Oh boy. They say motherhood irrevocably changes you, and I can attest to that. Being a mom is both the hardest and best thing I've ever done. I'm not one to sugar coat things, or beat around the bush, now that I'm a mom. Is it because I know that at any minute the ticking time bomb that is my life may go off? Maybe. I don't know if I have time to sugar coat life anymore. I thought I'd take the opportunity to share with you what life is like for us with a newborn. 

Thanks to Ergo for sending us the Ergo 180 Reversible Baby Stroller to try. 

A Day in the Life with a Newborn

7 am - we're awake for the day

Mornings are my favorite time of day. S is generally in a great mood and I can usually find a way to entertain him for 15 minutes while I eat breakfast. Sometimes I can even brush my hair, teeth, and slap on some concealer to hide my new under eye bags. Never had those before... 

8 am - our daily walk

Around this time, we sit on the couch and I feed him. Then, I put him in the stroller for a walk. On good days we're out for about an hour. I love it because I get exercise and he gets to nap off of me (for once!). 

9 am to noon - our day is practically just a blur of nursing and sleeping on mom

Do I really need to say more?

12 pm to 5 pm - what I like to call the "I'm so bored with this" hours

We try to get creative during this time. If I can snag some lunch, it's a good day. I typically wind up with a fist full of beef jerky and a Hershey's Kiss or two. I might lay him on the floor, blow raspberries on his tummy, sing silly tunes... basically anything to pass the hours. He's awake, after all. I'm finding that if we're going to get out, this is the time of day to do it! I try to limit our outings to one per day. If we leave the house multiple times or run several errands, it's hard to come back from the crankiness. Have I mentioned my son won't nap unless it's on me? It's a real good time. I will say though, the Ergo 180 Reversible Stroller has been SO helpful for outings. I can break it down with one hand and I seriously love the reversible feature. If the sun is in S's eyes, I just flip him around. Problem solved. It has a huge storage carriage underneath and all four wheels lock individually! 

5 pm to 8 pm - dinner and dodge

... and by that I mean we eat & I hand him over to my husband for as much time as I can. It's a win-win-win, right? My husband gets an opportunity to be #1 parent, I get some me-time, and S gets to have some guy time. He already thinks fart jokes are funny. Help us. John will usually put him in his pajamas for the night and will try to wind him down for "the big sleep".

8 pm to 11 pm - he sleeps! 

I'm trying to figure out a way to wean him from his rock n play because it's the only place, other than our bed, he'll sleep at night. I'd love it if he'd actually sleep in his dock a tot or bassinet. That'd be great. John usually puts him down around 8 and he sleeps fairly consistently until around 11 pm! 

11 pm to 7 am - nurse and sleep

Maybe the only real upside to having larger breasts is that we can nurse while I sleep when he's in bed with us. Please don't lecture me about the dangers of bedsharing. I've done my research, you're not going to change my mind, and I have no desire to try to change yours. K. Thanks. But, I'm able to lie on my side and S can nurse as often as he wants to. I don't think we'd be able to get any sleep if not for this, so I'm going to keep this up until the cows come home. 

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Life with a newborn is different than I thought it would be. It's hard, it's frustrating, and it's all consuming. But, it's also sweet and quick and it changes every day. I'm glad I'm a mom, and I'm also glad this stage doesn't last forever. It's ok to acknowledge the tough parts. Talking about the not-so-fun parts of motherhood doesn't mean you don't love it. It doesn't mean you're a bad mom, and it doesn't mean you wouldn't do it again. It just means it's hard... and that's ok.