The Life of A First Time Mom
A Little About Me:
Hello I’m Rose.
I am just going to briefly introduce myself and talk about the most exciting thing going on in my life right now, which is the birth of my first baby! I’m in my early thirties, married to my wonderful husband, Adam, and work part-time as a Registered Nurse in an Intensive Care Unit, though I am currently on maternity leave, and will be for the next couple of months. I have 2 Boston Terrier puppies, Miles and Ella, and a cat, Mia. The puppies are about 5 months old, and are absolutely ADORABLE. I have included some pics to prove it!
The Life of A First Time Mom: Plans and Forever Changed
The plan is for the new baby and puppies to grow up together and be best friends just like I did with my dog when I was a kid. My hobbies include writing, reading, wining and dining, movies, theater, outdoor activities, animals, and volunteering. The most recent volunteer job I had been walking dogs at my local animal shelter. That was a lot of hard work, but also fun!
The most exciting news in my life right now is that I just gave birth to my daughter, Lily Willow, on my own birthday, December 3rd. My birthday is now forever changed as I now share it with my beautiful daughter! She was born 5lbs 7oz via cesarean section. Being a mom has been something I have wanted for a long time and I was thrilled when I found out I was finally pregnant with my little one. This is Lily.
The Life of A First Time Mom: A New Baby
Unfortunately, I developed pre-eclampsia and had to give birth at 36 weeks. While I was more than excited to see my daughter early, it did come with some complications. Because she was born early, she was obviously a little underweight. She developed low blood sugar and had a couple of periods of apnea landing her a stay in the Special Care Nursery. It’s not easy seeing your infant wheeled off and taken away, but I knew she was in good hands.
NICU:
She stayed in the Special Care Nursery for about 2 weeks before finally making her way home! Those two weeks were exhausting. I spent every waking minute with her. I remember I couldn’t stop looking at her. That first day home was special, but scary! Not only was I a first time mom, but a mom of a premature baby to boot! My husband and I were thankful enough to have help from family and friends who all came together to support us.
She is now 7 weeks old and growing like a weed! Her last weigh-in was 8lb 2oz! Our biggest challenge right now is trying to get her to nurse. Because of her complications, and my condition after her birth, I was unable to nurse her right away and her first experience with eating was from a bottle. From then on she was only interested in eating that way. As any mom who feeds their baby expressed breast-milk knows, this process is twice the work of breastfeeding. That’s because you have to pump, plus feed the baby, plus wash all your bottles, and wash all your pumping equipment. Talk about exhausting! But the benefits of her eating my breast-milk outweigh the frustration.
Breast Pump:
Currently, I am using the Medela Pump In Style Advanced Breast Pump Starter Set, which was provided to me from the hospital. However, I am interested in trying out some other pump alternatives that will help make my life as a new mommy easier. Having Lily latching to the bottle and not so much to me, I am grateful to have Medela Pump. I know she is able to get the nutrients that she needs to make her grow.
Being a new mom, I have found that being a new mom is one of the best rewards that anyone can be blessed to do. Although it’s challenging raising a newborn, but it is well worth it and 1000 times over. I love my new daughter with all my heart. I didn’t realize how full life can be with a child, but now I do. I didn’t think I could love a little being as much as I do Lily.
