what will you do differently with #2? - Page 3

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by reignbelle

After dd1 I said I would put the next baby to sleep "awake but drowsy" and again after dd2 I said NEXT time I'll put the baby to sleep "awake but drowsy" . Well dd3 is 8 months and I totally just nursed her to sleep. I swear next time I'm going to try really hard to put the baby down awake but drowsy. This is in hopes of having a better sleeper.

If you had a baby who would go for that, you would've done it already. The people who hold that up as the be all end all of baby sleep have gotten cause and effect backwards. A baby who sleeps easily will fall asleep when put down awake but drowsy. A baby who doesn't go to sleep easily will start screaming in rage or terror and not be comforted back to sleep for an hour or will pop up ready to play for another 3 hours if you try to leave them to fall asleep on their own.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by jennybear

DD is only 5 months, so I'm sure I'll have more to add as we continue along.

Honestly, I do less of the "AP stuff" than I planned because we just sort of followed DD's lead. She loves being down on the floor playing and gets frustrated if held/worn too long. She also sleeps better in her own room (switched her at 4 months--we bed shared for 2 months and then she was in a co-sleeper for another 2).

I think in general it's easier to start out doing all the "AP stuff" and transition out of it of the baby needs something different. And it might be that your dd was ready for her own space so soon because she had those first months of being right with you.

[Nicole730]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

If you had a baby who would go for that, you would've done it already. The people who hold that up as the be all end all of baby sleep have gotten cause and effect backwards. A baby who sleeps easily will fall asleep when put down awake but drowsy. A baby who doesn't go to sleep easily will start screaming in rage or terror and not be comforted back to sleep for an hour or will pop up ready to play for another 3 hours if you try to leave them to fall asleep on their own.

So true! People always told me to do that with DS but it didn't work. Then I had to put DD down because I needed to tend to DS and she just went to sleep - like magic or something. Now, she does it all the time. I'm still amazed at her sleeping abilities!

[bumbblehorse]

what i would change

- forget the Bumbo chair. great way to waste money. very happy i gave it away.
-stop judging others parenting style even if they do believe a book is the way to parent (chringe)
- try harder at breastfeeding ( was heavily drugged up after complicated Csection so i started to pump and did it for 8 months)
-try to stay home again
-enjoy pregnancy rather than gripe about being "huge"
-dont look at the scale before, during and after pregnancy
-learn to sleep when baby sleeps!


loving wife of 10 months to my man and loving every moment with my 9 month old son

[tracysroberts]

Originally Posted by lookatreestar

honestly with the second ive done pretty much everything the same. i love having the freedom of no loveys/pacis etc. my dd has really shown me how much ap can pay off.

I'm with you on this one. Each child is different and to me AP is about responding to who that child is and working with children with respect, not having a plan ahead of time about how you will treat them.

[ann_of_loxley]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

If you had a baby who would go for that, you would've done it already. The people who hold that up as the be all end all of baby sleep have gotten cause and effect backwards. A baby who sleeps easily will fall asleep when put down awake but drowsy. A baby who doesn't go to sleep easily will start screaming in rage or terror and not be comforted back to sleep for an hour or will pop up ready to play for another 3 hours if you try to leave them to fall asleep on their own.

Haha! - Like the baby I have now!
I was able to do that with DS1...DS2 is a whole different fish!

[BetsyS]

Baby #1 nuarsed to sleep every nap and night until he weaned. Number 2 was one of those awake but drowsy types. This time, I'm hoping for the nurse to sleep again. Number 1 has always been an excellent sleeper; number 2 didn't STTN until he was 21 months old (and weaned for several months).

With #1, I futzed with a bottle/pump. I never needed it. With #2, I didn't bother. I was hospitalized for 5 days when he was 9 months old. He figured out a bottle quickly. This time, I'm not going to bother with it.

more pictures, of course. There are never enough.

And this time, I know my kids will be fine with grandma while I'm in the hospital, so I'm totally going to enjoy 48 hours of just taking care of me and baby. A mini babymoon--I can't wait.

[Knitting Mama]

Originally Posted by tracysroberts

I'm with you on this one. Each child is different and to me AP is about responding to who that child is and working with children with respect, not having a plan ahead of time about how you will treat them.

Well said, mama! One of my biggest pet peeves is when I hear people say things like "Oh, I could never be an AP parent, I like being able to put my baby down," and crap like that. Even worse was one who said, "My son likes to do his own thing. I could never be AP because he'd hate it." AP is all about following your baby's cues, and if your baby likes to have quiet time not being held, then that's AP for your baby!

[akind1]

DS does like independent time, and I know he would not want to be worn all the time. so I don't think that putting him down makes me non-AP. DS also has had a paci and we use a stroller sometimes. I agree, AP should mean more that you are just following your baby and child's cues. - it's not like there are official AP police that give you a membership card or something.

I forgot to add before: ditto on the zippers! I love sleep and plays with zippers! why to so many have snaps? this makes no sense to me - it is super hard to find ones with zippers.

[Nicole730]

Originally Posted by akind1

I forgot to add before: ditto on the zippers! I love sleep and plays with zippers! why to so many have snaps? this makes no sense to me - it is super hard to find ones with zippers.

I love the sleepers from The Children's Place, they have zippers and they are soooo cozy. They are my absolute favorite and a baby "must-have".

[Knitting Mama]

Seconding CP sleepers! My daughter is a skinny minnie and their clothes are among the only stuff that fits her well. She swims in the width of other newborn clothes, even if they fit her in length! Just One Year newborn stuff from Target is the other brand that fits her well.

[Path2Felicity]

What I would do differently:

- I definitely want a home birth next time. I abhor the hospital environment, even if it's with a midwife.
- I will introduce pacifier earlier... though I know it is a matter of personality really.
- I will not isolate myself at home after the initial period of mommy-baby hood.
- I will keep baby upright more after each feeding.
- Although I love nursing baby to sleep, I would like to introduce other methods of sleep associations (even if it's bouncing, rocking, etc).

I can't think of anything else really. I love, love APing. Before I got pregnant, I had no idea what "Attachment Parenting" meant at all. The first book I picked up was Dr. Sears Baby Book... and I just took it for granted that this was mainstream. I loved the idea of responding to baby, holding baby, and just the concept of gentle parenting. My DD is 6.5 months, and I am still extremely sensitive to her cries... and I love that I am.

AP is more difficult, but I would not be satisfied any other way.

[juneboymum]

The one thing that I feel strongest about is if we have another son....I will not get him circumcised. It was a very difficult decision with DS and when we decided to do it, I still felt it went against everything else we planned to do and how we would raise him. Now I feel guilty about it everyday. It's personally, my biggest regret.

[Novus]

-I'll have a doula. DH was great, but when it came down to it, I wanted someone who had experienced labor herself and who had helped other women through it.
-I'll go to an independent birthing center instead of the hospital. I had an awesome hospital experience, but it was still a hospital and I was still a patient.
-I'll enjoy the pregnancy as much as I can.
-I'll actually nurse on demand. With DS, I thought I was nursing on demand, but I had *no* idea what that actually meant because every time I had heard the term, someone was saying "babies nurse on demand...usually every 2-3 hours." So I thought that if DS cried more often than that, there was something else wrong and we tried EVERYTHING. In retrospect, I should've just stuck a boob in his mouth!
-I'll try the sling at home. I used it outside, but it never occured to me to use it at home.