What being a new mom is REALLY like!

It is so funny the things no one tells you about motherhood. These are things that are probably shared amongst mothers, but are never quite believable!
Things like:

• Hmmm...I wonder the last time I took a shower (once it was Monday and I couldn't remember the last time I had the luxury of a shower. I had to call Tim to ask him and it had been since Friday).
• Realizing you have been wearing the same clothes for 3 days. They probably have puke and pee and poop on them too, but who cares!
• Eating while breastfeeding (the only time I have to eat anything).
• Being overjoyed to get 4 hours of sleep! (Before I was dead tired if I got 4 hours of sleep). Now I feel like a new person if I get that much, especially if it is 4 hours in a row). Motherhood gives you energy, somehow!
• Not being able to get enough of the baby. If someone holds her I want her back. If I go to church alone and Tim is with her I look at my phone every couple of minutes. If I can go to bed but Annika is sleeping peacefully in my arms I stay up just to relish the joy of holding her. I never knew it was possible to love a person this much, or want to spend so much time with one person.
• The awe and wonder that this baby is mine. I look at her and I still cannot believe she is my child. How that is possible amazes me.
• How every face (Annika is VERY expressive) is adorable...even the mad, sad or pouty faces. In fact her pouty face is one of my favorites.
• How much motherhood changes a person. I am much more calm, not as anxious or frustrated as I thought I would be. I don't get frustrated when she is mad, like I thought I would. I am like "is this really me".
• Looking at a pair of jeans and thinking "I am sure these will fit me. They look my size (my size being delusional - the size I one was)", then trying them on and seeing you can't even pull them up above your thighs...sorry my dear, you are really not the same as you were!
• Realizing you are responsible for some one's very survival and wanting to run to the hills in fear and madness (this is a fleeting feeling, but definitely there).
• Worrying constantly that something might be wrong, she isn't eating enough, she isn't gaining enough weight, etc.
• Thinking your child is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CHILD in the WHOLE UNIVERSE!!! And taking a million pictures. I never thought I would be the mother who took pictures almost every day. I thought "what is the point, how much could a child change in a day?" - but I am. Thank God for digital photos! Prints would cost more than the care of the child!!
• Realizing people didn't lie when they told you it is the most life changing thing, but worth every minute!

Overall, this is really the greatest, most surprising, life changing, worthwhile, scary and yet rewarding thing I have ever done. I am surprised by this. I thought I would pretty much stay the same, just with a child. I didn't think I'd be so in love, but be more level headed. Motherhood here I come!