The First Week…

Good morning!

It’s been a while. Little did I know last week that I’d be posting my last pregnancy update at 39 weeks. I plan on sharing my birth story (oh, it’s interesting enough), but before that, I’d like to introduce Baby M, born October 11 at 9:17 PM. The little guy weighed just 6 lbs 1 oz and measured 20.5 inches. He’s absolute perfection, and Mark and I are both head over heels in love. I can’t believe he is one week old already!

We brought him home Monday afternoon—on his due date. It’s been a challenging week (little guy seems to have his days and nights mixed up) and I’ve had many mental breakdowns (my ugly cry beats Baby M’s by a mile), but we’re slowly and surely getting into the groove of parenting.

They don’t lie about postpartum hormones! I’ve gone from complete euphoria to feeling like an utter failure in the same breath, it seems, but I am happy to say that I’ve gone over 24 hours without a single freakout. Life is good.

So what have I learned so far?

For starters, I’m physically tougher and stronger than I ever imagined I could be.
My husband is the sane one. He was the absolute best labor support and has offered endless encouragement when it would be easy to just let me cry in the hallway or on the nursery floor, wallowing in my irrationality and fear of failure.
Breastfeeding is difficult, but I’m bound and determined not to give up. Eating enough calories is going to be a challenge because who has time to eat?
We really should sleep when he sleeps (the number one tip offered to us as new parents). I should be sleeping right now, actually, considering Baby M has slept more solidly this past night than ever.
Getting outside on a cool, sunny fall day does wonders for the soul. Baby M already loves strolling in the fresh air just like his mommy.
My emotions are bizarre. I’m perhaps the only person ever who started tearing up (happy, nostalgic tears) after reflexively rubbing my belly and looking down with a smile as All About That Bass came on the radio (I mention Baby M’s little dance in my 37 week post).
(Explosive) shit happens. 😉
I’m in awe of how wonderful motherhood is and will be, but I genuinely miss being pregnant. Meeting our little guy and getting to hold him, staring at his impossibly long eyelashes, laughing when he does his Elvis smirk and shows off his little dimples, and even wiping up the pee that inevitably gets sprayed during a diaper change is so much better, but I miss those little flutters and kicks and the way my belly felt, even if it made normal movement a challenge.
I want to savor every moment, especially the ones where little man is asleep on my chest instead of his crib or any number of other places he should be sleeping.