What do you wish someone had told you about motherhood before you gave birth

The noisy sleeping for sure! But also about weight drop immediately after birth and the issues around formula introduction, etc. I felt a little pressured to introduce formula top ups when the baby wasn’t gaining enough weight. I wish I knew how mush is too much in terms of weight drop, etc.

Mine is that there might be a pink or red stain in their nappy when still newborn and it is likely urate crystals rather than blood. I took my baby to A&E just to be told oh its urate crystals. If I had been aware it could be something simple like that I would have still got it checked but just gone to GP instead 😆

Definitely the newborn noises! They are scary as it sounds like they are choking or drowning or they grunt like little piggies 🐷 it’s alarming 😅
To maybe not have let the health visitor scare me into using formula so easily and proceeded with breastfeeding and been more patient with myself. That you don’t need a fancy expensive steriliser machine as you can use Milton sterilising liquid and an exclusive washing up bowl just for baby bottles and sterilising.

Sleep regressions! Nobody warned me! This app is how I found out! I thought I was losing it at the 3 week one.

I had no idea about the baby blues! No clue at all. Felt crazy and everything made me cry, I held it in so much because I was so embarrassed!

That “baby blues” isn’t some cutesy thing with a cute name. It’s very real and the postpartum hormones are vile and you’ll cry, all the damn time!!

Sleep regressions, how awful the hormones are, how difficult breastfeeding is and how little support you actually get

Sleep regressions

That some teething products you use for teeth coming through may not work for other teeth at a later time

That nurofen is good for pain and calpol for colds

That weaning may not actually go well

That some sleep suits have built in mittens

😂🤦🏻‍♀️

To buy items that move automatically so you can free your hands up to get stuff done 😂 why did I buy all stationary things?! Got a swing now and it’s a lifesaver haha.

Also, the grunting!! I thought I just had to worry about being woken up for feeding not to be woken up a thousand times around that because of grunting and farting 😂😂

My mother used to always say "a women's work is never done" I get it now 😒

That I'd feel like I got run over by a truck for a solid month and would be in pain for 4 months. I knew there was internal stuff still recovering past the 6 weeks but did not expect to still feel it that much

Oh and the Intrusive and visual thoughts of the “worst case scenario” situation every day 😰

Everything. Every. Single. Fucking. Thing.

That Postpartum mental health disorders can last your entire life and not just through the postpartum period. That the non-birthing parent can get postpartum mental health disorders too. That if I gasp when baby gets hurt I'm accidentally training baby to match a gasp with danger and my excitable ass gasps at everything and if my baby heard me gasp he'd start crying cuz he associated that with him getting hurt. (He face-planted while learning how to crawl, like 3 inches, cuz that's how far he was able to lift himself off the ground. He never got like, hurt hurt.

That you will jave to hold them 24/7 for the first few months. That some babies refuse to sleep in the cot and it is normal. And that some babies dont sleep through the night well into their toddlerhood and thats also normal.

farting and it scaring them back awake!!! WORST thing ever! 😂😭

The noisy sleeping!
The witching hours
The second night syndrome
That its ok to find the first 4 weeks so difficult
Baby blues can be so difficult

😂😂 exactly this, the scream after farting in their sleep haha

this is so true, I wish someone would’ve told me it was ok, as it definitely took me 4 weeks to get over the birth and into my new reality and people were worried for me when really, it’s totally ok to take time to settle into motherhood! I will be paying that message forward for sure!