I Had No Idea How Caring For A Newborn Would Be
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Anonymous
| I have a newborn and thought that my years of nanny experience and helping with nieces/nephews would prepare me for having a baby. I felt confident about my ability to care for my newborn. In some ways, I was right and so feel confident because I know, but there are many things I underestimated or were simply naive about. The lack of sleep, breastfeeding - learning and being shared a a human cow every two hours, and how much my newborn cried unless he is sleeping or eating. He hates being changed - diaper and clothes, he hates having to wake up to eat, he hates baths, etc. What I thought would be this super easy magically time has been far from reality. I never knew how breastfeeding would actually be - the constant feedings, teaching a small baby when you have no clue what you’re really doing, the pain. This added on top of the level of sleep deprivation that I never knew existed. I’m so in love and so happy to have this sweet little baby, but damn I did not realized just how hard, time consuming, and exhausting caring for a newborn was going to be. |
Anonymous
Sounds about right 
Hang in there, it gets easier. The first month is really tough but it gets a little easier every week. Do what you need to do to make it through for now. |
Anonymous
| Yep, I hear you. And I worked in an infant room where the ratio was 4:1. It still did not compare with caring for a newborn. The responsibility is constant and daunting! Hang in there, it gets better. Then worse, then better, etc. |
Anonymous
100% Nannying give you an idea of the boredom, but not what it's like PHYSICALLY to be pregnant, birth, and sustain a newborn. You never get to recover, you are thrown right into the hardest time of your life with an injury to heal at the same time! It's insane. You'll get there. The baby gets a little bit bigger each day. The next thing you know he'll be calling you "bro" and rolling his eyes at you. |
Anonymous
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No one has any idea until it actually happens. It's impossible.
Hang in there- it does get better! |
Anonymous
| OP here. I keep leaving out the word hard. Ugh! |
Anonymous
This! |
Anonymous
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You're 100% right - and you also don't have the knowledge that, no matter how the day goes, you'll be off the clock at a certain point and you'll get to sleep. That was one of the hardest things for me - never being fully off the clock.
I promise, it gets better. |
Anonymous
+2! And I agree it does get better. |
Anonymous
| It is so hard and yet people often have one or several more after the first. You must remember this because that is how you know it has to get better and is worth it or anyone with any sense would stop at one. |
Anonymous
+100. You can do it, OP! I hated the newborn stage and was always glad when it was over. |
Anonymous
| here's one thing that I'll offer...just when you are feeling completely overwhelmed and beaten down with an issue (eating, sleeping, reflux, etc.) it will suddenly resolve itself and then some new all-encompassing issue arises and you suddenly forget how urgent that previous issue was. You must tell yourself that's it's all temporary. Take lots of deep breathes and walk out of earshot and gather yourself before going back to the chaos. Take care of yourself. |
Anonymous
| Some day, OP, you will be one of the moms who will giggle inside when she hears younger women who haven't had kids yet talk about how they will keep up with their 80/week job or keep running 7 miles a day or never miss a hair appointment when they have their kid. And you will nod and smile and know what they are in for. |
Anonymous
This is true! Also....you will not remember much of this time. Which is a gift. |
Anonymous
| Well you had never been through it so how could you know. |