After a long time i am now getting to the computer without extreme exhaustion so i can write about my experience as a new mom. But first i have to admit , having a little one is the most precious thing that ever happened to me .. .looking at him , feeding him and playing with him makes me very very happy beyond normal words. So let me go back to what really happened in the first 3 weeks ... On Dec 14th 2012 morning around 6:30 am i woke up as a normal day since i was only 36 weeks started to walk out of my bedroom to get ready for my meeting. I realized my water broke so called out to my husband and said "Tri looks like its today". He was not visibly shaken but i know he was all excited and nervous.I showered , shaved my legs (well tri helped me)... We drove to the Kaiser Permanente Ontario Medical Center..and had the baby by evening 6:30pm This is where everything starts .. I am not going to explain my labor ordeal :) but the advices and other stuff started pouring in from this time. How to feed , how to put him to sleep , how to bathe him , how to swaddle , what to feed everybody had a different piece of information. There was a grave conflict between what the nurses said and experienced mothers said..and me being a new mother was just simply overwhelmed. The day started with the breast milk ...all the information i read and understood said it takes 3-5 days for the breast milk to show up , however the nurses freaked me out when i was not able to feed my son. I was stressed , tired , exhausted , in pain (2nd degree tear) and adding to all of this i am unable to feed my son. So my personal experience but not an advice..after delivery get some rest.There are multiple alternatives when breast milk is not available.My son had jaundice and had problems feeding on my breast so i had to switch to formula until his billirubin went away. He was able to recover and is doing good as of today.So there is no reason we should freak out about formula if it helps. After returning home there were 1000's of advice from 100's of people how to do things a certain way.It also included some from back home in India of some age old mid wife tales. I am feeding my son expressed milk and he uses my breast as pacifiers.I am fine with that as long as he gets the benefits of breast milk and the formula. My son is gaining weight on a regular basis , he had no problems in his well baby tests last week. So my learning from all of this is , listen to all the advices and comments and do what works for you and your child.Work as a team with your partner to make decisions and make sure all three of you are comfortable. EVERY BABY IS UNIQUE...So we cannot use an existing template.Well next week i am going to talk about the bonding part which has really taken a toll on me and a lot of other moms.