Best tips ever!!! Add yours...

[notsolilKel]

Hello ladies,

As a second timer I felt it would be helpful if I started a list of absolute best tips for mums-to-be. I just wish someone had told me a few things before I appeared at hospital to give birth...

For example: take very dark bath towels, black if possible (though admittedly a tad unstylish). You will bleed more than you think possible, and these will save you when emerging from bathrooms...

Also, take something to drink. I could not get enough Citrus Lemon Lucozade, for example. Water is freely available but it can get a bit dull after you've had 20 litres or so!

Looking forward to reading everyone else's best advice !

Just thought I'd point out that even if you have a CS, you bleed loads. So you'll still need massive pads. Don't bother with maternity ones, the night time kind are fine and cheaper. And huge knickers. I bought size 20 under arm jobs from Matalan and just chucked them after.

Also loads of food (I was nil by mouth from midnight the night before my cs and wasn't given anything to eat afterwards so went 36 hours without food). And crappy magazines. And a switch card to pay for internet access or phone calls from your bed.

for piles sufferers - Preperation H (I think) make wet wipes that are a god send when even loo roll feels like sand paper!!

It may be too late, but tell everyone your due date is at least a week later than it is. It takes the pressure off at the end, and cuts down all the stupid phone calls when you are late.

For stretchmarks over here in Italy everyone seems to use almond oil or a cream called RYLASTIL.

If you tell everyone your due date is a week later than it is, emphasise to partner/husband that this is NOT for his benefit.
I did that, despite having a day of brackston hicks, telling DH bump was landing soon, he still managed to get drunk the night DD2 arrived (2 weeks ago now!) and was less helpful than he needed to be.

Also my midwife said you can get lasinoh nipple cream on prescription- I never knew that! Might save someone buying it....

Agree with Nicoloola on ante-natal yoga - you should also get to know lots of local people to meet up with when on maternity leave, who will understand why you're knackered. Better than NCT for me.

If you stay in hospital, take ear plugs (as per Miamla) and an eye mask if you sleep better when it's actually dark.

Oh, and prepare your lists of people for Dad to contact (phone, email) with the news in advance as his brain won't really be on the job either.

Save money while pregnant by buying larger sizes (esp from charity shops) rather than specific maternity wear. However, maternity wear sells quite well on ebay!

Take a large bag of dried apricots to hospital-they are a good sweet snack AND great for constipation AND full of iron.
Believe me you do not want constipation after you have given birth and you will be lucky to see fresh fruit in hospital

what a nice thread loads of top tips! mine would be to get advice on mumsnet of course, buy really big maternity clothes and don;t feel bad about wearing them home or for months afterwards. quite liberating not to worry about tummy/ bum/ boobs. sleep loads. eat loads. find out where the bf places are in town, only mothercare i expect, unless you want to go up lifts, across stores and into a tiny room with a platic chair in it!

i didn;t realise that mobiles were allowed in wards, and spent lots of time being woken up by beeping mobiles all night and day.

the food will be crap, just when you need good, fresh meals. you could prep some meals that are ok cold, ie pasta and shepards pie, spinach- and get someone to bring them in for you.

it will be easier (and make you less unpopular) to use disposables on the ward, even if you plan to use terries. Its unlikely there will be facilities for pooey nappies.

bf- when the mw is trying to help you bf, remember she probably hasn't had kids, so do whats right for you. I struggled for ages and kept being corrected to the position she felt best until I just did what the baby wanted.

make sure anyone coming to help doesn;t expect to be baby expert, have the baby all the time and is at odds with what you want. my mil was there for a week (don;t ask, huge mistake) and upset me no end by tutting when i picked up the baby if he cried and refused to give him to me even if he was screaming.

Afterpains can be just as bad as contractions - make sure your DH understands that BEFORE the baby arrives!

Buy a ton of second hand babygros from ebay/jumble sales or accept hand me downs with good grace. On days when it's just the two of you with no visitors you won't care what happens to the old clothes, and that poo, puke and milk have just erupted all over the outfit you've carefully dressed your darling in. Not to mention that you'll be given so many outfits for when the baby 'needs' to look good that you'll never get through them!

Babygros with envelope necks that get poo all over the tail during a nappy change? Don't need to carefully roll them over little ones head - just slide them off the shoulders and down!

Wiped behind with facial tissue wet wipes for a bit and that was a great plan!

Baby requires change of clothes about 6 times a day!?

Drink lots of water if you bf, this helps with headaches and constipation!

Fruit smoothies are also good for getting you pooing after birth - you can dilute them with water to keep your fluids up.
Lavender oil, Epsom bath salts for healing.
Kotex super/night time towels are fab.
Midwives can prescribe a cream called Proctosedyl for piles which is so much better than Anusol!
Definitely pee in bath!!
As well as wards being hot, I sweated out all the extra fluid, so would wake up dripping every night - so lots of thin layers, vests etc to change in to.
Oh, and pre-birth, if you find yourself having a crazy couple of days rushing round seeing all your friends, cleaning and tidying, and planting tomatoes at 10pm, you may be just about to go into labour...

Second round time I made sure that I had fake tan on so I looked as 'glowing' in the post-birth photos! Shallow? Moi? Never.....

I made up a sort of indoor handbag in the early days with a book, muslins, nipple cream etc so I had everything I needed to hand wherever I plonked myself down to bf.

Salt baths were really nice right after. Moist toilet tissue is very soothing-- Boots expert feminine wipes have a bit less crap in them than Andrex etc. (shorter ingredient list anyway) and the idea that I might need expert help to wipe my arse never fails to make me chuckle.

yes, I would agree, don't expect any fruit or veg in hospital - take your own!

also, someone recommended to me for labour, and it was ace - a small 'spray' bottle, which i filled with water and got my husbandto spray at me, much less irritating than a wet flannel dripping everywhere and very necessary. you can get them from boots, or other places i expect. my 2nd stage was less than 10 mins (don't ask!) but i still got soooo hot.

paper knickers are a waste of time, as people have said. i found a load of old ones i didn't mind throwing out and did so.

don't feel afraid to say no to visitors, even a few weeks in, they suddenly all come out of the woodwork and i felt a constant need to be awake, and dressed.

When your feet and ankles have swollen to elephantine proportions you can buy generously sized footwear at Evans very cheaply.

I bought one pair of ankle boots (winter baby), and wore them almost continuously for three months. They were still in near perfect condition when my feet had shrunk back to normal.

When anyone comes to visit in the days after the birth, stick your dressing gown on.
Visitors treat you SO differently if you are dressed (oh yes - I'd love a cup of tea) then if they are reminded that you've just gone through labour ( can I make you a cuppa and do some washing up!).

totally agree mymblemummy, after emcs, three days later and 1000000 visitors expect you to do things for them, you just need to rest, relax recover and enjoy your baby also dont use one of those front carriers, they put strain on abs and is very painful and you are allowed liquid morphine 3 times a day in hospital after emcs

pack a bottle of witch hazel into your hospital bag its a god send if you have stitches or slight grazes which i had.
i bought mine from superdrug its only £2 for the cheap brand.

i poured a bit over my pad and it was so coll and soothing ad when you get home you should put it in the fridge and its even better

put your adress on the bottom of email announcing birth, saves 10000s of folk emailing asking for it

Don't know how I managed to miss this thread! What brilliant suggestions although I am now crossing my legs after reading all the post birth ones!

Try and look as good as you can after the birth, my first photos of me and my 1st bub were HORRIBLE (i put on 50lb and had patchy face and blood on me and hair like a scarecrow, and big bags under my eyes) and i dont want any one to see them! This time round (due in 4 days) i will have a shower and apply make up before smiling for the camera!!!! So shallow i know, but photos are forever!!!

The week or so before giving birth eat tons of fibre, my body went into shock after my 36 hour labour and i didnt "go" for a week, and when i did all my episiotmy stitches burst and became infected (oh the glamour) resulting in 2 more days on a drip in hospital looking after a week old baby...Not fun! Also flu like symptoms (high temp, vomiting,shaking, acheing limbs) and engorged or red patches on breasts is a breast infection and needs antibiotics asap!