Happy 1 month birthday, Whoorlita! You are such a sweet little baby.
(On the eve of her birthday. She has enormous eyes just like her brother!)
Things I’ve learned (or re-learned) about new babies that I desperately feel the need to share with you:
1. Breastfeeding – Engorged boobs are ridiculously huge and hard. Letdown can be painful. Be sure to wear pads at all times for you can never predict when letdown will occur, especially in public places. Taking Lethicin daily can help prevent plugged ducts. Your nipples might kill. Don’t believe the experts that say your nipples shouldn’t hurt after the first week. Believe you me, I don’t have thrush and Wita’s latch is great (confirmed by the greatest lactation consultant ever – if you are looking for one in the OC area shoot me an email), but I STILL wince when she starts to nurse. Some people are more sensitive than others and that’s just how the cookie crumbles.
You are probably going to feel like the baby is attached to your body all the time. In fact, just last night, I looked down from my second-story bedroom window at my husband and son having a great time outside with all the neighbors. I felt a little like Rapunzel, locked up in my tower. It’s worth it, though! (Plus, that’s why cute nursing covers were created!) Nothing’s better than seeing your baby chub up before your very eyes and know your Very Painful Nipples played an integral part.
You are going to feel frumpy – most likely stuck in between your maternity clothes and your regular clothes. Yes, it sucks. I personally do not belong to the Breastfeeding Makes Me So Skinny Camp. With Wito, I didn’t lose the last 5 or so pounds until I stopped breastfeeding. Your body needs to keep an extra layer of fat to help produce all that milk you are feeding your baby. Don’t sweat it, mamas!
2. Sleeping – To parents of more than one child, if you are lucky enough to get all children napping at the same time, for the love of Christ, TAKE A NAP. Sure, your online pursuits and domestic duties are going to suffer, but honestly, no one really cares. Get some sleep while you can! (I am assuming all parents with only one child are napping already. Right? RIGHT?)
Newborns make all sorts of crazy grunting noises while sleeping – don’t assume they are waking up and/or need to be picked up. Most likely, they are just being insanely loud sleepers. If I could get back all the minutes I spent this month staring at Wita and wondering if she was going to wake up at that very moment, I could spend two full weeks drinking fruity cocktails in Bora Bora. I find that a white noise machine helps me to sleep through all of the racket.
Accept the fact that you are not going to get a full night’s sleep for awhile. Even if your significant other does the night feedings, you will still need to wake up to pump in order to keep your boobs from becoming rock hard torpedoes. Sexy! (If you are breastfeeding, that is. If your baby is formula fed and you aren’t doing the night feedings, well, ENJOY YOUR LENGTHY AND RESTFUL SLEEP, DAMMIT.)
(Sorry, that’s the sleep deprivation talking.)
3. Words With Friends makes 3am feedings infinitely better.
4. It’s so tempting to wish for the newborn phase to fly by, but try to revel in the little things that will soon be a distant memory. It won’t be long before your little one won’t curl up on your chest and snooze for hours. Smell their precious tiny heads on a daily basis! Before you know it, the lingering scent will most likely be grungy toddler sweat. Awesome.
Hmmm. What am I forgetting? Did anything surprise you about parenting newborns?
Kaleigha
July 27, 2010 at 11:09 amHi Wita!
Glad things are going well, apart from the nipples.:)
.-= Kaleigha´s last blog ..OOTD 072710 and Giveaway winner! =-.
Rhi
July 27, 2010 at 11:09 amShe’s such a doll!
Also, I was up with the Wedding Crazies at 3 a.m. and Words With Friends definitely made it all better. Though I always imagine I’m waking someone up when I make a move.
Kristin
July 27, 2010 at 11:18 amWow! Cute-NESS!
estelle
July 27, 2010 at 11:26 amShe is so beautiful. Those eyes are amazing.
I remember wanting to sleep at all times and then as soon as Emerson would go down for a nap I would start missing her desperately and just stare at her. Sick, sick, sick.
Candi
July 27, 2010 at 11:45 amShe is perfect…her eyes are gorgeous :)
Wish I had an iPad back when I was nursing, my youngest is almost 6! Instead I was watching reruns of Roseanne on Nick at Nite, lol! I did a search for Whoorl on Words with Friends and it automatically started a new game…let’s play if you’d like! I go through spurts playing. My username is Candisueg.
.-= Candi´s last blog ..Celebrating 50 years at our church =-.
Nancy [Fear and Parenting in Las Vegas]
July 27, 2010 at 12:20 pmShe’s absolutely adorable.
The one thing I would add is to be prepared for your first child to imitate you breastfeeding a baby (regardless of the gender of the child), so it’s a good idea to have a baby doll on hand…and a camera as well. It’s too cute!
Ha! Nancy, Wito is OBSESSED with watching me pump. The whole pump contraption blows his mind. ;)
emily bilbrey
July 27, 2010 at 12:36 pmBEAUTIFUL. BABY. GIRL. holy smokes HER EYES!!! love love love. she is gorgeous. can’t believe a month has gone by since i saw your happy news!
this is great advice. and for the record? i lost 7 pounds almost immediately AFTER weaning. i wish i could have relaxed a little more about my postpartum body but i struggled with the in-between phase. i think if i have another baby i’ll be more chill (which is obviously par for the course for most people!) ;D
i also had incredibly sensitive nipply bits NO MATTER what i did, in fact to this day (since having a baby & breastfeeding for 8 months) my bewbs are still loads more sensitive than they ever were before. what the heck? ah, motherhood!
seriously, great post and amazing, stunning daughter you made there! congrats & cheers to ye!
.-= emily bilbrey´s last blog ..pooksville photo craft tutortial- upcycled sweater hats! =-.
sizzle
July 27, 2010 at 12:36 pmShe’s super cute. I expect nothing less though given how hot you and D are. ;-)
I’m on Words with Friends if you ever want to play! (“sizzlesays”)
.-= sizzle´s last blog ..Best for the Best =-.
kate
July 27, 2010 at 12:39 pmWhoa! Missed the whole “Whoorl gives birth” thing!! (your blog isn’t showing updates on my bloglines for some reason…) Anyway: yay!!! Congratulations! She is gorgeous…in fact I think I just “let down” and I haven’t nursed for almost 7 years. ;)
Lindsey
July 27, 2010 at 12:39 pmMy husband and I are slowly preparing for number #2 in February…part of me feels VERY prepared but part of me is terrified its going to be just like #1..but harder…because there will be a 3 year old present lol
I have to agree with another commenter…we have iPad’s now and Netflix…I think the middle of the night baby dramafests will be a bit more tolerable with instant access to movies and tv shows!
Good luck heading into month two!
.-= Lindsey´s last blog ..Hi Im Socially Awkward! =-.
Rebecca (Bearca)
July 27, 2010 at 12:40 pmI forgot how teeny tiny newborns are, especially when compared to your SUDDENLY NOW ENORMOUS AND GIGANTIC older child. That was a shock!
.-= Rebecca (Bearca)´s last blog ..I cant believe Im posting this =-.
kakaty
July 27, 2010 at 12:41 pmshe looks just like you!
I, too, forgot the akwardness and pain of nursing a newborn. I nursed my girl until she was 17 months so I figured this time around it would be easy. I wasn’t thinking of the fact that nursing a newborn and a toddler are way different! I’m happy to report that now, at 3 1/2 months, the little guy is a champ at nursing and I can discretly and painlessly feed him just about anywhere.
Last time I played a million middle of the night games of solitaire on my iPod. This time, nursing with an iPhone is so much more enjoyable! (However, typing tweets left handed while nursing leads to lots of typos!)
Congrats to surviving the first month as a parent of 2!
Kerri Anne
July 27, 2010 at 12:43 pmYour Rapunzel analogy reminded me that I recently saw a movie preview for a Rapunzel-inspired (animated) movie, wherein I realized I have a strange phobia about Super Long (Animated) Hair that moves and bends and twists as if it’s alive. * shudder *
Happy! first month to your lovely little one.
.-= Kerri Anne´s last blog ..Weekend Update- And They Call It Coastal Love Edition =-.
Jillian
July 27, 2010 at 1:04 pmthis is awesome! thanks for sharing the bits on 2nd time around nursing. i’m currently nursing my first child who just turned 8 months, so it’s good to know that bf is still tricky (i was just wondering about that – i can’t even remember my baby being THAT SMALL, but i do remember him sucking HARD at first and my boobs being HUGE ROCKS almost constantly leaking), so i guess i’ll be prepared with my fav lactation consultant’s number in hand again! thank you so much for being real, woman! wita is a doll!
bokker
July 27, 2010 at 1:12 pmI was surprised that feeding took so loooong. And that 3 hourly feeds means 3 hours from the START of the last feed, not the end. NOT FAIR!
I was also surprised that having a new baby wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, and that it was/is infinitely more wonderful than hard, on balance. That was a good surprise.
.-= bokker´s last blog ..Pray silence =-.