Baby B and Mama Photo Shoot {6 Weeks Old}: A Post on Pregnancy and Newborns

{This post is about being a first time mommy, with pictures from a session that I was so lucky to do with my cousin's first baby, Baby B, and baby B's beautiful mommy. Their session was lovely. The weather was perfect- warm and sunny. I got to watch this beautiful new mama with her precious baby, and it reminded me so much of when I had Maggie. How everything is new and scary, but so fun. She was such a sweet mommy with him, snuggling him and doing everything she could to keep him happy. You could see how much she adores Baby B. I can't tell you how much I loved snuggling with a bitty baby boy- something I don't get to do very often....! He was absolutely darling, and it was so fun to be with him the first time he got to breathe in some country air. What a session! It was perfect! And Mama, remember when times get rough with little man, hang in there! It gets better! I promise!}

I'm no where near an expert, but if I can share my experiences and advice that I've been given, and help anyone else out, then its all worth it.


There is nothing like having your first baby. When you take that test and find out that there is definitely a little bundle on the way, there can be a million different emotions all at once: excited, scared, nervous, thrilled, terrified, and one that I've felt a few times... the "oh shit" emotion. Its not negative or positive necessarily... Just a feeling of "okay, um, here we go!.... I guess.....???" And then you go. You go to the soon-to-be daddy and tell him. You go to the doctor and go through all the blood work. You might even get to have an early ultrasound. And for me, once I actually got to see the little jelly bean, that was it. Nothing else in the whole world mattered more than that baby in my belly. Like every other mama in the world, I was madly in love.






Then, your belly starts to grow. You might wake up one day with a big lump under your belly button like I did. Then one day you'll feel a little wiggle. Then a few weeks later you'll feel a big wiggle, which will turn into kicks. And those kicks might get to be a little painful. You'll likely have a very "glamorous" pregnancy, like every other woman out there. Lots of heartburn, sleepless nights, up to potty every few minutes, leg cramps that should never be called a "Charlie horse" because that just sounds too cute. It should be called "the leg cramp that will try to kill you." I would wake up, 9 months pregnant and LEAP out of bed to literally force my foot to be flat on the ground. Yes, good times. And you might have great skin during your pregnancy (some women are lucky that way) or you could be like me and have the skin of a 14 year old boy while you're pregnant. You might gain little to no weight. Or you could be like me when I was pregnant with Maggie and gain... well, you could just gain a lot. (We'll leave it at that.) You might go into labor on your own, you might be induced, you might have a planned C-section, or you might have an emergency C-section. You might be like me and bring your pre-pregnancy clothes with you to the hospital because you don't realize that if you have an 8 lb baby, you will lose approximately 8 lbs by the time you're ready to go home. Maybe less if you're still hanging on to all that IV fluid. So, don't be surprised if you still look 7 months pregnant on your way home. Unless you are Giselle. In which case, whatever. And don't be surprised if you're still wearing pants with an elastic panel for a good 4 weeks after. Okay, 6 weeks. {Although Baby B's Mama in these pictures was one of those mamas that put those pre pregnancy jeans right back on! Lucky duck ;) } But look, right after you have the baby, you'll feel like a million bucks! Your belly will feel flat, you will feel light as a feather. And then you will look in a mirror and go, "wait-a-second. What the heck is this??" Its okay if your belly isn't perfectly flat right after. Because you just had a baby. Be gentle with yourself. You just birthed a human. That's a big deal. You won't think it, but you will be glowing. You might be exhausted, cramping, and annoyed. And that's okay. Whatever you are feeling is normal. I remember when Maggie was born I wanted to cry. You're suppose to cry when you have a baby aren't you? I couldn't. The tears wouldn't come. And that was okay too. You might take one look at that baby and fall madly in love all over. But if you don't? That's okay. The bonding will happen. I promise. Pretty soon, you will feel whatever that baby feels. And when they cry because they are hungry/gassy/pooped/tired, you'll want to cry too. It'll start to hurt to hear your baby cry. That's being a mommy.




And then in the next few weeks, you will get very little sleep. If you're like me, it'll be because even though everyone and their mother told you "SLEEP WHEN THE BABY SLEEPS" you just. can't. do. it. You have to watch the baby sleep. What if she needs you? You know, like she squirms a little and you just have to pick her up?? So then you'll be tired. And you might have that awesome hormone drop called "baby blues". And you might cry. A lot. And you'll have no idea why. And if its the baby blues, it'll go away in a week or so. (If it sticks around much longer call your doc!) You might formula feed, or you might breast feed. (You're still an awesome mama either way, and don't let anyone tell you anything different! People choose one or the other for various reasons, so let's be supportive not judgey! Breast feed if you can!) I breastfed, and nursing your first baby is quite the experience. It might hurt a little at first, but stick with it! Its so worth it. (#1 reason I loved breastfeeding? When the little darling wakes up wailing at 1 am, you don't even have get out of bed to feed them. I'm lazy, so I stuck that baby in the bed next to me. But be smart about co-sleeping! No Rx meds or alcohol that night!) Your baby might cluster feed, which is when they decide they would like to nurse non stop for forever hours at a time. They are building up your milk supply. You might get engorged from all the nursing. You might wake up after a day or so of cluster feedings to a chest that would make Pamela Anderson blush. Don't pump because your body will think you used all the milk it produced and it will only make more! Your body will naturally leak, and your baby will eat like they are at an all milk buffet. They will go down. If you are painfully engorged, you can buy these amazing warm/cold packs made by medela. They are ahh-mazing. Warm one up and place it on the opposite side you are feeding on to help that side drain. Drink lots of water and eat lots of good food! You will still lose weight! You learn so much in the first few weeks after your first baby is born. But the best advice ever given to me? Do whatever it takes to get everyone the most sleep.



Within the next month or so, you'll get to know that little angel a little better. They'll fall into a little schedule. If you're nursing, they'll let you know when they don't like certain foods. They'll surprise you with poop when you least expect it. They'll wake up the moment you get in the shower. And it happens so often that you might begin to look at showering as a chore. Your baby will start to cry at random times and you might have no idea why. And that's okay. You will learn to try different things. Maggie and Mollie loved to be bounced and rocked when they were fussy. Some babies have such ferocious belly pains that the colic hold is the golden ticket! Adeline wanted to be put down and left the hell alone. Seriously. The first few times she got fussy for no apparent reason (likely gas), I bounced her around like I did the first two. And it did nothing but annoy her. I finally had enough and gave up. I laid her down on the boppy pillow next to me and just like that... she was quiet. She wanted to be put down.




And then, just as soon as you get them into a routine, they will protest. And with every child thus far, I've called my mom and sisters and begged for help. "I just don't know what to do! I can't seem to make them sleep/eat/happy." And every time they say "It sounds like they are changing. They are probably either teething or going through a little stage. Hang in there, it'll get better." And it always does. So hang in there. You will be exhausted, dizzy, and hungry. You might not remember the last time you took a shower. You might have baby poop and puke all over you and and yet have no idea that you could ever be that happy. You didn't know the air could smell so sweet, or that life could be this good, even if on the outside its tough.




You will find that few things can calm the soul more than a baby snuggled up in your arms just after a bath. You will begin to see yourself, their daddy, their grandparents and even aunts and uncles in that baby.




You will gradually begin to feel like this little person, this itty bitty human that poops, and cries, and eats and wash rinse repeat, is the most important person in the whole wide world. You will fiercely protect them. You will feel deep down a grizzly bear that would do anything, and I mean anything to protect that baby, to keep them out of harms way, to keep them happy and healthy.




You learn what its like to care for another person more than yourself. You grow with them. You become more than a woman with a baby. You become a mother. And in a few months, when that precious baby finds their voice, you will burst inside with excitement, because now you have a name. You are "MA MA!" And you will never forget the way it feels when someone else is holding them and they look at you with pleading eyes and arms wide open and lean towards you and say "Ma Ma! Ma Ma!" And you instinctively take them back into your arms. Because they are your heart, walking around outside of your body.






"No one else will ever know the strength of my love for you. After all, you're the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside..."