5 Things I Wish I’d Done Differently With my Newborn

Being a new mom is scary and wonderful and full of questioning everything.

When I say 'newborn' in this post, I mean baby, like at least until 9-12 months of age. There are many factors you can't control when they're brand new, but the list of 5 things below are things I'd do differently--hindsight and all that.

If you're a soon-to-be or new mom, I hope this list helps. If you have a 1+ year old and are looking back (like me), do you agree with these 5 things, or would other things make your list?

1. Regained Birth Weight by First Check Up.

My baby didn't latch well. At all. And we struggled and cried for at least a month. I hope the next one will be different, but if not, I now have a plan. Because my baby didn't latch well, and I believe I have skim instead of fatty milk, he dropped weight and did not gain his birth weight back at his checkup and therefore we had to wake him every 2-3 hours to eat during the night and HE CONTINUED THIS FUN SCHEDULE ON HIS OWN UNTIL 12 MONTHS. I'm not repeating that!

If my next baby has latch issues, or if I have skim milk again, I'm going to supplement with formula sooner. I really tried to not use it for baby #1, and that only harmed us, and we ended up having to use it anyways.

When they regain and surpass their hospital weight, you don't have to wake them up, and they develop better sleep patterns/habits. Yes, they'll still wake up, but it won't be because of you.

2. Developed a Routine

I know, I know, newborns don't have routines. But I still think it's important for your own sanity, to have a schedule. And later on, when you're baby is aware that they're getting a bath and being changed into pjs before being read to with the night light sound machine on, they'll know it signals bedtime and sleep. We didn't even have standard nap times until our new day care we transferred to when he was 14 months did it, and we followed their routine. But I wish I'd instilled one earlier on because he'd only nap for twenty minutes or less versus the hour+ at day care.

3. Less Rock-n-Play & More Tummy Time

My friend told me she put her baby to sleep in the rock-n-play all the time. It rocks, it soothes, it's at an angle so they don't choke on reflux, it's fantastic. Except, (besides the recall), we learned it's not good for their head shape. The rock-n-play and others like it cradle your baby but also don't support head movement as much as a flat surface. While I switched up my arms while holding him when I was feeding him, my family didn't. And our pediatrician at the time told us not to worry about tummy time until after 1 month.

I think it was an accumulation of those things that led to my baby having a misshapen head--Plagiocephaly-- and I was so freaking worried and sad that I had helped cause this. I heard babies necks have a favored side from within the womb, and there are exercises you can do if they're favoring one side out of the womb. But keeping them off the back of their heads, practicing tummy time, and putting the baby at the opposite end of the crib from the night before helps. That last one helps because the baby will face outward and this will alternate the pressure points (per cranialtech.com)

We did do tummy time on our chests, which he loved, but I wish I'd done more on the ground so he could've seen more things.

4. Gave More Solids

Like I said above, I didn't have fatty milk, so he wasn't super full when he'd go down for the night and therefore he'd wake up throughout. I wish I'd done the rice cereal/milk in a bottle, or formula, or even giving him more food to eat before bed when he was older. I postponed starting him on solids to make sure his tummy could handle it, and I had this image of him staying on breast milk for as long as possible, but it just wasn't realistic with my milk's fat content. Once we were able to give him cow's milk, it was a big game changer in him sleeping through the night.

5. Transitioned to Own Room/Crib Sooner

As a first time mom I was super nervous about him being out of our sight while sleeping. And once he started day care he immediately got colds, and got more colds, and had trouble breathing through his nose, or he'd cough, and I was afraid he'd choke or stop breathing. Having a sick tiny one is the worst. I thought we were doing good with having him kind of upright in the rock-n-play but when his head shape suffered, we switched him to a pack-n-play that was in our room. Eventually we put him in his crib for naps to get him used to it, but it wasn't until 9 months or so that we officially moved him to his room.

I'm not sure if I could make this change with baby #2, but I'd like to transition him to his room sooner. (Although, it's recommended they stay in your room until 6 months for SIDS). I've heard stories from plenty of moms who say they moved their babies out quickly and they ended up sleeping better throughout the night since they can't smell you or your milk. I think sleeping in his crib was foreign to him so it took awhile to get used to, so I would've used it more before 9 months.

Runner Up: Taking professional newborn photos.

I was so mentally and emotionally drained and dealing with my baby not gaining weight, that I couldn't even think about preparing for a photo shoot. We took what pictures we could, but I really wish I'd let someone come take professional photos.