Notes from a New Mom
They never said it was going to be easy. I suppose this statement is true about many things. Now that I've been a Mom for all of six weeks and one day*, I'm learning just how true those words are. Naive me, I thought I had some idea of what I was getting into. I've been around plenty of babies in my time, and have a fair bit of experience. But let me tell you, when it's your own baby, when you can't give that baby back, it's a different story. Before becoming a Mom I thought that I had come to the realization that things would likely be difficult, and when people would give me advice or 'just waits' it went in one ear and out. Parenting is one of those things that you can't know about until you experience it.
What no one tells you is that laboring and giving birth is the easy part. What comes next, that's the hard part. I would gladly go through labor again if I could get a guaranteed 5 hour stretch of sleep every night. (This coming from a girl who could easily sleep 8-10 hours every night.) Those first two weeks were some of the hardest in my life. Partly due to the fact that I was struggling a bit with a case of the baby blues, and while the name sounds cute, it was scary for me. I've had anxiety in the past, but this was a new beast. Luckily for me, I have the most amazing husband who was there for me and supported me through it, and it only lasted about a week.
Soren is the greatest blessing to ever come into our lives, and I'm so incredibly happy to be his Mom. He is a wonderful baby. He likes to eat, which is not that surprising for a nearly 9 lb newborn. So far (and please God let this continue) he likes to sleep too. He's still sleeping around 18 hours every day, that may sound awesome, but his longest stretch of sleep to date is three hours. He wakes up nearly every two hours, and is famished every time. We call him 'grunty' because, well, he grunts. It's adorable and sweet. But at two am, it can also be tiring.
All you hear during these first weeks and months is 'enjoy this time, it goes by so fast.' I think that you have to be reminded of this because, well, sometimes it's just not that enjoyable. Who loves changing wet/poopy diapers 10 times a day? Who likes to breastfeed through the pain? Who likes being awakened every night at two am because your baby is grunting and farting? The good times far outweigh the bad, and I'm reminded everyday of our good fortune. We're convinced that Soren is the best/smartest/cutest/most wonderful baby ever.
*It has now been a month since I started this post, and I'm just now getting around to finishing it. I'm finding that a lot of things take a backseat when you become a new mom. Most of my days feel a bit like ground hog day over here. I can't help but think that if I were back in the states we'd have more of an opportunity to get out and about. Alas we still have some time here, and I plan on making the most of it. Motherhood is certainly one of the most challenging undertakings, but also the most rewarding. I feel like I've won the lottery every time Soren smiles at me, and I wouldn't trade it or him for anything in the world.
What no one tells you is that laboring and giving birth is the easy part. What comes next, that's the hard part. I would gladly go through labor again if I could get a guaranteed 5 hour stretch of sleep every night. (This coming from a girl who could easily sleep 8-10 hours every night.) Those first two weeks were some of the hardest in my life. Partly due to the fact that I was struggling a bit with a case of the baby blues, and while the name sounds cute, it was scary for me. I've had anxiety in the past, but this was a new beast. Luckily for me, I have the most amazing husband who was there for me and supported me through it, and it only lasted about a week.
Soren is the greatest blessing to ever come into our lives, and I'm so incredibly happy to be his Mom. He is a wonderful baby. He likes to eat, which is not that surprising for a nearly 9 lb newborn. So far (and please God let this continue) he likes to sleep too. He's still sleeping around 18 hours every day, that may sound awesome, but his longest stretch of sleep to date is three hours. He wakes up nearly every two hours, and is famished every time. We call him 'grunty' because, well, he grunts. It's adorable and sweet. But at two am, it can also be tiring.
All you hear during these first weeks and months is 'enjoy this time, it goes by so fast.' I think that you have to be reminded of this because, well, sometimes it's just not that enjoyable. Who loves changing wet/poopy diapers 10 times a day? Who likes to breastfeed through the pain? Who likes being awakened every night at two am because your baby is grunting and farting? The good times far outweigh the bad, and I'm reminded everyday of our good fortune. We're convinced that Soren is the best/smartest/cutest/most wonderful baby ever.
*It has now been a month since I started this post, and I'm just now getting around to finishing it. I'm finding that a lot of things take a backseat when you become a new mom. Most of my days feel a bit like ground hog day over here. I can't help but think that if I were back in the states we'd have more of an opportunity to get out and about. Alas we still have some time here, and I plan on making the most of it. Motherhood is certainly one of the most challenging undertakings, but also the most rewarding. I feel like I've won the lottery every time Soren smiles at me, and I wouldn't trade it or him for anything in the world.
It really does go by so quickly. My closest friend here just had a baby 2 1/2 weeks ago, and the difference between her little boy and my 4 1/2 month old is astounding. Keep reminding yourself to savor every minute, and good luck getting enough sleep! I hope Soren starts sleeping longer stretches for you. Stella usually gives us one good 4 hr stretch now, but it's hit or miss after that. Ugh. We will sleep when we're old I guess. :)
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