Tuesday, July 10, 2012

10 Things I Forgot About Newborns

1) The pooping

How many times a day can a healthy human poop?  Apparently the answer is some number greater than 3,000.  Seriously, you guys...I had planned on using disposable diapers for the first two weeks before moving over to cloth, but little miss poopykins was going through so dang many of them that I busted out the reusables at only one week.  Because I am NOT spending another $30 on something that's going to get covered in poo and thrown in the trash.  I did that for 4 babies already.  No more pooping on the money.  That's my new motto.

2) The impeccable timing

You change her and then feed her and she drifts off to sleep and then you leap up and you tidy up the area around you and you scurry to the kitchen and you make yourself a sandwich and you sit down and you pick up the sandwich and you lean in to take your first delicious bite and....

WAAAAAAAAH!  I'M THE MOST STARVING BABY WHO EVER STARVED ON THIS ISLAND OF STARVATION YOU CALL OUR HOME!  FEED ME THIS INSTANT OR PAY DEARLY WITH THE BREAKING OF THE EARDRUMS!

3) The ill-fitting clothes

My babies are tall and thin.  Footie pajamas that are long enough have neck holes that look eerily similar to t-shirts from the costume rack of the original Flashdance.  Sometimes their little arms pop out the top.  Then they get REALLY stylish, what with the single-shoulder thing goin' on and all...

4) The ill-fitting clothes

I'm wearing maternity shorts right now.  The end.

5) The disappearing mornings

Sometime after your kids are capable of playing, you start to be able to accomplish things in the morning.  And you forget what it's like when your morning gets sucked into the black hole of "What the heck just happened?"

6) The soft, rolly necks

Oh but I do love her tiny, soft neck, with it's little rolls just starting to grow.  Sometimes I stick my nose right in there.  And I just sit.

7) And the smell!

Those 3,000+ daily poops have no offensive odor.  None.  Except perhaps vaguely of microwaved butter-flavored popcorn.  But the baby...oh the baby smells so, so, so, so delicious.  Scrumptious.  Fabulous.  Nomnomnomnomnom......

Sometimes I really can't help myself.

8) The love

Oh this person you just met, who's so tiny....all you can do is make sure she's okay.  Is that a scratch?  Is she still breathing?  Does this look purple to you?  Is that diaper on too tight?  And your older kids- "Why is she crying?" and "is she okay?" and "I have to kiss the baby before I can eat/sleep/play/get dressed/exit the room!".  And you see that your love multiplied is then multiplied.

9) The love

And people are calling you and emailing you and cornering your husband after Mass and sending things in the mail and praying for you and demanding pictures and their love fills in every corner of your world.

10) The Love

Then you realize that somehow God saw fit to entrust this little person to you because He loves you.  And He saw fit to have her be born because He loves her.  And He put the two of you together because that's the world He intended, the world made better by you and her together.  A renewed appreciation for all your children wells up in your heart, because really?  Me?  In all my sinfulness and imperfection?  I'm worthy of this?  But true Love isn't about being worthy, is it.  Which, of course, makes you want to be worthy even more.

Top Ten Tuesday at Many Little Blessings
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48 comments :

  1. Crying. Just. Beautiful.

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  2. Lovely thoughts about a newborn, and so true. The non-stinky poop is even cute! But ACK! I'm getting that mushy let's-get-pregnant-again feeling. My youngest is 15 months and I am just now on the verge of reclaiming my mornings!

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  3. Hey D, this is one of the most beautiful posts I have ever read. Makes my heart swell and makes my lacrimal glands super active. ~ld

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  4. Love it all. Especially the nomnom's. I still nomnom my 2 and 4 year old...but babies are much more nomnom-able. So delicious.

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  5. I'm not sure I'm ready to remember the first few yet. I'm gonna focus on 6-10.

    But the cloth diapers... really? I have been curious about cloth with all four of my kids but could never get myself over how expensive it is to take the initial plunge and I'm all afraid that I'll get sick of washing diapers after a week and then just go back to disposables while being stuck with all those expensive nappies. Everyone says washing them isn't so bad; but laundry is the bane of my existence.

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    1. I'm gonna do a whole "newbie cloth diaperer" post, but I'll be honest...if I didn't NEED to save the money, I probably wouldn't do it. But we are on well water, so we pay no water bill AND what I have is time and what I don't have is money. I like the earth and all, but I'm not crunchy enough to give up the disposables for only that reason.

      As to your cost question, our stash ended up being entirely free, gifted by two friends whose kids had grown out of the shrimpy sizes. So if you do want to go ahead, check craigslist or ebay or just do a callout on the blog/facebook!

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    2. Hi D, I'm pregnant with my first child and am grateful for your posts. They make laugh and cry... well, mostly cry because I am so darn hormonal. :) I want to do cloth diapers (yes I am that crunchy) so I eagerly await your "newbie cloth diaperer" post. ~T.

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    3. Dwija, I'm almost afraid to ask because if someone sent me the diapers then I'd have to use them, you know? At least make an host attempt. At the same time, all my babies have such sensitive skin. I always hit a point where I'm battling diaper rash that turns into bleeding sores where I can't help but wonder if using cloth wouldn't help the problem. I did switch from using wipes to using wet paper towels at my pediatrician's insistence because they were so sensitive to the chemicals on the wipes.

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    4. The bad/good news then is that cloth diapering likely will help your rash situation. We are using cloth wipes too and s far so good... :)

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  6. oh man. i'm three months away from having my third, and it hasn't really sunk in yet that there's another PERSON coming. (i know, you'd think i'd have thought about that already!) thank you for this. i'm still crying. "And you see that your love multiplied is then multiplied."

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  7. Hey, I'm a new reader (saw your article in the Mops magazine, which normally I would throw in the trash, but happened to read, and I am oh-so-glad because I read your article and then read your blog and now I'm happy. So happy that it made me write this really long parenthetical thought.) I have an 8 month old but man, I feel like just yesterday she was 8 DAYS old and I was thinking all these wonderful thoughts too. Great post, thanks so much.

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  8. Oh, this made me cry with joy! Glad to know I'm not the only one who just loves that "new baby" smell. Curious if you thought of purchasing the sprayer that attaches to a toilet to was out cloth diapers. Super helpful if you can't get to the wash right away.

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  9. "No more pooping on the money" Definitely got a chuckle outta that. Just had my 3rd 3 months ago and I am SO with you on this all. Thanks for sharing!

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  10. Stop. Making. Me. Cry.

    :)

    Lovely. I miss that newborn smell so much. But the love. Oh the love. You said it so well. I'm humbled beyond belief to have been entrusted with tiny humans. Unreal.

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  11. Oh this made me cry too. I love that smell. It is the best smell in the world. I have a working theory that if we could somehow distill the baby head smell and spray it over war-torn regions of the world, all fighting would stop immediately. That smell is straight from heaven.

    I use cloth diapers also, and I have come to like them. It took me a while, but I do like them.

    And also, what is it with the timing? How do they know when mommy has finally found three seconds to sit down and eat this sandwich?? How?!?

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  12. Thanks for this. With our fifth just a few weeks away, your #10 really hit home. Your writing really is a gift.
    All The Best,
    Matt

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  13. You really have a gift with words and a beautiful heart.

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  14. Maternity shorts, the end.
    I will DIE LAUGHING.

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  15. Replies
    1. Yes! Ditto! I think I just felt let-down as well! lol!

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  16. Such a sweet list. Yeah, and thanks for making me cry... lol.

    I often wonder how life will be when our next baby is born... it was so scary as a first-time mom. I have experience with a newborn, but not a newborn AND an almost 2 year old.

    Gosh, I'll be 38 weeks this Friday and I feel like I'm not ready for anything!!!

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    1. Hi Maggie, hang in there! Our boys are 22 months apart and I was scared out of my mind. You'll find a way to make it work & find that your heart can't imagine being without them.

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    2. Maggie, my oldest two are 22 months apart. It was totally scary at first and then within no time it somehow just became the new normal. In many ways it is like being a first-time mom again because the new one won't be the same as your first and many things you learned with your first won't apply. But many things will apply and you'll learn the ropes pretty quickly. And keep remembering that you DID survive being a new mom and that you WILL survive this too. Sure, you'll make a few mistakes; but probably fewer than you did the first time. Just remember when you do that it's not the end of the world. I was so worried about my oldest being jealous or something but what really happened was that she could spend an hour hovering over the baby saying hi to her over and over again. Now at 6 and 4 they are the best of friends. Praying for you and your new one.

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    3. Maggie, I hear you. My first will be 21 months old when I give birth to his little brother in August. I am starting to panic a bit!

      This list is priceless. I have been gazing covetously at tiny babies at the park, at the store, at Mass. I can't wait to nomnomnom some tiny toes. (I still nomnomnom my toddler's toes, actually. He finds it quite hilarious.)

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    4. You guys can do it! As I write this my 20 month old and my four month old are both sleeping peacefully in their cribs. I was beyond terrified about how close they are but it works out. Besides, if I can do it, anyone can!

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    5. I love how encouraging my readers are! I agree with all of the above. My 2 oldest are 15 months apart. Crazy, right? But we somehow survived AND managed to have 3 more children afterward. With God all things are possible :)

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  17. Grossly enough, I'm now craving poporn.....

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  18. Yes, this.

    Signed,
    One who is madly in love with her second baby
    And still enamored with her first

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  19. I love this post! It's so good to hear these things before my fourth is due. Sometimes we just need to be reminded what it's all about.

    ...still not doing disposables...maybe someday, but not this time. I do think it's great though!

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  20. Thank you, sweet baby Jesus, that you understand that breastfed baby poop smells like buttery popcorn. I am fully convinced that there are two kinds of people in the world- those that smell infant poop like buttery popcorn, and those that don't, and furthermore, find the first camp crazy for their olfactory experiences.

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    1. I completely second this. I've been saying it for five going on six (cause why would this one be different, right?) and I only convinced my husband a few babies ago. Seriously. It's buttered popcorn and you will not convince me otherwise. Happy post, nice to be reminded (too busy around here to stop and consider so much the pleasantries of newbies)! Though I have never forgotten how much poop comes out of such a small package.

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  21. Yay for neck rolls and baby smell and ALL THE LOVE!

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  22. Ah, I love this. I can totally relate. Crap, this makes me want a newborn again!

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  23. I love every single thing about this. Except the poop.

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  24. Love. That is all.
    Except that "no pooping on the money" is now my favorite cloth diaper pitch.

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  25. What's better than the baby smell? The softest skin in the universe. Skin undamaged by sun or wind or age. Just soft, soft, buttery skin. That's what I miss. The lovely, stroke-able, baby skin.

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  26. Love this! So beautiful.

    And the part about not "pooping on the money". Right you are!

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    Replies
    1. LOVED that line! Just like smoking is burning money? Disposables are pooping on the money.

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  27. I am so glad I found your blog link on Carrots for Michaelmas! I'm just finishing up my first trimester with my first child and whenever I feel super crappy God always throws me something super beautiful to read to remind me that this crazy "all the time" (forget just morning) sickness is just a small sacrifice to make for this incredible masterpiece He is building inside me. Ahhhh. Thanks so much for this post! Will definitely be checking out the rest of your blog!

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  28. I love it all ... but #10 is by far my FAVORITE. :-)

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  29. How perfectly lovely. and perfectly true. Sit and Savor!

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  30. Oh, sigh. Once again, loving this, and crying. One, because it's beautiful. Two, because I am a hormonal postpartum mess.

    I'm totally with you on the cloth diaper saving money -- I tell my husband -- hey, you're throwing a quarter in the garbage. He's weird about CD -- I have no idea why, since I"m the one on laundry detail. ARGH.

    Love you!

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  31. Makes me wanna go in and wake the baby up to kiss her all over;)

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  32. Although I did like it when they were cheaper, honest diapers are still my favorite. My 3rd child is now in these & out of 3 kids never have these leaked!!! And I love the orgainc material that just makes it better to use them!!
    honest diaper reviews

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