10 Surprises as a New Parent

I have learned a lot of things in the last month and a half as a new mom and wanted to share them with you all. I read tons, and I mean tons, of information during my pregnancy to prepare myself to be a mom and let me tell you, there are many things that you do not know until you are in the depths of parenting yourself.

1. Every little thing your baby does is the best thing ever. You hear it as a joke that new parents think their baby pooping is so great or that OMG the baby cooed. Yes, everything that my baby does is amazing. She lifted her head and I was so excited. She rolled over at 2 1/2 weeks old and I acted like she won the olympics. Everything with a baby is so joyful and enjoyable. I love it! I cannot wait for the holidays with her.

2. This is the hardest job you will ever have. I thought that my job as a dietary manager was hard where I was on call 24/7 and had to come in at any given time. I worked 13 days in a row one time, many times double shifts. Nope, being a parent is the hardest job. I give so much props to parents (thanks mom and dad!!). You have to be willing to give 100% of yourself all the time no matter how tired you are. It is really amazing.

3. Recovery takes longer than you expect. I had an episiotomy and it took my over 1 month to heal. In fact, I went back to the doctor to make sure that everything was okay since it was still painful. Just hang in there if you have lingering pain, it does go away. Also, breastfeeding was painful for a long time too. A little FYI, what solved my breastfeeding pain was switching from reusable nursing pads to disposable ones. The moisture was making sores not heal in case any new moms or moms-to-be are reading this.

4. You will learn that your husband is even a better husband than you ever thought and a great dad. Troy is extremely supportive to me as a new mom and helps out a ton with Adalyn. He always listens to me and gives great advice. Every night from about 9-11 or 11:30, he takes Adalyn duty over so that I can get a decent stretch of sleep. This has helped me out so much with the sleep deprivation and helps me feel like a person. He dances around the house with her singing her all kinds of songs from 90's rap to Frank Sinatra to Frozen themesongs to country music.


5. Days will fly by. I am a very productive person. I like to get up early, workout, work on my blog, clean the house, go to work, etc., etc. It is crazy how quickly the days fly by after having a baby. Some days, I cannot get anything done. Luckily, I have the best husband in the world who tells me that who cares if the house is cleaned, emails answered, etc. and that my most important job now is being a mom. He is so right and that little reminder keeps me feeling okay if I do not get much "done" in a day. My baby is only going to be a baby for so long so I am going to spend my time holding her and loving her as much as possible.


6. Labor is not as bad as everyone says- I expected labor pains to be horrendous and unbearable. Yes, labor was painful and long but I expected so much worse after seeing so much screaming in movies. I did get an epidural but not until I was 7 cm and after 36 hours of contractions. I did not scream one time and only cried once. I would go through another pregnancy and labor again for a baby as perfect and wonderful as this one (in a couple or more years!).


7. Watching the joy she brings others is amazing. Adalyn is the first grandchild on both sides of our family and the first niece of Troy and I's siblings. The family is thrilled with her and it is awesome to see them get excited to see her and love her. I am so, so thankful for family.


8. To piggyback on family joy, you will really rely on the help of others (and that's okay!). My mom, sister and sister-in-law all made us some awesome baby meals which I am beyond grateful for. I never thought that I would not have the time or energy to throw some meals together but I really didn't. Troy's mom has also been great having us over for a meal and bringing us a meal. The support from family has been amazing. It really does take a village to raise a child!

9. You can get by on less sleep than you ever thought possible. Some nights, I honestly got about 2-3 hours of very broken sleep combined. Somehow, your body will continue to do it. Most days, I feel fine. I take a nap about 2 days per week.

10. You will love this child more than you can ever imagine. My love for Adalyn is endless and unconditional. Even when things are tough (lots of crying, etc.), I love her more than I could have ever imagined. She is everything to me.