What a busy, incredible month it has been! Our apartment is baby ready and makes me very happy, as seen here. We have our Brazilian baby doctor all set up (it takes an amazing doctor to make it worth it to have to wait 4 hours for an appointment like we did last Wednesday) as you can read here. We are learning and settling into life in Brazil, as seen here, and it is my first Mother's day as a mother: read here. Caid put together an awesome vlog of what life is like for us Fergusons:
After reading all of the baby books and articles and conversations with wise women, I have started to piece together my "guidelines" and ideas of what I want to do for mommyness:
1. PREGNANCY AND LABOR: Know yourself and what you want
a. As a Woman: know your body and what it needs to be healthy in all phases of pregnancy/mommy--read books and watch videos--be informed and empowered by birth and how awesome your body is to grow a human!
b. As a Mother: journal your thoughts in becoming a mom (probably why God gave you nine months to get used to the idea). Write a birth plan (it helps you learn all those technical terms)
c. As a Wife: spend extra time/take dates with your husband--this is the (last) time for just you two!
2. FIRST 10 DAYS: Get to know your baby ASAP. Caid and I will be (Lord Willing) taking 10 days after birth to do nothing but bond.
a. Since we are far from family, we will be having a cooking/cleaning lady come in 3x a week for the first two weeks so we can focus on us time and I can REST.
b. Caid will let visitors know we would LOVE to see them--after our 10 days are up (we will warn people beforehand as well).
c. We are NOT worried about spoiling our baby--she was used to being held and fed 24/7 for 9 months, she needs some time to adjust.
d. We are going to keep track of feedings/poop to make sure she is getting the nutrients she needs (making sure she stays awake for a whole feeding--30ish minutes--at least 8 times a day)
3. FIRST THREE MONTHS: Don't pile on the pressure (give yourself grace)
a. Baby is still getting used to being outside the womb, so use the 5s method (swaddling, side/stomach, shhhh, swinging, and sucking) and don't be worried about spoiling them.
b. As you get to know the baby and yourself, begin establishing routines that work for both of you (suggestion: eat/awake/sleep patterns every 3ish hours and then 5 hours at night)
c. Don't plan much outside the house--don't feel forced to exercise/lose birth weight and return to all your old habits/routines. Don't feel like you need to visit everyone/let everyone see the baby.
4. THREE MONTHS AND BEYOND: You decide what goes, not the baby
a. You know what is best for everyone--and so you stick to it--for the sake of everyone
b. After 3 months, focus on the training that you have decided is important
c. Suggestion: eat/awake/sleep routine around breakfast, mid-morning, lunch, mid-afternoon, dinner, bedtime, then sleep 9-10 hours at night
d. Around 6 months, add solid foods after breast feeding during the three mealtimes.
e. After three months, it is normally safe to exercise like normal
f. Don't micro-manage or worry about things--it never helped anything ever
g. Think "training" not "discipline."
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