Saturday, May 16, 2009

Becoming a mom


My moms famous words growing up were "... you will understand when you have a child of your own." As a teenager i didn't understand why she wanted me home all the time, why letting me grow up was so hard for her. Sarcastically i would acknowledge that yes some day i would understand, but to truly appreciate it i would have to experience it, so until i did, it went through one ear and out the other. Well mom you were right, you always are and i want to thank you for all your hard work raising me and my brother. I know it wasn't always easy but you did it! And now its my turn....







I recently have become a mom to a beautiful little boy named Reid born march 3rd 2009 and weighing in at 9lb 5oz!! Giving birth to Reid will always be my greatest accomplishment... it was by far the hardest thing that i have and will ever do... unless God blesses me with an even bigger baby! And my moms were with me through it all..i laugh now (that I'm not pushing to save my life) that they were pushing with me as they counted 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 deep breath and again 1 2 3 .....i had an amazing delivery and pregnancy i truly enjoyed every minute of it (well i could have done with out the help of the suction cup thingy but its funny how you forget so quickly the pain when that babies in your arms) i think the hardest part is the exhaustion that follows after. In my experience it was the exhaustion of my body and healing that i should have read more about...

*mommies to be: ask question about what to expect after having a baby i wish i would have...You will have no stomach muscle and you down stairs is going to be scary to say the least my advise is to have pads, tucks pads (wet) and Dermoplast pain relief spray waiting for you when you get home. Oh and breastfeeding if you choose to do it is extremely painful at first it took about two weeks and the soreness finally started to subside for me, personally I'm glad i chose to stick with it but that is my personal opinion.

Its unbelievable to think that after all the pain moms would do this over and over again just to have there child be put on your chest and for that one moment were only you and that baby exist...i remember it being in SLOW motion which sounds funny but it was....
Something i would have done differently is probably the number of people who came to visit us, not that i would have changed them from coming but i would have managed the time better and made sure i had couple breaks...i remember it was our first day with Reid and it was around five and i got up to take a shower (first shower that i had gotten after having him) and i sat down to go pee and i wanted to cry so badly (i was so overwhelmed) but in doing so i had to use my stomach muscles and that was not happening. i finally got my shower and the tears finally came, i wasn't sad or depressed i didn't know what i felt all i wanted was my mom she would know exactly what to say she always does. After my good cry i felt better, relieved my body was getting rid of those pesky hormones and i couldn't wait to be me again.


*Mommies to be: allow yourself to have breaks and although your excited to show of the new member of your family you have to remember your baby is new to the world and he/she will get overstimulated quickly and you need to take care of yourself and allow some breathing room.

I remember lying in the hospital bed so unbelievably tired and Reid would start crying, Chris would changed him and bring him to me and i would feed him...every two hours the nights were so long but something happened during those long nights...we became a family, i fell in love with my husband all over again and we fell in love with our son. The best day ever was finally going home....

* Mommies to be: have a talk with dad before the baby comes i think the only reason why are first couple of days went so smoothly was because my husband help out so much i couldn't have done it on my own.
It Amazes me still how natural it was bringing Reid home it was like he had always been there (kinda weird i know but true). The first month was a blur but Chris and i did it as a team we didn't mind waking up after only a couple hours of sleep because we woke up to our baby...there wasn't time to even think selfishly because our little boy depended on us to love him, to sooth him, feed and protect him and we took it very seriously. To be honest I really enjoyed those quiet nights together just the three of us and Chris and I depended on each other more then ever....

*Mommies to be: Don't expect to jump into those jeans you wore before you got pregnant you will surely be disappointed (and if you can well you are the luckiest women alive) ! Be patient the weight will drop within a couple of months and one of the neat things about breastfeeding is that you will burn around 500 cal a day just sitting there :) Just try to enjoy the first 6-8 weeks sleeping in with your baby and being a mom !

Reid is now 10 weeks old, 15lbs and thriving, he smiles more and more every day and he as the most hilarious facial expressions. My day is full with fulfilling his needs and taking care of our home and i have never been happier. Watching Reid grow more and more every day makes me happy and sad at the same time because there will come a time when he will become his own person and pull away, he will grow up and i will truly know what my mother was talking about ....but until then I'm going to use this blog to right down the life of the potters. Our lives with our children are over so quickly (Ive been told) and this way i have something to look back on and remember...

To those of you who are Mothers I am so glad to join the club it is by far the best thing in the world and to those of you who are going to become mommies in the future i have to warn you it is a very messy job but it is so worth it !!!!

1 comment: