Nat Your Average Girl: Mama Natalie

I'm so excited to be sharing here at Natasha's blog! My name is Natalie and I'm over at Nat Your Average Girl. It has been so much fun watching Natasha journey through her pregnancy. I adore her sense of style and am honored to be here today.

Like Natasha, I just experienced my first pregnancy. I gave birth to my daughter Blair on March fourth of this year, five weeks early! And while that was very challenging, (she spent ten days in the NICU) nothing was harder than being a new mom when she came home.

me at 28 weeks prego in Maui
Blair in the NICU

Of course I love her more than I ever imagined but I felt like my world went from "anywhere I could drive to in a day" to "anywhere I can drive to in less than five minutes." My life had shrunk down to nursing all day every day at home alone while life went on all around me. I felt overwhelmed, incapable, lonely, unproductive, and bored. For the first two months I was too nervous to take Blair anywhere by myself so it was like I was on house arrest. As a type A person who used to work full time as a teacher this killed me! However, people were right and everyday did get a little easier. And then she turned three months...

Blair at two weeks
Blair at three months

All of the sudden, having a baby was fun! She started talking, smiling, entertaining herself, and having consistent sleep patterns. So this is my honest advice for any new mom...the first three months suck are hard. You get no sleep, the baby doesn't smile (or do anything other than nurse and cry for that matter), and you are so overwhelmed. But it really does get better and that magic age (for me) was three months. You just have to push through the first twelve weeks and let things go. Like a clean house. Or do what I did and whine to your husband get a cleaning lady! Some of the best advice that was said to me was to ignore all of my expectations and just survive. There is plenty of time to develop a schedule and routines when life with baby becomes easier. My last piece of advice is to let people help you. If they offer to bring you dinner, say yes! If they offer to watch the baby while you nap, say yes! And if they offer to babysit, leave some bottles and get out of there before they change their mind...

smiling!
Good luck to all you new mommies! And Natasha, I know you are going to be a wonderful mom and Ryan will be so helpful. You will be a great team! Thanks for having me!

12 comments :

  1. Your daughter is adorable Natalie - and I love that you kept it real. So many people gloss over that first 12 weeks!

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  2. such gorgeous photos! i can only imagine how hard it must be but also how amazing at the same time :) xx

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  3. Agreed! This is so true...I definitely had the baby blues right after Mila was born...but it has gotten SO much easier. There are always challenges, but I think those first three months are especially difficult.

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  4. Such great advice!! You look A-MAZING in Maui, Natalie! and oh my, Blair could not be any more precious. Her smile is beautiful!! Congrats to you!

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  5. So glad Blair is doing better! I remember reading your blog in the Spring and praying for her. Being a new Mom IS hard. I'm the Mom of a tot now (almost 18 months), and preggo with our second (due in Oct). Being the Mom of a tot is challenging ...like coming to terms with not being able to do everything, but it's also great. I must check out your blog again!

    -Tara
    http://madmaxandfamily.blogspot.com
    http://blog.chron.com/madabouttown/

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  6. This is such wonderful TRUE advice. The smile really is the best payment. All those weeks are worth but definitely not easy.

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  7. Awww! She is so sweet!!! What a cute little girl!! I'm a nicu mama as well!! Glad I got to "meet" you on this blog! :)

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  8. I could not agree more! Just now at 3 months and I finally feel more like myself and getting used to our new "normal"!

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  9. OMG you look amazing and Blaire is the cutest!!!!!!!!!! What a face.......may God bless you and your beautiful new family..she is totally precious!

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  10. Natalie, that baby girl is beautiful?

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