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I Wish Someone Had Told Me...

Pregnancy Advice

By iParenting Staff

I wish someone would have advised me to practice leaving my baby with someone like my grandmother, my mom or aunt so that I could get used to leaving him when it was time to go back to work (if you're a working mom). It was so hard leaving him, especially the first day. It gets easier each day, but I'm so anxious to go home and give my baby a big hug. I wish someone would have told me how hard it was going to be leaving my baby for the first time. I should have practiced leaving him, even if I was just going to run a 10-minute errand.

One thing that I wish someone would have told me about becoming a mother was how unimportant the world seems to think you are. People write to the baby, come to see the baby, inquire about the baby, but you as the mother are pushed out of the picture. This is the hardest job in the world and people see stay-at-home moms as people who must be bored and who must watch television all day. I wish! My husband and I made the decision to start a family and for me to stay at home. I wish people would respect that!

I wish someone had told me to follow my own instincts from the start and don't listen to "helpful" older relatives who want to parent b the book. My own natural responses to MY babies are always exactly right at the time. I really do believe I know what's best for the babies I carried and gave birth to and spend 24 hours a day with, if I listen to my heart.