The adventures of a First Time Mom (FTM)

We have made it to the 1 Month age/mark!

Let me begin by saying I am so thankful that I have the practice I obtained through years of helping care for my younger siblings and babysitting. I can't even begin to imagine what being a new mom would be like without it, I know it can and is done on a regular basis, but it sure is comforting to have that knowledge under my belt. That being said, even with all of that practice and knowledge there are some things you have to learn on your own through experience (i.e. trial and error). Some are due to the particulars of your baby (they are individual little humans after all and not cookie cutters), others are from rustiness and inexperience (most of my newborn care had been for boys). The other component of a learning FTM, is postpartum care. Not many people discuss this part mainly because it is unpleasant and/or they let the positive memories of a cooing new baby erase the less pleasant memories, I'm not entirely sure.

Baby J seems to be growing like a weed.  Which means, she is eating all the time! Thankfully she has only been waking me for feedings about two/three times a night, they are just long(ish) feedings (45 min - 1 1/2 hr). Generally they are around 11pm, 1:30/2am and then again around 4am. Depending on the morning (how long mom and dad stay in a coma) she doesn't start hunting for breakfast until 7/8:30am. I'm thankful it isn't as bad as I had anticipated but it will be nice when the actual feeding sessions shorten so I'm not awake for long periods of time in the middle of the night. Or I should say, trying to stay awake.

No two days have been the same since our family expanded from two to three. Between guest visits, errands, and other outings we definitely have not had anything to go off of as to what a typical day is other than busy. Thankfully a good family friend of mine has lent me a hospital grade double pump which has been very helpful on the mornings I wake up with a boulder or two attached to my chest (ouch!). Another plus about the pump is that over the past week Daddy and a few other family members have been able to feed Jasmine. Having the bottle option will give Grandma the opportunity to babysit Jasmine at the ripe old age of 5 weeks (next week). It has also been a nice peace of mind for me to get a visual on how much Jasmine can eat in a feeding session. The majority of her feedings have been straight from the source (i.e. me) where I just let her go until she falls asleep which means I don't know how much she gets in those feedings.

Both Mommy and Daddy have become pro diaper changers and even have the skills to catch messes in action. I am so thankful for our diaper genie and my little arm and hammer lavender scented bags that I keep on my diaper bag (no smelly diapers!).

Postpartum care is a whole other entry in and of itself. One thing though, it has been very strange not going to my Dr's office since Jasmine was born! The progression of frequency goes from 1/month to every other week, to every week, to a whopping 6 week follow up. It will be nice to get the green light and to officially get to work on regaining a body though. The innocence of young children is sweet and all but I would like to stop explaining that the baby is already out, and no there isn't another one in there.