Now that I am approaching 5 months of being a mom, I thought I'd reflect on the things I didn't expect. I have many friends having babies right now and thought this may be useful.
1) Milk and baby dishes
I knew that keeping at breast feeding was important and I took full advantage of the lactation specialists at the hospital to get help. However, I totally underestimated the full-time job of being a food source. Between feeding, pumping and baby dishes, there just wasn't a lot of other time in those first couple months. Most surprising to me was baby dishes. I bought extra bottles and pumping supplies, but you have to keep washing in order to have them ready for next feedings. To this day, I spend more time on this activity than I had ever perceived as needed. And to those of you who have multiple kids, I'll need to know how you juggle this with other little ones running around.
2) Healing takes time
Birth, in my case, was a bit of an ordeal. But even if it hadn't been, there is some real healing for your body. As I felt better, I realized that I hadn't been in very good shape right after birth. I had a very healthy pregnancy and was working out with my trainer until the end, but birthing took a lot out of me. Give yourself time and rest.
3) She is portable and personable
Want to go out? Do it now while your baby is little. We happened to have a bunch of big occasions right after our baby was born - birthdays, 10th anniversary. We brought baby along to fancy meals out and she was always great. The servers and patrons remarked on our cute and quiet baby. She's so easily fascinated by lights and other people that restaurants are an ideal setting for her best behavior. We have the advantage that Colorado's fanciest places are still more casual than other places, but we didn't have a problem bringing her out to any fine dining establishments.
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