One Month Into Parenthood

As of last Wednesday, we have officially survived our first month of parenthood.  Here's what I have learned so far:

1) Caring for human babies is quite different than caring for puppies.  The most notable difference is that human babies need milk and puppies can eat Puppy Chow.  You can buy the human equivalent of Puppy Chow for your baby (formula) but all modern medical literature will make you feel like an utter failure as a mother if you succumb to using it to feed your infant. 

The second most notable difference - human babies have no teeth.

2) You can leave the house with a newborn baby and have a somewhat normal life.  You just have to bring a lot of stuff with you to do so.  The one thing you forget to bring that day (wipes, change of outfit, blanket, etc.) will be the one thing that you need more than anything.

3) While it is pretty much accepted that breast milk is the best possible food for babies, it is almost impossible to find a public place where you can comfortably feed your baby.  So far, Nordstroms and Babies R Us are the only two places I have found that have a nice set-up.  Macy's had a little converted storage closet for the job.  Most places don't so much as have a chair let alone a nice, quite comfortable place.

So, you need to get real used to breastfeeding in public if you plan on feeding your little one that way.  And yes, people stare.

4) Human babies come out of the womb very hungry (well, at least mine did.) When Ryder cries, it's because he's hungry.  When Ryder wakes up, he's hungry.  He eats all the time.  Luckily, he's really cute when he's hungry.  He does this little baby bird face where he waves his head around with his mouth open looking for something to stick in it.  It's adorable! 

So basically, as his mom, my primary job for the last month has been feeding him.  Everyone else in the family, runs back-up and supporting roles to feeding him.  I went the whole first week without changing a single diaper.  I think everyone sort of feels sorry for me because I spend so much time in bed feeding this little guy.

5) We have drawers and drawers full of baby clothes but we only dress Ryder in outfits that are easy to get on.  Why do they make so many baby clothes that piss babies off when you attempt to put them on?  Baby pants are just silly - they're hard to get on, fall off way too easily and when you need to change a diaper, they need to be pulled off every time.  Dumb.

6) Swaddling isn't just a nice thing to do and a cute word.  It is a necessity so it's a good idea to practice it a lot and get good at it.  It's the baby equivalent to a straight jacket for the mentally ill.  Babies have no control over their extremities and when they get worked up, they wave them in the air like crazy - which just works them up even more.  If you can get a good swaddle going, you can lock everything down and he will go to sleep.  A bad swaddle is like no swaddle - baby will fight his way out of it in no time.

Ok... I have learned more than this but Milky is hungry so I got to go.  More later.