The New Mommy Files
Welcome to my world of new mommy-dom. Hopefully through my trials and tribulations I can help other new moms make the adjustment, either by sharing some resources—or a laugh.
I had a great pregnancy. No morning sickness. No back pain. No extreme fatigue. I did have to deal with swollen feet. The flattest of shoes weren’t flat enough to keep my feet from looking like water balloons by the end of the day. My favorite pair was Etienne Aigner loafers with a rubber sole! They felt like slippers. (I still wear them now walking the New York City streets.) I feared that my high-heeled shoe collection would be a thing of the past and for the most part my fears were confirmed—but more on that another time.
But overall I really can’t complain about my nine months of pregnancy. In fact, I kinda miss it. I miss looking in the mirror and actually being happy that my stomach was sticking out. I miss having an excuse to just kick my feet up and do absolutely nothing. I miss the anticipation of something exciting happening. I miss being the subject of conversation at family gatherings (new mommy alert: as soon as the baby appears, you disappear. Don’t you dare go to any family function without the star attraction—the new baby). But despite the smooth pregnancy, there were three things I wish I’d known in preparation and during the birth of my daughter, Raine Alexia, that I thought I’d share.
1. Choosing a name is HARD! I’ve had names of my imaginary kids since, well, I was a kid. A list on my computer, a computer that froze up and became utterly useless during my pregnancy. So we had to start from scratch. For girls I had Janay. Couldn’t do that one because I chose it with an ex-boyfirend, who I believe did name his daughter that. Makayla. No go. Daddy thought it sounded like Milk of Magnesia. Then dad came up with Sharia. I liked the sound of it, but looked the word up online and found it was from Sharia Law, an Islamic law that many women are fighting against because it constricts women’s freedoms. Then I thought about all of the pressure a name carries. I couldn’t possibly hang Sharia over her head. Let’s get her off to the right start. So in the end, I was brainwashed. Dad (Marc) always liked the name Raine (however, he wanted to spell it Reign). So before she was a blip on the radar we would always refer to the would-be daughter as Raine. I didn’t like it at first, but then it grew on me. By the time she arrived it seem wrong to name her anything else because she’s always been Raine. But I had control over the spelling. Then I found out that Will and Jada Smith’s daughter Willow’s middle name is what? Reign. I’ll never live that one down. Check out www.babycenter.com/babynames for names and meanings.
2. Epidural hurts. Sure it numbs the pain of labor. But who is going to invent the magic pill that numbs the pain of the epidural? Never mind that the needle is horrendous, but it’s shot into your spine, sends an electric current down your leg and has the potential to leave a scar at the point of injection. I also had a major case of the itchies in the recovery. I thought I’d scratch my skin off. I was told it was the epidural leaving my body. It was one of the most uncomfortable nights ever.
3. You throw up after a C-section. I was feeling good mere hours after the birth. I was eager to sip down my liquid menu of chicken broth, juice and Jello—only to vomit profusely seconds after gulping it down!
Talk to you next week with more mommy and baby happenings!
Marcia Caster
Senior Editor, Beauty and Fashion
I had a great pregnancy. No morning sickness. No back pain. No extreme fatigue. I did have to deal with swollen feet. The flattest of shoes weren’t flat enough to keep my feet from looking like water balloons by the end of the day. My favorite pair was Etienne Aigner loafers with a rubber sole! They felt like slippers. (I still wear them now walking the New York City streets.) I feared that my high-heeled shoe collection would be a thing of the past and for the most part my fears were confirmed—but more on that another time.
But overall I really can’t complain about my nine months of pregnancy. In fact, I kinda miss it. I miss looking in the mirror and actually being happy that my stomach was sticking out. I miss having an excuse to just kick my feet up and do absolutely nothing. I miss the anticipation of something exciting happening. I miss being the subject of conversation at family gatherings (new mommy alert: as soon as the baby appears, you disappear. Don’t you dare go to any family function without the star attraction—the new baby). But despite the smooth pregnancy, there were three things I wish I’d known in preparation and during the birth of my daughter, Raine Alexia, that I thought I’d share.
1. Choosing a name is HARD! I’ve had names of my imaginary kids since, well, I was a kid. A list on my computer, a computer that froze up and became utterly useless during my pregnancy. So we had to start from scratch. For girls I had Janay. Couldn’t do that one because I chose it with an ex-boyfirend, who I believe did name his daughter that. Makayla. No go. Daddy thought it sounded like Milk of Magnesia. Then dad came up with Sharia. I liked the sound of it, but looked the word up online and found it was from Sharia Law, an Islamic law that many women are fighting against because it constricts women’s freedoms. Then I thought about all of the pressure a name carries. I couldn’t possibly hang Sharia over her head. Let’s get her off to the right start. So in the end, I was brainwashed. Dad (Marc) always liked the name Raine (however, he wanted to spell it Reign). So before she was a blip on the radar we would always refer to the would-be daughter as Raine. I didn’t like it at first, but then it grew on me. By the time she arrived it seem wrong to name her anything else because she’s always been Raine. But I had control over the spelling. Then I found out that Will and Jada Smith’s daughter Willow’s middle name is what? Reign. I’ll never live that one down. Check out www.babycenter.com/babynames for names and meanings.
2. Epidural hurts. Sure it numbs the pain of labor. But who is going to invent the magic pill that numbs the pain of the epidural? Never mind that the needle is horrendous, but it’s shot into your spine, sends an electric current down your leg and has the potential to leave a scar at the point of injection. I also had a major case of the itchies in the recovery. I thought I’d scratch my skin off. I was told it was the epidural leaving my body. It was one of the most uncomfortable nights ever.
3. You throw up after a C-section. I was feeling good mere hours after the birth. I was eager to sip down my liquid menu of chicken broth, juice and Jello—only to vomit profusely seconds after gulping it down!
Talk to you next week with more mommy and baby happenings!
Marcia Caster
Senior Editor, Beauty and Fashion
posted by heart&soulmate @ 5:49 PM
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