Tips for New Moms

It's Monday again, and you know what that means.  Monday Listicles at Stasha's place!  Cookie's Mom chose today's topic, and she wanted us to share some advice with new moms.  Well, I already did that on a more serious note in Letter to Myself.  So, for some inspiration and a fresh take on this theme, I started looking back through Lilah's newborn photos.  What I realized is we took a lot of shaky, blurry photos of Lilah with our point-and-shoot when she was brand new.  Part of it was probably due to sleep deprivation, but man, our camera skills have come a long way since we got a D-SLR!  The other thing I noticed is we spent a lot of time on the couch.  In any case, I had fun going back through old photos and writing this list.

1.  Your baby may look a little like an alien at first.  Don't worry, she will go from this

to this

in the blink of an eye.

2.  For the most part, I fully subscribe to the "sleep when the baby sleeps" school of thought.  But sometimes you just gotta catch up on your email, you know?

See? I was addicted to the internet long before I started blogging and tweeting!


3.  Never underestimate the power of matching outfits.

4.  Your pet(s) will likely feel neglected when the new addition arrives.  Don't forget to show them a little love from time to time.

5.  Two words: milk coma. So. Awesome.

6.  Don't let anyone make you feel guilty for indulging your inner couch potato from time to time.

7.  Practice your posing.  We all know the camera adds pounds, and you don't exactly have pounds to spare shortly after giving birth.  So find some sassy poses that flatter your new figure, and find your inner top model.

8.  Prepare to fall in love with your baby daddy (or partner, or anyone else who helps you take care of your new babe) all over again.

9.  Whenever you are in the vicinity of other newbies, take the opportunity to line them all up on a couch for a photo.  Bonus points if each and every parent there is also frantically snapping photos.  The more pictures, the better.  Because once they are mobile, there is no way in hell you will get them all to sit in the same place at the same time.

10.  All the sleepness nights and projectile poop and sore nipples and spit-up and mewling cries and blood-curdling screams (yours and the baby's) and anxiety and feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt will soon fade to a distant memory, and what you will be left with are these moments: