When your expecting a child, it seems like everyone has some kind of advice to give you. And a lot of the advice you'll hear is good advice to take in, and apply it later on if and when needed. However, you also get a lot of advice that, well, just simply isn't that good of advice. Although I know every pregnancy is completely different, here are the top 2 pieces of advice that I found to be completely wrong, and the top 2 that were completely right.
Sleep when the baby sleeps... False
When I was pregnant, this is a line I heard constantly. So, after hearing it from so many people, I thought, no problem, I will sleep when she does, whenever that may be, morning, evening.. night or day. Easy, right? Well, not exactly. This is because after your baby finally arrives, there are now a million and one things to do and much less time to do them. During the day while the baby is sleeping I find myself frantically running around our place trying to catch up on the dishes, laundry, school work, or trying to get a quick meal down before she wakes up. And as for the evening and night? Evenings are filled with bath & bed time, and praying she falls asleep. After I get her to bed and myself ready for bed, its like a race to fall asleep because you know you only have a couple of hours before she is up again to eat and be changed, which makes it much harder to fall asleep when you feel like you have to. Its like when you have to be up really early the next morning for something, so you try and go to bed early... it just doesn't work. So, for the phrase “sleep while your baby does”, I wouldn't plan on it!
You will get your body back.. True
During my pregnancy I only gained 23 pounds, which I know is a good amount of weight to gain for being pregnant. However, by the end of it I just felt so big and my confidence definitely took a hit. Everyone told me not to sweat it because I would lose the weight in no time. But when your already feeling bad about something, no one else's words seem to help. But.. it is true! I had lost just about all of the baby weight in a little over a month (which, I know is a little faster than some, thanks to a fast metabolism and breastfeeding). I guess its just hard to see the light while your in the middle of the tunnel. Advice I would have for this is just enjoy being pregnant while you still are. Eat what you want to and worry about the baby weight after they arrive (because when you think about it, its a good time to gain a few extra pounds from junk food while having a good excuse for it lol). There are so many other things to worry about than a little baby weight and after your baby arrives, it will all have been worth it.
You will know when its time to go to the hospital.. True
It was hard for me to tell the difference between a contraction, and a bad cramp.. and honestly I still couldn't tell you the difference other than contractions can be a stronger pain. Because of this I worried I wouldn't be able to tell when I needed to go to the hospital. However, that just isn't the case.. you will know, I promise. When I was just under 32 weeks pregnant, I went into pre-term labor. A couple of days before the pre-term began I had gone in to see my doctor about some cramping or contractions I had been feeling and she sent me home and told me I was just having harmless cramps, and that everything was fine. I reluctantly took her word, and went home. Not even two day later, I woke up and knew I needed to get to the hospital because I just knew something wasn't right.
If you co-sleep with your baby, they will never sleep in their crib.. False
Okay, so I know co-sleeping is a touchy subject for many people. I even have to admit I had completely different views on it BEFORE I became a mom. However, after your baby is here you quickly find out that you will do whatever it takes to help your baby sleep. And if that meant my baby was sleeping in bed with me, thats what I was going to do. So, for about the first three months she just always slept in our bed with us. We decided at three months we would start putting her in her crib. I was kind of nervous about how it would go because I had heard so many stories about co-sleeping never ending once you start. However, she took to her crib right away and we didn't have any problems. I know this can go completely different with each baby, but I believe as long as the co-sleeping stops by a certain age, its an easy habit to break. Although, we still let her sleep with us one night a week.. because there is nothing better than waking up and the first thing I see is my girl smiling from ear to ear.
Sleep when the baby sleeps... False
When I was pregnant, this is a line I heard constantly. So, after hearing it from so many people, I thought, no problem, I will sleep when she does, whenever that may be, morning, evening.. night or day. Easy, right? Well, not exactly. This is because after your baby finally arrives, there are now a million and one things to do and much less time to do them. During the day while the baby is sleeping I find myself frantically running around our place trying to catch up on the dishes, laundry, school work, or trying to get a quick meal down before she wakes up. And as for the evening and night? Evenings are filled with bath & bed time, and praying she falls asleep. After I get her to bed and myself ready for bed, its like a race to fall asleep because you know you only have a couple of hours before she is up again to eat and be changed, which makes it much harder to fall asleep when you feel like you have to. Its like when you have to be up really early the next morning for something, so you try and go to bed early... it just doesn't work. So, for the phrase “sleep while your baby does”, I wouldn't plan on it!
You will get your body back.. True
During my pregnancy I only gained 23 pounds, which I know is a good amount of weight to gain for being pregnant. However, by the end of it I just felt so big and my confidence definitely took a hit. Everyone told me not to sweat it because I would lose the weight in no time. But when your already feeling bad about something, no one else's words seem to help. But.. it is true! I had lost just about all of the baby weight in a little over a month (which, I know is a little faster than some, thanks to a fast metabolism and breastfeeding). I guess its just hard to see the light while your in the middle of the tunnel. Advice I would have for this is just enjoy being pregnant while you still are. Eat what you want to and worry about the baby weight after they arrive (because when you think about it, its a good time to gain a few extra pounds from junk food while having a good excuse for it lol). There are so many other things to worry about than a little baby weight and after your baby arrives, it will all have been worth it.
You will know when its time to go to the hospital.. True
It was hard for me to tell the difference between a contraction, and a bad cramp.. and honestly I still couldn't tell you the difference other than contractions can be a stronger pain. Because of this I worried I wouldn't be able to tell when I needed to go to the hospital. However, that just isn't the case.. you will know, I promise. When I was just under 32 weeks pregnant, I went into pre-term labor. A couple of days before the pre-term began I had gone in to see my doctor about some cramping or contractions I had been feeling and she sent me home and told me I was just having harmless cramps, and that everything was fine. I reluctantly took her word, and went home. Not even two day later, I woke up and knew I needed to get to the hospital because I just knew something wasn't right.
If you co-sleep with your baby, they will never sleep in their crib.. False
Okay, so I know co-sleeping is a touchy subject for many people. I even have to admit I had completely different views on it BEFORE I became a mom. However, after your baby is here you quickly find out that you will do whatever it takes to help your baby sleep. And if that meant my baby was sleeping in bed with me, thats what I was going to do. So, for about the first three months she just always slept in our bed with us. We decided at three months we would start putting her in her crib. I was kind of nervous about how it would go because I had heard so many stories about co-sleeping never ending once you start. However, she took to her crib right away and we didn't have any problems. I know this can go completely different with each baby, but I believe as long as the co-sleeping stops by a certain age, its an easy habit to break. Although, we still let her sleep with us one night a week.. because there is nothing better than waking up and the first thing I see is my girl smiling from ear to ear.