Becoming a Mom..

What the first few days of becoming a Momma was like for me.

So here's the thing.. everyone tells you becoming a mom is the best feeling in the entire world. They lied. Becoming a mom is not just the best feeling in the entire world, it's pure bliss, it's true panic and it's complete chaos all wrapped up in the most perfect bundle of poopy cuddles. Sounds magnificent, doesn't it?!

“Becoming a mom is not just the best feeling in the entire world, it's pure bliss, it's true panic and it's complete chaos all wrapped up in the most perfect bundle of poopy cuddles.”

Here are just a few things I learned from the first few days. I will do a complete blog post soon about the must have baby products for the first few weeks of baby! Mommy Instincts Are Real I was so certain that I would not know a THING when it came to parenting. Patrick and I didn't take any classes to prepare us and I wasn't the type of prego mom-to-be that enjoyed being pregnant/going out while pregnant/talking to other people about being pregnant (I was weird.. I know). Because of this, I had a huge fear that I would just fail at parenting from the get go. But alas, almost as soon as our little girl was born instincts kicked in and we've seemed to do just fine getting through these first few months. Learning Baby H's hunger cues, tired eyes and needs were much easier than I imagined.. it just came naturally. Sleep is for Suckers Little Hayden Elizabeth was born at 3:01am so my sleep schedule was messed up from day one. She ate religiously every 2-3 hours and for a few weeks there we were up every night at 1am, 3am, 5am and 7am. It was rough. She now goes 3-8 hours between feedings during the night, and it seems like heaven compared to those first few weeks. Even still, we don't sleep near as much as we did before baby. If you are pregnant and anything like me you probably aren't sleeping much, if at all. I think it's nature's cruel way of preparing you for the first few sleepless weeks of baby.

#Nursing is HARD, Rewarding and Different for Everyone -- Fed is Best Some moms are lucky enough to have a little one that loves to nurse and has no problems with latching from the very first day. I was not one of those moms. Hayden was NOT a good nurser from the very beginning. The first few days some babies don't eat that much to begin with, so it was hard to tell that she was having a hard time. We were in the hospital just over 24 hours when she was born and we had over 5 consultations with the lactation specialist because my sweet girl just could not latch. When we got home, it was clear to me (#mommainstincts) that my poor girl was starving, however everytime she tried to eat she couldn't. Patrick and I discussed it together we decided that until we saw the doctor for her 1 week check up, I would continue trying to nurse Hayden, then pump, then feed her with a syringe. IT. WAS. EXHAUSTING. and with the total lack of sleep I felt like a complete mom failure! Somewhere around day 5 I was so tired, and so upset that I wasn't able to nurse my baby like I had read and wanted to, that I had a complete breakdown in front of my mom and Patrick. They were so sweet, so supportive and helped remind me that as long as our sweet girl was getting fed, that was what mattered. Bless them for being there. At Hayden's one week check up we discovered she had both a tongue tie and a huge upper lip tie! Our sweet pediatrician sent us to a pediatric dentist who cut both ties and Hayden nursed for a whole 10 minutes after -- a HUGE success in our book. Because of this whole experience I learned that fed is most definitely best. Do what you can Momma, you're doing great! You Have to Share Baby.. Even if You Don't Want To The first few hours are all about baby and mommy and baby and daddy time.The hospital we delivered at- Covenant Women's and Children's was amazing about making sure those first sacred hours were all about bonding with your little one. It's when you get home from the hospital and life starts to return to normal that you realize you have to share. I don't even mean share in a bad way.. I just mean you finally get home with your cute little baby and all you want to do is be alone and cuddle her/him and you have to share them with loving and adoring family members -- and for me that meant learning how to relax while someone else was holding my little one (still working on this one... it's hard). Letting People Help You Doesn't Mean You're Week or a Failure Man oh man is this a hard one for me. From the moment Hayden was born I felt the need to have to do everything and be everything. In my mind I was the only person who could wake up to feed her, change her, clean our house for all the family that was coming into town, and work full time. It wasn't because of a lack of help either. Both sets of grandparents came into town and were willing to do absolutely anything we asked of them.. I just was too worried I wouldn't be a good mom if I let other people help out, no matter how much they insisted. Even still I have that desire to do and be everything, but I'm slowly learning how to let others help out. My biggest word of advice -- YOU ARE ENOUGH! You are not a failure for asking someone to watch your baby for 45 minutes while you go take a nap (or in my case... a shower, ha!) Let people help you, they want to!

There's nothing like the shock of taking your baby home from the hospital and realizing you know nothing... Bringing your little baby home is seriously the most daunting and amazing feeling in the world. I also think up until the moment you pull away from the hospital, you're in a new parent high (probably also called #sleepdeprivation). The nurse rolled me and Hayden out of the hospital in the wheelchair and once we got outside the doors, I stood up with Hayden to put her in the car as the nurse said 'congratulations' and turned around to head back inside. We put Hayden in her carseat and Patrick and I just looked at each other like "So... that's it? Now what?!". There wasn't a how-to book or a pamphlet or anything that really told us what to do or where to go from there, we were officially winging it. And to some extent, we still feel that way six months later. #Parenting is seriously 99% fly by the seat of your pants learning. Everyone has an opinion, but no one can prepare you for all that there is to do, be and experience in those first few days and weeks.

There really is nothing better than being a parent!

As I type this I'm looking at my precious little munchkin all swaddled up and asleep just an arm's reach away from me. My heart just swells every time I look at her. At least 10 times a day I turn to Patrick and say "She's SO STINKING PERFECT!!". And she is. They all are. Babies are so innocent, so pure and so made in God's love and image. Being a #parent is the hardest thing we've ever done (and we're only in month 6!), but seeing your baby smile, giggle, hearing her coo or watching his eyes light up when he sees you makes it immediately worth it. There's absolutely no better feeling than being a parent.

Whether you're a new momma, a soon to be mommy, an adoring aunt and everything in between, Congratulations! Having a little one in your life is the biggest blessing you will ever receive!! Cherish every moment of it! I would love to hear how your first few days/weeks/months with baby went! Are you an expecting mom, have questions? Send them this way, I would love to hear them and maybe answer a few. Stay tuned for a blog post on My Baby Must Haves For the First Few Weeks coming soon!