Little Man Turns 6 Months

 I can't believe it, but we're already at the 6 month mark with the little man. Hard to believe we brought him home from the hospital around this size (a little 7 lbs):

I have a couple pregnant or TTC friends lately. I think we're all just at that stage in our lives, and some of them ask me for advice, a sympathetic shoulder or about products that I love and use all the time. Without much ado, I wanted to tell you what I learnt so far about Motherhood/Parenting. This is so a work in progress and will always be.

(1) Forget sleeping.
I've never been so sleep deprived in my life. Not even in college where I pulled all-nighters to study and get papers done. Sleep now. You may never sleep again for ah, 18 years or so? Also, those lazy Saturday mornings with brunch? Unlikely. Stock up on coffee, Coke, naps, whatever gets you through the day.

(2) There is no magic answer.
I'm googling solutions, calling my Mom, my mother in law, emailing my patient cousin, BBMing with my kid's birthday twin's mom. Things that work for you as a kid, for their kid, might not work with yours. But at least you get a little sympathy and a fist bump that they know what you are going through.

(3) Breastfeeding isn't easy.
I know it looks like you just put the kid up to your boob and poof, he latches on perfectly, and you rock contently while he feeds, but unfortunately this isn't how it works. At the beginning it's gonna take some time, patience and help to get it going and do it in a way that works. Your nipples will be sore, invest in some good nipple butter. The real reality at 5 months is he's distracted by the dog, the dog is barking to be let out, he's pulling your hair, he's grabbing the lamp, he's squirmy, he's scratching you with his long nails. This is worth it though - you're setting up your kids immunities for life, to maintain a healthy weight,  to have lower risk of disease, and you have a lower risk of disease.

(4) Your body will never be the same.
I'm sorry, it's not going to snap magically back into how it looked before. It's changed, forever. Maybe you have stretch marks, maybe things fit differently. Check out The Shape of a Mother, just because it's different doesn't mean it's any less beautiful.

(5) SLOW DOWN.
This is probably the number one lesson I have had to learn through having Jonas. I can still multi-task but I can't get the same number of things done in a day that I used to. I can still do what we need to get done, but it takes much much longer. And if you don't stop and smell the roses, you are going to miss all those important bonding moments and ones that make you smile.

(6) Give your husband a chance.
My husband's parenting style is different than mine. I'm glad for it. He does things differently than I would, but if at the end of the day, what we need to get done, is done, let it go. You gotta let dad fail a little to be able to be confident in their parenting too. Make sure you're giving him a chance to grow in his new role. If this means you have to listen to your kid wail a little while Daddy tries to put him to bed, then do it.

(7) Take a break.
Seriously, you're not superwoman. There's going to be times where you just want to give up, cry, throw things whatever. IT IS OKAY! We all get to feeling overwhelmed in different ways at different times. Know who you can call for a break, and do something for yourself. The better you are at self care, the better you can take care of others.

(8) Do what feels right for your family.
If cloth diapers works for you, great. If disposables work, great. It doesn't matter what you do as long as it works for you and your family. We use cloth diapers because it works for us. Dad likes disposable wipes, he uses those. I like cloth wipes, so I use those. We do what works.

At the end of the day, this is the hardest thing I've ever done, but it is the most rewarding for me when Jo smiles and reaches for me or reaches a new milestone. He's amazing and we love him so much.