Hello everyone :) I'm 16 weeks pregnant with my first. A baby boy! I'm finding myself very overwhelmed. I don't know if I'm gonna be a good mom.... I'm scared, and a nervous wreck. I plan on breastfeeding. I just have so many questions. How often do you feed a baby? ect.
Can someone help me out here?? Also, I need a list of all things that need to be bought before the baby arrives. THANK YOU.
Calm down :) Focus on one aspect at a time. Remember this is a group of moms who have various ideas and different things that work for their families. You have a lot of time so I would start taking one thing at a time. Ask a single question you have then if you get varying answers start reseraching it.
As far as breastfeeding this is not the place to ask. Join breastfeeding moms. You feed your baby as often as he wants to nurse, it's called nursing on demand. As a newborn that will likely be all of the time but hang in there and it will get better.
In the end your mommy instincts will kick in and we are always here to help with those questions you just don't know the answer to.
Oh, and I highly recommend the car seat safety group since I think it's 90% of car seats are using incorrectly!
The list of things that you will need is probably shorter than you think. There are so many things that you "think" you need and you really don't. There are some things you'll want to think about before you go out shopping. Are you going to exclusively breastfeed or pump and use bottles as well? Are you going to co-sleep? If not, where will the baby sleep? Bassinet in your room or crib in baby's own room. Are you going to use cloth or disposable diapers?
Somethings that I though were not that usefull....diaper genie (just use plastic grocery bags and throw out with regular trash), wipe warmer (they dry out the wipes), bottle warmer (just use the stove, my warmer took too long to heat), newborn shoes (um, they can't walk so yeah), bottle sterilizer (again, just use the stove and boil em'), fancy bedding sets (they can't use bumpers or blankets for the 1st year).
I would suggest reading the "What to expect.." books (what to expect when you're expecting and what to expect the first year.) Those books are great. Congrats on the upcoming arrival!
Definitely pick up a good breastfeeding book to read now... anything from LLL or Dr Sears will have good info, "So that's what they're for" is a easier to read, lighthearted book that might be better depending on what kind of reading you like!
Also, join the breastfeeding moms group and lurk and ask questions when you have them. Learning everything now will save you problems down the line.
As for how often babies eat... in the beginning it can be nearly constant, or just every 3 hours or so. Every baby is different and will have a different nursing pattern and that pattern will change frequently. Really, you just feed whenever they ask to nurse... could be every 30 minutes, could be every 4 hours and anything in between. It's all normal.
im getting the urge again... (a little of a vent also)
- kblossom20
on Nov. 15, 2012 at 5:18 PM