Formula for Happiness - Just Do Your Best

Disclaimer: this is a sponsored post, click here for info.

The first five days after the weekend are the hardest.  Right? ;)

That's a joke. But I would also the say the the first five months after having a baby are the hardest as well, and that's not a joke.  Your body is recovering from a trauma (vaginal birth, C-section, both are traumatic), your hormones are out of whack (that's that technical term), you have a new living being that is dependent upon you for EVERYTHING, but you get very little sleep and are still somehow functioning (or giving that impression, anyway.)  

 
 

Around the 5-6 month mark your little life-disrupter, whom you wouldn't trade for the world, starts to get the hang of this sleeping through the night thing, and you can sometimes get consecutive hours of sleep yourself.  That makes it all a bit easier.  And they start eating solids at this point as well.

Until they are old enough to be introduced to solids, all their nutrition comes in liquid form.  And that is another huge source of stress and hardship mom's have to deal with.  Considering it is the way nature designed us, I find it so baffling that there is so much controversy and societal reaction to breastfeeding. All other animals with mammary glands do it -- maybe people don't like being reminded we're mammals?  

However, just because breastfeeding is what nature intended, doesn't mean it actually works that way.  And that can be really frustrating for a new mom.  She can feel like her body is failing her, and that she is failing her baby because she has the 'job' to provide nutrition for her offspring and she can't.  I had no idea what it was like or what to do to breastfeed, I just assumed my body and my baby would know what to do because it was what they were designed to do.  I was one of the fortunate ones that my milk came in very quickly and my son had a good latch from the first try.  But I never took that for granted.  

I attended the lactation support group for a couple weeks at the hospital where I gave birth, and there was every range of experience.  I was in awe of these women, they were suffering through pain and exhaustion to try to do what was 'best' for their babies.  But some had to supplement with formula.  And I'm sure many ultimately had to transition to only formula.  And I bet they felt guilt about that.

 
 

But the point here is that they shouldn't. You should not feel guilt about doing what is best for you and your baby.  If you've tried what you can and you can't produce enough milk or nurse efficiently, there is no shame in formula.  We are lucky that there are such quality formulas out there, you should feel good actually because you are providing for your baby.  

Do your best, don't listen to the negatives - if your child is healthy and thriving, you're doing good, and doing it right, no matter how you're doing it.



Formula for Happiness - Mommyhood

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. Click here for details.

Want to shake things up in your life? Bored with your flexible lifestyle and freedom to do whatever you want when you want, to sleep in on the weekends, to meet up with friends at a moment's notice?

Then you should have a baby!

Wow. I have yet to have an experience that flipped and scrambled my life the way becoming a mom did.  9 months of pregnancy does not prepare you for the life altering experience that becoming a mom really is.  And before the new, completely helpless human being that will depend on you for life actually enters this world, everyone makes motherhood and parenting look like this wonderful experience.

You have no idea.  It is every extreme possible.  Exhausted high and low after high and low.  It is really hard.  But it is really wonderful.  Your world will never be the same, but you figure out a new normal.  And in that normal you will find love and happiness like you've never experienced before.

 
There are no words to describe. 

There are no words to describe.
 

 

The first couple months are hard, I'm not going to lie.  It's funny, because I would say its the hardest but most enjoyable thing I've ever done.  Any time something was feeling SO frustrating, I would remember my mom telling me "It feels hard and never-ending in the moment, but you look back on this in a few months and it will seem so short."  And I can say from where I am now that she was right.  ( And I think it biologically needs to be that way, or no one would have more than one kid!)

But my son also made it easy on us, in the scheme of things.  When I was early in my pregnancy I read a report on a study that indicated women who ate a little chocolate every day during their pregnancy had happier babies.  So I ate a little chocolate everyday (such a sacrifice, I know) and I can confirm that I have had a very happy baby from the start.

But despite the fact that women have been having babies for thousands of years, it doesn't mean it comes naturally.  And every baby and mother is different.  We mothers put a lot of pressure on ourselves that we shouldn't, and often feel ashamed that we need help.  DO NOT FEEL ASHAMED FOR NEEDING HELP.  Help is so easy to come by, take advantage.    There are great brands out there that make products that fill needs and allow us to enjoy motherhood.   If you are having trouble breastfeeding, ask for help.  There is no shame in that.   If breastfeeding doesn't work for you, there are quality formulas available that give you peace of mind that your are caring properly for your new baby.  If you've run out of ideas for getting your baby on a sleep schedule,  there is help for that.

 
I nursed as long as I could, but my son drank formula as well.  

I nursed as long as I could, but my son drank formula as well. 
 

 

Motherhood is a journey, one that should be enjoyed to the fullest.  You deserve to enjoy it.