We started looking through B's baby book with him and talking about what he was like as a baby and what baby sister might be like. We talked about how she might cry but he says babies don't cry in our house. ;) We looked at how tiny he was and I can hardly remember it. Those early days are such a blur. They go by so fast (but feel so long at the time). I'm racking my brain for anything and everything I've probably forgotten since his baby days and not sure we're ready for little sister just yet. :)
What I (vaguely) remember:
Sleep. B was an awesome sleeper but even so, baby still has to get up to eat. R was the dad of the year and helped a TON with the overnight shifts but it wears on everyone. I'm grouchy without sleep so we'll have to figure out how to make it through the short on sleep period again.
Breastfeeding. It's hard. B was nearly 15 months old when he (finally) weaned and I remember thinking at one point that it was so much easier to breastfeed than to pack bottles and formula (and everything else) just to leave the house. Eventually I felt like a pro at nursing and could do it anytime, anywhere. But don't let that fool you. Those early days were HARD. His latch was awful. I was back to work (way too early) and we needed him to take a bottle but didn't want him to get nipple confusion. He did. It was a (frustrating, hard, exhausting) process but it was worth it. We had to use the shield and we had to enlist lots of help. I remember being ready to give up (more than once) but since the pump was the one thing we bought I wanted to get my monies worth out of it. I decided if I could just deal with the frustrating part for three months we would get our monies worth (in the price of the pump vs. price of formula) and then I would give myself permission to quit. Three months rolled on by without me thinking about it again. We eventually (before that three month mark) got the hang of it and even decided it was easy at one point. It was so hard but so worth it. I'm sure having a three year old to take care of simultaneously will add it's own set of issues to the breastfeeding process but I hope to stick it through this time as well. (Remind me of that when I say I'm ready to give up, okay?)
Diapers. Lots of diapers. B was a laid back baby and wet diapers never really bothered him. We were lucky and he never (okay, super rarely) got diaper rash. So at some point (I can't remember when) we got it down to four diapers a day. A new one in the morning, before nap, after nap, and bedtime. But the other day I mentioned to R that newborns go through 16 diapers a day (I think?) and he was shocked. I started thinking maybe I was wrong (am I?). But I still think it's a lot more than 4. Right? We talked about starting to stock up on diapers now before I'm on a pay freeze (oh the joys of being self employed) but we really have no idea how many we might need. I feel like we used a lot of size one and size three. But maybe not? As it turns out I don't remember much about the diapering phase. ;)
Laundry. B never spit up. Rarely peed out his diaper (and only due to the way the diaper was put on). And only had two blow outs (that I remember anyway). This will for sure seal my mom of the year award but we may have only changed his sleeper once every couple (or few if I'm being completely honest) days. We never had to change his sheets (up until the great diaper escape phase of twenty thirteen). He didn't add much to the laundry pile in those early days. But I know we have friends with babies that go through 3-5 outfits A DAY. So I'm trying to brace myself for the possibility that an extra body will make a dent in our laundry routine (or lack of).
Schedules. There were days I refused to leave the house so B could sleep. We were mostly flexible (and still are) with when he gets his sleep but if he's missed out on it too much we lock ourselves in and sleep, sleep, sleep (we still do that with him)! These days he can play catch up on sleep pretty quick so usually after a day of good sleep we can throw the schedule out the window again but in those early days we would lock ourselves in a few days at a time to get back on track. Anticipate me being a flake with no good excuse (except in the name of sleep). ;)
Stages. Foods, sippy cups, milestone activities, and more oh my. Will I remember these this time around?
Attachment. I can't remember being away from him very many times before his first birthday. He had a couple overnight stays with grandmas but otherwise he was with us. I made my picture schedule around R's schedule and one of us was almost always with him (mostly me). I know two people whose babies have died from SIDS and both happened at daycare. I read somewhere SIDS happens more often in the care of someone that is not the primary caregiver (and doesn't necessarily know or follow all the crib and bedding rules). Looking back, I probably should have just taken the time to make sure a sitter did know and follow the rules but apparently my newborn mom fogged brain couldn't come up with that and just thought it was easier to do it myself. ;) I am not sure what we'll do this time around.
Momness. I puffed up like crazy AFTER B was born. I thought I was huge and swollen walking into the hospital (and I was) but it got even worse after he was born. At the end of my pregnancy with B I couldn't wear my own shoes and borrowed my moms. After he was born, I couldn't even fit into those anymore. (I left the hospital wearing slippers.) I'm not sure how long this lasted but I'm a giant puff monster in the pictures for quite awhile! I also remember trying on pre-pregnancy jeans every once in awhile. I don't think I'll even put myself through that this time. ;) And the recovery. It was rougher than I expected or anticipated. I was sore. For days. No… weeks. When I did finally feel like working out again the weight started coming off too fast (which isn't good for breastfeeding) so I had to stop. It was quite the balancing act for awhile. I was hungry. All the time. Nursing burns a lot of calories and they needed to be replaced somehow! (Honestly our increase in food bill during that time may have been about the same cost of formula…) ;) I also struggled a lot with who I was, who my friends were, etc. I feel like that transition won't be as rough this time (because hey, I'm mom) but I still want to remember it's possible for relationships to change during life transitions and that's okay.
Cheeks. And baby smiles. And cuddles and snuggles. This is the baby goodness I remember the most. This is the baby goodness that makes the sleepless nights and crabby mornings oh so worth it.
Oh baby girl, we're getting excited to meet you soon!
*I'm not naive. I know there's always something that can go wrong and there's never the guarantee of bringing home baby. That said, once we hit the 90%-95% survivability rate, I stopped worrying (as much) about an early labor and delivery and started to really think about bringing home baby. But that's a whole other blog post. ;)
