I'm 18 weeks pregnant with my first child and was wondering if any of the awesome moms on this site would like to share some pearls of wisdom with me, It can be anything really. Tips, what to do, what not to do, something you wish you would've known before hand or maybe done differently. I hope I don't come off as being rude as I was just hoping to get an insight on the whole parenting thing, even though I know I have a long way to go and will never know it all. Thanks in advance for any help!

Well, the first thing you need to realize is the women in your family and maybe even friends will have all sorts of 'advice' and will think you need to be told how to do everything. Some advice might even contradict each other or make no sense. For instance my MIL told me if I took a bath while pregnant my baby would drown o.O

Don't let people run all over you, that is your baby not theirs. Yes advice is good but it can get overwhelming when people want to try and control everything you do or push and push and new mother's do not need that stress. Health wise, walking is very good. Try to walk daily even if it just for a bit. Kegal exercises are good too and can be done at anytime while you sit. Stay away from salt as much as possible and drink lots of water (always had a hard time with this lol).

Keep in mind that your body is going through a lot of changes physically and hormonal. Mood swings are probably a given, especially after the baby is born. It's kind of a scary thought but you know what- everyone is different. If you feel depressed after the baby is born do NOT blame yourself, just seek help and get on meds if you need to because like I said hormonal changes even after the baby is born will hit you hard sometimes. Just because you ask for help does NOT make you a bad mother. If you can't breastfeed that does not make you a bad mother either. I tried with all of mine and I resorted to pumping for the first week and mixing what I could get with formula. If I am being frank here my breasts were too large and the little mouths could not fit what they needed to in order to latch on properly.

Now when you bring the baby home my best advice- sleep when they do because it will be awhile before they sleep through the night. I know you might want to but try not to keep everything super quiet all the time. Let them be used to a little noise because if they are not then the smallest sound will wake them. If you have a boy be careful when you change him, I learned to put a cloth of some sort over their groin when I changed them because both of my boys loved to pee in the middle of it lol

One final piece of advice, be careful who handles and kisses your newborn. People who are sick, especially those that have cold sores can pass it onto the baby. Cold sores especially can make them really really sick, even cause death. I would just ask people who hold them not to kiss them and be safe rather than sorry. Not trying to scare you just wanted you aware of the danger. If you have any questions feel free to ping me or smail me. I've had three kids lol

Talk to your doctor about any worry you may have. I learned quickly in this pregnancy (my first too due in one month) that any worry you have can snowball quickly. You can become much much much more anxious while pregnant. Most OBGYN's are VERY helpful and will answer any question you may have. Mine has been a real blessing especially since I ended up in the hospital one night. He was so helpful and calmed me down right away.

Another thing to know is watch for the common pregnancy symptoms so you know what you can and cannot handle. Many women get Vertigo during their pregnancies and you definitely need to be careful when dealing with that. I experienced a few times were I was so incredibly dizzy my husband had to help me stand up and walk up stairs. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Your priority needs to be on your baby, if you are dizzy, ask for help!

The only thing I would've done differently in this pregnancy is rested more when I could. I pushed myself way too hard for the first few months and made myself sick a couple times from working too hard. If you feel tired, REST!

The most important thing of all, ENJOY your pregnancy. It's the most amazing thing to experience and despite all the awful symptoms (morning sickness, vertigo, peeing constantly) its a beautiful thing and you need to enjoy it while it lasts.