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Top Tips!

It's been a bit quiet in here recently and I saw this on another forum and thought it would be good here.



2nd, 3rd and more time Mums share your wisdom with the 1st time Mums.





Buy the best quality mattress you can afford - a comfortable baby is a sleeping baby!



Mrs B xxx

Replies

  • dont try and stick to a feeding routine....feed on demand...if they cry and they want it let them have it lol

    also dont do the staying in the house thing that i always read about....get out asap......look around some shops......go for a drive....i was out shopping the next day with my ds would have gone mad if i stayed in for a week or two
  • stay mobile during labour if u can, with ds i was stapped up to a monitor and had to stay in the bed and it was awful and lasted 24 hours, dd i couldnt sit down as she was so low and stayed stood up and my labour lasted 2 hours!!!! i honestly think it was due to the fact gravity was on my side!!! x
  • love reading these tips as a 1st timer, great thread!
  • Thank u ladies! Im a 1st time mum too so all ur experiences are greatfully recieved image
  • I agree thanks for the tips ladies xx
  • Hard one but my top tip is probably the following:

    Do what's best for you and your baby - especially when it comes to Breast-feeding - or not breastfeeding. Try to remember that everyone is different and you need to do what's right for you both, otherwise you can end up putting yourself through upset if you pressure yourself into trying to do things in a certain way.
  • Write your birth plan and then shelve it - it rarely goes to plan so make sure people know what your ideal is and then go with whatever happens. I also agree with the breastfeeding - it was so traumatic when i couldnt - the milk just didnt come in - so always remember what you go with, what decision you make is the right one becsue you are the mummy and you know best.
  • If someone visits and asks if you need any help with anything say 'YES'!



    Then ask them if they would mind doing the dishes, hoovering, cooking dinner, whatever. Do not give them the baby to cuddle while you do it - you're the one who is sleep deprived!



    Reward them with a cuddle when they've done it.
  • top tip! dont be afraid to use dummies lol they are a god send if baby is sucky and restless and mine naturally grew out of his by about 7 months....i think i may have never slept without them and also supposed to reduce the risk of cot death so a win win......ooooh and if baby gets ill which mine did he had very bad throat infection and fever i gave him a medicine dummy from mothercare most easiest way to trick them into taking yucky medicine image
  • Brilliant tips ladies, thank you

  • Defo agree with the breastfeeding tips! I pit so much pressure on muyself to breastfeed and made myself quite I'll! Another tip I have remember from the newborn days is to swaddle! Not for every baby but both mine loved it and always sent them

    To sleep!!!! image xx
  • g/c from DIS but from a new first time mummy. If you have a csec get lots of BIG knickers as normal ones really hurt as they automatically sit on your scar. (They also hold your tummy in!!!)



    SB x
  • Take a sports type squirty water bottle into hospital with you. You'll need it to squirt water on your bits when you pee if you've had stitches. It stops the stinging.



    Mrs B xxx
  • I'm with the accept any help that is offered and don't feel guilty about it - as much as we'd all love to be supermum those first few weeks while you are finding your feet and getting to know your baby are made 100 times harder if you feel the need to keep everything spick and span... and if a family member wants to take your baby out for a walk for half an hour so you can shower/ bath/ nap or just have a cup of tea then jump on them and say YES.



    Muslin cloths are a godsend especially if you have a sicky baby like mine was - they work as bib, cloth, clothes prtector and great general sick catchers.



    Don't listen to people when they say their children were sleeping through from 4 weeks - everyones idea of sleeping through is very different, to some it means they had a 4 hour stretch without being woken up to others it's a nice 8 hour sleep and it will only make you feel under pressure. Every baby is different and has different sleeping patterns you just need to get used to yours.



    I found topping and tailing the baby for the first few weeks then moving on to using the bath with a small amount of water in it far easier to clean my baby than filling and lifting a baby bath. I also love infacare as a baby bath product when the time comes to start using one.



    Grab yourself a drink and if needed a snack before you start feeding baby (bottle or breast) once you start you can't really take a break and sometimes it can take ages to feed and wind a baby.



    Try not to be too quiet when baby goes to sleep that way they get used to sleeping through a little noise and you don't have to whisper the whole time.



    Hide the scales and don't get on them for at least 6 weeks - even if you are good you hold a lot of water weight for a few weeks and it's just upsetting to stand on the scales and feel like a fatty.



    The weeks after giving birth you will sweat and wee like there is no tomorrow - apparently it's your body getting rid of the excess water.



    I'll add more as i think of them.



    xx
  • Sorry just saw i wrote an essay!

    xx
  • It's great Mildred, really helpful xx
  • For bubby number 2, hubby and I are not going to make our baby announcement straight away. In our excitement the first time round, we announced it straight away on Facebook and as we were being discharged from the hospital early we never had any visitors at the hospital which meant they all came a knockin' no sonner had we got home. We were exhausted and then had the burden of trying to entertain.



    Next time we are going to make the announcement once we have caught up on some well earned rest.
  • 1. Trust your instinct. it's almost always right. if you think baby is crying because he/she is too cold but everyone else thinks it's wind or needs a nappy change etc, they are wrong and you are right. this happened to me so many times! Mother really does know best.



    2. Don't be afraid to make lots of noise. babies are used to it. The hoover / hairdryer are great for calming little ones. Addison would often fall asleep when i started hoovering. the white noise mimics the sounds from the womb so babies are comforted by it.



    3. SLEEP as much as you can in those first few weeks and let someone else do the cleaning and cooking.



    4. Enjoy going for walks and showing off your little one - it's a magical time



    5. take LOTS and LOTS of photos as baby changes so quickly



    6. Stock up on heaps of huggies nappies. Huggies newborn are the best. i found pampers leaked. Pampers are great when the baby is much older. I still can't get over how much a newborn poos in those early days. we went through SO many nappies!



    7. expect the first 6 weeks to be hard but try not to be too hard on yourself. but it does get easier. I remember feeling like a hamster in a wheel doing the same thing over and over again. it's feeding, winding, sleeping over and over again and it's very hard to get anything done, think straight or go anywhere on time.



    8. Enjoy every single second and have lots and lots of newborn cuddles x
  • Erm let me think, third time for me so you'd think I'd have some tips but I've also got severe baby brain!



    if you have stitches after labour, salt in the bath really helps it heal quicker!



    If breastfeeding, always keep a 2l bottle of water by your side and try to get through at least 1 a day. When breastfeeding, sometimes I would suddenly feel so thirsty that I had to have a drink instantly!!



    Have plenty of muslins, so handy and practical.



    The bath chair (looks like a small bouncer chair) was brilliant as it leaves both your hands free, I wouldn't even bother with a baby bath.



    Don't feel pressured by anyone making you think you should be doing things differently, you're the mother and you know what's best for you and your child, 1st time or not!



    I know they all say this but try to sleep when baby does. I would also say try not to sit there holding baby when he/she is awake, admiring him/her, but I'm a hypacrite cos I never learn and I know I'm gonna do this! It just makes it harder for them to self settle later on and therefore more difficult for yourself.



    If I think of anything else I'll add later. Good luck xxx
  • Lots of great tips here ladies, I'd 2nd quite a few of them!

    Something I was never told while pregnant but after having my baby girl and breastfeeding I noticed some blood in her nappy. Midwife told me it was hormones from me during the pregnancy coming out of her in a period like way, only tiny amount though but still scary when you dont expect it!



    xxx
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