want to do!

The best piece of advice i can give is to learn how to smile and nod and let things go in one ear and out the other! not every piece of advice works for every baby and unless you ask for the advice smile and nod

SmlSave

Thank you so much for this advice and information! Keep it coming in please