Time. Is. Flying. I have a one month old? It seems like it's only been a week
since I was bringing him home!
Here's a few highlights, things Ive learned about being a mom and about my baby
boy in our first month:
- He's a growing boy. At one month, he weighs about 7ish pounds and is about 22"
long... such a long, lanky baby boy!
- This kid has his father's digestive system. he went through almost 20 diapers
in his first day at the hospital. the black meconium poopy stuff was gone before
his second day, which is awesome (said the nurses) ;)
- I never imagined that I would need to purchase preemie diapers. he was so
tiny! his newborn clothes didn't even fit when I brought him home and he is just
now starting to really fill them out!
- I was prepared for the 'no sleep' but i wasn't prepared for the stress or the
worrying. being a new mom is scary.. if he's losing weight, or not eating as
much as he needs to, or crying and you cant figure out why it makes you feel
like a bad mom!
- Breast feeding is an experience all in itself. i never even imagined.. well
never mind. I wont go into details. lets just say i felt like a cow and my only
job is to make milk and i was doing a dang good job at it... i about drowned
Caden a couple times. haha Words of wisdom, buy nursing pads and gel pads for
your nips!
- Caden is a good baby so far. he never really pitches a fit unless your
changing his diaper or he has some serious gas...which isnt really that often,
and thank the good Lord for gas medicine!
- Getting PP'ed on is funny the first time or two, not so much after that.
- C knows when I take a shower... its almost assured that Im going to get spit
up in my hair or on my clean clothes when I get out.
- Santa came to see my baby boy this year.. SO much fun! Having a little one at
Christmas is a blast.
- I have one super cute, calm, loved baby boy. He is such a trooper. I was able
to finish all my Christmas shopping and even go to the outlets in Foley with him
in tow. I'm going to make sure he is his momma's boy. (until he gets older, and
that becomes not 'cool' anymore)
What a crazy, fast, fun, tiring, amazing, rewarding, stressful, emotional, month
full of lots of love, laughter and diapers!!! ;)
5, ok 6, things I learned in his first month: (Ill try to do this every month)
1) Feeling stressed and super duper emotional is normal. Biting your husbands
head off is normal. You're not a bad mom and your not going to get divorced...
he may get mad at you, but he isnt going to leave you (he better not anyway).
Your tired. Your worried. Your stressed. You just pushed a baby out of your
junk, and it hurts to sit down. You feel fat and flabby and your bleeding like
crazy. You have a newborn and your main and ONLY job is to take care of him.
(sorry to be so graphic)
2) Listen to your doctor, but dont. Your baby may be different than their baby,
or your friends baby. If he's crying, try different things! Feed him, burp him,
change his diaper, lay him down and let him kick, put in a paci, wrap him in a
blanket, hold him close, sing and rock him. You'll eventually figure it out!
Dont be afraid of gas medicine.. it works.
3) Dont feel guilty for not cleaning house, or doing the laundry, or making
dinner. I felt guilty because Mick was busy with work and also having to figure
out dinner every night so I tried to clean house, do laundry, organize his room,
unpack from the hospital, etc... I wore out really quick and it only added to my
stress. Slow down and enjoy your newborn. They dont stay that little very long.
Although I am so very thankful for a husband who is willing to do house chores
and dinner every night.. thats what they are there for is to help you, so let
them!
4) Becoming a germophobe doesn't make you a weirdo. Having a baby this time of
year will scare you to death, and if you arent scared to death your Dr will
scare you to death. I cant tell you how many times he told me that there was so
much Flu and RSV going around..to keep him covered and not let people touch him.
I made everyone who came to see him wash and sanitize before holding him. Ive
never been like that before, but the last thing I needed to add to my emotions
was a super sick 6lb baby boy and for him to end up back in the hospital.
5) Store, store and store some more breast milk if you can while he is a new
newborn. Luckily I had NO problems producing milk... I was a pumping machine. I
went through a box of 20 storage bags in about a week! Now that he is
eating more than 2oz, Im having a hard time storing because he is eating so much
during his feedings and I try to keep a few bottles in the fridge for daddy
duty. ;) So store as much as you can, as soon as you can.
6) Breast feeding is hard the first month. Your baby losing a little bit of
weight is totally normal... I worried so much because C had lost down to 5lb12oz
and I could hardly keep him awake long enough to eat! Let me just say this... if
your baby isn't screaming his head off, he isn't starving to death and he WON'T
starve to death. If he falls asleep, he's satisfied... for now. Yes, your should
probably try to wake them up if they only eat for about 2 minutes, but if they
don't eat for the "15 minutes on each boob" do NOT freak out. Caden wouldn't
even stay awake 15 minutes, much less 30 minutes! I tried everything and would
cry because I couldn't wake him up and get him to eat... needless to say,
he is fine and growing like a weed.
1 month down and a lifetime to go... this is going to get fun. :)
-Linz
