New Mom, New Adventures

Let me preface this by saying that becoming a mom has already been the most rewarding thing I have ever done.  I actually enjoyed child birth and will never forget the feeling I had when I saw my sweet girl for the first time.  The love I felt at that moment for this person who I was meeting for the first time, and more so the love that I felt for Logan then was more intense than anything I have ever felt before.  With that being said, this isn't easy.  And from what I hear, it continues to get harder, not easier.  It makes sense, right now anywhere I put her down, she stays there.  She can't walk, talk back and sleeps more than she is awake.  Yet, this is one of the hardest things I've ever done.

I am only 3 weeks in and have already learned a lot.  So based on my limited experience, here is what I would say to pregnant women who have not had their first baby yet:

1.  Take your 'birth plan' and throw it away.  Things don't go the way you plan and you need to go with the flow.  I absolutely did not want to be induced and thought I would experience the majority of contractions at home.  Thanks to this little girl making my water break 5 weeks early, I didn't have a choice.  I did the whole thing in the hospital and was required to have platocin.  I could look back and be upset because child birth didn't go as I planned, or I could be grateful for my healthy girl and that we got through it without any complications.

2.  Never judge any mothers for the choices they make.  I can't even count how many times I have seen a mom out in public with their kids and I judged them in my head for how they are parenting their children.  'How could she let them run around the store like that?'  'Why is that kid barefoot?'  'Just get that baby to stop crying already.  You are ruining my meal.'  Now I know, they are all just doing the best that they can.  Now instead of judging them, I want to just hug them and tell them that they are a great mom and are just doing what they can.

3.  Being a stay at home mom really is the hardest job ever.  I have been at home full time with Zoe for only 3 weeks and am already looking forward to going back to work.  Not because I don't love this sweet time with her and I'm not cherishing maternity leave... it is just hard work.  You are around a baby who does not talk to you all day without any adult interaction.  Then when my husband comes home to talk about our days, all I have to contribute is something I saw on the news or how many poops she had.  I need adult interactions and deadlines and people looking for my opinion on things.  And I also need to miss her.  I think that when I get back to working and I come home from a long day, I won't want to do anything else except for changing her diapers, feeding her and spending as much quality time with her as possible.

4.  You are going to do things you never thought you would.  I had a lot of grand plans during my pregnancy.  I was going to exclusively breast feed for at least 6 months, absolutely no pacifiers, and she would sleep in her crib after the first week.  Well, I am doing breast milk and supplementing formula, I LOVE pacifiers and she still isn't in her crib.

So now I am just going to take it one day at a time, making dozens of mistakes and considering it a victory every night that I put her to bed safely and everyone made it through the day alive.  And of course, enjoying this sweet sweet face.