upcoming mom

Well first thing is first, Congrats!! It's really all trial and error. You will find what works for you and what doesn't. The one thing that I can advise you on is this, when the baby wakes up, change the diaper first, then feed him/her. I learned the hard way. I would feed first and then change the diaper. Reasonable right. Wrong. When mine would eat she would fall asleep after she burped. Good. No, then I changed the diaper and she woke up even more cranky. It took forever. So I learned you change the diaper first and then you feed them. Wow I almost forget. Schedules are everything. When mine was born I was given advice of sleep when they sleep. That turned out to be good, because you are up every 2 hours in the beginning. However, my mother in law came over and wouldn't let her go to sleep. That took her off her schedule for almost a month. It was difficult to get any rest. You will be a great mom, and kids are a blessing. They are worth all the lost sleep, the being peed on (because at 3am you didn't put the diaper on straight), spit up on. All of that is just the grunt work.

Being a first time mother isn't really all that hard as some may think it is. When you are at the hospital, the nurses will take care of you after you have your child. It depends where you live and the hospitals rules and regulations. When I had my son, they took him and cleaned him up and took him to the nursery right after. I was anxious to be with my child so I asked my nurse if I could go get him and keep him in the room with me and i was able to. You really don't "learn" to become a mother, it just kinda happens. As long as you have common sense, you will do great. There really isn't anything in particular to do or not to do. Like i said, as long as you have common sense, you will make the right choices when it comes to your child. All i can really tell you is to love your child with all your heart. But as your child grows, you will learn.