Baby's First Year: Week 2 (Baby's First Outings)

on December 7, 2009 at 3:00 PM

Meet starburst1680, brand new first-time mom to Kathryn Grace. She will be sharing with us the roller coaster ride of her first year of motherhood. Check back every week for all of the emotion and exhaustion — right up until Kathryn's first birthday.

Week 2:

So far we seem to be pretty lucky with a mellow baby. At least until this morning when she hit her 2-week growth spurt. She is (normally) a great sleeper and eater. Today she is still eating very well it is just more frequent and more milk. One thing that has made it a little easier is that I have figured out her hungry cry and I can usually distinguish her "I need to burp" cry as well.

We have already ventured outside the house several times. Almost all of those trips were to one of the grandparents' house. Both sets of grandparents live really close and this is the first grandbaby on both sides so they love having us over. The only place we have taken her besides the doctor and grandparents' houses is a quick trip to the place I work to show her off on our way home from the doctor earlier this week. I thought I'd be more hesitant about taking her out and being around other people because of germs but I keep an eye on her and make sure I don't let a bunch of people touch her. So far I haven't had a problem with that. We have also had a handful of friends and one of my husband's cousins over to see her. We are typical proud parents and just want to show her off to everyone so we enjoy taking her places and having people over. It helps that she loves her carseat and car rides so taking her places is pretty easy. I also have had an oversupply of breastmilk so I have been able to pump some and we can take that with us when we go out. We haven't had any problems with nipple confusion and it just makes things a little easier.

Challenges:

I think my husband and I are adjusting very well for first time parents. It has been a big change for both of us but we knew it would be so it wasn't a huge shock. The biggest challenge so far would probably be either balancing motherhood with house work (our apartment is a wreck!) or just not knowing if things she does are normal (was that poo too watery or normal?). On the flip side though one of the best parts is having her curled up on your chest sleeping like she is now!

We're celebrating starburst1680's first year with baby, not criticizing her parenting choices, so thank you for keeping your judgments to yourself. Any bashing will be deleted.

How did you feel bringing your baby around other people for the first time?

Baby's First Year Calendar:

Baby's First Year: Meet Mom and Baby

Filed Under: baby first year, starburst1680

Comments (2)

justanotherjen

on Dec 8, 2009 at 1:58 AM

Congrats on the new baby.

I don't remember even thinking about it when I took my first out. We were on our way home from the hospital and needed diapers and formula so my fil (who was driving) took a detour to Wal-mart where me, hubby and our 2 day old daughter went shopping. I didn't even realize that taking a newborn out was taboo. The doctor's never said not to but I got a ton of dirty looks from people as we walked around.

Then we showed her off to all our friends that worked there (we were both employees). I never thought about it. They all oohed and ahhed over her.

The next day we got up early and went to breakfast with my in-laws and their favorite hang out (we knew all the waitresses by name, the owner, etc...we were there most mornings before the baby came).

I had no worries about the people meeting her, some holding her, and tickling her toes or what not. Never crossed my mind to be worried. She had been held by everyone under the sun after she was born.

She's 9 now and healthy as can be. 9 years and so far 1 virus (at 11 months), 3 bouts of pink-eye (2 as a toddler and 1 when she was 7), a couple of colds and her first ear infection over the summer caused by swimming with a clogged ear.

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