The First Weeks...

I cannot believe baby Abigail is almost two months old. They weren't kidding when they said time flies. It's unreal. We're finally getting used to each other and I'm learning her quirks. It's fun once I have them figured out, but the trial and error crying part isn't quite as fun. No matter how many articles I read and how much advice I received from friends and family, I still didn't listen. So here's what I feel like the first few weeks are like, and maybe a few tips to survive them...

If you thought you were on an emotional roller coaster while pregnant, you ain't seen nothing yet. Hormones PLUS sleep deprivation?? Hahahahahaha you're screwed.

During those first couple of weeks, there will be no schedule, no routine, nothing but guesswork, trial and error, and tears. Newborns sleep, eat, and poop. That's pretty much it. Sleep when baby sleeps. Seriously. As long as you have a clean pair of underwear, you don't really need to do laundry. Vacuuming the entire house for company can wait. They won't judge. They'll be too distracted by the baby.

Let people help you. I struggled with this one, mentally. I felt like a bad mom for letting my parents give Abigail a bottle or change her diaper. I soon realized that it wasn't like I was neglecting her. My family enjoyed doing it, and wouldn't have offered had they not wanted to or realized that I really needed the help. You can only do so much on 2 hours of sleep for 4 days. There's nothing wrong with taking a nap while someone else watches the baby. You need your rest too, supermom.

Just a little sneak picture for y'all.
I don't plan to put many pics of
Abigail on my blog, sorry.

You are not going to know what to do at first. Yes, you have maternal instincts. No, they don't come on like a switch in your head. I thought it would all just click. Uhh, nope. It's going to take trial and error to figure things out. You're probably going to have to fasten and unfasten those first few diapers several times before getting it right. It's gonna take a minute to go from sitting to standing with a baby in your hands. Passing baby off to another person? Awkward. There will be accidental boob grabbing and you might pinch baby a little. No big deal.

Babies are not as fragile as you think. Have you seen the way nurses throw them around like a sack of potatoes????? They aren't made of glass, and you're gonna have to do a little manipulation to get their arms through those pesky long sleeved gowns and onesies.

Weird stuff happens and it'll make you so upset for no reason. Here's a little story for y'all. The first few nights home, my mom slept upstairs with me to help me with Abby. It was awesome. However, all good things must come to an end, so she finally decided to sleep downstairs, leaving me alone with Abigail for the night. Well, my grandmother is in the next room but I do my best not to disturb her and the dog. Anyways, Abigail was sleeping in the cradle next to my bed, and she started crying. Time to eat, at like 3am. Cool, I expected as much. As I reached down to pick her up, I realized she was wet. Well craaaaap, diaper leak. So I take her into the nursery, lay her on the changing pad, and grab a new set of pajamas. As I lift up her gown, I realize something very important is missing. Her diaper. It's literally nowhere to be found. To cut the mystery short, it came unfastened and fell off in her cradle (she's a very wiggly baby, so this doesn't surprise me a bit). At this point, I still thought she was very fragile and had an intense fear of having to take clothes on and off over her head, as she screams every time (she absolutely hated diaper and wardrobe changes at first). So here I am with a wet, poopy, screaming, diaper-less 1 week old tiny baby, scared to death to get the gown off of her, trying to figure out how I'm going to change her, feed her, then change the sheets in her cradle. Cue me grabbing my phone, texting mom to come help me, then breaking into tears when she comes upstairs. Long story short, we got her changed, I didn't die, she didn't die, I now laugh at myself for freaking out, and I have grown to hate gowns. However, I can change her much faster now, and I'm not so afraid of hurting her.

The bottom line is this: babies are weird. They take a lot of getting used to. Like I've said about 3 times already, it's all trial and error. Each baby is different, and you'll eventually learn what works best for you. Good luck, new momma. You're gonna be great.

I know I haven't really said much about Abigail and myself specifically. We're doing great, and she's getting so big so quickly. I put her in a size 1 diaper today and I'm totally not okay with that. Is it too early to joke about putting a brick on her head to stop her from growing? She's a spoiled little thing, and she loooooves being held. She smiles, mostly right after she's thrown up all over me. It's adorable, actually. Thank you for all the kind words and thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming, please. I'm so grateful for y'all's support.

xoxo, a.