In your first pregnancy, you want to do everything right, so you are very careful about what you eat and drink. You don't lift heavy things, or breathe in harmful toxins, etc. But you also have never felt any of the things you are feeling before, so you kinda feel sorry for yourself most of the time. That's where the weight gain creeps in. Unless someone tells you that, that weird shaky feeling means you are supposed to sit down and rest, not necessarily stuff your face. No one told me that.
The first time you give birth you may be in shock afterward. It is ok to feel shocked at what just happened. HELLO you just pushed a BABY out that was growing INSIDE your body! An entire PERSON was GROWING inside your body! You may also feel shock at what just happened as in: you just became someone's mother for the rest of your life. I, unfortunately have photographic evidence of that moment, which prompted my mom to worry about me. What? You want to see the picture? Trust me, you don't.
The first time you care for YOUR baby you will wonder what good any of those hours of babysitting as a teenager did for you because holy cow, seriously??!! Did you really babysit newborns all the time when you were 16 and what were those parents thinking because you didn't do any of the stuff you are doing now. In fact you pretty much just sat on the couch and did your homework while the baby slept upstairs. Maybe you changed a diaper once the whole time you were there. Why isn't your baby sleeping like that one did when you were 16??!! And why did you just change three diapers in 5 minutes?!
The moment your first baby is born, your "Mom Ears" also kick into high gear, and EVERY LITTLE NOISE that precious bundle makes will wake you up. Any sweet little grunt, or growl, or snuffle will wake you. You will probably feed your baby more times during the night than you actually need to until you realize that he/she is not waking up, just making noise.
With the first babies, the learning curve is as steep as it gets, even if you have an easy baby. The good news is that first babies prepare you for, well, second babies. And that is a whole other post. So all you first-time moms out there: You're doing great. You're becoming an expert on your baby. Keep up the good work!
Cheers,
Jen
