Lessons From A New Mama

Well, the lessons just keep on coming...
Lesson 1
You can never have too many burp cloths. Jackson has started a new fun game of spit out the milk. He will be doing just fine and we will get a good burp out of him and then maybe 5 minutes later we get a really wet burp with spit up. Needless to say we have burp cloths all over our house because you never know when a spit up attack is going to strike. Now I know there are a lot of different burp cloths out there and I don't think it matters what you use, we have some homemade ones that my grandma made for us when we found out we were having a boy. I think the important thing is to just have them and make them easily accessible, because when that wet burp sound comes up, you want to be prepared.

Lesson 2
I often times think back to when I was just pregnant and getting my things together to leave the house took maybe 5 minutes, probably less if I knew ahead of time which purse I was going to use. Now, not so much. I didn't realize how long it took to get Jackson and myself ready to leave the house. So lesson number 2 allow at least 15 minutes to get your things together and get to the car. I have come up with a pretty good system now of getting the diaper bag ready while Jackson is still playing on his play mat or napping. I ensure that I have a change of cloths, diapers, wipes, bottle, pacifier, blanket, spare set of socks, light blanket, changing pad, and a hat just in case. Then comes the super fun part of getting Jackson into his car seat. Now a few weeks ago I was super slow at doing this step. I just wasn't comfortable strapping my kid in, but now I feel like a veteran and it takes a lot less time. Finally, I get my wallet (which just goes in the diaper bag, good bye super cute Coach purse), and keys and we are out the door. So again, prepare yourself, and don't wait till the last minute to get your things together otherwise I can guarantee you are going to be late for wherever you are headed off to.

Lesson 3
Feed, burp, change, rock to sleep, find time to shower and repeat steps one through three. That is the order of the day, everyday. I have often times found myself getting overwhelmed with Mommy and have lost a little bit of the Becky. So, this lesson is on Mommy time which is sometimes hard to come across. It's important to be honest with your spouse, partner, significant other about when you are getting overwhelmed and just need a little time to yourself. I finally broke down one night crying to Jason saying I just needed 20 minutes to myself so I could read a book, sleep or just watch TV without focusing on Jackson. If you find that you too need this time, it doesn't make you a bad parent, rather I think it makes you normal. It's better to be honest and get the assistance and time you need than becoming one of those crazy people you hear about on CNN. Also, make sure that your partner is getting their time too. I know sometimes I think that Jason needs to take more time with the baby, and forgetting that he just got home from work and needs to relax a little too. So, balance it out to make sure you are both keeping a level head and giving your child the time and energy they need.

Lesson 4
I don't know about you guys but Ohio has had the driest winter I think I have ever experienced. This year was so bad that I would be walking in our house and would build up enough static to get shocked by our light switches when I would go to turn them on. With a newborn having really dry air is the worst because it causes them to have really bad congestion. Jackson was one of those babies that would wake up in the morning or from a nap and he would just be so stuffed that he wouldn't be able to eat right away, or if he did he would end up choking on his milk because he would try to breath through his mouth and eat. So,of course I ask our pediatrician what we could do (obviously I thought he had a cold or some terrible illness and not just dry air congestion). Our doctor recommended putting a humidifier in his room to increase the moisture while he slept. Duh, why didn't we think of that. It worked like a charm and Jackson has had little to no congestion since. However, sometimes I forget to refill the humidifier and he ends up getting stuffy, a little trick to clear it out before eating, have your little one suck on a pacifier. I know some people are really against pacifiers, but this trick really works to get out the stuffiness prior to eating.

Lesson 5
For those of you who are still pregnant you have probably heard a million times how drinking water is the cure all to any pregnancy symptom you may have. Swelling...drink more water, constipation...drink water, fatigue...drink water. Well, the same holds true once your little bundle of joy is here. For those of you who are planning on breast feeding you will find that you will have to drink a ton of water to keep your milk production up. I have had a few scares in the past few weeks because I was getting dehydrated, so then I wasn't producing a lot of milk then either. So, if you find that your milk production is getting low, gulp down a few glasses of water and you will see that your next feeding will go a lot better.