HomeArticles3 Things I’ll Do Differently with My Second Baby and things I’d...

3 Things I’ll Do Differently with My Second Baby and things I’d do again

Having a baby rocked my world. I know people say that “you’ll never be fully ready,” but I didn’t quite understand the magnitude of that statement until I was in it. Now that my son is almost three years old, I’ve had some time to reflect on the whole process, figure out what I could differently next time, and assess what worked well that I would do again.

3 Things I’ll Do Differently:

Prepare more mentally for labor/birth. Leading up to the birth of my son, I mainly just focused on getting the epidural when I could and that was that. Unfortunately, my epidural didn’t go quite as I hoped (it only worked on one side of my body, had to be redone, and then made me so numb that I felt like I was going to be paralyzed!). Next time around, I want to have a few more “tricks up my sleeve” for handling the pain in case I choose not to get an epidural or it doesn’t go quite as planned.

Hire a postpartum doula. I had a bit of difficult postpartum recovery and was put on modified bed rest for a few weeks. I greatly depended on my mom and husband for support, but next time I plan to hire a postpartum doula for additional help. Many postpartum doulas will not only look after the baby, but will assist with meal prep, play with older children, and do some light house cleaning. That sounds like a dream to me.

Lower my expectations. With my next baby, I plan to completely lower my expectations and not expect to “bounce back” seamlessly or easily. I thought that within a week I’d be taking my baby for walks around the block, that within 6 weeks I’d be working out again, and that my life would “resume” once my baby was sleeping through the night. None of those things were true. Having a baby is a huge transition, a major physical feat, and takes time to adjust in all aspects.

3 Things I’ll Do Again:

Formula feed. I formula fed my son from the very first feed in the hospital and I plan to do it exactly that way again. This allowed me the chance to have other people assist with feedings, gave me freedom to focus on my healing and sleep, and my son absolutely thrived on formula (he was continually in the 99th percentile for growth and slept amazingly!).

Sleep Train. Sleep (or lack thereof) was one of my biggest concerns about having a baby. We began implementing sleep training strategies with our son when he was around 4 weeks old. It took some discipline and hard work on our part, but by 12 weeks old he was sleeping 12 hours uninterrupted at night and has been the greatest sleeper and napper ever since. We got him used to his crib from day one, practiced naps in it throughout the day and moved him to his own room early on. I plan to do this as much as I can with my second baby, too.

Maternal Mental Health Counseling. I am a huge proponent of counseling and feel like there are so many benefits of finding a good maternal mental health counselor to help guide you through the ups and downs of motherhood. I continue to see my therapist regularly and don’t plan to stop!

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