Wow! Lyric is already a month old and Akilah and I finally feel like we are starting to get the hang of things... well I guess we feel like we start to get the hang of things and then she goes and sleeps from 10 pm - 6 am and has us freaking out like we slept through her crying all night!!! We are lucky to have each other to bounce our ideas off of. This parenting business would be even more scary if I had to do it alone and be the only one making the "Lyric" decisions.... like do we take her on the golf course with us or not :)
On a more serious note, I wanted to write a little about my first three weeks as a mom (I'm going to encourage Akilah to write about his first three weeks being a dad too). I'm pretty sure my friends, who are already moms, talked to me about how hard it is and how my life will change when I have a baby. I'm also pretty sure I didn't listen too well. The first three weeks of "Lyric" were so unbelievably hard and emotional. More times than not I was asking myself or Akilah what we had gotten ourselves into. I was wondering if we made the right decision in having a baby at this time in our lives. Scared that I was too young or selfish to have a child. Man those first three weeks were so hard.
I was exhausted, emotional, and scared in the first three weeks of mom-hood (and truth be told I still am, but it is getting better). Exhausted because I was pushing myself too hard and trying to conquer the world while not sleeping while she slept, being a new mom, and a milking cow. Emotional because I felt all alone in the world at 3 am when I was up feeding her and having breasts that were so sore. Emotional to the point where I bawled more than once and had to call Akilah to come home from work in the middle of the night and help me with her. Scared because I wasn't sure I wanted to keep being a mom... it just seemed so hard and I felt like I wasn't ready and that someone else could do a better job with her. Scared because I didn't know if Akilah and I were making the right decisions for Lyric.. what is that bump on her toe? Why does she already have a snotty nose? Are the chunks of milk she is spitting up normal? Are we putting her diapers on too tight? Why does she grunt and scrunch up her face so much... is it because of what I'm eating? Is she happy with us? Am I breast feeding correctly... because man this hurts! Is she growing enough? How much should we let her sleep during the day? Is it ok if she sleeps on her side like a HUMAN? lol the list goes on and on...
The GOOD news is it is all getting easier. I decided to write about these feelings because I felt so ashamed for having the feelings/thoughts mentioned above! I felt like I was the only one going through this stage and it took me trusting some of my close friends and opening up with my feelings before I was able to start to normalize things! Now I am happy I went through them because I probably wouldn't be normal if I didn't!!! I look at Lyric now and am so grateful she is here and that we are getting into a flow. I'm so grateful for Akilah and his support and for rocking the dad role.. I'm super grateful I'm still breast feeding! For as hard as breast feeding is, it is getting better. She is eating quicker now and we are figuring out a little schedule. It is awesome to see her growing and know I'm helping her do this through breast feeding her! I'm also being stronger and not feeding her every time she makes an upset peep, so the whole milking cow feeling is starting to go away :)
Ok enough of all that... onto the part the relatives want!!! THE PICTURES :)
1 month old! |
Grandma and Grandpa Clark with Lyric
(my dad is sleeping with her haha)
Daddy feeding her the first breastmilk bottle!
Jordan giving Lyric kisses
Ahhhh! Such a good helper! |
Maela is such a good big sister :) |
Skyping with her aunt and uncle Hoang! |
Cute baby! Cute family! I love reading your updates. You guys are awesome!
ReplyDeleteSo cute! You are definatly not alone, I have some of those saqme feelings and still do.
ReplyDeleteHolly-I know you are an amazing mom, because you had all of those emotions. Your hormones are still a little jumbled from everything and you are probably sleep deprived so don't be too hard on yourself. I kept thinking, "I don't even know what I am doing!" The thing my mom kept telling me is, "Angie, no one else knows what they are doing either." You learn as you go, and you think it will get easier the older they are, but it just gets harder because now not only do you meet their basic needs, but you have to teach and discipline which is stressful BUT so fun and rewarding. I honestly felt like I was starting to go a little crazy in the middle of the night nursing Graham. It is so hard to function without sleep! Hang in there! You are doing a great job! Pretty soon the weather will be nicer and you won't have to worry so much about runny noses and her getting sick. She is so cute. I teared up when I looked at your pictures! It makes me sad to know she is already a month old!!!!! Anyway, you look great and I loved reading this post because it makes me feel better about me being a mom because I still feel like I don't know what the heck I am doing. Thank goodness children are so loving and forgiving! She is beautiful and I love that you are a mom now! You're amazing! And don't worry, everyone else feels the same as you do, it is totally normal! Well, at least everyone I know has felt the same way. ;) Keep up the wonderful posts! I love your blog, it makes me feel like I get to see her!
ReplyDeleteOk, my novel is done now.