one month check in

Diego turned one month old last week. Can you believe it???? Our little prince was born on May 4 at 11:40am. He was 7lb 6oz and measured 21 inches. And yes. He was born with all of that hair :) In a way, I can't believe that a whole month has gone by. But in another way, a LOT has happened in just 4 weeks. This past month has definitely been an eye opener to childbirth, motherhood, relationships, faith, hope... You name it. Here is a little recap of this past month for me and for Diego.

**MIND AND BODY AFTER BABY - 1 MONTH CHECK IN**
I knew that labor would be hard and that I would be sore after giving birth. But man. Oh. Man. No one really told me how hard recovery was going to be. Not only physically but mentally.

Before giving birth, I read a lot of birth stories to prepare myself mentally for labor. I mostly read positive ones because I didn't want to be freaked out. I knew of some complications that could happen but never thought those were going to happen to me. I had a pretty easy pregnancy so I figured that I would have a relatively drama free labor. Well, I was wrong. Long story short (I will write a birth story one of these days) I ended up being induced, pushed for almost 4 hours, got an infection after giving birth, had to be admitted to the hospital for an extra week and needed 2 surgeries. So as you can imagine, recovery has been pretty rough.

I know that my case is not the norm, but no matter what, recovery is hard for everyone that goes through labor. I realized that when you are pregnant the focus is on you, but once you give birth, it becomes all about the baby and you take a back seat. People talk about how the baby is doing and rarely talk about how they are feeling. And let me tell you, you feel like shit. You are in pain, sore and you come to the realization that your body will never be the same again (hard pill to swallow on that one! yikes!). Maybe it's because of the media's insane focus on how celebrities are back to their normal self after just a couple of weeks that you feel you will be back to normal soon after giving birth. Well that is not the case. After lots of reading and asking friends that have kids, it could take several months to feel like your old self again. And I'm not just referring to weight loss. There are a lot of other changes in your body that people don't talk about.

I was also very surprised by how off and hormonal I felt after giving birth. People talk about the baby blues, but you don't really know the reality of it until you experience it yourself. Let's just say I cried for the first 3 weeks after Diego was born. Thankfully, I have a great support system and I've started to feel more normal in the past 2 weeks.

**BABY DIEGO - 1 MONTH CHECK IN**
Diego is such a sweet and happy baby. He is also so cute! OMG I love that face so much.

So far he is pretty chill. He cries when he is hungry, has a dirty diaper or wants you to hold him. I love those big eyes and I still can't believe he is all mine!!! It's also pretty surreal that he grew inside of me. He is such a blessing and I already can't imagine life without him.

Unfortunately, he currently has a milk and soy allergy, which means that I'm on a dairy and soy free diet as well :( Good times. Hopefully he is not allergic to anything else and he will outgrow this within a year. Has this happened to anyone? What formula did you use?

My favorite moments with him are our naps on the couch. They are just so sweet and it's one of those moments that I will always cherish.

I also love how he smiles when he is sleeping. Can't wait when he starts smiling for real!

I also love seeing Matt taking care of him.

**THE BIGGEST LESSON LEARNED THIS MONTH**
If someone offers help, TAKE IT! I am so thankful for all the help I have received this past month. My mom has been my savior! She has been here the whole time helping us take care of Diego and also taking care of me since there are things that I need help with until I fully recover. My dad and my two sister's-in-law also came and helped and it was such a blessing. So take the help when it's offered. Trust me.

Overall, I love our little family so much and can't imagine life without Diego. It's crazy how we lived without him for so long.