6 Things I Learned During My First Month of Motherhood

Baby Girl is now 10 weeks old and she is just growing up way too fast already. Life has just changed so much so quickly since my little bundle of joy made her big debut. The act of becoming a mother has really given me a whole new insight on life itself. I originally wrote this post down when she was 5 weeks old but I am just now finding the time in our busy life to fit some blogging in to the routine.

Maternity leave gave me a lot of time to ponder while I was anchored to the couch with a sleeping newborn on my chest (moving wasn't an option if I wanted the nap to last more than 5 mins). I began thinking about how much my life had changed in such a short period of time. The following are 6 things I learned during my first month as a mother.





1."Mommy-senses" - Baby can think about making a noise and you will hear it a mile away. From the second you hear them cry for the first time, you could pick out their cry in a room full of crying babies. I never understood what my mom meant when she would talk about how my brother and sister had different cries for different needs until I had Baby Girl. It is amazing how I just know what will soothe her when I hear her fuss. It's like mommy magic or something.

2. Your sleeping needs are now irrelevant. - This is another thing I never fully grasped about parenthood until I became a parent. I have always been a sleeper. I love my sleep. Being well rested has always been a top priority in my young life, that is until my first night as a mom. I was exhausted from a long day full of labor that ended up as a c-section but while I was laying in the hospital bed with my mom and cousin sleeping on the couch and chair on one side of the room and Baby Girl in her plastic box thing next to my bed...I couldn't sleep. She was awake so I was awake. I can't sleep if she's awake and around me. I can't do it regardless of who's watching her. I was a zombie for the first few weeks (as are most parents with newborns) until we got a schedule going. People say nap when the baby naps which is great and all unless you want to get something done.

3. If it comes out of your baby, it is no longer gross. - Baby spit up has always made me gag, changing poopy diapers was always a traumatic experience, and I would NEVER touch a baby booger with my bare hands...ever. It's amazing how the gross stuff that comes out of her doesn't gross me out. I am the queen of boogie getting. At 5 days old she projectile pooped on me while changing her diaper...it even got on my face. The amazement of how something so little got that much distance and coverage was more interesting to me than the fact that I had poop on my cheek, clothes, and changing station.

4. Breastfeeding is not as glamorous as everyone insisted it was before she was born and it doesn't come naturally to everyone (me). - If one more person tells me that breastfeeding is not supposed to be painful I will scream. I was 6.5 weeks into our breastfeeding journey before I no longer required something to brace my self with or had tears well up in my eyes when she latched. I tried new positions, all the different nipple creams, checking if she was tongue tied, a nipple shield and nothing made it better. At first I felt like such a failure and so guilty because I would dread feedings but after a little research, I realized I wasn't the only one. It was nice not to feel alone. We've been at it for 10 weeks now and we are still working out our creative differences but it is worlds better than before.

5. Forget all the pre-decided notions you have in your head because nothing will go as planned...nothing - I read books on natural childbirth and was determined to have that be my experience. 15 hours after my water broke and no progress even with Pitocin, no epidural, my doctor lovingly calling me "a know it all bouncing on her yoga ball" then talking me into an epidural, I ended up in an operating room. She was just too big and wasn't moving down. It was Monday and I had been 1 cm since the Friday before. She came into this world exactly how I did not want her to. The crazy thing is, the second I saw her, I could've cared less. Planning things out with a new baby is kind of pointless because they are not on your time, your are on theirs.

6. When they tell you that you've never experienced love like the love you feel the first time you see your child, they are right. - I'm not necessarily the most emotional person but when it comes to my baby, I am a baby. I can just look at her and get teary eyed. It's the most amazing feeling I've ever experienced. There is nothing I wouldn't do for her. As selfish as it sounds, I've never loved someone more than I loved myself...until I was given my daughter. In a matter of seconds she changed me and gave me purpose in life. She took a 23 year old girl in a terrible situation and made her a 23 year old mother who is finally moving forward with her life, has the world at her hands, and finally knows what it feels like to love with every fiber of her being.

Being a mom is awesome.