ZOEY IS ONE MONTH!

Zoey is one month old! These weeks have truly flown by. Why oh why do they seem to do that to us parents?! The three of us have gotten to know so much from each other and our baby is growing so big and healthy! I find myself constantly looking back at pictures of her when she was fresh outta the womb and I just can’t even fathom that she is mine. 

Since I found out I was pregnant, I gravitated towards mom-blogs just so I could get an idea of what it was all about. So many admitted how tough motherhood was and I could never fully understand why. I always assumed that babies were easy and fun and what more could you ever want then to spend your entire day and nights cuddled with your newborn? That's when I learned that newborns don't always want to cuddle, let alone sleep all of the time, and it can sometimes take work to make them happy and content as can be. I guess what makes the newborn stage so rough is constantly wondering and worrying about what is wrong with your baby AND trying to get them to sleep. I find myself so tired throughout the day and can’t seem to get ANYTHING done, but at the end of it all when I’m lying in bed at night I think to myself what a pleasure it was to have spent an entire, wonderful day with Zoey. I can’t help but feel so lucky!  

We've learned that Zoey loves to be held at all times. Bouncing her to sleep on the yoga ball calls for much success. She falls asleep in the car and stroller rides making trips out of the house so worth it. She loves the boob and takes forever to burp. Changing isn't always fun but she's as snug as a bug when it's all said and done. I never thought we would have gone through so many diapers just within these 4 weeks and we're still trying to figure out if we like Huggies or Pampers more. Baths and laundry are almost starting to become a daily routine. Some days she could even use two or three baths… Spitting up is our least favorite thing but luckily we have burp rags in every room of the house. Zoey will sleep in the rock n’ play at night but absolutely hates it during the day. Overall, our babe is surprisingly content, it’s just a matter of figuring out which one of those different ways to soothe her works best! 

As for me, recovering and adjusting to motherhood has been pretty blissful. Zoey is my main focus throughout the day and she is the only thing that I have to worry about which is extremely nice. My days are spent to live for her and to help her grow and be happy. I couldn’t ask for a better job. I feel like I had a speedy recovery after labor and am thankful that I was able to get up and move around as fast as I did. My boobs are miraculous objects and I am so proud to be able to feed her every time she needs me. My nips are finally crack-free and healing very well. I still don’t exactly have a routine for pumping but I hope to in order to build her a freezer stash for safe keeping. My confidence for taking Zoey out alone has been building. I’ve managed to take her to doctor’s appointments, prescription pick-ups, a few grocery store trips, and even a getaway to Target all on my own, even though we wish Daddy could’ve been there! Momma is still trying to find her voice to sing to this little gal (I’m pretty rusty) so we might try story reading here soon instead. 

I’ll admit, I’ve had my fair share moments of breakdowns within this first month. I’ve ugly cried, thrown things out of frustration, and simply put Zoey down to regain composure. Having a baby is challenging but I am learning something new every day and that’s to be the best mommy I can be to this little girl!