Expectations

I don't know if you can ever go into motherhood with the correct expectations of what it is going to be like (I even read "What to Expect When You're Expecting!).  That may be one of the hardest parts of being a new mom.  Whatever you thought it was going to be like, it's not.  I mean, obviously you know you are going to fall in love with your baby, but you just can't understand how much and how quickly you are going to fall in love until you are holding that baby in your arms for the first time. 

I thought I went into motherhood with pretty realistic expectations.  I knew I would be up to my ears in poopy diapers and that sleep wouldn't be as good as it was before, but I guess I didn't fully understand what it's like to be a mom.  This would probably explain why I had Mark buy me a book of People magazine crossword puzzles so that I would have something to do during my "down" time while off on maternity leave.   Needless to say, I haven't opened that book since Karter got here.  "Down" time seems to be a thing of the past. 

The thing I have learned so far is that I need to be flexible and be ok with the fact that my expectations weren't correct.  I love Karter so much and will learn from him what to expect being a mom.  Hopefully, the second baby will be easier now that we've gone through this once!