Five on Friday | Five Things I'll Do the Same with Baby #2

Five Things I'll Do the Same with Baby #2

1. I will follow Mom's On Call schedule
We started this when Brody was exactly 4 weeks old and we never looked back.  It was by far the best thing I ever did as a first time Mama.  Seriously.   It gave me sanity, sleep, and a happier baby.  It wasn't always easy, but it was best for everyone and my hubby was fully on board.  I recommend the books because there are lots of helpful tips and instructions in there, but you can also download the app for $5 and get the schedules which are great too!

2. I will put baby in her own room and crib at 1 month old.
We didn't really have a plan for this one way or another with Brody.  We knew he would start off sleeping in our room in this Rock N Play sleeper next to our bed.  We didn't know how long he would stay as I knew it would be convenient to have him there since we were breastfeeding.   After a few weeks, Matt and I both agreed we would all sleep better with him in his own room.  This life nest was a life saver.  It gave me huge piece of mind and allowed me to sleep with less worry each night.  Putting him in his room at 4 weeks also let us start the sleep training with Mom's on Call.  There is no way we would be able to do that if he was in the room with us.  It was a win-win for both parties!

3. I will breastfeed but also be happy to supplement with formula if needed.
I truly enjoyed breastfeeding and was so happy that Brody was good at it too.  I've said it before and I'll say it again... I'm very thankful that we started supplementing Brody with formula in the hospital (out of necessity) because it helped me not be so hard on myself when we needed to at home.  I vow to do whatever works best for both Mommy and baby this time around.  I hope breastfeeding is a wonderful experience again, but I would guess that I probably end up lacking some on supply again this time like I did with Brody.  If I need to supplement, I'm happy to do that.

4. I will allow my husband to be a parent too!
If I could only give one piece of advice to new Mama's out there, I think this would probably have to be it.  This one is so tough sometimes, but so important.  It's in our blood or genetic makeup to take control as a mama when it comes to our babies.  There is a good chance that we've read more, asked more questions to other Mama's and just feel like we are overall more prepared than Daddy is before our first baby comes; but it really doesn't matter.   He is a parent too and we are both learning this for the first time.   If you don't let your husband be involved early on, then it's easy for him to stay in the background.  Let him change diapers.  Let him feed.  Let him rock baby to sleep.  Let him make mistakes.  I promise if you don't, you will regret it later.

5.  I will swaddle my baby for as long as I can.
I am a firm believer in the swaddle.  If you haven't watched Happiest Baby on the Block yet, then you need too.  I've heard lots of parents say that their baby didn't like the swaddle, so they just didn't do it.    The babies will probably fight you at first, but I promise it will settle them.  As a Mama to a fussy newborn, the swaddle was imperative.  Brody slept in a swaddle until 6 months old. That was a long time, but it worked for us.  I hope it works for baby #2 as well.

I hope you found these helpful and I would love to hear what worked well with you for your first baby!  I get excited to think about how our baby girl will be different than Brody was and what we will end up doing differently.  Last week I shared the 5 things I plan to do differently with her.  Hope it works out :)

Linking up with April for Five on Friday, Amanda,  and Farmer Bell for Oh Hey Friday.