I can’t believe it’s going to be Lucy’s first holiday season! I’m so excited and can’t wait to enjoy this wonderful time of the year as a family of three.

I’m currently sitting by her side while Lucy’s drifting off to sleep. Her little mouth sucking on her favorite binky and her cute face looking like a perfect angel. Oh, how my life has changed in the past weeks. So many new things I didn’t know about or haven’t experienced before.

I’m grateful to have help along the way from the best support system of family and friends, and many wonderful baby products. This Playtex® Binky® pacifier being one of them, but more on that later. With Lucy’s first holiday season coming up, I thought I’d share with you what I learned as a first-time mom. I’m also excited to announce my partnership this year with Playtex Baby™ to share Lucy’s many #ForBetterBeginnings and my #PlaytexMom moments.

So about what I’ve learned as a new mom…

Breastfeeding is not easy

Before having a baby, even when I was 39 weeks pregnant, I thought breastfeeding is a natural thing. It should happen naturally and easily, like gravity. I had a crazy belief that breastfeeding is as simple as 3 steps: I give birth, my breasts would make milk, and my baby would drink the milk from my breasts. Then Lucy arrived at 39 weeks 1 day, that wasn’t the case. There’s nothing natural about breastfeeding. I completed step 1 which is giving birth. But after that, my breasts didn’t immediately make milk, and my baby didn’t latch onto my almost flat nipples. It takes a village to breastfeed a baby, including my husband, my mother, a couple of nurses including a lactation nurse, several doctors, and obviously, a tired mom with very sore nipples.

Lucy is 7 weeks old now, and I’m proud to say I didn’t give up. I had two occurrences of mastitis (breast tissue infection) with fever of 103ºF. My milk supply went down to almost none after the second mastitis, which happened in both of my breasts. But I kept pushing, pumping and nursing. My nipples are still sore to this day, feeding still hurts sometimes. But Lucy is nursing well and I’m planning to continue breastfeeding for a few more months.

Everyone recovers differently

It takes nine months for a woman’s body to get here, so it will take around the same time to go back to its pre-pregnancy shape and size. I now accept my “mom bod” as it is, as long as it’s healthy and strong for my baby. Nobody should compare their recovery to anybody else’s because the most important thing is you’re healthy and so is your baby.

I say this now but it wasn’t easy for me to accept it. All the mommy bloggers that I follow on social media look incredible ten minutes after giving birth. That is inspiring, but at the same time it could make a girl feel bad. I’m 7 weeks post partum but I still have a little belly like I’m already about to announce my next pregnancy. I would look at myself in the mirror and hate seeing my body like this. And then I look at Lucy and am thankful enough to not want anything more. I just created and delivered this perfectly healthy baby, and I’m proud of this body. Every woman’s body recovers differently, some quickly, some slower. But I’ve been cleared for exercising again, so hopefully I won’t “hate” seeing myself in the mirror much longer.

I don’t like my baby sometimes and it’s okay

Now this one makes me so guilty to admit, but it’s true. I always thought after delivering a baby, a mother’s instincts and hormones would kick in and she just starts loving her baby at first sight. Which is true. I loved Lucy the moment the doctor placed her on my chest. BUT there are times she’s being a … baby and I don’t like it so much.

I remember our first night home. No more nurses to help with the feedings or the diaper changes. Just tired parents and a newborn, who recovered from the delivery, which meant she was no longer sleeping well like the first 2 nights in the hospital. So as expected, Lucy was waking up every 1-2 hours crying. My nipples were so sore. And the pain from the contractions and the milk letdown when she nursed, along with the episiotomy stitches didn’t help. When we were woken up for the fifth time that night, I just couldn’t do it anymore. Exhausted, and in pain all over, I started bawling. I couldn’t stop crying. I told my husband it was all my fault for wanting a baby, my fault we couldn’t sleep well, and that I caused all this physical pain for myself. But there was no going back…

Needless to say, I didn’t necessarily like the baby that night. Fast forward to weeks later, I still don’t like her sometimes when she won’t go to sleep and I can’t figure out why. And it’s totally okay. I will always love my baby, but I may not like her at times. The remedy is easy, I let my mother or husband have her for a couple hours while I go get my nails done or a massage. When I’m back, all is well again.

---

Through out the difficult times in Lucy’s first weeks, I’m the most grateful for my husband and mother. They took care of me, and they took care of Lucy while I took care of myself. I’m also thankful for many baby products that helped us along the way. One that I’d like to mention today is Playtex® Binky® Pacifier. The pacifier helped soothe Lucy from day one, and whenever she is fussy. It’s small like a mother’s nipple and is perfect to satisfy a baby’s natural sucking instinct. Lucy loves falling asleep with the Binky® in her mouth. I kid you not, sometimes she would not sleep, and would cry until she was given her Binky®.

Also, this Binky® is a must-have for our car rides. When you’re on the road, there’s not a lot of safe and legal things you can do to calm a crying baby. But giving her favorite paci, that you can. So, I stock up on these, as I do not want to be without one in case we lose any.

These are just a few of many things I learned and experienced as a new mom. Every day I learn something new. And I’m sure everyone’s experience as a mom is interesting and different. I’d love to know more about yours. If you’re a mommy, first time or not, share with me something you learned, or a moment you experienced. And if you could tell me a baby product that you love and must have, that’s even better! Comment below your favorite mom moment/lesson, or favorite baby product for a newborn, I’d love to know.

*Thank you Playtex Baby™ for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.

baby Baby products Lucy Luu Playtex Baby