Worth The Wait!

Well the wait is finally over!  On October 24th I finally went into labor after a delicious lunch with my friends and a two and a half mile walk afterwards.  I like to think it was all of the laughing I did over lunch that did the trick.  After 17 hours (start to finish) I gave birth to my son James Richard on October 25, 2011 at 11:27 AM.

Now that things have kind of settled down on the home front I now have time to get back to my blog.  I'm going to be honest, this blog will mostly be about my kid going forward.  I just wanted to warn everyone in advance.

Since Baby J was born a lot has changed for me.  I knew this would happen and expected it; however, I didn't expect it to change as much as it did.  Despite everyone telling me, "Your life will never be the same once you have your first child,"it did not prepare me for how big a change it really was.

Before I gave birth I tried to imagine what my new life would be like.  I saw images of me sitting on our deck sipping tea and reading a book while my precious newborn swung peacefully in his swing next to me.  We would go on long walks in the sunshine and listen to music while playing with toys.  It was all fairytales and gumdrops.  Fast forward to reality and low and behold everything I envisioned was WRONG!

Come to find out caring for a newborn is not fairytales and gumdrops.  It's sweat, tears, and sore nipples!  Now don't get me wrong, I love being a mother in general but there are times when I have not enjoyed the experience at all.  In fact I have sobbed more than once to my poor husband saying how much I hated it at times.  Grant it there were a lot of postpartum hormones milling about in those tears but a portion of them were genuine. 


The second week was the hardest.  The novelty of having a new baby had worn off.  Jim went back to work and my nipples hurt so bad from breastfeeding I cried a bit each time I fed him.  All I seemed to be able to do was sit on the couch or bed and watch TV with a child attached to my boob.  I didn't leave the house because I was afraid Baby J might have a crying fit, or worse I might have to breastfeed him in public.  I couldn't really go for walks because I was still very sore from my labor and stitches.  All in all it was a recipe for depression.  Even though Baby J is a relatively good baby, it was still so hard for me to accept the fact life was now different.  I wanted my old life back plus a baby.  I didn't want things to change. 

Thankfully I have a supportive husband who listened to me cry everyday when he got home from work and encouraged me to join Mommy and Me at Kaiser.  I have my mom and dad who also listened to me cry over the phone more than once.  Then there are all my Facebook friends who are moms.  All of your encouragement and real world advice has kept me off the ledge more than once and I thank you all.  But I have to say the biggest support of all has been my cousin, Ashley.  She had her baby 12 days before I did and our constant messages back and forth have been an absolute lifesaver!  It seems like we are going through the same things at the same time and it helps to know I'm not alone when the going gets tough.

Things are much better now in the Young household.  I no longer cry everyday and have learned to adapt to my new wonderful life as a mom.  I have even learned caring for a newborn can have a few gumdrops.  Right now I am sitting at the kitchen table typing, drinking hot coco while Baby J sleeps in his swing across the living room.  All in all it was worth the wait.