I’m not a brand new mama – I’ve done this before. This baby will be easy – he’s my third child after all.
Life will go on as normal.
But it has been over 6 years since I’ve done the baby thing.
6 years.
Enough time for sleep and rest and routine to become normal.
Right now is anything but normal.
I’m 5 days postpartum and I must admit – this is hard.
I wasn’t expecting a spinal headache from the epidural (that I also didn’t plan to get).
I wasn’t expecting a “blood patch” to be out of the question to fix said spinal headache – because my platelets would be too low.
I wasn’t expecting the anesthesiologist to say, “You’ll probably be laying down for the next 7 days. Good luck.”
Laying down. With a new baby. And two other kids who need to see normal routine.
This is hard.
I wasn’t expecting the cold I had for nearly two weeks to stick around and pass onto my husband – who feels worse than he has in years.
I wasn’t expecting my girls to also pick up that cold.
I wasn’t expecting to be terrified that every single one of us and all of our visitors would pass this cold onto our new baby.
This is hard.
I knew it would take time for my body to bounce back. I expected that. I’ve been here before, after all.
But I forgot. I forgot how humbling it is to try to find a pair of pants that fit well enough to get me to my baby’s first doc appointment.
I forgot how pregnant I still look, even when I so badly want to be back to my pre-pregnant body.
I forgot how badly nursing hurts and that with every latch, my toes curl and I catch my breath.
I forgot how disgusting it feels to sit in my own filth of blood, and breast milk and (let’s be real, folks) urine. Am I peeing my pants right now? It’s possible.
This is hard.
I glanced at myself last night in the mirror. It was nearly 3:00 a.m. I didn’t recognize the reflection. This woman looked exhausted. And scared. And perhaps someone I’d met before, but couldn’t recall. Her hair was stringy, her face was puffy, she smelled a little (a lot) and she looked like she hadn’t slept in days. But there was something in her eyes and in her arms that reassured me all would be OK.
The look in her eyes was a love deeper than she’s ever known.
And the baby in her arms was the reason for it.
Yes, oh yes – this is so hard. But – this is so worth it.
For all the “new” mamas, with love. ~leslie