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 just because you're young, your body doesn't spring back to normal after having a baby!

I wish I had known that expressing milk (for DH to take over feeding duties sometimes) is easier said than done. Expressing milk is now a major source of excitement and filling a 5oz bottle in one go is like winning a gold medal at the Olympics. On the other hand, spilling or losing expressed milk is like losing liquid gold. God help my DH when he accidentally pours 3oz down the sink because he thinks it's finished with…

wish I was told to stock up on muslin cloths, great for mopping up

To not waste money on stupid gadgets!

As long as you love them and keep them safe

To use Vaseline on baby's bum for first few nappy changes, this makes cleaning that first nasty poo much easier to clean off.

I wish somebody had told me to do it MY way instead of listening to everyone else. I was more capable than I gave myself credit for

I wish I ad been told to record every special moment. They grow to fast.

To go with the flow, not try to be the 'perfect mum' as none of us can be, there are struggles along the way but it is worth it when you look back

I was not given the correct information about breastfeeding (use one breast for each feed & let baby decide when he is finished) from my midwife. This resulted in 7 weeks of my son screaming with colic & me feeding him for much longer than I needed to. My doctor corrected my info (5mins on each breast each feed & then stop) & everything was fab!

Take a deep breath and you'll pick it up as you go along and always ask for help

Don't worry unnecessarily.

I wish I was told about the lack of sleep for the first few months and how you feel like you're a living zombie! I really appreciate my sleep now!

That you won't necessarily get post natal depression the next time round.
I was all geared up for it to descend and it didn't.

I wish I'd been told that I did not need to buy half of the baby equipment that I bought - I could have saved loads of money!

Cherish every moment, they're not babies for long. You as their mum know your baby better than anyone so don't let other people take over!

It will pass. Whatever 'it' maybe, whether its lack of sleep from new baby feeds through the night, or terrible twos. it will pass. so relax and enjoy knowing it will pass

That envelope necks on baby vests are designed so you can pull them off downwards meaning than a dirty vest doesn't have to go up over the baby's head. A god send when you have a 3am exploding nappy moment.

I wish someone had told me to buy clothes in a range of sizes. My growth scans had me convinced I was having a whopper so I bought everything in 0-3 months. The only thing in newborn was a fleece sleepsuit my gran got us. I had my daughter two weeks early and she weighed a tiny 6lb 3oz and went down to 5lbs 8oz and stayed there for ages. My parents had to rush out to the 24 hour tesco to buy newborn sleepsuits and vest for us. She's now almost four months and the 0-3 are still huge on her.

How to hold a new born baby when he's first handed to you. Practised lots of things like changing nappies etc, but never just holding a newborn.

i wish i had been told that you can ever have enough wet wipes

I wish I had been told to have more faith in myself to do the right thing and worry less about what other people do

Wish I was told about the restless nights

I wish somebody had warned me how awful you feel when they are ill and you cannot do anything to make it better.

That there is no such thing as "making a rod for your own back". Do whatever it takes to get you through the first weeks - there is no habit that can't be broken with time.