Things You Learn in the First Month of Being a Parent

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One Month Old Last week we celebrated Henry’s first month of being a little dude! We were looking back over the first few weeks with him and realized that we learned a few (read: ten zillion) things about what it’s like to be a parent. Talk about trial by fire, guys. I had some folks tell me before Henry was born that most parents are just winging it, so don’t worry if it feels like we are too. And wing it we did. These days, it certainly doesn’t feel like we have everything under control but it does feel like we know our little guy a lot better, and we might just be getting the hang of this parent thing. Here’s a little list of things we’ve learned.

You can do a whole lot on not a whole lot of sleep.

It becomes customary to live in the sweet spot between “I totally got this” and “This is terrifying.”

Watching your incredible husband turn into an incredible father is perhaps one of the greatest joys there is.

Concern about touching another person’s bodily fluids is a thing of the past.

Staring at your own newborn is more entertaining than pretty much any other pastime you can think of.

Hanging onto a few simple daily routines will help you feel more normal and less freaked — a shower, putting on real clothes, and getting out of the house (even for a short while) are like medicine for your exhausted brain/heart/soul.

There truly is no way to say how big the love is you can feel for a baby. So maybe that’s why we have to talk about it in cliches.

xoxo

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7 Comments

  1. This is so cute. I was about to say “so true” too because, although I don’t have children, I’ve heard many friends and relatives describe that first month just like you did. Your little one is beautiful. 🙂

    Also : “It becomes customary to live in the sweet spot between “I totally got this” and “This is terrifying.” This seems to also work regarding life in general. Well, it sure does for me anyway. 🙂

  2. Beautiful! Congratulations on making it through the first month! 😀 We’re due in June and I just cant wait for all of the things listed above hehe

  3. Before we had our first child, I remember a new mother telling us, “We weren’t prepared for the LOVE.” Yep. It’s hard to describe. <3

  4. So true. A shower is pretty much the best refresher ever. My husband even bribed me with one to get me to go out yesterday when I was so tired I just wanted to stay home. It totally worked.

  5. So fun reading your reflections on parenting! I don’t have a child nor am I anywhere close to having one but it’s beautiful to see the interaction and love others have with their children! Keep up the great parenting 😉