One month.

This morning I woke up to a bright eyed 4 week old baby girl.  Legs kicking, arms stretching above her head and even a little smile for daddy.

Not gonna lie….being a mom is HARD.  In the overall span of my pregnancy, labor and delivery and then the past month taking care of a baby, some things have been much harder than I thought.  Then again, some things have been much easier than I thought.

PREGNANCY—easy.

I got off to a rough start with awful morning sickness that I feared would last forever.  But once it went away, it was smooth sailing. 

LABOR/DELIVERY—easy. 

Ok, so I did have some medical assistance (ie—an epidural) that helped with the “ease” of labor and delivery.  I was scared that this would help with the pain of contractions but that I would still feel the often talked about “ring of fire” when the baby exited….but nope.  Just some pressure.  And an intense ab workout.  It really was kind of a relaxing day for us.

RECOVERY—hard.

Why is it that everybody talks about the pain of delivery but never speaks a word of the pain that comes afterwards??  I dreaded going pee.  And my muscles ached for days.  Ouch.

BREASTFEEDING—hard.

Honestly, breastfeeding is the most challenging thing I have ever done.  It’s painful and time consuming.  There’s a certain amount of anxiety, knowing that no matter how tired or sore you are, if your baby needs to eat, it’s your responsibility to feed her.  There’s also a sense of pride, knowing you’re the only one that can give her what she needs. My one word of advice to new moms is—use your own judgment.  Hold the baby how YOU feel comfortable, nurse her when she seems hungry, and let her eat till she’s done. (no photo available...haha)

SLEEPING—hard.

I always pictured laying the baby down in her bassinet (next to our bed) once she fell asleep at night.  Problem is—Lyla will immediately wake herself once she’s out of our arms.  And the few times we managed to lay her down without waking her, I couldn’t stop checking on her every other minute to make sure she was still breathing.  So we’ve resorted to what I never thought I’d do—co-sleeping.  The fear I thought I’d have of accidently rolling over onto her if she were in bed with us seems so silly now.  I love having her next to me (and admittedly I sleep close enough that I can hear her breathing…which makes things a ton more relaxing for me).   Our goal is to eventually transition her into the bassinet….we will see.

I still have so much to learn and get used to  but I am pretty proud of how our new little family has settled into a somewhat routine in the past month. 

Yes it is hard.  But I can’t wait to see what this little lady has in store for us in the months to come.

xo

Jayme