Why didn’t anyone tell me!
I’ve said it before but when I got pregnant I thought it would be rainbow and skittles and that is not what I got. But when she came home I was hit with even more surprises.
Way before I even thought about being pregnant, I always asked women about their experiences with being pregnant but not so much about being a mom. Is it me or did anyone else's mom act like being pregnant wasn't a big deal? Anyways, I never realized that I need to focus on when the baby got here and not just the creating process. No mommy book, mommy blog, or even youtube video can prepare you for some of the things you experience as a mom. Not all of these shockers were bad, I just wasn't prepared for them.
The first one is cluster feeding/ growth spurts. What the actual F! I'm not sure how it is for moms who bottle-feed but when Yohanna came home we were exclusively breastfeeding (regardless of what the doctors said) and I literally cried. I thought my milk had dried up because I was feeding her and every half n hour she was hungry again. Luckily my sister was over and let me know that she was probably having a growth spurt. So I went to google and it said that babies have them at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. LIES! She is 4 months and we are at least on number 10. Now I do have to note that she may have more than some babies because preemies are playing catch up. But this will drain you. You will need to stay hydrated and eat whenever you can. It's going to suck but then a couple of days later you're honeybunch is going to look different and do new cool things and it's not gonna be that big of a deal. And then it's going to happen all over again 😂.
If you are a new new mom then you're baby is probably just sleeping and eating all the time. Well, one day you're going to feed them, and then they are going to look at you. The first day Yo stayed up for more than 30 minutes, I looked at her like what are we supposed to do now? Like she was too little to really care about anything but milk. I started buying little rattles and mirrors and she kind of liked them. This is also the time to do tummy time unless they hate it like my child. You can even try other things like singing, talking to them and some new-age moms start finding that tv show that can hold a baby's attention. Regardless, this is where the fun and confusion begins.
Cherish every moment because when you blink they change. In the beginning, Yohanna cried all the time. In the bath, during her changes, after she woke up, when we put her down like... all the time. And then one by one she just stopped. Dont get me wrong she still cries but now she’s more smiles than cries. But also like sometime Imiss when she was tiny and just loved being on my chest. Now she wants to roll around and kick those legs more than anything. Everything she does is the best thing in the world and the older she gets the more i realize, time moves faster with a baby.
Ok this is major. Teething and sleep regression! Obviously we all know what teething is, the teeth are tryna break through and it’s super uncomfortable. But I paired it with sleep regression because right when your baby is potentiallily sleeping good and longer through the night, these two things come and ruin everything! Teething I was slightly prepared for but it’s hitting her hard. Soon as she’s in a deep sleep, i see her gnawing on her arm. But sleep regression that’s the real monster. At 4 months there are days where she is up 5+ hrs at once. At first I thought something was wrong but then I read that this is totally normal. It’s like if this is normal why don’t we know about these things! A mom needs to know. I’m currently dealing with that so if y’all have any suggestions please please please share them with me in the comments.
All in all there are so many things that are normal with babies that we have no idea about like grunting as a newborn and constantly choking on their saliva and mucus or how about the fact that babies can go without pooping for like a week! Some of these things freak us out and then you call the doctor and they are like, “Oh don’t worry, that’s normal. Everything will be fine.” This needs to be common knowledge because mom anxiety is the worst. I’m sure as I continue along on this journey, there will be more things that no one told me and I’m learning that its another beautiful part of motherhood.
