Share with WaterWipes what you wish you were told before the arrival of your new born - chance to win £300! NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

The team at WaterWipes would love to hear what you wish you'd been told before the arrival of your new born.

We all can recall those innocent days before the arrival of baby and the impact having a child can have on your life so please share on this thread what you wish someone had told you - or what you were told which was especially useful!

Here's what WaterWipes says: "WaterWipes contain only 2 ingredients: 99.9% Water and 0.1% grapefruit seed extract. Non-irritating to even the most sensitive of children’s or Mums’ skin, WaterWipes help prevent and alleviate nappy rash and other sensitive skin conditions. WaterWipes are the only baby wipe ever to be endorsed by Allergy UK. We think they're great for newborns and we'd love to hear what other pearls of wisdom you wish you knew before your baby arrived!"

Please share a comment on the thread: you'll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win £300 voucher for the store of choice (from a list). Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

That Breastfed Babies get wind too... I'd only been around mums who had bottle fed & thought that babies got wind from gulping on the bottle. If only someone had told me that Breastfed Babies get just as much wind! It would have saved us a very unpleasant first night.

no really! sleep when baby sleeps :)

Enjoy it as the phases pass so quickly. Also try not to worry. x

to invest in nose pegs so you are prepared for the amount of nappies you have to change and how such a tiny little bundle of joy can produce in their nappy

I wish I had been told to take the same photo every week for a year and make it into a collage of his first year, everything is a blur for those first few months

to trust your own insticts

trust your instincts

it DOES hurt!

Don't be self-conscious! :)

That you will not be drinking a hot cup of tea for at least the next six months lol.

sleep when the baby sleeps, don't worrying about vacuuming

How much time everything takes, going out takes so much planning at first, just getting through the door was a major achievement! wasn't really prepared for the total love that it brought, quite overwhelming.

I wish that I had been told to exercise the tops of my legs and thighs on a regular basis to make them stretched and supple for the birthing position. I could hardly walk after giving birth because of the discomfort!

I wish I had been told not to make a birth plan! I met my midwife when I arrived at the hospital to be induced and she followed my plan to the letter, even things that I didn't really want anymore (like no stitches in the event of a small tear. Her idea of a 'small tear' did not match mine!)

I wish I'd been told that the early months fly past in a fog of exhaustion and that I wouldn't remember very much! I wish I'd taken lots more photos, written down all the touching and funny things when they happened.

Lastly I wish I'd been told that whatever I was doing was fine as long as my baby was fine. So much of my worrying was completely unnecessary!

That boys tend to pee as soon as you remove a dirty nappy.

Not to worry about what other Mums/babies are doing and just concentrate on enjoying your time with your baby

I wish I would have recorded or written down every funny thing my daughter did, they really do grow up too fast

I wish I'd been told about the night sweats and the hair loss kicking in at 3 months! And not to rush them into proper clothes/outfits- sleepsuits are super cute and they are only babies for such a short time.

I wish I had been told how quickly the years will pass once you have children. Make the most of them while you can they soon grow up.

Take so much more with you to the maternity unit than you think you will need. I suffered with terrible bleeding nipples who would have thought that the MU would not have had any Lansinoh (or similar), so painful! and the only help and advise was to buy some cream when I got home.

I wish I'd known more about how to breastfeed & who could help if things weren't going smoothly. DS1 has an undiagnosed tongue-tie that saw us taking him to the paediatrician for failure-to-thrive. DS2's weight started dropping a little at about 7 weeks & I'd educated myself & knew who to see. His PTT was eventually cut after one "specialist" told us it wasn't there & he started gaining weight & feeding more comfortably immediately.

Also, that I'd need proper maternity pads, not just night time sanitary towels as I'd heard I could get away with. I had a minor PPH after my homebirth & the midwife looked at me like I was crazy when I expected the towels to deal with it for the transfer in!

Trust your instincts, you know your baby better than anyone else.

Breastfeeding hurts, and that is ok - it passes.

Life will never be the same again!

What do I wish I was told before my baby was born? That not all babies are the same and not every piece of advice is good. People were quick to give "advice" and judge yet had no experience of a baby!