The Highs and Lows of Mommyhood...3 weeks in.

Warning: Don't let the lows of this post discourage you from having children. They're meant to give other mommies and knowing chuckle and it's all worth it!

High: Giving birth. By far the hardest, most amazing, most empowering experience!
Low: Feeling like my innards are going to fall out of my nether region afterward.
High: Seeing and holding Ella for the first time...Indescribable!
Low: Needing help just to pick Ella up or sit up in bed because my ab muscles had been stretched out to the max and could not function until shrinking back to size.
High: Taking a shower the morning after giving birth. (Perhaps one of the best showers ever!)
Low: Nursing Ella through the times when my milk was coming in, everything hurt and my nipples felt like they were going to fall off.
High: Nursing Ella, the rough part didn't last long and it is such an amazing bonding experience!
Low: Having a crazy roommate at the hospital for 6 hours.
High: Getting moved to a private room as soon as the sympathetic nurses could.
Low: Not being able to sit and having to use a donut pillow.
High: Retiring the donut pillow in the first week and healing much quicker than I thought!
Low: My first (of several over the next couple days)uncontrolable crying spell the day after we got home (set off by spilling my sits bath water all over the bathroom floor because I was trying to do it without any help!)
High: My amazing midwife who reasuringly explained hormonal crashes, my wonderful husband who loved me and took care of me and held me, and my amazing friends who called to check on me and talk to me and share their symathizing stories!
Low: Pure physical and emotional exhaustion, wondering if I'd ever be able to take care myself again, let alone Ella as well!
High: Again, my amazing husband, my mom, and everyone who supplied us with meals (we literally still have not cooked dinner since Ella was born) and feeling more normal with each passing day, far quicker than I expected.
Low: Trying to sort through all the advise and theories on childrearing and trying to figure out what our baby needs!
High: Beginning to feel like we know what Ella's different cries mean and starting to feel like we've got a healthy routine going.
Low: Much less sleep.
High: Much more sleep than we thought as thus far we've been blessed with a baby that naps and sleeps like a champ inbetween feedings, some nights goes for a 5 hour stretch in between and really only cries when she's hungry or gassy.
Low: Not having anything to wear as maternity clothes were too big but regular clothes were still to small.
High: Fitting into my pre-prego jeans at the two week mark on the dot.
Low: During pregnancy thinking I'd be really concerned and fixated on my body not being the same afterward.
High: Having a belly that is shrinking far faster than I thought, dropping pounds like crazy even though I eat like a horse, and having a very laid back attitude about the whole thing that is very unlike me!
Low: Already stressing about going back to work because I don't want to leave this little munchkin for one second of one minute of one day!
High-ish: Relying on prayer and trying to take things one day at a time and savor each moment I have.
Low: Poopy diaper blowouts that get her beautiful new clothes all stained already.
High: Jason's hilariously vocal reactions to the poopy diaper blowouts and to all of her lovely bodily noises.
High: Watching Jason with Ella.
High: Taking endless pictures of her cuteness.
High: Holding her.
High: Kissing her.
High: Watching her sleep and feeling her warmth against me when she naps on my chest.
High: Watching her make all of her interesting and funny faces. (The "scrunchy" face, the "one eye", the gas smile and so on.)
High: Listening to all of her adorbale noises (grunts, snorts, "elephant noises", hiccups, coughs, sighs, coos and so on.)
High: The moments she's wide awake and looking all about with her inquisitive eyes, trying to figure out what all the blury images are!
High: When she turns her head to find me because she knows me voice!

I could go on an on! Yup, it's all worth it.