I’ll be the first to admit it, I never thought I would be a mother.  I didn’t think I was cut out for the job.  I have zero patience, I’m foul mouthed, and I don’t like people making demands of me.

Well, life happened, and I am a Mom now.  It’s been filled with so much joy, but man,  I was delusional when I thought it was gonna be an easy year off work.  You know, I had visions of cooking and knitting and crafting, and endless hours of Mommyblogging.  You know, when the baby takes his 2 hour naps every hour or so, newborn babies sleep all the time, don’t you know????  There were a couple of times were I thought I was going to completely lose my shit – unless hiding under a blanket in my bed while my baby is lying beside me crying and refusing to sleep constitutes losing my shit, well, then I am guilty with a capital “G”.

Well, baby B is about 11 weeks old now, and we are finally getting adjusted.  There were a few things that helped me along the way, and helped me keep what little sanity I had left.

  1. Depends – Yes, the adult diapers.  Not because I was peeing and pooping on myself, but post-partum bleeding SUCKS and is very heavy for the first little while after.  Rather than destroying endless pairs of underwear and going through feminine hygiene products like they are going out of style, I got me an ice pack, a package of heavy duty menstrual napkins and some Depends.  Trust me, it’s worth it.
  2. My iPhone – My iPhone let me surf the internet late through the night when all baby wanted to do was cluster feed and engage in a full on sleep rebellion.  Which brings me to point number 3.
  3. Twitter – Twitter helped me connect to other moms experiencing the EXACT same thing I was, at the same time.  Just being able to talk to someone in the middle of the night who GOT IT, made those first rough weeks that much easier.  The #breastfeeding hash tag, is your friend.
  4. Twin Peaks – The first two weeks, baby and I watched the entire Twin Peaks series.  I didn’t feel like moving much with my stitches and all, and all baby wanted to do was eat.
  5. My Brest Friend Nursing Pillow – Saved my back.  I bought this three weeks in.  It killed me to spend that much money on a nursing pillow, but it was waaaay worth it. I was using a tiny little Peanut cushion by Jolly Jumper, and it was just too small.  The flat surface and back support made it so much more bearable for endless hours of nursing.

It’s funny.  When people say the first six weeks are tough, they aren’t kidding.  B hit six weeks here, and it was like a switch was hit.  Though, we seem to be hitting a growth spurt I believe, because the going is getting a bit tough again. But I’ll survive.  Thanks to my iPhone and my Twitter Tweeps.  I gave up the Depends for the Granny Panties.