I’d like to spend some time to take a look back and remind myself of the things that I have done with my first (maybe only?) baby that I would not do again… and also all of the things I would. I’ve learned a lot with him and I will be so much better prepared if we ever have another, even though I thought I knew it all.
I would not:
– hold him as much. From the very first day, I would put him down any chance I could because that habit came about so fast, faster than I realized. I would still spend a lot of time snuggling him and letting him be close to me, but 20 hours a day is not necessary.
– let him sleep with us. I love the bonding and nursing while dozing but boy is that habit hard to break. I mean really, really hard to break. Brady is still mostly in our bed and I don’t know when I’ll finally get him switched over completely.
– even bother opening the off-brand diapers I received. They are junk. Pampers, Huggies and also Luvs are the only diapers to use.
I would:
– hold him in the moby wrap more. I feel like I should have gotten more use out of that.
– keep him from dairy at the first sign of gas and spit up. I wish someone would have told me all about the issue of milk protein allergies.
– stock up on gripe water. It’s miraculous.
– buy the best swing I could find. I had several, but they were bought second hand and there was something not right about each of them. I think that would have helped with putting him down if I would have had more options of places he liked.
– hire a birth photographer. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: it is a MUST have.
– pump more often. I think that really would have helped some of my supply issues.
– have taken the full 12 weeks of maternity leaved available, even though a month would have been unpaid.
– take more naps.
I’m sure there is much more to add to the list, but these are the things that I think are important. Maybe you will learn from my mistakes or maybe you won’t. You will definitely though, learn from yours. 🙂 What would you do differently?
Sher Bailey is a writer in the Midwest who believes the power of humor, Mod Podge, and grandkids can fix most problems in life. You can find her at SherBailey.com.
amybyrd says
I would have leaned more on the help offered. I tried to do a lot of it on my own and when offered i should have taken people up on it.
I would not have beaten myself up so much over not being able to breastfeed.
I also would have returned all those off name diapers–we are a pampers family–and when we aren’t it is a disaster.
bekapaige says
I loved this list- I’m bookmarking it for the future! So glad you did this… I think it’s a great list especially since like you, I’m planning to work with first baby.
Kristen says
I would have accepted offers of help when they were offered instead of always assuming that as the mom I HAD to be the one to do it all.
The second time around wasn’t as difficult as the first time, you definitely learn from your mistakes! I still didn’t do well at accepting help though. And girl, don’t invest a lot of money on a swing the next go around cause they aren’t that great! Logan hated a swing, Riley liked it but only for like 5 minutes at a time, big waste of money for me!
I hope that you guys have more babies, you make sure cute ones it’d be a shame not to continue making at least one more! 🙂
Laura says
Oh yeah – lots has been learned this go around! Love the list.
And yes, I did do shades of grey this week – check it out! Not so sure what I’m going to do for this weeks theme…it’s going to take some thought!
Loved Water for Elephants! I had a hard time putting it down.
Baby Mama says
I absolutely would take more naps. I was horrible at the “sleep when the baby is sleeping.”
Great list!
Lucy Marie says
Great list! I am still learning all the things I would and wouldn’t do next time. And, it’s not too late to use your moby. You can still get use out of it.
d.a.r. says
This is so precious!