Hellobee Boards

Not as serious as yours, but I wish I had known how awful snaps are. DD has so many cute sleepers with snap closures that just sit on the shelf because who wants to do/undo a half dozen snaps 8x a day. Instead we just use the handful that have zippers. Bonus points for any with 2 way zippers so that you can unzip just the bottom for changes.

That baby sleep will be hard and you need to teach and help them learn how to sleep.

Routine and structure is key for baby just like it is for me.

You don’t really need newborn diapers but size 1 will be best!

You don’t need to go by AAP for every little darn thing but speak to your pediatrician and they will gladly assist with update, accurate information.

That having a baby is a wonderful blessing and reward from the Lord!

Oh and breastfeeding hurts in the beginning but it will get ten times better after a week or so!

I always tell my friends that it's normal to vomit during labor.. and to expect to have uncontrollable shakes after delivery and possibly goosebumps too. For me it was like my body was going through "minor" shock. I was ok and perfectly fine it was just how my body dealt with it all.

I also tell them the placenta delivery/aftermath is like a horror show.. to use DH's words. I didn't even see it or pay any attention to it but DH was scarred for life so I warn my friends who warn their husbands

About L&D specifically: peri ice pads are your friend. Once I got up to the mama & baby floor, the nurse told me that I didn't need them anymore and they are normally only given in the delivery room. Such BS, I was so swollen down there that I couldn't pee at all (so painful) and nothing like having seven nurses standing around trying to cath you while commenting that it's too much of a mess down there to figure out where it goes Once DH demanded the ice packs, problem fixed.

Also, I had a natural birth, baby born a little after midnight, and we didn't get up to recovery until the next morning. I wasn't offered anything for pain in the delivery room and hence wasn't able to sleep at all that night because I was so uncomfortable, which was the one time for like the next year that the baby slept. A motrin made me feel so much better the next day, wish I'd known to ask....

I had no idea what a tongue tie was, and didn’t know it could make breastfeeding painful and difficult. After going through that with my first (and finally getting it clipped), we knew to look out for that with our second and third.

With my first I had no idea that you can lose a lot of hair post partum. I thought something was seriously wrong.

@LCTBQE: Umm that’s crazy your hospital didn’t do one. I think it’s protocol at the hospitals here after an epidural if you can’t pee on your own very shortly after delivery. I really didn’t want one so they gave me an hour or so to prove I could pee on my own.

Buy nursing tanks before you have the baby and when you are 7 mo pregnant, buy nursing bras for the post-engorgement phase.

Bring swaddles to the hospital. you cannot swaddle the baby as well as the nurses with the blanket. Save yourself the stress and bring a swaddle (SwaddleMe now sells them that zip on the bottom!

Pacifiers WILL NOT give nipple confusion. Bring some to the hospital and buy different kinds (my DD wouldn't take the hospital kinds, but would take regular ones)

DEMAND MORE DRUGS.... I tweaked my knee (pulling on my legs while pushing) and that pain was worse than anything as I was trying to sleep that first night. They gave me hot packs, but waited about 6 hours before telling me I could have more pain meds.....uh, its 4am and my knew is in excruciating pain and I was in labor for 48 hours....GIMME THE DAMN DRUGS SO I CAN SLEEP!

@LCTBQE: omg that is terrible. I had an epidural and they put a catheter in right away. With my first it ended up staying in for 24 hours because I was so incredibly swollen after pushing for 3 hours.

Speak up and talk to lactation consultant(s) until you find something that works for you - BF is not supposed to be comfortable, but it's not supposed to hurt either. I suspected his latch shouldn't hurt so much (at birth), and the nurse stuck her finger in his mouth and said "Oh, honey! I'm going to get you a shield right away!" Life saving!

I was told to request stool softeners and advil immediately and for the nurse to write my last dose on the white board so that I didn't miss a dose.

My friend told me flat out "nipple confusion is bullshit, don't worry about giving your newborn a bottle or pacifier" and I thank her all the time for that. She also said having a lac consultant come to her house and show her how to nurse on HER couch and in HER bed was the best money she ever spent.

I wish I had a script ready for how to tell people to GTFO of my house when I want to sleep, and no, they can't just hang out while I nap!
Anyone have a good go-to for "Thanks for stopping by and bringing me food and presents for the baby, but I want to nurse now and I don't care that you're not uncomfortable, you have to leave?"

Thank you for the heads-up on the discharge and "periods" with girls -I had no idea!!

So many things, but one that sticks out is that you might not want to hold your baby right after they are born. I didn't. Both times. I thought it must have been a fluke with the first since I had just finished a 32 hour labor and was delirious, but, nope. It happened a second time, although I was delirious from the Stadol that time (but had no pain meds.) I honestly don't want to be holding my baby while I am delivering the "largest placenta" the OB has ever seen or getting two spoolfuls of stitches that I can feel. The nurses were looking at me like "Ummm...ok...I guess she doesn't want to hold her baby?" I already know my baby but can I just have a minute after delivering a nearly 10 lb baby? Both times, I feel in love in the mom and baby room. Just us.

@LCTBQE: The absolute worst! And of course MIL walked in w/o knocking just as a large group of nurses was having an entire discussion about how all the "damage" down there was making it really hard to place 🤷‍♀️

@LemonJack: We had the same problem, made the first ten weeks of breastfeeding hell until we fixed it. The ped claimed tongue ties do not exist, complete bs...

@KT326: yeah, or at least one of the ped's in the office, who was the one we managed to have a couple of appointments with because ours was always booked... (I can see why this ped was available....) First thing I'm doing with the next baby is calling an IBCLC to come check it....

@Ajsmommy: Oh yeah the SHAKES! I had it bad with DD2 and I was alone too and was like what the heck am I dying?! lol

@Becky: I didn't know the hair loss can just continue... Forever. My hair loss had been pretty bad after DD2 till I got pregnant again!

@josina: Amen to supplementing! I was so hard on myself and so stressed out with K1 about that, cried over having to decide every, single, time, whether or not to supplement. With K2 I basically topped her off all the time till she refused it!

@BUNBUN: Uh yes totally this. I felt so "bullied" by the LC(s) the first time like I just had to do whatever they were telling me cause I didn't know better. It worked out so much better the 2nd time; DD2 was in NICU so I only pumped at the hospital and we nursed just fine after at home!

@codeitall: YES! They were so much worse with #2 and my sister said they were nearly unbearable with #5.

I wish I had known that 6-12 weeks after giving birth can be a really isolating time. Usually partners have gone back to work, the newness has worn off for other visitors but you still haven't figured out how to nurse/nap/get out with a newborn yet.

I now try to always check in and see new moms in this time and commiserate about how hard things are.

When I first got pregnant, a friend gave me a heads up that those early ultrasound are transvaginal! I really appreciated the heads up. And now I tell my friends, none of whom expected that, haha.

Also, it was really silly to get my hair blown out before going to the hospital... 2 days of labor later... hot mess!

And related to the vaginal discharge topic, I didn't know about the "brick dust" that comes in the first couple of days. I thought my son was peeing blood

I wish I knew it was normal to not love or bond with my baby immediately I guess I heard that but never thought it would happen to me. It did.

@codeitall: Yes, the cramping after birth! Everyone at the hospital looked at me a little side eyed when I said that all of the vaginal trauma was totally manageable (no pain meds during or after birth), but the cramps were really bothering me. When I had DH bring an electric heating pad from home (and I think they were worried about fire hazard) someone finally got me a hot water contraption that provided some relief.

The hospital staff are not in charge of you. I was up all the first night with LO, trying to nurse, and then trying to get her to settle, lather, rinse, repeat. When I FINALLY had her down around 5am, and started to doze off myself, a custodian came in to mop my room (turning on the lights and fully waking me). When I was nearly in tears with frustration later in the day, my mom talked to the nurses, and they put a sign on my door indicating that no one was allowed in my room without checking with my assigned nurse first. Should I ever have another child, I am asking for that sign first thing.

I also fully intended on cosleeping when we got home (and did from day one), so I wish I had just coslept at the hospital, and let the nurses scold me if the wanted to, rather than fussing unsuccessfully with the bassinet.

@bees_knees: That babies can be covered in hair at birth. Somehow with allllll my reading, I never stumbled upon that one. And naturally, my son looked like a baby chimp for like 2 days. I was stunned. Lol. Then it all fell out!