Here we are a whole month into the new year and two months into my little one’s life. It went by like the weekend does: blink! Blink and I have a two month old who is goo-ing at me and finally likes bath time -FINALLY!!. It is truly amazing how some things come so quickly and others seem to take forever. My second month into the motherhood journey has been full of joyful moments, exhaustion, and building up my mom skills. I’ve learned a lot and I want to share with you.
Having a Baby is Tough During a Family Crisis
I had never thought about how having a young baby would affect my ability to help my family. My family was thrown for a loop when my brother-in-law had an accident that sent him to the ICU for a few days at the hospital. It was a very scary time. Having a two month old baby made it difficult to be there for my sister in all the ways I wanted to.
Reflecting back, I wish I would have known to have more of a milk stash in the freezer so I could have left to help her the moment she needed. Instead I had to make sure I had taken care of all of Dante’s needs first and then leave. It meant not being able to jump up and help immediately, which hurt my heart. If you exclusively breastfeed like me, I suggest pumping even if you don’t plan on being away from baby because you never know what emergency is going to happen. I didn’t have enough milk stored to leave my two month old so I had to wait to go to the hospital and then I had to bring him with me. I couldn’t leave on demand to pick up prescriptions or immediately drive over to help with anything. While I hope you don’t experience a family crisis, be prepared anyway.
You need to sleep Too
These are our “before sleep” faces.
We finally figured out how to sleep this month and it was a game changer. Dante would NOT stay asleep for longer than 20 minutes in the crib no matter what we did. It was horrible. We tried sound machines, no lights, swaddles, sleep sacks, you name it. Finally we decided to give co-sleeping a try and I’m not looking back. Read my full post on it here. Getting sleep myself changed our days drastically for the better. Find what works for your family.
Making Health Decisions is Scary
This was a big one for my husband and I. I seriously didn’t think that making decisions for my baby’s health was going to be so hard. You will find a lot of people are very attached to their opinion about health decisions. With the goal of being open and honest, we had a very hard time deciding on vaccinations.
At the Doctor’s Office
Go google vaccinations and you will end up with endless opinions, facts, and information on both sides of the argument. The best advice we got was “If you don’t feel right about your decision, you haven’t done enough research” You have to be able to think rationally about it and decide for yourself what you think is right for your family. We spent days researching and ended up fully aware of all aspects from ingredients, timing, history, research, and experiences of those we know. Our personal decision was the benefits outweigh the chances of a negative outcome and little man got his vaccines. He had a fever that night but with some baby tylenol and constant monitoring and snuggles he was fine.
The decision is yours – not your mom’s, not your doctor’s, not your friends’, nor your neighbor’s. Health decisions are big but they are yours so be ready. Don’t give in to fear and negative thoughts of what if. Be informed and you’ll be able to make the best health decision you can.
Friends Make All the Difference
I can’t say this enough! Relationships are a big factor in happiness and make a world of a difference. Being an introvert, one of my recent goals was to commit more of my time to establishing and strengthening friendships. From texting all day to coffee dates, my friends help me stay positive, stay determined, and laugh in the face of poopy diapers. Keep up with your friends. The effort is worth it.
Thank you Elaina, Michelle, Kallie, & Kate for your friendship and visits this month. xxx
I hope something from my journey sticks with you and helps you in your momming.
As always,
Happy Momming
-Leah
