In order to continue our theme of preparing mums-to-be for the truth about life after baby arrives, we did a Questionaire on our Facebook page.
“What’s one thing that you wish you had known about before…..?”
- that you should enjoy your sleep ins while you have got them, because once you have kids that is it for aaaggess!!!
- Wish I had’ve got a wheelie bin earlier (when #1 was 6mths my neighbour told me how great it was) – nothing worse than the day before rubbish day – spew!
- I wish I had known more about birth rights
- That you lose muscle definition in your boobs and that this means your bra shape and fit can change drastically.
- That the” Little Person” is dependant on you to teach them EVERYTHING, and what a huge honour, and responsibility it is!
- That labour and giving birth is actually the easy part of having children! Being a parent can be scary, difficult, and challenging but it is so so worth it!
- You never recover from sleepless nights!!!!
- I wish I would’ve known how much TIME they take! I would’ve worked on getting to be more organized before they came and then maybe, just maybe, my house would be tidy more than not.
- That you know your baby best and take all advice with a grain of salt. Just because something worked for someone else does not mean it will work for you.
- No question is a stupid question.
- You don’t have to be super mummy – it’s OK to ask for help and to have a meltdown occasionally. Having a good cry and giving in to your inner child can be very liberating.
- Birth rights and the right to lay a complaint. I was treated like utter crap during my prenancy and was not taken seriously. I’m lucky Brooklyn was a live birth, and they swept their crap care under the rug. im still fuming.
- In hindsight I wish I’d listened to one person re how to breastfeed, when I got home from hospital I was utterly confused and my nipples were already split because of bad and conflicted advice. I would also have liked to have been more prepared for the possibility of not being able to breastfeed – it was a huge let down when it did not work out.
- Thats theres no refunds or exchanges
- That not all babies sleep!
- That press stud bibs are sooo much better than the annoying velcro tabbed bibs, which deteriorate over time, as well as destroy other clothing you wash them with, as they stick to them!
- That it’s never-ending, and you don’t get a break, even when someone else is looking after them. But you’d never give them back!
- about comfy undies and bras while being pregnant!!!!
- About all the expensive equipment we didn’t need to buy, got caught up in all the hype and the helpful sales people!
- that sexdrive goes right DOWN while breastfeeding because of the hormones!!
- I wish people would stop with horror breastfeeding stories, i was scared and thought it would be hard but had NO probs at all and am an excellent cow!
- Vaseline on baby”s bum when born will make meconium easy to wipe away.
- Speak up when people come to visit – tell them when you have had enough and need to have a rest and ask them to hang the washing out for you and make their own cup of tea!
- About better contraception!! hehehe no just kidding..that they may go in like a banana but come out like a pineapple!!
- Baby sleep cycles and resettling to extend sleep duration from a young age.
- I wish i had known that breastfeeding wasnt this wonderful motherhood experience i thought it was meant to be (please note this is just my experience im not saying it is like this for everyone) This had to be the most horrid experience i went through and i had 5 years of surgery and IVF:) Wish someone had pre warned me its a learned art.
- That you dont have to do everything – make a list and EVERYONE who wants to visit to cuddle bubs has to complete one thing on the list to get thru the nursery door!
- Yes mother guilt always exists, i’ve had a bad case of this recently.
- How you cannot just duck into a shop for something…it requires military planning and precision when you have children.
- Nipple vasospasm! I had only ever heard of reynaud’s of the hands/feet etc, not the nipple and it was quite agonising! Thank goodness for the warmer weather coming….and no one can ever tell you how painful engorgement is – experiencing it is….difficult…particularly combined with the vasospasm!
- And how your whole day can pass without you achieving anything…other than feeding and settling!
- that if you fee veryl sick within a few days – with stomach cramps (and my skin seemed yellowy)passing what I thought were largish clots – ignore the midwifes instructions to take neurofen and go straight to hospital!! I missed my baby’s first week as I felt so sick – the midwife didnt seem to understand how bad I felt apparently it was an infection as not all the membranes had come away – According to the hospital its not that uncommon and I was there for 3 days on antibiotic drips.
- also I wish I knew the first time that it can take 4-6 weeks to get breast feeding right. Baby also doesnt know what to do not just the mother. I managed a year with no.1 child but the first few weeks were very stressful and sore.
