Do you remember what it was like to have a "new" newborn?

mavilabride · December 2009

Do you still have vivid memories of the hardship during the newborn days (lets say week one through week six)?

I remember feeling like things were never going to get easier because I kept asking people when will it get easier. But now that we're 5 months out, I can't remember that feeling anymore. I remember that I was sleep deprived because I spent a lot of time talking about it but I don't remember the feeling. Does that make sense?

SoHopeful · December 2009

oh my gosh....YES. that first week was brutal. i honestly felt like we'd never develop a routine and that i would never get to bed before midnight. i remember when dh went back to work how scared i was to be alone with ds. but, we're good now! :-)

MrsPreK · December 2009

Totally. At least with DS. DD is a super easy baby when compared to DS.

I remember calling my mom almost every morning crying and complaining that I was sooooooo tired. Yeah. I was totally that mom saying "Maybe tonight will be the night he'll STTN!!" and "When is he going to STTN??"

Ummm, yeah, the kid still doesn't STTN =/ I love him, but he is my trouble maker =D

Italianbride00079 · December 2009

I was just thinking this same thing yesterday...prob because we have been having some rough nights lately. (but not as rough as when he was a newborn)

sarahbethrn · December 2009

I was JUST looking at DS' newborn pictures and thinking how different he is now. I remember being really really scared of the night time because everyone else would be asleep and all my visitors were gone and it would be up to me to do everything for him.

fairychick77 · December 2009

Yes I totally remember and it was hell!! But I'd do it all over again for my little man!!

RandZB · December 2009

Yes, I loved it. Sure, I was recovering from major abdominal surgery and sleep-deprived and getting puked and pooped on all the time, but he was so little and sweet and snuggly that none of that mattered. I just kept telling myself that eventually this will be over and I'll miss it. I can't wait to do it again.

C.Mo · December 2009

Yes, I remember very clearly how I felt. I had never felt so exhausted in my life and I was terrified that I would never sleep again. Our lives were so chaotic for the first month, I barely ate or left the house. I was a complete zombie.

It's MUCH better now!

SFAug07 · December 2009

DD was much easier as a newborn. At least she just woke up to feed every few hours. Now she wakes up screaming at random times during the night, not hungry but just tired and crying. And I am back to work so I can't even catch up on my sleep during the day. I am so tired.

Lolita0626 · December 2009

D sleeps almost the same as when he was a newborn so that is still fresh in my mind lol. Other than that, I remember feeling both happy and anxious most of the time.

mavilabride · December 2009

sarahbethrn:
I was JUST looking at DS' newborn pictures and thinking how different he is now. I remember being really really scared of the night time because everyone else would be asleep and all my visitors were gone and it would be up to me to do everything for him.

Totally!

grinsandgiggles · December 2009

I remember all of that. It was brutal. Glad we're past all of that.

I'm having a hard time remembering him and all his newborn sounds though. Makes me tear up a little.

MiaVonT · December 2009

I was a complete mess!

kiki4 · December 2009

Yes...I developed a secondary infection, so on top of being exhausted, I was in a lot of pain for the first 3-4 weeks. We had family in town for two weeks, but none of them helped during the nights. And I hated it when someone told me, "sleep when the baby sleeps". Um, yeah, he's eating every two hours so I can either take a nap or I can take a shower, or I can wash bottles...or...there was no take a nap and...!

TommysGirl56 · December 2009

So stressful. I remember crying after hours of DD crying and I could do nothing to stop it. I remember being up until 2am trying to get her to sleep, and then getting back up at 4am to feed her. I remember being exhausted from my BF/bottle feed/pump routine I did to get my supply up. I remember not having a way to eat/drink/sleep/pee because she would scream if set down for even a moment. I remember daily trips to the pedi for weight and bilirubin checks. I remember wondering why I thought I wanted to be a mom! But now DD gives me the biggest grins and I know it was all worth while.

AutumnBride929 · December 2009

Yes, it was horrible. I missed being pregnant badly and I just had this little baby that slept, pooped, ate and cried. I couldn't bond, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat and I didn't have anyone around to help besides DH but he went back to work the next week.

On top of the blues and the stress and the sleep deprivation, I discovered my inadequate supply, DS lost 18% of his birth weight and I had to start supplementing. Not the greatest time to be hit with something like that. I was sooo distressed.

Then DS smiled at me for the first time and I finally started feeling a connection with my son... not just a sleeping, pooping, crying baby! Whew... that was a trying time for sure.

Shlei · December 2009

I remember walking around my apartment with my baby and crying at the same time. I kept telling my fiance that I was a terrible mother because I couldn't get her to stop crying. In truth, she had only been crying for all of 2 minutes. I was just one big emotional mess. I jumped at every whimper and new noise she made.

shortyran · December 2009

Oh, yes. Those first 6 weeks were easily the hardest 6 weeks of my life! My poor little guy was so miserable between his awful gas and milk protein sensitivity (that we didn't know about.) I had a hard time bonding with him because he was so miserable and that made me feel like the worst mom in the world. I felt bad because my husband couldn't make the baby happy either, and that made my husband sad.

All in all, it was not a fun time! I also remember people saying "it gets better" and it DID get better! I don't know exactly when but I feel so much more confident as a mother, and a person now. I enjoy my time with my LO (I think it helps that he smiles and responds now!) and feel like my life has changed, but in a good way.

I was thinking about his newborn days a few nights back when we had a stretch of non-STTN nights and tried to remember how I did it for as long as I did- because I got so cranky when I didn't get enough sleep for 4 nights in a row- I have no idea how I did it for the first 2 months

WendyBird&Chris · December 2009

I remember feeling like I was out of my mind until she was about 4 weeks old. After 2 months piece of cake! It seems so long ago but I have not forgotten it!!

CalinsBride · December 2009

I was actually on kind of a high until he hit about 3 weeks. I had tons of energy (but then I also napped with him a couple times a day, and that was back when DH was still getting up to help me at night). I just miss him being so tiny that he could nap on my chest or totally tucked into the Moby all day while I walked around getting stuff done around the house *sigh* I miss it. I love his personality now, but I miss my snuggly tiny baby.