What a Wonderful World

The moment your baby gets placed on your chest seconds after being born is absolutely surreal. I can cry just thinking about it. All those months of praying, waiting, trying to eat the right things and reading everything about babies I could get my hands on could never prepare me for the feelings of this moment. Ellie was a big baby and I had a really long labor. I was exhausted and emotionally drained after the experience, but all I could think about was how much I loved this little human and how excited I was that she was here.

Welcome to the world Eleanor Lou!

As painful as labor and her birth were, I wasn't really prepared for the soreness and things I would have to deal with for the next few weeks. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I could hardly move for the first few days. Going to the bathroom by myself was a major achievement. 

A few tips I have for dealing with the first couple weeks:

1. Take all the supplies the hospital offers for yourself and the baby. ALL of the things.

2. The squirt bottle and stool softeners are a huge must. Cannot stress that enough

3. Get a doughnut pillow for the car ride home and for use at home too. I couldn't stand to sit on my bottom for over a week and it took over a full month to feel totally better

4. If you're bottle feeding, make sure you have everything pre sterilized and washed

5. Take a million pictures. You can't get those moments back

6. Have a changing station set up on each level of your house. I was not about to go upstairs more than I absolutely had to each day

7. Limit visitors for the first day home. I felt horrible physically that first night and you and your husband will be sort of shell shocked for a while. You mean we get to keep her?

8. Don't be afraid to be a crappy host when you have people over. Ignore the mess and go take a time out if you need to. 

9. You will cry at anything, everything and nothing. Seriously it's sort of annoying how easily you get emotional at the smallest things

10. Wear yoga or pajama pants everyday for the first week if you want to, but after that try really hard to wear real clothes and take at least a quick 5 minute shower. It won't always feel possible, but trust me you will feel so much better if you do. It's really amazing how much better the world feels when you have clean hair

11. Join a pregnancy/baby message board. It's comforting to read about other people who are going through the same thing as you are. I mostly read the bump.com and followed my baby's birth month board (both September when she was due, and August because I had a feeling she would be early, which she was).

12. Have someone stay home with you for the first week. Ted was able to be home with me for that time, but if your spouse doesn't have that much time off, you will need someone around to help you. I was still in a lot of pain during that time and felt really weak and helpless when it came to doing anything the least bit physical. Laundry was out of the question for a while. I hobbled like an old lady

Hopefully these tips will help. I know there are lots more out there, but these were things that stood out the most to me.