Mommy Milestones
I was chatting with one of my dearest friends the other day who has a one month old, and it brought me back to when Isaac was first born and I was clueless, confused, ill-tempered and weepy for quite some time. Ok, I still am occasionally (:
Being a mom is easily the hardest but most rewarding thing I have ever experienced, but I think we all know how quickly it can become overwhelming. So many new things to learn, so many questions, so many sleepless nights.
I was definitely congratulating her on some positives and empathizing with her on some negatives, and I got to thinking that we mother’s need our own set of milestones just like our babies! Some encouragement and praise is always nice to hear, so here you go: (in no particular order)
- Learning how to breastfeed — why don’t all those books on the topic warn you that this might be difficult, not to mention painful? It gets better, I promise! Good for you for giving your baby the healthiest start possible!
FYI: I am assuming that learning to bottle feed formula can be tricky as well, so congrats to you too, I did not forget you (:
- Functioning on little to no sleep — isn’t it amazing that your body can change it’s sleep rhythms to your new adjusted schedule of every 2 hours or so? Not to worry, you will eventually regain some of that lost sleep. And your hubby will eventually learn how to give a bottle!
- Remembering how to brush your teeth and comb your hair — remembering to take care of YOU can take last place, so when you do finally look in the mirror, get scared of your frightening reflection, and fix it a bit, you will feel much better and your reflection will thank you. I will not tell you how long I went without a shower…ew.
- Figuring out the car seat — maybe it’s just me, but some of these baby gadgets are entirely too complicated! When you get the hang of hauling that seat around, locking it and unlocking it and buckling and unbuckling baby, you have reached this milestone, good for you!
- Surviving leaving the house with baby — your first time can be very scary; think of the germs, of all the stuff you need to pack with you, of possibly having to breastfeed in public, if baby screams at the grocery store, etc. But once you go, you’ve achieved it, and each time will get easier and easier.
- Realizing that a messy house is not the end of the world, and neither is a microwaveable meal – it’s ok not to clean or do laundry or cook right now because you are taking care of a newborn which outweighs all other things. A little mess never hurt anyone, and if you are that worried about it ask your family/friends to have a cleaning party at your house. Once you realize this you can focus more on the task as hand, a.k.a. that cute little person you are holding.
- Learning how to accept help — We are woman, hear us roar, and whatnot. But soon you will learn if have not already that we all need some help, especially now. Once you can accept the help and even (gasp) ask for it, your life will be much smoother, and a happy mommy means a happy baby (most of the time at least, haha).
Please feel free to add onto this list, I’m sure there are more but I ran out of room (:
I love this article. I wish when I still had my daycare, you would have been one of the ladies that filled out an application for hire. I would have hired you in a minute! I love the way you turn everyday occurrences into funny stories and informative ways to deal with hard life lessons. You are amazing. I think your next agenda should be writing a book. I would definitely buy it.
Learning how to shave your legs, wash/condition your hair, and wash your body in less than 4 minutes so you don’t look like a sea hag.
Learning how to pack the diaper bag and knowing exactly what is in the diaper bag so you don’t get caught without when youre running errands.
Containing yourself from scooping your child up to comfort them every time they have a little fuss because something isn’t going their way
Allowing your child to sleep ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE HALL rather than next to your bed. That was huge for me and all the way across the hall might as well have been China for me.
Accepting the fact that your child is going to get dirt, sand, bugs, etc in their mouth, no matter how hard you try to deter them from actually getting anything “germy” close to them
Learning how to change a diaper in less than one minute
I could go on and on!! Great blog, Sarah!
Laura, thanks for the imaginary hire as well as a possible future buyer of my baby-based novel (:
Brooke, I do find myself still occasionally looking sea-haggish but I try not to anymore (: Great additions, I knew I had forgotten some good ones!
I believe that this entry may have been inspired by dear ole me
(not to add to a sense of narcissism here at all). Thanks for thinking of us new Mommies and all of those huge steps we take every day, as we transition into parenthood.
I want to add some for daddies too:
- learning how to change a diaper w/o getting sprayed by your son! let alone learning how to do it in the middle of the night with only the soft glow of a nightlight on the opposite side of the room! (old houses only have a select few outlets in each room)
- learning how to hold a baby and feel like it won’t break! then to learn how to not only hold him/her, but also learn how to pick him/her up on your own vs. having them handed to you in the perfect holding position – and still not break them! congrats daddy!
- learning how to gaze lovingly into your child’s eyes, when you bottle feed them. This is what men miss out on the most those first weeks, the bonding that happens during breastfeeding – so hands down to bottle feeding by daddies!
- being able to be alone with the baby and handle anything from poopy diapers, to soothing your baby, to feeding the baby, and just loving your baby – while mommy get’s some “me” time!
Great article Sarah! Once again…you leave me in awe at your wonderful writing skills!
Sending love from MN! Sue
Of course it was, my dear Sue (: Love the daddy additions; ,maybe I will have to write another one for the new fathers out there, hmmm….
Love from NC