Is there one thing you regret NOT doing when your children were babies???

Question

I didnt hold my daughter alot when she was a baby baby (shes nearly 11 months now) and she is now not a cuddler, she wont sleep in my arms and usually only wants to be picked up when she wants something...i did this because everyone said if you hold her a lot she will be clingy blah blah blah, now i think who cares if she is clingy she wont be like that forever, and will be holding my other babies when ever and for as long as i want....does anyone else have similar regrets???

Answer 1

I have always felt the same thing that I didnt hold them enough now they are too big to hold :( I think all moms feel like that because all you want to do is hold them all the time.

Answer 2

I reget not staying home with my first longer i went back to work when he was just 1 month old.Now i have a 4 month old and i stay at home and i feel that i missed out soooo much with the first he is 6 years old and off doin his own thing.

Answer 3

I regret not letting others hold my kids when they were babies. I had this reoccurring dream with each of my first three that someone was going to drop my baby, which lead to only myself, my husband, my mother and my mother in-law to be allowed to hold the baby. There's a 12yr difference between my oldest and my 2nd and looking back, I hate that I never let her old her brother....but that fear was always in the back of my mind and it was like it took over. Because of this, my kids, from the ages of newborn-4ish, hated to be left with anyone but myself.

We had our 4th in March and I was put on bed rest for 2wks. Our oldest, who is now 18yrs, took over as The Mommy and helped my husband out. I was so out of it, that the fear of others holding the baby didn't come to mind. He's now 4ms and everyone holds him, everyone feeds him etc. No fear...and I know he won't be as clingy as my others.

Answer 4

everyone tried to tell me the same thing...i'm glad i didn't listen to any of them and did what i thought was right.

i wish i would have had the money to send them to martial arts lessons.

Answer 5

I didn't read to my son as I should have. Though now being 6 years old he loves to read. But I feel bad. I worked and was tired alot. And he had trouble with his speech really bad. Don';t know if it had to do it

Answer 6

i hold my son ALL the time.. and when hes at grammys for babysitting she rarly puts him down... hes not cliny but loves a god cuddle..

what i regret is not being able to afford to be a SAHM.. i hate that BOTH my sons mommy and daddy pull full time hours =(

Answer 7

I did have some, but I've had some many "do overs" (having 4 kids and one on the way) that I go to do they things I regretted doing the first time. One thing I do regret though, and sometime I'll never be able to do, is being home more often when they were/are babies. I wish I enjoyed being a stay at home mom, but I just don't have the patience for it. I tried it when my 4th was born last year and it didn't work out. Because I choose to go to work (I'm a teacher), I've missed out on some things and I wish I didn't. If only there was a way to make them not do anything interesting between the hours of 9-12, 1-2:30, Monday-Friday....

Cuddle your baby as much as you want, but make sure you give he/she enough independent time as well in the future. (aka...don't hold them 24/7. Not hard to do, right?) They CAN be clingy forever...trust me on that. As a teacher and parent, I have seen very clingy older children.

Best Wishes =]

Answer 8

Taken more pictures of them through the different stages of childhood.

Answer 9

My one regret is not starting them on solid foods sooner. I kept putting it off, because thought they were too little - now my twins are such fussy eaters - and i believe it s because of that

Answer 10

yep with my last i didnt hold her allot as a baby but shes nearly 2 and shes so clingy she wasnt but i made up for all the cuddles i didnt give so can you hun dont worry we only have a short time with our kids before there all grown up my eldst  is 18 my youngest 23mths and im 19-20 weeks pregnant  

Answer 11

My girls are 5½yrs and 3yrs old, the only thing I regret is not taking my 5yr old swimming more often then I did, because when she had swimming lessons earlier this year she didn't have the confidence to go fully under water (even though she loves going in pool), she didn't pass the lessons, she was so close to passing, but not quite confident in time, she's there now but I don't want her to be left behind next year (she's afraid of not being with her friends then) She bawled her eyes out when the swimming teaching told her she didn't pass.She was so distraught, so I've enrolled her into swimming lessons (out of school) starting at the end of next month, so she will pass this year (I know she can do it now) and can be amongst her friends again next year in the next stage.

Actually enrolled my step daughters as well as they aren't very good swimmers at all and struggle to pass all the time. They were never taken to the pool out of school when they were little either (before I came into picture).

I would enrol my 3yr old but the only swimming school I trust - you have to be 5 to start. so I'll try to get her going myself when the other 3 are in their lessons.

Answer 12

When my 4th was born she had a cleft palate and needed lots of extra time. My 3rd was only 21 months old and he was basically put to the side in order to care for my sick newborn.

I regret this with every part of me.

You can't get the time back - of course I spend lots of time one-on-one with all my kids now, but I look at my 2.5 year old even now and realise what I missed out on with my son.

Answer 13

Well I hold my kids all the time and then strap them to my chest or back when I need my hands free and my kids aren't clingy at all.  In fact they are so secure in our relationship and feel so safe that they can explore the world without fear or needing me "holding their hand."  My regret is not teaching them sign language.  That would have been useful.

Answer 14

I worried too much with my first son. My older boy got 4 oz of juice every morning. He got exact portions of fruits, meats and veggies. Now my second one gets "some" juice, "some" veggies and "some" outside time. It takes the pressure off me to be perfect because they both seem to be thriving.

Also I'm glad I took as many pictures as I did. When you see them everyday you don't notice how much they grow. I try to take a few pictures a week and keep up on a scrapbook.

Answer 15

My mom always told me that and I did not listen however my kids never liked to be craddled like a baby...but I always snatch them up and give them tons of hugs and kisses....I think its personality too...if they crave hugs and kisses, they will come and seek them out.

The regret I do have is not speaking only Spanish to them as babies...now my son is 4 and my daughter is 2 and they have no interest in learning to speak Spanish...I feel bad cause I am 1/2 Cuban and 1/2 White and my husband is Mexican...so Spanish is a HUGE part of our life and I skimped that on my kids...:(

Answer 16

I regret not breast feeding for a longer period. I breastfed for the first three months and then I started getting impatient and antsy with how much time was consumed while I breast fed. I had tried to pump but that was a joke for me. As often as I did it I would only get maybe 3 ounces with both sides. But now I wish I had just enjoyed that time more. I started using formula also and one day she just wouldn't breast feed. Thats when I realized how much I had actually loved that time we had just the two of us.

Answer 17

I wish I had let my 5 year old boy experience a little more "let down" in his little life. I protected him from everything and everyone and he is just a bit sensitive. He takes reality pretty hard. (getting splashed in the pool, losing a board game) I don't know if this is a result of my coddling him, but it's hard to see him so disappointed so easily.

Answer 18

What I regret the most is not taking more pictures and scrapbooking things.  After 4 kids there is a lot you forget and I honestly cant remember how old my kids were when they hit certain milestones like walking and talking.  I wish and I kept baby books and things like that so I would remember.

Answer 19

I have separate regrets with each of my children...I did one thing with the first and it didn't work the way I intended, so then I tried it differently with my second, but also tried other things differently that didn't work out as well....now with my 4 month old I'm just trying to survive it without causing any long term damage...lol.....I guess that's all any of us can try to do.  

Answer 20

I'm pregnant with my first so can't really say however I plan to cuddle my baby every chance I get and having read that you regret not doing so just makes me more adamant! That said though, don't beat yourself up about it I am sure you are a great mother and it's easy to be swayed by what people tell you you should or shouldn't do everybody has an opinion when your pregnant/have children especially the first time around!