OK, I have to admit - newborns always terrified me. One thing I worried about as I progressed in my pregnancy was the whole newborn phase. How was I going to do it? Between all the sleepless nights and endless cries, how was it possible? So many women just
love the newborn phase and they preach about "enjoying every moment because it goes by so quickly", but how are you going to enjoy every moment when it's 3am in the morning and the baby won't stop crying? To me, that didn't sound like fun. Would I be a bad mother if I didn't enjoy every second?
Then I read the article "Don't Carpe Diem":
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glennon-melton/dont-carpe-diem_b_1206346.html
It really put things into
perspective for me. It's ok not to enjoy every second, but I want to appreciate this moment in time.
Everything is a new experience in the eyes of a newborn. What you show them day to day is a learning experience. Adisyn is learning something new every day. She's a blank slate. Even though, when they're a newborn, her activities aren't as exciting as say, her 1st steps, but they're all new. It's the framework for her growth and development.
It sounds crazy for me to say, but so far there are so many things that I love about having a Adisyn as a newborn. It's the little moments that I'm appreciating like:
- when I get up to nurse in the middle of the night, we have our one-on-one time together, when the rest of the house is quiet
- the way Adisyn looks up at me when she's nursing
- the little facial expressions that she makes
- looking forward to everyday, wondering what she's going to do next
- the ability to take Adisyn anywhere and she's just along for the ride
- being able to quiet her cries by just picking her up
- the comfort she gets from laying on me
- the cute, dainty little clothes, hands & feet
- getting to know what her cries mean as she tries to communicate with me
- watching her sleep
- looking at her knowing that she is our little miracle
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| Playing with daddy and learning to reach out and touch |
Also, it's funny how personalities shine though, even this early on. Adisyn is not very fond of being naked or cold. She prefers cuddling up with a warm blanket, perferabliy next to mommy or daddy. She's also a pretty good sleeper. Sometimes she can go 5 hours during the night. I know that I'm new at this, but I think that's pretty good! Trying to get her to fall asleep is a whole other story. She also loves her swing. It's amazing how every time she gets into it, she is more and more intreged by the mirror above her head and the birds going around in a circle.
This past month, we've had some exciting accomplishments. She turned 1 month old! Her 1st "real" bath was quite a success. She wasn't sure what was going on at 1st, but after the warmth of the water, she seemed to really like it. The next bath didn't go as well; apparently a hungry baby and water don't mix! Better luck next time!
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| Adisyn's 1st bath |
On January 24th was Mark's 33rd birthday and Adisyn had her 1st trip to the park. We love Falls Park in Greenville! We went on a 4 mile or so walk and then got a blanket and laid down in front of the waterfall. Adisyn really liked laying down and taking in the sun. It was the warmest day so far, but there was a little breeze. We also go on daily walks around the neighborhood. It seems like the stroller is really relaxing and it takes all her other worries away!
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| Falls Park in Greenville, SC |
It's very difficult raising a newborn, as I imagined, as it takes a lot of patience and you just have to learn as you go. Still, there's so much to appreciate at the same time. So when I'm worn out and just plain exhausted I just have to remind myself that she's growing by the day so I can appreciate the little moments that I love, which make it all worth it!
