Dirty Little Secrets of Early Motherhood, part 2

Myth #2: You bond immediately with your newborn baby.

It takes time to nurture any relationship. Why would a mother's connection with her newborn be any different? The moment my son was born, I didn't feel an immediate kinship with him. It was strange, it wasn't like it's portrayed in the movies or on TV. There was no euphoria, no tears of joy. To be honest, my tears were ones of relief. I was glad he had arrived safely and wasn't in my body anymore.

Since the childbirth experience had taken every ounce of strength and emotion in me, I felt like I had nothing left to give. I was numb. When the nurses brought me my new bundle, I remember holding his tiny body and wondering, "Who are you?"

Once I healed and felt more normal, the true bonding began. Now if you ask me how I feel about my newborn, in two seconds flat, I'll tell you I can't imagine my life without him.

to be continued...

Dirty Little Secrets of Motherhood, part one

This morning I treated myself to a slower paced start to my day. After taking Sarah to school, I came back home to make sure the house was ready to show at a moments notice and to read the paper while enjoying my Frosted Mini Wheats, instead of devouring it to run in the usual fashion. Anyway, Another first...I read a column instead of a new article. It was hysterical and so very true, so I wanted to share it with you.

This was written by Jennifer Cho Salaff:

"On Dec. 19, 2005 at 8:56 pm, Caden Chi-Sung Salaff arrived - exactly on his due date. My son was born with a full head of hair (my husband and I joke that I gave birth to a little man), a healthy set of lungs (which he loves to exercise, much to my heartache) and the cutest new-born face on the planet (a purely objective opinion, of course)."

When a baby is born and motherhood begins, the world celebrates. Flowers arrive, cigars are handed out, birth announcements are mailed. It's a glorious time to marvel in new life.

But there are dirty little secrets in early motherhood, too. No one dares talk about them. Perhaps it's taboo. Maybe first-time moms simply forget.

The initial period of adjusting to a new baby, a different body and a new role as "Mom" were the most difficult and grueling of my life. Myth versus reality became very clear to me during those first few week.

Myth #1: The hardest part is over following childbirth.
Recovery is an aggressive, unforgiving beast. After 15 hours of labor and a near C-section, I was convinced the worst was over and the best part - bonding with my baby - was about to begin. Little did I realize recovery would be just as harrowing as labor and delivery.

I remember looking at myself in the hospital bathroom shortly after I had given birth. "Who is this pitiful, haggard woman?" I thought as I studied my sorry face: swollen cheeks: puffy, bloodshot eyes: hair wild and unkept. I looked like like a homeless woman, not the glowing, new mom I had imagined.

My body felt mulitated. Every inch of it ached. Simple tasks like walking or sitting almost brought me to tears. Not to mention the fact that I ought to have had an Under Construction sign "down there."

That's why every woman who has endured childbirth should recieve a "Wish me luck on the road to recovery" T-shirt before leaving the hospital.

To Be Continued....

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

I hope everyone's day was fabulous. Mine was! I stuffed everything possible into my day as usual, but when I got home.....Not only did I have these beautiful tulips from Joleen and Aimee (what a wonderful surprise!), and these very pretty mini roses from my wonderful husband, but he had cooked me the best dinner I've had in a very long time. I wish I could cook like that. I asked him if we could come to this restaraunt again soon, and he said "yes"! Thank you to my wonderful family for making my day so special. I love you......

Goodbye Maggie...

Well, today Maggie went to live with another family. It was a very difficult decision to make this week, one both Brad and I struggled to make. Maggie has been getting more and more aggressive at the front door lately. She has even growled at both Brad and I while we were trying to leave the house several times lately. On Thursday, she flat out attacked me at the door. She didn't bite me, but she sounded very mean and was coming at me. I had to push her back in with my foot. We don't think she'd bite someone, but we are unwilling to take that chance. One dog bite in our family by a family dog is enough for all of us for a lifetime. We could not live with ourselves. She went to a very nice older couple. They don't have as much activity around their home. They have a very large yard and allow their dogs to be part of the family inside their home. They have always had two dogs, but recently their older dog died. Their younger dog is very lonely. They own a small ranch syle home and property in Pomona along with Betsy (their border terrier) and their two cats. Although we are sad, we feel we did the right thing. It's just not worth the chance to us. I kept invisioning her snapping at Emily or Gracie and we can't have that. We will miss her.

Anyone wanna buy a house?

Since there may never be a time again when my house is this clean, I thought you HAD to see it! Do you think it's worth $670,000? Check this out!!!!!!!

Who's kissing who??????

Is David kissing Buster or is Buster kissing David?????????

VALENTINE

Since all of my photos and blog ideas are still stuck in my camera, I wanted to share this little Valentine with you all. I know it's early, but I like it! I have no ideas why it keeps moving my text, but you'll get the idea. I keep typing it where my red letters are lined up, but it's posessed! Maybe Joleen can fix it!


For God so loV ed the world,
That He gA ve
His onL y
BegottE n
SoN
T hat whosoever
Believeth I n Him
Should N ot perish,
But have E verlasting life."

John 3:16