Advice for New Mamas

This week, as part of Sometimes Sweet journal day, Danielle ask us to take another look back, but this time, just look back 12 months. What would we tell ourselves, and what advice would we give?

The photo above is me roughly 12 months ago. I was very pregnant, as you can tell, but still had about 6 weeks until my due date. At this point I was blissfully unaware of what life with a newborn would be like. All I knew was that I wanted her out- now. She definitely needed to bake a little longer so I waited until she was ready. Well, if you read her birth story, you know we nudged her out a little early for health reasons.

Looking back, there are so many things I wish I would have known. There is so much advice I wished someone had told me. If there are any soon-to-be new mamas out there, this list is for you.

1. Do not stop trying to breastfeed. I lasted 9 days before I gave up. It was hard. Nora would have eaten 24 hours if I let her. A lot of the time she wasn't even eating, just latched on, but if I tried to move her she cried. The only way I could get any sleep at night was to give her one of the pre-made formula bottles our hospital sent us home with. She really has done fine on formula, but there was always that nagging feeling that she would have been a little bit better off if we kept up with breastfeeding. If you have your heart set on breastfeeding- do it, no matter how hard it is. I have been told that it does get easier.

2. If someone offers to watch the baby so you can nap- take the nap. I did this about half the time. Newborns are exhausting. To keep your sanity, you need sleep. Who cares if the house is messy! The baby certainly doesn't. The baby needs you to be well rested and attentive, she doesn't need you to clean the kitchen.

3. PUPPS. No one told me about this and I wish someone had so I would have been prepared. My initial postpartum recovery was super easy. I had almost no pain and no complications. Then, about a week later, I got hit with the PUPPS. If you never get this consider yourself lucky. It started as a small rash, but it quickly spread to my entire body. It was the itchiest I have ever been, all over, nonstop for almost a month. AWFUL. Nothing worked to alleviate it, until we finally resorted to a soap we read about online. Apparently, Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap is a miracle worker. The rash cleared up quickly once I started using it. Just keep it in mind, because this is something no one is going to tell you about and you don't want to be blindsided by it like I was.

4. The weight does not just "come right off," so try not to eat so many cheeseburgers.

5. Don't be afraid to ask for help. It's very easy to get overwhelmed and there is no sense in letting that take over when there are people in your life who are willing and able to help. 

6. Buy a baby wrap carrier. You'll be able to keep a sleeping newborn close, but won't be confined to the couch. We picked up the Happy Baby wrap when Nora was starting to get a little too big for the newborn hold. The few times I did use it, I loved it. At least we have it now for any future little ones.

7. You don't need to buy everything right away. We received a lot of newborn essentials from our hospital and didn't even end up using some of the ones we bought ourselves. For example, the nasal aspirator the hospital sent us home with was a million times better than the newborn one we bought on our own.

8. Get a swing with an AC adapter. If you have a colicky baby, like we did, you do not want to see the day when the batteries in your swing die and there is nothing you can do to get your baby to stop crying.

9. On that note, know that the crying will stop eventually. Hang in there, mom.

10. And finally, don't eat Burger King on the way to the hospital to get induced. I think this one is pretty self-explanatory. 

Hope you found these tips helpful! What do you wish someone told you before you had your first child?

Dancing in the Dining Room

Today I have another post inspired by Danielle's journal day. This week the prompt is to tell a story about a memory associated with a song.

The year was 1997. I was young, around 7 years old. My house was located on a corner lot of a main street. Our next door neighbors had a grandson who was around the same age as my brother. Consequently, we spent a lot of time with him when he came to visit his grandparents. One evening, my parents invited him over for dinner. The milk was flowing and the cassette player was serenading us in the glorious music of the decade. It was a good time.  After dinner, my parents put on a Meatloaf tape. It was the 90's and he was all the rage. Maybe not, but we liked him. Suddenly we all had the urge to dance. We pushed all of the furniture to the side of the room and stepped out onto our new dance floor. The dance party lasted late into the night, or at least until my bedtime.

This is such a vivid childhood memory because it was so carefree and fun! My family was not very spontaneous, so this sudden moment of we need to dance was awesome. We listened to Meatloaf and the B52s. Now, whenever my mom and I hear this song and "Love Shack," we sing it together. 

I hope to create memories like this with my daughter, even if she thinks I'm crazy. 

Turning Point - Nora's Beginnings

Nora Mae was born on April 26th, 2013 at 5:43 am, weighing a slight 6lbs, 1 ounce. Her entry into the world was not expected, at least not this soon. Madison and I had been dating for a year when he proposed to me. About 8 months later, we found out that I was pregnant. We hadn't even begun to plan our wedding, I was fresh out of college, and we were just beginning our lives together. Madison and I had already decided that we wanted children, but this was certainly much sooner than planned. Finding out I was pregnant was the biggest turning point in my life. From that moment on it wasn't just about Madison and I, it was about this little bean-sized life form growing inside me. I couldn't grasp the situation at the time, I was too stunned, but our lives would change radically because of this one piece of news. 

Honestly, I was upset when I first found out. I was 22 years old and did not feel like I had the qualifications to be a mother. Madison was so encouraging and excited from the beginning that it didn't take long for my attitude to change. From then on it was all about our little girl. We did our best to prepare for her arrival.

I didn't have the easiest pregnancy. There were issues with perpetual high blood pressure and suspected preeclampsia (which thankfully never occurred). I gained more weight than I was comfortable with. My feet swelled up like balloons. There was one memorable moment at work when a co-worker took one look at my feet spilling out of my shoes, that she yelled "Oh my God!" and promptly told me to go sit down and put my feet up. I was allowed to wear flip-flops to work after that. 

On April 25th, I went into work and told everyone I would be having a baby that day. They all laughed because I had been saying that for the past 2 months. My weekly checkup was scheduled that day at 11:30 so I was determined to be induced. My doctor and I had not really seen eye to eye during my pregnancy, which was incredibly stressful, so imagine my shock when she said I could be induced that day! A quick text to my boss to say I wasn't coming back and we were off! Packing for the hospital was a frantic event but we made it in time, despite being stuck in traffic for almost 45 minutes. 

Once we arrived at the hospital at around 3 pm, Madison and I were SO excited. We couldn't believe that after so many months of waiting we would finally be able to meet our baby girl. I was put on Pitocin and my contractions began almost right away. When we had gotten there I was 2cm dilated. I wasn't progressing so the nurses kept upping my dosage of Pitocin. If you've never been induced, let me tell you- ouch! I had contractions one on top of the other. It seemed like they never stopped. By the time 2 am rolled around, I had had enough. At this point I was sitting in a chair away from my call button and Madison was asleep in a cot next to my bed. I tried to yell to him and wake him up but it wasn't working. I had a cup of Jello in my hand and seriously considered throwing it at him to wake him up. Luckily for him, he did eventually wake up and I didn't have to go that route.

Madison came over to me and I told him enough was enough, I needed an epidural. He got a nurse who immediately checked me out. I was only 3cm! After almost 12 hours of labor she agreed that I could have an epidural and went to get the anesthesiologist. By now I could barely get up to walk to my bed, the pain was so intense. The anesthesiologist got there quickly and did his thing. I immediately felt better. So much so that I fell asleep for about an hour and when I woke up I was fully dilated! It was time to push, everyone got into position and about 45 minutes later we had a baby! I will never forget the look on Madison's face when he first saw his baby girl. It was amazing to witness. 

Nora was perfectly healthy and I recovered quickly. When we got home from the hospital the following Sunday, we had the initial "ok, now what?" moment, but quickly fell into a routine. The love we have for this little girl is overwhelming. It's so crazy how quickly you can fall in love with someone you just met.

Almost 10 months later I am still overcome with my love for her. She has brought such joy and meaning to our lives. Being a young mother is hard, but I wouldn't change it for the world. Of course I would have liked to own our own home or be more financially stable before having children, but now we have a reason to make those dreams come true. 

Having a child was the biggest turning point in my life. From then on, nothing was the same. I am so happy to be blessed with such a joyous little girl who loves to laugh, play and dance with my husband and I. Just one smile from her will instantly brighten a room. She brings so much happiness to our lives that I can't imagine a day without her. 

I hope you enjoyed Nora's birth story and a little peak into this girl's beginnings! And because I can't resist, here are some pictures of newborn Nora.

* This post was inspired by Danielle's journal prompt over at Sometimes Sweet. She will be posting new prompts each week so follow along here to see my responses. Let me know in the comments if you will be participating as well!