"It Comes Naturally"

To avoid the façade of looking put-together, I want to set the record straight.

Let's start with the darling newborn photos Scott and I just shared.
Our poor photographer was at our house for 4 hours waiting for Hosanna to fall asleep for the shots.

She never did.

The photographer snapped a few pics with Scott before he finally had to leave for work. Zanna was basically screaming the rest of the time. It's a genuine miracle that we got a few perfect shots in those 4 hours. If she looks like she's sleeping, she's not. She was blinking. Or momentarily lulled by the hair dryer. We didn't get any pictures of the three of us together.

They say that being a mom comes naturally. I had no experience with babies growing up. I babysat probably three times in my whole life and had no little siblings, cousins, or nieces/nephews to practice with. They said, "Don't worry! You will instinctively know what to do once you become a mom."

False.

I still have to be coached on how to change a diaper, how to hold a baby and support her head, and how to dress/undress her. I have yet to tackle bathing her by myself. When she cries I ask my mom or Scott why she's crying. She falls asleep better in basically everyone's arms but mine.

Zanna hates bows.

They say that breastfeeding comes naturally. Your baby will know how to latch, and your body will just "know" what to do and how much milk to produce for your baby....the whole demand/supply thing.

False.

They say you can train your baby to sleep through the night and have restful naps during the day, as long as she gets a full feeding every time. False. They should have written an alternate "Baby Wise" book for babies with colic, tummy issues, and an extremely stubborn and independent temperament.

They say you're a bad parent if you co-sleep or let baby sleep on her tummy, or formula feed her, or let her nurse to pacify, or [insert opinion here], etc.

Just remember that all babies are different, parents are even more different, and you have to figure out what works best for you.

They say that being a mom comes naturally. It does not. You are thrown into the steepest learning curve of your life, and you are basically forced to figure everything out. I think even loving our baby did not happen immediately, as we were exhausted and shocked and delirious thinking, Is this what parenthood is?

They say it is all worth it:

True.