Things They Didn't Tell You, or That You Were too Tired to Hear

Breastfeeding

It is not that easy. Jack refused to eat from the left side for weeks, he would fall asleep while eating, it took awhile for him to figure out how to latch on, etc.

• It hurts! One evening Dan was using the Soothie pacifier and exclaimed, "Boy, this kid really sucks!" I believe my exact response was, "Ya think?!" while rolling my eyes and clutching ice packs to my chest. (the pain has stopped for now, but he should start teething in a few months . . . )
• It's boring. At first, the feedings took an hour or more. There were many 3am feedings during which I fell fast asleep while he ate only to wake up half an hour later to find him still going. He's down to 20-30 minute feedings now, just enough time to catch up on our recorded episodes of The Daily Show or Barefoot Contessa. But really, you are kind of pinned there without even a free hand - not much you can do, and it happens every 3 hours.

Miscellaneous

• You will be sore for quite awhile after giving birth, and if you are breastfeeding all you can do about it is take 2 Advil every 4 hours and hope for the best. Good Luck!
• Not all diapers are created equal. We started with Huggies - not a bottom tier brand by any stretch - and found ourselves going through not only 10 or more diapers a day but at least 3 outfits due to major leakage. We're on to Pampers brand now and except for a few occasional blowouts, due to sheer quantity and shoddy diapering, we are happy with the results.
• If your hair got thicker during pregnancy it is going to fall out after the kid is born. I am currently dropping my locks by the handful and hoping that it stops or even slows before I have less hair than Jack does.
• It will take you at least a half an hour to leave the house and another 15 minutes to get in the car, and even with all that time you will have forgotten the one thing you really need.
• You could scale Everest with less gear than it takes to go down the block for a 15 minute pediatrician's appointment.
• Baby stuff will take over absolutely every room of your house. The bedroom - baby blankets for when he hangs out in bed with us, burp rags because you never know when you might need one. The kitchen - various bottles and pumping equiptment, bouncy chair, pacifiers. The dining room - makeshift changing station, swing, blankets, stroller storage. The living room - activity mat, blankets, sling, nursing pillow, books, toys. The bathroom - q-tips and cotton balls, baby lotion, nursing pads.