12 Things I Wish I Had Known When I First Became A Mom

Are you new to motherhood?  You’re not alone.  At one point, we all are.  Here are some of the things I wish I would have known when I was first starting my journey into motherhood.

1.  Sleep when your baby sleeps.  Don’t worry about how the house looks or doing the dishes.  Right now what you need most is rest.

2.  Take up offers of help from family members and friends.  Now is not the time to try and be supermom and do it all on your own.

3.  Babies poop a lot.  A LOT.  I thought something was wrong at first because Felicity would poop after every feeding, but that’s normal, especially if you’re breastfeeding.  And the poop will be a mustard yellow color, not brown.  Did I mention there would be a lot of it?

4.  Breastfeeding doesn’t have to be painful.  If you make sure the baby is latching on correctly, it won’t be.  Unfortunately for me, I didn’t find that out until I had Nick.  I suffered for the first month with Felicity and Chase.  The good news is that even so, after that first month, I was fine.  I’m glad I stuck it out and kept up with it.  I ended up breastfeeding each of my kids for about a year.

5. When you take the baby to the first appointment with the pediatrician, he or she will want to know how many wet diapers and how many poopy diapers the baby is having.  I felt like a bad mother when mine asked me and I said, “I don’t know.”

6. Speaking of dry skin, if the baby has a diaper rash, make sure to let the baby’s bottom air dry for a few minutes before applying any Desitin or Vaseline.  If you put it on while the baby’s bottom is still moist, it will make the rash worse.

7.  If your baby is drooling a lot, that means he or she is teething.  A baby can teeth for a couple of months before that first tooth pops through.  They can also begin getting teeth as early as three to four months and as late as a year old.

8.  If your baby is all of a sudden uncontrollably unconsolable, they are probably teething.  Frozen bagels are cold and soft to chew.  Just make sure to watch that the baby doesn’t swallow any chunks.  If you use a teether, stick it in the fridge instead of the freezer.

9.  When introducing solids, make sure you give the baby vegetables first and then fruit.  This can help keep the baby from developing a sweet tooth.

10. Never feed a baby honey during his or her first year.  It contains spores that can be deadly to a baby.  Do not give a child popcorn or hot dogs until they are 4 years old.  They are choking hazards for children under 4.

11. If you have more than one car, try to get a car seat for each car.  It will make your life a lot easier.  Trust me, lugging a car seat back and forth between cars gets old real soon.

12. Don’t compare your child’s progress, weight, height, etc. with that of other children you know.  Each child develops at a different rate, so don’t worry if someone else’s kid is doing something yours isn’t.

I’m sure there are a lot of other mothers out there with more tips to add.  What do you wish you had known beforehand?  Please share your comments below.