Here are a few things I wish someone had told me beforehand
instead of learning the hard way. Maybe this will be a reminder for next time:
1.
Sleep is precious, while at the hospital I wish
I had taken advantage of the nurses that are there to care for baby M. I had to
stay an extra night, and it wasn’t until that last night that I decided to let
them keep her in the nursery so I could get a little more sleep. Maybe it had
to do with the two pints of blood I had lost, but I was so tired. I’m starting
to feel like I have more energy now, 7 weeks post-partum.
2.
Visitors are wonderful, but I don’t remember
much about who visited us the day of delivery. According to my husband I said a
lot of really random stuff, I guess it was due to the combination of medicines
I was taking and lack of sleep. I wish I had asked all visitors to come the
next day. Again, maybe if I had not lost blood I would have been a little more
alert, and I would have enjoyed their company more. I did ask all visitors to
come after I had a few hours to recover, but the next day would have been even
better so I could have rested more and enjoyed the company. Plus, the third day
we were there was pretty boring so some company would have been nice.
3.
Breast Feeding is hard and it does not come
natural. I wish I had started pumping sooner especially since baby M had a hard
time latching on. She never really got the whole latching on thing down, and so
I finally asked for a pump the last night. By then three days had gone by since
delivery, and I think if I had started pumping sooner my milk would have come
in better and she would not have been so hungry. It has taken at least four
weeks for my milk to come in but I still have to take supplements and I barely
make enough to feed her and sometimes I have to supplement with formula.
4.
The idea of the baby car seat carrier is great
but in reality it has not worked for me. First, it is so heavy I have a hard
time taking it out of the car and bringing it inside. It’s even harder to carry
it from the car inside a store. I tried it and I almost had to set it on the
ground and take a rest. Second, if I put
it in the top of the buggy I can’t see to push the buggy around the store. I
tried it and almost ran a little girl over at the store. I felt bad and the
little girl looked so scared. My husband doesn’t have any problems since he is
taller but at 5 feet short, I need to wear heels if I want to push it in the
buggy. Third, if I put it in the bottom of the buggy there’s no room for groceries.
My Moby Wrap has worked out much better
and it has the added benefit of preventing people from touching her.
5.
There are more important things in life than a
clean house, like taking care of a sweet, little baby. This is a short season
of life and there will be lots of time for cleaning later. Most days I feel
like I’ve accomplished a lot if we are both bathed, in clean clothes, and fed.
6.
It’s hard to get anywhere on time. Even if we
are walking out the door on time something happens like I can’t find my car
keys, she spits up, she needs a diapers change, or she wants to eat early. The
list goes on, in general it just takes longer to get out the door and it almost
feels like I am packing for a long visit away from home with all the stuff I
have to take with us.
7.
Cry It Out method is horrible and cruel. I tried
it two maybe three times and every time she would cry for fifteen minutes and
never fall asleep. After fifteen minutes I would pick her up and at that point
she was so worked up she could not fall asleep until she had her next feeding.
Pick-up and put down has worked so much better for us. Mostly, I think she was
just too little and she needed more snuggles. I have found that as long as I
keep her on her 3 hour schedule of eat, play, sleep, she does fine going to
sleep when it’s time.
I’ve learned a lot in the last few weeks but the most important
lesson I have learned is to enjoy this short time with Baby M. Every day she
grows more and learns how to do more, and this stage won’t last forever.
