With Jackson’s first year behind me I’ve started to think about things I would have done differently. Things I wouldn’t have worried about and moments I would have held on to a little bit longer. So here it is in no particular order…
I would not have worried about pacifiers. The pacifier became a source of anxiety in our lives the moment we came home from the hospital. My mom was adamantly against then. My MIL was for them so much that anytime Jack made a peep she would shove it into his mouth. Between the two opposing viewpoints I found myself stuck. On the one hand I didn’t want to deal with a 5 year old who couldn’t let go of his “plugee” (my absolute least favorite word for a pacifier. Also true story my SIL played t-ball with the plugee still in hand). But on the other hand there was times that the plastic plug was a life saver. In the end though Jack was the one who made the final decision about the binkie, he never really took to it and around 3 months I threw them all out and never looked back.
I would have swaddled him from the moment I came home. I would have made others swaddle him. I would have read Happiest Baby on the Block when I was 9 months pregnant rather than when Jack was 9 weeks old. I would have saved us all a lot of tears.
I would have ignored everyone who said to not hold him too much because he will get used to it and only want to be held. All I wanted to do in those early weeks was hold my sleeping bundle of joy and if I had a dollar for every time someone said “put him down you don’t want him getting used to sleeping like that”, I would be able to afford diapers for a year.
I wouldn’t have bothered with solid foods till at least 5 months, maybe not even until 6.
I would have asked for help long before all hell broke loose. Like the night Jack cried from 9 am till 1 am. Or the day Jack was sick and Bailey got out of the yard.
I would have thought less about keeping the house clean. Wait, scratch that, I’ve never thought much about keeping the house clean.
I would have gotten newborn portraits of Jack.
I would try to be a little less of a nap Nazi. No actually I probably would still be a nap Nazi. It works for me.
I wouldn’t fret about milestones or feeding methods knowing that when he grows up no one will care if he walked at 9 months or was breast fed. These things won’t be on resumes or college essays.
I’ld come up with a great one liner for every time my MIL offered some seriously unwanted advice.
I’ld take more pictures (if that’s possible), I’ld treasure more moments, I wouldn’t “wish” away colicky days or sleepless nights. I’ld try harder to laugh at the challenges rather than drown myself in them. I’ld go back and tell myself what someone once told me, “take it one day at a time”.
Linked up with Things I Can’t Say for,
Oh, the swaddling. I didn't really discover the true joy of that until my third child. SIGH.
This is such a sincere sweet post and I second everything you've said.
I held my babies All the time. From the day they were born I felt them slipping from me and I wanted to hang on as long as possible.
I had an epiphany when I had a 4yr, 2yr and newborn. I could yell at my kids all the time and have a somewhat clean house. Or we could all be happy and I would have a messy house that I would do my best to ignore.
I chose the messy house. No regrets there.
I think all of us can look back and see things we would have done differently.
I would have worried about a lot less with my first kiddo. Live and learn I guess….and I don't take anything my MIL says seriously.
It sounds to me like you did just fine the first time around 🙂