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Wieck's New Years Card 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Reflections on the first year!
Well, here it is. We've kept Jordy alive for an entire year. And if you know his parents, that's quite the accomplishment. Justin's mom just asked me over the holidays what it was like being a mom for a whole year. The only thing I could think of to say was, I'm actually a little better at this than I thought I would be! I personally find being a mom terrifying. Between worrying about SIDS and Jordy choking on something while I'm watching Good Morning America instead of watching him, I've popped more than one zit and grown a few extra grey hairs (and shout out to my sister(s) for helping me get rid of those over Christmas!).
Let's start at the beginning. Pregnancy is HARD! I had morning sickness OH about 5 minutes into being pregnant that turned into all day and all night sickness. I was tired all the time and couldn't stand most smells. I had a small reprieve during weeks 24-29, then it all came back, along with painful wake-me-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night leg cramps. I am not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to try my hand at being a school principal for the first time? But as you see I live to tell the tale. I admit, even with all this, I did like being pregnant. It's a pretty cool feeling, especially later when you can tell which exact body part is jamming you in the ribs.
And then there was labor and delivery. YIKES. If you get queasy stop reading now. Because it looks like a war zone in there. After the hand grenade went off in the nether regions (I spare you the details, besides, it's a much better story in person), we had to have a C-section. Not in the Birth Plan! STOP! NO! Wait, there will be no more pain?! Yes doctor PLEASE HELP ME! Take him through my foot! Pull him out my nose! I love you Dr! Things get a little fuzzy from here on out but as Justin comments, "They pulled all your guts out and they were just laying everywhere, then they told me it was a boy!"
If you think you can wait to find out the sex of the baby, I highly recommend it. After 19 hours of the S&*% hitting the fan, that was pretty much all I had going for me-- finding out if we had a boy or a girl! Plus, I'm convinced we saved a ton of money because when you're pregnant you just want to buy every cute little baby thing that you see, especially clothes and shoes, and then once you have the baby you realize they just wear white onesies for about 6 weeks and everything else people buy for you (people love to buy your baby clothes! It's awesome!)
But seriously, just like that, they took my guts out and he was here. I remember they said "What's the baby's name?" And neither one of us answered! Ha! We were too surprised it was our kid and it just didn't feel like we were given permission to name this beautiful human being! Justin followed with exact precision my copious notes on who receives a phone call and text, and then properly waited until the next afternoon for the dutiful facebook post (which are the most unflattering pictures of me on facebook you will EVER see, completely bloated and pumped full of God knows what, but after-war pictures are never pretty).
One of the nurses took our camera to get this shot. This is them showing Jordan to me over the curtain after the C-section. I'll be honest, I really couldn't see much :)
I absolutely hate this picture of me. This is when they brought him down to me in Recovery. I am so bloated I could hardly move my mouth to smile. But the boys look cute.
So, for my top 10 learnings during Year 1: (pause for effect)
#1: The Glory that is the Rock And Play. If you don't spend $70 on this for your baby, I will seek to have you committed. Jordy slept in this sucker for 8 months, literally until he crawled out of it and I found him in the kitchen one morning. And sooooooo easy to travel with it. This thing is so good, we brought it to daycare the first day for him to nap in, and his daycare provided went out a just bought one. Yep!
#2: Breastfeeding is NOT easy. First of all, joke's on you Moms because you don't actually have milk come in until AFTER you leave the hospital. So while you're there recovering from surgery it feels like your precious newborn is sticking a knife in your boob while other people are pushing on them and all you hear is a piercing newborn hungry cry (shudder). It's also not easy traveling with baby... SO GET A GOOD BREAST PUMP with ALL the accessories! Car charger, battery charger, etc, etc, etc! My last piece of advice is find a good lactation consultant that you connect with. Some of them really suck but Kim from Avera St. Luke's is awesome. All she did was tell me things like: "You can't screw this up! You're a great mom! He is perfect!" Also, Justin was a champ. He covered all diaper changes AND always got me something to eat/drink when I was strapped down.
#3: You will not get ANYTHING done on your maternity leave. Do not Pinterest new recipes. Do not make promises to work like you'll be available by E-mail (I did this----VERY dumb). Between feeding, pumping, rocking, cuddling, playing, Googling "baby acne", sanitizing, and uploading a daily photo of your baby, it is exhausting! So please just get out one of your freezer meals (you DID prepare these in advance, right?!) so you don't bite your husband's head off when he asks you what's for dinner. (Because you were home all day, right?)
#4: Never be afraid to call the doctor. Guess what you usually don't talk to the doc anyway. The nurses are super nice and answer all of your new-mom questions right over the phone. Tip: They usually listen to baby's symptoms, then tell you to do nothing :) Call in a week if he's not better. But, it stops the worrying (or at least it did for me).
#5: Other people giving advice are just trying to help you. Use what you like, discard what you don't, and trust your instincts.
#6: Accept offers of help. If someone wants to bring over a meal, do your grocery shopping (side note: We bought Gift Cards to our grocery store before baby was born, so when my sisters came after the baby, I sent them on their way with the list!) or do your laundry, let 'em. Guess what everyone wears underwear so just let them do your laundry! Or if they want to watch the baby. I never like leaving Jordy with a babysitter, so if someone you trust offers to watch the baby, at least go to Target by yourself. You WILL have a panic attack the first time. But if you are like me and don't have any family that lives within 700 miles of you, your friends are your family and your baby will be JUST fine! But you CAN wait until YOU are ready, don't let people FORCE you.
#7: We do everything we can to NOT compare to other babies. Hard but we try.
#8: We found out we really DO work as a team! And if I do say so myself, Justin and I are pretty darn good at it. He knows when I say, "Do you think the baby is cold/tired/hungry?" that I mean, "I THINK the baby is cold/tired/hungry, and I would like you to fix that."
#9: When your husband brings home beer (or wine), put the baby to bed and drink it! Even on a weeknight!
#10: Cry It Out works. It really REALLY does!!!
Well, those are my musings on the first year. Did I leave anything out??!!! Cheers to a new chapter--- having a 1 year old!!!!!
Let's start at the beginning. Pregnancy is HARD! I had morning sickness OH about 5 minutes into being pregnant that turned into all day and all night sickness. I was tired all the time and couldn't stand most smells. I had a small reprieve during weeks 24-29, then it all came back, along with painful wake-me-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night leg cramps. I am not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to try my hand at being a school principal for the first time? But as you see I live to tell the tale. I admit, even with all this, I did like being pregnant. It's a pretty cool feeling, especially later when you can tell which exact body part is jamming you in the ribs.
And then there was labor and delivery. YIKES. If you get queasy stop reading now. Because it looks like a war zone in there. After the hand grenade went off in the nether regions (I spare you the details, besides, it's a much better story in person), we had to have a C-section. Not in the Birth Plan! STOP! NO! Wait, there will be no more pain?! Yes doctor PLEASE HELP ME! Take him through my foot! Pull him out my nose! I love you Dr! Things get a little fuzzy from here on out but as Justin comments, "They pulled all your guts out and they were just laying everywhere, then they told me it was a boy!"
If you think you can wait to find out the sex of the baby, I highly recommend it. After 19 hours of the S&*% hitting the fan, that was pretty much all I had going for me-- finding out if we had a boy or a girl! Plus, I'm convinced we saved a ton of money because when you're pregnant you just want to buy every cute little baby thing that you see, especially clothes and shoes, and then once you have the baby you realize they just wear white onesies for about 6 weeks and everything else people buy for you (people love to buy your baby clothes! It's awesome!)
But seriously, just like that, they took my guts out and he was here. I remember they said "What's the baby's name?" And neither one of us answered! Ha! We were too surprised it was our kid and it just didn't feel like we were given permission to name this beautiful human being! Justin followed with exact precision my copious notes on who receives a phone call and text, and then properly waited until the next afternoon for the dutiful facebook post (which are the most unflattering pictures of me on facebook you will EVER see, completely bloated and pumped full of God knows what, but after-war pictures are never pretty).
So, for my top 10 learnings during Year 1: (pause for effect)
#1: The Glory that is the Rock And Play. If you don't spend $70 on this for your baby, I will seek to have you committed. Jordy slept in this sucker for 8 months, literally until he crawled out of it and I found him in the kitchen one morning. And sooooooo easy to travel with it. This thing is so good, we brought it to daycare the first day for him to nap in, and his daycare provided went out a just bought one. Yep!
#3: You will not get ANYTHING done on your maternity leave. Do not Pinterest new recipes. Do not make promises to work like you'll be available by E-mail (I did this----VERY dumb). Between feeding, pumping, rocking, cuddling, playing, Googling "baby acne", sanitizing, and uploading a daily photo of your baby, it is exhausting! So please just get out one of your freezer meals (you DID prepare these in advance, right?!) so you don't bite your husband's head off when he asks you what's for dinner. (Because you were home all day, right?)
#4: Never be afraid to call the doctor. Guess what you usually don't talk to the doc anyway. The nurses are super nice and answer all of your new-mom questions right over the phone. Tip: They usually listen to baby's symptoms, then tell you to do nothing :) Call in a week if he's not better. But, it stops the worrying (or at least it did for me).
#5: Other people giving advice are just trying to help you. Use what you like, discard what you don't, and trust your instincts.
#6: Accept offers of help. If someone wants to bring over a meal, do your grocery shopping (side note: We bought Gift Cards to our grocery store before baby was born, so when my sisters came after the baby, I sent them on their way with the list!) or do your laundry, let 'em. Guess what everyone wears underwear so just let them do your laundry! Or if they want to watch the baby. I never like leaving Jordy with a babysitter, so if someone you trust offers to watch the baby, at least go to Target by yourself. You WILL have a panic attack the first time. But if you are like me and don't have any family that lives within 700 miles of you, your friends are your family and your baby will be JUST fine! But you CAN wait until YOU are ready, don't let people FORCE you.
#7: We do everything we can to NOT compare to other babies. Hard but we try.
#8: We found out we really DO work as a team! And if I do say so myself, Justin and I are pretty darn good at it. He knows when I say, "Do you think the baby is cold/tired/hungry?" that I mean, "I THINK the baby is cold/tired/hungry, and I would like you to fix that."
#9: When your husband brings home beer (or wine), put the baby to bed and drink it! Even on a weeknight!
#10: Cry It Out works. It really REALLY does!!!
Well, those are my musings on the first year. Did I leave anything out??!!! Cheers to a new chapter--- having a 1 year old!!!!!
Little baby, about 6 weeks old
Happy Birthday little love nugget!
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