First time mom realities: This is hard!

As a first time mom, your mother tells you about it, your mama friends tell you about…

It’s hard, they say.

Sleep now, while you can.

Life is about to change.

I heard this one too many times while expecting my little man, but before you experience it, for yourself, you are clueless. No matter how many times you’re told, you just don’t get it.

Then, all of the sudden, you are leaving the hospital with a newborn,

with no clue in the world how you will manage.

The first few weeks are all about survival, and then it dawns on you, this is HARD! Why didn’t anyone tell me I wouldn’t sleep for days?

Oh, wait…they did.

I just didn’t understand. It wasn’t real until it became my reality. Such a sweet reality, yet an extremely exhausting reality.

I found the purest love, and with it the ability to live off of two hours of sleep.

It’s hard to put into words how one can feel so blessed yet so drained.

We had a plan. But guess what? Parenthood cannot be planned. This is probably the only life-changing event for which we will not get a manual. Raising a child is one of those things you take day by day. We had decided on no pacifier, but on day two of our hospital stay, I sent my husband for one. Also, we were going to exclusively breastfeed, but I didn’t produce milk quick enough and I had to supplement. Our plan wasn’t working out, but we learned to go with the flow and enjoy the moments as we survived.

I am blessed to have an amazing tribe of women by my side. My mom, mother in law, sisters, aunts, cousins, friends. Every single woman who loves me and cheered me on. Whether they cooked me a meal, brought me a coffee, helped me get to an appointment, paid me a visit, phoned me, sent me a gift, or even a text. They were there, to tell me it’s ok. In the end, that’s what we need, just to be told that it is ok, that we are doing our best. After you become a mom, you appreciate those little things. It gets easier in some ways, but harder in other ways. We conquer a lot of things during the newborn phase, things we never even knew possible, only to realize that there are more challenges coming our way.

First time mom life can hit you like a ton of bricks!

Then, just like that, with the blink of an eye, your sweet, tiny baby, isn’t so tiny anymore and maybe not even as sweet. They quickly become mobile, and more independent. And this is why I have made it my mission to enjoy every bit with every inch of my being. Mommying is not easy, in fact, it is the hardest job I’ve ever had, but it is the most rewarding experience God has blessed us with and quite honestly I wouldn’t have it any other way. This baby has made my heart grow in ways I never knew possible. May all the mamas out there enjoy their babies to the fullest even on the hard days for they grow too quickly. As the saying goes, “the days are long, but the years are short.”

 

Want to keep reading? Check out a few of our favorite “new mom” posts….and be sure to join us at one of our mom mingles so we can expand our mom tribe with you!

Ten Things I Would Tell New Moms

Five Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Mom