Things I've Learned About Being a Mom

Things I’ve learned in the past 3 months of being a mom…

·      Sleep is a treasure, hard to find and very valuable

·      You can never have too many burp rags, keep one in every room that you might possibly be in

·      The first time you go to the pediatrician’s office you will be a mess. Germs, other kids, unsure of what to do And your baby will have a blow out in the waiting room at some point. Ours was the 2 month appointment.

·      Babies don’t just fall asleep when they are tired. Seriously, I thought when Walt’s tired he will just fall asleep so I didn’t keep track of how long he had been awake. I’m sure some babies do just fall asleep, mine does not. He wants to go and move and talk all day long, and if he’s awake for too long he gets super cranky. Now I write down when he woke up so after an hour or so I can get him ready for a nap. I swaddle him, put him in his crib and let him babble until he falls asleep. He’s happy, mommy’s happy, life is good.

·      Never give up on the swaddle. For the first month probably we were just convinced that there was no way to swaddle Walt that would keep his arms in so we just didn’t do it. Then I started again and it is magical. I do what we call a “super swaddle” for naptime and a regular swaddle at night. The other night he was screaming and I swaddled him and then he was perfectly calm. Seriously, magic. Don’t give up, just keep trying and it will be worth it

·      It’s hard to learn how to be a mom and a wife

·      Learning how to wear Walt in a wrap decreased my stress level of taking him places. It’s so much easier than lugging the car seat around and he usually ends up falling asleep.

·      You will talk about poop with your spouse more than you ever thought possible

·      Every baby has unique challenges, just because one baby seems “easier” than yours doesn’t mean that’s true. Don’t compare, especially not based on social media.

·      Your phone will be FILLED with pictures of your baby.

·      Create a photo stream (if you have an iphone) and invite your family members to join, that way they can see pictures of your little one every day but you don’t have to flood social media with pictures

·      It’s important to learn how to ask for help

·      Postpartum hormones are no joke, mixed with very little sleep and any level of frustration can be pretty bad.

·      Breastfeeding makes you hungry all day long, I make a variation of these protein bites about once a week and keep them in the fridge so I can grab a few when I don’t have time to make anything

·      Take naps when the baby sleeps, leave the dishes and laundry until you wake up if the baby is still sleeping after your nap you can do those things. You will regret not taking a nap. I still try and lay down at least once a day- Walt still wakes up in the middle of the night so I need an extra 30 minutes around 4:00 or I will be super crabby by dinner

·      Sometimes you just need to get away for an hour and just walk around Target. Side note-you’ll probably end up buying something for your little one.

·      Figure out what helps you manage your stress and find a way to make it happen. For me it’s working out and I go to the gym at 7am three times a week and Kyle hangs out with Walt.

·      The love you’ll feel for this child is unexplainable and it makes you understand God better and your own parents

·      You will be so proud of your little one for things that maybe don’t seem like a big deal to other people—like him holding up his head or almost rolling over or letting out a big burp

·      Seeing your parents as grandparents is one of the best things in the world

·      No matter how little sleep you’ve gotten or how many diapers you’ve changed in the past 30 minutes when you get a tiny little smile or sweet look you will forget all of that and just be so in love.

Looking so cute in a baseball hat

Stretches in his onesie that is really too small...