"Are y'all gonna try for #4? Are you guys gonna go for the girl? When's the next one?" - family, friends, strangers. Most commonly asked questions to my husband and I since Gryffin was born. I literally just pushed this 8 and a half pound, whole human being out of me. I'm getting very little sleep, my nipples feel like they are burning (at all times), my whole life has just changed once again. You really believe I'm thinking about the next baby right now? One month later and guess what?! We have survived with THREE kids. How have we survived you ask? I really believe the Lord only gives you what you can handle. I'm pretty sure we are proof of that.... We had Jayden (our oldest) when we were 20 and 21 years old, unmarried, in college, and working part time jobs. It was by the grace of God and his guidance that we survived that stage. Then, 6 years later, married, out of college end with full time jobs, Gabriel came around. I'm thinking the Lord thought " you know what? They're in a better place in life now, they can handle a little more"... let me tell you, our middle child has given us a run for our money. We love him to death, and his personality is hi-la-rious, but he is one stubborn, sensitive, moody child, and he likes to test his limits daily. My life literally revolves around cleaning up after him and making sure he's safe, not climbing the bathroom sink or the table, etc. Thankfully he has only smacked Gryffin in the face twice so far. No, but really, he is a handfull. So I'm guessing when we were expecting our third, the Lord said, okayyyy they have a lot going on with that second child, let me give them a bit of a break now. So thankfully, Gryff has been an easy newborn so far. He sleeps on his own ( Gabriel still sleeps with us sometimes at almost 2 years old), he has been sleeping anywhere from 2.5- almost 4 hours at night which is awesome for a newborn, and he's mostly happy as long as he's fed and changed. Now let me get to some tips on this journey... Advice from a mama on surviving the newborn stage If you are able to, get family to help you AFTER you leave the hospital, not during your stay. When I had my second child, Gabriel, I remember being at the doctors office a week later, really struggling with breastfeeding looking extremely exhausted. The doctor asked if I had family helping and I said "no they were here when the baby was first born". She responded with a disappointed "I don't know why people always do that, come to the hospital instead of helping afterwards". That really stuck with me and there's so much truth to that. At the hospital you really need no help. You have nurses helping you at all times. But it's when you go home and have to do everything on your own that everything comes crashing down. Thankfully, my husband saved some PTO and was able to spend a week with us after the hospital. Also, my parents didn't come to the hospital from out of town, and instead my mom was able to come help me for a whole week after my husband went back to work, and let me tell you, BEST. THING. EVER. I didn't have to cook or clean, and was able to focus on recovering and the baby. Feeding a baby "Breast is best"... "formula is..." blah blah. As a mother who's done it all- exclusively breastfeeding, pumping, and even supplemented with formula, I'll tell you ... "A fed baby is best". Whatever you choose to feed your baby is up to you. Don't let people pressure you into a certain choice. My last 2 babies were tongue and lip tied, which caused for me to not be able to exclusively breastfeed. The first time it stressed me out, caused anxiety, I cried because I wasn't able to. This third time, I had a whole different attitude and with my husbands support and encouragement I decided to just pump instead of breastfeed as well as supplement a little with formula and I am much more at peace. And to be honest, I don't know how much longer I'll continue to pump. Having to pump every 3-4 hours (including night time) while having to care for a newborn and a toddler is kind of a pain. I sometimes feel like a prisoner to my pump. Either way, I'm sure my child will be fine with whatever nutrition he ends up getting this first year. So basically what I'm saying is - do whatever works for you without feeling guilty. Below Whitney Port shares her not-so-pretty breastfeeding experience. I loved how open she was and her video was something I could really relate to, having to go through that experience. But enough with the baby stuff, we also have a 1 year old and a 7 year old (say whaaat) when did we get so old? So tune in NEXT WEEK for part 2 of the parenting blog and advice from a dad!
1 Comment
Tania Calderon
9/11/2017 06:18:16 pm
Aw omg this is so cute i love it💜 just binged read this i want to have a blog now
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorsJust four married friends here to discuss relationships, life-changing events, parent-hood, religion, race & trending topics. Archives
January 2018
Categories |