Even when I realised that I was pregnant it was difficult to imagine life with Sophia. At first I focused on getting through the days being pregnant - which isn't always easy. And getting closer to the due date, I started focusing more on the actual delivery. Of course we tried to prepare ourselves mentally and materially as good as possible for her arrival, but it is impossible.
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| 7 weeks |
I already told you my birth story (here). This is my perception about the first 2 and a half months with a tiny human.
First if all, calm down.
The first few weeks, even month is not near as bad as the other women are telling you. What "they" told me was - if I was tired now (read then) I should wait and see how it would be when she arrived (so, now)- it would (was supposed to) get worse.
It sounded like I would never be able to sleep again, and I somehow tried to make peace with that idea. Maybe Sophia is a wonder child (which I doubt), but the beginning was calm.
I got to rest, relax and sleep.
A friend of mine said, the beginning is like the honeymoon period.
It's like nature is set up in the way that, after the lack of sleep from the pregnancy (oh yeah, sleeping while being preggers sucks) you get to catch up since newborns can't do shit.
When they tell you newborns only sleep-eat-poop (in that order) it's true!
And they sleep ALL the time!
Don't worry about playtime, tummy time, milestones etc. The first few weeks the baby only "is".
We bought toys for Sophia. After maybe 3 weeks she started really appreciating her mobile. This was the only "toy" that was useful until maybe she was around 1 and a half, then she started liking the baby gym, and her "hanging toys". And so far that's it. It's not more complicated than that.
Otherwise we dance with her, it's supposed to develop her rythmics - she's not showing that she Likes it. We also sing and read books - same here, we don't really notice that she likes that in particular - it could just be that she smiles at us. She likes the lamps, walls and ceiling as much as certain toys. In the end, your baby loves to look and listen to you, babies need love, no more is needed (at first).
Baby care in general is rather simple. In the end a diaper is a diaper, it doesn't take long to learn how to change it. And baby poop - at least if you breast feed - is not that disgusting. It's like american mustard - Yellow - sometimes a bit grainy, sometimes not. And if you breastfeed your little one, it is very rare they have a belly problem. So you do not need to worry about stomachaches.
Although, breastfeeding isn't easy. At first it's a bit painful (a lot even), on top of that you are stressed it wont work, is the baby getting enough milk etc. The first two weeks are the most important, but also the most difficult ones.
When you read about breastfeeding it sounds easy - it's not a walk in the park for everyone.
I was lucky enough for everything to work out - even if we started with the pacifier when she was only 48h old (a big no no). Sadly I can't pump out that much, which kinda sucks since it would give us milk so that Memo could feed her, or maybe getting a baby sitter!
Giving a bath is also something you get a hang of quite fast - just remember always to be careful!
I always tell Memo: if she's 10 times smaller than you, then you need to be at least 10 times more careful with her!
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| Birth - Now |
Oh, not knowing how relevant it is outside of Mexico. But here you can choose if you want a c-section or not. I know that this is NOT possible in Sweden.
In Mexico 80% chooses c-section, why?
If you ask them, they all have a medical reason. If you look at the statistics of Sweden, where you can only get a c-section for medical reasons the percentage is 80-90% natural birth.
Giving birth is painful. But it is better both for the mother and the baby.
If you are afraid of the pain, get a doula (helps with the pain), or get an epidural.
I wanted to do it without getting the epidural, but it wasn't possible - I was almost sent to do a c-section.
And even if it is painful, the pain goes away.
For me all pain was gone as soon as Sophia was on my belly. I didn't feel the placenta coming out, nor after-contractions.
(I know it's pretty wrong to say this, but she was not a pretty sight at first. New borns are a bit ugly. Although I didn't think so at the time)
The next day it was a bit painful walking, sitting down, sitting up - you get the idea.
But it passes within about a week. And it is bearable - not bad at all actually!
Just stay in bed and rest - which I didn't do. If you get a c-section you can't even carry your new baby.
REMEMBER - do your exercises (if you are preggers you know which I mean), and start before the baby arrives. Otherwise you will need to run to the bathroom as soon as you feel a teeny tiny bit that you need to pee.
Conclusion : Choose natural birth. It's better for you, the baby, plus you recover way faster than with a c-section.
When it comes to clothes. Ohhhh - I love clothes.
So we have A LOT of clothes for Sophia. The only thing I have to say here is - use your logic and good reasoning when you dress the baby.
Just because your mom or grandmother tells you the baby needs to dress like an eskimo when it's 25c outside, doesn't mean you have to.
In this post you can find how to dress a baby - according to pediatricians. A good tip is to make sure to have enough clothes and pj's cleaned, you never know what will happen during the day.
The past week or so I have started thinking about routines.
We haven't had any except for the night time.
Since she was totally new, we have had the same one:
*Bath time.
*Story time.
*Lullaby time.
Before we started at 10(22) when Memo came home from University. But since Friday I have started at 9(21) already. She's tired and it is difficult justifying keeping her up an hour longer when obviously she is exhausted.
Sophia slept in our bed the first month - mostly because I was lazy with the feeding.
I then moved her over to her travel bed that I put just next to ours.
When I noticed she wasn't eating more than once-twice a night (around her 8th week birthday) I moved her into her own room. She sleeps very good in there.
It is easy putting her to sleep. I do the routine, say "shyy" a few times, stroke her forehead and leave. Sometimes I need to go in and put the pacifier back, but otherwise she falls asleep by her self.
Nap routines are non-existent, same goes with feeding. But I have promised myself to start this week.
I can see a bit of a pattern in her natural behavior so it shouldn't be too difficult. Before she came I didn't realize she would hate sleeping so much. I mean, I love to sleep. But this little rugrat pulls her hair, scratches her eyes, and tries to kick, who knows what, in the air. Every nap is a fight, not night time though - pretty weird.
Other than that, we went out with Sophia already the next day. Not many people touched her, but otherwise I haven't noticed she felt bad, nor did she get sick. On the contrary, I believe it has made her immune system stronger. Same goes, if she drops her pacifier we clean it by either Memo or I sucking on it. As long as we're not sick recent medical research shows it makes babies less prone to get allergies and asthma.
A day with Sophia
We wake up at 10ish
We play for a bit, she eats
She naps after an hour and a half from waking up
She sleeps an hour or so
Wakes up, eats, poops (always when I talk to my mom), we play
After maybe 2h she starts getting tired again
Nap
Play, eat
.... You get the idea
Life with Sophia is getting more and more fun as she develops. She's talking a lot more, smiling when she sees me, more aware of what's going on. And I've heard it only gets better.
I love her
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