First of all, Ricky and I feel extremely blessed. We cannot count the number of blessings we have been given this past year. Among the most amazing blessings we have been given is our baby Carter. I am not going to lie, it it difficult being a mom and has taken MUCH getting used to. Before he was born, I had a lot of time on my hands. I was only working part time and being a wife with no kids could only keep me so busy. However.... since Carter has been born it seems like I have NO extra time. Any snippets of time I get (which I only get when he is asleep for 15-30 minutes at a time), I do things that I have to do like shower, dishes, laundry, meal planning, blah, blah, blah. Sometimes I think, what did I sign up for?! ah! I do LOVE being a mom though. It has its rewards. When Carter smiles at us, it makes all of the hard things worth it. And he is actually a pretty good baby. He is always so good when we go out. Especially during Christmas when I was doing all of my shopping, he just sat in his carseat in the stroller and hardly made a peep. Although he does always have a face that says, "are we going home yet?"
I just want to talk a little bit about nursing. If there are any new moms or moms-to-be reading this, pay close attention:) Breastfeeding takes commitment. At first, it is just painful and your baby nurses ALL the time is seems likes. Now, we are pretty quick at it. By the way, if you are having any pain with nursing get Newman's ointment prescribed by your doctor. It works MIRACLES. I promise. Anyway, breastfeeding IS WORTH THE STRUGGLES!!!! I cannot stress that enough. Ricky and I went to a breastfeeding class before Carter was born (highly recommended) and learned why it is the best for your baby. It provides immunity that your baby can get nowhere else, has numerous health benefits, and it is important for bonding. And to boot, it doesn't cost anything. It's a win-win. The instructor of the class told us something very interesting, she said breastfeeding is 98% commitment and 2% technique. So true. And I also love knowing that I am the only person that can provide that for my baby. Breastfeed your baby, end of story.
Carter's Birth Story
I want to jot down Carter's birth story mostly so I won't forget. I had a pretty easy labor and delivery. It all started at 3:30am on October 26, 2012. I got out of bed to use the restroom (I know, tmi) and my water broke. I woke Ricky up and told him I think my water broke. So we tried calling the doctor but he never answered so we just hopped in the car and headed to the hospital. When we got there, the nurse checked me to make sure my water really did break. I remember she said, "looks like you're staying!" I was thrilled. I only had about 4-6 hard contractions before I requested the epidural. Getting the epidural wasn't bad at all. Not like I anticipated. Anyway, they did have to start me on pitocin since I was only at 1cm when I got to the hospital. Things progressed steadily from there. I just laid in the hospital with Ricky sitting right next to me. The nurses did offer him a complimentary meal they give to all the dads. Anyway, from the time my water broke to the time I delivered was 13 hours, typical for first time moms. He was born at 4:39pm. I swear the epidural felt like I was sitting in a warm jacuzzi. So nice. Anyway, it only took a few pushes and he was here! The nurses actually told me to stop pushing because he was almost out and the doctor was just getting off the freeway. And when he did arrive several minutes later, two pushes and he was out! May sound weird, but the nurses told me I was an excellent pusher:) haha
Now, the recovery period... that's a different story. I really paid for the breeze of a delivery with a nasty recovery. Of course, I got a second degree laceration (tear through tissue and muscle) when I delivered. I was in SO much pain for probably the first month and a half. Couldn't even sit on my butt. Trying to take care of a newborn while hardly being able to walk is VERY difficult. However, things are much better now. I feel like I have a better grip on the whole mom thing and I can actually be physically active! You just have to listen when people say, hang in there, it does get better. And lucky for both Ricky and I, Carter has been a great sleeper since he was born. He has pretty much always slept through the night. There's another blessing right there.
I just want to talk about my lovely mother for a moment. The amount of help she offered when Carter was born was ASTOUNDING to say the least. I could make a list a mile long of all the things she did for me, Ricky, and Carter. My goodness. Just to name a few... She went grocery shopping for me, picked up prescriptions for me, made us dinner (and if she was unable to make it she would pick something up), stayed the night several times, helped with Carter in the middle of the night, took Carter so I could rest, helped me manage my pain, came to doctor's appointments for both me and Carter, and much more. I cannot thank her enough. I am so grateful for a loving mother who has alway taken such great care of her children. Tear, tear.
Here are some pictures of Carter when he was very first born and some within the week after:
I ADORE this little guy.
