Having a baby is hard, yo.

I have no idea how Mommy-bloggers keep it up. I am a stay-at-home-mom and I can barely get my teeth brushed every day, let alone household chores and the like. So the blog has taken a very far back seat.

Our baby guy is just over 5 weeks old now and every day gets easier as we figure him out. And since he's survived this long with us as his parents, we must be doing something right. Right? We're taking short excursions, which generally goes well. Our guy is a good traveler, though he'll be put to the test when we take a plane trip next month. I'm already girding my loins for the onslaught of dirty looks from the other passengers.

Know what else is hard? Breastfeeding. It's true. It's the most natural and yet the most difficult thing. Well, it's easy to do, but hard to get right. I suffered through the cracked, bleeding nipples though everyone at La Leche League swears that it should happen. Or it shouldn't have to happen, at least. Again, if you are doing it right. Which we were obviously not. We've got it mostly figured out, but I'm here to warn you: even when you are doing it right, it's uncomfortable for the first few weeks. The latch still stings for me, as does the milk letdown. But Butterbean is growing and thriving and that makes me so freaking proud, so it's all worth it. If ever you find yourself with a newborn, even if you think you know what you are doing - I certainly did. I read books about it for cripes sake! - get help. Early and often. The local LLL, other breastfeeding moms, your pediatricians office should have some lactation consultants on staff, the hospital does too. All valid resources and I used every single one. Plus, seeing that other women are struggling with it too makes it easier to power through. I never considered giving up, because we didn't have the extreme problems that some women have, but having other breastfeeding mamas to commiserate with made the experience much better all around.

So, in summary: having a baby is a lot of hard, hard work. It's the best thing I've ever done.