5 Things I wish I knew with my Firstborn

After now being an experienced mother of two, there are some things I wish I knew with my first daughter, that I didn’t know my second. Of course, having my first child i was cautious of everything and anything that ever touched my precious baby- but now being a mother of two, I noticed I let a few things slip by with my second that I didn’t know with my first.

1)You can let your baby cry.

With my first born, as soon as I heard a little groan or crib, I ran to her bed and held her immediately. What I wish I’d known, is that sometimes, you can let the baby cry for a couple of minutes without feeling so bad about it! As long as your baby is changed, fed, and burped, feel free to hit the shower for twenty minutes or get some cleaning done! Of course, keeping in mind not to let your baby cry for more than thirty minutes, or to the point of distress. Apart from that, go ahead and have some YOU time, mommy! You deserve it :)

2) Nursing Pads are your BEST friend!

I thought I could skip out on these with my first- born but boy was I wrong! If you’re going to be breastfeeding, you are sure to have milk leakage, literally EVERYWHERE you go! Especially during the first few months of nursing, so be sure to wear them before you go to bed and before you leave your house to avoid soaking your shirts!

3) Don’t let her get used to sleeping slanted/upwards!

With my first daughter, she’s  to wake up every hour and absolutely hated her bassinet! So to get more sleep, I let her sleep in a fisher price rocker. This was a more compacted rocker that enabled her to have the snuggled feeling. The downside was that since it was tilted at an angle, she got used to it and refused to sleep anywhere else for 8 months! The transition to a flat crib was extremely hard for us. With my second, even though she awoke every two hours during her first few nights, I didn’t give in and kept putting her to sleep on her back. So when it’s time to transition into a crib, it will be so much easier!

4) Make sure you are using a boppy pillow while nursing

I had an intense amount of neck pain with my first born because I did not use much support when nursing her. This put a ton of strain in my back especially when she started packing on the pounds! With my second, I had a boppy pillow ready my first day home and have not had the problem as of yet :)

5) Put on that shapewear!

One thing that boosted my self-esteem and made me feel like myself again was wearing my shapewear underneath my clothes everyday. My brain and body were on sleep deprived-zombie- mom mode, but when I looked in the mirror, I still looked like my pre-pregnancy self and instantly felt good about myself again! It is very important to feel beautiful after giving birth and wearing my shapewear was essential to my confidence during the first few months post baby,