The first month

Well, Charlotte Jean is one month old today.  I can't decide if time has flown, or if it's the exact opposite.  The past month has been a blur, but in another sense, it seems like so very long ago that I was pregnant.  This time, one month ago, we were five minutes away from meeting our gorgeous girl.

So far, I have learned (in no particular order):

• My body may not have known how to get pregnant, but it sure knew how to grow a baby & how to labour, give birth & recover efficiently ~ and I am really proud of myself for that
  
• Breastfeeding has been much easier than I expected ~ but I am also very aware that I'm very lucky to be able to say that
  
• You can stare at your sleeping baby for a lot longer than you imagined, and time will fly whilst you are doing it
  
• The days can fly past so quickly without getting a single thing done around the house
  
• I am a lot better at this "Mum" thing than I ever imagined I would be ~ it feels so natural, and so right, and I think I'm doing a great job
  
• Babies sleep a lot more than you expect them to
  
• Babies also sleep a lot less than you expect them to
  
• Don't burp a baby with your hair down
  
• Babies might have tiny stomachs, but an awful lot can come out of them (see above)
  
• Being a parent is truly amazing, and very much worth the wait
  
• But also, being at home alone all day can be very isolating & lonely
  
• Going out on my own with a baby is at the same time so much more & less scary than I thought it would be
  
• Using cloth nappies instead of disposables is much less work than I had imagined ~ and I'm very happy to have made that decision
  
• That it's an incredible feeling to have that "magic touch" ~ to be the one that can soothe my crying baby, to hold her in my arms and have her instantly calmed
  
• After a shower, don't think about your baby until you've put your bra on
  
• I can function on much less sleep & food than I realised
  
• But, I'm getting far more sleep than I thought I would ... and far less food 
  
• Charlotte is one very loved & spoilt little girl ~ we could be BFFs with the postman by now, and our house has, from time to time, looked like a pink bomb exploded inside of it
  

I wonder what I'll learn in the next month!