We survived our first three months! Go us! It has been so amazingly rewarding that I cannot put it into words. That being said, it has also been very challenging. Here are a list of things that I have learned so far - some I knew before C got here, and some I learned on my own. I am sharing them with you to allow for a good laugh and hopefully help anyone else in my shoes!

Disclaimer: All babies are different. If I had a dollar for every time that I heard or said this. Take this list with a grain of salt and adapt as needed.

1) It is perfectly OKAY to not breastfeed. I cannot say this enough! The breastfeeding debate will always be a debate, but at the end of the day - feed your baby however works best for your family. What you do with your breasts is nobody's business.

2) Ask for help. Seriously. The first few weeks are a love filled blur and you think that you will be perfectly happy to sit at home and stare at your baby 24/7. And then the fog starts to lift, and you remember that you are a person outside of being a mom and your new reality hits your hard. Its difficult to run to the store, or take a shower, or a nap, or eat a meal ... because you now have a child. It is okay to have someone come over and look after your baby so you can relax for a minute. This does not make you a bad mom!

3) Listen to your instincts. You will get alllllll sorts of advice but at the end of the day, you have to do what works best for your family. You can read as many books and blogs as you want to, but when it's 3am and your baby is coughing or crying or whatever, you are the parent and you make the decisions. If your baby is hungry, feed him! If he is tired, let him sleep! There are no rules, you just have to do what is best for your family. **revert back to the disclaimer**

4) Always budget extra time. I like to consider myself a planner and pretty OCD, but with a baby, this has been taken to a whole new level. Even with our smallest little outing or errand, I allow us AT LEAST an extra 30-45 minutes on top of the time it takes to run the errand because inevitably, you will get spit up on your shirt as you're walking to the car. Or the baby will all of a sudden need to eat again. Just come to terms with the fact that things take longer now.

5) Sit down and slow down. At first, I was trying to do it all at once. The baby would be needy or hungry and I wanted to tend to him, but I was also looking at the heaping pile of laundry and dishes that needed to be done. Well guess what? The laundry and dishes can wait. Push the pause button and sit down and feed your baby while staring in to his eyes. These moments wont last forever, so soak them in now while you can! **revert back to tip #2 about asking for help and tip #4 about things taking way longer now**

6) Get a Baby Bjorn (or some kind of baby carrier). This has been such a fun, staple item for our family. Terrance and I both use it and Carter loves it. Its a great way to hold your baby while keeping your arms free. Our favorite places to use it are: the mall, the grocery store, and around the house while I am vacuuming or making dinner.

7) Take A LOT of pictures. Your baby changes every. single. day. So document it!

8) It's okay to say no to visitors. Outside interaction is crucial to getting back into the groove of your life, BUT sometimes the timing just doesn't work for visitors. and that's okay. People know that you have a newborn, and as long as you're honest, they can be pretty understanding.

9) We put our baby in his crib from the day that we got home from the hospital. This worked really well for us and for him and if possible for your family, I highly recommend it. The first few days/weeks were the huge learning curve for his sleeping habits. We would sometimes snuggle and let him sleep on our chests or let him sleep in the swing, but to the best of our ability, we would always put him back into his crib. This lets all 3 of us sleep better and more comfortably.

10) You're going to be tired. It is what it is. And unfortunately, there isn't really anything that you can do about it. My best advice? Accept your new normal and adapt on less sleep. Being angry about the fact that you're sleeping less will not help anyone. Just accept the face that you're superwoman and now you are doing twice as much on half the sleep.


A few more things: take turns with dad, don't tiptoe around baby, always keep the diaper bag packed, embrace your new normal, and lastly - don't forget about date night!

There are my top 10 tips for surviving the first 3 months with a newborn! Do you have some to add to the list? I'd love to hear them!

Xoxo,