New Mom, New Mom, What Do You Do?

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Last night, Hubby came home from work. I gave him a kiss and asked him about his day. After giving me the gory details, he asked me, "what do you do all day? I'm not trying to criticize; I genuinely want to know." I believed him. I've told him that being a new mom isn't easy and doesn't leave me with a lot of free time. 

He always asks me if I'm "sleeping when the baby sleeps." At night, yes. During the day, no. Then what am I doing when the baby sleeps? I'm running to the basement to do a load of laundry. I'm running back to check on the baby. I'm running outside to get firewood. I'm running back to check on the baby. I'm running into the kitchen to find something to eat. I'm running back to check on the baby.

And when the baby isn't sleeping? There is no "I." There is only "us." When the baby isn't sleeping, we do baby things. We breastfeed. We read books. We breastfeed. We do tummy time. We breastfeed. We sing songs. We breastfeed. We have baby dance parties. We breastfeed. We go for walks. 

Sometimes we even breastfeed while we're reading or singing or walking around the neighborhood. Yeah, we have mad skills.

And that just about sums up a perfect day as the new mom of an exclusively breastfed baby.

And the baby just pooped himself awake, which means this post has reached its end. Back to doing baby things.

Baby's First Week

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I'm not going to say that I have this whole Mom thing figured out. After all, I've literally been doing it for a week. But I've already found several things that have helped tremendously. 

Nursing bras. I've been wearing ones like these pretty much 24/7. They're super comfy, unfortunately they have zero support. So when your milk machines are engorged, they're all freaking over the place. Not a problem if you're hanging out at home, but I would suggest something more like a sports bra for excursions. 

Nipple cream. I legit have bruised nips. Just because babies don't have teeth, doesn't mean they can't bite you. I have no idea what this stuff is or why it works, but I seriously don't care. It's super awesome. Stock up. 

Prepared food. A few weeks before Baby Boy's arrival, I made some freezer meals. We've already run through most of the fully cooked stuff, but we also have a bunch of stuff that's halfway prepped. At this point, the less effort I have to use to feed myself, the better. 

Newborn diapers. Even if you want to use cloth diapers (we do), they have a minimum weight suggestion of 8 pounds, so it's going to take awhile for most babies to grow into them. They're cheaper online and you will use LOTS of them unless you want baby stewing in his own pee. 

Receiving blankets. So far, Baby Boy has only worn clothes twice. Once coming home from the hospital and once when we went to his first doctor's appointment. Otherwise, he's swaddled in a receiving blanket (we definitely didn't steal any from the hospital... maybe) and enjoying lots of skin to skin time. The ones from Carter's aren't the cheapest, but they're very soft flannel and bigger than some other brands.

Helpful hubby. Hubby has been great. He's been taking initiative on things like laundry, cooking (microwaving totally counts, at least right now), doing dishes, and reminding me to sleep when the baby sleeps. He's also good at diaper changes and other baby stuff. Even though he can't directly help with breastfeeding, he brings snacks and water while Baby Boy and I are having boobie time. If Hubby isn't available, try to find someone who loves you, doesn't add any stress to your life, and cleans--key here is that you have to be comfortable with them seeing you topless. Baby's first week is pretty much all about boobies (if you're breastfeeding). 

Patience. You're not going to instinctively know everything about your baby right away. There will be times when your baby seems to be crying for no reason. Make sure his needs are being met (clean diaper, not too hot, not too cold, not hungry), then try rocking, walking, swaying, singing, dancing, etc. You'll get through it.