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The Advice

 As my due date approaches within the next 2 weeks..the advice has been coming in strong from multiple angles. And holy crap, is it ever overwhelming.

"Let the baby cry it out"

"Don't let them cry, they are a new born - they need your love"

"Nurse your baby to sleep."

"Whatever you do...do not nurse your baby to sleep! This creates bad habits."

"Pump so dad can bottle-feed."

"Don't pump until you have to, or she will get confused."

"Just nurse them in bed" 

"Whatever you do...DO NOT nurse them in bed..."

"You can breastfeed!"

"Don't be so confident you'll be able to breastfeed. I wasn't able to breastfeed with any of mine. Not everyone can do it..."

"You're awfully small. Are you sure they have your due date correct?" 

"You don't let ready to deliver in 2 weeks. You'll go over." 


Ha! My response to all of it is "Oh thank you for that tip! I'll keep that in mind!" :) 

Ryan and I have read a few books, we are taking a "Breastfeeding & Baby care" class via zoom, and know that some of these things we are just going to learn and figure out as we go. But it's really quite comical how much advice is thrown at you. I know it all is in good heart, and people just wanting to help... 

I do really like the instructor of this class we are taking (who is a lactation consultant, pediatric physical therapist, and certified Doula...so she seems to know a thing or 2 about babies)... and one of there biggest themes is "You cannot do any harm to your newborn loving and bonding with them." She really tries to debunk the pressure that is put on new parents to "train" their newborn. 

Our society kind of has this unspoken belief that sleeping baby = success and poorly sleeping baby = failure. But, she reminds me that this baby has been in my belly for 9 months with absolutely no schedule, and they do not have the neurological aptitude to know what they are doing within those 1st months. So just love, comfort, sooth, and feed them - and the rest sort of falls into place. 

Ryan and I are so excited to greet this litty lady when she is ready to make her appearance! I finally figured out how to use the car seat/stroller system (which seemed SO DAUNTING a few months ago when we 1st purchased it :D 

I'm really happy my Mom & Dad will get to be here shortly after the baby is born, as they have opinions I trust ;) She has raised 5 children and snuggled 9 grandchildren before...so I believe she may have some tricks up her sleeve. 

I get my COVID test this Thursday, and then I'm full term at 39 weeks! So things are getting real :) 

My pregnancy blog posts are coming to an end. I think I'll plan to keep up with blogging - as it is a nice way to journal. 



Comments

Lisa's Yarns said…
Ugh the unsolicited advice can be super annoying. Its helpful to have a group of women whose advice you trust in addition to a pediatrician you can send questions to. Beyond that, it’s a lot of smiling and nodding. I’m glad you are taking a breastfeeding class! It is tricky but just lean on the lactation consultants and post partum nurses. At first you will feel like you need 3 arms - and help from Ryan. But you will figure it out. It is one thing in a long list of things that you can’t control. Some babies do great (Will) and some just can’t (Paul).

And yes, you can not spoil a baby of teach them bad habits in the first 12 weeks. They don’t learn things in those first months. It’s all about comforting and feeding them. Our amma teacher reminded us of that!!

In the first week when Will was basically up every one at night, Joan’s friend, who was a nurse (!!!), said we should just give him some cereal. Insane right???? Granted back in the day they gave babies cereal so early - like at 3 months. Now thanks to science we know they shouldn’t have cereal or other solids until 6 months!! But the older generation doesn’t understand this clearly. Ha.
February 2, 2021 at 7:01 AM
Marlys said…
Oh, there are so many advices people love to give, as they do to pregnant mothers as you’ve found out. Every baby is different and the main thing is to relax and love them, which I know you and Ryan are eager to do. My Mom told me I had to get my babies on a tight schedule, but I didn’t listen to her. She also said I should start potty training as soon as they could walk. Nope, didn’t listen again! You’ll find what works for you.
February 4, 2021 at 7:09 PM
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