Hi Everyone,
Phew! I’m still alive and baby is treating me pretty good. I wrote about my first month after birth (here) and I’m back for another update. I’m so glad many of you love the mommy updates. It’s also an outlet for me to write down my daily life.
Sleeping through the night
I can’t complain much, she’s really a good baby. She started to sleep through the night by week 8. She gradually worked her way from 5 hours, 6, hours, 7 hours then one night, she went to bed at 8pm and didn’t wake up until 4am. I was actually waiting for her to wake up at 11pm, 12am… 1am… then I gave up. I was fully expecting her to wake up as soon as I turned off the lights. I didn’t really sleep that night because I just kept waiting for her to wake up, but she didn’t wake up until 4am! I was kinda paranoid and started asking other mommy friends if that’s normal.
Now at week 11, she sleeps from 8pm to 6 or 7am. I know right??? What a good sleeper! My pediatrician do tell me to wake her up every 4 hours for feeding. But most mothers just tell me if they are hungry, they will let you know. So, for my sanity. I let her sleep through the night. She’s a sleeper like her mama (when I was preggo, I slept 12 hours + naps). Before preggo, I need a good 9 hours of sleep. Trust me, I can keep sleeping. My husband used to get so annoyed on the weekend because I’m like an unconscious soul until 11 or 12pm.
Don’t get me wrong, there are still nights and days when she’s pretty fussy! Those are usually her cluster feeding nights. Her extra feeding is usually from 8pm – 12am. Then she usually sleeps through the night.
Routine
Yes, she has a routine from week 2. I wasted no time putting her on a schedule. She didn’t really pick up the routine until she’s about 6 weeks ish. I’ve been told this will all change when she starts to teeth! But it makes the parents’ life easier too. I bought a red light letting her know it’s night time when we did the nighttime feeding/changing in the beginning. When it’s morning, I’ll make sure to open all the blinds letting her it’s now daytime.
Here’s an example of my day (note the times are just rough, she obviously does not wake up exactly at those times)
6 – 7am – Wake and morning feed
11- 12pm – Wake, wash face, tummy time, story time and second feed
3 – 4pm – Wake, tummy time, story time and third feed
7 – 8pm – Wake, tummy time, bath time, story time and fourth and last feed
Somedays, she’ll have 5 feedings. Each feeds she now takes 150-160ml. #beast
All about the smiles
Oh! She started to smile and make other noises when I talk to her. She has this BIG smile when I read to her now. It’s the cutest thing ever, it really does melts my heart. Especially in the morning, she sees me and BIG SMILES! Oh!! I can’t even.
Mommy time
I was terrified that I would be a horrible mother. Surprisingly, growing a baby is much easier than keeping my plants alive. I really do mean that. Sure a baby needs more attention… but I can not keep a plant alive for the life of me. My husband is the green thumb in the family, he does all the planting and watering. I on the other hand, just let it die. So yes, I am very proud of myself that I have not dropped or lost my baby (that was a legit concern for me).
I love babies. I don’t think I ever said that out loud. But now, I can’t stop looking at babies anything (videos, pictures, stories). I find every single baby adorable. Which is VERY different before baby. Sure babies are cute, but I had zero attachment to them. Often times, I don’t know what to do with them… but now I can’t stop looking at babies! They are just so innocent, and their smile – it just melts my heart.
I think it’s important to give yourself some “me” time. I’m also very lucky that my husband is so supportive and let me have my me time. There are two occasions that I went out with my girlfriends and I bumped into coworkers and they often will ask “where’s baby?!?!” Well, home with the husband. It’s my day off. So yes, I’m pretty spoiled… But of course, I’m really out just 4 – 5 hours (since I gotta pump).
The funny thing is, I was fully expecting myself to be a raging mess. I also thought my hormones would make me a very angry pregnant person. But, oddly enough, I only had 2 breakdowns during my pregnancy and after birth, my crankiest day is when my milk came in or my pump is not fully working. I swear when my boobs hurt it’s going to be a very shit day. I can’t wait to stop breast pumping.
Body
Oh, body. I dropped my weight preeeetty fast. Within a week I dropped 13 pounds. Then another 10 pounds the week after. The last 7 pounds took 2 months. I’m back to my pre-preggo weight 115lbs! But…… my body size is not the same.
Even though I’m back to my weight…
- NONE OF MY TOPS fits.
- Sure, I can squeeze back into my size 24 jeans (btw, I was legit concern I would have to donate my jeans. I actually invested in my Rag and Bone jeans and I would be so upset if I don’t fit back into them) but oh muffin top!!! I have this GUT I don’t know what to do with. When I sit down it’s like ROLLS. WHAT IS THIS?!
For the past 5 years, I worked out 5 times a week, even when I was pregnant I worked out 3-4 times. It’s just habit I have to work out, even if it’s just a 20 min walk. After I gave birth – I sat on my ass for 2 months straight. I finally got back to running once a week (oh! that feels SO SO good).
I’m starting to get back to my strength training, even doing 1 push up was a struggle. Wow, I lost all my muscle mass. I used to do 40 full pushups. Now? I can barely do 1 girly push up.
High waisted pants are my bestfriend. They somehow just hold everything in. Not sure if I would ever get my stomach back, or if my tops would ever fit the same again, or all my formal dressess would zip up again.
But somehow working out for me has a different purpose, I want to stay healthy for the next 50, 60 years. I even started to eat healthier! (yes I’m not inhaling instant noodles everyday or chips). I want to be there for Ariya as long as I can.
Being a mom makes me miss my mom more than anything. There are so many questions I have for her, there’s so much stuff I still have to learn. Questions, I wish I have asked.
To all the new mommies out there, enjoy every diaper change! As Baldoni pusts it – Don’t take those moments for granted. The 2 minutes it takes you to wipe your baby over time will add up to hours and hours of uninterrupted connection and a chance for you to look into his or her eyes and simply just be. Be present!
I love following him, he really brings parenting into perspective:
Two men, standing together in silence, forever bonded by an unconditional love for both each other and this brand new, raw and pure soul who we would both go to the ends of the earth for. I can only imagine how many times I did this when I was her age. My dad taught me so much about what it means to be a man, but this post is about one thing and one thing only. Being comfortable in the uncomfortable. Something I grew up watching him do with me over and over again. There are no perfect parents, but one thing my dad taught me is to not parent based on what anyone else thinks. My dad always let me feel what I needed to feel, even if it was in public and embarrassing. I don’t remember him ever saying “You’re embarrassing me!” or “Dont cry!” It wasn’t until recently that I realized how paramount that was for my own emotional development. Our children are learning and processing so much information and they don’t know what to do with all of these new feelings that come up. I try to remember to make sure my daughter knows it’s OK that she feels deeply. It’s not embarrassing to me when she throw tantrums in the grocery store, or screams on a plane. I’m her dad…not yours. Let’s not be embarrassed for our children. It doesn’t reflect on you. In fact.. we should probably be a little more kind and patient with ourselves too. If we got out everything we were feeling and allowed ourselves to throw tantrums and cry when we felt the need to then maybe we’d could also let ourselves feel more joy and happiness. And that is something this world could definitely use a little more of.
For all the new mommies, you are doing great! We all have our rough and good days, but nothing a big smile from your little one can’t fix.
Thanks so much for reading,
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