1. You cannot adhere to a rigid schedule with a newborn. Period. Especially when your nursing...Baby calls the shots, they need to eat when they are giving off signs of hunger--that is the only way you have a prayer of having a satisfied baby and establishing a good feeding pattern.
2. Breastfeeding is hard. Really hard. A new breastfeeding mother needs lots of support and encouragement to stick with it to get to a point where it's not hard anymore. It really does get better and the benefits are so worth the temporary discomfort!
3. It's unsafe to sleep with your infant in the bed with you-but sometimes your infant wont sleep otherwise! When you are sleep-deprived and desperate to calm your crying baby you will do whatever it takes, and it's all too easy to fall asleep as soon as they are quiet. I am proud to say that Emmy has slept four nights on her own in her Pack-N-Play.And I have had much more restful sleep because of it.
4. The vacuum cleaner and blowdryer are clutch in buying me a few extra minutes of cleaning or showering.
5. All modesty is out the window--I have had to get comfortable with nursing my baby in public (with the help of my trendy cover) if I have any hope of ever leaving the house.
6. I have to begin preparing to leave the house no less than two hours before I need to be somewhere.
7. I have just learned that nothing makes me happier than watching my Nick rock our daughter, seeing a smile creep across her face while she sleeps, hearing her sweet coos and feeling her tiny fingers cling to mine. I never knew that life could be this wonderful.
Is it just me or is her hair becoming lighter?? (Nick and I have a bet whose hair color she'll take after--he had dark hair and I was a blondie as a kid, and, well, I still am, just with some chemical help. :-P)
Emmy's only job besides eating and sleeping: holding her own pacifier.
Is that not the saddest face ever?? Is it wrong that I think it's funny? :-P
Tummy Time! Thank you Auntie Kris & Uncle JP for my play gym mat!
Our beauty
Is it just me or is her hair becoming lighter?? (Nick and I have a bet whose hair color she'll take after--he had dark hair and I was a blondie as a kid, and, well, I still am, just with some chemical help. :-P)
Emmy's only job besides eating and sleeping: holding her own pacifier.
Is that not the saddest face ever?? Is it wrong that I think it's funny? :-P
Tummy Time! Thank you Auntie Kris & Uncle JP for my play gym mat!
Our beauty
Daddy's home from Fort Rucker! Catching up on cuddles...
AMEN to everything you just said!
ReplyDeleteNursing is miserable, it stinks, and I couldn't coordinate pulling up my shirt and all that in public for months. I never knew when he was hungry or fussy, but feeding takes forever!
Falling asleep with your baby in bed and then frantically wondering where in the blankets he is is terrifying.
YAY for already getting her to sleep in her own crib. That's huge!
Following a nap schedule is really hard and annoying, but now I get dressed/showered during the first nap (finally) and that second nap is totally a sacred time for me. (I can give you more of the sleep tips later, when you're ready.)
Good thing those horribly sleepless nights will only last until they are four or five months max b/c then they don't need food at night anymore, you can sleep train them, and you will feel totally reborn.
Congratulations on continuing to breastfeed. That is so tough and so admirable. Well done.
--Cat
HAHAHA!!!! You officially sound like a new mom! :) Just be glad you haven't started sleep walking around the room while "rocking" your baby. It was the weirdest thing to go lay my "baby" back in his crib and then find him already sleeping in it. Sleep deprivation does the darndest things to your brain :)
ReplyDeleteI love this post! So so true!!! My mantra has been "you can't argue with a hungry baby!" (having told myself that multiple times 20 minutes after the last feeding ended) ...cause if you do, you get that face that you miraculously caught on camera (the one with the chin dimples) and that face just about kills me every time! Such great pics---I agree that you might be working your way to winning the hair color bet! And, Emmy has the most beautiful big eyes!!!!
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