It's been 6 months and 3 days since my world got flipped turned upside down. I'd like to take a minute so just sit right there and I'll tell you...everything I've learned since I gave birth. Ha! There are things I thought I was going to do, other things I knew nothing about, and perspectives that have changed dramatically. Here's the rundown so far:
Yo Rome, smell ya later!
1. On Diapering:
Me Last Year: I can't wait to cloth diaper! It's so much better for the environment and I really don't mind washing them!
Me This Year: WTF?!? How does this even work? These look huge, they are one size? They have to be washed how many times before first use? What is stripping? ... OOOOOoooo Look at the cute prints on these disposable diapers that aren't made with chemicals! Yes please!
tooL cute!
2. On Baby Clothes:
Sizing inparticular. Having worked at a Gymboree I thought it was all fairly straight forward. There are 0-3 months, 3-6, 6-9, so on and so forth. Age and size correlate, if your kid is a bit big for their age, then size up. Simple. BUT THEN I started shopping at other places. Not only do not all 3-6 months run alike (I'm looking at you short and squat onesie that made my son look like a toothpick and barely buttoned at the bottom), but some brands simply say 6 or 9 or 12. This must mean they start wearing those sizes at 6 months or 9 months or 12, right? Nope. That's when they outgrow them. I did not understand how it all worked until I sadly packed up a very clean, never been worn, totally adorable tee shirt and shortalls because it's winter and my 4 month old son is outgrowing all of his springy size "6" clothes. Lesson learned.
3. On Breastfeeding:
Me Last Year: Breastfeeding kinda freaks me out. I'll stick to it for a few weeks since it's good for the kid, but then I'm switching to bottles and formula!
Me This Year: *Last night 2 am* Baby is hungry [again]... Should I go out to the kitchen to get a bottle, measure and warm up formula, feed baby, and go back into kitchen to rinse out bottle? UGH SO MUCH WORK *pulls out boob and goes back to sleep*
Well one of us sleeps anyway...
4. On Death:
Motherhood is a heartache, straight up. I can feel my heart in my chest like a sore, overworked muscle. I've never loved someone so hard and worried so much about their safety and future. And for MY safety and future. I thought I was super cool about the whole circle of life thing and that when my time came to die I'd be at peace with it. Whether I was young or old, car crash or cancer, I would know it was coming and say something profound like "I loved" take my last deep, dramatic breath and leave the earth on the back of a unicorn. Now I'm scared shitless. Scared. Shitless. If something happens to me, who would be Roman's mother? He NEEDS me. I need him. If you're a parent and you let that sink in a little bit and it will make you panic. 20 years, I just want a solid 20 years without incident and I think we will all feel a lot better.
5. On Getting Stuff Done:
You can't do it. It's simply not possible. At least not on the timeframe I had grown accustomed to pre-baby. I have ONE kid, just one. I thought I'd still be able to do things like wash the dishes and do laundry in the same day. I thought I'd be able to blog peacefully next to a sleeping baby. None of these things happen. I had all of Friday at home by myself being a slow learner I thought I was going to clean the whole house. At least I got the laundry done and almost all put away.
That's a high bar, SpongeBob, a high bar...
6. On Baby Sweat
Did you know babies sweat? I had no idea. They didn't tell me at my prenatal appointments. Maybe it's just my extraordinarily glandular son [note: not an actual diagnosis], or maybe my just-right-for-me-temperature is Hell's Desert for everyone else in the family, but this guy sweats a lot. A lot of it comes from his head. Like when I lay him down after sleeping on my arm for a while I could probably wring out my sleeve but I don't because...
7. On Fluids
I am way too comfortable with bodily fluids. Roman peed through his PJ's this morning while snuggling with me and I put a towel down and kept snuggling. I still haven't changed the sheets yet. I probably won't. #thetruthisgross #sheetsarehardtochange #iusedtobeclean
8. On Bread
It truly is the most comforting of comfort foods. And I have been eating all of it. I had a biscuit with breakfast, a croissant as a snack, and dinner included sourdough. It keeps me sane, and I'm almost guaranteed to get a re-wear out of my maternity gear this summer!
I've got a bun in the oven! No seriously, I ate 100 buns...
There we are, a few life lessons from the last 6 months with many more to come!
Hey Perfect Stranger, have you learned anything lately? Pray do tell!