Reflections on the first few weeks of motherhood

Hello, blogosphere! It has been weird taking a few week's hiatus from blogging. I felt like something was missing from my life, as odd as that may sound. Last week I started catching up on everyone else's blogs, and this week I feel like I'm ready to start blogging, at least occasionally, again. We'll see how it goes.

I wanted to mark my return to blogging by talking a bit about the adjustment to motherhood. In many ways, I think I was prepared for the adjustment, and in some ways, the adjustment was a bit easier than I expected. The reason it's been a bit easier is that Baby Jane is, for the most part, an easy baby. Except for a fussy period every evening, she is good-natured, sleeps like a champ (and in 3-hour chunks at night---which, trust me, makes all the difference in the WORLD), and is just delightful. Part of the easiness, too, is that Mr. Jane and I are both fairly laid-back about the whole parenting thing. We're both taking things in stride, sharing the responsibilities (and waking up at odd hours), laughing at ourselves when things go awry, and just trying to go with the flow. And enjoying every single minute of it. (OK, maybe not the minutes where Baby Jane is screaming her head off for no apparent reason, but the rest of them, sure.)

The hardest part of the adjustment, and the part I really didn't expect, was going from somewhat highly-structured days to completely unstructured days. Everything, really, is at the whim and on the timetable of Baby Jane. And while we're getting better at figuring out her "schedule", such as it is, every day is different from the last. Sometimes she's awake in the morning, sometime not until the afternoon. Sometimes she likes the front carrier, sometimes she'll wail inconsolably while in it. Sometimes it takes 10 minutes to feed her, other times an hour. It's so unpredictable, and for someone with control freak tendencies, it's been a tough adjustment. But I'm getting used to it, and even starting to embrace it.

Other random notes:

* Breastfeeding is HARD at first! It's definitely more of a learned skill. Why don't they tell you these things up front?? Why do all the ads and literature make it seem like the most natural thing in the world?? Liars.

* The first week was BRUTAL in terms of sleep deprivation. I'd never felt so tired in my life. Now, it's not so bad. Either that, or my body is just used to the lack of sleep and it feels normal.... Anyway, naps are my salvation.

* I find that I need to get out of the house every day. Otherwise, I feel like climbing the walls. Luckily, Baby Jane is fairly portable and enjoys being out and about. (And I finally feel comfortable enough breastfeeding in public that I can be out for longer periods of time.)

* I am dying to begin exercising again (not until the 6-week checkup, alas). I do walk every day, and it's been great for my physical and mental well-being.

And on that note, someone has just woken up from her nap, so it's back to the unschedule for me....