I have always thought other people were a little over anxious about what could be wrong with their baby. I mean really…what could possibly go wrong. When you look at the statistics, it simply doesn't seem possible for there to be something wrong ALL the time. So the kid sneezed, hiccuped, had watery eyes…Who cares?!? They will live, right?!? Well, I have continued with this thought process of how crazed other parents were until that fateful day when I became a mom…
I would say in general, I am a really positive person who looks at the world through rose colored glasses; however, when it comes to my baby I seem to make mountains out of mole hills. So I am learning that some of it is the doctors/nurses fault (yes, I said that), some of it is me being a paranoid parent and the some of it I grow out of every single day as I gain confidence in me and the kid. And yes, the kid is still breathing from the last time I checked 30 seconds ago :)
Ok, so here's a few examples of why I say sometimes "its the doctors and nurses fault:"
Example 1: Well, you all know that I had quite the birth story. So as soon as the little man was out of the womb and into the real world, I went into a tailspin. What if he wasn't healthy? What if he looked funky? What if, what if, what if...For the first time, it hit me…me and the hubs were now parental units. Holy guacamole! Who thought this was a good idea??? I didn't even know how to change a diaper and I am now a mom…OY!!! Any how, the first thing the nurses yell out about the little man is…he has 10 fingers and 10 toes…OK, we knew that from all the ultrasounds. But hey, the womb is a funny place, you never know if the little man decided to grow an extra toe in the last few weeks to be more like my brother. Yup! My brother has eleven toes…fancy huh?!? Well our little guy wasn't luck enough to have an 11th toe but he was quite the sight when he came out. The left side of his face was completely smushed up and wasn't moving as well as a cone head full of hair reminiscent of Marge Simpson. The nurses looked at the baby and then at the hubs and me and said "isn't he beautiful???" Ummmmm…I know this is where I am supposed to say yes and burst into happy tears…but did they seriously just say that??? Well within a minute or so, the little guy's face came to and the hubs said he was definitely a-ok by the time the umbilical cord was cut and he was weighed. OK, so speaking of weight he only weighed in at 6 lbs 7oz…Huh?!?! I put on like 60 pounds and that was all the little guy weighed. Seriously?!?1 I was quite convinced he would be at least the size of a decent butterball turkey…oh well! So about an hour later in the post op recovery room, I was attempting to nurse when a nurse came flying in asking if our little guy was the baby with paralysis his face…ummmm What paralysis??? Was there something else we didn't know??? Did she have to say it so nonchalantly??? I know nurses and docs deal with several babies a day but we as new parents have this one experience. So after much panic and tears…we were assured that all was good on the healthy baby front
Example 2: Once you have the baby and move into postpartum, it seems like there is always someone coming in to check your physical recovery, blood pressure and temperature. As soon as that is done and you are about to close your eyes for a little snooze, someone else comes in to check the babe's temperature, heart rate, amount he/she has eaten and the diaper count. So herein lies the "it's their fault I am paranoid." Nurses and doctors seem to always be concentrating particularly hard and take a long freaking time when they check the babe's heart rate. I think they monitor it for over a minute and while doing it they have silence in the room and furrow their brows. As a new parent, you are thinking it only takes them a mere moment to check mine, is the baby ok? The answer is generally yes. I guess newborns have irregular breathing and heart beating patterns and that is completely normal. It takes them about a minute to get a good idea of the pattern. So here is where I say it is their fault that I am paranoid. They don't tell you this…it was only after several doc appointments before the hubs asked and they told us this and we both let out a HUGE sigh of relief. I also learned at this same doctor appointment that babies tend to have have heart murmurs when they are first born and grow out of it within a couple months. WOW! So much to learn…
Well the last 4+ months have been nothing short of a fast learning curve for me. From learning the fastest way to get boogers out of my little guys nose (thanks NoseFrida), to combatting acid reflux and mastering the art of nursing…life has certainly changed from a year ago…next up teething…
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