Things I wished I'd known before ds came along

[Giggle78]

Hello,

I just thought I would write down a few things I wish I had know before ds came along and only learnt after. (DS is 5 months)Maybe they will be useful/maybe not!

1. I wish I had brought only the 8oz tommy tippee bottles - ds grew out of the 4oz ones in a matter of weeks.

1. I love tommy tippee (I don't work for them btw!!) I wish I had brought a tommy tippee bottle and sterilising set instead of the generic steriliser that I got.

3.Buying the 'perfect' change bag is not the be all and end all. Slots on each end to hold a bottle up are useful but you really could use any bag. I got so obsessed looking for one!!

4.Having this changing station thing which goes on a chest of draws and so I can change baby at waist height is brilliant.

Anyway thats all I can think of at the moment!!

Ooo can I join in?

1 - tiny babies don't need baths and rarely like them when they're young
2 - throw away the baby books. They just make you feel guilty and inadequate.
3 - tiny babies are so portable. Make the most of it before they start moving around.
4 - food is for fun til they're one.

take a boys nappy off slowly - sudden cold draughts encourage sneaky tiddles!

buy more mussies!

buy more bedding

everything - even colic is just a phase

Do not feel guilty/a failure just because things don't go to plan.

Keep an open mind

Don't buy 'cute' outfits, buy cute babygrows as the outfits will never see the light of day.

Buy bumper packs of breastpads.

Dummies are not the work of the devil.

Slumber bears really do work.

Ignore that random lady at the coffee morning who insists that she knows whats best for your baby.

Be prepared that your house will look like boots exploded in there.

Button up baby gros from the bottom to the top, only found that one out when DS was nearly out of them!

Don't buy everything new borrow buy 2nd hand and accept from friends where you can.

Don't get hung up about breast feeding I was made to feel very guilty when it didn't work - not helpful.

I bought a cot and DS ended up sleeping in our bed for 3 years!

Sleeping bags are worth their wait in gold for wriggly babies!

xx

? Muslins are the best money spent and you can NEVER have too many ? snot, spills, sick, wee, toddlers ?..
? Trust your instincts and don't go by the baby whisperer, Gina ford, etc feed/comfort/hold baby when he or she needs
? Swaddling is great for newborns to stop them starting themselves awake, followed by sleeping bags for wriggly babies
? Infacol and sudocrem ? its all very well not wanting to use drugs on young babies, but colic is painful and infacol works! And rashes can be sooo sore for them, sudocrem seems to heal in a matter of hours!
? For summer babies, all you need are lots of vests and a few baby grows and SOCKS! They get such cold toes ???
? Breastfeeding is not the be all and end all and its doesn?t come naturally for everyone!
? However if you want to BF and its not working, try an electric pump! Godsend! Manual pump was a waste of money ??.
? Always take lots of spare clothes wherever you go, its guaranteed to be the one day where you don't that the baby will be sick / poo everywhere more than once
? Tummy time is not essential ???. All babies catch up eventually. DD hated tummy time so we gave up, she was crawley at 7mths and walking unaided at 9!
? Thumbsucking is NOT terrible! They learn to soothe themselves which means mummy and baby get some well deserved rest ? and it was an easy enough habit to break

Brilliant thread! Please keep the posts coming!

Quick Q: what's a slumber bear?

Take a spare top for you too! Walking round in puke or poop spotted things is not good!

Co-sleeping is the answer to night feeds. Not sitting on the edge of the bed every 2 hours. For an hour each time....

If you don't fancy co-sleeping, a comfy nursing chair and audiobooks playing softly are a lovely way to feed at night. If your book's really gripping you actually look forward to night feeds!

Pet It's one of these, I've been using it with DS since he was about two weeks old. Soothes him every time he startles himself awake. They are expensive so I bought mine off of ebay for a fraction of the cost.

we have a slumber bear too they are amazing think ours was a tenner off ebay.

Agree with the others on bf. My son couldnt bf cause of a cleft palate(had to have special bottles) but the looks i recieved when i was out giving bottles anyone would of thought i was poisoning him.

Babys dont keep booties on so really dont bother buying them. We got sent a load and the tags never even came off most.

Oh this is a bit of a random one, but I discovered that DS always seemed to loose his feet in his babygrows so I put his socks on over his babygrow and problem solved.

Also next do unisexish looking tights quite reasonably.

Scratch mitts are a waste of time! Buy babygros with the sleeves that can double over their hands.
I wasted so much time researching pain relief for labour, never got to use any of my knowledge - emcs, hadn't even began to dialate. I don't really agree with birthplans either - they are just a list of things yoy can feel bad about not achieving.
Childbirth is just an event - afterwards I realised I had absolutely no idea what to do with this little bundle - wish I'd spent more time researching that!
Travel systems are a waste of money.
Yup, muslins in copious amounts
Freezing a month's worth of dinners beforehand was the best thing I did! I read about it online and thought it was excessive but had time on my hands on mat leave! I recently did a second batch!!

I actually didn't like sudocrem, it never soaked in properly. HV recommended zinc and castor oil cream! Fantastic at clearing up nappy rash and the rash DS had in his neck.

I liked scratch mitts.
Don't buy too many breast pads - I leaked a grand total of twice and had boxes of pads left over.

Panzee I have unopened scratch mits and am onto my 4th box of breast pads in 5 weeks

Echo the always taking out spare babygrow thing and plenty of nappies - poos often come in 3s
You may feel self concious breast feeding in public but most people will not even notice or bat an eye.

I leaked loads and regularly had to change my top when I was out

Babies really don't need a lot of stuff.

Babies like being swaddled.

Breastfeeding is NOT the be all and end all. Especially when you have older kids to attend to!

You will never ever again have a guilt free pleasure. Something somewhere will be making you feel guilty!

I wish someone had told me that I would feel such huge amounts of love that it would actually hurt my heart. I still do. Am currently pg with #4!

• Borrow whatever you can esp stuff that you don't use for that long - moses basket/babygym/baby chair/newborn clothes/sling.

• Don't buy lots of nappies before the baby is born, one particular brand (in our case huggies) might leak.

• Don't invest in BFing bras before the baby is born - they might not fit and you might not end up feeding for long - just buy a couple of sleep feeding bras to get through the first few weeks

• Buy smallest most lightweight pram/buggy you can manage with unless you live in mansion and drive huge car.

• Swaddling is great, and the "miracle swaddling blanket" is the way to go.

• Don't rush out to buy breastpump until you know you need one.

• Don't buy baby listener unless you live in big house.

Ooooh this is such a brilliant thread! I have another 11 weeks to go.

Where can I buy copious amounts of muslins cheaply?

What is the point of a comforter (teddy bear with a handkerchief type thingy)?

Never heard of a slumber bear before but will def get one!

Any other tips on dealing with boys peeing when you take off their nappies?

My Ds is 12 - we are still using his (well washed) muslins as tea towels!

Scratch mitts are rubbish & come off too easily. I put socks on DD's hands instead!

The comforter is to try and help them sleep by themselves. I am trying to improve DD's (4 months) sleep and am walking around with a little lear with hankie in my bra and having it between us at all nap time feeds. Hopefully after a while it will comfort her when she wakes up at night and won't need mum!

Following on from that, the things I wish I knew before I had DD are:

• Getting the baby to sleep (if you have an insommniac like mine) will become the most important thing in your life! I WISH WISH WISH I had known how to establish good sleeping habits early. I'm using the No Cry Sleep Solution now and (3 days in) we are seeing some positive changes. I wish I had had this book when I was pregnant. Ditto the wonder weeks - explains what is going on with your baby's brain development and pin points when your baby might start to get difficult due to developmental surges. Fascinating and might have avoided some early tears (on my part) because I would have understood her a bit better.

-Daytime naps are essential to a happy life.

• Sometimes babies cry when they are tired (seriously - I forgot this and spent hours and hours and hours up with an inconsolable baby when DD was a few days old changing nappies, offering boobs, bouncing in bouncy chair when the poor little thing was just really tired. Still feel bad about it now.

• Breastfeeding is for most people REALLY REALLY hard in the first few weeks. It then (should) get much easier. If you are having any problems, contact a breastfeeding line or go to a breastfeeding support group straight away. They are very lovely and helpful and you will save yourself a lot of tears (and pain).

• A lot of babies cluster feed in the evening. This means feeding for hours at a time (not the nice every 3 hours you expect). This is normal and they will stop doing it after a while. It will likely make you cry. It's easier if you expect it and accept it and get some TV viewing in.

HTH! And good luck

bear not lear!

This thread is brilliant. DS1 is due in April - A way off yet I know but I have just realised that I have no clue what I'm doing!

Can I ask a really stupid question?

What is the difference between a baby gro and a sleep suit? I have bought some sleep suits (long arms with feet etc) and some vests (short arms no legs) but am not sure what he should wear during the day. A vest and a baby gro I was thinking? But then we're back to how is a baby gro different to a sleep suit (which I assume from the name is for him to sleep in).

Do I sound ridiculously obsessed with this? Sorry!