Things I wish I had known....
...before my journey into motherhood... If I could take myself back to pregnancy I would tell myself the following:
The last few weeks are tiring, you will ache and not sleep well and everyone will tell you to 'make the most of it because when the baby comes you won't be getting any rest at all'..... well this is sort of true, you won't get much sleep but if you're anything like me being able to simply get comfortable is a bonus, and I slept better once baby was here than I did the entire 12 weeks before he arrived!
When baby is here you probably won't sleep when baby sleeps because you'll be too consumed with adoration and excitement that he's finally here. However, if you can, try and get forty winks. Especially whilst your partner is at home with you - make the most of having him around!
You will pack and unpack your hospital bag 17 times before you actually go into labour however the following items were an absolute must;
Ipod - for listening to relaxing music before baby arrived, it saved my life when I was in hospital for a surprisingly long amount of time
Cartons of juice, isotonic drinks, and water. Mr O had to rush out whilst I was in the throws of heavy labour and buy lucozade etc for me, and I was nil by mouth for the previous 24 hours so I was in desperate need of energy to push out Baby O.
Snacks like go ahead biscuits and sweets to suck on whilst in very early labour.
A purse full of pound coins and a debit card for watching tv
A flannel for your partner to use as a cold compress on your face, because being in labour and giving birth is the hottest you will ever feel in your entire life
At least 6 packs of maternity towels. Your waters once they break continue to trickle the entire time you are labouring and giving birth. No one told me this and it would have been handy to know! (yes so I had polyhydramnios so had water galore, but I've heard even normal water levels do the same thing)
A change of clothes for your birthing partner, Mr O wore a nice shirt and jeans and they got a little dirty during the birthing process so a fresh t shirt and comfy bottoms would have been heaven for him.
You can't plan for labour. You can write a plan, but things might not happen the way you want to so just be open minded and confident about whatever happens, you can do it.
Take a pregnancy pillow in to hospital. This is where my Dream Genii pillow finally made it's money worthwhile. I still use it to help me feed William sometimes.
Buy lots of muslins. You may have a sicky baby and they are brilliant for protecting your clothes/for use as a blanket etc.
Don't buy blankets, you will get given loads!
Cartons of formula and sterilised bottles are handy in those first few weeks of breast feeding for when you have that breast feeding meltdown.
Have at least one dummy ready for use, saved my sanity one night when all baby wanted to do was use my bleeding cracked nipple as a soother.
Don't have too many people round in the first week baby is born. Give yourself a few days to recover and catch up on some sleep if you can. The last thing you need is to stress about making sure your hair looks alright and finding clothes that aren't your dressing gown!
When doing a night feed and changing nappies you really can do all this in bed just take everything you need to bed with you. I spent the first two weeks feeding in the living room, changing his nappy in his nursery, then trying to settle him down to sleep in his basket in our room. It soon dawned on me that I was making life difficult for myself!
If you end up spending longer in hospital than you first thought, and do happen to have that breast feeding meltdown - don't panic it happens to us all! There will be a milk kitchen where you can sterilize your bottles and keep your milk cartons in the fridge once they're opened. I sort of wish I had a little more training on formula feeding because all you hear is 'breast is best' so when that meltdown happens you end up feeling more stressed because you have no clue at all about how to prepare formula feeds! It's easy, sterilize the bottle in the electric steamer with 80ml of water, pour 1floz of formula into the bottle and serve at room temp. Et voila, a happy full baby and a well deserved rest for your nips! Oh, and if you don't have bottles or milk with you than the hospital can supply it for you (begrudgingly though). I took Aptamil cartons just to be on the safe side but didn't take bottles and they happily let me have some ready sterile bottles to feed my starving son! I wish I had known more about formula feeding despite my intentions to breast feed.
When you are breast feeding it is normal for your baby to be on the boob for hours, this is when it's good to learn how to feed laying down!
Oh, and in case you hadn't gathered, for most, breast feeding is hard work. It's not the beautiful picture people paint on the telly, get your head into a strong place and stick with it. It's all about being mentally strong to get through it and I hear the first month is the hardest. (I gave up after 3 days then regretted it and relactated when baby was 6 weeks old, save yourself this hassle and stick with the bfing if you can in the first place)
Your first poo after giving birth isn't as scary as you think it might be, however your midwife and health visitor will be obsessed with your motions.
Learn to switch off when your other half is looking after the baby, it's not easy to do this but he has to learn to do things his own way and they will be different to yours! You have all day to bond with baby, it takes time for Daddy to get there.
Make sure Daddy does a nightfeed ar least once a week, twice a week if possible. You aren't superwoman, lack of sleep will leave you feeling broken.
It is ok to take baby into bed with you, I didn't do this til he was a few weeks old but when I did it was so lovely!
The list of things I wish I had known before hand goes on and on but I think I have covered the ones that stuck in my head.
Oh no, I forgot one thing. Don't try and go through a 48 hour labour without asking for gas and air. Take the freaking gas and air because sometimes an epidural isn't enough!
Knowing what I know now, I think second time round for me will be a walk in the park :o) (here's hoping it is anyway!!)
Feel free to add comments to this post if I have missed any!
The last few weeks are tiring, you will ache and not sleep well and everyone will tell you to 'make the most of it because when the baby comes you won't be getting any rest at all'..... well this is sort of true, you won't get much sleep but if you're anything like me being able to simply get comfortable is a bonus, and I slept better once baby was here than I did the entire 12 weeks before he arrived!
When baby is here you probably won't sleep when baby sleeps because you'll be too consumed with adoration and excitement that he's finally here. However, if you can, try and get forty winks. Especially whilst your partner is at home with you - make the most of having him around!
You will pack and unpack your hospital bag 17 times before you actually go into labour however the following items were an absolute must;
Ipod - for listening to relaxing music before baby arrived, it saved my life when I was in hospital for a surprisingly long amount of time
Cartons of juice, isotonic drinks, and water. Mr O had to rush out whilst I was in the throws of heavy labour and buy lucozade etc for me, and I was nil by mouth for the previous 24 hours so I was in desperate need of energy to push out Baby O.
Snacks like go ahead biscuits and sweets to suck on whilst in very early labour.
A purse full of pound coins and a debit card for watching tv
A flannel for your partner to use as a cold compress on your face, because being in labour and giving birth is the hottest you will ever feel in your entire life
At least 6 packs of maternity towels. Your waters once they break continue to trickle the entire time you are labouring and giving birth. No one told me this and it would have been handy to know! (yes so I had polyhydramnios so had water galore, but I've heard even normal water levels do the same thing)
A change of clothes for your birthing partner, Mr O wore a nice shirt and jeans and they got a little dirty during the birthing process so a fresh t shirt and comfy bottoms would have been heaven for him.
You can't plan for labour. You can write a plan, but things might not happen the way you want to so just be open minded and confident about whatever happens, you can do it.
Take a pregnancy pillow in to hospital. This is where my Dream Genii pillow finally made it's money worthwhile. I still use it to help me feed William sometimes.
Buy lots of muslins. You may have a sicky baby and they are brilliant for protecting your clothes/for use as a blanket etc.
Don't buy blankets, you will get given loads!
Cartons of formula and sterilised bottles are handy in those first few weeks of breast feeding for when you have that breast feeding meltdown.
Have at least one dummy ready for use, saved my sanity one night when all baby wanted to do was use my bleeding cracked nipple as a soother.
Don't have too many people round in the first week baby is born. Give yourself a few days to recover and catch up on some sleep if you can. The last thing you need is to stress about making sure your hair looks alright and finding clothes that aren't your dressing gown!
When doing a night feed and changing nappies you really can do all this in bed just take everything you need to bed with you. I spent the first two weeks feeding in the living room, changing his nappy in his nursery, then trying to settle him down to sleep in his basket in our room. It soon dawned on me that I was making life difficult for myself!
If you end up spending longer in hospital than you first thought, and do happen to have that breast feeding meltdown - don't panic it happens to us all! There will be a milk kitchen where you can sterilize your bottles and keep your milk cartons in the fridge once they're opened. I sort of wish I had a little more training on formula feeding because all you hear is 'breast is best' so when that meltdown happens you end up feeling more stressed because you have no clue at all about how to prepare formula feeds! It's easy, sterilize the bottle in the electric steamer with 80ml of water, pour 1floz of formula into the bottle and serve at room temp. Et voila, a happy full baby and a well deserved rest for your nips! Oh, and if you don't have bottles or milk with you than the hospital can supply it for you (begrudgingly though). I took Aptamil cartons just to be on the safe side but didn't take bottles and they happily let me have some ready sterile bottles to feed my starving son! I wish I had known more about formula feeding despite my intentions to breast feed.
When you are breast feeding it is normal for your baby to be on the boob for hours, this is when it's good to learn how to feed laying down!
Oh, and in case you hadn't gathered, for most, breast feeding is hard work. It's not the beautiful picture people paint on the telly, get your head into a strong place and stick with it. It's all about being mentally strong to get through it and I hear the first month is the hardest. (I gave up after 3 days then regretted it and relactated when baby was 6 weeks old, save yourself this hassle and stick with the bfing if you can in the first place)
Your first poo after giving birth isn't as scary as you think it might be, however your midwife and health visitor will be obsessed with your motions.
Learn to switch off when your other half is looking after the baby, it's not easy to do this but he has to learn to do things his own way and they will be different to yours! You have all day to bond with baby, it takes time for Daddy to get there.
Make sure Daddy does a nightfeed ar least once a week, twice a week if possible. You aren't superwoman, lack of sleep will leave you feeling broken.
It is ok to take baby into bed with you, I didn't do this til he was a few weeks old but when I did it was so lovely!
The list of things I wish I had known before hand goes on and on but I think I have covered the ones that stuck in my head.
Oh no, I forgot one thing. Don't try and go through a 48 hour labour without asking for gas and air. Take the freaking gas and air because sometimes an epidural isn't enough!
Knowing what I know now, I think second time round for me will be a walk in the park :o) (here's hoping it is anyway!!)
Feel free to add comments to this post if I have missed any!
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