If Only I’d Known…

We’re at a happy stage in our lives right now. We have a 36 month old and a 16 month old which I suppose means we have two toddlers – scary, but fun. Pregnancy seems a long time ago and whilst I would love to add a third to our nest I’m not sure that will happen.

I wanted to take part in a competition and was given a couple of prompts to help me write. The first prompt was the ‘3rd trimester of pregnancy‘. Reading this made me shudder as although I had straight forward pregnancies I’m ashamed to say I ate enough to feed a football team and was huge. I felt big, hated my pregnancy clothes, had permanent pins and needles in my hands and my feet swelled so I could hardly wear shoes. I was not happy.

The second prompt was ‘labour‘. Now I had two planned c sections so although I consider the theatre preparation to be my labour, it’s probably not what most people consider to be labour.

The third prompt was ‘birth‘. I don’t have any helpful tips to share about that either. My planned c sections were both absolutely fine. In hindsight they both seemed thankfully short although I do have some horrible memories of them taking almost an hour to insert the epidural needle 🙁

The final prompt was ‘new baby‘. Ah, I thought, I can write about that as I’ve had two. So here are my 10 tops tips that I wish I’d known:

• learn how to use the steriliser/car seat/pram before you need them
• buy that extortionate Bounty photograph they take in hospital, I didn’t take many photos in the first few days but I do treasure the Bounty one
• let your husband do the first couple of nappies (he still talks about them 3 years later!)
• let the baby sleep where it wants to (if that’s you then just enjoy it)
• but teach your baby about bedtimes and routine and they will learn
• don’t be afraid to make lists of questions for the midwife
• clean that sticky eye before it develops into something more serious
• enjoy your new baby bubble then take your baby out, you can go mad at home
• join a mother and baby group/go to story time at the library/ take a baby massage class as even though the only thing you have in common is a new baby you may just find some great new friends
• colic will pass, as will reflux

Aptaclub have recently launched a new ‘Preparing for Birth’ app to support Mums through the last trimester of pregnancy. The app is designed to help mum stay organised through editable checklists and answer questions with tips and advice. It also comes with a contraction timer and birth announcer.

This post is the gingerbread house’s entry into the Aptaclub ‘If Only I’d Known…’ competition