Things I’ve learned in the 5 months of being a mom:
1.
Newborn- the first month-month and a half is
boot camp. Steep learning curve. Very little sleep. You REALLY don’t sleep much
at all- maybe 1-2 hours at a time a night. Being woken up abruptly in the
middle of the night countless times in brutal. Watching your husband sleep
through most of it- so frustrating. And when he does hear it and moves to the
couch to sleep. Lonely. And him not knowing how/what he can do to help- as it’s
usually breast milk that he needs.(the baby not the husband lol). Humor is very
important for getting through this stage and all the stages up to this point.
2.
Breastfeeding. Is. Hard. Took me two weeks of
getting it. Spent my first 2 weeks pumping and syringe feeding, finger feeding,
bottle feeding. Using complicated devices and being all thumbs was Not fun.
3.
The first weeks are a blur. Eat, change diapers,
sleep. Repeat. Over and over again. I thought I go bat shit crazy over this repetitive
cycle. Now that he’s older I’ve come to accept and love this nice cycle- and it
does get more spread out the older they get.
4.
The questions from family, strangers…..”You must
be getting NO sleep (thanks for the reminder).
And how old is he now? (I will always get this question from birth till
forever)
5.
The helpful and unhelpful advise “I think he
needs to eat” “Are you sure he’s getting enough?” “he looks cold- here give him
to me I’ll make him feel better”.
6.
I will always look back on my labor experience
in awe and remember the moment he came out and how I felt like a warrior and
how that’s the way I envisioned myself being prior to being in labor in the
weeks leading up to it. It’s true you do forget the pain; rather it’s
overshadowed by the amazing endorphin feelings during labor and the first 2 days
of being high on being a new mom and the awesomeness of your newest child.
7.
They say you will never shower daily again. Not true.
I had my tribe with me helping me- my mom, my mother-in-law and I had nice
baths everyday they were with me. It was amazing.
8.
I’ll never forget breastfeeding at home with my
mother-in-law watching me like a hawk- repeating “is he done yet? Can I hold
him?”
9.
Moving to Abbotsford was the best decision I
ever made. From the amazing friendly people I meet on my evening walks, to reconnecting
with my fraser valley friends, the list goes on and on.
10.
Never do renos/new
construction before baby or you will experience what I went through:
hearing/feeling the floor vibrate under me as the basement bathroom floors were
being done AS I WAS IN ACTIVE LABOUR!
11.
Next time: Home birth all the way. My
labor/delivery was 5.5 hrs in total. Way too fast. Im lucky I didn’t have him
on our way to the hospital on our 7 minute drive there.
12.
People bringing you meals is so Amazing…even
better is having my mom with me and cooking me meals. You get so hungry with
all the breast-feeding.
