15 Things New Moms Should Know

There is so much they do not tell you about pregnancy and I certainly do not like the "f*** around and find out" method so here's 15 things I think new moms should know.

1. Wash Baby's Clothes Before Wearing

I was unaware that my baby's clothes needed to be washed until I saw an influencer washing up her child's clothes. I was still pregnant when I found out, but I had already organized and hung all of the clothes so guess what, more work for me.

It is recommended that you use a baby detergent to wash baby's belonging. My personal favorite was Dreft, but you can check out other brands such as All, or Honest to see which would be best for your baby.

2. The 4th Trimester Is The Hardest

I can honestly say the easiest part of my entire pregnancy was labor/delivery (because of previous preparation) and the hardest part was the 4 trimester/postpartum. I have never felt so low, discouraged, unmotivated, unattractive, unstable, depressed, emotional, and terrified in my life. This is not to discourage you but to inform you. I received no warning as to what was to come. Granted everyone experience is different however statistic say 1 out of 7 women may experience postpartum depression. Your body changes drastically, your hormones are everywhere and through it all you still have to be a mom.

During my postpartum my hair began to fall out (mostly my edges) and I had severe dandruff, it honestly wasn't pretty but my hair stylist; Koiffure Hair Studio certainly took great care of me! The exhaustion was real! I honestly felt more tired as a new mom than I did while I was pregnant. I was also very depressed about how my body looked/looks after giving birth. It honestly took me over a year to start feeling like Shika again. I wish more people would be honest about the postpartum experience but I guess that wouldn't live up to their perfect IG life.

3. Breastfeeding Isn't Always Easy

At the hospital I was able to get my baby to latch. However, once we made it home I started to have trouble with him latching, so for a couple of days we would syringe feed until we could figure out how to latch properly again.

I remember being extremely stressed about the breastfeeding process, one night I was pumping milk and I noticed it turned pink so I immediately stopped and called my mom friends. My nipples were extremely sore and had begun to bleed a little so my milk was pink. Typically I research things when I have an issue but this particular time I panicked and because my friends didn't answer, I threw the milk away. I later found out it's actually safe or even helpful to continue breastfeeding if you see blood in your breast milk.

4. Newborn phase is the easiest

Although you're extremely exhausted, In retrospect all you have to do is feed baby, change baby, put the baby down for nap/sleep. That's really not that bad when you think about it, as they get older you have to do all of the above and some & they you'll finding yourself praying for more naps lol.

5. Things may not go as planned

Had we waited 45 more minutes I would have been having my baby at home. Unfortunately because my "pain tolerance was too low" I was sent home with at 1 cm dilated with 13 minute contractions. By the time I made it home contractions were 7 mins apart. Because I was sent home I was extremely dehydrated, I kept throwing up anytime I would attempt to drink anything and I was in severe pain by this point. I did not plan or not plan to get an epidural because I was unsure. But because we barely made it to the hospital I was unable to receive one. I also didn't anticipate having a 2nd degree tear so the healing process for that was quite challenging & I honestly thought my vagina fell off.

6. Your Relationship Will Be Tested

Let me start off by saying I have the MOST AMAZING HUSBAND! I appreciate him for understanding and helping me navigate this new phase of my life. My husband and I have been in marriage counseling since before & after marriage. And boy let me tell you, I'm so thankful we never stopped going. Doing this has help us grow tremendously and also helped us transition into parenthood. Because I was going through postpartum depression I honestly was not my best self, and although I wanted to be I just didn't know how. But my husband did everything he could to help get me out of that space, he didn't pressure me, or judge me and I'm thankful we were able to survive that very trying time.

7. Six Weeks May Not Be Enough Time

In most cases if you had a vaginal delivery, they doctor is going to clear you at 6 weeks. But just because you are cleared does not mean you are ready. It honestly took me 3 months before I was ready mostly because I had a tear and the trauma was still very fresh. I did attempt to have sexy time after 2 months but my body just wasn't ready yet and that's ok.

8. Take As Many Classes As You Can

I truly enjoyed taking online baby classes. I learned so much as a first time mother. I wanted to take in-person classes as well but due to covid that wasn't happening. I had found Care Net Pregnancy Center of Houston which offers a ton of resources to parents to be. Not only did they provide me with mommy classes but they provided my husband with dad classes as well.

9. You can get a FREE Breast Pump through your insurance

Did you know you can get a breast pump completely free of charge through your insurance on Aeroflow Breastpumps, I chose the Motif Luna Double Electric Breast Pump which worked really well for me but they have plenty of options to choose from. They also have free items such as compression socks as well as recovery garments.

10. Night Sweats Are A Thing

After having a baby, you experience a big drop in your hormones, especially estrogen, immediately which causes night sweats. Now I'm not talking about just a little sweating where your clothes may be a little sticky, I'm talking about change your sheets and change your clothes night sweats. I honestly can't believe no one told me about this because it's definitely something worth mentioning.

11. Your Feet May Grow

Unfortunately your feet may grow during pregnancy and will more than likely remain bigger. There are numerous bones, ligaments, and tendons that the feet are comprised of, and it's common that they tend to loosen and relax during pregnancy.

12. Nightmares!!!

It is said that about 40–50 % of pregnant women experience nightmares during pregnancy and boy let me tell you, I was having dreams like something out of Love Craft Country and it was very terrifying. Never in my life have I experienced these kinds of vivid dreams. Vivid dreams are likely the body’s way of sorting through the many feelings and emotions that arise during pregnancy, both positive and negative.

13. You May Have To Change Your Skincare Routine

If you're into skincare like I am, you may have to switch a safe routine because some of them can lead to dangerous birth defects. As an expecting mom, you should always read the labels to see if something is safe for you to consume and if you are unsure you should consult with your doctor. Check out this list of ingredients to avoid using while pregnant.

14. Pregnancy Brain Is A Real Thing

The term pregnancy brain refers to memory problems, poor concentration and absent-mindedness reported by many women during pregnancy and early motherhood. I remember during my first trimester I was forgetting things I normally would be on top of. One day I even drove to the gym with slippers on and no workout shoes. (And yes my trainer still made me work out) I had to start writing everything down in my notes to help me survive because I honestly could not rely on my memory alone.

15. Before There's A Terrible Two There's A Terrible One

Now I don't know why no one is talking about this, but there's definitely a terrible one before there's a terrible two. In a sense, I'm somewhat kidding. About how incredibly busy a walking one year old is. My baby unplugs any and everything he sees in the outlets, he throws things away (he throw away my husband's wallet & he searched for it for two days before finding it in the trash can), he likes to break glass, open drawers and pull out our clothes, pull out dominoes and chunk them behind out tv stand, throw whatever he can find in the toilets, the list goes on and I for one can't keep up with this busy baby. Sheesh, they should come with a warning label or something because I was not ready lol.

***BONUS - You may have to pay for your village, and thats ok! Hire that help sis!

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Although I mentioned quite a bit above I can honestly say I love my baby to pieces and although motherhood/parenthood is not for the weak, I am becoming much better at it and I enjoy my little person.