5 Things I Would Tell My Pregnant Self

Last night we went to Babies R Us because we had racked up some money to spend from their “endless earnings” program, mostly from our kind friends and family who purchased something off of our baby registry. So thank you if you used our registry!! This program is a good incentive to set up a baby registry with Babies ‘R Us – or at least become a rewards member. We’ve gotten over $300 in rewards so far! Check it out here.

When we were there, it reminded me of our first time there when I was a couple months pregnant. We stood in front of the bottles in amazement of how many different kinds there were. I knew I wanted to breastfeed so we didn’t even know if we needed bottles right away. But what if I couldn’t breastfeed? Maybe we need some right now just in case. If I do breastfeed we’ll need them eventually, but when? I could not believe how overwhelming the bottle aisle could be. I remember whispering to each other “what the hell?”. And then you move a little bit further down the aisle and there are pacifiers. About 300 different kinds. Different shapes, different sizes. What about “nipple confusion?” Do we need pacifiers? I don’t really want her to be dependent on a pacifier. But I don’t want her sucking her fingers all the time. I always see babies with these ones, so maybe these ones are the best? But this one says #1 recommended. We made it about as far as the strollers on our first trip before I demanded that we needed to leave.

Here is what I wish I could tell my pregnant self before I had a melt down in the store (based solely on my own experiences):

A couple bottles will do. You might use them right away. you might not. (They will still be at the store after you have a baby – and no matter how prepared you’ll be – hubby will be going to the store daily). Buy a couple single bottles in different brands. Then you can see which ones work best. It’s different for all babies. If you pump/breastfeed, pumps come with bottles and you’ll probably end up using those ones anyway.

Pacifiers. Good Lord. Use them or don’t. It really isn’t the end of the world. If it stops the baby from crying – would that really be a bad thing?!

Can’t use blankets in the crib? No worries. “Magic Sleepy Sack” to the rescue. AKA the Halo SleepSack. Save yourself the trouble and have at least one of these. Even if you buy the best swaddling blankets – your baby may still despise being swaddled and the nights are long. Very long.

This mirror you mount in the backseat of the car so you can see your rear facing baby when she coughs and gasps for air and then is suddenly quiet again makes car trips much more enjoyable. We have this one.

A convenient/safe seat for the baby is one of the most important things! And by convenient, I mean easily portable. And of all the things you worried about – this was not one of them?! Where did you think you were going to put the baby when you took a shower?! Or made dinner? Or did anything?? [One of Stan’s cousins, gifted us with a bouncy seat like this one. She had her baby about 6 months before we did and I like to think she graced us with her infinite mommy wisdom. So if you’re reading this, thank you Gina!!]

You will cry.  And not because you don’t have all of the things you need. You really don’t need that much (at first). Your hormones are crazy. The baby won’t stop crying. Breastfeeding is one of the hardest things you’ve ever attempted. And you haven’t slept in who knows how long. But as cliche as it sounds, it really does get better! Even if that saying annoys the hell out of you 😛