Becoming Parents

Ladybug was brought back to our room at three am but was not interested in eating yet so I was told to let her sleep. An hour later she woke up crying and ready to eat. I fed her and then asked Nick to change her diaper and re-swaddle her. Thank goodness the nurse came in after the diaper change because Nick didn’t know how to swaddle and my verbal instructions we not that good. This was the start of many ‘what do we do now’ and ‘oh my goodness this is real, we are parents’ moments.

So, I thought I knew a lot about babies due to having five nephews and a niece but newborns are not babies. Nick also didn’t know much seeing as he hasn’t been around to many little ones but is now master swaddler.

Things we’ve learned

1.       Dressing newborns is hard and kind of scary- pull the clothes not the baby

2.       Waking a newborn is hard! Especially one who losing a lot of weight and a bit dehydrated…we had to resort to rubbing our hands on ice cubes and touching her feet or tummy…she loved her sleep.

3.       The three hour sleep schedule is the hardest the first week when you are trying to recover

4.       A five hour stretch of sleep feels like an eternity  

5.       You can’t change a newborn’s diaper without there being a little poop (sorry, it’s just a fact)

6.       Getting house work is ten times harder with a baby

7. Showers are the best (especially when Dad is on Duty)

I was taking a shower while he held her and she slept soundly but the whole time I swear I could hear her crying.

Our poor Ladybug had a rough first day; we think she had a headache because every time she was moved she would let out the saddest squawk until her head was resettled.



She was so tiny in her car seat it barley not even fit her. I have never felt so many bumps on the road before.



Thank you cousin  H, My Mom and Dad while gladly eat these in my honor

Thank you Allens- Balloon still floating to this day



Ps. Remember those swollen feet…well my whole body really. Turns out the 50+ lbs I thought I had gained turned out to be 40+ lbs of water. That’s right 40lbs of water. I lost five lbs a day for a week for a whopping total of 10 lbs gained. Although I think it was more because I’m convinced I lost some muscle since I stopped Pilates and ate so many doughnuts.

While snuggling Ladybug, Bailey decided this is what nursing pillows are really for.



Newborn outfit- and it was big on her!