Izzy had her one year check up the day before her birthday party. She weighed in at 24 lbs and 10 oz and measured 32 inches long. As always, she is in the 99th percentile for her height and is in the 90th percentile for her weight. She is in size 4 diapers. She is wearing 12 month bottoms and 18 month tops (mostly for the length). Poor kid is built like both Andrew and I in that department. She popped two more teeth this month and is working on several others. We discovered she knows how to climb the stairs, so we have to block them off all the time now. We are working with her on backing down the stairs.
Now that we have rounded the corner on Izzy's first birthday, it has me reflecting on the things that worked well during our first year as parents, and things I would consider changing if there is a next time for us. We don't know if there will be a next time (in case you were wondering).
Things I/we would do again:
- Hire a doula - we would hire our doula again in a heartbeat! She was amazing and made Izzy's birth experience the best we could imagine.
- Use a midwife group - we loved working with the Mercy Midwives.
- Enjoy my pregnancy more rather than wishing it away. I miss Izzy's kicks.
- Stay active during my pregnancy- I really tried to get out with the dogs as much as possible for walks throughout my pregnancy. I think being active throughout helped me have an easier labor.
- Newborn photos - I was so glad both our parents talked us into doing newborn photos. I love looking back on them now.
- Weekly progress updates - I also love looking back on my weekly updates to see the progression of my pregnancy.
- Invest in a pregnancy pillow- I hardly had any back pain when I was pregnant, and I think a lot of it had to do with my amazing pillow. Yes, it took up most of the bed, but Andrew and the dogs made it work.
Things I/we would do differently:
- Not find out the gender - I think it would be fun to have a surprise at the birth!
- Maternity photos - I had them booked and the deposit paid when I was pregnant with Izzy, but couldn't justify the expense and ended up cancelling them.
- Stock the freezer - remember when we did a whole day of meal prep to stock the freezer before Izzy was born? Yeah, that was the BEST idea! We had meals for almost a month and a half. It was a total life saver.
- Placenta encapsulation - the post-partum hormones were no joke. I have read great things about placenta encapsulation helping with those hormones
- Sleep when baby sleeps- people said this when I was pregnant. When Izzy was napping, I was always worried about getting the house clean, doing laundry, etc. Sleep is important, the other stuff not so much.
- Push tummy time - we really didn't push tummy time with Izzy. As a result, she was five months old before. I don't think she is permanently damaged as a result, just something I would change if there is a next time.
- Use glass bottles - I don't really have a reason for this one other than because I want to and I think they are more sanitary.
- Buy fewer bottles - honestly, we have way too many bottles. I would probably only buy 5 4 oz bottles and a couple of 8 oz bottles. Izzy doesn't really take more than 5 oz at a time (except at bedtime). I have a drawer full of 8 oz bottles that aren't really getting used.
- Skin to skin - I would do more skin to skin contact after birth. We really didn't do a whole lot of skin to skin with Izzy, and I think that might have improved our breastfeeding experience.
- Not use a nipple shield - I do blame the nipple shield for part of our supply issues.
- Invest in a Spectra pump - I have heard great things about them!
- Take a full 12 weeks of maternity leave - this is probably my biggest regret about the early days. I was concerned about going without pay or draining my time off. Those are days and weeks I will not get back. I underestimated the total life adjustment we would have after Izzy's arrival.
- Have a baby in the spring - OK, this one is just funny for me. I always said that I wanted a spring baby, and we ended up with a fall baby. Just how things turned out for us. I wouldn't change it. As much as I love spring, I actually feel re-charged by fall.
See you all in a few weeks for our 13 month update!
No comments:
Post a Comment