All In a Month

So its 1:30am, and I finally have found a moment to get on the computer and blog! Hubby is sleeping by my side, Aubrey is in the bassinet on my other side, and the pups are finally back (see below) at the foot of our bed. What can I say, life is good!! Even if I have to wake up in a few hours to feed my little munchkin!!!

Aubrey is going to be one month on Wednesday, and I seriously can't even believe it. Where does the time go?!? I know there are so many fun things to look forward to as she grows, first smile, first laugh, babbling, rolling etc. But this newborn stage is just so precious, and I know it will be over in a blink of an eye. And she's already changed so much, its just blowing my mind! All I can say is thank goodness for my i.phone so I can snap 50 pictures a day to attempt to capture each and every moment, hah!

So in this first amazing month with Aubrey, I've definitely learned my share of new mommy lessons and some of the big ones include:

- Time frickin flies, and just the months but the actual days. I was a little worried about getting antsy having a baby in the dead of winter, not to mention the worst Chic.ago winter in a long time. But man, something about living in 3 hour increments really speeds up your day, and leaves little time for anything else. Not that I really want to be doing anything else other than snuggling with Aubrey inbetween feedings...but there are necessities such as laundry and showering that I'm finding are much more difficult to get done than I would have thought!

- Breastfeeding is hard, at least it was for me in the beginning. I have to say the only reason I'm nursing today is because the nurses were so amazing at the hospital where I delivered and helped SO much. It took about 4 different ones literally taking my boob and Aubrey's head and shoving them together to get her to latch, a lactation consultant, pumping, wearing nipple shields, and doing SNS (taping a little tube of formula to my nipple). This little girl did not want to latch, and then finally on the last day something finally clicked and we had a latch. And I was not prepared for the painful nipples those first few days...especially that first shower, omg I literally had to keep my hands over them it hurt so bad! But after a week or so everything just fell into place, and my milk came in and nipples stopped hurting...and now I'm just dealing with crazy dripping tatas and staining all my pj tanks, hah!

- Dealing with puppy jealousy, so much worse than I thought. I love my dogs so much, and before I had Aubrey I would have said absolutely nothing will change when it comes to the pups. Well, unfortunately they were WAY too excited when we brought her home...jumping all over us because we'd been gone for 3 days. Normally I love it, but not when you're holding a 3 day old. So hubby and I headed to the basement, and most of the time we leave the pups up in the kitchen. Now luckily we're living with my parents, so they're usually up there with them...but those first few days were just awful. Especially when we went up to bed and left them downstairs, they looked so confused and it seriously broke my heart. But with all things its gotten easier as the pups get more use to having Aubrey around, and we finally have them back in our bedroom!

- Mommy friends are the best! Seriously, you just don't know until you've been there. I'm so lucky to have mommy friends that have given me the best advice, tips, etc! From what kind of diaper rash cream to use, what pedatrician to go to, where to get the best deal on diapers, its so nice not to have to navigate this stuff all on your own! Especially the questions about healing, which can get pretty graphic...how long will I bleed, what is that first #2 going to feel like, what will it feel like when hubby and I get romantic again? I know the answers to the first two, but am still a little nervous for that last one, yikes!!

- I didn't think it was possible to love my hubby more, but watching him with Aubrey is just so amazing and my heart could just explode. This little girl already has her daddy wrapped around her little finger, and he's just so frickin cute with her. I knew he'd be an amazing daddy, but seeing it in person makes me fall in love with him all over again!! He told me the first night in the hospital after we had her, that now when he sees his birthday on a clock (for those of you that make a wish when that happens) that he has nothing left to wish for, because he always wished for her. It was the sweetest thing he could have said, and I told him to start wishing that our house gets done on schedule, ha!

Okay, so lots more to come including pics once I finally upload them to my computer!! Oh, and someone asked why we were so surprised she was a girl, and if we were told she was a boy. No, it was just EVERYONE we knew, including strangers would come up to me and tell me I was having a boy. One of my girlfriends was so sure she had to return the little boy outfit on the way to the hospital. And we called the baby Skooter, and referred to her as a "he" our whole pregnancy so it was just so shocking when she came out a "she". And to that last commenter, does dismay not mean surprised cause that's what I meant! For the record I'm a numbers girl, def. not a word girl!