What I've Learned From Having A Newborn

When I was in my final weeks of pregnancy, I was as calm, cool, and collected as one can be knowing they are about to meet their child. I had just spent 3 months with my twin sister and her newborn, so I thought I had the whole newborn thing in the bag. Cocky... so cocky. What I quickly learned upon meeting my son was that I didn't, in fact, know everything. My nephew is as close to mine as you can get without actually being mine, but there is still something completely different when it's your kid. It's like any previous experience and expectations go out the window in a matter of seconds. So what have I learned?

Keeping it real... co-parenting is hard. Parker and I were both raised in loving, Christian homes, but we were both raised very differently. Naturally, we both gravitate to the type of parenting that was done on us. Now I realize right now we are not as much raising our son as we are just keeping him alive, but the differences still apply. We put an emphasis on different things, and what one parent thinks is no big deal, the other thinks actually is a big deal. We are both coming from a place of love for our son, but that doesn't mean it isn't tough when you don't agree on the right way to do things. On the flip side, I will say I am glad we don't agree on everything. We each bring a different perspective to the table and can learn from each other. Co-parenting is hard, but it's also a blessing.

I am fiercely protective. I mean I'm a mom, so I knew I was going to be protective, but this is on another level. Most people know to wait to be asked if they want to hold the baby, which I really appreciate. When someone has tried to take the baby from my hands, I don't handle that well. You have this perfect little baby that is yours, and having him snatched out of your hands without permission is just really overwhelming. There is also a very small list of people I am comfortable leaving him with at this stage. Basically, if my mom lived closer, we'd be set. I know I will chill out as time goes on, but I am so protective over this little life that grew inside me. 

It's a different kind of love. I knew I was going to love my kid, but I had no idea the depth at which I was capable of loving him. It's just a different kind of love that's unlike anything I have ever experienced. Ryan Reynolds said it best in an interview with David Letterman. "I love my wife more than anything in the world and would take a bullet for her. Then the second I looked in my baby's eyes, I knew in that exact moment that if we were ever under attack, I would use my wife as a human shield to protect that baby". Parker and I laugh about that quote all the time. I love Parker more than anything, but this kid of mine... there are no words. It's a different kind of love.