The First Week & A Call To Mommies

So as you know by now, our little bundle of joy has arrived and I'm happy to say that all three members of our family (even the cat) have survived the first week at home.

Standard milk-drunk picture

 To say bringing baby home was an adjustment would be the understatement of the century. For someone who makes it a point to gather as much information and be as prepared as possible before doing pretty much anything, this week really threw me for a loop. I had read all of the books, Googled everything, diligently listened to any and all instructions from my doctors, and prepared our home so that everything was "perfect" and "ready" for Jamie's arrival.

No matter what you do, how much you read, how many gadgets or products you buy, or how great of an eater or sleeper your baby is; there is no way to feel 100% ready, calm, prepared, or in-control when bringing a new baby (especially your first baby) home. 

Add to that some pretty serious hormonal imbalances, sleep deprivation, and sore nipples everything, and you've got a recipe for a pretty challenging couple of days, if not longer. What you see on most blogs and Facebook posts is not even close to the reality of new parenthood.

To quote a new mommy friend, In the blog world, everyone is all "breastfeeding was so easy for me!" And "here's a picture of me nursing at the pumpkin patch while my baby is dressed perfectly".
 
That really cracked me and Colin up because it's so true.

Three things really helped me during the past few challenging days:

1) Colin. I know I could not have gotten through this week without him by my side. I could write a whole post about how amazing he's been but I will just leave it at this: Daddies don't go through labor and delivery and their hormones remain pretty much stable while Mommy's are all over the charts for 9+ months. Take advantage of this if you can, ladies. Bank up Daddy's vacation time and let him help for as long and as much as possible. Colin has been the rock in this family since day one but especially this week. I love him more now than I ever have or thought I could.

What real Daddyhood looks like:
sleeping on a terribly uncomfortable hospital chair bed for 2 nights...

...balanced out by moments like this

2) Everyone who has fed us this week, but especially my mom. Yesterday was her birthday (Happy Birthday Mom!) and not only did I not get her a card or flowers or anything, but she came over last night and she cooked us dinner. On her birthday. When I was between contractions, I distinctly remember saying to Colin and my labor nurse that we all needed to go home and thank our moms for doing this for us. After a week at home with a new baby, I am more thankful for my mom than I have ever been... just for being "Mom."

Grandma & Jameson

3) And speaking of Moms...the network of women who have reached out to me to share their very personal stories has been my saving grace in many moments of uncertainty this week. Many of these women I hardly know, but every single one of them jumped at the chance to answer my questions - some at 5am - or offer words of advice and encouragement. My heart is so full of gratitude for all of them.There is just something about being a mom that connects you to other women in a way that nothing else can.

That being said, I thought it might be nice to gather the email addresses of any moms who might be interested in sharing advice, words of encouragement, or just saying "hey, you're not alone," with other women. I haven't worked out the logistics of it yet but I'm envisioning a sort of listserv/email group where we could initially introduce ourselves, where we are on the journey of Mommyhood, and then use the email chain to seek advice from one another on parenting questions or just life in general.

If you are interested in being part of the email chain or have ideas about how to put this plan into action, send me an email: mbatomommy(at)gmail(dot)com

It may take me a few days (or weeks) but I'd really like to try to get this together!

And just for fun, here is the very last picture that was taken of me pregnant. I'm 39 weeks and 1 day in this picture and Jamie arrived 4 days later.