Whats the best advice you got given

At antenatal classes we were told to think of the labour pain as positive pain... you are about to meet your baby its a huge positive. That really helped me in labour. Even with the sh*ttest labour/birth i had... i would certainly do it all over again.

My mums said to me when i was pregnant - 'Hun, labour is a positive thing, we as mothers have the privilege of bringing our babies into the world. This blessing is only given to women and we are designed for this purpose.' I spent a lot of my labour saying to myself my body is wonderfully made just for this purpose. That and 'i am a baby birthing machine' lol

In the early days mum also said to me if you achieve one thing each day then you are doing a wonderful job. If that one thing is getting dressed, checking the letter box (in pjs), having a shower, making a cup of tea (but not drinking it) , opening the door to a visitor or feeding and spending time with your baby.

She also said about the getting fresh air everyday - even just a trip to the letter box. After the first week she would tell me to get dressed because she needed me to go to the dairy and get her milk lol.

Last but not least advice from me - Mums give some of the best advice out there!!!!!

I think the best advise I was ever given was about the first bowel motion you have after giving birth. Best thing to do is to make a fist with your hand, bring your fist to your mouth (thumb side up) and blow into it. Sounds really really silly, but it uses the same muscles to push out the poo. Its nice and gentle. It takes away the fear of going toilet, which in turn may help stop you from becoming constipated. Because its true, pushing out a baby feels like you're going poos!

Go on, try it

Never compare your baby to how other babies are developing. Each baby develops at their own speed. Some are early movers while others talk sooner etc.

Do what works.

My mum said to me(for after baby is born)

Dont tip toe around the house, just keep everything normal, you want baby to be able to sleep through anything.
Also, put them down to sleep awake, and they will eventually learn how to drift off to sleep themselves(I fully stand by this).

a piece of advice for labour (assuming no or little pain relief ) - when the pain gets to a point where you think you can't take it anymore, that really is the worst it's going to get! I didn't believe it when I was told before labour, but it's true - I had been going so well with just some gas and coping ok, but then got to the stage where I started asking for an epidural....but I had already gone through transition, and it really didn't get any worse than that! Your body is (generally) designed to cope, and as your body feels pain it releases endorphins which help too.

and for afterwards - lactulose

The best piece of advice I can offer is..

Trust your body and if you feel like something is wrong in labour, tell somebody, scream, yell and shout until they will listen.     I knew my baby wasn't coming out naturally, and after agonising pain for hours on end, they finally believed me.    As long as your baby comes out healthy and you're still alive, it doesn't matter how they come out - whether it's c-section, forceps, vontouse etc. As long as they come out!   

A tip that helped me a lot with DD's labour was to blow raspberries if I felt myself tensing up.  That sound horses make when they blow out a breath through their lips IYKWIM?  Keeping your mouth open and relaxed helps your cervix to dilate faster.  I actually wrote this tip in my birth plan and asked my MW to remind me to do this - and it really did help!

Edited by kakapo

Hmm , not so much advice others have given me, but what ive learnt myself

1) you are allowed to think labour is unpleasant

2) when it comes to labor , over prepare, then go with the flow

3) your babies are babies for such a brief moment , don't spend that time trying to be a perfect parent in societies eyes , but in your babies eyes

4) don't underestimate the power of a good bath , and a good nap

The best piece of advice (can't remember from where) was that "you will get given conflicting advice - so choose what advice you want to follow, and go from there."

Worst piece of advice: "Sleep when your baby sleeps".  I was so sleep deprived and anxious to sleep, that I couldn't get to sleep grrr! 

So many great tips!

For me it would be something my Dad said to me, which was "if you are having a bad day with baby, just take it hour by hour, instead of the typical day by day" as sometimes the days run into each other and seem very long, but when you realised a few hours have passed you feel like you have accomplished something"

If you don't do anything else during the day make sure you have a shower using a nice smelling body wash and then put on some moisturiser and maybe a bit a mascara, its suprising how good it makes you feel.

Don't stress over trying to get sleep while baby is sleeping during the day just rest and relax and if you fall asleep great but if not at least you have put your feet up and relaxed for a bit.

For me getting out of the house everyday was a lot of the time just a walk around the yard and sitting out in the sun, fresh air does do wonders.

Housework DOES NOT MATTER and if you can get someone else to do it, then let them.

Just because people say their babies are sleeping through the night does not mean they actually are!

Enjoy every minute, it really does go so fast!