Tips for Making it Through the First Month

Tomorrow my baby boy turns one month (I wish I could justify getting a DQ ice cream cake for this occasion.)  I know eventually months don't really matter, but it feels like a small victory that we've made it through the first month.  So much about him has already changed.  His baby mullet is getting longer, his eyes have changed to a color other than black, his belly button has fallen off, and he is so much more alert now. 

Many moms have shared their knowledge with me to help me get through this so I thought I would share a few tips of my own.

1.  You're going to feel like a failure...just accept it-  Before having Karter, I thought of myself as pretty good with kids.  I've always loved kids and have worked with them in some form for many years of my life. Naturally, I thought this would mean that I would automatically be a great mom and would have no trouble.  Wrong.  I may have worked with kids, but I have never been a mom before.  It's a whole different ball game.  There are days when I feel like I am failing as a mom.  I know I'm a good mom and that I love Karter with all of my being, but there are times when he cries and I don't know what to do.  It happens, and it's ok.

2.  Accept whatever help you can get- Don't think you won't need help, you will...unless you are a super mom, which in that case, just skip this step.  I don't know what I would have done without my mom, my brothers and my mother in law providing relief so I could nap.  It doesn't make me less of a mom because I need help.  It makes me a better mother because it gives me a time to myself and a time to sleep!

3.  Read "The Happiest Baby on the Block" before having your baby-  Thank you to Brandy for telling me about this book.  I wish that I would have read this book before Karter got here so I would have had an idea what to do when we first got home from the hospital.  Going along with this point, I would also recommend stocking up on swaddling blankets, lots of them.  I really enjoy the ones that come with the velcro already on them, since I suck at swaddling.

4.  Stock up on Kleenex-  At least for me, I was extremely emotional the first few weeks after having him.  I cried for no reason, or the reasons that I was crying for were not that big of a deal.  I would cry and feel better and go on with my day.  It's just a natural part of child birth, I mean your body has been through a lot.  Side note, let's all celebrate the fact that I haven't cried in like a week and a half!  Woo hoo!

5. Sleep as much as you can during your 40 weeks pre baby- Seriously, I know it's hard to sleep when you have to pee all the time and your body is uncomfortable, but do it.  Unless you have a magic baby that sleeps well from the beginning, you will soon come to the realization that sleep is an old friend you probably won't see for awhile.

That's all of my tips for now, as Karter is screaming for some food (another tip-if you are breast feeding, you will soon find that shirts are a thing of the past.  What's the point in putting on a shirt when you'll just have to take if off in an hour and half to feed again??)