3.5 Weeks

Has it really been three and a half weeks? It seems like just yesterday I was confined to a hospital bed with my compression socks on my feet trying to control the swelling. I was huge, I was miserable, and I was ready for it all to be said and done with. While in the hospital, I honestly felt that Paul and I were ready for this baby. Yes, I was scared, but I was ready. We were ready. Finally, after 30 hours of Pitocin (for inducing) and finally a C-section, she was here. Who would've thought our lives would be changed like this?

As a married couple with no kids, we were anticipating sleepless nights, a loss of freedoms, and a giant love added to our lives when we started our family. Never did we think it would be like this. It's wonderful, it's frustrating, it's unbelievable. There are not enough books in the world to prepare you for having a newborn baby in your home.If you would have asked me, even a year ago, if this is where my life would be at this time, I would have laughed at you. But alas, here we are: 29-year-olds with a baby girl running our lives. And we love it! But believe me, we were unprepared. Yes, we read the books. Yes, we took the classes (although we left early). Yes, we set up her room and had all the baby stuff you need. Even when we thought we had everything, we were unprepared for what was really going to happen when a baby came home with us.

Case in point for our unpreparedness: Nyla likes to play a little game with me when I go to change her diaper. When I hear (or smell) that she has left me a little surprise in her diaper, I give her 10 minutes to finish up her business and also give me time to ensure that she's done. I take her to the changing table, start to clean her up and change the diaper. This is about the moment where Nyla completes her joke on Mommy and continues said business all over the table. So what has started out as a run of the mill diaper change has now turned into an all-out scramble to cover everything up and keep it from getting everywhere. If I look at her at the right moment, I swear she has a look of complete satisfaction on her face. And this isn't something that has only happened once; this is a regular occurrence at diaper time. I'm thinking I must get faster at this diaper change business...

As a new mom and dad, all her little sounds and cries are completely new and foreign to us. We have figured out the "change my diaper" cry and the "I just want to whine" cry. But what's up with all the crying in between? The "I'm crying for no reason" cry? She also is the noisiest sleeping baby. I thought babies were supposed to be precious and quiet when they sleep? Nyla grunts and groans and whimpers in her sleep all the time. I must admit-it's adorable.

What has been lost in our lives is the sense of self. No longer am I just Elizabeth; I am Nyla's mom. The things I want to do (like take a shower first thing in the morning) are not important anymore. If it comes between snuggling with Nyla or changing out of my pajamas, I'm on the couch cuddled up with our girl. This, of course, means that I haven't worn regular "day" clothes in weeks. Getting dressed, doing my hair, eating at regular times, taking showers, putting on make-up, running errands-all things that have taken a backseat to Nylaboo.

Even with all the changes, all the sacrifices we have made and will make in the future, all the out-of-diaper poops, life is good. Real good. Good beyond words. Who would've thought it would be like this?