The First Few Weeks | Straight Talk

Isn't he the cutest thing ever?!

Lets get real.
No more Pinterest pins proclaiming parenting perfection.
Just the honest truth.

Motherhood ain't no walk in the park.

It's hard.
And they don't tell you that in the books.

I'll say it again, motherhood is difficult.

Yes, I love Carsen with everything in my being and I wouldn't trade this precious experience for anything, but that does not change the fact that all of this new mommy stuff doesn't get the best of me some days.

Emotionally, I'm one hot mess.
I cry every day.
E V E R Y  D A Y!

Carsen spits up = I'm a failure = I cry.
Carsen has trouble latching on = I'm a failure = I cry.
I have to pump because I'm too sore = I'm a failure = I cry.
Does Carsen have nipple confusion? = I'm a failure = I cry.
Carsen cries = I'm a failure = I cry.
Is Carsen eating enough? = I'm a failure = I cry.
Our apartment is trashed? = I'm a failure = I cry.
You name it, I probably cried because of it.

Thank God for my husband.
Kevin keeps me together when all I want to do is fall apart.
He keeps Carsen calm.
Honestly, it's a miracle he hasn't become a chain smoker in the midst of it all.

And then there is breast feeding [sorry men].
Before Carsen, when asked how long I planned to breast feed, looking at Kevin we'd say, "at least a year." Now a days, I literally pray I make it through one feeding, let alone a full year.

I had unspoken expectations to be sure [kind of like my birth plan]. I didn't know they were there but they were.
- Breast feeding will be easy.
- There will be no complications [just like childbirth].
- It's a natural thing so it will happen naturally.

BIG FAT FALSE.

While breast feeding is a natural process for women, it doesn't happen without you and baby practicing and learning how to work together. But no one tells you this. Books and videos only show the ease and beauty of the process [que eloquent music and smiling mommy not in her pajamas and probably brushed teeth with her perfectly chubby baby].

I can't believe he is mine. I am blessed.

They forget to talk about the clogged breast ducts, or engorged boobs, or the sore and super painful nipples. They forget to mention that your baby's tiny mouth and your big boobs might not be the perfect fit at first. They forget to say that it could take a couple of times or weeks to get the hang of it.

Don't get me wrong, I know there are those moms where breast feeding comes easy and natural and their kid is the latch-on king or queen. But those moms and babies are the exception, not the rule.

Let me say it again for all you moms out there struggling:
THOSE MOMS AND BABIES ARE THE EXCEPTION, NOT THE RULE.

So for all soon to be mommies or new mommies barely getting by these first few weeks: nursing might be hard, but hold on to hope, have a correct size breast pump and loads of nipple cream on hand, and pray... It gets I'm told it gets easier with time.