The Great 'What you wish you'd known when you had a baby' Hunt 2012

JimmyTheWig

Chopsie&Chelvis wrote: »

iron all the tiny baby clothes

Iron baby clothes? Iron baby clothes?

suzplustwo

Take advice from someone who only has one child with a pinch of salt (I know lots of people who, when baby number two came along, found out they actually didn't know everything)...

If you have mulitiples, www.twinsclub.co.uk is really good and the forum really helped me when I had twins (and whilst I was expecting too). Genuinely helpful and some really nice people on there. Good for tips on this topic from a multiples perspective (e.g. which pram...)

When buying car seats, we discovered that our Mondeo had really short rear seat belts, and the Stage 1 seats we had bought in advance did not fit. Luckily we bought them from a store with a good returns policy (or buy them somewhere that will fit them for you).

Don't buy those half size bottles. Waste of time.

Don't waste your money on cot bumpers or a cot quilt. By the time your baby is old enough to have them safely in the cot, they will be too old for them! Sleeping bags are brilliant though.

Road test different sorts of nappies if you are using disposables. We found Tesco had the best fit for our girls. Also, some councils operate a nappy laundering service if you are using real nappies.

POPPYOSCAR

suzplustwo wrote: »

Take advice from someone who only has one child with a pinch of salt (I know lots of people who, when baby number two came along, found out they actually didn't know everything)...

If you have mulitiples, www.twinsclub.co.uk is really good and the forum really helped me when I had twins (and whilst I was expecting too). Genuinely helpful and some really nice people on there. Good for tips on this topic from a multiples perspective (e.g. which pram...)

When buying car seats, we discovered that our Mondeo had really short rear seat belts, and the Stage 1 seats we had bought in advance did not fit. Luckily we bought them from a store with a good returns policy (or buy them somewhere that will fit them for you).

Don't buy those half size bottles. Waste of time.

Don't waste your money on cot bumpers or a cot quilt. By the time your baby is old enough to have them safely in the cot, they will be too old for them! Sleeping bags are brilliant though.

Road test different sorts of nappies if you are using disposables. We found Tesco had the best fit for our girls. Also, some councils operate a nappy laundering service if you are using real nappies.

Now, I found them really useful.

My advice would be to have fun finding out for yourself.


What suits one does not always suit another.

Non-emmet

My best advice, when getting stressed about what my baby (who's now 1) was/wasn't doing was:-
'Will it matter when he's 30???'

I always think about that when I need advice!

Some practical things that happened to us:-

1. We got loads of t-shirts etc. for the first few months but he ended up in sleepsuits/all-in-ones for most of that time.
2. Babies can take socks off without touching them... Sock-on's are a brilliant way of keeping them on (without having to resort to glue :-) )
3. Agree about not getting stressed if breastfeeding doesn't work - I was stressed until a midwife said 'Do what is best for you and your family' - I was so happy I nearly hugged her!!
4. Grobags are really good - we have kept to that make (so don't know what the other makes are like) but you can get them cheaper from places like Tkmaxx, Amazon and Tesco.

These opinions might change as I'm having baby number 2 in the New Year...

sassyjk

There are several things which i wish i had been told before i left the hospital!

My LO is now coming up 3 months old, things are getting easier now but the first few weeks were very hard!

Before you take baby home for the first time if you dont already know get them to show you how to swaddle - i didnt know until my midwife visit on day 3!! What a difference to baby sleeping it made.
That is until they are big enough for sleeping bags/gro bags - LO was only 6lb 4oz!

The first night home is incredibly hard - we were not warned - had the oncall midwife out within 2 hours of getting home. :eek:

Make the most of any help offered, due to hubby changing jobs 3 months before LO was born he wasnt entitled to paternity leave, and wasnt allowed unpaid leave so took 1 week as holiday, my mum then came to stay the following week, that really helped me to rest and get some sort or routine (in the loosest sense) together.

Even if you intend to breastfeed have a tub of formula and a couple of bottles or feeding cup and some sterilising fluid just in case you have problems feeding for that first night. A friend made up a box for me stuff for my hospital bag and included a new tub of formula - it was a godsend!

Also dont be afraid to use a dummy, we managed the first without one as we didnt want to go down that road, then crumbled - she became a much calmer baby

Scratch mitts or sleepsuits with fold over sleeves are a must - my LO still has them for when shes tired.

Again 2nd hand stuff will save you a fortune, i was lucky enough to have had the big things like cot, travel system changing table saved for me by my sister in law.

Also dont be afraid to ask anything!

marisco_2

I wish I had known that babies dont need all the paraphenalia on sale for them. We had every gizmo and gadget known to man and really didn't need it or use half of it.

Baby baths are a total waste of money. I was over at a friends house and she put the plug in the bath, filled it with a small amount of water and then laid her baby on its back in the bath and splashed water over her. So simple and easy and I was stood there agog wondering why I messed about filling a baby bath up and then struggled to keep hold of my wriggly screaming son whilst washing him :doh:. My mate thought that was hilarious.

The same mate wasn't always so with it though. She seriously thought that by 8 weeks most babies setlled into a nice little routine and slept through the night :rotfl:A memorable phone call from her one day saying that milestone had come and gone and when would she ever sleep again made me chuckle. She sounded so desperate I didn't have the heart to tell her probably not for at least another 4 years. As it turned out her daughter slept through by the time she was 3.

VikkiiKawaii

Buying a few cartons of baby milk in your bag is a lifesaver if baby gets hungry and you run out of milk. I also used to carry a baby bottle filled with water for when my baby got hiccups.

sweetpea123

A long time ago, when my son was a baby, baby wipes were not around plus we were quite hard up; to clean him during changing, I used to put some warm water in a little metal bowl; and wash his bottom using wet cotton wall balls!

sue.b_2

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

Iron baby clothes? Iron baby clothes?

Iron anything? Well perhaps the odd shirt but nothing else. My MIL used to iron handkerchiefs and underpants???????

barbiedoll

Things that are perfectly normal for a newborn baby......

Hiccups....all babies have hiccups, you don't need to give them water or burp them if you have already done so, they just have a much weaker diaphragm muscle than adults so they hiccup at the drop of a hat. It doesn't harm them at all.

Sneezes/blocked up noses......most babies are a little "snotty" after the birth, they are full of fluid and they mostly manage to clear it themselves. They may vomit it up, you may even find mucousy stuff in their nappy. It doesn't mean that they have caught a cold. And babies born by CS are often full of it as it's not squeezed out of them during the journey down the birth canal. But...if your baby has a high temperature or you think that they are ill, call a doctor/midwife immediately!

Spots.....most babies get "milk spots", some get loads and loads! Unless their face looks very red and sore, in which case, see the GP or midwife, the spots will disappear on their own after a week or two. And they're probably nothing to do with milk, breast or formula.

Baby poo.....yes, babies poo loads at first. If they're breastfed, it will be very runny for the first weeks, this doesn't mean that they have a stomach bug or anything else. Your midwife will be able to tell you if all is well by seeing it, if you're worried, keep a nappy for her to see, don't worry, we've probably seen worse!

Dry skin.....most babies are a little flaky, some more so than others. Just use some vegetable/olive oil on their skin, it will soon disappear.

Crying/feeding at night.....babies are genetically programmed to feed more at night because that's when breastmilk production is highest. Bottle fed babies will wake at night too, it doesn't mean that you have a "naughty" baby or that you are doing anything wrong. It's just what small babies do (unfortunately!)

Lumps/bumps/blotches....Babies born by forceps will often have small fleshy lumps around their face or on their head. This is just tissue trauma from the forceps, they will disappear in a short while. Check with your midwife if you're concerned. Lots of babies have swollen breasts/nipples, again, all perfectly normal (and quite common in boys!:eek:) Red blotches are common, as are bloodshot eyes, again, this all calms down after a few days/weeks. A tiny amount of blood/orange colouring in the nappy is normal in the first few days, it's just Mum's hormones passing through the baby.

Breast v Bottle...... This is an entirely personal decision and is no-one else's business. Whatever method you choose, if you need help....ask!

Feeling guilty.......don't worry about doing things "wrong" and then feeling guilty about it. You've got the next 20+ years to feel guilty about something and everything, don't waste your time now, the baby doesn't know any different and at least they don't judge you!