32 Weeks - Life with a Newborn

To those of you who are currently enduring those sleepless days and nights with a newborn - this is for you.

As we near the arrival of our sweet Leo, I can't help but reminisce about the days with a newborn. No one can ever prepare for what life will be like when you go from no baby to baby. Jason and I had absolutely no experience with babies - reading the book and watching the DVD of "The Happiest Baby on the Block" was not enough to prepare us for what we were about to encounter. You know how they say that if the month of March comes in like a lion, than it will go out like a lamb? That is the saying to which I would like to compare our first newborn experience. And I am not identifying the newborn as Lidia, per se, because it wasn't her who struggled - it was us who struggled. She just happened to be the lucky newborn who got us newbies as parents.

I have no regrets for stopping the blog as soon as Lidia was born. If I had continued writing, I'm sure it would have shown how clueless we really were as parents. I remember not even being able to pee without putting her down. Our first newborn didn't want anything to do with sleeping in any location other than her parents' arms. I know, you may be thinking that we spoiled her, but she woke up every single time we set her down to sleep. So when she fell asleep on one of us, we literally were out of commission until she woke up. And if we had the unfortunate luck of having to relieve ourselves while she was sleeping, she sometimes accompanied us to the bathroom. To get our first newborn to sleep, it took the actual physical effort of standing up and rocking her back and forth for sometimes an hour. And how could we forget that every time we found a moment to doze off, she woke up. Every time we decided to go to the store or eat out, she had decided that it was time for her to express her dislike with whatever she deemed appropriate. But, again I say, it wasn't her issue - it was ours. We were baby virgins. We had to go through all of our - and other's - tricks of the trade. Another memory is singing "You are My Sunshine" over and over again to keep her content. Every time we would stop the song, she would start crying. So we belted it as loudly and as proudly as we could to keep our baby content.

I fully support what I wrote in the first post of this blog - our first newborn taught us everything we know about being a parent. We have learned patience - she eventually stopped crying. We have learned to be completely selfless - she literally owned my boobs for the first 15 months of her life. And frankly, she owned our every thought and every ounce of our living, breathing selves.  Show me one person who never doubts that they are the best parent. We doubt ourselves everyday. Our tricks that we learn are just that - they are tricks. They aren't some fancy theories coming to life. And just when you think that the newborn phase will kidnap the rest of your carefree life, you are flash-forwarded to 2 and a half years later...

When we eat pasta, it is serious business. Every ounce of Italian in our body is focusing on getting every piece of rotini in our stomach before our stomach registers that it's full. The same holds true for Lidia. So as we sat down to devour our pasta one evening recently, it was no surprise that there was silence as we chomped down every bite. Out of nowhere, Lidia stops eating and looks over at me. I look over at her waiting, as I could tell her mind was trying to put together what she wanted to tell me. She finally said, "Mommy?" I answered, "Yes, my love?" She replied back, "You're a good mommy." Immediately, my eyes welled up with tears and I said, "That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me." And she concluded by saying, "I lub you."

So to all the newbie parents out there - it gets better, I promise. And even if you are doubting yourself, chances are your newborn thinks you are the best. He just doesn't have the words to tell you...yet. Keep your head up (literally), and keep doing what you feel works best for your newborn. He will eventually thank you.

Squishy Squash

It was so nice to feel you moving tonight, my love. You had been pretty inactive throughout the day. Of course, I worried a little bit. But then, after dinner, you had a burst of energy and were practicing your moves for about a hour. I just read where I will be noticing a decrease in your movements these days because you are settling into actual newborn sleep cycles. If your sleep cycles are any indication of what your sleep cycles will be outside of the womb, it looks like we might have another baby who loves to sleep on his mommy and daddy.

Speaking of sleep, it is that oh-so-favorite time of the day for your mommy. Good night, my sweet Leo. We'll be seeing you soon!