Tell Asda what you wish you knew before becoming a parent - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[PoppyMumsnet]

Sometimes, we wish we had the benefit of hindsight– knowing what to have said, what to have done would have made the situation a whole lot easier. Asda would like you to tell them about the things you wish you’d known about before being a parent to a baby/toddler. Would being a new parent have run more smoothly had you known certain things before? What sort of things would you have liked to have known?

Here is what Asda has to say: “Here at Little Angels, we understand how daunting it can be waiting for the arrival of your long awaited little one. That’s why we’d love you to share your top tips on anything from being a parent for the first time or what’s different when you have your second.”

So what do you wish you’d known before becoming a parent? Time flies by so quickly - maybe you wish you’d known to take more videos or photos. Perhaps you wish you’d known that children are much more expensive than you originally thought, so you could have planned better. Maybe you wished you’d known about a support network that you could have spoken to from the very beginning. Or maybe you simply wish you’d known how hard it would be so you could have mentally prepared yourself?

Whatever your story is, Asda would like to hear about it. All those who post below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Asda voucher.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard T&Cs apply

The lack of sleep

Where to start ?

I wish I had realized how soon they grow out of things and not bought as many toys clothes and shoes. (and had started saving for University!)

That lie-ins would become a thing of the past. And that after the first few years you don't even.
And having the extra time in the morning is very useful!

I wish I knew that we will all get there at the end so stop stressing

Naming the Baby is ridiculously stressful, you don't know the gender so you cannot even narrow it down that way. My first trimester sucked the most, constantly worried if you are going to make it to that all important 12 weeks before you dare to hope and then the sickness is another major draw back.
I was constantly waiting for babies kicking patterns, I understand you should be aware of kicks but stressing dawn till dusk about kicks didn't help.

How difficult and painful breastfeeding is, I just presumed it came naturally to everyone

That I didn't need as much stuff, clothes, toys etc. And I could have bought more things second hand, that would have done the job just as well.

I wish I'd known how childish and petty other parents were - especially my own family! Kids can go out to play and the parents are pick poke at everything - 'your child did this your child did that' but when you provide evidence of what her child did to begin with, they get all defensive and won't speak to you again!

I wish i would of known how long everything takes to do. Getting out of the house in the early months required alot of planning!

I also wish i would of known how useless travel system prams are. They are in them such a short space of time before you convert to a stroller.

I wish i would of known what a faff having daytime outfits were.

I wish I'd known that there's no such thing as a 'textbook baby' - that would have saved me a lot of heartache and self-doubt. All baby needs is love, comfort, protection, warmth, food and a clean nappy - everything else will fall into place. You learn as you go and no matter what anyone else tells you, it was the same for them.

With baby #1, I would describe myself as 'clenched', but baby #2 was so much easier, as for baby #3...well the fact that we went there tells you everything.

Don't be too proud to ask for help and be kind to each other.

Sleepless nights and no time to myself

I wish I had cherished the moments more and taken more photos - wish I'd purchased a decent camera and taken some decent videos and photos.

When they are babies you want them to sleep,you tip-toe around praying that tonight is the night they sleep through, not thinking that the day would come when you would actually miss them waking in the night in need of a feed and cuddle and falling asleep on you - I wish I knew how much I would miss those baby cuddles coz I would give anything to have cherished those moments more now.

They really do grow too fast :-(

I wish I'd known to really appreciate the younger years as they really do fly by too quickly. And I wish someone had told me that it's actually harder to be a parent to a teenager - babies are the easy part!

How much my life would change

I wish I'd known how hard it can be and that i'd cry...a lot.

I wish I knew how hard it would be when your child is ill and you can do nothing about it.

That it would all be okay! Just to do your best!

Just to do your best! No one is perfect and don't be so hard on yourself!

To always stop and take a moment to enjoy the moments, they fly by so quickly. Cleaning, tidying can wait - time with the children is something you can't do later.

I wish I had known to work on my fitness. There are so many occasions when the 50m sprint is a necessity. So get working on your running mums and dads, as believe me this will aid you with the following:

1. The Poonami power walk to the shower - when the Poonami strikes, your upper arm strength and the ability to hold your breath whilst power walking to the shower are must have skills.
2. The sick bucket sprint - If the Guinness Book of World Records were to time most parents in this act, most would rival Usain Bolt in the speed stakes. From the sound of that initial gurgle you run like the wind in order to protect your worldly goods from the impending Vomit Volcano.
3. The School Run Scurry - For those days that you are that behind you forget to brush your teeth, your hair and your bra is either on the wrong way or not at all, so you quickly drop the kids off and scurry home to avoid bumping into anyone.
4. The Great Supermarket Escape - This is for the times when you have to use your ninja ability to escape the Supermarket before any of your children spot something that they want. This is one of the most difficult tasks to master, as the supermarkets are not on our side.
5. Finally the Danger Dash - This is probably the most used, and is for the moments that your children lose all sense of fear or danger. The Danger Dash will help you catch them when they are jumping on the bed, climbing on anything they can find, or just as they are about to tip your 4 pint of milk on the floor from the fridge to feed the cat.

I wish I'd known that breastfeeding doesn't come naturally to everyone, it's bloody hard and that doesn't make me a bad mum.
I wish I'd known that even if things don't go according to plan, there'll always be a way to work it out.
I wish I'd known how much laughter there'd be - I'm not known for my sense of fun but being a mum has given me endless joy, smiles, laughs and funny anecdotes.

IT WILL BE FINE. IT WILL ALL BE FINE! And when it's not, it won't last forever.

TBH, I had no idea how naive i was- I mean, I really thought I knew what love was before I had my little one. Oh my, how WRONG I was. Parenthood has taught me so much, but that the human heart has no 'maximum capacity' for love was one of the most astonishing things I've learnt. Still can't get my head around the intensity of my emotions since becoming a mum. It's both wonderful and a little scary at times ;) x

I wish I'd known that it was OK to sit down and cuddle my sleeping baby, instead of putting him in the Moses basket so I could get on with housework. He never slept as long in re as he did on me.

I wish I'd known that I was going to make life-long friends through things like NCT, play group and at the school gates.

I wish I had known that, despite my inability to breastfeed any of them, my sons would grow up healthy, happy individuals, and I wasn't damaging their bodies, brains or future by my failure.

Not to take sleep for granted!