Take 2

At the end of January, we are expecting our little terror bundle of joy #2.  I’m pretty worried about having 2 babies only 14 months apart, but I figure I should also be grateful.  During the first few months of my baby’s life, there were several times that I wished I could “start over” and do things a little differently.

Well, here’s my chance.  With the experience of my first newborn still so fresh on my mind, I'll surely be able to avoid any of the pitfalls encountered my first go around.  These are just some of those mistakes I'm hoping to change this time.

Stop Stressing about Pacifier-Weaning

I had read from several sources that if you gave your baby a pacifier, you should plan on taking it away cold turkey by the time she’s 3 months old. I figured I would get a head start on the plan, so at 2 months I started keeping the binky from her unless she was sleeping. 

Those were the longest 2 days of my life.

And then I realized the next day was Sunday and I needed a way to keep her quiet at church, so I just gave up altogether on trying to train her out of her beloved binky.

And let me tell you, I was a very grateful mamma to myself for giving up on that idea.

Take Away the Pacifier Sooner

Rosie has loved her binky from the beginning.  I was actually still on the fence about offering her one at all when the nurse brought her in to me already plugged up.  I figured that made my decision for me.

But I hated that she would wake up multiple times each night when her binky fell out.  I hated that she would be on the very cusp of falling asleep when her mouth would go slack, the pacifier would fall from her lips, and she’d wake up crying. 

Yes, next time, I am definitely taking away the pacifier a lot sooner.

Introduce the Bottle
Before her birth, I had decided to go 100% breastfeeding.  I’d heard all the good reasons to do it and it did seem very convenient.  Plus, formula is expensive, I figured, and trying to find the right water temperature in the middle of the nigh seemed exhausting.

Before her birth, I had no idea how much I would need a break from my sweet little girl, and how much I would worry once I left her that she would awake screaming and starving at some unexpected time.  For some reason, probably the expense and for lack of a breast pump, I still held off on introducing a bottle.  Next time, this mamma is getting her baby on a bottle as soon as possible so hubby can take on at least the occasional midnight feeding, and so we can enjoy some time to ourselves, as well.

Nurse as Much as I Can

I have never been able to produce very much milk.  I was never engorged.  My breasts never did much embarrassing leaking.  My baby always seemed to be satisfied after a feeding, but even with supplementary pumping, I just couldn’t squeeze out as much as I’d like, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that if I could just get more milk into her at one time, she might sleep a little longer through the night.  (This theory was confirmed to me once she did start taking a bottle, and a few extra ounces made a big difference to her sleep and mine.)

When my baby was born and feedings seemed to last for a lifetime or longer, I wanted to sit through as few as them as possible.  I think with my next one, I might be a little more content to let him nurse often, in hopes that an increased demand will up the supply. 

Stop the Swaddle

Eventually, the baby learns to unwriggle from her swaddle, yet won’t fall back asleep without being wrapped up tightly.  All moms have heard endless horror stories of babies’ sleep associations, and this one was the most frustrating for me.  Especially because my sweet hubby just couldn’t learn my special technique – the only swaddle that would keep her from unwrapping before she was even out of my arms. 

I have no “other hand” to this one.  I really want to train my baby out of being swaddled as early as possible.

Stick to the Schedule

I googled everything as a new mom, and Google told me that it’s good for mom and baby to have a schedule.  So when Thomas went back to school less than a month after baby was born, I had her on a pretty good schedule.  For the most part, I knew when she’d go down, when she’d wake up, and when we could actually make plans for the day.  And I really needed that – to be able to make plans – so I’m all in favour of keeping a tight schedule.

Forget About the Schedule

We followed the “EASY” parent-led schedule.  It took the guesswork out of knowing what my baby was fussing about at a certain time and also meant avoiding the sleep association of nursing to sleep. 

It also meant skipping over the part where I learn to listen to my baby’s cries and other signals for the real source of her distress and thus total frustration on my part if something didn’t go exactly according to the plan.

And to boot, we were always home for nap time so she got SO good at sleeping in her crib that she could no longer fall asleep for a decent length of time anywhere else – even in my arms!  Any out-of-the-ordinary outing has been a nightmare ever since.

For the new baby boy, I also want to get him used to staying in a car seat from the beginning so he doesn't fuss at the slightest confinement, and give him plenty of active time so he can quickly learn to keep up with his sister and keep himself entertained; let him cry it out as soon as he's old enough so I can get some dang rest, and go to him every time he cries at night so I never again have to go through the awful stress and doubting of a bawling baby; keep him on an early bedtime so I can get some time to myself and with my husband, and let him go to bed as late as we do in the hopes of getting to sleep in once in a while.

As you can see, I’ve got this whole parenting this pretty well figured out.  Baby #2 is gonna be a breeze.