Hey everyone, it's Naya. I'm going to be telling you in this all about my experiences as a first time mom to my beautiful little boy.
On September 17, at 8:31 a.m., my life changed forever. I went from being pregnant with my first child (for what felt like an eternity) to being a mom!
Seeing Josey for the first time literally took my breath away. Really, I gasped! It was such a surreal moment to be face to face with my son.
Looking back on the entire journey feels like a dream that I can't believe I accomplished. And reality set in quickly when they placed him in my arms for the first time. This was my son, to have and to love, cuddle and oh wait ... to feed.
Throughout my pregnancy, I got a lot of advice on everything from birthing to newborn care to nutrition, but no one ever really broke it down to me when it came to breastfeeding. Bottom line, it's hard! Breastfeeding is like finding out that all of a sudden you can get bacon from your elbow.
Really, it's a trip.
One minute there's nothing going on with your perfectly perky boobs and the next a nurse is rolling yellow stuff out of your nipple and putting it in your baby's mouth. Things like achieving a proper latch, combating engorgement, and practicing different holds soon became my sole priorities. Our bedroom became a haven for all things breast; breast pads, shields, pumps and creams.
At times I started to feel like I was only a tit to Josey and there was many a time I would walk in the door to a crying baby and immediately have to strip and feed.
It wasn't all bad though, the bond between a mother and baby when you're breastfeeding is incredible and something no one else shares with your baby. There's also something amazing about the fact that you are sustaining a human life solely with your body. The benefits of breast milk for babies far outweigh the negative side effects for Mom.
All that being said, I was incredibly proud of myself. The three of us are toughing it out together in the middle of the night and early in the morning. But just like breastfeeding, the bond we all share supersedes the lack of sleep we now get. I think that's how it will be for the rest of our lives as parents - taking the good with the bad, the easy with the challenging.
And at the end of the day, when Josey smiles at us, it's all worth it.
I've done a lot in my life and accomplished many things, but nothing I ever do will be as good as Josey. With him, I've done my best work.
Baby products I'm loving right now:
Munchkin latch bottles
Pampers Swaddlers
WubbaNub pacifiers
Little Giraffe blankets
xoxo-Naya
