What unnecessary things did you do as a first time mum? (Lighthearted)

[SPR1107]

With number two on the way, just having a think back about some of the things that I used to do with DS as a first time mum, that were unnecessary, and only made my own life harder!

I wonder if any others would crop up that I haven't recalled doing.

For example... putting a clean pair of pyjamas on him every single night, up until about a month ago (he's 2.4). No wonder I couldn't keep up with the washing!

Changing his nappy as a newborn, every single time the tiniest bit of blue line appeared on his nappy.... we went through over 20 nappies per day in the first week!

Washing all his clothes on the 'baby' setting on my washing machine, took nearly three hours per load, until my mum pointed out, that a higher temperature would kill germs just the same!

Bathing every night (I loved doing it though).
Buying a massive, expensive pram.

Changing my daughter's nappy after every feed based on the midwife's advice. My daughter was feeding every 2 hours through the night and invariably pooing within 10 mins of me changing her. She would fall asleep on the boob and then I would wake her up trying to change the nappy and then she would start screaming the place down. I must have been in a real sleep deprived fug not to have worked out sooner that is was not a hard and fasy rule, but guidance based on 4 hourly feeds.

I kept the umbilical stub when it feel off. It's tapped in the baby book and withered like a miniture shrunken head 33 years later and grosses me out everytime I look at it. Didn't do it for any of the others, thank God.

Also speaking of baby books, firstborn every section is filled out perfectly. Youngest? Only the important ones like first word because seriously who needs to know the date that they got their second molar?

Knittedjest I really wanted to keep the cord thing but my husband said it’s too gross and wouldn’t let me!

I’m a first time Mum so waiting to see what everyone says to this. I got a very expensive pram/ cot/ Moses/ snuzpod which didn’t get much use (well the pram was a good investment). 😂... DD is 5 months old and has had 4 professional photo shoots, clay handprints, personalised blankets/ stocking...

She will be an only child anyway though. So I need the memorabilia

When I used to go and collect him from nursery in the winter I would warm his seat with a hot water bottle on the way there

Giant prams. Had a succession of them, slowly getting smaller until we realised we were being idiots.

9 months of maternity leave with my pfb and I never, ever put the telly on during the day lest his precious eyes glance at the devil box. Imagine all the brilliant shows I could have watched!! Ridiculous.

And @ItsNiceItsDifferentItsUnusual that's actually really lovely and I think you should be proud of that one!

Take the vest off over his head when he’d done an exploding poo - didn’t realise the envelope neck meant you could slide down over body avoiding over the head

Drive him around to get him to sleep

On a long drive home at the moment and he’s the only one that’s fallen asleep - twice. He’s 15 years old!!!

I used to have a flask of warm water on the changing table at night so that I could clean pfb with warm water and cotton wool at every unnecessary nappy change during the night. For DC2 I took babywipes to the hospital!

hoki how did you cope!!! However, I would NOT recommend watching Handmaids Tale (series 1) one your own with a newborn and all the postnatal hormones I was a wreck!

For my pfb I made ‘jam’ for his morning whole meal toast. It was 6 fruits and vegetables lovingly blended with no sugar. He wasn’t keen. DS4 will be lucky if he gets Nutella on white bread.

Bought hundreds of baby mitts for my DTs and the sleepsuits with integrated mitts so never used them.

My most pointless purchase was most of the stuff for the bath - baby hooded towels and an actual baby bath. Baby bath I used for them once (way too much aggro, I just popped them in with us one by one when they were small until I cottoned on that they could have a bath without us just fine) and the hooded towels I ended up using our normal adult towels albeit the posh ones that were too nice for us to use.

Oh, and baby outfits. I was 100% too tired to be dressing them up all cute every day/eight times a day, and sleepsuits looked more comfortable for them anyway!

@hoki That's hilarious yet admirable. My PFB has his night feeds to a soundtrack of the massively inappropriate tv series Dexter.

I did sleep on the floor in his bedroom every time he had so much as a sniffle though.

@taffeta I had no idea about the vests, thank you! 10 months now I’ve been getting my hands covered in poo it doesn’t touch my pfb DTs faces

Ironed all his clothes
No way could i do that now with 4 kids
The tumble dryer is now my iron.

I made DP keep his bedside light on all night for months when DD was a newborn, as I wanted to be able to clearly see her, but I didn't want the light source to be too close to DD and I.

I am cringing writing this but I had a prop baby that I used for first time visitors. They had to hold pick the doll up and hold it in an appropriately safe manner so I could asses head support and firmness of cuddle. Then, and only after a squirt of hand gel, they could hold my PFB for 3 timed minutes.

I was such a fucking idiot

Cut ice cube trays in half so they’d fit in the steriliser to use for the organic vegetable purées- while the baby was crawling around the lounge chewing muddy shoelaces.

Flogging myself to keep EBF for months even though i hated it, it was agony every time (even many months and lots of intervention in) and I definitely had PND. I won’t be doing that next time - I’ll try but if it doesn’t work out I’ll STOP!

Pick him up at every whimper. It took me weeks to realise that he was sometimes just gurgling in his sleep and I was the one waking him up!

Keeping the landing light on for him. Disturbing DH and I for days before realising that baby didn't care!

Ah, I loved those days.

Rudolophs for the win! 😂

@knittedjest @PerfectPeony my husband told me I couldn't keep the stump because it was gross and I might definitely have taken it back out of the bin and snuck it into the baby book when he wasn't looking...

Wrote a manual/guide, front and back on IIRC 4 sheets of A4 paper for MIL for DS1 when I went back to work and she had him. Routines, what he'd have as a snack, lunch, bottles, toys, likes and dislikes, nap routine, when he was allowed to watch CBeebies for half an hour etc.

He wasn't allowed crisps in any form until he was well over 1 years old. DS3 was practically weaned on wotsits

Changed her nappy everytime she had a night feed. Even if it wasn't particularly wet and shed not pooed.

Baby swimming lessons