After Gloria was born, being new parents was a challenge. Neither of us truly new what we were doing, we just pretended we did:) We worked together though and overcame many obstacles. We had some truly amazing moments together after Gloria was born. I saw Tom in a whole new light! I found him so much sexier as a dad:) We were brought closer together in many ways.
With that said, I won't lie...there were some very challenging times! Emotions are high, hormones are even higher!! The combination of a new baby, lack of sleep and no time for each other, we were at each other's throats at times. Postpartum is not an easy time, on the mom or the dad! We were enjoying our baby girl but at times, we weren't truly enjoying each other.
So what did we do? We talked a lot! We also spent some time apart. Tom watched Gloria while I had some time to myself and vice verse. We needed our time to process all of these changes on our own. Then we spent time together, sans Gloria. We had to work on our relationship and get to know the people we are now as a couple and parents. It truly is a shock to the system! Of course, its very difficult to go out and not talk about Gloria! We allow ourselves a little baby chitchat but we try to talk about other things going on in our lives.
Our commitment to each other now is to go out once a month, just us. It can be a simple night out or something more extravagant. We need to focus on us as a couple in order to be good parents. Saturday night was one of those nights. Tom's cousin Heather came over to watch our sweet girl while we went out on the town. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and even got to spend some social time with Corey and Liz.
My best advice to new parents is to communicate. Being a parent takes a lot of energy, especially during the first few months. It isn't easy so you really need each other to lean on. I Thank God for Tom! He has been hands on since day 1. He is not above changing diapers, feedings, cleaning puke up, etc. Although, there is always that occasional super, duper, poopy diaper that sends him over the edge:) Men and their weak stomachs!
You are so right, Ruthie. Those first few months are hard.. it's tough to be patient and understanding when you've had less than 3 hours of sleep and you're holding a screaming baby!! But it does pass and you begin to laugh at all those times when you were ready to strangle each other. You & Tom are wonderful parents!!
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