What will you do differently this time?

[I Love Lucy]

There are a lot of things I plan to do differently the second time around but more so when it comes to other people.

- I'm not telling people the heartrate at the appointments, my MIL was especially horrible at telling me the gender of my baby based on that old wives tale about the heartrate as if it was fact.

- I'm not traveling to see anyone. After I had DS, my in laws expected ME to travel to see THEM rather than them coming to me as it should be (they live an hour away). Then my FIL was just an insensitive ass and told me at 2 weeks PP I should just suck it up and stop complaining about being in pain.

- I'm not having visitors at the hospital. With DS, the only time I got to hold him was when I was nursing him. Otherwise he was being held by someone else. I also didn't get much sleep because people thought they could be in my hospital room 24/7 (no visiting hours at my hospital).

I'm sure there are probably other things but those are the main ones.

 

[WanaBaba]

This time round I am determined to breastfeed and to ask for help, I had no clue what I was doing last time and no one offered any help, I hadn't slept for 5 days, was I'll with the flu, LO wasn't feeding it was the second or third night and she was crying for hours in the middle of the night at the hospital so I gave her a bottle Regret this so much and always will.

This time I will stand up to people who try and take over and not let people snatch my baby away from me any time they like.

I won't have anyone at the hospital when LO is born apart from me and oh and no visitors (apart from my dd) until the next day so I can get breast feeding established and bond with my baby and not be the last person to hold him or her.

I'm not sure wether or not I will co sleep again.

Will be giving a dummy again.

Will make the most of tiny baby cuddles

 

[Bex84]

not much will change, I will just ignore people more and not let them upset me lol, I breast fed till lo decided to wean at 22 months so will do the same, I will co sleep if baby wants to just as did for lo, did a mix of blw and traditional and no dummy. I plan to do same as I just went by my babies cues. I will change by at the start being more confident bf in public, not worrying if lo cried in public, not worry what anybody else thought and buy more second hand stuff from stuff. Oh and not waste money on push chair and just use a carrier from start

 

[StarlitHome]

not much will change, I will just ignore people more and not let them upset me lol

yes, this! I was fairly good at this when I had DD but now I've had two years of practice
basically I will be doing things the same - breastfeeding, wearing baby, etc. One thing different is that I plan to use cloth diapers starting much sooner!

 

[MissRhead]

This time I will try and breast feed and stick to it no matter what it takes.
I won't listen to other people's opinions and I will do whatever I want as it is MY baby (especially the nurses hvs afterwards) and most importantly I won't rush anything, my boy has grown up so quickly I feel like I should have savoured those first days/weeks/months as they pass by in the blink of an eye x

 

[Misscalais]

I'm hoping to breast feed longer this time too, hopefully fully until 12 months and also do blw from 6 months. I think it's so much better in a lot of ways. Hopefully bub will think so too lol!
I don't co-sleep and don't plan on it either but bubs will be in the cradle right next to me. I'm hoping to get a good 6 months in the cradle
I'm going to try baby wearing this time too

 

[Maxy1]

I have read everyones responses and feel that I am going against the trend.

Things I will do differently,

1. bottle feed earlier. I had a terrible time healthwise bfing and I want more time to enjoy this wee one without being sick.
2. more use of the stroller instead of the carrier/wrap/sling
3. TW instead of BLW
4. not buy so many 'accessories' and 'stuff'.

Things I will do the same,

1. cloth diapering for the first year
2. no dummy
3. sleep in own room and bed from 4 weeks
4. no room monitor

 

[AC1987]

so many ladies have said what I am going to say!

Plan to breastfeed again.
This time I won't stress over the fact that LO just ate, or how long etc, I will just feed when hungry etc.

I won't give in to my mom pushing me on formula, that killed my supply the last time and I will ignore all her comments about how my babies brain isn't growing because I am not feeding it formula.
I won't give in to the nurses telling me I'm starving my baby, prehaps they need to learn about how to help a nursing mother instead of pressuring formula on them.

If anyone so much as looks like they're shocked at the state of my house after giving birth or after all the help is gone I will gladly hand them a broom

Also this time I asked for help alot eariler! Like me and my mom don't see eye to eye on breastfeeding however she is a huge help with other things

 

[PugLuvAh]

I (hopefully) plan on being a bit more patient with myself and baby for the first 3 months. They were so hard and he cried all the time and I felt like I was constantly waiting for the day to end so he'd be one day older and closer to 3 months. I rushed him through it and didn't enjoy it. I'm hoping that now that I realize how short a time it is, I'll be more forgiving with myself and him during that time.

Other than that I am going to try the same things I did with my son and see how things go. Its a different baby who may have an entirely different disposition and personality. What we did before worked great for my son, but who knows what we'll get this time around?

What we'll keep doing:

Soother in the day (not at night)
Live in pajamas for first 3 months
Pumping/formula feeding from the beginning
In the crib around 4 months old
Lots of walks outside and fresh air from the beginning (even in the winter)

What we'll do differently:
Buy an infant vibrating chair
Not worry about having a nursery completed which he won't use for 4-6 months anyway

 

[Lady_Bee]

This time around I will...

...probably wear my baby most of the time instead of just when we go grocery shopping, by necessity (because I'm not sure how else I am going to run around after my crazy two-year-old!)

...do a lot of skin to skin straight after the birth with an uninterrupted feed. I was upset that I didn't really do that with my first because every time I tried to hold him on me I felt sooooo nauseous and started retching, so my husband had to take him. It also meant our first feed was cut short.

...use a cosleeper bassinet. I had a swinging crib with my first which was nice but he hated being in it and really just wanted to be next to me. I can't do bedsharing - it freaks me out because I thrash around and hallucinate crazy stuff in my sleep, even more when I'm sleep-deprived! But using a bedside crib like the Arms Reach seems almost like bedsharing so I'm hoping it will be easier.

...do a mixture of tw and blw. We did only blw last time and I feel like it was a big mistake. Maybe we just did it wrong but my toddler is one super-fussy kid. Grr.

...relax if breastfeeding doesn't work again. I hope it does, but if it doesn't, at least I know my baby will turn out just fine on formula! Less guilt!

 

[pinkpolkadot]

What I plan to do differently...

- insist on a waterbirth (was talked out of it last minute last time as they were busy )
- not have pethidine
- have a natural 3rd stage
- BF for longer (6m last time) and don't clock watch so much!
- BF in public more
- BLW (did a mixture last time)
- wear baby more as will need hands free for DD!
- be more confident in my decisions and not get annoyed by comments!

 

[BigAl]

-Use a sling more,
-stop worrying that I'm not entertaining them enough at 3m(!!! like they need anything beyond cuddles and food)
-will not give a shit what anyone else has to say, ever.
-give up cosleeping earlier
-try a dummy earlier
-no worrying about weaning, they eat when they eat!
-no diamorphine (vomit central)

 

[JuneBabyBump]

Babywear from birth. Last time I only really started when he was around 5 months old.
I breastfed until 14 months last time but had been pressured by family to finally stop and this time I will tell anyone to f*** off, as it's non of their business.
Pump milk and introduce bottle feeding. Last time we moved countries when LO was 3 months old and I stopped pumping. Also by then LO did not accept bottles.
Pump milk and let my husband stay with both kids more often so that he also realises what it's all about and take more time for myself to stay sane.
I was adamant about waiting until he was 6 months old to introduce solids even though he showed interest before. Now I would be less stubborn about the exact age and just do it when it seems right.

 

[Buttercup84]

-Be mobile during labour if at all possible
-Wean closer to 6 months rather than 4
-Prepare better for breastfeeding, particularly getting in touch with peer support and know when the bf groups are locally so I can start going asap once baby is born. I don't have a 'target' in mind but I know I want to do everything I can to have a more positive experience this time around for however long I do it.
-Babywear more, if baby is receptive to it (DD wasn't really)
-Get out and about as early as possible, even just for short periods. Though with a lively 2 year old I probably won't have a choice in the matter anyway
-More skin to skin, for OH too