My Top 5 Mom Regrets and 10 Things I’ll Do Again

DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may get a commission if you decide to purchase something through my links at no cost to you. Please read my Disclaimer for more info.

DISCLAIMER: This post is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding you or your baby’s health. Please read my Medical Disclaimer for more info

As a new mama, it’s impossible to foresee all the things you’ll want to do with and for your baby! Let’s talk about my 5 mom “regrets” as a new mama and 10 things I did do that I will do again! (Maybe with a few adjustments I’ll point out, though).

My Mom Regrets

1. Too Much Baby Container Use

If you don’t know what a baby container is, it’s any device that limits the movement of your baby. Some baby containers include wraps, carriers, jumpers, exersaucers, floor seats, high chairs, etc.

These containers can hinder the development of skills and place stress on developing bones and joints. Baby containers can also make it take longer for your baby to learn to sit, stand, and walk.

I had no idea that too much baby container use was a thing! It seems like common sense to me now, but I will do it entirely differently next time around.

I don’t want many baby containers in my house next time, and I’m going to mostly have my baby held on the ground or in a wrap/carrier. And of course, we’ll have a high chair when our next baby is ready, but besides that, I want one other thing like a bouncer or swing as an option occasionally (like if I’m cleaning), and that’s it!

Watch Now on YouTube!

2. Not Taking a Childbirth Course

As a newly pregnant mama, I really thought asking some questions at my OB-GYN appointments and attending the hospital tour (which also included some baby safety information) was amazing to do to prepare for my childbirth and have a baby.

Boy, was I wrong… Those things are fantastic, but a childbirth course can truly shape your birth experience, and the benefits can be immense. Research shows that women who take a childbirth course are less likely to need to be induced, have higher confidence going into childbirth, reduced anxiety, a higher likelihood of breastfeeding, and improved communication with their OB/GYN or midwife.

If I were to have taken a childbirth course and really learned the information I know now, I wonder if I would have gone through with my induction. Still, either way, I would have definitely asked many more questions and had a better understanding of the benefits, risks, and alternatives.

I’m also pretty certain that my 37-hour labor (from the start of having contractions to birth) would have gone quicker, my birth space would have been better equipped to help me feel calm, and so many more things would have been different in a good way too!

3. Not Taking a Breastfeeding Course

I was completely unprepared for how challenging breastfeeding would be, which is one of my earliest regrets after having my daughter. If I had taken a breastfeeding course during my pregnancy, that would have set me up for success through evidence-based education (therefore, why I’m currently making a breastfeeding course!)

I dealt with many challenging emotions after a couple of weeks of breastfeeding, and the lack of education led me to struggle with a low supply, which caused me to feel a lot of guilt.

Even today, I sometimes feel guilty for not making it a long time breastfeeding my daughter, so I have an immense passion for providing the education I know now to other mamas.

4. Not Continuing Intentional Skin-to-Skin

Skin to skin has so many fantastic benefits such as:

Increasing baby’s oxytocin, making them calm and alert

Regulating baby’s body temperature

Decreasing your baby’s stress hormones (catecholamines) will stabilize their heart rate and breathing patterns and lower their energy output until your breastmilk comes in.

Reduces risk of postpartum hemorrhaging

Increases the “mothering” hormone (prolactin) that facilitates breastfeeding

Increases the bond between you and your baby

Stimulates baby’s digestion and interest in feeding

But these benefits aren’t just limited to right after childbirth! And skin-to-skin benefits all babies, whether they’re formula-fed, breastfed, born vaginally, by cesarean, etc.

When you’re recovering in the hospital, birth center, or at home, spend some time relaxing without a top on. Place your baby between your breasts and cover them with a light blanket. Allow your baby to nurse on demand during this time, and I recommend leaning back while propped up with pillows to do laid-back breastfeeding (if you’re nursing) since this position is advantageous to slow an overactive let-down which is expected in the early days of your transitional milk “coming in.”

You can practice skin to skin at home however much you’d like for however long you’d like to but try to leave your baby on you for at least an hour each time.

Once you’re further in recovery, you can also use a baby wrap with your baby only in a diaper and your shirt off to get more skin to skin in without lying down the entire time!

I will take advantage of skin to skin using a baby wrap and laying down skin to skin with my next baby much more than I did with my first because I just didn’t know! But I’m so excited to reap the fantastic benefits it provides for both mama and baby for longer next time!

5. Not Babywearing More

Yes, babywearing is a container, but babywearing can increase your bond and the feeling of spending quality time with your baby. Baby wraps and carriers can also make going out and cleaning at home easier, which are some ways I’m going to use it more next time!

For my next baby, I plan to purchase the Solly Wrap and the Ergo Baby Carrier.

Things I Will Do Again

Now what are some things I did that I will do again!

1. Avoid Sleep Training

Sleep training just isn’t my thing. I only tried it for a few minutes, and it just felt so wrong. But if this works for you, that’s great! I just found that it’s completely normal for babies to stay waking up in the night for a very long time!

Even my 3-year-old still wakes up for a minute some nights just to be tucked in again, and it doesn’t bother me. I found that creating a solid, consistent routine was the best thing for making a great sleeper, so that’s what I will do for my next baby as well.

My Tips:

Routines. Times can vary, but what’s more important is keeping the same routine of things you do every night! With occasional baths some nights and not every night for newborns.

Ensure your baby is eating enough before bed. It’s okay if you nurse your baby to sleep, I did that too! But when they fall asleep, give your breast a massage into their mouth or tickle the bottle nipple in or on their mouth to wake them if they haven’t eaten enough.

2. Incorporating More Baby-Led Weaning (BLW)

BLW is the practice of skipping over the pureed baby foods and giving your baby soft finger foods they can feed themselves from the start! Any solids are typically started at 6 months or older of age but talk to your pediatrician before starting.

The benefits of BLW supports the development of hand-eye coordination, chewing skills, and healthy eating habits.

I incorporated BLW for my daughter, but I really didn’t know much about it. I want to do this again, but I still plan on feeding her some pureed foods.

3. Making Homemade Baby Food

I loved making homemade baby food because I could buy all organic fruits and veggies and save so much money by making it myself versus buying the store-bought purees.

The only thing I will change about this next time is doing it even more than I did as a first time mama!

I used the Baby Bullet, but it’s unnecessary, and I plan to use our Nutribullet and purchase glass baby food storage containers for the homemade baby food.

4. Breastfeeding On-Demand

Although my breastfeeding journey didn’t go as well as I’d hoped, I always breastfed and formula-fed my baby on demand.

Breastfeeding on demand means responding to your baby’s hunger cues, whether they are breast or bottle-fed. This is a critical aspect of developing a secure attachment relationship, longer-term positive eating behaviors, as well as establishing your milk supply and encouraging healthy weight gain and development in your baby.

I go over hunger cues, fullness cues, tips for managing cluster feeding, and so much more in my breastfeeding course! (Coming soon!)

5. Creating Reasonable To-Do Lists

It’s important for your mental health not to overload your to-do list with more than you can handle as a mama with a baby. Most of your time is spent caring for your baby, and you also need to prioritize caring for yourself for your mental and physical health!

I quickly caught on to making my to-do lists concise and manageable, which led to a more positive attitude about what I was accomplishing daily. Plus, it’s okay to feel like you didn’t get anything done all day! Because although you may feel this way, you do so much every day for your baby and yourself.

6. Prioritize Your Sleep

To the best of your abilities, prioritize your sleep mama. I know it can be hard, but this goes hand in hand with creating reasonable to-do lists.

Sleep is so important for your mental health and your physical abilities to care for your baby and yourself. Try your best to sleep as much as possible when you feel you need it, and seriously, sleep when your baby sleeps sometimes!

If you have a toddler who doesn’t take naps anymore, I recommend just getting into bed after putting them and your baby to sleep and to try to start getting your sleep in early. And if you have a partner, you can eventually make a night where you stay up to have quality time alone before bed, but it’s to be expected that your relationship’s quality time will go down for a while with a new baby. It’s important to prepare for this before your baby comes!

Prioritizing my sleep will be something I do again, and luckily this time around, I won’t be a single mama with a newborn, so I think this time will be even easier for me to get some rest.

7. Use Non-Toxic Products

The only thing I would change with this one is that I wish I did it sooner! Non-toxic products are amazing for your baby’s sensitive skin and avoid endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which can negatively impact one’s overall health and fertility.

A few non-toxic baby products I love include:

To find and check if a product is non-toxic, I use the EWG app!

8. Pelvic Floor Exercises

I’m incredibly thankful I did pelvic floor exercises before and after childbirth. Firstly, because I feel like doing them during pregnancy led me only to only need to push 3-4 times until my daughter was born. And secondly, I was able to regain control of my bladder by doing these exercises because, after childbirth, it was not good, which is common!

9. Practicing Prenatal & Postpartum Yoga

In general, I love slow, calming exercises but especially during pregnancy and postpartum I feel that yoga is one of the best things to practice!

Your back and joints loosen and may ache during pregnancy, and having a slow, calming prenatal yoga class as a routine can help you both mentally and physically!

I also enjoy adding positive pregnancy, childbirth, or postpartum affirmations into yoga sessions to aid in my positive, caring mindset towards myself and my body to be doing this again during my next pregnancy and postpartum experiences.

10. Preparing a Postpartum Care Basket Before Giving Birth

A postpartum care basket has everything you need for your “down there” care, such as adult diapers, large pads, postpartum spray, a peri bottle, and more! Want to know How to Make the Perfect Postpartum Care Basket?

I was so thankful I did the research on what I needed to make my postpartum healing easier before I had my daughter because I don’t think I would have had the time to find the great products and tips that I did!

What are some of your regrets and/or things you know you’ll do again? Let me know in the comments below!

You got this mama. You are encouraged, educated, and empowered!

Sources:

Baby Container Education