Postpartum and Month 1

Hello mommas, you now have blessed this world with a beautiful baby. It is a bitter sweet moment when they place that baby upon your chest. In one hand you feel excited that you are finally meeting the little one you have been growing for the past 9 months and then on the other hand you realize you now have to share them with the rest of the world. Those little movements that only you could feel connecting the two of you is now the hands you hold. If you are lucky enough to have great nurses your hospital stay will feel like time has stopped. Days go by and it is finally time to bring the new baby home. You will never be so nervous and more aware of your surroundings like you are on that drive home. During that first drive with your baby in the backseat is when things finally hit you. The world clock has started again and we are back to real life. It was a little overwhelming to know that it is all on me now and that I don’t have nurses to help me when I am unsure. That moment was the first time I cried since baby girl was born and believe me it wouldn’t be the last. As you continue to read my postpartum story please remember that every women is different and have different experiences when it comes to anything postpartum.

Baby girl is already one month old and I can’t believe how fast time has flown by. This past month has not been easy in the slightest and a huge adjustment. Healing physically was a breeze thankfully but the mental toll was not at all what i was expecting. Thankfully baby girl is a little Angel so far, she sleeps around 3 hours during the night and rarely cries. She also sleeps through everything!

“Baby-Blues”

In the first month the doctors call it “baby blues” and they explain it has a hormonal change that heightens the feelings of overwhelmingness and stress. They say that you will most likely become frustrated and upset because you are learning how to navigate this new part of life. I have learned that everyday tasks take a little more steps because the baby is crying or they are hungry. Most days I find myself in an endless cycle and loose track of days. Wake up, feed her, pump, clean pump parts and bottles, then 2 hours later same thing all day every day, It gets exhausting.

Loss of Time

With each day that passes I have noticed that if I don’t have an appointment or a place to be then I have no clue what day of the week it is. My days tend to mash together and time gets away from me. I owe an apology to all my friends and family for not replying or reaching out lately but it is simply because I forget to check my phone at times and the fact that I feel like I have so much to do and not enough time in the day to do it. It can be hard to talk to people while my head is filled with things I need to get done and that I need to take care of the baby, dogs, the house, and somehow squeeze self care in there somewhere as well.

Milestones

On a more positive note, baby girl has had a few milestones in my opinion so far! Within about ten hours of being born she was already starting to lift her head and look around. A few weeks later she is getting more and more comfortable holding her head up for short periods of time. Another thing is that she is steadily gaining weight and is already up 2 lbs since last month. Personally, my favorite part of the newborn phase would have to be active sleep. I have found myself staring at her during her active sleep and her facial expressions to try to imaging what she could possibly dreaming about. She also has an obsession with our ceiling fans! I can’t wait to see with the next few months brings especially when she can start to see and recognize me.