Lincoln was born October 18th 2009 after a pregnancy that lasted about 3 years. People say babies change your life, and he certainly did. Here are some changes that the early stages of motherhood have brought to me physically:
*Extra weight
*Dry Skin, Eczema actually
*Most of my hair fell out
*Renaissance Festival boobs
*Sleep Deprivation
*Wider Feet
*Profuse sweating
*Body Odor
*Hot flashes
*4 Urinary Tract Infections
OK so some of that stuff was pretty personal, but who cares. This is what happens when you have a baby. Nothing is embarrassing or gross, it's just part of life. A lot of those things might have to do with the fact that I am nursing baby Lincoln. Nursing was really hard at first. It was painful, frustrating, and could be emotionally difficult even at times. I am so glad I stuck with it though because of these reasons:
*After I got used to it, I hardly feel a thing anymore
*He eats until he is full, not until the bottle is empty
*It's FREE
*It is the healthiest option for the baby
*It's the perfect temperature all the time
*When I got sick, I kept breastfeeding and the milk actually gave him the antibodies to what I had so he didn't get sick!
*I am burning an extra 500 calories a day
*I don't have to wash bottles or mix formula
*It makes you think twice about having an extra drink or something really unhealthy
*Less crap to carry around in the diaper bag
*I get to go to a cool breastfeeding support group every week
It's not all rainbows and sunshine, I still have to pump now and again for when I go back to work part time. I got the cheap one like everyone else does at first. It hurt like hell and like everyone else I had to break down and get the expensive double pump. If you are going to pump don't waste your money on the cheap one. It's a trick. A cheap trick :-)
I know this is a long post, but it's my first one and I've got three months to cover here. My last list is all the things I love about being a mother:
*When he smiles at me
*When he does something new like hold himself up (I get so excited and proud)
*Holidays
*Showing him off
*The ridiculous amount of love I have for him
*Watching him sleep
*How just being with me is enough to make him happy
*Strangers reactions
*His chubby cheeks
*He's the perfect excuse to get out of anything I don't want to do
*He's the perfect reason to do things I want to do (like take a walk to the park)
*His smell (most of the time)
*His baby fists
*He is the most beautiful baby in the world to look at. I know a lot of people say that about their kids, but it really is true with mine!
So that is it for now. If anyone has any other topic ideas I should write about let me know!
