Hellobee

Phew! Sounds about right though! It’s great to see a realistic rundown of what life with a baby is really like. Different from the fantasy!

Wow, I am getting a little worried! ha

Taking care of a newborn was intense!!!! I was so sleep deprived, but surprisingly not tired. I guess I was high on baby!

Thank you for this! This is pretty close to what I’ve been experiencing too. It’s very very different from what I expected, and I’m struggling right now to re-align my expectations with the reality of having a baby. (…not that I don’t adore my little one, but life w/ a baby is definitely tough!)

I had to this post for future reference, haha!

And she is sooo adorable!

OMFG.

What a day! Ps Your definition of breaks made me giggle. Eating while baby in bouncer? I know that’s not a real break. That’s work!

Exhausting, but accurate!!

I was really annoyed when people told us to “sleep while you can!” as if you could stock up on sleep & not actually need it once the baby was here.

What really surprised me about life with a newborn, though, was how AMAZINGLY AWESOME you become at doing anything with one hand.

I was just telling my hubs that it makes me sad that after 12 weeks I already don’t remember so much of the first weeks with my newborn son. Looking at your day it makes perfect sense that I can’t remember those foggy first weeks.

@IcebergMom: i thought the same thing about the “breaks”!

it seems like during the breaks, you must still be entertaining the baby or keeping her happy in some way, too?

ah, life with a newborn. i think i have forgotten most of it!

and she is adorable!

haha yup sounds like the first four weeks to me! Around 6 weeks he started taking 2-2.5 hour naps and that has been really nice!

Haha I love the “everyone sleeps!” in BOLD!!!

Sounds about right… oh man, I can’t believe I’m about to do this all over again….

I was really lucky to have DH home for three weeks and to have my parents with us for the first week as well. Our schedule was much like that. By the time DH went back to work, DS was eating about every 3 hours. It was crucial for my sanity to at least get out of the house a couple times a week. It was work to get out, but I had no problem nursing him anywhere I needed to, so we went to the mall, to a new mom group, to La Leche League meetings, and to the park. DS would sleep in the carseat and stay asleep when I moved it to the stroller and back, so that was really helpful while I was home with him.

And yes, it is totally amazing what I could do with one hand.

thanks for the reality check! needed that!! and omg that pic, so adorable!

This would have been helpful when I had my newborn…I felt like I was breastfeeding all the time and looking at your schedule it looks similar.

This was really interesting. I am 24 weeks with 1st baby. My husband works out of town during the week, and I am taking 6 weeks maternity leave. I would love to see other newborn schedules for how they compare. I just don’t know what to expect! Expecting the worst but hoping for the best.

Yikes! Crazy, but I’m sure Nothing can prepare you until your little one arrives!

I get exhausted remembering these early weeks. No one tells you just how grueling it is.

Did she really go from 7:30 am – 12:30pm with no nap!? Maddox still can’t go that long, but he sure does try

I remember at 2w feeling like the endless BFing cycle would never end, but then a week later he started sleeping really long stretches at night and by 6w I couldn’t remember those first two weeks. It really does go so quickly. It’s baffling to me how weeks just fly by!

Ugh, that’s so much breastfeeding. I like that it looks like you still get ~8 hrs sleep (albeit interrupted). I showed it to Hubby and his response was “oh poor us”.

@Mrs. Stroller: ha, no! I should have clarified that a break may or may not be when she was napping

Baby H is so adorable! I appreciate the real post. Having a newborn is going to be so hard.

I also felt like my maternity leave would be a nice break from work and I started getting irritated when people kept saying I wouldnt get enough sleep once the baby arrived, but now that she is here I am so sleep deprived! She wont stay asleep very long unless we are holding her, and at night she doesnt want to sleep at all.
I miss having a good nights rest.

So jealous u get breaks. I rarely do unless someone covers me. If its not one, it’s the other.

I’m forwarding this to my husband! All the more proof that he’ll be a “Pro Diaper Changer”! Hehe!

I agree with pp that those first weeks are pretty foggy! LO is only 13 weeks and I’m really struggling to remember those early hectic days. I do remember feeling like it was an endless cycle of BF’ing and diaper changes around the clock. Feeding every two hours is exhausting!!! But now I’m thinking back and I do miss that new mom feeling with LO. I was so amazed by her that I’d spend some nursing sessions just staring at her little head. I mean, I still stare at her but it was very different the first few weeks. I was amazed I made her and had her. It’s pretty crazy how we “grow” babies.

And how long does this phase last? I don’t know if I can keep that schedule up for six weeks . . . Phew!

I’m tired just reading this!! Thanks for sharing this. My, how my life is going to change in a few weeks!!

Wow. I’m officially exhausted. I can’t WAIT for the baby to get here! I appreciate the “everybody sleeps!!!” comments.

What a cutie! I definitely don’t miss the first month!

I wish I had seen this before I had my LO. I would have been so much better prepared. I was the first of my friends and family to have a baby, so I really didn’t know what to expect besides that it would be “difficult”. You describe it so well!

No wonder you’re exhausted, right?! Don’t worry, momma, it gets better as they get older. Lots more playing (and sleeping!); lots less feeding and diaper changes, lol.

Our babies are about the same age and our schedule is similar except I feel we do a diaper change at every feeding. Also I feel like I’m constantly changing baby or me because of projectile spit up, which also means I do laundry every other day to keep up with the burp cloths, boppy cover, changing pad cover, bassinet sheets, swaddle blankets, etc, etc (and yes, I have multiple burp cloths, boppy covers, changing pad covers, sheets, and blankets).

AMEN. I felt the exact same way after my son was born. I knew it was going to be very hard, but just how hard, I had no idea. I don’t know if anyone does until they experience it. I was just as irritated with all the “you’ll never shower” etc comments people made when I was pregnant, and then after I had my son I found myself telling people, “you’ll never shower!!!!!” Haha. Now I’m expecting #2 (my son is 2.5), and I’m due in about a month. I’m extremely nervous about how I’ll do this with a two year-old running around the house! Save me…

When did you start using the bouncer? My LO will be 2 weeks tomorrow and I was afraid that’s too young? She already has pretty great neck control. Thanks!
P.S. that’s a good day for us now! Some nights she fusses for four hours. Some days she doesn’t want to nap but agreed the most amazing miracle.

Wow! I am tired just reading this post

It will get better! Hang in there.

yep. And this time around I also had a toddler…which cut into my Everybody Sleeps! times. I hardly remember the first two months, good thing I took pictures!

@Andrea: Fortunately a lot of the breaks are when she is napping, but she is often napping ON me so I can’t really do anything, or I pass her off to Mr. H so I can have a little freedom It’s hard to get her to nap on her own right now, sigh.

@mrstilly: I know, I’m lucky too because Mr. H works from home (and for himself) so I do have someone with me. The majority of the day it’s just me taking care of her because he needs to focus on work, but it’s still nice to have him there to take over a bit when I need it. Sometimes I even get a great nap in!

@lydg: If you are planning to breastfeed, expect to do it ALL THE TIME in the beginning

@Mrsbells: Hang in there! Hopefully we will get some better sleep soon…I’m “enjoying” the 2-3 hour blocks of sleep at night. Sigh.

@Mrs. Tricycle: I know! I’m hoping we can ease off of the feedings every 2 hours soon, especially since Baby H has caught up on her weight gain (as she should have, she eats all the time!)

@Bluebonnet: Oh no! I’m sure the spit up everywhere is rough! Baby H doesn’t really spit up (yet, at least) but she does like to look at me while she’s nursing and then let breastmilk pour out of her mouth and onto me Little stinker!

@regberadaisy: She started using the bouncer the first day we brought her home form the hospital (so, 2 days old). It has good head support so she’s always sat really well in it. It’s a lifesaver for me because she’ll sit in while we eat and while I shower. She’s in it right now!

OMG I think I have repressed all this already!

I too am exhausted just reading that! I really hope you’ll do another rundown of your days once she gets a little older, so we can see how your days evolve!