As much as I researched what to do and what not to do while I was pregnant as well as payed attention to how the baby was developing every week, I really did nothing to prepare myself for when Miles arrived…..You know….the whole parenting thing.
I’m sure I don’t need to tell anyone who has kids about the adjustment from no children to having your own living, breathing, screaming, pooping and burping being. Wow, were we not prepared! Picture me on our third night home at 12 a.m.: crying and holding baby Miles while saying, “I kind of miss the time when it was just us.” Picture Lance: frantically researching things on his cell phone while getting me anything I yelled out to him.
Here are a few things I wish I would have known before he got here.
1. There’s absolutely nothing to prepare you for being a parent. You kind of just have to dive in head first, and figure things out as you go. But what I really wasn’t prepared for was how much I would love this little 7 pounder! It’s seriously scary. These first three weeks have totally thrown me for a love-spell loop! I live and breathe for him, and I am so terrified something will happen to him. It’s like they make them so cute and helpless so you will give them 5 star TLC, and never want to leave them. Here’s an article I found last week which I thought was really the best at describing the love you feel as a mom.
2. While I was falling hard for this little guy, he was also pushing my patience to the limit! I couldn’t figure out why he was, at times, so needy! Why couldn’t I feed him, rock him for a little, put him in his crib drowsy-eyed, and let him drift to sleep without him whaling as soon as I put him down? Sometimes I found myself saying, “What do you want, baby?!” Lance found out that newborns cannot comfort themselves at all in their first weeks, and they’re going through a HUGE adjustment. Way bigger than ours. So in other words…you can’t rest until he can rest, and he can’t rest until you hold him for however long it takes to put him into a deep sleep! You just gotta deal with it. Here’s a helpful article we found on that.
3. Breastfeeding…….BREASTS! TIME! SORENESS! While I find breastfeeding to be rewarding in so many ways, it took a little while to get the hang of it. I found myself feeding 6-8 hours a day. That’s a full time job which only I can do. In the beginning, I would retreat to our bedroom each time, but now I feed all over the house. It feels good to get a change of scenery. Speaking of scenery, change your little one’s view as well by switching positions. Sometimes Miles and I lay in bed, side-by-side. Here’s an article I like on different feeding positions. We plan to try the Koala once he can hold his head up. I also joined the Milky Momma’s Facebook group so I could ask questions whenever needed.
4. About 13 days in, I couldn’t figure out why the little guy was so hungry ALL THE TIME. Literally 15 minutes after he ate for 40 minutes, he would be squirming and crying; looking for more milk. I was worried that he wasn’t getting enough, or I wasn’t producing enough for him. He was going through a growth spurt. I literally watched new creases form in his roley-poley arms as he grew over the next few days, but boy was it exhausting! Here’s an article so you know what to expect.
I hope this was helpful so far. Miles is only three weeks old, and I know we still have a ton to learn. What’s in the cards for us next?
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