In hindsight, what (if anything) would you do differently?

[londoncitymum]

Am a mother to a three month old DS and already thinking about what I would do differently next time round, like:

• try not to make DC dependent on boob to go to sleep
• introduce bottle (of expressed milk) earlier on so they don't reject it and I can get out of the house more!
• get them used to sling from day 1 as DS hates the two I have

Interested to hear others' thoughts and experiences too :)

1. Stand up more to people who look down on you for bottlefeeding (for example, why are there breastfeeding clinics and mobile clinics etc - I was just as concerned about feeding my child but didn't seem to get any support).
2. RELAX more. Babies are resilient. Stop fretting about hot/cold it is, for example!
3. Never buy anything new! DS got given several lovely outfits when born but hardly wore them before growing out of them.
4. ENJOY maternity leave more.
5. Realize that families/babies come in all sizes and shapes and that you can learn something from almost anybody and that works for you/them might not work the other way around!

for me:
i) Dont worry so much about how much they feed, weigh, centile charts etc. It just causes panic and additional stress
ii) get them to learn not to rely on you for sleep no matter what - i.e they need to learn to go to sleep on their own, in their own room, in the dark! (sounds harsh but did this with DD2 and she was sleeping 7-7 when she was just 5 weeks old hoorah!
iii) people can be well intentioned but you dont have to listen to all the advice - find your own way
iv) follow your instincts. Use books as a guide but not a rule!
v) dont get het up on weaning - did with my first and he is a fussy eater still at 5, didn;t with second (kind of missed out the puree stage and went straight to finger foods at 5 months) and she eats brilliantly
vi) establish a routine early on (doesn;t have to be the gina ford military operation style but something that works for you and you can be consistent)

Just things that i did differently second time round