These last 7 weeks have been a true blessing from above. And wow, 7 weeks! Babies sure do grow up fast. All the fear of childbirth, the unknown, is nothing compared to the absolute joy of meeting your baby for the first time. I wanted to compile a list of things that I wish someone had told me before embarking on this crazy journey! I won’t even touch on the no sleep. So here goes…
>>You will fall in love with your husband all over again. The way he interacts with your baby and the way he looks at you as a new mom- pure love. Add in all the crazy hormones and you may even shed a few tears.
>>You will cry! I’m not talking just regular tears of joy, but for no reason tears! I remember hearing Savannah cry for the first time and I lost it. You have this sweet little baby to care for and last thing you want is for her to be in pain. Then you will cry again for no reason… just sayin! It is completely normal. You learn about it in childbirth classes, but it is real!
>>Your body will seem foreign. After giving birth, I remember looking down at my belly to see what it looked like. I didn’t recognize it. It didn’t matter though. I was holding my baby in my arms and in pure contentment. Your boobs are going to get huge, full and uncomfortable and you will feel like a milk factory. It gets better! And on to the next point…
>>Breastfeeding! Just when you thought you read all the baby books, it will not prepare you enough. Your nipples will hurt, maybe even bleed. Your baby will be crying trying to latch and you will be screaming at the same time. At about the 3 week mark, it gets better, I promise! Hang in there mama, your baby needs you. So stock up on ice packs, Medela Disposable Nursing Bra Pads
>>Ask for help! When family wants to come over, especially moms (they are seriously the best), learn from them and don’t take their tips as criticism. They have been there and actually do know a lot! Just watching my mom interact with my baby, I learned so much! If you can manage to get a 2 hour nap in, it makes such a difference.
>>All those cute outfits- you will have another opinion about some of them. Those cute newborn jeans I just had to buy from Old Navy when I was pregnant and that onesie with 50 snaps along the diaper area are just not being used. Stock up on swaddle wraps for sleeping and bibs! You can never have enough. Milk is a messy business.
>>White noise. I think we received about 4-6 different sound machine stuffed animals, projectors and machines. Keep them all! You don’t know what your baby will like and it may change. Plus, if you have her stuff in multiple locations in your home, it will be helpful to have several. So far, this one is our favorite and we use it every night in our room next to her Rock n Play.
>>The glorious Rock n Play! Yes, yes and yes! Get one of these. We have a bassinet that we put her in to sleep for about 3 weeks and she was waking up so easily, even being swaddled. Once we started putting her to sleep in the Rock n Play, game over! She has been sleeping at night, only waking up for feedings. And I have talked to friends who did this too and their babies never had issues with sleeping in their cribs. 
All of these opinions are my own and you may have a different experience with your baby. I hope that some of these tips will help you or at least reassure you that it definitely is a learning experience as you go. And when in doubt, play some Carrie Underwood and do some dancing!
Thanks for reading! Kim
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Savannah & Co. 