I realize I should have written this post about a year ago when Zoe was born, but I was a little preoccupied…as you are when you have a newborn.

There are loads of tidbits I learned over the past year, but I wanted to share the top 5 things I learned in the first month after she was born.

ONE – It’s okay to send your baby to the nursery.

I always imagined Zoe’s first few days in the hospital to be this blissful bonding time in a hotel-like hospital room that offered “rooming in”. Little did I know, I’d be running on 2 nights of little to virtually no sleep when she was born and recovering from a 24+hr labor and c-section. Whew – I am tired just recalling it. She was born at 8:22AM and we tried our hardest to watch her all day and night, but once 3AM hit, we just knew we had to get some shut eye so we could be our best selves for Day #2. We apologized profusely to the nurse as she wheeled her away to the nursery. 4 hours later and I have never felt so refreshed. It was a hard decision to make, but we both needed rest after an emotional and physically draining few days. If you’re thinking about it – just do it. Trust me. Your body needs it and your baby will not remember!

TWO – Breastfeeding does not come naturally to everyone.

This could easily be it’s own book series, but in short, breastfeeding does not come naturally to all of us. I had a lot of issues with getting Zoe to latch and it didn’t help that I wasn’t producing anything until about a week after she was born. I talked to lactation consultants, read articles and blogs like mad, but still could never get the hang of it. After a few weeks of trying, I made the decision to exclusively pump. Once I came to the realization that it was the best option for our family, it was like a weight was lifted. Exclusively pumping is no joke and a huge commitment, but I knew she was getting the nutrients she needed and we were bonding just fine. Do whatever you need to do to make sure your baby is healthy. Whether it’s breastfeeding, formula or pumping, it’s no one’s decision but yours to make. 

THREE – The swelling! 

I was kind of waiting for the swelling to kick in during my pregnancy, but didn’t have it until the last month or so and even then it wasn’t terrible. I definitely did not know it would get worse after having the baby! My calfs and feet swelled up like balloons from all the extra fluids. I was so thankful I purchased a pair of Birkenstocks while pregnant and could adjust them to fit my giant balloon feet. They were the only shoes that fit me for about a month after having Zoe. Speaking of swelling…

FOUR – Night sweats.

No one warned me about night sweats and it was one of the worst things to deal with post-partum! Yes, I know there are A TON of things that happen to your body after giving birth and everyone’s recovery is different, but I will warn you – this happens! I had a ton of extra fluids in my body from my IV from the epidural and surgery, so maybe mine was more than others, but as I said, I was extremely swollen and all that fluid had to get out somehow. From the few hours a night we did sleep, it was hard for me to get comfortable because I was so sweaty! I had to sleep on a towel for a few weeks and was so thankful when it finally subsided. Consider yourself warned. 

FIVE – Don’t forget to eat!

The first few weeks after having baby are basically survival mode. We had no idea what we were doing, Zoe was overall a pretty good baby, but she had her moments. I was lucky to have Luke home with me for 3 weeks, especially since I was pumping, but his first day back to work I was absolutely terrified. It felt like we were coming home from the hospital all over again. It’s a constant 3 hour routine that seems neverending and some days were much harder than others. I recall one day having my “breakfast” at 3PM simply because I did not have time to go downstairs and make something. After that day, I stocked up on granola bars and these energy bite bars from Costco. A girlfriend also gave me a really great tip and said to buy frozen burritos that you can hold with one hand. Genius! It’s so important to eat, especially if you’re breastfeeding or pumping.

I know this is just the tip of the iceberg, but those are just a few things that have really stuck with me – even a year after. I am sure if I wrote this in the moment, it would be a list of 100 things 🙂

Oh, and one last piece of advice – get professional newborn photos done! I am so thankful we will have those precious photos forever.