Monday, January 14, 2013

Hindsight is 20/20: part two

Last week in Part 1 I talked about the things that were harder than I expected. How I would do things a little differently now that I know. This week I want to talk about all the things I did right. All two of them. HAHA I kid!

I ignored advice. Not every piece of advice that came my way but there were definitely a few pieces of "insight" I chose to pass up. One that sticks out to me the most?

I kept him close. They said, "don't spoil him, put him right back into his swing or bouncer once he's fed and changed. People hold their babies too much". Not only did I ignore that COMPLETELY but Cruze is now 10 months old and I don't regret it one tiny bit. Nope. I kept him close. I wore him in my "foby" wrap*, I laid next to him in the middle of the day just to watch him breath. I even went to target when he was about a week old to by yet another thing for him to sleep in, in an effort to keep him even closer. This sleeper was a lifesaver for us. I was having such a hard time knowing how fleeting those newborn moments would be. I would cry just looking at him knowing how fast he would change. He was sleeping in his cradle and rock n play in the very begginning but even that was too far away for me. I wanted to be able to open my eyes at any time throughout the night and see his beautiful face. I wanted to feel him breath on me, without feeling like I could roll over him. That sleeper, it saved me those first few weeks.

She offered. I said YES. When Rachel (my sis-in-law) offered to come to my house for a week with my brother and their 7 month old baby, I said yes. I had no clue what that would do for me, for us. She was unbelievable. Every morning I woke up to the smell of breakfast on the stove. Lunch, snacks, dinner, DESSERT. She took care of it all. We even started our frozen hot chocolate tradition that week. It gave me time to just sit in my room and nurse/bond with my son. I didn't have to think about cooking or even cleaning. She was amazing. Plus I had people to keep me company when Phillip went back to work and to talk me through all the scary first baby moments (there were quite a few).

Pilates. Yes, I started back at pilates to lose weight (which I didn't) but it helped me. The inner me. The stretching excercises, knowing I was doing something beneficial for myself, it really helped me. I felt like I accomplished something. That helps the self-esteem. And well, it helped lift the tummy a little too. That's always good right?

I used my phone. Okay you may think I'm talking about keeping in touch with friends and family. I'm not, although that helps too. What I mean is, I had a pediatrician, she had a number, I used it. There are sooo many new things when you have a newborn. Scary things, weird things. Just so many. So I called. Often. That gave me peace of mind.

FAMILY WALKS. Oh man, I can't tell you how much this simple thing helped me. Especially when I spent most of my days (and weeks and months??) holed up in the casa. Walks helped me. As soon as Phillip would walk through the door, we'd throw on our sneaker, grab the stroller and go. We would talk about our day, about "that time we did (fill in the blank here)", we would go to the grocery store, get the mail. You get it. There was just something about that fresh air and enjoying it with no one other than my two loves. The best. Do it, I promise it'll be worth it.

Here are some pictures from those cherished walks ;)



Ignore that middle pic lol

 

These are just a few of the things that helped me. Those little things that I didn't realize back then that were getting me through our little (HUGE) transition. What helped you?

* foby wrap - the wrap I made myself while living in Bolivia. It works great!


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6 comments:

  1. I ignored a lot of advice too...I greatly appreciated it but we as new moms need to do it our own way!

    Girl I probably called my pediatrician a lot! I kept apologizing but they kept assuring me, were used to it and that's why we're here!

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  2. What I did right?1) like you, held my baby close. They're only babies for one year! 2) breastfed. Glad it worked. It let me lose my baby weight, feed my baby and forced me to sit down and relax. 3) let everything else go by the wayside. Yeah it secretly bothered me that there were dishes in the sink and laundry to be done or calls to be returned. But I just had to let go of all that. 4) had a natural child birth. I experience the whole thing and was awake and active with him from the get go. I hope I'm lucky enough to do thus again. 5) took lots of pictures!

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  3. love this! so true and that sign on his carseat is hysterical hahah

    new follower :) joanna-dan.blgospot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love this post!
    Just found your blog. I am learning all these things at the moment...baby is 5 weeks old. To top it off, we were transferred to the Middle East when I was 3 months pregnant.
    Look forward to reading more of your blog!

    www.wilsonfamilyproject.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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