You can shop a couple of these photos on the LIKEtoKNOW.it site!
Q: How is Emmett sleeping?
A: Oh, her sleeping behavior has been a journey to say the least. When we brought her home she had her nights and days completely mixed up, as newborns usually do. During the first week or two we didn’t get much sleep, which was expected, because she was up, cluster feeding or wanting to be held.
When she was about one month old she started sleeping for longer hours. I’m talking like 5 to 6 hours at a time! At one point I remember thinking “I have to wake her up to feed or else she’s going to starve for sure”. I thought I was just beyond blessed and that she would be sleeping like that forever but I was completely wrong! Just before she was three months she had a couple nights where she was up during the night and had a hard time soothing herself back to sleep. During those couple weeks I would feed her about 3 to 4 times at night and then move her from the bassinet to our bed in the early morning. She seemed to sleep better when she was right by us, but that’s changed a bit recently.
Now, she is moving so freaking much and loves showing off her new tricks at night. This keeps her (and us) up and doesn’t let her fall back to sleep very easily. Last night I had her next to me and I don’t think she fell into a deep sleep once. We are about to try moving her to the crib because clearly co-sleeping isn’t working! I’ll keep y’all posted on how that goes 😉
Q: Did the first night at home with her give you anxiety?
A: Absolutely! I don’t think I slept and if I did, it was a short nap. During that whole first week I was worried about her all the time. Is she sleeping too often? Is she breathing? Is she getting enough milk? The questions go on and on but parents just need to trust their instincts and know that their babies are in the safest place possible.
Q: Did you ever have a milk supply problem?
A: Not really! I will say that my right boob produces a ton more milk than my left. I remember early on when I was pumping that my right boob pumped three ounces in the time that my left boob pumped one. Now I feed on my left about once a day. Heck, maybe I do have a production issue! Emmett seems to be filling up though so I’m not worried right now.
Q: How do you deal with rough nights?
A: Sometimes by crying, sometimes by just getting up to do what I can to get her sleeping again and sometimes by leaning on Bryan more. Honestly, I just take it night by night and pray that I make it to morning, which always happens 🙂
Q: Is there anything you read (book, blog, etc.) that helped prepare you for motherhood?
A: I bought a book called What to Expect the First Year and that helped prepare me a little bit. It’s thorough about everything that comes with babies.
Other than that, I didn’t do a whole lot of researching motherhood because I was just trying to get through pregnancy and the idea of birth. Those two things freaked me out enough as it was! Seriously, I couldn’t even watch a birth video without crying. If you’re feeling uneasy about the idea of motherhood, find comfort in knowing that the doctors and nurses will talk you through everything when it comes to taking care of a newborn! They talked me through everything, what to expect the first week and when I would need to go back to see them.
Q: What were your go-to strategies for postpartum care?
A: This is been a recent struggle actually. I’m such an extroverted person that being cooped up in the house really takes a toll on me if I don’t talk to people or get out of the house. I was caught off-guard because this isn’t something I felt until recently. I think it’s because the first couple months were just so full of newborn bliss, getting to know Emmett, getting to know how to be a mom and do everything that comes with being a mom. Before I knew it, I was in a little bit of a swamp so I recently tried to be really mindful and doing things that help my mental health. Some things that I’ve tried recently include doing my nails at home or going to get a pedicure, working out, eating food that makes me feel better, calling my mom and dad, taking trips to go visit people, making a plan for the day, getting fully dressed or taking on a project. All of those things help me with feeling like a normal human, which is super important for a mama’s self-care.
Q: Hospital bag recommendations?
A: I definitely over packed! You can find the entire list of things I brought here. The things I actually used included pajamas for each day that I was in the hospital (two total!), a phone charger, snacks, bath products, a little bit of make up, my phone, our camera, a pillow for my husband and a pillow for me, socks and chapstick! I didn’t bring it, but I wish we had brought a blanket of ours because at one point the hospital actually ran out and Bryan was stuck without one 😂
Q: What is the best and worst thing about being a mom?
A: The best thing is simply being her mom. It’s something else to be so loved by such a little human and get to shape her with my best friend.
The worst thing is the amount of responsibility I feel sometimes. Being a mom is an all day, every day, for the rest of my life and at times that is a lot to swallow. The good days definitely outweigh the hard ones though!
Q: How do you feel leaving Emmett?
A: Ha! Call me crazy, but I don’t have an issue with it. I mean, as long as it’s with family or good friends I know! We actually spend our first night without her while we are in Canada when my parents watched her overnight!
Q: Do you plan on going back to work anytime soon?
A: Bryan and I decided that I will stay home until Emmett is at least six months and then reevaluate finances, how I feel and what’s best for our family at that point. The idea is for me to take care of Emmett and future babies a majority of the time though!
Q: What do you do for tummy time?
A: We just recently started doing it more, but I just lay her on the bed or a blanket on the ground and let her explore. Sometimes I help her roll over just for practice!
That’s all of the questions that I received, but if you have any please feel free to comment below or DM me on Instagram! Have a great day!