This is a list of things that people have told me or I would have liked to know before I had my little bundle of joy! I hope they help you too!! I am a first time Mom, not a doctor, so not all my information may be accurate. As I am writing these tips, I am a new Mom of a 2 month old. I have been very lucky to get many of these tips from friends and family. Growing up I was not around children often. This is advice that I would give any friend or relative that will soon be a proud Mom. This information may be different for everyone. I hope my experiences will help in one of the best events of a person's life. I hope you read this information and collect other information to make your own decisions. What a beautiful season of life! If you are currently experiencing physical pain during your pregnancy remember the time will end. You are slowly creating life!
Doctor Advice
You will be visiting the doctor more often as the time comes
1. Write Down
Questions- During the week you may have many questions, but when you get to
the doctor you may forget them in your 10-minute appointment. I had so many questions thought the week, but when I went to my appointment I would forget or be too afraid to ask most of them. Ask your doctor about parenting classes.
We found a free class at a local hospital.
The best part of the class was seeing a new infant being washed for the
first time. This class helped with some of our
fears. If you don't have time to fit a parenting class in your schedule, that Happiest Baby on the Block DVD may be something that you can watch when you have time. If you don't like taking prenatal pills because of their size, you can take a spoonful of liquid prenatal plus instead. Heading Home with Your Newborn is advice from actual doctors that is a good source if you forgot to ask some important questions.
Learn
The more you know before the baby arrives the easier it will be
2. What Comes Out the
Morning After Giving Birth- It will feel like a heavy period after you give
birth. They provided me with heavy pads,
ice packs, and a spray for the brush burns that I had down there. Just be aware that may different things can occur. A C-section may have different effects on your body.
3. Wedding Ring-
Your wedding ring may become may be too tight to wear like mine. To make myself feel better to wear another
ring on my ring finger while my hands were swollen. They may not fit for a couple months after
either.
4. Laugh at Yourself-
LOL! Laugh when your jeans will not button. Laugh when your belly button
goes away or turns black and blue.
Laugh at yourself when you can't believe how well a maternity shirt fits
you. Your body will change. Some things
will go back to how they were before and some won't. How lucky you are to have the body of someone
who gave birth. Many Women would love to have that ability. By the way, those
pregnancy feet may grow a little in size.
5. Perineal Massage-
Learn how to prepare the perineum for delivery.
“If you're moving into your last trimester of pregnancy, chances are
you've heard something about perineal massage—the practice of gently stretching
the skin between the vagina and the anus in order to "condition" the
tissues for birth. The theory is that having a more stretchable perineum
lessens your chances of tearing during delivery, and that it may even help you
avoid an episiotomy” (BabyZone.com).
This may help reduce tearing or the need for an episiotomy. Here is a book on Massage for Pregnancy. An another book to Get Through Childbirth In One Piece!: How to Prevent Episiotomies and Tearing.
6. The First Two
Weeks Home - The first two weeks were hard for me and my partner. My body was making big changes in a small
amount of time. Someone told me the
first two weeks are the hardest but after that you will be fine. I agree with that statement. So just be mentally prepared because as hard
as you try before pregnancy your body won't be in the best physical shape right
after having a baby. You need to take care of yourself. Along with taking your medicine, you need to take care of
yourself. Try to change comfortable pajamas every day. Also, try to shower every day. A shower will
give you time to relax. Once you will
take a shower you realize how much it was really needed. I also put a little makeup on each day to
make myself feel better. Remember to
brush your teeth too!
7. GET HELP!!!- Just because someone comes over to watch the
beautiful one for a while does not mean you failed! It takes a whole village to raise a child is
not just a saying. Everyone benefits
from you getting help including your baby, your helpers, and you! Get Dad involved early by having him read some funny books on the subject. Dads guide to pregnancy for dummies, Dude! You are Going to Be a Dad, or The New Dad's Survival Guide is a good start. These Pregnancy Bible Verses may be a help too.
To Do
Try to do these before the last month of pregnancy. I really slowed down then. You want to concentrate on resting and being
healthy the last month.
8. Read Up on Breastfeeding-
I tried breast feeding and even with lots of help it did not work for me. I feel if I would have read some books about
people who tried to breast feed for the first time I may have done better. Breastfeeding made simple was recommended during my pregnancy from a friend.
9. Go on a Baby Moon-
Enjoy your partner outside your house. I went to Vegas for a friend’s wedding. Even complete one more of those bucket list items: I went to Vegas and had a Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity.
10. Read or Watch The Happiest baby on the Block- Either we lucked out, or we had some great tips
from this book. My husband and I were
never really around babies and the tips we got in this book really seem to work
when our child cries. I think this is
one of the key reasons we have done so well to this point. We use the Sleep Sack to swaddle. They now also have woobies to swaddle without arms. If you don’t like to read, you can find links
on watch the Happiest Baby on the Block DVD with your partner. Then send the link to
your husband.
11. Make a Get Out of
The House Plan- You need to get out of the house!! Yes, maybe a week or two is ok after you
little one is born to get some sleep and learn your babies habits. But the sooner you get out the better. If you think about places that are safe to
start before you give birth this may help.
Grocery shopping, coffee shop, woman’s group, a friend’s house, or possibly
church. I started out by going to a friend’s
house. Then church. View pregnancy discussion boards for help. You are not the only woman going through this! Start being part of pregnancy boards. I
frequented TheBump.com. Ask questions and get answers. Many questions or feelings that you have
already asked by other people. Or just
Google your question to get the answer.
Remember to find reliable sources! My friend from college became friends with a couple girls that were pregnant the same month she was. They now go to each others birthday parties. Here are 10 Things to Know Before Traveling with a Baby.
12. Take Belly
Pictures / Set up Baby Pictures - Remember your pregnancy by taking belly pictures each week or
month. What a life changing event to remember! Then put all the pictures together into one
image to view the great changes your body has made. If you want to get those o-so-cute baby
pintrest, they should be
done in the first 2 weeks of the baby’s life.
This means you might want to decide and kind-of schedule an appointment
before the birth. You can create a board
on pintrest.com to show the photographer
what type of pictures you would like. Here is a nursery vision board and the Finished Nursery.
13. Choose a Baby
Formula or Not?- Decide what baby formula you are going to use before your big
day. I didn't think of this, and they
gave my little one Gerber at the hospital. Now that all
the coupons are gone, I wish I went with a cheaper brand. Even if you are going to try breastfeeding,
they may give your baby formula at night.
Decide now so when they ask you after the craziness is over you have an
answer.
14. De-Tag, Wash, and
Sort Baby Clothes or Not?- De-tag, wash, and
sort all baby clothes by size. Put
clothes in bins marked 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, and 12 month plastic
containers. Or you may want to wait because you don't know what size your baby will be during the season. Here is a
15. Walk, Walk, Walk
- Try to walk as much as you can. Then
waddle to the end! I even walked in the
grocery store and couponed when it got cold.
17. Birth
Announcements- Choose a
birth announcement from a website that you are
going to select. I selected
shutterfly.com to create ours. Create a spreadsheet with the names and addresses of intended baby shower/birth
announcement/thank you note recipients.
Print out Avery Easy Peel White Address Labels- two times, one for birth announcements, and
another for thank you notes. We used the same addresses from our wedding. We like to use these for Christmas cards too. Another option would be to have everyone write their address on an envelope during the baby shower. Here is a She is About to Pop Baby Shower theme and our 5 favorite baby shower gifts.
18. Who Will Be in the Delivery Room? - Decide who you want to be on your team on the big day. The only person you can 100% count on being there is you! But planning for others and telling others no in advance should set you up for success. Are you interested in a Husband Coached Birth? Is Hypno Birthing something you are interested in? Would you like to ready about Faith-Based Births? The last book I will recommend is Your Best Birth which talks about many of your options.
19. Buy Thicker
Toilet Paper- By the end of your pregnancy when you cannot see all of your
lady parts.You can start couponing now for items you know
you will need.
20. Buy a Larger Bra-
You will need to deal with your milk coming in.
You will need some support here.
Also a tip, if you are going to try breastfeeding then decide it is not
right for you, it may take a month or two to quit. This was painful to me when I just wanted to
relax and enjoy my new one.
21. Create a Google
Calendar for Baby- I don't like clutter, so keeping
online calender for
your child is a great way for keep track all the events of her life. This is also a great place for medical
information. For example if the doctor
asks when you changed over to solid food, you can find it on your child's
online calendar on your cell phone during the visit. You can also purchase a baby calendar or put one on your baby registry.
22. Home Renovations-
Try to do these in the now while the nesting phase occurs. Trying to do them while a little one is
crawling or walking around will be even harder. You can also go though your kitchen cabinets to make room for baby. Here is a food storage container organizer that may be helpful in your home.
23. Baby Sitter Sheet-
After a couple weeks you may want to leave your awesome addition to your family
at home for a couple hours while you get out of the house, but may not have
time to leave that information for someone.
Creating a sheet with important information before you have your baby
will make this process smoother. You can
always add more information to the sheet after the birth. Add this document to the home binder. You can purchase baby sitter sheets to keep instructions on where you will be, where to reach you, and special instructions for each child. Here is a Free Baby Sitter Sheet.
24. Get Excited!- Get excited to know that you are the luckiest
person in the world to get to see your baby grown and learn each day right in
front of your eyes! The most beautiful
thing in the world is going to be in your arms soon!
25. Cervix Checks- Before you have your baby they will start to check your cervix. Web MD explains this as "Effacement and dilatation need to occur for a baby to be born through the birth canal. Effacement means that the cervix stretches and gets thinner. Dilatation means that the cervix opens." If you did not start to change, this could be very painful, so just be aware. You do not have to get them if you would not want because this information may not help anyway. Research cervix checks for more on this. What to Expect When You are Expecting may be a good resource for more information on this topic.
26. Amazon Mom - Look into buying diapers from Amazon. Even with coupons and sales, I could not find deals like these. These deals were 20% off with Amazon Mom, and shipped to my door for free. One less thing to worry about if you are not going to cloth diaper. There is even online coupons occasionally.
Stations
25. Cervix Checks- Before you have your baby they will start to check your cervix. Web MD explains this as "Effacement and dilatation need to occur for a baby to be born through the birth canal. Effacement means that the cervix stretches and gets thinner. Dilatation means that the cervix opens." If you did not start to change, this could be very painful, so just be aware. You do not have to get them if you would not want because this information may not help anyway. Research cervix checks for more on this. What to Expect When You are Expecting may be a good resource for more information on this topic.
26. Amazon Mom - Look into buying diapers from Amazon. Even with coupons and sales, I could not find deals like these. These deals were 20% off with Amazon Mom, and shipped to my door for free. One less thing to worry about if you are not going to cloth diaper. There is even online coupons occasionally.
Stations
Creating these stations will help you stay organized
27. Set up Stations- At the Changing Station you will need diapers, wipes, a changing pad, a changing pad cover and a trash can. I recommend putting the trash can on the right if you are a righty. This will make changing a diaper simpler. You could even have two of changing stations. For example up and down stairs. Keep clothes nearby in case a wardrobe change needs to happen. Adding a mobile hanging from the ceiling will provide entertainment to you and your baby. With a mobile the baby may stay still while you change them. I added a inexpensive origami bird mobile that I created. You can view the mobile in our finished nursery. At the Bottle Station you will need bottles, nipples, formula, bibs, and a bottle washing system. The items will need to be washed many times throughout the week. I put these items in a basket on my kitchen counter near the sink.
At the Mommy Medicine Station you will need a piece of paper to keep what medicine to take and when. See Mom Medicine Schedule for a paper schedule that I created. Make a little chart where you can check off what you took each day. I had to take pain medicine, iron, and a stool softener every day, twice a day, for the first month. Since I was low on sleep when I came home and had to keep the baby changing schedule in my head, marking down when I took my medicine was very helpful.
28. Baby Feeding/Changing Schedule- Make sure you have a place to write when you fed and changed the baby. See Baby Feeding/Diaper Schedule for a template to keep you and your helpers on track. This worked great for us the first month, but was not needed after that. You can buy a Itzbeen Baby Care Timer from amazon that can keep track of the diaper changes, sleep time, and bottles for you.
To read all 50 tips view 50 Things to Know Before Having a Baby eBook. A great baby shower gift for a friend who is pregnant! I ENCOURAGE YOU to borrow the book for free from the Kindle Lending Library for Amazon Prime Members. If you want the book for free or would like to share these tips please email me at lbrennec@gmail.com. You can also give this quick read as a gift to a friend or family member as a paperback book.
Our book "50 Things to Know Before Having a Baby" that is currently $2.99 on kindle will be FREE Today and Tomorrow. 50 Things to Know Before Having a Baby is FREE today! So stop reading this post, and get your ebook. Don't have a Kindle Reader? You can use the cloud player for free!
Our book "50 Things to Know Before Having a Baby" that is currently $2.99 on kindle will be FREE Today and Tomorrow. 50 Things to Know Before Having a Baby is FREE today! So stop reading this post, and get your ebook. Don't have a Kindle Reader? You can use the cloud player for free!
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