OklahoMama

When it came time for the tiny human to turn 1 month old, I was struck with the realization that I didn't know what sort of photos I wanted to mark the passage of time. I knew I wanted to do some sort of photo every month that highlighted how she was changing, but I hadn't really decided on what. And in a fog of hormones with a still healing scar across my stomach in the throes of my new stay-at-home-mom life, this decision seemed to be of paramount importance. If I got it wrong now... I wouldn't have it right later. I couldn't just start halfway through with a new picture idea if I thought of something later. I needed to get this right. Unfortunately, at 1 month, the tiny human was still thoroughly enmeshed in her "but I want to be HELD" stage, and wasn't in the mood to be still and content while I fumbled through my first photo attempts. In the end, I decided on three photos to take every month. One with a sticker, one with a quilt that grandma...

I'm pretty sure I've tried every swaddle on the planet. It has been quite the saga, but one that has taught me a great deal. Firstly- when we had the tiny human, I had no earthly idea about all the options there were available. I also didn't realize important swaddling would become to me, which probably explains why I didn't look at the options. Swaddling was just something that we might do, maybe, sometimes, I thought. Boy howdy. Was I ever wrong. At the very beginning, in the hospital and our first night home, we didn't bother swaddling the baby. Because one of us was holding the baby at all times. So, no swaddle necessary. Upon realizing that this was ultimately unsustainable... we decided to try to swaddle her and let her take a nap in her Rock N' Play. She seemed to dig that pretty well, so we decided that might be a good option for her night time sleep. We swaddled her tight in a blanket that I had to spread all across the bed, usually on the h...

We took an intense birthing class before the tiny human showed up. It was 8 weeks long, once a week for 3 hours. We covered everything from emotional health to where to get the best fuzzy socks (with traction) for your hospital bag. When we first walked in on the very first day, I balked. I felt awkward and out of place, since we were the least pregnant people there, and as anyone who has ever met me can attest, I don't always do super awesome with new people. I'm a strange combination of shy and weirdly sarcastic in new situations, which is definitely what every birthing class needs. I started feeling even MORE awkward when the instructor turned on relaxing music and told our husbands to massage our necks. And even more awkward than that when we went around the room to rate how relaxed we felt on a scale of 1-10. Relaxed? Are you kidding me? My blood pressure hasn't been this high in years. Right around that time... the instructor told us that we were welcome to bring ...

I mentioned that I read during night feedings. There is a very important reason why, other than to keep me awake. That reason being that if I don't have something else to do... I tend to buy things. Things I have ordered in the middle of the night since the tiny human was born: - Capri pants - Harem shorts - Printer ink (twice) - Diapers - A sun hat for baby - Flea meds for the dog (twice) - Toilet paper - Wipes - A baby scale - Baby clothes - Baby bows - My third pair of Teva sandals - Mother's milk tea - Fenugreek drink packets - 9 dresses (returned 7) - Diaper pail - 2 v-neck shirts - Toilet wands - Singing car mirror - Carseat toy - Baby headphones - Baby swim suit - Baby sunglasses - Dog collar - Taggy blankets - Bibs - Fleecy footie pajamas - Mobile - Stamps - Refills for diaper pail - Baby swimming pool - 6 types of swaddles (returned 4) - 4 kinds of teething toys - Matching bows for tiny human and me - A oven mitt that looks like ...