In these first 6 weeks of motherhood, I have often found myself feeling surprised. Certain things I hadn’t expected would catch me at various times.
Here are 6 things that surprised me in these early days of motherhood:
1. How hungry I was
When I was pregnant, a lot of people would say to me, “Well, you’re eating for two!” And I did think I was hungrier than before. But what surprised me was that after breastfeeding, I would feel totally famished – even hungrier than when I was pregnant. That was when I felt like I was really eating for two!
2. Even her crying was cute
I knew that my baby would be cute. But I was surprised that I found even her crying cute! I’d feel like somewhat of a bad mother, but sometimes, I’d just watch her cry and marvel at how cute she was.
3. Sharing Alena
I felt this most acutely in the first week of Alena’s life. I was surprised at how difficult it was for me to share her with the rest of the family. I guess after being the exclusive person to carry this baby for 9 whole months, it was a bit of a shock that I wouldn’t get to hold her 24/7 anymore. I was surprised at my feelings of resentment when I had to rest and others would care for Allie. This was something I didn’t realize I was feeling until Tim articulated it for me.
4. My belly
I had never seen a post-pregnancy belly before, so this was one of the things I was curious about going into this whole experience. I was surprised at how my belly looked after I gave birth. It was more jiggly and wrinkly than I’d imagined. And the dark line that had developed over pregnancy has continued to hang around.
5. Baby manicures
Alena’s nails grow super fast and get really sharp. I was surprised at how often I had to cut or file them – every few days it seemed! I learned that part of my role was now to specialize in baby manicures and pedicures.
6. My bladder capacity
After growing accustomed to a walnut-sized bladder for the last few months of pregnancy, I was super surprised at how much pee my bladder could now hold! Especially in the first couple of weeks, it felt like every pee was never ending. I seriously didn’t remember my bladder ever having such a capacity before.
These surprises are most likely particular to me, but I wanted to post them, even if it’s just to remember what this experience was like.