Adventures in Babysitting.. Oh, wait! I can't give this baby back?

1 month has passed! And here are some things I have learned...

1. Babies are the best! Mike says that this might be the meaning of life. I'm still trying to work that out.
2. Birth is not hard for all people.

Breast feeding at the York Minster

3. Breast feeding is tricky! Ask yourself... Have I ever seen anyone breast feed?  Probably not. Therefore it's hard to get a hold of how it's done and when and where it's okay to do it. Luckily, in this country it is illegal for someone to ask you to stop breast feeding in public. When your baby is hungry go ahead and feed her! For us, breast feeding was tough at first. I thought that it would be natural and normal and that the baby would get it but really it's a learning process for mom and baby. And sometimes it can be really frustrating. But we haven't given up! Our goal is to exclusively breast feed for the first 6 months. After that we can reassess the situation. I personally really like it.  There is nothing like seeing my baby in a drunk milk coma after she has been completely satisfied. We are going to try to have Mike give her a bottle this weekend with breast milk so he can get in on the bonding action. - Also... Mike says... "boobies are for babies not motor boating!" Hilarious!
4. Babies cry.  Sometimes for no reason at all. Maybe it's over stimulation but whatever the cause babies cry and it's okay.

5. Which than leads me to... Lack of sleep.  Which I have to say I don't miss much. Half the time I'm staring at this little human thinking what the heck is she dreaming about?  As a mom, I have been missing quite a bit of sleep and sometimes that makes me irritable but it's almost like I couldn't sleep sometimes if I tried. I want to be awake to watch her. I want to be there for every move she makes. So I guess I will catch up on the sleep in 20 years or so...
6. It's my job to worry! I worry about everything. I know she is perfectly healthy but I find myself worrying about how to keep this little human alive. I think that this just comes with the job of being a Mom.  le sigh
7. I must trust my intuition.  My Dad was worried that we were reading too many books and taking too many classes on babies. He told us that we would just know what to do.  Well for me, that wasn't good enough. I needed to take all these classes. But really when it comes down to it intuition rains supreme. Even Mike's intuition rains supreme over everything we learned. I know it's hard to imagine if you don't have kids but it's almost like a transformation that occurs. And then you know exactly what your baby needs and when.
8. Advice is Priceless and Worthless!  If I met a pregnant person right now this is the advice I would give them!  It's so true! Everyone has an opinion on what you should or shouldn't be doing with your baby. But really it comes back to that number 7! Trust yourself and your intuition!

9. Baby awake.  Best moment so far is watching Sophie's eyes light up and a smile cross her face. It happened at exactly 1 month. It was like she was in a fog and then all of a sudden woke up. She knew exactly where she was and who we are. And she was happy! That was the best!
10. Being a Mom is the best job I've had so far! 

Done and Done!