2nd Time Moms....

[harlowjune1984]

I totally stole this off another board, but wanted to participate so I brought it over to the awesome board. LOL!

So....second (or even third or more) time moms, is there anything that you would like to do differently when it comes to pregnancy, baby naming, delivery, infancy, and whatever else you can think of? 

And also, are there things that you would do the same this time around?

[rungirlrun]

Oh this sounds fun!

Differently:
-actually try to enjoy being pregnancy this time around. Despite having an uneventful pregnancy with DS, I did not like all of my body changes and unwanted attention from others. But this will probably be my last pregnancy so I am going to try to enjoy it.
-I wish I would have told more people earlier last time around when I got pregnant. If anything were to happen, I'd want their support. Fortunately, nothing happened, but I already told family and close friends this time around.
-This isn't really an issue bc this baby will get mostly hand me downs, but I wish I bought less stuff for my son. He has so much crap he doesn't need so I'm going to try really hard to keep the clutter under control for the next one.
-going to try to introduce a ton of solid foods when this next kid is old enough to help prevent him/her from being as picky as DS (easier said than done - I thought we did everything right with DS, but his eating drives me crazy!)

Same
-be team green
-will not share any possible names with anyone besides H until the baby is born and named
-I think I'm a pretty chill 1st time mom so I want that to continue after this baby is born (I think I'll be forced to be chill bc I'll also be dealing with a toddler)
-stay active/healthy and not gain much weight - made labor and recovery so much easier
-breastfeed even though I expect the first few weeks to suck this time around as well - it gets better, and I really enjoyed it once we both got the hang of what we were doing (personal decision - don't care how anyone else feeds their baby)
-put baby in crib in own room from day 1.  We did this with DS, and we never had to do the transition, and it helped us all sleep better at night.
-both H and I will turn off our FB when I'm in labor so nothing can post on our walls.  With my son, a few family members on H's side posted about the birth on FB before H and I could even tell our friends.  So annoyed about that, but I was happy our walls were turned off so no one saw until we announced.

ETA: I keep thinking of more which I'm adding!

[harlowjune1984]

Pregnancy: This time, I won't do a full kitchen remodel in my 3rd Trimester (which leads to a lot of eating out). I will work out more, and actually watch what I am eating. I won't live in sweats like I did last time. Still going to be Team Green. Not telling people as soon. First time, we told family at 5 weeks, friends at 10 weeks, and then on social media at 13 weeks. This time, we haven't told anyone yet, have no plans to tell anyone anytime soon. Although, we will have to tell MIL/FIL eventually, because they will have to watch DD during appointments. But they are good at keeping secrets. My plan is to not tell my family (or our friends and extended family) until we are around 20 weeks...if I can hide it that long. We won't do a pregnancy announcement on social media this time.  

Baby Naming: I won't freak out if we are over halfway through the pregnancy, and don't have a list of names.....and my husband shows no interest in making a list. I know it isn't because he doesn't care, but naming a human stresses him out. Even if we walk into the hospital with 30 names, eventually our kid will get named. I also won't tell people names, and just say that we don't even have a list yet (even if we do). Last time, I accidentally slipped what MH liked as a girl name to my mom, and her reaction is burned into my brain for life. We ended up still using the name, but part of me still kind of has me feelings hurt about her reaction.

Delivery: I will be a RCS, so that kind of stresses me out because last time it happened so fast that I didn't have time to process it, this time...I have several months to process what is about to happen. I am going to try and talk to my OB about having a more family centered c-section, since this would be my last child, I would like to witness at least one child being born, and have that skin to skin time. We didn't tell anyone when we went into the hospital, so we wouldn't have to deal with people showing up when we weren't ready, and we will do that again this time. That gave us plenty of time to relax after the c-section, give MH and I time with the baby (without having to share with family members yet), and get to know our new little person. This time, the first person that we will call, will be the person that has DD (either my cousin or our really close friends). DD will get to come in and see baby, and then whoever was watching her can come in. MH was bummed that he didn't get to announce the sex last time, so this time we will let everyone know the sex as they come to visit. We will room-in with baby just like we did last time. Even though it is horrible getting out of bed the first time after a c-section, I will get out of bed ASAP and take a shower. I didn't get out of bed for a few days after my c-section, and I remember not wanting to take a shower (we were leaving that day), but finally getting up and doing it anyway. I felt like a million dollars after taking that shower. So now I know, get out of bed.....take that dang shower!

Newborn/Infancy: I won't be as stressed this time. I will EP again. Last time, when it came to sleeping, DD was in our room for 5 weeks, the living room for 3 weeks, and then in her own bed at 2 months. This time, I will probably only have baby in our room for 3 weeks, and then in his/her own room. We slept so much better when DD was no longer in our room. We also have a 3rd bedroom now, so if DH needs more sleep (he will still be working), then I will just sleep in the 3rd bedroom with baby. I remember feeling like I needed everything under the sun when I registered for DD, and we were buying tons of stuff we hardly used. Now I am like "sleepers: check!......place for baby to sleep: check!.....Carseat: check!.....diapers: check!.........Okay, we're ready for baby!" This time around, even thought DD was in her room at 2mo, I don't feel like I need to have a nursery prepared and all decked out (baby's don't care!). One of the things that we did with DD (which we will 100% do again this time around), is we had no set schedule for her. She ate when she was hungry, she slept when she was tired (and where ever we were at the moment), etc. It made our lives easier knowing that we didn't have to rush around to hurry home for nap time, we didn't have to deal with her having a hard time sleeping somewhere other than her crib, and even though we had a kid, we were still able to have a life. I will accept help when it comes to someone wanting to help with DD.

[rungirlrun]

harlowjune1984, just curious - why are you deciding not to tell people until 20 weeks this time around?

[sarcaztic10]

Pregnancy:

I will really try to enjoy being pregnant this time around and not dwell on how miserable I am with morning sickness.

I wont tell the general public until after the anatomy scan and the IL's will hopefully not find out until there is a baby in my arms.

I will be buying a lot of our accessories (bouncers, walkers, etc) from consignment stores this time.

I wont have a baby shower.

Naming: I love DS's name and I wouldn't change a thing in this category

Birth: I will be trying to go all natural again so no changes here either aside from seeing an OB instead of a MW.

Infancy:

I will be trying to make it to a year for BFing. DS had a lot of allergies but now that I know what they are I will be avoiding those from the start with this LO and will hopefully be able to BF for 1 year.

Other than that I really have no other changes. I will stick with the AP parenting method and practice baby wearing because it worked so well for DS.

[harlowjune1984]

Nov 24, 2015 16:35:51 GMT -5 rungirlrun said:

harlowjune1984 , just curious - why are you deciding not to tell people until 20 weeks this time around?

Long story (cliff notes at the bottom):

The first time, we didn't get that great of a response from family on my side. My IL's were totally excited. But MH and I had been together for 5 years, but we weren't married. We had money for either a wedding, or a baby. And since MH is the only grandson of his paternal grandfather (who was in his 90's), we decided that it was more important for us to spend the wedding money on a baby. His grandpa asked for years when we were going to get married, and then finally gave up and started asking when he was going to get another great-grandkid. I was really close to his grandpa, and loved him dearly. The only grandpa I had left on my side (out of three) was my paternal grandpa who really had no relationship with us. My husband was the only grandkid of his, that wasn't married and didn't have any kids. So we decided it was more important for us, to have his grandpa get to know his grandson's first child....and spend as much time together as they could (which DD and him got 2.5 years together, saw each other almost daily, and were the best of friends...before he passed away at at 95).

My family couldn't handle that. My brother didn't care either way, and neither did my dad. But my sister, my mom, grandma, and my aunt were all up in arms about it. I had to tell my mom when she was by herself, because I knew she would be pissed and only focus on the fact that we weren't married. She wouldn't look at the fact that we had a great relationship, we were financially stable, and all of that other jazz. To them, if it isn't legal....then the relationship doesn't mean anything. When I called my grandma to tell her (she lived in another state), I got an hour long lecture about "how would you feel if your parents weren't married?". 

My mom, aunt, sister, and grandma are super judgmental. And if you don't do things they way THEY feel is right, then you will always be wrong and you will never get to explain the reason WHY you are doing something a certain way. My whole pregnancy was filled with my sister calling me about "mom says her feelings are hurt because you won't let her have a part in the whole baby thing..." which wasn't true because I was shopping with her, I slipped up on a name we liked (and she had a horrible reaction), and it was just non-stop drama. When I had DD, I chose to EP, and she was always complaining about it behind my back, even when people I hardly knew were around. Apparently "she will never bond with the baby if she doesn't breastfeed." And when I tried to stick up for myself with ANY choice that MH and I made in regards to DD, or how I didn't like their negative comments or anything else.....my mom would gossip about how she felt that I had postpartum depression. When we did replenish our wedding fund, and finally got married, I wanted to elope. I caved to MH, who wanted a wedding, and it was non-stop drama with those same family members. I wanted a backyard BBQ type feel for a reception, they thought it was dumb and made it known my whole planning time. My mom threw a hissy fit about who I wanted in my bridal party (until I finally put two people I didn't want up there, just to shut her up). It was non-stop, and it ruined a huge majority of my wedding experience. Those are just a few examples.....

This time, I don't want to deal with that. I want to get as far as I can in the pregnancy, without having to deal with the drama, the judgmental and snarky comments from them, and their micromanaging, and enjoy my pregnancy for awhile. However, I don't feel that it is right that friends know before family knows. So the IL's will know when we start doing appointments (since they will have DD and are extremely tight lipped when we ask them to be). And then eventually (hopefully waiting as long as we can), we will tell my family, and then friends.

**Cliff Notes: The females on my side of the family like to gossip about everything, they are judgmental, my mom likes to micromanage, and its to the point where it is so stressful that I am very vague about what is going on in my life over the past year. So in order to cut the drama in half, I don't want them knowing until it gets to the point where I cannot hide the pregnancy any longer. That way, I can enjoy some of the pregnancy, before I have to deal with them.  

[rungirlrun]

Nov 24, 2015 17:08:53 GMT -5 harlowjune1984 said:

Nov 24, 2015 16:35:51 GMT -5 rungirlrun said:

harlowjune1984 , just curious - why are you deciding not to tell people until 20 weeks this time around?

Long story (cliff notes at the bottom):

The first time, we didn't get that great of a response from family on my side. My IL's were totally excited. But MH and I had been together for 5 years, but we weren't married. We had money for either a wedding, or a baby. And since MH is the only grandson of his paternal grandfather (who was in his 90's), we decided that it was more important for us to spend the wedding money on a baby. His grandpa asked for years when we were going to get married, and then finally gave up and started asking when he was going to get another great-grandkid. I was really close to his grandpa, and loved him dearly. The only grandpa I had left on my side (out of three) was my paternal grandpa who really had no relationship with us. My husband was the only grandkid of his, that wasn't married and didn't have any kids. So we decided it was more important for us, to have his grandpa get to know his grandson's first child....and spend as much time together as they could (which DD and him got 2.5 years together, saw each other almost daily, and were the best of friends...before he passed away at at 95).

My family couldn't handle that. My brother didn't care either way, and neither did my dad. But my sister, my mom, grandma, and my aunt were all up in arms about it. I had to tell my mom when she was by herself, because I knew she would be pissed and only focus on the fact that we weren't married. She wouldn't look at the fact that we had a great relationship, we were financially stable, and all of that other jazz. To them, if it isn't legal....then the relationship doesn't mean anything. When I called my grandma to tell her (she lived in another state), I got an hour long lecture about "how would you feel if your parents weren't married?". 

My mom, aunt, sister, and grandma are super judgmental. And if you don't do things they way THEY feel is right, then you will always be wrong and you will never get to explain the reason WHY you are doing something a certain way. My whole pregnancy was filled with my sister calling me about "mom says her feelings are hurt because you won't let her have a part in the whole baby thing..." which wasn't true because I was shopping with her, I slipped up on a name we liked (and she had a horrible reaction), and it was just non-stop drama. When I had DD, I chose to EP, and she was always complaining about it behind my back, even when people I hardly knew were around. Apparently "she will never bond with the baby if she doesn't breastfeed." And when I tried to stick up for myself with ANY choice that MH and I made in regards to DD, or how I didn't like their negative comments or anything else.....my mom would gossip about how she felt that I had postpartum depression. When we did replenish our wedding fund, and finally got married, I wanted to elope. I caved to MH, who wanted a wedding, and it was non-stop drama with those same family members. I wanted a backyard BBQ type feel for a reception, they thought it was dumb and made it known my whole planning time. My mom threw a hissy fit about who I wanted in my bridal party (until I finally put two people I didn't want up there, just to shut her up). It was non-stop, and it ruined a huge majority of my wedding experience. Those are just a few examples.....

This time, I don't want to deal with that. I want to get as far as I can in the pregnancy, without having to deal with the drama, the judgmental and snarky comments from them, and their micromanaging, and enjoy my pregnancy for awhile. However, I don't feel that it is right that friends know before family knows. So the IL's will know when we start doing appointments (since they will have DD and are extremely tight lipped when we ask them to be). And then eventually (hopefully waiting as long as we can), we will tell my family, and then friends.

**Cliff Notes: The females on my side of the family like to gossip about everything, they are judgmental, my mom likes to micromanage, and its to the point where it is so stressful that I am very vague about what is going on in my life over the past year. So in order to cut the drama in half, I don't want them knowing until it gets to the point where I cannot hide the pregnancy any longer. That way, I can enjoy some of the pregnancy, before I have to deal with them.  

Ugh man.  All of that is super frustrating.  I'm sorry you had to go through that.  Best wishes that you get to enjoy your pregnancy at least for a bit this time around.

[lostinfaith225]

Hello!

Pregnancy: Not be as anxious and sick! Drink more fluids! Use a pregnancy pillow!

Baby Name: we didn't really have a plan for this.

Delivery: Number one goal: not be the last person to hold the baby! .
Eat a bigger meal before going to the hospita so I am not starving.

Newborn Phase: try to be more aware and less out of it. (Had a hard delivery, lost half my blood and had a transfusion, was so tired after) I don't remember much about the first 2 weeks of ds's life.

Same: keep ds in his own room from day 1.
Snuggle and hold as much as possible.
Pics within the first 2 weeks
Introduce the dog the same way

[harlowjune1984]

Nov 24, 2015 17:22:36 GMT -5 lostinfaith225 said:

Hello!

Pregnancy: Not be as anxious and sick! Drink more fluids! Use a pregnancy pillow!

Baby Name: we didn't really have a plan for this.

Delivery: Number one goal: not be the last person to hold the baby! .
Eat a bigger meal before going to the hospita so I am not starving.

Newborn Phase: try to be more aware and less out of it. (Had a hard delivery, lost half my blood and had a transfusion, was so tired after) I don't remember much about the first 2 weeks of ds's life.

Same: keep ds in his own room from day 1.
Snuggle and hold as much as possible.
Pics within the first 2 weeks
Introduce the dog the same way

Were you the last person to hold your baby?!

[lostinfaith225]

harlowjune1984

As I mentioned, I lost half my blood supply after I delivered. My uterus wouldn't retract. I almost passed out. After they got the bleeding stopped, I had intense shivers for an hour. By thst time, dh, my mom, dad and inlaws had come in and held him.

They asked me, but I was shaking so bad, I thought I would drop him. I was very very weak. I had pushed for 3 hours too.

Sooooo, hopefully things go better!

[harlowjune1984]

Nov 24, 2015 17:41:34 GMT -5 lostinfaith225 said:

harlowjune1984

As I mentioned, I lost half my blood supply after I delivered. My uterus wouldn't retract. I almost passed out. After they got the bleeding stopped, I had intense shivers for an hour. By thst time, dh, my mom, dad and inlaws had come in and held him.

They asked me, but I was shaking so bad, I thought I would drop him. I was very very weak. I had pushed for 3 hours too.

Sooooo, hopefully things go better!

Oh man! That sucks big time!

[melody330]

So....second (or even third or more) time moms, is there anything that you would like to do differently when it comes to pregnancy, baby naming, delivery, infancy, and whatever else you can think of?

Pregnancy- We aren't going to find out the sex this time. We had so much fun with DS and we found out very very early he was a boy, so we are switching it up for the fun of it

Infancy - this is all going to be totally new for me. DS is a Jan 14 baby, so we stayed inside and snuggled quietly most of the time . This one is smack in the middle of summer and I will have a 2.5 year old to contend with. No sitting quietly and snuggling this time!

I won't push a bottle so hard on this one. DS hated bottles and we were all so stressed out. He refused until he went to DC and they figured it out I stressed for no reason. We will practice, but no pressure

And also, are there things that you would do the same this time around?
Working out during pregnancy. I loved staying active last time and I'm currently on my way to the gym as I type! I don't plan to stop exercising.

[dscarr]

Pregnancy 

I would work out more! I gained way too much weight and I'm sure it was one of the reasons my labor was so difficult and long. 

Baby naming 

I wouldn't change a thing. We were team green and went in with a short list for boy and girl names. 

Delivery 

I took a shower right before going to the hospital last time. I'm so glad that I did. It was going to be many more hours before I saw a shower again. I also took a shower pretty soon after DD was born. It made me feel like a million bucks. 

I would try to labor more at home before going to the hospital. I only live half of a mile from the hospital. There should be no rush. I think that I would be more comfortable at home with early labor. I will also make sure to braid my hair once I go into labor. In all of the 31 hours of labor last time I kept my hair down. It was the biggest rat's nest ever! I was frantically brushing it while the nurses were getting me my awesome mesh panties. It was awful. 

Infancy 

I will still BF, but I won't be as desperate to EBF for as long. I EBF DD for 7 months. Then I went back to work and realized that my supply had tanked and that was why DD dropped in her weight percentiles. Once I "gave in" and started to supplement with formula, DD gained weight and started STTN. It was the moment that I actually began to like being a mom. As important as I believe BF is, my mental health and happiness is just as important. 

[dscarr]

Nov 24, 2015 18:06:25 GMT -5 harlowjune1984 said:

Nov 24, 2015 17:41:34 GMT -5 lostinfaith225 said:

harlowjune1984

As I mentioned, I lost half my blood supply after I delivered. My uterus wouldn't retract. I almost passed out. After they got the bleeding stopped, I had intense shivers for an hour. By thst time, dh, my mom, dad and inlaws had come in and held him.

They asked me, but I was shaking so bad, I thought I would drop him. I was very very weak. I had pushed for 3 hours too.

Sooooo, hopefully things go better!

Oh man! That sucks big time!


I hope things go smoother for you this time! 

[lostinfaith225]

Thanks ladies! Me too!!

[allison7]

Pregnancy: I am getting the stupid pillow this time. I didn't last time and my hips paid for it. I want that one that goes all the way around me. I also won't be hesitant to take heartburn medicine this time. I was afraid of all the meds last time and I could have had a lot more sleep had I accepted Zantac earlier!

I won't be changing how much I savor end each moment of being pregnant. There was a good chance that the last time was going to be my only pregnancy, so I really tried to enjoy every kick and bump. This will definitely be e last pregnancy, so I want to enjoy every moment of it, too.

Baby Name: since I can't change DH, I won't be able to change the long process of picking a name. His choices are awful. Last time we had the name but we're still arguing about spelling the day after she was born.

Delivery: I deliberately didn't have a plan last time. This way I wouldn't be disappointed if I had to have a c/s or the delivery didn't match some picture in my mind. I will do that again. The only thing with the last one was that I was hesitant to get an epidural because I felt like I should be at least 5cm or something. I had pitocin because my water broke and the contracts weren't in sync with how dilated I was. I let the pain get away from me and started vomiting with every contraction. I will not make that mistake again! I also won't change that I wasn't the first one to hold the baby. I felt a little bad about this after birth, but I was shaking and had to deliver the placenta. Plus, I liked that DH got that connection with DD. I had a connection the whole pregnancy, so I like that he got the moment of holding her first.

I sprinkled in what I am keeping the same under the categories

[beebe918]

pregnancy I had a few scares with blood pressure and thinking I would need to deliver early and really everything ended up being fine. I think I would try not to stress over things that are out of my control but that is so much easier said then done.

baby naming I wouldn't change anything, we picked our name way ahead of time and called the baby by it the whole pregnancy and I really liked it because I felt like I thought of him as a person instead of in the abstract and had a better connection with him.

delivery There is sooooo much that I would do differently. I wouldn't agree to being induced until I was 2 weeks overdue (unless there's a good reason of course), I would advocate better for myself, I was pretty clueless going into last time so I'll be more informed this time.

infancy and whatever else you can think of? Honestly, infancy was a dream for us, I wouldn't do anything differently. I formula fed from the beginning and loved it, DS stayed in our room until 6 weeks then transferred to his crib with no issues. I basically just took him with me wherever I went regardless of the time and he adapted.

[ellebelle]

Love this!

Pregnancy? Splurge on the real body pillow that wraps around you. I made do with extra pillows with DD and it was really uncomfortable. Worth the $$ this time around.

Baby naming? This is already decided for us since we are following Greek naming tradition so baby will be named for either DH's mom or dad.

Delivery? Would love to do it the same. Natural delivery and very quick (DD was born an hour after getting in to the hospital).

Infancy? Stress less. Be more confident BFing.

[housecarder]

With twins there will be alot different during pregnancy this time. We are still finding the sexes out ASAP and will have names chosen shortly after. This is also H's first so I am trying to keep him super involved.
Delivery will be a RCS and the scheduled one with DS was heaven compared to the emergency one with DD.
I think the biggest change is that I am going to try to BF. Milk never came in with DD so I never even bothered with DS. With the likelihood of them coming early I want to try to BF and pump as long as I can as long as it doesn't drive me crazy.

[pittpurple]

This is fun! I've been thinking about this a lot as well.
dscarr , am totally with you on the EBF. I drove myself crazy with it!

Pregnancy: Really hoping I get to enjoy some of it. I had my first scan yesterday and it all went well. It made me realise that it was the first time we've ever had a simple scan with a good outcome - every other scan we've had was complicated or bad news or difficult for some reason. So I'm hoping to keep calmer as this goes on. I know I'm naturally really nervous though so will still be using my doppler I'm sure! Was really hoping to stay in better shape this time around but the non-stop sickness and exhaustion has already taken a toll. Will just do what I can!

Baby naming: Same thing - once we know the sex (I don't do surprises!) we will start looking at it. We had DD's name picked out for years but we never had a backup so we'll be starting from scratch. We don't share the name with anyone ahead of time.

Infancy: Oh, so many things. We had a non-sleeper / constant nursing baby and it was a nightmare. We will be prioritising sleep from the beginning - LO will go into the guest room with one of us taking turns throughout the night so we each get some sleep. I know we might have a magical sleeping baby other people have had but just in case we will be starting out with as much sleep as possible! I EBF'd (well, depending on how you count this - I pumped a bottle's worth for one feed so I could sleep, she wanted to be fed every 1-2 hours for months) for much longer than I should of (cannot believe I was getting up in the middle of the night to pump!). If this baby is similar, we will combi-feed pretty quickly, there's no way I'm driving myself that crazy. Hoping I can BF again, I did enjoy the simplicity of it but won't drive myself crazy over it.

Delivery: I inadvertedly had a natural birth, almost at home. The hospital told me it was Braxton-Hicks and sent me home and I ended up labouring in my bedroom the rest of the night. I actually think that was better for me so I'll try and stay home as long as possible but definitely listen to my body and insist someone see me if I know I'm in labour. I had DD 15 minutes after coming back to the hospital so it was all a bit of a shock. We only stayed in for a night as it was terrible so I'll be better prepared this time around - DD was early so we didn't have a bag packed or anything. I will definitely have comfier clothes (and more changes of clothes, it's all so gross!) and just more stuff with me this time - like snacks, the food was shockingly bad. I'm very curious to find out if this one will also be early!

[littlesthobo]

Pregnancy: the only thing I really want to so differently is keep up with working out. Last time 8 months post partum I still had 25lbs to lose (I did it!). Also I will not work right up until the end. Last time I took leave a week before my due date, ended up going into work on my last day 3-4 cm dilated and had DS the next day. This time at least the school year ends in June and I'm due end of July, but I won't hesitate to have my doctor write me out if I'm done. I do want to do another maternity photo shoot for this one, our pictures were beautiful last time.

Delivery: we went in with a "go with the flow" attitude and it worked really well for us, so we will do that agin this time! This time I will take a shower (based on the advice in this thread!) and not let the nurses pressure me into breastfeeding. I was so tired and stressed I went into the bathroom to cry in the middle of the night.

Infancy: not breastfeeding this time around. It made me miserable and stressed, and with a toddler running around, I don't need that. I will pump for a bit and use formula. I will baby wear again and start this LO off in the pack 'n' play our room like we did with DS, which made the transition to the crib as well as travelling way easier!

[chknma]

Pregnancy:
This will be my last pregnancy so I want to really enjoy it. I'm hoping our family photographer's mini spring sessions will work out so I can have some good pictures of us and bump. We didn't start doing family photos until after DD2 so it would be nice to capture this pregnancy. I will not suffer through GTT again. I have had 2 GD pregnancies and will resume a diabetic diet and testing once my food issues resolve -need to determine the plan once I see my MW in a few weeks. I will be better prepared for possibly going out of work early. I need to discuss this with out perinatologist. I'm unsure if our complications from DD2 were random or likely to happen again.

Delivery: I will likely be induced again. I will advocate for a slower induction if it isn't an emergency situation. I'm considering a dula this time around.

Infancy: remind DH prior to delivery that I become a crazy person those first few days with all the hormones. :-)
I need to talk with my pedi about cutting dairy/soy at the end of pregnancy-both DDs had MSPI.
I will keep DDs in daycare the beginning of maternity leave again. It really helped me with sleep and getting into a routine.

[ginabini]

As a lurking FTM, I am loving this thread!!! Thanks for sharing ladies!!

[tootsie]

I'm doing quite a bit different this time around.

Pregnancy: Same as others, just enjoy it as it is most likely my last. I'm seeing an OB this time instead of midwife so we shall see what difference that makes in the experience. We are just so ready this time. Last time it was a surprise and very difficult to deal with emotionally.

Naming: Same, I like the way we came up with the name. We just throw out names we like whenever we hear a good one and see if it sticks.

Delivery: I would like another med-free birth, but I have a feeling this will be harder to achieve in the hospital compared to the birthcenter. There were no spare epidurals laying around there. I do not want to be induced, either.

Infancy: This is where the big changes will be. I put so much pressure on myself last time and it made me miserable and I suffered from horrible PPD. This time I will pump right away so H can help feed, combo feed if I feel like it, give a paci ASAP (I didn't give one until 4-5 weeks!,) buy as many baby containment devices as possible, and I'm going to ask for help from family. I will also be going back to work sometime between 8-12 weeks, whereas I stayed home for a year last time. I am not meant to be a SAHM. No thank you, please!

[TnT10]

I love this thread, what a good idea harlowjune1984!

Pregnancy: Different- Push myself to be more active, keep an eye on what I'm eating, don't get too out of control with cravings, watch my mood swings with DH, just enjoy the little things of pregnancy. This may or may not be my last pregnancy, we are undecided if we want to have a third child. Same- I can't think of anything.

Naming: Nothing, I love DD's name and was adamant that people not shorten/ nickname her and they didn't!

Delivery: My delivery with DD was perfect, I hope everything goes just as smoothly this time. I got to the hospital at the perfect time, got my epidural right away, labored for about 4 hours, pushed for an hour and a half and she was here! My doctor was even there to deliver her and she only delivers three days a week. Just thinking of my labor alone makes me want to have tons of babies haha!

Infancy: I won't make myself miserable trying to EP if latching doesn't work this time. I will try for a little while but I won't struggle for weeks just because I feel like a failure if I FF. I would also like to take more time off, I had almost 9 weeks with DD and would like closer to 12. I'm not sure if financially we can swing that or if my boss will go for it, we will see! I also want to start working out as soon as I'm able and be motivated from the start to get the weight off. I still had about 25 lbs from DD when I got pregnant this time and it's already not very flattering.

[TnT10]

Nov 24, 2015 18:34:50 GMT -5 melody330 said:

Pregnancy- We aren't going to find out the sex this time. We had so much fun with DS and we found out very very early he was a boy, so we are switching it up for the fun of it

Infancy - this is all going to be totally new for me. DS is a Jan 14 baby, so we stayed inside and snuggled quietly most of the time . This one is smack in the middle of summer and I will have a 2.5 year old to contend with. No sitting quietly and snuggling this time!

I won't push a bottle so hard on this one. DS hated bottles and we were all so stressed out. He refused until he went to DC and they figured it out I stressed for no reason. We will practice, but no pressure

And also, are there things that you would do the same this time around?
Working out during pregnancy. I loved staying active last time and I'm currently on my way to the gym as I type! I don't plan to stop exercising.

I have a J14 baby too and was just thinking this morning about how different my maternity leave will be this time since it's right in the middle of the summer.  It was 0 to -40 here so I wasn't able to get out much with DD, which I actually didn't mind until the end.  I will be happy to go out for walks this time!  We found out with our first pregnancy and are team green this time too!  

[daometjing]

Pregnancy: I will work out more.

Infancy: I'd like to be successful at breastfeeding this time. Last time DD never latched properly due to an undiagnosed lip tie. I EPed for 6 months, I'm not sure I'll do that again if I'm not successful. It was hard to pump with an infant that needed attention. I'm not sure how I'd do it with 2.

Also I'm not working now. Last time I went back to work after 2 weeks. Having the time to enjoy my newborn will be great. I'm going to put DD in preschool a couple of days a week around the time the baby arrives.

Delivery: I was induced last time and ended up with a c section. I haven't decided if I want to try for a VBAC or not.