I am currently basking in the new mommy glow and am so happy to have time off from work to spend with Jack. I am NOT looking forward to going back to the real world of full-time work :(
Being a new mom has made me want to remember these times and be able to refer back to them in the future which has prompted me to start blogging. I am hoping to be better at this than I have been with attempts at keeping a journal. Side note - I have had the same journal for at least 2 years and have filled exactly 5 pages in it thus far - not a stellar record. Perhaps being able to post on the computer will be a more successful endeavor!!
Some thoughts so far:
- I take the advice of child-raising books with a grain of salt or it will drive me nuts! Each one tells me something different; i.e. one says not to swaddle the baby past one month of age or there is a fear of stunting growth (and we all know Jack needs as much help as he can get!), while another book says to swaddle as long as they seem to like it, perhaps even until 1 year of age. As far as pregnancy books go - I could have done without reading ANY of them. All they did was freak me out about what could be happening to the burgeoning little person inside of me and make me want to purchase my own ultrasound machine (hello Tom Cruise) so I could see him every day.
- Babies are MESSY! You change them and they poop on the changing table or (in my case b/c I have a boy) pee all over the jammies you just put them in. Doing laundry becomes an almost daily occurence and things I never thought I'd have to think about suddenly become pressing issues: Do I throw the poopy onesie and cloth diaper away? Do I wash it by itself ? Seems kind of gross to wash it with everything else - but really MUST I do a load of laundry with 2 items in it? (Answer, yes I do unless I want to store the poopy items in the shower of the guest bathroom where they will be less offensive).
- Babies cry - a lot.
- In a battle of wills between adult and baby, baby will win. It gets to a point where I will do anything to stop the aforementioned crying.
- Infants require A LOT of holding. It's amazing how Jack can be completely passed out in my arms and before I even get him settled in his crib/swing/chair etc. his lower lip comes out and the wimpers start. I bring him back in my arms and peace is restored.
- Going to the bathroom/taking a shower/eating a meal/getting dressed - all major feats at this point. I think I hold a new world record in each of these events for fastest time EVER.
- Sleep is a thing of the past. If I get 2 hours in a row I consider myself lucky.
- When my baby smiles at me (even if it is just gas) it is the most precious thing in the world and I cannot believe the miracle that is this little boy. Mike & I can't imagine our life without him.
Although my pregnancy was not exactly a walk in the park: 4 months of morning sickness, multiple trips to the ER for gall stones and ultimate surgery to remove said gall stones at 27 weeks of pregnancy and let's not forget the culmination of it all with 10 hours of labor that resulted in a c-section b/c baby's heart rate was through the roof and mommy had an infection; I would do it all again in a heartbeat knowing the end result was Jack.
