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Do you remember what it felt like as a first time mom? All of those anxious feelings during the pregnancy building and building until labor comes and then you finally get to meet your baby face to face. And then all of that anxiety is relieved for only more fears to set in now that you actually have a real baby to take care of!

Five months ago, we featured Aimee Blase, a first time mom living in Austin. We asked her questions about her expectations on giving birth and how she envisioned life after baby. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, take a few minutes and catch up- click here for the first part of the interview.

Now, it’s five months later. Baby Harrison arrived safely into this world on May 12, 2008 and inquiring minds want to know…. Was the birth and moments directly after everything that they imagined? How have they adjusted to life with another person- one who cries a lot and is totally dependent on them to take care of all of his needs. You know, all of the juicy details! Here’s what Aimee has to say on motherhood:

Harrison- he's here! After a little delay in coming into this world, how
has life changed for you since giving birth?
It's probably better to ask what HASN'T changed... But, honestly, like I was
told and didn't quite believe, is that you don't mind the changes. Choosing
to stay home and dangle toys in front of an infant in hopes of hearing a
giggle is, most of the time, just more fun than the nightlife that we have
all but left behind.

How was labor and delivery? Did you give birth sans drugs or did you opt
for the less painful route?
Labor was about 33 hours - from 9pm to 5:45am a day later. I stayed at home
for 24 hours - I'd say five of those were really easy. Around 3am I wasn't
able to sleep - I tried to stay calm and remain in bed as long as I could to
let Marc sleep I probably lasted another 2 hours, then I woke him up and
made him take care of me. That consisted of lots of massage and
accupressure, walking around the house, and then the neighborhood, bracing
me when I had to breathe through a contraction. At 9:30pm the next day the
contractions were coming stronger and closer so we headed in to Seton. I
lasted until about midnight and then really needed some sleep - so, I opted
for an epidural. I believe I was offered other drugs, which I didn't take.
The epidural was fantastic. I could still totally move my legs and felt all
the pressure of contractions and pushing, but, not a ton of pain.

What did you feel the moment that you saw your little man? Did it feel
natural holding him or more like an alien in your arms?

I found it hard to catch my breath at first. I felt a deep,
from-the-bottom-of-my-stomach-giddy-nervousness bubble out of me as I
searched his face for some sign that he was mine. The first thing I said was
- he has a butt-chin! (cleft chin) I was so happy about it - it's a trait
that Marc and I share. Then it was elation - tears poured out of me and my
whole body relaxed. He was perfect.

What was Marc's reaction? And speaking of Marc, your husband, how has he
adjusted to being a papa?
He really takes most of life in stride. We were both ecstatic for the first
two weeks. But, from 2 weeks to about 2 months Marc had a bit of a rough
patch. Harrison was really pretty great (slept 6 hours straight at 6 weeks)
but, neither of us really took much time off - about a week. We both pretty
much went back to work right away as much as we could. Which was really
tough. Working for ourselves and being the only two employees meant that
projects that didn't get done pre-baby had to get done - by us. So, it is
what it is, but, it made the whole thing tougher than it could have been.
But, for the past two months, Marc has been a dream father. Harrison adores
him and vice versa. It is beautiful.

Are the two of you sharing as many duties as possible (minus the
breastfeeding, of course)?
Marc is a total superstar! We share everything with the exception of
breastfeeding and I think that to this day he has changed more diapers than
I.

What was it like changing that first diaper? And has he squirted you
yet?
I think Marc did all diapers for the first week. And yes, we have both
experienced the baby pee-splosion. The most surprising part of all diaper
duties is how much neither of us really mind it. However, we are still only
breastfeeding so his movements are of the unscented variety. Check back in
with us after he starts solids!

I read on your blog that both sets of parents came down for a visit. I
was happy to read that you went out for dinner a couple of times. Do you
plan on finding a trustworthy sitter to continue date night on a regular
basis?
We went out for our first date three weeks after the kid was born and
totally splurged on dinner - it was the best $200 I have ever spent in my
life. We were obviously totally nervous about leaving the kid, but, getting
out was amazing! We've had a nanny (actually a nanny-share) for the past
month and she sat for us once. She is fantastic and it is a huge relief to
know we have somebody to watch him if we want. But, we are trying to go out
with him... Before he becomes mobile!

How was it having your mom there meeting her grandson for the first
time? Was it emotional for her to see you as a mother?
Her brain turned to oatmeal the moment she met him and I doubt she will ever
be the same. She is so in love with that boy. It is really sweet.

Do you have a different view of motherhood now?
I think I actually had a fairly realistic view of what this was going to be
like in terms of the amount of work it would be (although, I hadn't
accounted for the number of bottles I'd be washing and the amount of pumping
I'd be doing throughout the work day!). But, you can't prepare for what it
will be like to have anther person in your life that you care so
ridiculously deeply for.

Has your journey into parenthood been as rewarding and challenging as
you thought it would be?
I can't lie, month 2 was really hard. I was more irritated than I thought I
was going to be. Both Marc and I panicked a bit there thinking that we were
going to be living with a screaming, personality-less baby-blob for the rest
of our lives. But, once we hit the three-month mark it has been far better
than I thought it would be.

What is something that has surprised you in all of this?
I didn't really understand that I would never be able to truly relax again.
I didn't realize that thoughts of the kid would permeate every minute of my
waking (and sleeping, for that matter) mind.

As a pregnant woman, you get quite accustomed to carrying around this
little human for nine months. Did you feel a sort of loneliness once
Harrison was born?
No, I felt pretty free - as I had mentioned in the previous interview - I am
not a great pregnant lady. There wasn't much about those nine months that I
really loved. I was just really eager to see him and make sure that he was
healthy.

Are you planning on adding more little Blase babies to the mix?
We are soooo not talking about that yet, but, yeah, I think Marc and I would
like Harrison to have a sibling.

How about that thing called sleep. Getting much of it lately?
We have been incredibly lucky - the kid loves to sleep!

Are you breastfeeding, and if so, how's that going for you?
Yes, still going strong at five months. That was actually one of the
surprises for me - how much I have enjoyed breastfeeding. Luckily, it came
very easily for me and Harrison.

Do you feel more creative now that he's here. Many moms find that they
get a streak insane energy after giving birth. Has that happened to you?
I have a ton of energy. And yeah I am more creative. One of the best things
that he has done, though, is make it really easy for me to quit work at
5:30. There is just no reason to work like a crazy person any longer... I
would just so much rather spend time with my boys.

Posted by livemom on Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 11:01 am | 2 Comments » You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.