First-Time Parents Are Sharing The Habits And Practices They Would NOT Repeat Again
It's not easy being a parent — especially if it's your first time. Recently, Redditor gonnoisseur asked, "What's something you did with your first kid that you will never do with your 2nd+?" Here's what people said.
1."I used to watch my son like a hawk, scared he'd get hurt. He's four now, and I've realized a couple of scrapes and bruises are just part of growing up. I'll remember this mindset if I have another."
—Aggressive_Plant7983
2."Buying lots of clothes for my newborn. My second kid lived in bamboo zip-up pajamas until she was six months old (maybe even a little older). She had very few actual outfits because they were almost all unnecessary. I got my first child (my son) dressed daily. It was just silly and added more laundry than needed."
—DensePhrase265
3."I won't let toxic family around. I excused the behavior of family members a lot with my first because I wanted him to have relationships with them. I've realized I'd rather he have fewer healthy people in his life than a bunch of toxic ones."
—Aggressive_Plant7983
4."I kept a breastfeeding log of feedings detailing which breast I fed with, the starting time, and the finish time. It didn't make me anxious, but it was completely unnecessary, and the notebook looks like the journal of someone going mad."
—TheSingingSea_
5."Downloading that bloody Wonder Weeks app to keep track of baby's leaps. Never ever again! That thing made me so anxious."
—lolrin
6."I'm going to try to be less anxious about messes. I didn't allow my first to feed herself, and I always wiped her down when she was even a little dirty because I have a sensory disorder, and it just bothers me. In retrospect, my behavior caused problems with my daughter, who did not want to touch dirt or eat messy things. Now she has to use a utensil to eat everything, which is stressing me out."
—Think-Departure-5054
7."I won't use an app to track poops and feeds because it made my anxiety worse with my first. With my second overall, I know how rough postpartum is, and I'm going to take care of myself a whole lot better."
—AffectionateGear4
8."Using pull-ups when potty training. Next time I'll just go straight to undies. It's way easier than pull-ups."
—PrudentAd8123
9."With my first, I had a lot of expectations of how I was going to do things, but they all changed after my kid was born. I think with a second, I wouldn't force things, and I will just see how it goes with schedules, etc."
—jennirator
10."I don't think I'll have another, but if I do, I will stop stressing about milestones. I still catch myself worrying from time to time, but now that she's almost four, it seems so silly to think about the little things I used to lose sleep over."
—FattyMcButterpants__
11."I'll take a less rigid approach to parenting and adopt a more go-with-the-flow attitude. My first took naps at home in a dark room with a sound machine on. My second kid slept wherever we were: The park, the library, the car, Disneyland. You name it, she probably napped there."
—DensePhrase265
12."With parenting my second, I'm more mindful of what I say. For instance, instead of saying, 'Be careful,' I say, 'Do what feels safe.' My two kids are close in age (three and four years old), but they turned out to be wildly different children. "
—Fragrant_Summer_7223
13."I won't make special food for them. My oldest had the pickiest phase, and it was all because we kept making his food separately from ours, and we only served him what he liked. We were going crazy until one day we said screw it and started giving him exactly what we ate (with some modifications). Now he eats pretty much everything. There are no more kids menus at restaurants or carrying food from home. People are always so surprised at how well he eats. So I'm definitely not making the same mistake with my second!"
—CricketInevitable581
14."With the first, I stuck to a strict sleep schedule, obsessing over wake windows. I wouldn't leave any room for negotiation. I spent hours rocking, stressing, and feeling frustrated, wasting my life in my bedroom. Despite all of these efforts, my daughter was a very bad sleeper. My second is a unicorn baby and sleeps for 12 hours at night, and she decides when she wants to nap or sleep. I leave it up to her to decide and learn to listen to her body."
—Spare_Tutor_8057
15."I'll encourage self-play from a young age. With our first, we thought we were being great parents by always playing with our baby constantly. We were always setting up games and activities. Now our eldest isn't great at entertaining herself. For the second time around, we let self-play develop and encouraged it. Now our youngest plays with her dolls by herself for what feels like ages, and she makes up her own games and entertainment. This is such an important skill we totally overlooked while we were thinking we were being fantastic new parents."
—Fredmarklar
16."Co-sleeping or lying with my kid to sleep. I did this with my first and would not do it again. Give in once and you'll never get out of the cycle."
—Wam_2020
17."I won't be too hard on myself trying to breastfeed. When I finally switched to exclusively formula feeding at six months, I became so much happier."
—instant_karma__
18."My first kid went to SO many lessons and paid activities as a toddler. This is such a waste of money before kids are at least preschool age. In particular, I'm so embarrassed I spent money on baby swim lessons."
—Julienbabylegs
19."I'd cut off contact naps sooner. I loved them, but I overdid it, and it severely limited my life and body."
—burningtulip
20."I refused to give my first store-bought food like fruit purees and things like that. With my second, I was like, 'Here you go, have this store-bought strawberry and tomato smoothie.' I still make all her meals from scratch, but for snacks, I don't mind store-bought anymore."
—MyLifeForAiurDT
Do you have one to add? What is something you did as a new parent with your first baby that you would do differently with subsequent children? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form.
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First-Time Parents Are Sharing The Habits And Practices They Would NOT Repeat Again
It's not easy being a parent — especially if it's your first time. Recently, Redditor gonnoisseur asked, "What's something you did with your first kid that you will never do with your 2nd+?" Here's what people said. 1."I used to watch my son like a hawk, scared he'd get hurt. He's four now, and I've realized a couple of scrapes and bruises are just part of growing up. I'll remember this mindset if I have another." —Aggressive_Plant7983 2."Buying lots of clothes for my newborn. My second kid lived in bamboo zip-up pajamas until she was six months old (maybe even a little older). She had very few actual outfits because they were almost all unnecessary. I got my first child (my son) dressed daily. It was just silly and added more laundry than needed." —DensePhrase265 3."I won't let toxic family around. I excused the behavior of family members a lot with my first because I wanted him to have relationships with them. I've realized I'd rather he have fewer healthy people in his life than a bunch of toxic ones." —Aggressive_Plant7983 4."I kept a breastfeeding log of feedings detailing which breast I fed with, the starting time, and the finish time. It didn't make me anxious, but it was completely unnecessary, and the notebook looks like the journal of someone going mad." —TheSingingSea_ 5."Downloading that bloody Wonder Weeks app to keep track of baby's leaps. Never ever again! That thing made me so anxious." —lolrin 6."I'm going to try to be less anxious about messes. I didn't allow my first to feed herself, and I always wiped her down when she was even a little dirty because I have a sensory disorder, and it just bothers me. In retrospect, my behavior caused problems with my daughter, who did not want to touch dirt or eat messy things. Now she has to use a utensil to eat everything, which is stressing me out." —Think-Departure-5054 7."I won't use an app to track poops and feeds because it made my anxiety worse with my first. With my second overall, I know how rough postpartum is, and I'm going to take care of myself a whole lot better." —AffectionateGear4 8."Using pull-ups when potty training. Next time I'll just go straight to undies. It's way easier than pull-ups." —PrudentAd8123 9."With my first, I had a lot of expectations of how I was going to do things, but they all changed after my kid was born. I think with a second, I wouldn't force things, and I will just see how it goes with schedules, etc." —jennirator 10."I don't think I'll have another, but if I do, I will stop stressing about milestones. I still catch myself worrying from time to time, but now that she's almost four, it seems so silly to think about the little things I used to lose sleep over." —FattyMcButterpants__ 11."I'll take a less rigid approach to parenting and adopt a more go-with-the-flow attitude. My first took naps at home in a dark room with a sound machine on. My second kid slept wherever we were: The park, the library, the car, Disneyland. You name it, she probably napped there." —DensePhrase265 12."With parenting my second, I'm more mindful of what I say. For instance, instead of saying, 'Be careful,' I say, 'Do what feels safe.' My two kids are close in age (three and four years old), but they turned out to be wildly different children. " —Fragrant_Summer_7223 13."I won't make special food for them. My oldest had the pickiest phase, and it was all because we kept making his food separately from ours, and we only served him what he liked. We were going crazy until one day we said screw it and started giving him exactly what we ate (with some modifications). Now he eats pretty much everything. There are no more kids menus at restaurants or carrying food from home. People are always so surprised at how well he eats. So I'm definitely not making the same mistake with my second!" —CricketInevitable581 14."With the first, I stuck to a strict sleep schedule, obsessing over wake windows. I wouldn't leave any room for negotiation. I spent hours rocking, stressing, and feeling frustrated, wasting my life in my bedroom. Despite all of these efforts, my daughter was a very bad sleeper. My second is a unicorn baby and sleeps for 12 hours at night, and she decides when she wants to nap or sleep. I leave it up to her to decide and learn to listen to her body." —Spare_Tutor_8057 15."I'll encourage self-play from a young age. With our first, we thought we were being great parents by always playing with our baby constantly. We were always setting up games and activities. Now our eldest isn't great at entertaining herself. For the second time around, we let self-play develop and encouraged it. Now our youngest plays with her dolls by herself for what feels like ages, and she makes up her own games and entertainment. This is such an important skill we totally overlooked while we were thinking we were being fantastic new parents." —Fredmarklar 16."Co-sleeping or lying with my kid to sleep. I did this with my first and would not do it again. Give in once and you'll never get out of the cycle." —Wam_2020 17."I won't be too hard on myself trying to breastfeed. When I finally switched to exclusively formula feeding at six months, I became so much happier." —instant_karma__ 18."My first kid went to SO many lessons and paid activities as a toddler. This is such a waste of money before kids are at least preschool age. In particular, I'm so embarrassed I spent money on baby swim lessons." —Julienbabylegs 19."I'd cut off contact naps sooner. I loved them, but I overdid it, and it severely limited my life and body." —burningtulip 20."I refused to give my first store-bought food like fruit purees and things like that. With my second, I was like, 'Here you go, have this store-bought strawberry and tomato smoothie.' I still make all her meals from scratch, but for snacks, I don't mind store-bought anymore." —MyLifeForAiurDT Do you have one to add? What is something you did as a new parent with your first baby that you would do differently with subsequent children? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form.
