The First Six Weeks

Morgan is 6 weeks old now...and while it is fresh in my head I wanted to reflect on my first six weeks of motherhood. So for those interested here is what I have learned.

1. You learn to do a lot of things with one arm because you end up carrying a baby around a lot in the other.
2. When carrying the baby in the Baby Bjorn be careful not to get her little feet to close to the stove while you cook dinner.
3. Best to not let a stroller go while standing on a corner waiting for the pedestrian crossing light to change. Damn thing has wheels. Could get ugly.
4. Be careful clipping fingernails...if you nip the skin the baby is unlikely to forgive you for a few hours.
5. I don't even remember what a good night's sleep feels like. It also never crossed my mind that Morgan wouldn't sleep through the night once she arrived. The overgiven advice "sleep when the baby sleeps" seems good in theory...but I can never seem to winddown while Morgan is sleeping.
6. There are some nursey rhymes that are just plain awful! We have a CD of them that I play for Morgan in the mornings....

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children, she didn't know what to do.
She gave them some broth without any bread,
Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.

SERIOUSLY???

7. Babies make dirty diapers. A lot of them. Seriously - a lot.
8. Shaun has impressed me beyond words. He is so helpful and LOVES to play with Morgan when he gets home from work and take her for walks with Kooper. It is very cool to watch.
9. I probably shouldn't use the stroller as a means to keep the subway door from shutting when I'm running to catch a train. Again - could get ugly.
10. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone gives advice. But every baby and every set of parents are different - so you have to take the good and leave the bad. We're doing our best and we just have to hope that Morgan understands!
11. I wish I had read more about what happens with the baby once we brought her home...I spent a lot of time focusing on the pregnancy/delivery part.
12. When the baby cries you spend a lot of time asking your spouse questions they (or you) can't answer:
a. "Do you think she _____?" (fill the blank in with "is hungry," "has a dirty diaper," "is tired," or "is cold/hot?")
b. "When was the last time she ate?" or "When can she eat again?" (Shaun asks this one a lot :)
It is such a guessing game to figure out what Morgan wants or needs. And as we keep exclaiming - "there are so many variables!!" Maybe one day we'll be able to distinguish her different cries.
13. She won't be this small and cuddly for long. Before we know it she'll be crawling, walking, going to college. ahhh. So I like to hold her as much as I can. You can't spoil a baby.
14. Of all the things I've done in my life, becoming a mom has been the most difficult.
15. Of all the things I've done in my life, I am most proud of becoming a mom.