That it was ridiculous to put a baby/toddler to bed around 7 PM and then complain when they woke up no later than 7 AM. I mean, if the kid's going to sleep 10-12 hours, why not just keep him/her up until 9 or 10 PM? Then everyone can sleep in a bit.
Newborns are so sleepy, I can totally clean/make dinner/do laundry/be Mary Poppins while he naps! LOL, no. Try 45-60 minutes of trying to get him to fall asleep for a 30 minute nap.
If I offer healthy foods, that's all he'll know and he'll eat them! Noooope.
The new dog and DS will grow up together and be best buddies! LOLZ, try DS flailing and crying on the floor if the dog comes anywhere near him. And he's not a dramatic kid, the dog just bothers him. Only our dog FWIW, he loves all other dogs.
I'll be able to fit into most of my work clothes when I go back at 12w pp!
Uh, no.
I sadly assumed that the weight would fall off. I stayed the exact same weight from 10 days pp to 3 months pp. I've lost 3 pounds in the last three weeks but it's HARD--working out every day and counting calories. And I still have 20 more to go.
Just take them outside if they start throwing a fit in Target!
Reality: Sometimes you need some shit from Target no matter how atrocious your child is behaving.
True story (although this was at Walmart): My DD was around 3 and she was mad at me over something (probably because I was making her ride in the cart instead of running amok in the store). She thought it was so so fun to kick me as I was pushing around the cart. I was tired of getting kicked and DD was not responding to my entreaties/threats to stop, so I turned the cart around and started pushing it from the back with her facing out and away from me. She started screaming because now she could no longer kick me but damnit, I needed some groceries. I'm sure we were quite the sight, her screaming and me pushing a shopping cart backward through the grocery aisles at Walmart.
Post by thebreakfastclub on Sept 19, 2014 18:34:55 GMT -5
I thought babies were supposed to want to nurse. Otherwise, I thought 0-3 months was going to be a lot tougher. I found 12-15 mo to be the most challenging so far.
I will never be one of those moms who gives in or negotiates with a toddler, and my kid will understand that no means no so naturally they will accept that answer. Ha! I learned to pick my battles pretty early on!
Post by timorousbeastie on Sept 19, 2014 19:15:24 GMT -5
DD would have no problem going between a bottle and the boob (nope, she's a bottle refuser).
I'd have no problem leaving her with a babysitter (I haven't left her for more than an hour, in part because of the bottle refusing, but not entirely. Actually, that's one major reason why I'm looking forward to the Detroit GTG - my first night out without the baby!).
As a SAHM, I'd have the house clean and dinner on the table for H every night. Hah!
I'd lose a ton of weight breastfeeding (I'm still the exact same weight as I was 1 week pp).
I wouldn't have to deal with a period until I stopped breastfeeding (nope, it came back at 5.5 months).
Post by leonard131 on Sept 19, 2014 20:02:46 GMT -5
I will get so much done on ML - sure why not teach a class.
All babies sleep in cribs so of course my baby will sleep in crib
I will never be that mom who is dragging their kid out of a store kicking and screaming. Well I was that mom tonight at Target. It was so bad someone stopped and said " hang I there mom" as I dragged him in a football hold from one end of the store to the other.
*Nursing bras: $110 Sleep bras: $40 Pump: $250 Lactation consultant: $85 Nursing pads: $8 a month for a year or so Nursing pillows: $80 for 2 Fenugreek: $8 Nursing tanks: $80
Not to mention the groceries! Why did I think I would stop being so hungry after she was born? I'm still her only source of nutrition and I'm starving.
Post by dulcemariamar on Sept 20, 2014 0:30:28 GMT -5
I had no idea that I had to get the baby to fall asleep several times a day. I didnt know it took so much energy and effort to get a baby to fall and stay asleep and that I had to repeat the cycle several times a day. Basically, I didnt know that I had to live in hell.
No TV before two.
I thought that I could just put a NB down and get stuff down.
I thought I'd love coming home every evening to spend as much time as possible playing with my kids.
Reality is that sometimes I start a new task and end up staying a little later cos I dread trying to fill those 2hrs I in the evening, esp as dd2 is going through a right phase of clinginess/screaming...
I didn't think I would breastfeed. I was going to try but I wasn't really that into it (ended up making it 10 months). I definitely didn't think I would be sad when we stopped.
I thought she would STTN eventually. Still waiting for that at 19 months old.
I thought she would be a great eater because she took so well to everything early on: breastfeeding, bottles, formula, purees.
*Nursing bras: $110 Sleep bras: $40 Pump: $250 Lactation consultant: $85 Nursing pads: $8 a month for a year or so Nursing pillows: $80 for 2 Fenugreek: $8 Nursing tanks: $80
You forgot any breast pump accessories not covered by insurance.
Plus:
prescription meds to treat thrush: approx. $50 Grapefruit Seed Extract: $22 Gentian violet: $12 Lecithin to treat recurring plugged ducts: $12 Bleach to treat all thrush clothing: $4 new nipples and pacifiers due to thrush: $20
Post by narockshard on Sept 20, 2014 15:55:52 GMT -5
That I could spend all maternity leave at the beach, just baby and I, because my newborn would just lay there and sleep. Ha, no. 2 beach trips total and it took at least one extra person and TONS of gear. Also, bathing suits were not happening for quite a while.
That when people talk about BFing being hard, they just mean the physical pain. Little did I know that low supply and the ensuing sadness and stress would also be very real issues.
That newborns are sleepy. Mine...was not.
Let's just say I every expectation now that having more than one will be the hardest thing ever. Nothing will be smooth or easy :-P Maybe I'll be proven wrong; or at least I won't be surprised if things go as I expect.
All of mine have already been mentioned. But I'll throw in one of MH's. I made a comment about not doing any chores/cleaning/cooking for several weeks after giving birth. He was all, "but why? Newborns sleep all the time" and I explained that they eat every 2 hours have frequently take a whole hour to eat. He was shocked. He seriously thought DS1 would come out needing only three squares a day.
I had no idea how long it would take a newborn to eat, when they're eating so little at a time! It takes like an hour, nearly another hour to burp her, change her, and get her settled down to nap. She'll sleep for 1-2 hours before having to do it over again. So far, the rest is easy ::knock on wood:: I'm averaging 8 hours of sleep per night, and if I don't get that, I'm usually able to nap. The house is (mostly) clean, we are well-fed without having to dive into our freezer full of the food I prepped when I was pregnant, and DH is able to fit in an hour + workout each day (which I told him would never happen). I fully expect this to end any day, heck, any minute.