15 Things I Never Knew Before I Became a Mom

With Covid causing schools, my side business, and well ...the whole country to shut down, I had a lot of time on my hands towards the beginning of summer and my due date in August. I felt pretty confident about becoming a mom, but I decided to read mommy blogs to be more prepared for when Jack arrived. 
However, all that reading still had me caught off guard with some things I never anticipated with being a mom and having a new baby.

Here are some of those things I've learned over the past 7 weeks:

How Long It Takes To Prepare To Go Anywhere:
I knew I would have to take a little more time to get myself and baby ready to run out to the store or complete a quick errand. I didn't realize it could take multiple hours depending on the day with a newborn.

First, you need to get the baby dressed. Great! 

Now it is time to feed them so that they can sleep while you pump. That can take up to 30 minutes. 

Okay, they should be nice and full and fall right to sleep right? Sometimes... and then sometimes they fuss for up to an hour.

Okay, great they're asleep! Time to pump for 30-40 minutes. Done!

It is then you realize that the feeding window is quickly reapproaching again because everything took so long! They will be waking up again soon because they're hungry and you're not even out the door yet. Yikes!

I can't tell you how hard it can be at times to perfectly time out this process. Some days are easier than others for sure!


Formula Stains Fabric & Clothes:
Jack was still struggling to breastfeed and we had to supplement formula in the meantime. (I am happy to report we did get the hang of it eventually...okay ... focus Melissa) Jack was and still is a messy eater and even with the burp cloth, he can still manage to get his milk on his clothes. My mom came over after work to meet Jack for the first time and he was in his cute going home outfit I had specially made from Etsy. Luckily, she let me know right away that formula stains clothes, and I would want to tackle soaking it right away if I wanted to save it. Luckily, using some blue Dawn dish soap and OxyClean soaking in some hot water for an hour took it right out!


Baby Poops Are So Loud:
Guys, I am not joking on this one. The first time you hear your little one poop you will be shocked by how violently loud and intense it is. There are still times it still makes me jump if I am holding Jack and he decides it is time to go to the bathroom. Seriously, get ready!


Point The Penis Down:
This one we had to learn the hard way. If you have a little boy, this advice is huge!!! When changing their diapers and reapplying the fresh one, you need to make sure his penis is pointed down. There was one night where Jack wet himself outside his diaper 3 times and soaked his mattress cover! Luckily, some seasoned moms were able to quickly diagnose the problem. This one is probably my number one word of advice.


Your Boobs Will Tingle/ Hurt When Baby Cries:
If you are breastfeeding or pumping, when your baby cries your brain sends a message to your breasts to get them to start producing more milk. It is the most bizarre feeling and most definitely unexpected. It also isn't fun when you haven't pumped yet and your boobs already feel like they're about to burst.


Babies Need To Eat Every 2-3 Hours:
This might be a "duh" concept to some of my readers, but I honestly had no idea and that's okay! We are learning here people! I was somewhat scolded by one of the overnight nurses when Jack was born for not feeding him in the middle of the night. I just thought that he would cry when he was hungry. I made sure to wake him up every 2-3 hours after to make sure his weight was up for the time being at the hospital. When we got home, I relaxed on that rule and let the kid sleep until he was ready to eat. In my opinion, never wake a sleeping baby unless it's really necessary.


Your Boobs Can Get Milk Clots:
Oh yeah... this is a fun one and I mean it with the heaviest amount of sarcasm possible. The best way to describe them is like having hard, rock-like clusters in your boobs. I feel like they usually pop up out of nowhere. This can and most likely will happen and they are not always the easiest to get out at times either. There are different recommendations on how to loosen the clog. There are breast vibrators that you can buy to loosen the clog. Applying heat with a damp microwaved cloth, heating pad, or a good soak in the bath is suggested. I read once that one mom had her husband suck it out. I gagged after reading that. Please ladies... do not do that! YUCK!!!

I find that soaking and then immediately pumping or breastfeeding after has always worked best for me. Sometimes it also takes multiple sessions to finally get the clog out.

PRO TIP: Do not wait to work on getting the clogged milk ducts out. I did once thinking it would just go away on its own without any extra effort. Oh boy was I wrong and man did it hurt. Please ladies save yourself the pain.


Your Milk Production Is The Strongest At Night
You produce the most prolactin at night. This is the hormone that promotes milk production. If you are struggling to produce but still want to breastfeed or pump your milk, night time is the time to do it!


How Painful It Can Be For Your Milk Supply To Come In:
This was not a fun day. I honestly thought something was wrong and I was getting an infection in my breasts. First of all, they got even bigger which I wasn't anticipating. Next, they became rock hard. I now understand why they are called melons, they felt that stiff! Lastly, they felt like they were on fire. This was not a fun day, but according to my doctor was normal.


How To Properly Reheat Milk:
There are two parts to this. First, you can leave breastmilk out for up to 4 hours in the bottle before it needs to be put into the fridge.

Second is how to properly reheat milk once it has been in the fridge. What do you normally do when something is in the fridge and needs to be reheated? You microwave it! RIGHT!?!

Ha, little did I know this is NOT what you do to reheat breastmilk. I made this mistake.

This was heartbreaking to me at the time because I was producing very little and I felt like such a failure as a mom. Here was all I was able to produce for that sitting and I just ruined it. Instead, you need to heat it by placing the bottle or the milk bag in warm to hot temperature water. You can buy a bottle warmer or you can do what I do and just use the Kehrig to heat the water. 
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Pro-Tip: This is also a great hack when you are over visiting at someone else's home. Most people have a Keurig in their home and if not, throw some water in a mug and heat the water in the microwave.

You, Will, Want to Cry Over Spilled Milk:
Whoever came up with the phrase "there's no use crying over spilled milk" obviously was not trying to pump or breastfeed. This has happened to me a few times now and even though I am producing well at this point it still is frustrating when it happens.

Pro-Tip: Make sure the containers that are catching milk are secured properly. I know this is a "duh" statement, but once mine wasn't and when I went to get up from pumping, it came loose and went all over my pants and couch. GAH!!!

​Pregnancy Brain IS REAL:
AND IT DOESN'T GO AWAY!!! OYE!

You are going to be so forgetful and do weird things without even realizing it. My favorite was the time I couldn't find my Gatorade drink for the longest time. I ended up finding it in the cupboard where we keep the pots and pans. But for real, I can't tell you how crazy this is going to make you feel. I felt like I was struggling to even speak properly and form sentences. I honestly thought something was wrong with me. Thank goodness a friend confirmed that she had a similar problem because I felt like I had a stroke! 


Clothes Won't Fit Properly For A While:
Again, I know this might be another "duh" statement to some of you reading but seriously I wasn't aware of this. I honestly thought all you had to do was get back down to your pre-pregnancy pant size. 

I am so proud to say I was able to fit back into my pants at 6 weeks; however, my pre-pregnancy tops are a joke. I barely have anything that fits and it is so frustrating because I am bored with wearing maternity tops and the same clothes I have been wearing over the past few months. Since I plan on pumping for as long as I can, I don't see this changing any time soon.


You Have To Clean Under The Drying Rack:
Normally, this would have been a no-brainer to me. However, with a new baby, there are so many things you need to remember to do throughout the day and when you are running on nothing but coffee and exhaustion you are going to forget a thing or two. This one was mine. I have one of those trendy grass drying racks that you place your bottles and pumping parts on. 

One day, it hit me. I hadn't cleaned under it. Let's just say I gagged when I lifted it, followed by lots of bleach and scrubbing. 


You Will Become A Multi-Tasking Champ: 
When you have a baby, you do not waste any time with procrastinating. Those downtime moments are beyond valuable. Things I used to drag my feet to do, I am now tackling because I know my time is limited. That's why I always laugh inside when people would tell me to "sleep when the baby sleeps". I would not get anything done if I followed this advice.