I’ll admit I wasn’t sure how he’d take to the idea of building a toy box and staining a hand-me-down rocking chair. Though he eagerly took every other shop class available to him in high school, he avoided woodworking class like the plague, too impatient to bother with carefully sanding each piece of wood. But within an hour of me broaching the idea to him over dinner, he had me packed in the car and on my way to Home Depot to shop for lumber, circular saws, stain finishes, and other supplies.

The projects ended up being more involved than I think either of us anticipated. For nearly an entire month, my sunporch was requisitioned as a workshop and fumes from the stain and wood managed to creep in despite closed and locked windows and doors. My husband sanded and stained only to find that he needed to sand and stain all over again. But he didn’t complain. Far from it. He rather seemed to enjoy himself sweating out in the sunporch getting fume headaches. It was his way of nesting, the best thing he had to begin bonding with our soon-to-be daughter. Each minute he spent working on that toy box and rocking chair was another minute he spent thinking about her and how she would use the furniture and the kind of person she would grow up to be. And now, spending a part of each day in her room, these are the things I most enjoy touching.

Posted by Stacy, a Dot-arilla Blogger

Two months later, when the pregnancy test came back positive, I realized I wasn’t ready. My knees buckled. I couldn’t speak and cried when I handed the results to my husband.

Now, almost 8 months after that momentous day, I feel more confident but no more prepared. I laid in bed last night counting Braxton-Hicks contractions and thinking, “Oh my God, I’ve gone into per-term labor and I don’t have a bag packed.” (I hadn’t, of course; I only had two contractions in 30 minutes.)

What I’m worried about isn’t my ability to raise a little girl (yes, we’re having a girl!). I’m not worried about my husband’s ability to play dolls with her, teach her to throw a softball, or scare away unwholesome teenage boys. I’m worried that we’ll bring her home from the hospital and be missing something vitally important—that there won’t be enough onesies, that the breast pump won’t work, that our savings account will run dry and we’ll end up on the streets. I’m worried we’ll run out of diapers at 2am. I’m worried the synthetic dye in our rugs or the chemicals in our walls’ paint will send her into fits of epilepsy. I worry over whether I’m supposed to put a bib on her when she breastfeeds. I worry that not having a wipe warmer means I’m a bad mother.

But ultimately, our little girl will arrive. And ultimately, we will meet her needs and she will turn out just fine. Because ultimately, I know that we are responsible, mature adults with hearts so full of love that we needed to create another person just to keep from bursting.

Posted by Stacy, a Dot-arilla Blogger

We recently had the chance to catch-up with Jessi, our Purchasing and Inventory Specialist to see how being a new mother is going.  Jessi had Tucker about 4 months ago and she loves being a new mother.  Check out Jessi’s story about the challenges and blessing of being a mom.

What has been your greatest challenge as a new mother?

Right now we are trying to get him to sleep on his own. Pretty much from day one, we rocked him to sleep. Now he doesn’t like to sleep without being rocked. When we first tried this, he would start to fall asleep in our arms and we would lay him down in the crib. Well, he would wake up and cry and cry. We would go into his room and reassure him that we were still there and he was alright. I think the first day we tried this, he cried half of the day. It sure seemed like a lot more. 

Every one that I talk to about this says that doing this is one of the hardest things about being a parent. They also say the only way to avoid this is to put the baby in the crib from day one and not let them fall asleep in your arms. My take on it: I wouldn’t trade the time I had just holding him for the world! It is definitely difficult to get Tucker to sleep on his own, but it is getting better.

If you could give a new mom a tip what would it be?

After you have a baby you are so tired and you want the baby to sleep so you get some sleep. I say, rock the baby to sleep if that is what it takes. You can teach them to sleep on their own when you are more rested and have more of a routine that you and the baby recognize.

How much sleep do you get each night?

5-6 hours most nights. If I am lucky I get 7 hours. Of course they are not continuous hours. Tucker still wakes up at least once during the night.

Getting Tucker to sleep on his own is one of the major milestones(at least in my eyes). It is something that every baby needs to learn. If they don’t learn it, they will depend on someone else to help them get to sleep when they get older.

Posted by Jessi, Dotter of Dots – Purchasing and Inventory Specialist

How big was Tucker when he arrived?

9lbs. 3oz. 22 inches long

What is the best part of being a mom?

The smiles. Once he started recognizing me and smiling I really started to like being a mom.

If you could give another soon-to-be mom a tip, what would it be?

The toughest part for me was getting to know him. I know it sounds weird, but you need to take time to get to know your baby(and give them a chance to get to know you). They have their own quirks just like you do.Also don’t be afraid to ask for help. That was hard for me. I like to do things on my own, but I definitely needed help, even just so I could get another half hour of sleep.

What has been your biggest challenge as being a new mother?

I am still trying to figure out how to have “me” time. Everyone told me before I had Tucker that I needed to make sure I made time for me after he was born.  Every time I was told that I thought “Well, I’ll take that time when the baby sleeps”.  My eyes were opened after he was born. For about the first month and a half I felt like he NEVER slept. I remember talking to one of my friends who also just had a baby and she said the same thing. Since then I have ASKED for more help so I can get some “me” time. Even if it is just for two hours a month.

Did you have a baby shower? If so, what theme did you use??

No, I didn’t have a baby shower. I have a lot of family that does not live close. I had a “Meet Tucker Party” about 3 weeks after he was born so all of the family could travel just the one time and see him at the same time.  I didn’t really need anything (as far as gifts go). We had gone to a lot of garage sales since I was pregnant over the summer.

What is Tucker’s favorite toy?

At almost 3 months of age, he hasn’t gotten into toys yet. He has discovered his hands though. He is always hitting something with them, that’s when he doesn’t have them in his mouth. He even hits himself on the head and then looks at us with a look like “ OUCH, what was that?”

What is Tucker’s favorite thing to do?

He loves to lay on his back and “run”. Every time we lay him on his back, he starts kicking his legs really fast and hard. He can do that for literally an hour at a time!
He also likes to talk. He talks non-stop. He even talks in his sleep!

What is your favorite product on SimplyBabyStuff.com and why?

I absolutely ADORE the new modern lines. I have always been the girl who would pick anything brown before I would pick pink or blue. The way the designers have tied the browns with the Pink and Blue is PHENOMENAL!!!!

I especially like the new Mommy Silhouette Invitations and Thank You cards. The paper that they are printed on is of very high quality and sturdy.

Is it hard coming back to work full-time?

Harder than I thought.  I came back to work for only 8 hours a week after about a month. I was fine with that because I was starting to go stir crazy at home(I needed adult interaction). I was still home for most of his waking hours. Now that I am back to work full time, I definitely miss him. When I get done with work I want to get home to him as fast as I can because I know I will only have a few hours with him before he goes to bed.

Anything else about being a new mother you want to share?
I grew up with a large family, so I didn’t really want kids right away. If I wanted a kid for the day, I could grab one of my nieces or nephews. I waited to have Tucker until I was almost 27. Even when I was pregnant, I was not sure if I was ready for a baby. I was prepared, but not ready. After he was born, I changed. I now know what I was missing. I am not the type of person that gushes over babies. If someone I know comes around with their baby, I usually look at it and smile, but don’t hold it. I never wanted to. Even my nieces and nephews only were held by me when I HAD to hold them.

Tucker has changed me into an emotional mom who doesn’t want to let go! I love holding him. I can sit in the recliner and rock for hours with him. I see a lot of thing different now. I look at what I want out of life now and it is incredible how one little thing can change the path that you want to go down. It is going to be a fun ride!