Friday, August 27, 2010

10 Things I'll Do Differently

Recently, somebody posed the following question on a message board online: What will you do differently with your next baby, based on what you've learned from the first?

I thought this was a great question. As I think back to the first few months and the decisions we made, a few things come to mind that I would like to try differently next time around.

1. I'd like to give a better effort at breastfeeding. I definitely would not say that I "gave up" on breastfeeding. However, I think I could have sought out more help when I needed it. The truth of the matter is, I was exhausted and overwhelmed. When the going got tough, the tough got formula. Next time, I would like to educate myself better beforehand so I can give it a better shot.

2. If breastfeeding doesn't work out, I will NOT beat myself up over it for a month like I did with Aubrey. Damn La Leche League!

3. I will start a bedtime routine sooner. Once we finally stuck to a bedtime routine, Aubrey fell into a great schedule. Wish I had done that months ago!

4. I will have dinners prepared and frozen for the first week we are home with the new baby. I wish I had listened to this advice when I was pregnant with Aubrey...we spent a fortune on take-out!

5. This one is delivery related: I will get the epidural RIGHT AWAY instead of trying to tough it out. All that did was waste time--I was in so much pain that I wouldn't dilate. Once I got the epidural and was relaxed, I went from 4cm to the birth in 4 hours.

6. I will not read baby books and treat them like they are the Bible. Every time I ask my pediatrician about "something I read" she yells at me and tells me to stop reading the books!

7. When my mom offers (well, I hope she still offers...) to spend the night to help with the baby, I will say YES instead of feeling guilty and pretending we didn't really need a good night's rest.

8. I will hire someone to clean my house for the first few months. So worth it.

9. With baby #2, I will be much more out and about than I was with Aubrey. I barely left the house with her for the first 6 weeks. In my defense, it was "Swine flu" season and we had a 3 foot blizzard every other week.

10. When I'm pregnant with baby #2, I will have no delusions about what life will be like with another baby. With Aubrey I had visions of baking Christmas cookies while she napped all day. HA. That didn't even come close to happening. I will be much more mentally prepared in knowing that babies turn your world upside down, and nothing is predictable. All I know for sure is that life will get crazier (but better!) and we will have a new baby to fall in love with all over again.

Anyone else out there have something that you'll do differently next time? I'm sure I'm forgetting many, many things :)

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