Kim's 3 brutal truths about life with a newborn
(1) Not sleeping just frigging sucks...plain and simple! I tried to remind myself of this from the day I got pregnant but you really do forget how terrible it can be to get through the day on very little sleep. The broken sleep of having a newborn can be stressful and just all consuming, especially if you are trying to recover from major surgery. And please know that I KNOW how lucky I was (and am) to have the wonderful support system that I do. Because of that support system Jim was able to stay with me the whole time in the hospital which was a total lifesaver. I can't even imagine being able to get up and get to the bathroom by myself those first few days after Kennedy's birth, let alone all of the late night feeding/pumping, etc that we did. And since we've been home and Jim was off work he's been wonderful about feeding her a bottle while I pump and get a few hours of sleep. I'm very lucky that Jim is used to surviving (and does way better than me) on way less sleep than me.
(2) Babies are boring...like really boring! They just cry...and sleep...and shit. For the first few days she was alive I don't think more than a handful of people even saw her with her eyes open at all. She was considered a late term preemie (meaning she was born before 37 weeks...even if it was just 2 days before) so she was really quite sleepy and I'm sure the hydromorphone I was taking in quite high doses didn't help with that either. Those first few days were very hard for me physically and although I hadn't forgotten how hard they could be, this surgery was certainly very different than my other 2 c-sections were. More about the surgery and recovery in the upcoming birth story post!
(3) For me breastfeeding does not come naturally...but I sure wish it did! I am really committed and hopeful to make it work for me and Kennedy, but I'm also a realist and will not beat myself up when I make the decision that it's time to stop. Breastfeeding for me has never come easily with any of my kids, and although it's going pretty good with Kennedy right now, I also know how quickly this can change. I have a great doctor who I know will be a great support if I need it and Jim is also always behind me in whatever choice I make for our babies and me in regards to this very personal decision. He understands and has seen how much I have struggled in the past with nursing the boys and he wants only what is best for everyone involved. I am very hopeful that once we hit the 5-6 week mark that things will get easier (as so many people have assured me they will) because I would really love to keep going through the summer to make our camping/ball season so much easier. For now I'm pumping up a storm and filling the freezer and getting through each day the best that I can. Some days it feels like all she does is eat, which right now while I'm home recovering and haven't had any responsibilities because Jim has been doing everything it has seemed fine, but I can't even imagine how that will go now that he's back to work and next week more will fall on me to get done! Like I said...I'm taking it one day at a time right now!
Of the couple hundred of photos I took in the hospital this one is definitely my favorite of me and Kennedy. I just love her so much...even if having a newborn is one of the hardest things in life!
Theses videos are completely heart warming. The boys wanted to sing to Kennedy and picked their favorite songs on my phone. This first video is my favorite and it's from the TV show Nashville and the song is called "A Life That's Good" and I have listened to this song thousands of times and clearly they've heard it a lot too!
I love their facial expressions so much and the moment is one I am so thankful that I captured.
This song was You'll Always Be My Baby by Sara Evans and James was so happy to sing to Kennedy
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