- How much I care about POOP!!! We get SO EXCITED when she poos!!!! "YEA!!! She's poo-ing!!! You can do it, Abigail!!!"
- How I am not at all grossed out by her poop...or anything else that comes out of her. I knew I'd be able to tolerate it, but it doesn't bother me at all- and that surprises me!
- How nap-times are not the breaks I thought they'd be. In fact...they fly by so quickly and are filled with such little noises that it's like a ticking time bomb... "SHE'S WAKING UP! Is she waking up? Should I make a bottle? What must I do before she wakes up? She's not awake yet- SLEEP!!!"
- How calm I am at home when she cries contrasted with how frazzled I am when around others and she cries.
- How I judge myself. "Am I doing the right thing? What should I be doing?"
- That I have almost immediately stopped judging others parenting styles or techniques! From Dr. Sears to Baby-wise, if it works for that Mom and Baby- more power to them!!! :) I'm doing things I said I'd NEVER do. Noise machine, anyone? Turns out, I'm way more Dr. Sears than I thought I would EVER be!
- How incredibly generous friends have been! From meals, gifts, SHOWERS, dropping everything to come help, to giving of their very bodies by donating breast-milk... I am blown away by the generosity we have received.
- I have not had to cook a meal yet. Every other day, someone brings a meal over that is complete with a desert!!! AMAZING!!!
- WOAH!!! Every day something comes in the mail! It's super fun!!! People are incredibly generous and SO sweet to want to help us celebrate!
- I've had a virtual shower which blew me away, and a shower here from Church friends that was incredibly thoughtful and detail-oriented. The decorations were just amazing. I felt SO incredibly loved. I cannot tell you what it meant for me to have a baby shower.
- We have had FOUR FRIENDS donate SOME sort of breast-milk, including MEGAN at Heart of Saint Monica!!!! This blows me away!! My best friend pumped what she was able to while she was here. My friend Claire has done the bulk of it and is super-pumper! My friend Maria pumps when she can. And MEGAN is mailing what milk she has across the country for me!! THAT is truly amazing.
- How much I love this girl like crazy (that's not the surprising part!) and how that gives me a glimpse of how much MY MOM loves ME! WOW! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! (Hi MOM!)
- That I would be able to understand my baby's cries. Not all of the time, but I can usually figure it out!!!
- That the days feel like weeks, and the weeks feel like days, which leads to the biggest surprise of all:
OUR ABIGAIL CHIARA IS ONE MONTH OLD TODAY!!!!!
36 comments:
Hold on... Megan's MAILING the milk? I can do that, too, then! I need to talk with her about the logistics...
And Happy ONE MONTH, sweet Abigail!
Your list makes me smile-- I know where you are, roomie!!
tears in my eyes, such generosity and i recall all those feelings of being a new mom like they are yesterday. so happy for you!
AW, I love this!!!!
Love, love, love this!!!!!! So very happy for you :) <3
This is so wonderful!! Wow!
Happy One Month Sweet Abigail!!
How wonderful! Congrats on that first month!!! So wonderful reading about your little girl!!!!!
One month already? Incredible! Happy one month, Abigail!
Beautiful beautiful and beautiful!!!!!!!!
Yay for one month and yay for all the beautiful reflections!!! So, so wonderful, and the generosity of others is so amazing!
(My only issue is with the mention of Babywise as an option... when groups as diverse as the American Academy of Pediatrics, Christianity Today, Our Sunday Visitor and Couple to Couple League all come out and say the infant program is physically dangerous for newborns, it's important to be wary. Not to mention that the Ezzos are ex-Catholic and very anti-Catholic. Okay, off my soapbox.)
Rejoicing with you, dear friend!!!
I was happy to do it, Lauren. :) I only wish I had more than 64 oz to send.
Lisa, I'll email you! :)
And Leila, I have to agree about Babywise. The Ezzo's have very Jansenist ideas! I'm sorry, but newborns DO NOT manipulate their parents...
However, Lauren, I know what you meant. I have done all kinds of things I said I would never do! The most recent incidence of this is bringing cheerios to Mass... I have decided that it is worth it since it keeps them quiet and Bill, me, and everyone else around us can better focus on the Mass. haha
Also, try not to stress when she cries in public. I have learned that people do not mind newborn crying at all! In fact, I have had many many women tell me that they miss that sound! People understand, and no one is going to judge you as a mother. :) I came to this realization after several moments of nervous sweats in Mass, in the grocery store line, etc. :) You just have to do the best you can!
Happy one month to Abiail!
Megan, I agree! And I should've added... except for Babywise, I would do whatever the heck works!! Been there! :)
Lovely post ( May I borrow your top ten idea for Liam's post tomorrow?)! What an amazing blessing to have such a warm welcome for your little one!
Awe so happy!!! Yay!!! Look at how blessed you are! I am amazed at all that has gone on in the past months and seeing your life transform!!!
Will you email me your home address???
spunkybw@gmail.com I have a little something for sweet Abigail!
I've never read Babywise, but know a few friends who have found good tips from them. As my dear friend said about it- there's room for grace!! Another wonderful friend was surprised after she read it. She'd heard horror stories, but discovered that wasn't at all what the book promoted. Again- I've never read it, and my intention for this sentimental post was not to create a debate on parenting styles.
Joy- by all means! Can't wait to check it out!
What a sweet post!
I totally relate to so many of them. Especially #4 (this does get better though!) and #8 (I was amazed at how much having C opened my eyes to my parents' love for me and for God's love for me!)
LOVE THIS!
I am so happy for you.
:):):)
And I LOVE the part about not judging. We do what is best for us and our child, period, end of story. You do the same.
NO ONE has the right to make you feel bad about that.
Hey, have you run into any old ladies who run up out of nowhere and say, "Ohhhhh she's COLLLLD! She needs a hatttttt!"
Cause, they're everywhere I am.
LOL!
I love this post! I also couldn't believe how much we CARED about poop! or worried about it! haha
I can't believe it's been a month already. amazing how fast it goes isnt' it?
Happy one month!!
Oh yay!! What a great list!! I am so happy for you! It sounds like you are a wonderful mom!
What Leila said (about BW and Ezzo's) and happy one month!
And nothing is wrong with babywise per se, but I think it has a plaace with older babies, not newborns. Don't want to offend any BW folks:)
Beautiful post! What wonderful friends you have! Happy one month, Abigail.
That's wonderful that you are enjoying EVERYTHING baby...even poop! As she gets older I hope you continue to enjoy that. hahaha.......I bet it's humbling to have such sweet and generous friends.
One month?! How is that possible?? Love your sweet list!
I love it all!! Now remember, I'm a big fan of the ... well, fan! Remember our little Honeywell fan? It blocks out so much noise and is soothing to the girls (and to me!). We still use it even though they don't really "need" it anymore. Plus it has multiple uses - this is NOT a unitasker! It can actually be used as a fan which has many uses (especially in Florida).
I love it all!! Now remember, I'm a big fan of the ... well, fan! Remember our little Honeywell fan? It blocks out so much noise and is soothing to the girls (and to me!). We still use it even though they don't really "need" it anymore. Plus it has multiple uses - this is NOT a unitasker! It can actually be used as a fan which has many uses (especially in Florida).
We use a white noise machine, heck yeah!
As someone who herself needs white noise to sleep (at least, to sleep soundly) I was glad to do it for my infant, also.
Now he doesn't wake up every time I sneeze. Woo!
Awesome points! I tend to steer clear of BW/Ezzo but that's just me. As you say, whatever is TRULY in the best interest of baby (and mom) and works...go for it!
How does one go about mailing BM? I have a friend in Wyoming who offered to mail her overabundance, but I thought it's illegal to mail bodily fluids...unless you use one of those special "specimen" things from FedEx...which is pricey, but I suppose worthwhile for the liquid gold. Does she freeze it/put it on ice before it ships?
Mrs. Mike, you can probably google also, but I was going to suggest looking into dry ice - will keep everything totally frozen for days and put in an insulated box (such as you might received chocolates in).
Yes for the dry-ice and Megan used UPS, I think. (My baby brain might be mixed up there!) It was totally legal. She called around and got the best deal- but it ain't cheap at all!!!
YAY! Loved these and I can't believe she is 1 month already!!!!
UPS will ship breastmilk--for a very high price. I had 350 ounces frozen in the NICU for Claire from pumping those 5 weeks--I was pumping way more than she could ever have.
I had no room to store it in my freezer upon discharge and looked into shipping it to a friend with milk supply issues and it was too expensive.
I know just what you mean about poop! It was like it smelled like roses!!! I even commented to L's b-mom about it several times, that I just LOVED changing her diapers, it was one of my favorite things to do!!!
And yes it can be very stressful when others are around you and your child is crying ... I still struggle with this, especially in restaurants. I feel like people are so frustrated. I am so afraid of the day they will actually say something to me ... oh well, what can you do?
Cannot WAIT for more pics -- just read the post above, what PERFECT little toes she has!!
i love the new header! my favorite photo is the "bringing home baby".
A beautiful post from a beautiful heart! Love you!
What a beautiful post! Your enthusiastic list puts a smile on my face! Savor it all! :)
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