so we survived our first month as parents (hooray!) and i'm only 10 days late in getting the "one month" post up and running, so that's another victory :) my goal will be to only be 5 days late next month, lol.
our first month was hard and tiring and exhausting - but it was also so fun and wonderful and amazing at the same time. there's really no way to describe it. it's tough, but it's also the best thing EVER.
we're definitely learning and adjusting to our new lives with our little human - but there's definitely still a long way to go. one thing i'm realizing about myself is that I no longer think in full sentences and most of my organized thinking is nonexistent at this point... so for this month, i decided to just make a list of random things about the first month including little things about baby and things about us as well. we're hoping we can keep up with monthly updates to remember and forever treasure the little things about this sweet time in our lives! (since my attention span has shortened quite a bit and my mind is foggy 24/7.)
30 random things about our first month with baby:
- I guess the first thing to note is that I've attempted to write this post everyday for the last 10 days (when he turned a month old) but failed. welcome to parenthood :)
- We are literally obsessed with milk tea right now. I'm talking borderline addiction. They were selling Lollicup Drink Vouchers on Groupon and we bought 3. I tried to convince Eugene to let me buy more but he said "no". It must be tamed.
- The "Breast Friend" is truly my best friend.
- When the baby naps, it's really like a personal challenge for me to see how quickly I can finish my chores. I legitimately experience an adrenaline rush and I'm pacing at lightning speed to try to get as many things done as possible.
- For the first few weeks, we did laundry almost other day.
- #5 was due to the fact that we literally only had 5 newborn outfits (People recommended us not to get too many NB stuff since you don't know how big/small the baby will be when he's born). Since our baby was pretty small at birth, he wore all his NB stuff until 4.5 weeks, but we didn't want to buy too many new things so we just cycled through the same 5 onesies.
- Walking to Target (with baby!) is seriously one of my favorite things ever right now.
- Even though you can't technically "spoil" a newborn, we're trying to get him used to playing by himself and fall asleep on his own (without us holding/rocking him) and he's been doing a pretty good job!
- However, sometimes he gets really bored and will want to be held when I am in desperate need to get things done. So I've learned to use my boba wrap at home when I need to get things done. This is a win-win because I can do some chores and he falls asleep so comfortably on my chest!
- Our Keurig has been our lifesaver! We love making a cup of coffee for each other in the morning and have been treating ourselves with really delicious creamer.
- We've watched a lot of "The Office" while confined at home taking care of our newborn! We're so thankful for our faithful Roku machine. :)
- A is generally a happy and content baby unless he's hungry. He will cry bloody murder out of nowhere when he wakes up hungry and is pretty much unconsolable until he's fed and full. Here are some shots of him when I attempted to take his 1 month photos before feeding him.
The photo at the beginning of the blogpost is immediately after he ate (hence his perfectly calm composure and extremely full belly) - I really don't know how people raised babies before Amazon Prime and Google.
- Speaking of which, I have been googling ev.er.y.thing. I think I ask google questions at least 10 times a day. What is the difference between spit up and vomit? How often to take baby's temperature? How often do I feed baby?
- I'm generally not an anxious person, but it was really hard in the first few days after we came home from the hospital. I barely slept because I was constantly afraid he would stop breathing or something bad would happen. I had to pray A LOT. I even did the licking-the-finger-and-putting-it-under-his-nostrils-to-make-sure-hes-alive thing twice a night.
- Speaking of anxious, we used to take his temperature twice a day because we were afraid he had a fever! Crazy first-time parents.
- SIDS is so scary. Jeez. Again, I really have to pray everyday for peace!
- KellyMom is everything. I am so thankful for Kelly.
- Cabin fever is real life. Even though I'm a major homebody, staying at home for an entire month was so hard! The first time I got to go outside was so excited and also felt a little dazed/confused.
- Traditional korean ideologies about post-partum life is insane in the membrane: don't drink anything cold/eat ice, don't stand in front of the fridge, don't shower, etc etc. Thankfully my mom was somewhat lenient with me!
- Speaking of my mom, she was seriously such a huge help and lifesaver during the first 3 weeks we were at home. She stayed with us and helped me with everything so that I could just focus on learning how to take care of our son. We are so blessed! I love you, umma!
- Sometimes when the baby has his bout of hysterical cries at night, we hear our neighbors closing their windows. We feel so bad and we hope they never find out where we live.
- Lansinoh is God's gift to nursing mamas. So thankful for their products!
- We are seriously so blessed with the most loving, supportive family ever. They've been coming every single week to see us and it's been a huge blessing being able to spend more time with them!
- Babies go through so many diapers! Our baby usually goes through 10-12 a day, mainly because he is a little bit of a diva and does NOT like being wet or dirty at all. Also, we realized he likes a clean slate for his bigger bowel movements. (i.e. he'll cry because he's wet, we'll change him into a fresh diaper and literally moments afterwards he poos like crazy and cries because he's dirty.) I'm telling you...DIVA.
- Our baby's nails grow at an unnaturally fast pace so we are having to cut them quite frequently. (When he fusses, he rubs his eyes/ scratches his eyelids, so we have to do it almost every day). No one tells you how completely frightening it is to cut baby nails. My goodness! Squirmy little hands that wont stay still (even when he's sleeping!) and they are paper thin and so, so small. I'm so scared of actually clipping his fingers but we have had some success with this one!
- I've learned that Aquaphor and breastmilk heals all things. Redness on the baby's bum/borderline rash, dry/flaky bumps on babies ear, red/inflamed spot on baby's eyelid? Aquaphor to the rescue. Clogged nostrils from dried up boogers, or crusted eyelids because of blocked tear ducts? A few drops of breastmilk. Literally, magic.
- There are only a few things in life more satisfying than getting a huge burp out of a fussy baby. and only a few things better than cuddling with a sleepy baby.
- I literally always have spit up on my hair/clothes and smell like old milk when I'm at home. (especially in the early mornings because he spits up more in the middle of the night.) Taking a really hot shower in the morning is one of the best things.
- Even though I'm sleepy and disoriented and have a crazy body aches -- this has been the best month ever and we are learning to love every bit of it! I'm definitely learning that gratitude is an attitude and that there are so many things to love and be thankful for if I seek to find it, even in the midst of sleepless, exhausting, spit-up crazed days.
cheers to months and years of adjusting, growing and learning how to be faithful in caring for and loving on this little guy. :) So thankful that God's grace is sufficient for all things!
