La Casa de Rosasharona

1. Babies don’t really do anything when they’re first born.

2. New baby smell gets masked real easy by baby vomit.

3. New babies can get really pimply.  New babies can be really hairy.

4. Everyone wants to give you advice, some of it stinks.

5. When someone else holds/cares for your baby, you tend to micromanage.

6. Suddenly all of your stuff vanishes and is replaced by baby stuff and furniture.

7. As the official trash-taker-outer, sacks of dirty diapers are really heavy.

8. Babies can be born with raptor-claws (sharp nails).

9. Babies don’t have a snooze button.

10. I don’t care what you saw in the movies, it’s really not like that.

11. With this much sleep deprivation sometimes you tend to be a little edgier and get into a few more spats with your spouse than usual, but it doesn’t mean you don’t love each other.

12.  Sympathy weight is a lot harder to lose than baby weight.

Some things I wish I knew before pregnancy and having a baby:

1. Your feet and legs will get SO swollen after giving birth from all the IV fluids the hospital pushes through your body. My feet could not fit into my shoes when I was discharged from the hospital! I was shuffling around with the back half of my feet hanging out of my shoes…good thing they had me in a wheelchair leaving the hospital!

2. Engorged breasts…not fun!

3. You don’t need to buy any clothes for the baby because everyone will give you clothes as gifts. Although I suppose there is no harm in a few extra outfits that mommy picked out!

4. The only thing you will want to dress the baby in are sleep and plays (the one piece outfits with attached feet) because they are convenient and warm.

5. Every baby is different and no one thing will work to calm/soothe every baby. The swing/baby bjorn/moby is not such a godsend after all

6. One bad latch during a nursing session can cause sore boobs for a week.

7. Bonding with baby is not always immediate and all at once. It took awhile for me to feel completely bonded…and I didn’t feel completely bonded with my baby until she started smiling at me!

8. You don’t have to be in your baby’s face 24/7. The baby will be fine if you leave her/him in the crib on his/her own (as long as they are not crying) every once in awhile.

9. You really don’t need all those self-help baby books (however, the breastfeeding book i had was really helpful).

10. Not every baby sleeps all day long!

11. Not every baby takes a pacifier!

12. It’s okay to cry it out in the post-partum period…your hormones are crazy and your life is turned upside down. If it provides relief, do it. And don’t feel guilty about it.

13. If you don’t get your nursery done before the baby is born, it may not ever get done! (ours is still unfinished).

14. Food is the best present you can ever send to new parents. The next best thing is having someone come over to relieve you of the baby for a few hours while you and your husband/partner have a few hours to yourselves.

Other moms and dads out there: can you add to this list? Leave a comment!