Things you may have done differently and things you wouldnt.

[poppy160]

I wish I didn't go to the hospital a few hours after my contractions started, I hadn't dialated anymore since my sweep the day before - I would have coped better at home.

I wish I was stronger and said no to the pethidine like I wanted.

I wish I'd held her more when she was first born, I didn't have much of a bond with her for the first 8-9 months and think this maybe because I let other people hold her too much. I was afraid that people would think I was hogging her (stupid, I know).

I wish I'd persevered with breastfeeding!

I wish I'd started taking the meds for PND as soon as the Doctor prescribed them.

However

I'm glad I let alot of my family meet her when she was a few days old.

I'm glad I had my Mum there while I was in labour, my OH is very quiet and didn't know what to say/do and my Mum gave me the encouragement I needed.

I'm glad the Epi failed. If I ever have another baby, I will put on my birth plan I do not want an Epi. I'm more clued up on the pain relief options.

I'm glad we filmed the moments after the birth on our video camera, it reminds me what she was like as a newborn and whenever I watch it now I get the rush of feelings and love I should have felt then, like I'm making up for it.

Finally, I am glad I decided to wean myself off of the PND meds, I started to feel like I was relying on them but now I feel more like myself.

 

[CoreysMummy]

I would have loved to have a natural delivery - C section it was... Still, theres always next time!!
I should have trusted myself knowing my baby was sick, and not listened to the Dr telling me it was jsut Colic, and taken him to A&E sooner than 12weeks!! Again, atleast i'll know next time, and wont go thru 12 weeks of hell with a screaming baby, no sleep, not going out - because I cant, because Corey just screamed, so we cudnt leave the house.
I wish I could have breastfed - but due to his milk allergy and the reflux disease BF was not possible, although we had the latch fine, when he would latch, which was rare, and if he did, the threw it all up after Meh!
I would buy less clothes next time.
I would get out sooner (with and without baby).

Apart from that, most of which out of my control, things were OK! Im glad I did what I did. The main things I will change are mainly to ensure that I dont get PND again, and I believe that has to do with a sick baby, in and out of hospital, not being able to breastfeed as I wanted to, and being stuck in the house screamed at for 18hours a day!! If I can sort those then thigns will be even better next time!

 

[trixipaws]

i'm glad i didnt have a termination (she wasnt planned)
i'm glad i had a home birth
i'm glad i didnt have any drugs in labour (i love to show off about that )
i'm glad i breast-fed for 8 months (another thing i am VERY proud of)
i'm glad i formula-fed for 4 months after i quit BFing, now i am experienced with both!
i'm glad i'v done the whole relaxed parenting approach. my bf's SIL has used the very routine-y method and her twins just cant adapt like millie can- they cry if they miss a nap or dont eat at a certain time, etc- millie is very versatile and i like that! millie can cope so well with unusual circumstances and i like that.
i'm glad i did everything my way and ignored the annoying people telling me i should do this and that and i'm making a rod for my back, yada yada yada. there was never any rod on my back so to them! in fact the one i mentioned above about millie being easier than her cousins just proves that my "hippie" style kicks ass! hehe

i'm pretty happy about most things actually!

one thing i shouldve done differently with hindsight is chill out a bit. i used to get really traumatised at letting her cry i just wanted to pick her up all the time. i HATED CC i couldnt do it. but iv toughened up now! not that i let her cry when she's hungry or bumped herself or poo'd her nappy lol! i mean if she screams in her cot coz she's over-tired, or just having a tantrum. i can leave her crying then without falling to pieces! i shouldve toughened up earlier tho

 

[sparky]

i'm glad i bumbled through it on my own with no family to help out, glad i had a drug free quick birth, although next time it'll be at home as i know i can handle it.

Mistakes are a necessity to learning...glad i didnt look at the baby books and saw spud as an individual, things got easier from there.

The only things i might regret are things i cant change, so i'm not going to beat myself up anymore

 

[lea m]

Oh I should also put that
Im glad that there wasnt time in the end to administer the epidural drugs and I was able to do it with just G&A!
Im glad i did refuse both pethedine and diamorphine while in pain! (I was so sure before hand that in that situation, I would have caved)
Im glad I had such a fab midwife!
Im glad I stayed in the hospital for the first night!
Im glad I had this forum during my pregnancy!

 

[nori]

some really good replies here. Having tried Dr Brown bottles today, one thing i would have changed is to have gone for them rather than avent (no air bubbles or funny noises!).. just a little thing though..