I’m starting a list of things that either worked out well for us or that I wish I had known:
1. Make sure your husband starts taking care of the baby from day 1… Helps if you have a c-section because then he has to. You don’t want him to be scared of the baby!
2. Test the ac in the backseat so you don’t freeze your child on the hottest dag of the summer.
3. Pandora’s Raffi station rocks, just enough adult music that you don’t go nuts!
4. Let mom come stay and help for at least two weeks but don’t freak when she leaves because you can definitely do it!
5. Don’t listen to advice that makes you feel bad about yourself… There are a million ways to do things and no “right” one.
6. Accept help that makes things easier and turn down help that doesn’t.
7. Figure out what has to be done, not what you want to be done. If you need one clean bottle for the morning , clean one not all of them.
8. Don’t worry about the tears… They will go away but they do suck while they are hanging around!
9. Try having a schedule so that you get and your husband each get real sleep. I hear about people who both get up every time the baby wakes up and I just can’t imagine how much that must suck. Our schedule is that I go to bed at 8pm and wake up at 1am. Then I sleep when she sleeps in her room from 1am – 8 am. Works super for us unless I oversleep:(
10. Make sure you have a ton of cloth diapers. You really can’t have too many! They are like a Swiss army knife for babies… Burp cloth, wipe spit up, vomit catcher, spilled milk wiper, blanket…
11. Don’t make a bunch of plans for the first 2 months! I thought I would get a ton of stuff done around the house which was super delusional!
12. Plan early for the baptism. Check with the church before the kid is born to see what the requirements are.
More to come I’m sure!