By the time I go home today I will have been sitting in this waiting room for 3 and a half hours. As I sit here trying to speed up time, I’ve been thinking about these past 6 weeks. To describe it in one word, it’d be “full.”
Our baby girl is 5 and a half weeks old. And I can’t wait to go back home to see her. It’s been a whirlwind. An adjustment. Time has been in overdrive. We’ve been busy. We’ve been bored. We’ve been recovering, physically and mentally. We’ve smiled, cried, laughed, and been stressed, tired, rejuvenated, and in love. Full.
It’s also been surprising. From uneducated preconceptions we had, to advice and warnings we were given that we found to be completely wrong (at least for us). Many things ended up surprising me.
Here are some things we’ve found to be way off (again, for us, thus far):
Advice: Don’t use cloth diapers. (Usually accompanied by a voice of disgust and superiority, followed by literal or figurative exclamation points.)
Truth: We did our research and picked what cloth diapers we felt would be best for us. And you know what? They’re freaking easy. They hold messes BETTER than disposables. Yes, better for the environment. And cheaper in the long run. And by “in the long run,” I mean like, within the first month or two. No wrapping my child’s butt in dollar bills. We do keep some disposables around for certain situations (such as certain outings, whenever it’d be better for us to throw out the diaper, or when someone uncomfortable with or not used to cloth will need to change her.)
Advice: You’ll never use your changing table.
Truth: While in our house, we’ve never changed her anywhere else except during baths. Maybe that will change, and that’s fine. But for now we use it all the time.
Advice: Don’t buy newborn sized clothes, the baby will never fit in them.
Truth: It’s the only size clothing she fits in…and she was born at 8 lbs 4 oz.
Misconception from others: You can’t drink any alcohol (or eat spicy foods, or chocolate, or coffee, or onions, etc) while nursing.
Truth: Not one doctor or nurse or lactation consultant has recommended any of that. Yes, some foods can upset baby…or, they might not. There’s nothing specific I can’t have unless, after trying it, it seems to upset baby. Coffee? We were told to keep it under six cups a day… Um… No problem there. And regarding alcohol? Every medical professional so far has specifically told us that it’s fine, just don’t over do it. And to make it safer, just have some right after you nurse. Then by the time she’s ready to nurse again, the alcohol will be out of your bloodstream enough.
Personal preconception: It will be hard.
Truth: It is hard and there are times of incredible frustration and stress. But I just look at my little baby once, smiling or not (though that cute little smirk does help tons!), and those stressful times just erase. It just washes away. Cheesy, yes, but also incredibly true. Nothing puts my mind back into perspective like the face of my child.
So there’s a sliver of our first 5 weeks with baby. I can’t believe I’m a parent. We both keep thinking, “we can’t believe we get to keep her.” We are very, very full.
