Over the past 6 weeks I’ve been on the crash course to ‘mommyhood’ … not that there is any other course – there’s really no other way but to be thrown into it. Thank goodness for other mommies out there who are always willing to answer questions and give advice.

A few things I’ve learned so far:

1. There is always some parent, somewhere who has gone through what you are going through.

Lesson? Ask for help; your’e silly if you don’t.

2. Reflux sucks. For baby. For mommy. For sleeping dog and daddy. But mostly for baby, who screams and screams when nursing and when in any position other than upright… and even then screams some more.  (That’s a little dramatic… she doesn’t scream all the time. And even then, her cries are still little blessings each day).

Lesson? A crying baby doesn’t mean you are a bad mom and your baby probably won’t hold that against you when she’s older… probably.

Haha, I’m actually really glad my husband took these photos. I mean, it was a struggle for me not to delete them right away when I saw them, but they’ve sort of grown on me. A true glimpse into parenting a newborn. I’m sure all of you mommies out there have experienced some moments of exasperation like this.

 

3. Not all babies love their carseat. I’ve heard that lots of babies love their carseats and will fall asleep during car rides. Not Charlotte. I’m thinking it relates to #2 above; regardless, it’s a tad stressful when you are driving and your daughter is crying so hard she goes into the ‘stop breathing, no sound coming out’ mode. Breaks your heart.

Lesson? Nothing lasts forever. Neither the car ride, nor this stage of baby craziness.

(A miracle… she’s asleep and cozy in her carseat!)

4. Sometimes baby breathing is very shallow, almost nonexistent, which makes you panic and pick them up, which scares them out of their sound sleep and you spend the next hour trying to get them back to sleep.

Lesson? Chill. Out.

5. Sometimes baby is a NOISY sleeper. Grunting, moaning, coughing, hiccuping, whimpering. It’s OKAY to not follow through with your ‘plan’ to have baby co-sleep in the same room with you and instead to move her to her own crib. If each peep she makes keeps you awake and in ‘supersonic listening mode’ all night, then it’s not worth it.

Lesson? A mommy who gets at least some restful sleep will be a happy mommy.

Happy mommy = happy baby.

6. Blogging about your life is very cathartic. I’d recommend it. Putting things down into words helps you maintain perspective.

Lesson? This blog is more for my own sanity than it is for keeping family and friends updated, though that is super important to me – I don’t want you to feel like you are second fiddle! I love having a way to keep you all updated on our little family 🙂

There are many more lessons I’ve learned over the past 6 weeks, but tummy time is over now so that’s all for now 🙂

The past month has been a whirlwind, to say the least. In case you missed it, you can read about the arrival of our little one here. And the story of that first week home (well, home then back in the hospital) will be posted soon.

In the mean time, Charlotte is now 1 month old!

I can’t believe my eyes – She has grown so fast.

At one month, Charlotte….

• Weighs 8 lbs, 4 oz (a 2 lb gain since leaving the hospital!)
• Is finally fitting into her newborn clothing
• Loves to snuggle (especially with her daddy)
• Will tolerate ‘tummy time’, but not loving it yet
• Is fighting with acid reflux, which breaks mommy’s heart
• Hates, hates, hates to be in her carseat (now I’m thinking that may have something to do with the reflux)
• Gives a lot of smiles during her two ‘really awake’ times of the day
• Has super strength in her arms and legs, which are always moving
• 

And I couldn’t resist throwing this shot in since this is actually a good representation of how most of the photos turned out.

Poor little lamb. She has certainly perfected the pouty lip.

Gets me every time.

(and, not to worry, no babies were actually tormented during the making of this blog post… it was just lunch time!)