Day 3: The First Night Home

Psst...before we get into today's nugget of advice, can I just tell you something? Yesterday was one of those tired days where I felt like it took a herculean effort just to get simple tasks done. And Javi didn't take his normal naps - which totally threw off my plans for the day. Also, I planned to get some outdoor painting done, and it rained all.day.long. :-) Good thing I've learned to be flexible, hmm? :-) 

 When interviewing pediatricians, I asked each one for their most important advice to me as a first time mom. They all told me some really useful stuff, but they also ALL told me this:

“That first night home from the hospital is really rough. The baby is starting to come out of their “just born daze”, and is freaking out about the world. The euphoria, adrenaline and numbness are starting to wear off for you. Sleep deprivation is just starting to get going. Your milk probably won’t have come in yet. And now you’re home, alone, feeling underqualified and overwhelmed. Everyone feels that way. And everyone makes it through just fine. After you all survive that first night, it gets easier.”

Boy were they right. I had grandiose ideas of the baby sleeping in his own room from the very first night. We laid Javi down to sleep in his cradle, and went into our room. 2.5 seconds later he was crying inconsolably, and so was I. We brought him in our room, and tried everything to soothe the little guy. I wailed to Lover through bleary eyes “how could they possibly have let us take him home when we know nothing about babies?” Javi cried, I cried, and Lover held us both. It was a long night. But you know what? Morning came, and we had all survived our first night as a family. And it got easier from there. :-)

Check out the rest of the posts in my series, 31 Days of New Baby Advice!