When you are pregnant with your first baby, you are totally going into parenthood blindly. I didn't read a single parenting book. I decided we would just kind of "wing it." All in all, I think we did a pretty great job with G...but he was a pretty easy going baby. One of the perks of having a 2nd baby is that you kind of know what to expect. Now, I know all babies are different, but, I have a few things I would like to do differently with Griffin. Kind of a "If I knew then what I know now" sort of thing.
I think that's all I've got right now. If you could change the way you did things, what would you do differently??
- Starting in the crib from day 1. Before Grayson was born we set up the pack'n'play in our bedroom. I assumed that I would not like him sleeping in his own room. Well, G was the loudest sleeper in the world & I would wake up every single time he made a noise. Also? He didn't like sleeping in the pack'n'play...he preferred the Rock & Play sleeper. We tried to move him to his crib around 4 weeks but realized that our video monitor wasn't working anymore. *face in palm* SO, we had to wait a few weeks for our replacement and then we moved him. He was around 7 weeks old. And guess what? We all slept better! My plan for Griffin is to put him in the crib at night starting with our first night at home. I want him to nap there too. With a loud toddler & 3 dogs, it just doesn't make sense for him to nap wherever we are. We are buying a 2nd video monitor so let's see if I can actually stick to this one!
- Swaddling. I know this isn't a necessity. Grayson hated to be swaddled & we have used the sleep sacks since he was a few weeks old. However, I never had any of those fancy shmancy swaddlers. All we used were receiving blankets & little Houdini G could kick out of those in 3 seconds flat. I will be investing in some good swaddle blankets...ya know, the ones that look like baby straight jackets. Anyone have a favorite they want to recommend?
- Nursing. I had no clue what I was really doing. G had horrible reflux and a milk allergy & literally projectile vomited every time I nursed him. It stressed me out more than anything. I already have the Rolls Royce of pumps so I will give it another shot. I made it 4 weeks with Grayson. I'm not pressuring myself with a certain time frame because I certainly have no problems with formula, BUT, it sure would be nice to save that money! Again, I need to educate myself with this topic. Any good books out there you would recommend?
- Not letting the baby give up baby food so easily. I made all of Grayson's food & plan on doing the same with Griffin. It's easy, cheaper, and I like controlling the ingredients. And honestly? It tastes better. Grayson decided he just didn't want to eat any more pureed foods over the 4th of July weekend when we were out of town. He was 9 months old. I really didn't care because he had quite a few teeth & already ate lots of table food. I thought it would be easier to not have to deal with bringing pureed foods everywhere. Ha! Maybe it would have been easier if G wasn't the pickiest eater ever. He never had a problem with pureed veggies, fruits, or meats. Now? His go to foods are chicken nuggets, grilled cheese, grapes, and yogurt. HE HASN'T HAD A VEGGIE SINCE JULY. I wish I was kidding. Griffin will not give it up without a fight.
I think that's all I've got right now. If you could change the way you did things, what would you do differently??
13 comments:
We loved the miracle blanket!!!!
I would have stopped pumping sooner than I did, just felt so much pressure!
Great post. I'm sure all moms do things differently on round 2. You're right - it's all so new (and terrifying!) the first time around!
If I have another, I'd swaddle right away. We waited until 5 weeks because we thought she liked having her hands free. The second we started swaddling she started sleeping for hours on end. I'd also start pumping right away this time. I waited about a month and half but I think it could have helped my supply to start right away.
Having Blaire in her crib from day one worked well for us. Hope it does for Griffin too! And good to know about the purees. I will keep that in mind before transitioning B off them. Thanks!
Sorry, that should say NEXT time. Not this time. I am NOT pregnant. Promise.
I loved the Halo swaddler sleep sacks. They were great because you could swaddle them, but for your little ones who start rolling over at 4 weeks and your pediatrician says you can't use them anymore, you can take the swaddle off and use them as a regular sleep sack. I hated the Summer ones. There is a little place for their legs and then it comes over their arms. Hutson always kicked out of them.
Oh and Phillip was actually Alex, I didn't realize he is logged in.
I highly suggest seeking out a great lactation consultant. In Louisville we have a place called Babyology ( I'm sure Nashville has something similar) and they offer great lactation services. I met with a lactation consultant for 2 hours when Kendall was a week old and it was the best thing. I even followed up 2 weeks later. I nursed her a year and it was a great experience and saved us so much money!
Ellie was a loud sleeper too, and it forced us to move her into her room around 2 weeks old. We slept so much better after! But with Foster, it's the total opposite. He is completely silent and I've really been enjoying having him right up next to me in a sidecar-type cosleeper. I never thought I would be the type to enjoy it! I can say, one week into nursing #2, that meeting with a lactation consultant has completely changed my life. You may know that I didn't nurse Ellie after about 4 days, I went straight to pumping for 4 months. This time I prepared myself, I went to a couple La Leche League meetings when I was pregnant, read The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, and it was still freaking hard! On day 4 I was so fed up with my giant burning boobs that Josh and I decided we were going to buy formula that night. But as a last resort (really just so I could give myself permission to quit) I called a local lactation consultant in Spring Hill. Angela Lee. She came to our house and within 1.5 hours she had me successfully nursing with no pain! She was a God-send. I'm so glad I called her and didn't give up, because like you said, breastmilk is free! And it makes you skinny! :)
I am due in October and thought that there should be no real reason why the baby couldn't go straight from the hospital to his/her crib - your statment makes me feel comfortable with my plan!
I know nothing and I mean nothing about swaddling or sleep sacks so I jotted that down and plan to research.
I'm scared to death to nurse but plan to do the best I can and spend some time with a lactation consultant if need be.
I absolutely LOVED the woombie. Someone introduced me to it when Wills was about 4 weeks old, and it was fantastic. I never swaddled either of my boys but the woombie was very similar to the swaddle and you can also get a convertible woombie that allows you to gradually let out an arm at a time when you want to transition to a plain sleepsack.
http://www.woombie.com/
I can only imagine the things I would do differently with #2! Try the velcro swaddle blankets...they work pretty well. We liked the swaddles by Summer. I'm head good things about the Woombie too!
In all honesty, I would probably do everything a little bit differently. I was a first time mom, as we all were. And I was just paranoid about everything. But when I wanted to try something different, Husband was too paranoid, so we would wait for the "right time". I would try harder to breast feed, and I wouldn't give up as quickly as I did! I pumped for 6 months and I hated every minute of it...lol!! But we all live and learn, and learn how to do to it BETTER the second time around, right? Good Luck!!! I hope all goes smoothly for you!
I am totally with you on the crib from the get-go! Addie did fine when we transitioned her at 3 weeks but we slept awfully those first 3 weeks and she really seemed to sleep so much better once she had her own room!! I also plan to pump from the start...I had issues with supply and I think I just wasn't regimented enough about it!!!
I can't wait to read all about how things change with baby #2....I'm so nervous to add a second baby to the mix but I've heard so many people say its so much easier to have the babes close in age:)
Definitely get a good lactation consultant! Take advantage of the ones in the hospital for free, too. And if your hospital offers a class, take it even though it's the 2nd. I did!
My son stopped eating baby food at 9 mo, too, and for me, it was easier. He still loved veggies, though. His favs were frozen peas and corn- he would BEG for them! He never would eat them cooked, but frozen got them down every time!
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