pregnancy: anything you wish you had done differently?

[glitternanny]

I dunno what I mean in terms of things that when bubba arrived you wish you'd done as a momento/preparation.

I think things like writing a blog/making memories of your pregnancy.

Making childbirth easier?

Making early days easier?

Having a better pregnancy?

I wish i had written things down... with my first baby i wrote absolutly everything down (first words, when she sat up, walked, crawled, walked, funny things she used to do/say etc) and then with my subsequent pregnancies it always slipped my mind to do so or i never had the time. Yesterday my two eldest girls were asking me all these questions about when they were babies and i so much to tell about my eldest but i could hardly recall anything from my second - not only was she very upset but it then made me feel really sad that i couldn't remember!

With regards to childbirth i swear by rasberry leaf capsules and being a birth doula i wish i had of had one myself in my first two labours when i was inexperienced.

Good luck.x

Thank you - I think I've found the memory book I want to buy :)

I wish I hadn't spent so much time shopping for maternity clothes. I discovered for the most part they were completely useless and that regular clothes actually gave a better fit (in the right cut and fabric, of course!)

I also wish I had kept more active. I was very active up until around week 30, going regularly to the gym, taking classes, etc. Then I realised I had a finite time left at work and my mind completely focussed on work projects and I just didn't have time anymore so all I did was pre-natal pilates from then onwards. I've had a really positive pregnancy overall, and I attribute that in part to keeping fit, but I think once I stopped I felt less than optimal.

I wish I'd kept more active as well, by the end I was crippled with SPD and couple help thinking that if I had been fitter at the start (and lighter!!) then it might not have been so bad.

Taken more time off sick when the SPD kicked in. Trying to stay active only made it worse and me upset.
Bought a rocking chair and a small lamp, for those nighttime feeds. A swivel chair didn't cut it.
And lamped our builder one, before he buggered off leaving us with a newborn and no roof...

I wish I had gone to a private hospital.
I wish I had not had pethidine 1/2 hour before my DS was born.
I wish the first midwife had listened to what I was saying, rather than insisting I had ages to go.
I wish same midwife had not told me to stop making so much noise because I was 'showing off'.

I am having a homebirth this time :)

fab post glitternanny!

watching with interest as 30 weeks pg.

I have kept a pregnancy journal, though already i wish i had taken more photos of my bump!

In April i wrote lists of things that needed doing / buying every month between then and September when baby is due. (which includes some significant builder work on our house) I think planning early what needed to be done (and when) is helping me feel more in control!
Im a list freak and have lists for everything.... in fact i have a whole notebook full of lists and what i must do / get

at the front i have all sorts of pages for lists of different things...
such as hospital bag / labour bag etc (even though hoping for a home birth)
then things to get ready in nursery / toys / bath time etc etc + stuff i need for labour and homebirth.

seeing that i (think i have) thought of most important things and having the time to do / make / get think about it all etc makes me feel relaxed.

I have even meal planned all the meals i plan to make for my freezer, which i need to start cooking from July / Augast.

Im planning to be all ready by 37weeks.... well thats the plan...and i have rather a lot to fit in to just 7 weeks! agh!

Im going to make some Ocado lists (but not order yet) so when baby arrives most stuff is already in the basket for me to just click 'order'

I wish I had not bought or was given so many fancy outfits size 0-3 months or even 0-6. In the early days its rare that you have a big outing and honestly all you need are practical soft and cozy things...
please no baby shoes for under 6 months..they never stay on and are pointless, just get socks.. and I had all these gorgeous baby dresses, that she wore only once and then no longer fit...because you are not going to dress the baby in some elaborate outfit just to nip to the shops or have a tea with your mum.
baby dior doesn't look so fab when its covered in poo or smells of vomit.

birth wise... I wish I had bought more of always extra long pads with wings and big mothercare maternity pads... No one told me you bleed SO much after birth and in my case I bled for 6 weeks... I have always had light periods so this was shocking and I was not prepared.

Great thread!

before my first DD, i wish i had spent more time relaxing and taking time for myself and time with hubby

i wish with my first i wasn't so anal about everything having to be new and shiny, second hand isn't a bad thing!
I wish i hadnt bought so many cloth nappies
I wish i had written more things down for my second
I wish i hadnt pigged out so much with my first, i put on so much weight!! and should have been more active

on my third now so really should take note of these things!!

Just caught uP on this I didn't realise I had more replies!

Nannyl I think the Pregnancy journal is the kinda thing I wish I'd done, can I ask what kinda stuff u have in it?

I still don't feel pregnant at 21weeks but did tale a bump pic
Last week!

great thread!
i wish i had heard about the trick to take 5 pieces of fruit to work earlier! i think i gained most of my "pregnancy weight" in the first few months when i wolfed down all kinds of tasty stuff because i had an excuse. now im facing months of exercise to get back to pre-pregnancy shape, wish i had listened to the doctors and NOT upped my calorie intake...
i wish i had done more sports in the beginning - i did at the end and that was great, but i lost 3 months of my life to being completely knocked out, and think that i would have felt more energetic if i had kept up some exercise.
i wish i would have prepared my maternity hand-over earlier. only passed over my work at week 38 and i was in no state to focus properly at that point, wish i would have gotten over with it a month before.
thats it really.

36 weeks with 2nd dc and both times, I wish I'd/dp taken a pic of bump each week, think it's too late now. Thanks for reminding me about memory book too.

i have this pregnancy journal and have just been filling it all in!

I wish I'd eaten less. Also, that I'd given up work earlier with DS1.

Really wish I'd taken bump pix, I haven't done any and I'm due next week! Also I wish I'd used Asda's Little Angels stretch mark oil since the beginning. No idea whether it would have stopped the few marks I have, but it smells so gorgeous and my skin's been amazing all over since I started slathering myself in it!

TransatlanticCityGirl surely pre-natal pilates was enough from 30 weeks onwards haha? A lovely gentle kind of exercise perfect for 3rd tri :)

I wish I'd kept a little journal for bits and bobs now, might spend some time writing a catch-up (Im 37 weeks with my first). Probs gonna wish I'd taken a few more photos.. or maybe not, think I have at least one from each stage of growth. A lot of ppl I know tended to saturate facebook with those kind of updates and I havent which is probs why I seem to think I havent taken enough!!