ot- Things You Wish you Knew Before you became a first time parent

[PetiteWonder]

I thought it would be fun to post some of the things you learned that would have been helpful to know before you became a parent as we have a lot of soon to be new parents...  you can continue to add as you think of things.. some will be obvious... and everyones experience is different so some things may not seem to true for others

#1. Dont underestimate the amount of time you will spent just holding your baby...

#2.Even though, you are really anxious for your baby to come near the end, take that time to do some things you really enjoy.. nice dinner s with your partner, go to the movies, etc... as that is not very possible once you have the baby

#3. if you are finding you are having alot of diaper accidents with one brand, try another.. some brands just fit different babies differently.. which is why some people swear by huggies and others swear by pampers

#4. There will be days where you baby pretty much just wants to feed non stop

#5. Invest in a lot of receiving blankets.. Save money on things like swaddle wraps, burp clothes,etc.. a receiving blanket can do it all.... even the most uncoordinated person will learn to swaddle.. you can always pick up these things later on if you find the need in the end (since they are expensive)

#6. you can spend all the money on cute clothing you want but most days, you will be dressing your baby for convenience and easy access.. so its best to get the basics like onsies and sleepers and invest in a couple cute outfits for special events as you go

#7 Laundry may become a two day affair (one day to wash, 2nd day to fold)

im sure more will come but this is just a start.

[mikaleen]

I also brought my own sanitary pads, the overnights.  They worked well and were more comfortable than the hospital ones (I mean really though, how comfy can they be??)  It's cheaper to use the hospital ones, but the comfort was worth the cost to me.  I needed them for a few days at home anyway.

My hospital didn't provide soap or shampoo or toothpaste, so I had to bring my own for a shower.  DH had to run across the street to buy soap/shampoo for me.

[Lesley27]

See i had used the hospitals mesh undies but on the day i got to have a shower i asked if i could get a new pair and the nurse was a bag she looked at me like i was an idiot and asked "dont you have your own?! in front of the Dr i might add.... so i just kinda said i do but they will rub on the incision...and im having a shower?|(meaning clean would be nice lol)... ya made me feel like a loser lol but anyway next time ill have my own lol

[Mommyjeep11]

Good one on the undies. I forgot about that. I think I used the mesh ones they had too. Nothing was really comfortable for a while but I have already bought sweat pants and some nice pajamas to wear in the hospital and around the house afterwards.

It may sound silly but the one baby thing I am excited about this time is my diaper bag. I "think" I have finally found the perfect one haha :)

[PetiteWonder]

i still sit in the back with her if its me and my hubby.. i should get a mirror for when its just me though because its really hard if she starts fussing.

i bought mesh hospital panties to bring because my older undies had too much elastic that i didnt think would be comfortable.. in the end, I didnt use my mesh undies...  I used the hospital ones.. at our hospital there was cart in the hall where you could go to get things....  I used everything I could from them just because everything can cost so much.. so diapers all theirs, they even gave me mini bottles of baby shampoo, vaseline,etc.

[Lesley27]

I just wanted to add to the packing for hospital/ Csection.... i didnt think i would actually get a Csection and have to be there for those extra days so i didnt pack enough!...and remember pack for comfort!! if its PJs all day then so be it!! Also you dont want to take your best undies as they most likely will get stained in the days following... i packed old undies but they lined up with my Csection  cut (right along the pubic line)so i had to ask for extra mesh undies that the hospital provided so next time i will make sure to pack undies that go up higher and if i can find those mesh undies in stores i would for sure take some of them (they were comfy)

And another thing...For the way home i forgot about the mirror for the back seat to watch baby when driving... so i sat in the back the whole drive home as i was not comfortable with her being in the carseat for the firstime! lol so next time im putting the mirror up so i can check on her/him:)

[Helenk38]

This post is awesome! You gals are the best. Thanks for sharing all your tips. I'm only 9 weeks so it's going to be a while til I can really experience motherhood, can't wait ^_^

[Mommyjeep11]

Mine was that I wish I had prepared for a different type of delivery than I wanted just so I could have known what to expect. I wanted a natural delivery no drugs or anything and ended up with a c section. All of the pants I had packed were not as accommodating for a c section incision as I would have guessed.

I also would have not let the little things bother me as much. Anytime someone would say something negative about how I was doing something I would start bawling. Now when they do I just tell them where they can shove it :) no parent is perfect you just have to try your best.

Also you don't need the expensive butt creams. Neosporin works on everything. Even diaper rash and it makes one less thing to carry in the diaper bag.

Oh and when you can buy travel sizes of stuff baby powder or what ever. My sister in law would carry around the full size box of wipes powder and anything else she needed and then wondered why her bag was so heavy and starting to rip.

And speaking of diaper bags. For me at least. Any size bag I use I pack it full. I don't know why. It just happens. Try to get a bag big enough to hold what you need but not so huge that it needs rollers just to be carried around :)

[PetiteWonder]

cutting their finger nails occurs on an every day basis...

dont worry too much about what clothes your baby will wear in the hospital... honestly i think 75% of my time shirtless and the baby was in her diaper until we left


i know about spray poop, the other night she managed to spray it from her change table, hitting our comforter agood 4 f away but hit nothing  in between?

[luvmy2girls]

I learned that baby has their own bed for a reason.  with my first I remember crying for litwo weeks straight while trying to get her to sleep on her own.  I breastfed in bed for over a year and I think i'my still traumatized by the weaning experience of getting her to sleep alone.   the 30 to 60 minutes it takes to get up and feed and change is easy compared to waking up every 20 minutes to make sure you didn't roll over them:)  ( although I still check on their breathing because they are so quiet)

[Nocturnally]

This is my first pregnancy, and hearing all these actually excites me honestly.

[cnhauk]

One of the best pieces of advice I've heard is don't worry you're 'doing it wrong'- you've never been a parent before and this baby has never HAD parents before! They don't know any different from what you're doing!

[mikaleen]

Little girls may not pee on you, but when my daughter was a month old, she was breastfed and had that really loose mustardy poop.  As soon as I took her diaper off she squirted it all over me and her sister who wanted to watch.  I swear it shot 3 feet through the air from her little heiny.  

[Ashelen]

I'm laughing so hard at that mental image, whatstheodds!!!

There's no gap under my door, but I hear my children throwing themselves bodily at the door from the outside, banging on it, and screaming like I abandoned them at a gas station or something (horrible, terrible wails!) if I (heaven forbid) try to pee by myself....so usually I just let them in and turn on the sink and they stand on their training potties and play in the water, lol. But it's quite an ordeal just for a 10 second pee!!!!!!!!!!

[whatstheodds]

I love the one who said enjoying peeing alone lol.... I haven't got 2 in a long time.  Even if I lock the door there is enough room under the door all's I c is little fingers and hear momma what u doing in there lol

[Michele, Katy, TX]

Oh yeah!!  No matter how much you read or how much research you do, you will never know everything, so don't stress about that!  I am 12 weeks PP with my 7th baby and have learned something new with all of them.

Oh, and you will get a lot of unsolicited advice :)  LOL

[steph_ut]

What a  great idea! A few:

Not only don't stress about, but enjoy, working on his or her time schedule. Sometimes it is important to read one more book (even if it's the same one you have just read 3 times) before going to work, or to take 10 minutes in a public restroom because your very determined toddler wants to do everything his/herself.

Someday, somewhere, in public, with lots of curious onlookers, you will be "that" mother. And you know what? It's ok because half the people looking on are just relieved that they are not the only ones!

Never fly without a change of clothes in your carry-on... for yourself!

I know someone already mentioned breastfeeding but I it would have helped me to hear it more. I also "failed" (long story) and the first really happy day I had as a mother was the day I truly believed I could be a good mother regardless of how she was fed. My daughter never received a bottle propped somewhere - she was always held, loved and snuggled ,and still is.

[Michele, Katy, TX]

I always hide an extra diaper and nursing pads in strange places in the car.  I have left to go someplace close without a diaper bag before.  Ahhh, but guess what??  I have what I need in the glove compartment :)

[Houston79]

I always had an extra top in my diaper bag (for myself) because Amiah always spit up all over me and it stunk!  LoL

[jyool]

don't get all caught up in toys that "help your child develop" they will get as much pleasure from the box as they do the toy... You are the best toy for their development.

[gugzii]

Lol...this post is so informative yet sooo funny.. I m expecting a boy n i think i should be prepared to handle his pee skills lol...

I m planning to breast feed.. Tell me ladies how to shape up my boobs as pregnancy has made my boobs look dropped like a grandma :( my husband liked my boobs n now he says wats wrong with them??

So many pampers a day... I guess i wud hv to make a budget for pampers lolzz

[Ashelen]

LOL petite :-). I'm an overly paranoid diaper bag packer so I also keep baby powder, diaper cream, tylenol, a bulb syringe, a thermometer, tweezers, neosporin, vaseline, and band-aids, in my "main" bag. I used to get teased for how prepared I was when I took my kids to family members' houses when they were little they'd be like "Oh look a little cut, let me get my --" and I'm like "no, it's cool, I got it ;-)". But I can tell you that people were ALWAYS grateful that I had everything the kids needed...even if they had it too, they always seemed impressed that they didn't have to provide..so I always figure as long as it's not too heavy, overpacking is better than under because my SIL/BIL never used to bring ANYTHING and it drove everyone nuts because they were always needing things.

I also keep plastic bags in the diaper bag for poops...SO helpful!

and yes Lesley while the diaper-under-the-diaper works AWESOME for girls..it doesn't do much for boys, lol. We perfected that with our daughter and tried it again with our son and he'd look at us like "you're kidding, right?" and wiggle off of it...HOWEVER..he's only nailed us twice int he 16-months he's been alive ..he peed on his sister once and his daddy once, so I got lucky I didn't birth a firehose - compared to the stories I've heard from other mommies of boys LOL.

But yes, absolutely, it's all worth it. The problems that you don't anticipate all become routine after awhile and you don't even notice and you get so much love and joy in return...it's totally worth it.

[PetiteWonder]

LOL going back to the dinner thing.. yeah I think we have made it through about 2 dinners halfway with her in her bouncer before she wants to be held...  my hubby is much better at the one handed eating than I am....

my main diaper bag sounds like an emergency diaper bag... what should be in your main...?

I also keep a couple plastic bags in the diaper bag in case you do a changing in a weird place like the backseat of the car or any where the person might not want a diaper just throw in the garbage bag......

on the note of diapers,  They will tell you that a healthy breast fed baby will go through at lest 5 or more wet diapers and 1 to 2 poopy diapers in a day..  The more is there for a reason.. The answer is always more!



One other thing i have learn and this may not be true for everyone.. but its worth a shot...  Smooth Jazz is your best friend.. We were listening to teh radio the other day and one song had a jazz solo in it and she loved it..  One night, she was being cranky so we popped on some smooth jazz and she was out like a light in a second...  This has occured 3 more times in the last two days as well...  so now if she is getting her cranky im ready to sleep but am not quite sleeping yet, we just popped on some smooth jazz and cuddle. it usually at least calms her.

[Lesley27]

Oh and the diaper bag... i just made sure to buy purses that had pockets in the ends for bottles... cute and effective!

[Lesley27]

Before i even undue my daughters diaper i place the clean one underneath so its ready to do up and if she decides to pee it doesnt get everywhere... then just lift her bum and pull off the old one and do up the new one... works wonders when they start to sqirm too... not sure how effective it would be for boys but it is a lot faster!
Also if you happen to have a bigger mess than expected it does save you from having to clean up where ever you decided to change the baby (especially if im at someones house)