Now that Bethany is one month old... it is time to do a self evaluation on being a new mom. At work, every new employee has to go through a 30-60-90 day performance evaluation. Since I am now a new mom, it is only fair conduct a 30-day evaluation.
Switching from a career-driven woman to a stay-home-mom (well only for a year though!) is a huge change for me. I was pulled off work when I was 33 weeks pregnant. During the first few weeks, I was pretty happy as I got more time to get ready for the arrival of our little precious one. After a few weeks, after Joe left for work... I realized that I was stuck at home with a baby in my tummy. Now that I am on maternity leave, I spend 99% of the time at home, caring for baby Bethany. I mastered diaper changing in less than two weeks, and I managed to function with minimal sleep every night.
Ok... as much as I want to portrait myself as a super-mom, I must admit that the first two weeks since Bethany was born had completely turned my world upside down. During those first two weeks, I was severely sleep-deprived and my feet looked more like rhino feet than human feet. I was extremely short-fused with Joe as he managed to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night. Amazingly, he also managed to sleep through Bethany's crying even though the baby monitor was on! I would not have survived the first two weeks without my mom's help and Joe's extreme patience with me. Now that Bethany is slowing getting into a routine (well, I am keeping my fingers crossed that it is a "routine"...), and I have also gotten a grip on my pumping career. As a result, I manage to sleep for three and a half hours (though these 3 1/2 hrs are broken into two or three segments) a night. After all, waking up a few times during the night while Joe is sleeping through baby's crying and the ever-loud alarm clock, is not as bad as it seems. Who would have imagined that I can function with only 3 1/2 hours of sleep? The phrase "Beauty Sleep" is long gone in my dictionary!
It takes about 9 months for a pregnant woman to pack on 25-50lbs and it takes at most 6 months or even shorter to lose all the preggo weight. At first I found it hard to believe... but after what I have seen how my body changed during the first month, I think I will be able to shed off those 40lbs I put on probably by the end of December, if not sooner. The constant lack of sleep and the tons of household chores is the B.E.S.T. diet in the world! I have lost 24lbs so far, so I only have 16lbs to go! Prior to the wedding, I spent an astronomical amount of $$$ to shed off 20lbs... and this time around...it will cost me absolutely nothing to lose all those 40lbs!
Taking care of a new born is not an easy task and definitely not a no-brainer. Both Joe and myself are first-time parents, and I must admit that we learn from our mistakes! I read a lot of books before I gave birth, and I thought I knew it all. It did not take me long to realize that in order to learn, I need hands-on experience.
Diaper Changing
I can read tons and tons of information on how to change diaper, but nothing beats actually changing a diaper. Joe changed Bethany's very first diaper at the hospital, and I changed her second diaper the first night we stayed at the hospital. I took me forever just to change the diaper as Bethany was so small and delicate that I was afraid to break her legs while changing her. Joe was sound asleept on the cot in my room at the hospital, so I could not ask him for help. With IV hooked in my left hand, and afterpain in the c-section area, I changed Bethany's second diaper, and her arms and legs did not fall of! The statement of "Practice makes perfect" is a very true statement. By now I have changed over 200 diapers (Bethany produces 8-10 wet / soiled diapers every day) and it takes me just under 2 minutes to change one.
Feeding
Joe and I firmly believe that breastmilk is the world's best food that we can offer Bethany. Bethany had a hard time latching on. At first, I was very frustrated and discouraged as I had failed Bethany as a mom in the breastfeeding area. However, we did not give up. We"investeded" over $800 in two breast pumps (yes, two pumps... one pump is just not enough!). I express milk in a bottle and feed the breastmilk to Bethany through the bottle. In this way, she gets all the good stuff in breastmilk that formula can't offer. Joe is also able to help with the feeding, thus creating a father-daughter bond. I read it from somewhere that a new dad wrote a heart-felt e-mail to his wife, thanking her for giving him a chance to feed the baby (express milk and then put in a bottle)... I have yet to receive a heart-felt thank you for Joe!
Household Chores
With the rhino feet slowing going away (my ankles are still pretty swollen at this point), I have slowly returned to the household chores. We have a cleaning lady who comes to our house once a week for cleaning and stuff, and for some reasons, she did not show up this week. With the two sets of grandparents visiting this week, I decided to do the house-cleaning myself. I managed to scrub the bathtub (and that's a hard task for me as my tummy is still a bit sore), tidied up the house, cleaned up the cold storage area, pulled some weeds in the flower's bed and did two loads of laundry. The only two things left to do before my in-laws arriving tomorrow will be cleaning up the garage and vacuuming! I started cleaning up the garage this afternoon while Joe was at work. I will wake up tomorrow and get the rest done before my in-laws arrive! Joe is not a town-home man and he does not have much initiatives to do any home improvement projects and spring / fall cleaning projects. He is more of a computer guy who would rather spend endless hours sitting in front of a PC or a TV. All he does around the house is once every two weeks or three weeks vacuuming and laundry. I guess I will be the lucky one taking over all those departments soon!
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