7 Quick Takes Friday (Take 37) - Newborn Edition

My husband and I were blessed with our first child, a beautiful baby girl named Lucia Rose, this past Monday.  Here are a few things I’ve learned in my four days of motherhood so far:

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1.       To trust (and love) my body.  I am capable of growing a healthy baby for nine (er, ten…) months in my womb, giving childbirth naturally, and providing her sole nourishment for the first several months of her life.  God knew what he was doing when He created woman! 

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1.       To listen to my body.  If it's capable of doing so much, it probably knows what I should be doing much better than I do.  When I’m hungry, I need to eat.  When I’m thirsty, I need to drink.  When I’m tired (and the baby’s sleeping), I need to sleep.  There is someone else depending on me now so I need to take care of myself. 

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1.       That newborns are tiny.  I know, this should be obvious, but when I was washing and putting baby clothes away while I was pregnant, the clothes seemed like they would be too small.  When the midwife weighed her and said she was eight pounds, I couldn’t believe it; I thought an eight pound newborn would be much bigger, but she looked so small in my arms.  And she is absolutely swimming in some of her newborn clothes.  Take a look at how tiny Lucia is in her swing:

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1.       That there are things much, much better than sleep.  Like staring at the little face of my sleeping daughter.  I know I should nap when she’s sleeping (see number 2) but I hate to miss anything, even watching her sleep.

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1.       That even when you are a mommy yourself, you still need your mommy to take care of you.  My mom flew in Wednesday night and has been helping with the baby, especially at night so David and I can get some sleep.  It’s been wonderful.

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1.       That half the joy of having a baby is seeing other people share in your joy.  I love watching the look on my mom’s face as she holds her baby granddaughter.  And hearing my dad get choked up every night when he is Skyping with her. 

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1.       That people can be so generous and caring.  We’ve received countless warm wishes for our daughter since her birth, including many from casual acquaintances I wouldn’t have expected to hear from.  We got a box from my brother-in-law’s fiancée overflowing with pretty pink baby girl clothes for her niece.  Each person in my husband’s lab group is bringing us a meal one night this week (including several bachelors and the couple that had their baby last week!).  And I can’t forget to mention all the kind thoughts and prayers left by people here on my blog – thank you!  We are truly blessed to have so many people care about our little girl.

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