Pregnancy was definitely not my favorite part of having a child. I know for some it is beautiful and sensational and they revel in their pregnancy. I did not, at all, at any point, in my pregnancy. It was not particularly unpleasant, but I did not really appreciate my growing belly that also created growing hips, bigger butt, thunder thighs, and flapping wings for arms. However…and I never thought I would say this…It was ALL worth it and I will absolutely do it again!
My daughter is a tiny little miracle. I really did not know you could love and care for another human this much. I find myself extremely protective over her and would absolutely do anything for her. That said, my gosh is being a mom a full-time job!! I had absolutely NO IDEA! So I am going to gush about it here. I always thought that stay at home moms had it made…and perhaps we do, but I had this imaginary idea that my life would be parallel to Eva Longoria’s on Wisteria Lane…WRONG! I feel more like Goldie Hawn in Overboard. The first month was insane. Waking up to feed my baby every two hours did not seem like such a chore, until I had to do it. What you don’t realize is that those two hours in between are not restful hours. It goes something like this: wake baby, change baby, feed baby (I am breastfeeding so this is a minimum 30 minute feeding 15 minutes on each side!!!), change baby AGAIN, play with baby, watch baby sleep. You now have about 45 minutes to sleep/complete a task/shower before the cycle repeats itself. Also note, this is a 24 HOUR CYCLE!!! I had no idea new moms were really walking zombies. It was when she was 5 weeks that I startled myself awake, quickly sat up, looked at my sleeping baby and panicked! Seriously, am I only getting 5 minutes of sleep now and anticipating her waking cries before she’s even up?! Then I realized I knew where my keys were, and thought maybe I will get the breast pump ready before she wakes up, and perhaps even brush my teeth. Hold on…am I thinking clearly?! What is this? My brain is working…what time is it?! 5:30am?! We went to bed at 10:30 and she is still asleep!! Hallelujah!! 7 hours of sleep and a clear mind! This is a miracle! And since then I have been pretty blessed with a baby who sleeps 7-10 hours a night. 🙂
Sleeping baby, sounds wonderful doesn’t it. It does until you realize that because she sleeps through the night she is awake ALOT during the day. And a newborn baby requires your attention while they are awake since they become bored with whatever they are doing after about 20 minutes. Now you are juggling cleaning the house, entertaining the baby, caring for the pets, workouts, errands, and of course your own hygiene and social time. Yes prioritizing is tough and the house cleaning is more of a room by room basis. Baby Girl is a priority and she is so darn cute when she is awake with her cooing and smiles that you can’t help but spend just about every moment with her. Then when she sleeps you are left juggling what to do: shower/vacuum, laundry/bathrooms, car seat and grocery store run/clean kitchen, prep dinner/workout, eat lunch/clip coupons. I am beginning to multitask at a level I never thought possible!! I can now workout while I vacuum, clip coupons while eating lunch and catching up with a friend on the phone, and I choose the bathroom I shower in based on which one needs to be cleaned. I am grateful for my whirlpool tub, I imagine how relaxing it will be to soak after the baby is asleep every night…imagine being the key word, I am so exhausted from the day I usually fall asleep before I can get back up to run the darn thing…also please note it takes 30 minutes to fill it plus 30 minutes of soaking relaxation seems like more of a waste of an hour when the other option is sleep. 🙂
A couple of notes for other new moms out there. Firstly I did everything right and prepared myself as much as possible for labor, something that when you are 34 weeks pregnant seems very scary, painful, and unnecessary until you are 41 weeks pregnant and you are praying for the pains of labor. Second, delivery does not go as planned and a cesarean is not all that scary. When I went to be induced, my baby was not handling labor…at all…we are talking I was dilated at a 2, labor pains were enough to make me wince and her heart rate was dropping with every contraction, even those I could not feel. So I was prepped for surgery, hubby in a blue suit and hair net and off we went. I guess I didn’t have time to be scared or really think about it much, but they numbed me from chest down and moments later I had a baby. I would call it an easy button and my recovery was amazing and painless. I was in a wedding dress and walking down the aisle two weeks later. 🙂 Third, breast-feeding is totally worth it if you can make it work! It is hard, a little defeating at first (especially if you start pumping at two weeks and see only an ounce or so coming out after 15 minutes!) But do not give up! It gets WAY easier, and its FREE! Also, be smart and cook and freeze dinners for yourself. I cooked casseroles, lasagna, and soups and froze them either in freezer bags or Glad has these great storage dishes that come with lids, you wrap them in plastic wrap then foil and freeze them you just have to pull them out, unwrap take off the plastic top and pop them right into the over. It saved me and kept us fed during the first couple weeks. Lastly, the first night home really does suck and was the worst night of my life. She cried, no matter what we did, until 4:30 in the morning – when I was crying, she was crying, and my husband looked like he wanted to cry, and then she fell asleep. And its been cake ever since. Thank goodness.
So while I still feel like Goldie Hawn in Overboard, I think I resemble her a little closer to the end of the movie rather than the beginning. I can only hope to eventually be a Wisteria Lane Mommy…If I get there I will write a book on how to manage three kids, a huge house, and perfect dinner parties all while rocking heels and a hot body. In the meantime I think I will go take a shower with my remaining 15 minutes! 🙂
