I’m so excited to share this post today which features a blogger I’ve enjoyed following for years now and who recently had the life-changing experience of becoming a mom, Blair from The Fox and She blog! With her focus on living a healthy-balanced life, boss-like tendencies, and great style, I was eager to find the opportunity to share her blog and some of her great insights with you all. Even though there are a million things I’d love to pick her brain on, today I’m sharing with you her top things of “What I Wish I Knew” for the first three months of momhood.
There are some real gems in her responses and I am so thankful for her sharing her perspective – especially with her busy schedule and life as a mom. Check out her blog and instagram to see these cuties and enjoy her positive energy and outlook that is infectious for all her followers.
Q: First off, tell us your background and how old your little is.
A: Hi! My name is Blair, I’m a Texas girl, but have been living in Chicago for the past 7 years. I run the lifestyle blog, The Fox & She, and co-run another site called Blogging 4 Keeps where we share blogging tips. On the family front, I married my husband, Rob, four years ago and recently expanded our family! We welcomed our sweet baby boy, Owen into the world this past November and I’m still in shock that he’s already nine months old!
Q: So the first night in the hospital, traumatizing or sweet bliss?
A: Haha, how about a total blur! We don’t have family in Chicago, so both of our parents flew in as soon as they heard I was in labor. It was so amazing to have them there, especially my mom. As soon as night came though, it all sunk in that I was responsible for feeding that baby. We were still very much figuring out breastfeeding so the feeding seemed to last forever and all I wanted to do was go to sleep! The hospital we delivered in had a night nursery so I took advantage and had Owen go to the nursery for a few hours so I could get some uninterrupted sleep!
Q: Anything you didn’t bring with you in the hospital but wish you had?
A: The hospital was freezing! I wish I had brought warm socks and a cozier cardigan that was also easy for breastfeeding. Other than that, I brought way too much stuff. I was really sore, so I never put on the cute pajamas that I had brought for pictures, whoops!
Q: What did you not have for the first three months but ended up buying or wishing you had bought?
A: This is not a physical product, but at 12 weeks I purchased Taking Cara Babies newborn sleep course and it was 100% the best thing that I bought. It was a quick course and changed our sleeping game instantly. I wish I had taken it a week before his arrival because it does a great job of teaching you how to soothe a fussy baby—get it!
Q: What is one thing that worked REALLY WELL as planned, and one thing that you just had to completely abandon?
A: We were really lucky and breastfeeding was easy. Owen latched with no issues and my milk came in quickly. I am still so thankful for that because I know it can be such a stressful part of having a newborn.
Something we sort of abandoned was having Owen sleep in our room. We had his bassinet right next to my side of the bed for the first 5 weeks, but I was really struggling to get any sleep. Any little peep he made would make me wake up worrying that he needed something, only to find him asleep. We eventually moved his bassinet just outside our room into our closet (with the doors open!). It was far enough away that I didn’t hear as many tiny peeps, but close enough that when he woke up and cried, I was instantly up!
Q: Did you read any books to prep and do you feel like that helped?
A: Yes! I read Bringing up Bebe, which was part baby book part memoir and I really loved it. It convinced me that taking a more relaxed calm approach was the best thing for everyone. I also read some of Babywise (not the whole thing, ha!) for the sleep training schedule which we started pretty early. I also downloaded Moms on Call a few weeks after he was born and LOVE that format—it’s quick and gives you the info you need fast.
Q: What most surprised you about motherhood in the first three months?
A: I think I was shocked by how emotional and lonely I felt on a regular basis. At that age, your baby takes up all of your time and energy. If you’re breastfeeding, it takes up even more energy. It was also winter in Chicago which made things tougher. The next time around, I’ll have family and visitors scheduled to come throughout those first 3 months to help out and just be there for support.
Q: What did you learn about yourself in the first three months?
A: Holy heck—I can do a lot more than I ever thought. Despite being emotional and lonely, I also felt so strong. I was often single-handedly keeping my baby alive day in and day out. I also learned that while it’s not pretty, I can survive on very little sleep!
Q: What was the most useful piece of advice you got that helped you in your first three months?
A: This will pass! It was like a wake-up call on one very sleep-deprived rough week. I suddenly remembered that he would not be this small for long, he wouldn’t eat 8x a day forever, he wouldn’t need to wake up in the night to feed forever. It sometimes doesn’t feel like that in the midst of it, but try to remind yourself that this is just a temporary part of your baby’s life!
Q: What was your number one savior?
A: My family! Like I said, we don’t have family in Chicago, but I had my sisters, parents and Rob’s family come visit on a regular basis. In hindsight, I would have requested they come even more, but now I know—and so do you!
Q: I know that health is very important to you, healthy eating, self-care – so how did that go during the first three months?
A: Ahh, yes! I really struggled with my health the first few months because I was just so tired, I ate random crap around the house instead of nourishing my body with healthy nutrient-dense foods. The next time, I plan on stocking my freezer with healthy things I can easily eat up, like soups and stews. I did take time for a little self-care each night and would have Rob feed Owen his nighttime bottle while I would shower, do a face mask and just lay in bed. It’s hard to find the time, but so important to keep your sanity.
Q: Looking back now at those first three months, anything else you wish you knew that you know now?
A: Breastfeeding takes time to figure out, but if you can stick with it, do it! I ended up pumping and bottle feeding early on because it was more efficient in the beginning. But, before I knew it, Owen became VERY efficient at eating and ate a lot. I wish I would have stuck it out with actually breastfeeding because it ended up taking so much more time to pump then bottle feed than it would have been to just breastfeed. Just a tip for any of you mamas who are hoping to breastfeed for a specific amount of months! It’s hard at first, but gets easier!
Thank you again to Blair for sharing these great tips -got any of your own or something you’re curious about? Comment below! Now I’m off to take just one more nap while there is still time!!
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