mommy to mommy

okay, this isn't just for the moms out there i guess, but future moms and anyone who wants to read my advice, from my almost five months of experience. these are some things that nobody ever told me about being a mom, that i wish they would have.
1. babies have no sense of time. they don't sleep at night time mostly, they sleep whenever they want and for as long or as little as they want. that doesn't change until about four months when they start to figure out when night time is and it starts to become a little more continuous during the night time hours. those first four months are the longest four months of being a mom! if you're lucky it'll only be about four months and they'll figure it out. kylee's five months old and she has just started to sleep for more than four hours at a time at night. and don't think you're home free when they start sleeping that long, because it all changes when they are growing physically or about to make a developmental leap. for three nights in a row kylee woke up every two or one hours during the night, when she had already been sleeping for 5+ hours at a time.
2. if you breast feed or bottle feed choose what's best for baby AND you. for me, and for many others that i have talked to breast feeding hurts for a while. (for me, it hurt the whole six weeks i kept trying to feed her, i finally gave up and chose to bottle feed with pumped milk ... get an electric pump, it doesn't hurt like a hand pump does.) i felt sooo guilty for weeks and weeks after i had decided that it wasn't bonding me and baby together by breast feeding, it actually made me angry when she would be hungry ... again. but if you choose to breast feed, give it a good try, two weeks or more i think is enough time for baby to figure it out. but if you do bottle feed make sure to sign up on multiple mommy websites, where they will send you coupons.
3. save your coupons and stock up. okay, i know this is kinda common sense, but sign up on websites that will send you stuff and pay attention to expiration dates. you can never have enough diapers (make sure to pay attention to weight ranges on the packages so you don't waste any.) sometimes they put coupons on the inside of the packages, so make sure to check before you throw away empty diaper packaging. (save the boxes to pack up clothes your baby has grown out of, it happens quicker than you think!)
4. best place to buy diapers and formula is wal-mart hands down. yes wal-mart has the best deals i've found.
5. babies cry a lot. another of the major adjustments as a mom: trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with the crying baby. they're either hungry, uncomfortable, need to be burped, changed, or are tired. (yes they even cry when they're tired. kylee does the FREAK OUT cry when she's tired.)
6. back to sleep and tummy to play. make sure they are on their backside to sleep, with any blankets/covers tucked under the crib mattress so that they can't pull them up over their heads. try to give your child tummy time every day and slowly their neck muscle and back control will strengthen.
7. find something that makes you feel like you. don't just serve the baby, serve yourself by doing something you enjoy and making time for it, even if it's just once a week. (i have been able to scrapbook and i love it! look for ideas on the archivers website)
8. last, but not least, don't be too hard on yourself. being a mom is the hardest job i have EVER done, surprisingly. i have a greater appreciation for stay at home moms. their job is just as hard as going to school full time and working on top of that. you never get anything done during the day, and you always wonder where your time went, but just remember that this is one of the most important things you will do. you do the best you can and that's all you can do. i always thought it would be a breeze to finally be done with school and be able to stay home with my baby, but i never knew it would keep me just as busy.

that's about all i know about being a mom ... take it for what it's worth.