Tomorrow Ben goes back to work for good, which means I’m going to be taking care of my precious little baby ALONE for the first time.
Ben has been wonderful. He took two weeks of vacation time when Emma was born to nurse me back to health and to help take care of the baby. Then he had FOUR weeks of paternity leave that he took after my mom left. (I’m feeling jealous of my family in Sweden though, where fathers can get SIX MONTHS of paternity leave). I’m very thankful for the time Ben did have. In the States, this is huge.
He’s been making lunch and dinners, going grocery shopping, helping put Emma down for naps, taking care of Emma while I’ve gone to doctor’s, dentists, and optometrist appointments, given me some much-needed down time, and so much more.
Now showers are going to have to be more rushed. Is lunch even going to happen?
Babies are a lot of work (duh). I’m really admiring societies that recognize this. I hear of cultures where several women devote months to taking care of a mother who has just given birth and her baby. My mom was here for three weeks after the baby was born and I don’t know what I would have done without her.
Everyone says it gets a lot easier by the end of three months. It’s already much easier than it was several weeks ago. All of the things that make it hard are easing up. I’m getting used to having little sleep. And nursing, which started off well but went south for a month and a half, is so much better.
I worship women who have done this all alone and/or have other children to take care of.
So tomorrow I’m flying solo in the day. Wish me luck!
I feel so honored that I have this sweet baby girl to be a mother to.
We'd love to have you stop over with your darling daughter for a visit. Good luck doing it solo--I'm sure you'll so great. But it may be awhile before you are ready to start back to your part time job.
ReplyDeleteSo many memories came flooding back when I read this post. R was born 7 years ago this month. Crazy, huh. It was the hardest transition ever. I felt the same after my mom had to leave (she was there longer than Warren who went back to work after a few days). Honestly, I think the transition from 0 to 1 was harder than adding on number 2 or number 3. Not that there aren't new challenges with those transitions, but I've grown a lot as a mother and have relaxed a lot about things...nursing, etc. I'd love to talk to you sometime. We need to exchange phone numbers over email! Talk to you soon! D.
ReplyDeleteOh and PS. It truly does get better after three months. And then it gets better and better (and harder once in awhile with teething etc.) But really, the 3 month mark has been big for me with all three of mine. I think the baby is just more happy and comfortable with her surroundings and her body. Anyway, more later. D.
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