Parenting the Nugget
It's been over 5 months since I've welcomed my little nugget into the world. He completely changed the way I tick. I've read a lot of things online from other moms, a lot of parenting books, and I've asked what prominent mother figures I have in my life as well. I thought I knew exactly what I wanted and was going to do to bring up my child in the best way possible.
Then I actually had him. Things changed. For example: I wanted to breastfeed from the get go and not do formula. Well, I gave birth to a big baby and my nipples were so tender that baby learning to latch was completely unbearable. I let him nurse for as long as I could before wanting to punch him (I would never, let's make that clear) but it came to the point that his bilirubin levels were not dropping. He received formula in the hospital and for the next 7 weeks of his life. I would let him nurse as long as I could stand, pump, and top off with formula. Did you know formula is ridiculously expensive? I am grateful that we figured out our breastfeeding journey and now formula is a thing of the past. Formula is a wonderful thing if one is not able to breastfeed. But if you are able to-wow-it is an amazing thing.
I thought I'd have him sleep in his beautiful crib we bought him. Babies are supposed to sleep in cribs, right? Josh worked so hard one night for close to 3 hours putting it together for him. Baby had other plans. We got so desperate that I finally took him to bed with me one night and he is still there. But I get a lot of sleep for having to nurse him ever 2-3 hours. I have come to love bedsharing with my nugget. It brings another bond to our relationship. I feel so close to him, and not just physically.
I thought baby-carrying was something fun but never really saw myself doing it. We got a stroller. Now, we use that stroller quite a bit when going out as a family for long periods of time to places such as the park, a walk around the block, walking around town. But then I tried to get chores around the house done and baby had other plans. I discovered Solly baby wraps. It was love at first wear. And now that baby is growing bigger, I discovered the Ergo baby and can wear him on my back. Between that Solly wrap and my newly discovered Ergo carrier, I love feeling so close to my baby. And the house isn't a disaster.
There a lot of parenting decisions out there. I'm seeing controversial topics come up like vaccines, circumcision, fluoride (that's a new one to me), juice, rice cereal, when to start solids, what diapers to wear, what shampoos and lotions, arguing what chemicals are safe or not, using essential oils, etc. It is amazing to me how different people are and what they believe. I'm just getting started in this journey.
Despite all of these decisions, the one thing I've learned is to listen to your baby. Read him; not just read to him. Read his body language. Read his cues. He is this tiny thing that really was never meant to be independent at this age. He needs his mother. He needs his father. He needs the love of a village. He needs to be nurtured, not trained.
And when I give all these things to my baby, he in turn teaches me to be more Christ-like. I have never been this patient before. I am learning to be more temperant, more patient, more understanding, more charitable. I'm exhausted, but I love what I am learning. He is perfect in my eyes; he is perfection.
Then I actually had him. Things changed. For example: I wanted to breastfeed from the get go and not do formula. Well, I gave birth to a big baby and my nipples were so tender that baby learning to latch was completely unbearable. I let him nurse for as long as I could before wanting to punch him (I would never, let's make that clear) but it came to the point that his bilirubin levels were not dropping. He received formula in the hospital and for the next 7 weeks of his life. I would let him nurse as long as I could stand, pump, and top off with formula. Did you know formula is ridiculously expensive? I am grateful that we figured out our breastfeeding journey and now formula is a thing of the past. Formula is a wonderful thing if one is not able to breastfeed. But if you are able to-wow-it is an amazing thing.
I thought I'd have him sleep in his beautiful crib we bought him. Babies are supposed to sleep in cribs, right? Josh worked so hard one night for close to 3 hours putting it together for him. Baby had other plans. We got so desperate that I finally took him to bed with me one night and he is still there. But I get a lot of sleep for having to nurse him ever 2-3 hours. I have come to love bedsharing with my nugget. It brings another bond to our relationship. I feel so close to him, and not just physically.
I thought baby-carrying was something fun but never really saw myself doing it. We got a stroller. Now, we use that stroller quite a bit when going out as a family for long periods of time to places such as the park, a walk around the block, walking around town. But then I tried to get chores around the house done and baby had other plans. I discovered Solly baby wraps. It was love at first wear. And now that baby is growing bigger, I discovered the Ergo baby and can wear him on my back. Between that Solly wrap and my newly discovered Ergo carrier, I love feeling so close to my baby. And the house isn't a disaster.
There a lot of parenting decisions out there. I'm seeing controversial topics come up like vaccines, circumcision, fluoride (that's a new one to me), juice, rice cereal, when to start solids, what diapers to wear, what shampoos and lotions, arguing what chemicals are safe or not, using essential oils, etc. It is amazing to me how different people are and what they believe. I'm just getting started in this journey.
Despite all of these decisions, the one thing I've learned is to listen to your baby. Read him; not just read to him. Read his body language. Read his cues. He is this tiny thing that really was never meant to be independent at this age. He needs his mother. He needs his father. He needs the love of a village. He needs to be nurtured, not trained.
And when I give all these things to my baby, he in turn teaches me to be more Christ-like. I have never been this patient before. I am learning to be more temperant, more patient, more understanding, more charitable. I'm exhausted, but I love what I am learning. He is perfect in my eyes; he is perfection.
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