Most unexpected things....

At lunch today I was asked what the most unexpected thing about having a baby has been so far. On my way home from lunch, I was contemplating this more and have come up with these things. Of course we expected not to sleep much at first so that didn't make the list.

The most unexpected things about being a new parent are:

1. All of the conflicting information! It REALLY frustrated me at first. We have so much information at our fingertips (the internet) and so many resources (doctors, lactation consultants, etc.), which is nice on one hand, but also frustrating when these sources contradict each other. For example, everything we've read recommends swaddling. On our first visit to the doctor's office, we were told NOT to swaddle! We later decided to keep swaddling Clara because is really helps her sleep and seems to be recommended by everyone else. There have been several other instances of conflicting information, and we've just decided to go with our "parent's intuition" to help us decide between conflicting alternatives.

2. Feeling guilty. This is getting better for me, but at first I constantly felt guilty. I felt guilty that the breast feeding wasn't going well. I felt guilty that I couldn't help with the baby as much as I wanted at first because I was recovering from the c-section. I felt guilty if I wasn't holding her enough, etc. The list goes on. Over the last few weeks, I've gotten much more confident and have established more of a routine during the day so these feeling of guilt have gotten better. As a new parent, I just want to do everything right for my precious little baby!

3. Projectile spit up, exploding poop, and constant gas. All wonderful parts of having a newborn!=) I knew we'd being changing her clothes a lot, but I didn't realize our clothes were going to be at risk too!

4. So many diapers and wipes!! We got thru loads of diapers. We bought a box of 1000 wipes at Costco, which I was sure would last us forever! We're already thru 250 of them in about 2-3 weeks. We are also very relieved when she has poopy diapers, which is contrary to what I had expected, because it means she is working everything thru her system and won't be fussy and upset like she is when it's not working "out" well.

5. It takes us FOREVER to get ready to go somewhere. Again, I knew it would take longer, but not as long as it really does. We are getting faster though, and it helps when there is two of us. I'm going to stay with my parents in Elbing for about a week at the end of the month, and I can't imagine all of the stuff I'm going to have to pack for that trip!!