Parenting is tough.

Some things that I have realized during my first few days as a mother:

- Anyone who tells you that you forget about the pain of labour once you see your baby is a liar;
- Parenting standards are set up to either a) make you feel like a failure; or b) keep the population at a minimum by lowering the amount of children a woman wants to have;
- A new Mom requires 24 hour support from someone. My hat goes off to anyone who has done it alone.
- Beds, toilets and rocking chairs are not made for post partum Mama's - they're so damn low I dread having to pee/get out of bed/etc;
- Sanity is more important than following all the "rules" - if giving Elodie a sookie helps everyone sleep, than I am all for it;
- Breastfeeding makes you feel like your failing your baby, especially when the milk comes in and it's nearly impossible for the babe to latch onto the XL softball you once thought of as a boob. The peace of mind that came with bottle feeding and knowing that Elle was getting as much milk as she needed was worth the guilt I felt for not breastfeeding;
- As impossible as it sounds, your boobs will be more painful than the torn c-section incision in your stomach once the milk comes in;
- Once your baby arrives, the nursing staff at the hospital pretty much leaves you to fend for yourself. Or at least this was the case for me. And locating your "wonderful" OB/GYN will start to resemble a very difficult game of Where's Waldo;
- But, no matter how much pain your in, how much of a failure you feel like, or how exhausted you are, watching your baby sleeping makes you fall in love all over again. Turkey Butt and I literally stare at her for hours and marvel at how lucky we are and how in the world did we make such a beautiful baby!

This is my life!