Tell me about your first moments as a new parent

[Wastingtime]

I felts lost...I didn't know what I was supposed to do so I put DD1 in her cot and then started unpacking my bags. I was really worried we'd never sleep again. We introduced her to the neighbours at some point but it was a bit weird...like 'ok, now we have the baby what do we do?' I remember walking out of the hospital so shocked that they just let me walk out with a baby...it wasn't until we got home (and we drove slow, stayed in the left lane the whole time and had mini freak outs if a car came 'too close' to us) that I got the feeling of 'this is my baby.' It took me 6 weeks to figure out how to go grocery shopping with a baby on my own, which is so funny to me now because by the time no.3 came along I took him and his 26 month old sister to do a full grocery shop, over three different places, when he was 7 days old!
DH worked half days from my 2nd day at home...so he would come home and make me lunch, get some groceries etc. because it was just all too overwhelming and felt too hard.

Biggest tip I can give is that on day 2 when your baby screams all night long...don't freak out. Boob them as much as possible (if you're breastfeeding) but it is normal...first night is generally pretty good, mother's get some confidence, and then night two comes along and BAM! confidence shot. Just ride it out, it's normal for the 2nd night to be horrible.

[Cue]

On a scale of 1 to 10 my freak-out level was about 87! Lol. I remember feeling quite terrified of leaving the hospital as DD was a bit unsettled and had lost more than the typical amount of weight. I wasn't confident breastfeeding as my supply was taking ages to come in. When DH and I walked out with DD I kept expecting someone to come and stop us from leaving. It's weird leaving with this brand new little person!

When we got home we just kind of sat on the couch and stared at her, not really knowing what to do next. The days in hospital were quite busy and structured with BF classes, physio, settling classes, visiting hours and a nursery to go to for help with feeds, baths and anything else I needed. At home we were on our own! It's quite scary and I felt very under-qualified! I think this was the point where I realised the gravity of having a child and the responsibility is a bit overwhelming.

Unfortunately DD became very unsettled, my supply didn't come in properly and things got really stressful in those early weeks. I had plenty of "what have I done" thoughts and struggled big time, made worse by PND.

But it did pass once we found out what was wrong with DD and addressed it. My confidence grew heaps once things started to settle down (and also due to all the support I got from my clinic nurse, Tresillian and family & friends).