On Saturday September 29, 2018, I gave birth to my son, RJ. The experience of becoming a mother for the first time is like  no other. My husband and I have spent the last few weeks bonding with our son and parenting.  I'm soaking up the newness of this whole experience. It's beautiful. It's special. It also comes with a huge learning curve.  I once read that becoming a parent is like having your heart outside of your body.  Yes, I can see that, because it’s exactly how it feels.

With diaper changes, breastfeeding, caring for a newborn, and functioning on less sleep than I’m used to, I have my hands full.  Thankfully, my husband brings a lot of experience and insight as RJ is his second. Of course, I expected a busy adjustment period based on my conversations with my mom friends and family. Yet, it's one thing to hear about it and it's another to live it.  Additionally, almost every parent I spoke with told me that the newborn phase goes by quickly, so while I am busy, I practice being present. I want to soak up every experience during this time in my life.

The last five weeks also taught me so much about learning to accept help from your village when you need it.  The “I am Woman, hear me roar,” part of me wants to report that I'm totally rocking this whole experience and that I’ve got this covered. After a  difficult delivery (birth story to come in another post), I am incredibly thankful for the help we received from both my mother and mother-in-law during the first three weeks. Believe me when I say that it takes a village and we were not rocking anything without them! I’m also happy that RJ got to spend time and bond with his two grandmothers. Now, that’s priceless.