What do you wish you knew when expecting your first?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The hardest thing for me was hours and hours spent alone with a baby, catering to its needs. It's mind-numbing. You go from spending most days at the office, surrounded by people, to being stuck at home, up every three hours at night, and even though your baby smells like heaven and is endlessly fascinating, the constant caregiving is very isolating. This is something that you should plan/prepare for.

+1 it’s amazing how little you can get done during the day too

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Strollers are unnecessary. Carriers are enough and maybe a snap and go.

No, not at all. Avoiding heavy lifting in the early postpartum period is a good idea, as it can cause or worsen prolapse on a vulnerable pelvic floor. We had 3 (City Mini, Snap and Go, umbrella) and used them all constantly.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-england-47404140

[Anonymous]

Birth is the easy part. Don’t get caught up on it or overthink it. Baby’s coming out one way or another. It’s everything after birth and with a newborn that’s hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t bother making a birth plan. The baby will decide that for you.

Is a birth plan something your OB/GYN helps you come up with? Or do you have to take a class for this?

It's a completely optional list of preferences that you and your partner come up with. It's just so your medical team is aware and can try to accommodate things that are important to you like skin to skin, or delayed cord clamping.

People get hung up on the word "plan" as if you're setting out exactly how the birth needs to happen. That's not what it is.

Agree, and it can help you think through some practicalities. E.g., I'm visually impaired so I wrote keeping my vision correction in the event of an emergency in my plan.