Scared, stressed, excited?

[OceanPrincess]

Well ladies I am coming up to 33 weeks and starting to have a bit of a reality check - oh my gosh in 6-10 weeks I will be having a baby!

Part of me is thrilled and so excited... but another part of me is nervous, stressed and scared! We don't have bubs' room ready... we don't even have anywhere for bubs to sleep yet! We do have it all ordered, we just need to pay for it and pick it up.

But its more than just that. How will I know what to do with baby? Newborns seem so small... how do you put clothes on them without hurting them? What do you do with them all day long? How much are they supposed to sleep?

Are these anxious thoughts and feelings normal? I haven't started pre-natal classes yet due to Christmas/New Year, will these sort of things be discussed during the classes?

How much of being a mother is "instinct" and how much is "learned"???

[Aphrael]

I had no idea about babies when I had my first, I know slightly more now lol but I do know the basics.

Baby isn't that delicate, they can be moved around without breaking them.

So long as you can get the cot or basinette if that's what your using and a few hundred nappies and some clothes you'll be set for a while.

They feed, poop and sleep in the early months so they are pretty predictable then lol its when they get bigger you need to think more about what to do with them so sit tight and relax. Babies will sleep when they want, and in the weeks after birth thats quite a bit.

So have you given any thought to the birth? Are you birthing in hospital with the midwives? Are you open to pain relief or do you want to try a la naturale? Will you be breastfeeding?

I know there are so many things to think about but the birth isn't something to just leave to chance, a bit of planning wouldn't go astray

Best of luck

Cheers,

Beck

[Ginger]

honestly, i had no idea either...but something just happened to dh and i when our ds was born- our instinct took over.

dh was running around on adreniline for the first week- he couldn't sleep! and ever since then, it's just felt so natural. we love it...and anytime we couldn't work something out- i would just log on here, ask a question and get an instant answer.

you're going to be a wonderful mum OP

[Nai]

Completely normal OP - with DD I was so focused on the labour and birth stuff though that I didn't really freak out until I got DD home! Then I sat there going "what do I do with her now? how am I supposed to know what she wants/needs?"

At least you are starting to think about this beforehand I know that at the hospital the midwives were really good about showing us how to bath DD, dress her and all of that so hopefully you will get that advice once the baby is here.

[1pj]

I dont have much advice sorry but i wanted to say i feel exactly the same!!I cant sleep sometimes at night thinking about it!I keep thinking is it normal to be this worried and scared and excited at the same time?and usually im a pretty organised person but this time -nope!Im 33 weeks too and dont even have a cot mattress yet!people tell me instinct just kicks in after there born i hope so!!

[AliBaby]

I have all of the above feelings too OP! I think it is pretty normal to feel this way.

We are so lucky to have this site as the people on BB give us so much advice adn like Rainforest said, we can just come on here and ask a question and get an instant answer.

I am sure you will feel better when you pick up your baby stuff and start classes.

I am not doing the antenatal classes but my midwife is great and has just asked me to write down a list of questions for her when I come in at my appointments.

I think instinct will take over and motherhood will also kind of be "on the job training" so to speak. We will learn as we go and I am sure you are going to be a great mum.

[~Kaz~]

As you know I'm in a similar position in terms of being (dis)-organised to you OP!! I just keep thinking, "it will all be organised in time and if not, we'll cope then".

I'm going to say your thoughts and feelings are normal because I am also experiencing all of that. I seem to have recently started swinging between being ultra calm, accepting and confident in our ability to cope, learn, manage, respond to baby needs, 'know' what to do etc and then I dip into anxiety-land. I think it's a third tri thing. It's always a different topic that has me a little stressed. For example, today's issue has been how to manage three older pets with a new baby in the house. Over Christmas, it was breastfeeding and attachment and whether I can avoid cracked nipples and mastitis!!

I have previously thought a lot about the birth itself & what I want but lately, I am more worried about what happens after the birth! I keep reminding myself that this 'worry' has a purpose - it's getting me mentally ready to bring a real, live baby home!! So I'm trying to see it as useful and using the energy to read and research and have a rough plan - like the pets issue and when we will actually go shopping to purchase a cot and change table!

I agree with Rainforest - having been through the TTC thread and now bellybuddies with you, I know you're going to be an excellent mum!

[SugarDust]

II'm upto bubs #3 and I'm packing myself! I dunno how the hell i'm gonna cope with 3 kids 2 days a week and keep the house 150% clean all of the time!