5 Things I Wish I Did Differently Before My Daughter’s Birth including taking a babymoon, video of her birth, postpartum education, planned for supplementation due to breastfeeding problems and considered cord blood banking.

Bear with me on the title of this blog post y’all…I promise that this isn’t going to be a negative post. It is just going to me sharing in the hopes that a new mom or an expecting mom reads this and can learn from my experiences. Being an expecting mom and then a new mom is exciting and beautiful, but let’s go ahead and say it, it is overwhelming and hard too!! No shame in that game! Now that Baby Girl is nearing 1 year old, I have been reflecting over the past year. In true mama guilt fashion, my mind went directly to what I could have or maybe even should have done differently. I have made millions of decisions for her and sometimes I second guess them, but she is a healthy and happy baby so I guess I have done something right?!

This picture was taken the night before Baby Girl was born. The whole family including my parents and my sisters’ families went out to dinner. I had a c-section scheduled for first thing the next morning and couldn’t eat or drink anything after midnight. I wanted a last supper, if you will 😉 We went to Olive Garden as sort of an inside family joke. The night before my sister had a scheduled c-section for her son, our whole family went to the Olive Garden where they live for the same reason. Unexpectedly, my sister actually went into labor and her water broke while we were eating! She went to the hospital and ended up in surgery on a full stomach!! So my nephew was actually born that evening!! I was kinda hoping that same scenario might happen for me, but it didn’t.

Taken a Babymoon

I remember lying in bed that night trying desperately to get some sleep and thinking that we really should have taken a Babymoon! So that is first on my list of what I wish I did differently before my daughter’s birth. We talked about taking a babymoon and decided that we didn’t need to spend the money. Having a baby is expensive and we had gone down to a one income household so I could stay at home with her. But now it’s a year later, we still haven’t gone on a trip as a couple! I think it would have been so good for our relationship to have had that time together alone. We don’t get a lot of alone time, even with a great support network (my parents are next door and my sister is 5 minutes down the road) so I think we would have treasured that couple time during a babymoon.

Planned Video of Her Birth

When I was pregnant, I thought I didn’t want video of her birth. I planned on the hubs having my camera in the delivery room and gave him strict orders to stay up by my head. Then I found out that I was going to have a c-section and so plans just shifted that he would have the camera in the OR. What I didn’t think about is that I would be feeling the effects of the anesthesia and meds following the c-section for several hours and be in a bit of a fog. I don’t really remember the time right after she was born. In fact, I barely remember taking this picture.

I cherish the pictures that I have from her birth and the first few hours of her life, but I think some video would be nice too!! I still would have given strict orders for the video not to include any of the gross stuff 😉

Educated myself on postpartum

I’ll admit that I didn’t take the chance that I might suffer from postpartum seriously! I thought that there was no way that was going to happen to me. I didn’t think that it was even a possibility and now it is a reality even 12 months later. It is real and it is tough!! The anxiety and depression can be crippling and you might need help to get better. There is absolutely no shame in that!! I just wish that I had been more prepared on what might happen…

Planned for Supplementation

Throughout my pregnancy, I planned to exclusively breastfeed Baby Girl. There was no question and that is exactly what I told them in the hospital. When they first brought her to me in the hospital, I quickly found out just how hard breastfeeding was going to be for us. We had latching problems and my milk was very slow to come in. She was already a small baby at 6 lb. 2 oz. and she lost weight in the hospital, getting down to 5 lb. 9 oz. I saw a lactation consultant in the hospital who tried to help. Finally on the suggestion of the neonatologist, I agreed to supplementation.

By the time we were got home from the hospital, she was completely refusing to latch. I decided that I would pump for her, which is such a chore and very time consuming, but I thought worth it so she could have breastmilk. But then I was getting so very little breast milk every time that I pumped. I tried everything from lactation cookies to supplements and finally to prescription medicine that is supposed to help your supply. In the end, I had to concede to the fact that we couldn’t breastfeed. My anxiety was nearing panic attack levels and so we had to move on to formula feeding. If I had planned for supplementation (if necessary) before my daughter’s birth, I would have saved myself a lot of headache and worry.

Considered Cord Blood Banking

I didn’t know that your baby’s umbilical cord is made of tissue and contains blood, both of which are rich sources of powerful stem cells. Preserving your newborn’s stem cells may give your child or an immediate family member, depending on the condition and other factors, the opportunity to use this resource for current cord blood therapies. In the future, there may be other potential applications like regenerative medicine. I had seen it on TV and read a bit about it. I didn’t really consider it, my OB never mentioned it and I thought it was cost prohibitive.

What I have learned through this opportunity is that Cord Blood Registry (CBR) believes passionately in the power of healthy families. They have many options to make it affordable for families, including payment plans or a gift registry option where friends and family can contribute toward the cost of preserving newborn stem cells. They also have their Newborn Possibilities Program® which assists families with a qualifying medical need by covering all costs for preserving their child’s newborn stem cells and storing them for 5 years.

I learned more about CBR at www.cordblood.com and would encourage any expecting mom to do so as well. (I found this video really helpful, too!) You can also fill out your info HERE to grab a discount promo code for $200 off enrollment of the initial fees with CBR! You at least need to have the knowledge to make an informed decision.

You will also want to check out CBR’s Essential Checklist For Packing Your Hospital Bag …And What To Have Ready For Bringing Baby Home 🙂

So tell me mamas, what do you wish that you did differently before your child’s birth?? Please tell me in the comments so we can spread the wealth of our collective mama wisdom 🙂