I am up at 3 am writing instead of going back to bed and getting the sleep I so desperately need. It’s as good of a time as any to write a few comments about becoming a new mother.
I have been in a serious baby cave. I get out more. Things at the 7 week mark have gotten markedly easier. I am better able to organize myself and get normal things done. I have figured out how to sleep here and there and still feel rested. And let’s face it, I have always had dark circles under my eyes, so I can’t really feel to sad about that.
I am amazed at just how much life changes with the first baby. I mean, we expected life to change. We expected to be tired and up at all hours of the night, and were ready for it as well. But I really think that both my husband and I underestimated just how much it would be. It’s not something people tell you about, in fact, I don’t think anyone would be able to clearly tell you just how much of a change it is. I am usually not at a loss for words but all I have to say about this one is: WOW. And don’t get me wrong, it’s a wonderful WOW, but a big fat WOW none-the-less.
So, when I was single and childless I always noted behaviors I swore I would never catch myself doing. For example, I always told myself I wouldn’t be the sappy type of parent who showed friends endless baby pictures of virtually the same expression. I’ve come to find out, however, it’s pretty much a law of nature. I have video taped my child doing nothing but cooing and smacking her lips and have showed pretty much every friend and family member who has come to the house. I think it’s adorable, and of course I am told by said friends and family it is, but I have to wonder: are they just being polite as I have done so many times, or are they genuinely impressed by the cuteness that is my child? And she is soooo cute! You should see the way she curls up into a ball when she sleeps, like a little peanut! Or the way she stretches and grunts as she wakes up, balling up her hands into fists and stretching into the air. And she has the cutest toothless, gummy smile and this great little laugh when she thinks something is funny. Oh wait, am I doing that sappy thing again?
I have to say the amount of time I have spent watching my daughter is pretty amazing. Who needs a TV when you have a baby? Not to mention the snuggles are amazing, and I can sit for forever snuggling the little peanut.
Things of course aren’t always all cute and cuddly. My kid is a puker and will leak milk after pretty much every feed. I have come to wear regurgitated milk proudly, because changing into a clean shirt would just result in another puked on shirt. The majority of it ends up on the kid anyway. Thankfully we have an abundant wardrobe for her as we change her at least twice a day in an attempt to keep her dry in the freezing weather, not to mention there is a stinky cheese quality we like to try and avoid.
There are certain expressions we have come up with during moments of- what? I think these can be best described as “moments”. Anyway, my favorite is the day my husband was changing a diaper and cried out. “My God! She crapped like a total lunatic”!! Immediately I had images of a Woody Woodpecker-ish character. Wooo hoooo!! Woooo hoooo!! Or maybe “crapping like a lunatic” looked more like Heath Ledger in “Dark Knight”, licking his lips and drooling, commenting on the softness of the toilet paper and balling up his crossword. But whatever it looks like to “crap like a lunatic” I knew exactly what my husband meant: the kid was up to her neck in poo and needed a serious bath. I can just see myself in play group. “My kid can crap like a lunatic, what about yours?”
Anyway, that’s all I really have time for. As things continue to get easier and I am able to venture further out of the baby cave I have been in I will hopefully have more time to write. But for now, it looks like the wee hours of the morning are going to be my best time to get a few words down every now and again.
