The first 30 days

I should have written this post a few weeks ago but life seemed to get in the way so here it is now, by the grace of the better late than never rule.

As many people warned me, the first few weeks of parenthood just downright suck.......usually. And perhaps I was one of those lucky pregnant women who had very little morning sickness and swelling, no acne, minimal fatigue and heartburn, fairly quick and easy labor etc , but sadly this luck did not follow me out of the delivery room.

What I did take with me from the hospital was a grab bag of narcotics, hemmorhoid cream, and sanitary pads large enough to double as couch cushions.....which only scratched the surface of the accoutrements I would need over the next few weeks to maintain my post partum body.Though some women quickly recover from pushing a watermelon through a passage the size of a prune, my physical recovery was a long and painful journey that unfairly colored my first few weeks of mommyhood with negativity. Between the hemmorhoids that caused nurses to gasp and offer more pain medication, a tailbone that felt surely bruised, the sore and burning nipples from hours of tugging and suckling, and the myriad small aches and pains from the IVs, stitches, and uterine cramping I was truely a hot mess---physically, mentally, and emotionally. But I will say that after just a couple weeks most of these issues had gone or were on the mend and life as a mom was looking up...slightly.

We made it through Marens first growth spurt and some minor acid reflux issues before the first month closed. By the time we were in the thick of Christmas shopping my crotch no longer emited agonizing pains, I was no longer crying during Mastercard commercials, and we had both mastered changing a diaper without getting covered in bodily fluids.

As the first 4 weeks came to a close I finally had an answer to my daily question to self-- "what did I get myself into?!" Because despite the aches and pains and crying fits for both Maren and I, I began to realize that parenthood really does get better and I knew that the days of smiles and giggles were just around the corner and that anticipation was enough to keep me motivated through the days of sleep depravation, sore nipples, and poop dodging ahead.