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Ds was an easy baby. I think it was just the shock of sleep deprivation that got to me most. Also had a late Nov baby and felt stir crazy! Def had days that felt like groundhogs day and wished those fleeting weeks away! I'm going to try and fully cherish the nb days this next time because they go by SO FAST! And they're only so little for such a short period!!

Dh was off for six weeks and it was nice to tackle it all together! Sure we had a couple tiffs working out the kicks of first time parenthood but we bonded so much through that time in our new normal. Im so grateful for the time we had as a new family of 3! We also fully enjoyed our time w our families that holiday season. I WISH Dh could get the same time off this time!!

I love the newborn stage in theory (They're so tiny! They love to sleep on you! The sweet baby smells! The blissed out mama euphoria!), but in actuality, three things stand out to me that make me realize I don't REALLY love it.

1) The blowouts. "Oh, look at my cute, tiny, 10 day old baby! Isn't she.....wait. what's that yellow stuff on my shirt? Is it baby shit? Oh my gosh....sick, you just shit all over me!"

2) The engorged boobs. "Oh, hi, friend. I'd love to go out for lunch with you, but I have these incredibly painful bowling balls strapped to my chest that I have to carry around all day and then attempt to feed my baby with later....." Seriously. The engorgement killed me.

3) The mixed up days and nights. Some people luck out and get babies who know when it's daytime and when it's nighttime. Not mine. They slept all day and were awake all night for over a month. I think I literally wore the same pair of sweats BACKWARDS for three days in a row becuase I Literally. Couldn't. Even.

I had one very difficult newborn and one amazing newborn, so I can't really say!

I HATED it with my first! Everything was soooooooo hard and caused me so much anxiety!

But with my second, everything was a BREEZE and I LOVED every second of it! The newborn phase is too short (when you're enjoying it, and too long when you aren't)!

If breastfeeding wasn't so stressful I would have loved it more. I felt like I was on a constant countdown of when I would have to nurse again. We had latch issues and it hurt for a while and I would just dread it. Other than that though I loved the snuggles and how he could just fall asleep whenever. Lol

Love it. I love getting to know them and feel overwhelmed with new love for a person. With my first DH had time off and we'd take long walks then end at a little outdoor cafe. Baby didn't sleep well at night and I got mastitis but all the love and cuddles make up for it by a ton. I just love getting to know this new sweet little being.

I loved it:) I had a very good sleeper & pro breast feeder so it was very manageable

I loved it for LO 2 even though she puked a lot the first 6 weeks!

I love it! She was so sweet and snugly.

I looooved the newborn stage, but it was still extremely difficult. I personally found 7 to 12 weeks to be kind of challenging. Still lovely and snugly but the witching hour was no joke.

Yes! I loved the snuggles, he newborn smell, strangely I loved breastfeeding, and since he's my one and only I had so much time- I binge watched tv for 5 weeks and it was just a wonderful time. He also never cried!
The huge downside was no sleep. He hardly slept at all - he'd only sleep while being held and would scream if put in his own bed- so yeah that was rough.

I loved it! I wouldn't say it was a piece of cake, but DS was a relatively easy baby from months 1-4. He slept pretty well, was a great nurser, and was really happy and easygoing. I was totally like "let's have tons more babies!" It got real around the 4 month mark - sleep went to crap, he got his first cold... months 4-11 were SO HARD. Now I'm not so sure about more babies - but I LOVE the one I've got

I loved it! I loved being home for 3 months with her and things didnt start to get difficult until i had to go back to real life - Early wakeups after being up 3 times during the night, daycare sickness, pumping 3-4 times a day, functioning at work on little sleep, hormones, trying to cram ALL THE CHORES in on the weekends, or the 2 hours we were home before collapsing. I'll take a newborn over real life any day.

@mrsjyw: Stir crazy because it was cold out and got dark early?? Just wondering because our LO is due Nov. 19 and I am also worried about those things!

I don't love it, but I definitely enjoyed it more the second time around. Overall, I prefer the older they get when they interact more, aren't eating all the time and sleep more - ha ha.

@wrkbrk: not so much the dark but def the winter snow (we live in mi) and also, I'm Korean (per cultural practice and my mom's insistence) and didn't venture out much aside from doc appts and such until almost 7/8 weeks! That coupled with first time mom nervousness = lots of Netflix and at home time.

@simplyfelicity: Even though in general I was one of those who "hated" the newborn phase, there were still parts that I loved, mostly the snuggling and the nice breastfeeding moments when she would fall asleep while nursing and I would just stare at her lovingly.

I think it depends on what kind of baby you have, if baby is easygoing and not much of a crier, you will probably love it. My baby would cry a lot and even cry during feedings, so for me it was hard and that's why I much prefer her after 2 months when it got a lot better!

The more you are prepared and educated about newborn care... like how to breastfeed (if you're planning to), how to handle bouts of crying (5 S's for example), how to take care of yourself, etc. the more likely you will set yourself up to love the newborn phase.

@simplyfelicity: I could have written that update. LO is 2 months as of Saturday, and I love it all, except for the BFing struggles. We're making progress, but it's sloooow going. But I love everything else, and hate how fast it's going.

I love love LOVE the newborn phase!