To the Mom with a Newborn

This post has been updated.

It has been 9 days since I’ve become a mom of 3…. And what a journey it has been thus far.

A beautiful, but an overwhelming journey.

At the moment, I have Dolly Parton boobs and I smell like sour milk. I can’t remember the last time I combed my hair… (wait – I just found a cheerio in it, thanks to my toddler) and I look like a zombie who is thirsty for a cup of coffee and one who needs a shower desperately.

Honestly, I feel like a first time mom all over again. Is it because I have a son this time around or is it because I forgot what newborns are all about?

I have a confession to make – the first day I fed my son, I forgot to burp him. You would think I would have known this after being a mom for almost 5-years, but yes it happened and I wanted to cry about it – especially when I heard the huge burp he made after the nurse patted him.

The truth is that there is so much pressure on a new mom to try to be the best she can be, even if it is the second or third time around. You want to be the perfect mom but that doesn’t happen. Everything doesn’t happen according to the books that you read.

There’s no chapter in the book telling you how to walk straight at 2 am in the morning or how to avoid getting sprayed on by a mini hose pipe while trying to change a nappy with one eye closed. There are some things you have to figure out as the days go by.

During the first couple of weeks with a newborn, you are emotional, in love and overwhelmed with the speed of how fast life has changed. Every diaper change entails at least 3 diapers – the dirty diaper, the new diaper that ends up getting pee or poop on it and the actual diaper you use to finally change your newborn. You worry about anything and everything and end up googling it all. You forget what sleep is and keep checking to see if your baby is breathing.

But you know what? Everything is going to be okay. This is a season… This too shall pass. Your newborn will soon be smiling, crawling and sleeping through the night (if you lucky).

Don’t stress about the laundry piling up or how dirty the house is. You have a baby who needs your attention almost 24 hours a day. Relax. Breathe. And don’t compare yourself to the mom who has 3 kids.

Remember motherhood cannot be taught, it can only be learned and that too from mistakes. Don’t be too hard on yourself.

I’m enjoying every single moment of being a new mom.

Newborns are so precious…

Even though I look like crap, I’m still smiling because staring at my son’s face at 2 am in the morning gives me the energy that I need to continue.

Even though he poops and pees on me, I’m still laughing because these are moments that will become memories in a couple of years.

Even though I’m eating cold food 2 hours after I had dished up, I’m still strong because feeding my kids is more important than a plate of hot food for me.

I may smell like sour milk and have cheerio’s in my hair but I’m loving the precious memories I’m creating with my kids.

This past week has been amazing and crazy!

I’ve learned to trust myself more as a mother.

I know having a newborn can turn your world upside down, and not everyone experiences everything positively but never doubt yourself like I did.

Enjoy the little things while you can – little things like those adorable smiles, tiny cute feet, and little fingers because one day you will wake up to a baby that’s all grown up.

Motherhood is hard but it’s so worth it.