Advice/Reassurance You Wish You'd Had

[Thevirginmummy1]

If you could go back and tell yourself something helpful at 72hrs post natal, 6 weeks post natal and six months post natal what would it be?

For me it would be:
72 hrs - It will get easier I promise. Right now you're hurting, tired beyond belief and can't imagine how life will ever be the same again (it won't btw, it will be better) but soon you'll get some kind of routine/system in place, you'll adjust to the lack of sleep and you will make it out of the house!

6 wks - you're probably carrying too much around with you when you go out. Have a look at what you really need, it will make things much easier.

6 months - Ignore every sleep therapist/advisor etc. Do what you think is best and if you do try to stick to a plan don't lose sight of what is important to you and your baby. They're all different and you have to trust your instincts.

I was reading a thread earlier where everyone was so supportive and encouraging. I thought it would be nice if people could share their experiences to hopefully help others.

[ch1134]

Nice idea

72 hrs - The pain will eventually subside, but it might take a long time to physically recover. This is ok.

6 wks - the baby really will stop waking every hour to feed in the night soon, but don't expect a sleep through in the next 10 months!

6 months - don't go back to work. It's too hard!

[AndMiffyWentToSleep]

72hrs - your milk is probably coming in and that may be what is making you feel really ill (although I may have actually been ill. Who knows. The only time I'd take antibiotics on the off chance)

6 weeks - you really need to push DP to give a bottle of expressed milk in the evening so you can get 4hrs kip before doing the rest of the night shift. Otherwise he'll never get into the habit. And DS won't want to take a bottle either.

Oh and thinking you're doing well being super-responsive when DS wakes in the night, so he doesn't wake up properly and take ages to get back to sleep? Well he may well actually not be waking up for milk, he may just be stirring in between sleep cycles. You're just too tired to realise.


6 months - you will NOT create a rod for your own back. You are wasting your time trying to teach 'self soothing' - they'll learn it in their own time. Stop stressing so much about nap time - sorting out nap time will NOT fix night time sleep, no matter what the books say!

[Thevirginmummy1]

Ch1134 I like the last one! And Miffy - it sounds like you had a similar experience to me ??

[LucyB1]

72 hours. The pain will fade and your body will return (almost) back to normal (eventually)

6 weeks. Your baby is not sleeping to much/long in the day. She does not need waking up.

6 months. No advise. Only just there but Im interested in what others say. I like the comment not creating a rod comment (she says feeding baby to sleep again)

[Millie3030]

Nice idea

72 hours - if you want to wear your pajamas all day, you bloomin well do it, sod the midwife or visitors you have just had a baby. you can certainly slob it for a week or 2. Also make your partner, family, bring you tea, food etc as much as possible, the novelty to do so wears off quickly enjoy while you can!

6 weeks - go out and about as much as you want, they sleep loads, when they are over a year they won't sleep out and about much at all, so enjoy coffee with friends, restaurants, lunch enjoy the sleep sleep sleep!

6 months - weaning is messy, but get them to try everything, the wider variety you start with the better eaters they will be. Porridge fingers I got from a baby led weaning recipe are excellent, baby led meant they feed themselves and you can have a cuppa and just watch, sod all the spoon feeding, just makes another job to do.

[blacktreaclecat]

72 hours- don't worry/ feel guilt/ cry about bf failing, it doesn't matter at all DS will be absolutely fine. In fact better than fine, really quite bright, healthy and very tall. En
6 weeks- don't try to achieve much, FTFH, just cuddle him, he's beautiful and will never be this small again. And the baby acne will clear up soon!
6 months- enjoy him, he's fab and growing so fast. And don't panic about the weaning/ gagging- in 5 minutes he'll be wolfing down sausage and mash!

[AndMiffyWentToSleep]

LucyB just to add that there may be a time when they're older when feeding to sleep doesn't work - and you'll really miss it! It is such an easy and (sometimes) quick way to get them to nod off!

Totally agree with Millie's weaning tip too.

[weebigmamma]

Finding this really hard to do! But agreed with the person who said not to go overboard on looking up everything in a book trying to get it all perfect- all babies really are different and eventually they will all become kiddies who sleep, eat, poo, wear pants etc. even if they all take different routes to get there.

[weebigmamma]

I also liked the comment about 'self soothing'. My 9 month old sometimes sleeps well and sometimes needs a random bottle at 1am (what?!) but I just go with the flow now. It would have made me anxious if my first had been like that. I tend to put a lot of things down to 'probable growth spurt' now :-)