11 things you should know before having a baby

I was reading Courtney's post about baby advice on Friday, and was gearing up to write her a 400 page comment, when I realized I should just calm down and write a 400 page blog post on it instead.

So here goes.

Here is a list of fantastic advice I have received and things I WISH I had known before Charlie was born.

{Of course, these are only my opinion and are things that have worked for my boys.  Every child and situation is different!}

Hospital

1.  Swaddling blankets:  You know those hideous blankets the hospital gives you?  Yes, grab as many of those as you can.  With Charlie I only took one home because I thought they were terrible looking, but soon realized they were the PERFECT size and weight to swaddle a newborn.  Walker still uses his.  Every time the nurse comes in your room, ask her for a few of them.  And then get your husband to stuff them in your bag.

2.  Nursing:  If you decide to nurse, do NOT let those witch ladies lactation consultants force you into football hold or the crossover position.  (I would add image links.....but you can look them up yourself).  I didn't know any better, and had my big/long baby at home in the football hold.  It was insane and I literally got carpal tunnel from doing it.  INSANE.  Tell those crazy ladies to teach you cradle hold.

3.  Keep your baby in the room with you:  Biggest difference from Charlie to Walker.  I was given the advice to send your baby to the nursery at night so I could get some sleep.  It makes sense, but when I took Charlie home, my little frat boy baby had his days and nights confused.  When he was in the hospital nursery at night, all he saw and heard were fluorescent lights and other babies crying.  He thought night time was party time.  With Walker, I kept him in the room with me at night.  It was quiet and dark and he was sleeping like a champ when I brought him home.  

4.  Ask questions.  Don't be afraid to ask the nurse/doctor everything that's on your mind.  No question is too small or trivial.  They do this all the time, so they might forget to cover something.  Ask them and ask them again.  It's totally ok.

Home

5.  Establish a routine IMMEDIATELY:  Babies thrive off schedules.  A nighttime routine is most important to me, so as soon as I get my baby home, I start night time off with a bath, lotion and loving, feeding, crib.  

6.  The CRIB:  My mom was visiting when I first brought Charlie home from the hospital.  I was telling her that he didn't sleep well the first night in the bassinet and she asked me why I wasn't putting him in his crib.  I thought about it and really couldn't think of an answer.  Putting the boys in their crib from night 1 was one of the best things I ever did.  Of course I pulled the guest room mattress in the baby's room for the first week so I could hear him breathe, but after that, I was good and so were they.  

7.  Humidifier:  Get one for your baby's room.  A cool-mist humidifier that makes noise is the best way to go!  The machine will help keep your baby healthy and the noise will help them sleep.

STUFF

8.  THE book.  If you only get one thing from this post, get this.  Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child is the ultimate life saver.  Charlie was sleeping through the night (7pm to 7am) by 3 months, (Walker by 4 months), because of this book.  It teaches you how to teach your children to sleep, and it's fantastic.

9.  Baby Seat:  You will need somewhere to put your baby when you're taking a shower, doing dishes, or if you just want to take a nap on the floor right beside them.  We have this one.  And it's perfect.

10.  Bumbo:  When those little people can actually sit up, a Bumbo is IT.   

And last, but certainly not least (probably the MOST important)...

11.  Trust yourself:  You are this baby's mother and a mother's intuition is powerful.  I remember talking to another mom when Charlie was a few weeks old.  I was asking her some questions and trusted her opinion because she had been a mom for a lot longer than I had been.  Something about her advice didn't sit right with me, but I took it anyways and Charlie was up all. night. long.  I knew it wasn't right for Charlie (even though the "trick" worked totally fine for her kid) but went against my feeling anyway.  I never did that again.  Another story... a few months ago Walker had this terrible drool induced rash under his triple chin.  The doctor kept saying to put vaseline on it and that it would go away eventually.  Vaseline just wasn't helping...in fact, I'm pretty sure it was making it worse.  One day, I had the thought to put hydrocortisone cream on it.  The next day it was completely clear.  So, moral of the story.....I should become a pediatrician....jk.....really the moral of the story is that you need to trust yourself as a mother!

These are just a few things that have been really important to me.  Do you have anything to add? or any questions about anything?

Also, the winner of the Chevron Letter giveaway is Hailey!  Woohoo!  Congrats, girl!  I'll send you an email soon.