Thursday and Friday were tough days for this mommy. I love my little love bug more than anything but somedays its tough to be more than a mommy. Like days that you have lots of things on your plate, on top of the everyday mommy things. Last Thursday and Friday were a couple of those days.
Thursday is my clean house day and Friday I didn't have set plans but it happened to be one of those days where eight thousand things were thrown at me that I had to get done. It turned out that Frankie didn't think either day were good days for mommy to do anything but hold her. She didn't want to be put down for a nap, or in her swing or her bouncer or anywhere but mama's arms. And me, being the somewhat control freak that I can be, got a little flustered because I had things to do.
**Lesson of mommyhood... it's not about you anymore. You don't make the rules, baby does (at least at this point.) You can try all you want but especially with a 5 week old, it's all about her. So just let it be about her and let go of control, you'll be a happier mommy.**
Then it dawned on me, I can put her in the Moby wrap (a mommy's BFF if you ask me) and be somewhat productive. So that's exactly what I did on Thursday afternoon. Put her in that and then took a quick walk. I'm not sure if it was the fresh air that calmed baby (or mommy) down but she fell asleep after a few minutes and mommy got to get most of the cleaning done on Thursday... no shower though.
Friday (which was a repeat of Thursday) when miss Frankie was cranky again and was against napping in her crib or cradle, I swaddled her and put her in the buggy and went for a nice long walk. It was the best thing for mommy and baby. We got some fresh air, ran some errands and mommy got her work out in. I even managed a shower Friday night when we got back, since thankfully she was still sleeping. It was the most rejuvenating thing EVER.
Mommy lessons learned:
1) Take a shower whenever you have the chance, best if it's first thing in the morning because it helps start your day right but if it doesn't happen first thing, squeeze it in whenever you can. (This is one my mom told me but I learned for myself through practice and couldn't preach it more.)
2) When you're flustered, take a nice walk and get some fresh air. It's good for both of you.
And most importantly...
3) There are days when your baby is just going to want to be with mama and that's okay. In the long run there really aren't that many days like that so soak them up. Let the dirty house stay dirty, let the laundry go undone and let the hubby reheat something for you guys for dinner because you can always clean tomorrow but you can't always enjoy the snuggles of your little one. Your newborn isn't going to be damaged forever because you snuggled her too much. Babies are made to be loved, so go for it.
Those are the latest lessons this new mommy has learned. No one is perfect and I'm learning that being a first time mommy is a learn as you go kind of thing and I'm enjoying (almost) every single moment of it. I wouldn't trade any of these moments, even the flustering ones, because baby and I are learning and growing together and it's one amazing experience.
xox
So good and so true! You're doing a great job!
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