Hello mamas, I'm new here to the forums and already loving the look of them!
I'm the mother of a lovely 14 month old girl, and expecting my second child in February.
Before my daughter was born, I had a general idea of what sort of parent I'd be. I'd like to have a natural birth but would keep an open mind about pain relief, I'd try to breastfeed for about 6 months or so, my baby would sleep in her own bed, and so on. I thought I did a lot of research on birth and naively assumed that it would all come naturally to me (ahem..), agreed to an induction, had a nightmare birth (forceps delivery) after a 3 day long induction, and had a hellish start to breastfeeding.
Somewhere along the way I realized that my midwives and health visitor in fact did not know everything there was about parenting my baby, and I started following my instincts instead of waiting for someone to tell me what I should do.
I discovered that breastfeeding can be (and is!) a wonderful experience, and I'm "still" nursing my 14 month old "even though" I'm nearly halfway through a second pregnancy. I discovered the joy of co-sleeping and cherished it until around a month ago when we discovered that we both get a lot more sleep when we're not waking the other with our tossing and turning at night - but she still is at an arm's reach away from me at the side of my bed. This is just a small look at the way my ideas have changed! My outlook on parenting in general has become completely different than what it used to be. I'm pretty sure that in the eyes of my own mother, I've become one of "THOSE" moms.
I'm now planning a home water birth with my second child and get more excited every day about doing things differently this time. I feel like I'm armed with so much more knowledge and so many different resources. I only wish I'd known what I do now before my daughter was born!
That's enough from me for now...hope I haven't bored you all with my novel of an introduction!
I'm the mother of a lovely 14 month old girl, and expecting my second child in February.
Before my daughter was born, I had a general idea of what sort of parent I'd be. I'd like to have a natural birth but would keep an open mind about pain relief, I'd try to breastfeed for about 6 months or so, my baby would sleep in her own bed, and so on. I thought I did a lot of research on birth and naively assumed that it would all come naturally to me (ahem..), agreed to an induction, had a nightmare birth (forceps delivery) after a 3 day long induction, and had a hellish start to breastfeeding.
Somewhere along the way I realized that my midwives and health visitor in fact did not know everything there was about parenting my baby, and I started following my instincts instead of waiting for someone to tell me what I should do.
I discovered that breastfeeding can be (and is!) a wonderful experience, and I'm "still" nursing my 14 month old "even though" I'm nearly halfway through a second pregnancy. I discovered the joy of co-sleeping and cherished it until around a month ago when we discovered that we both get a lot more sleep when we're not waking the other with our tossing and turning at night - but she still is at an arm's reach away from me at the side of my bed. This is just a small look at the way my ideas have changed! My outlook on parenting in general has become completely different than what it used to be. I'm pretty sure that in the eyes of my own mother, I've become one of "THOSE" moms.
I'm now planning a home water birth with my second child and get more excited every day about doing things differently this time. I feel like I'm armed with so much more knowledge and so many different resources. I only wish I'd known what I do now before my daughter was born!
That's enough from me for now...hope I haven't bored you all with my novel of an introduction!
Welcome to MDC! 
