9 New Mom Milestones

First shower—alone

Once you've given birth there's not too much left to feel modest about, but bathing alone is one of those special moments in a mom's life—for years, you won't be able to think about it without tearing up!

Shannon Holdenried of San Antonio, Texas, is a mom of three, but she can still recall the first time she took a solo shower—kind of—after the birth of her first child, Tres.

"I was afraid of leaving him alone, I would strap him into the baby bouncer and he would stare at me," Holdenried remembers. "I freaked out and turned him around so he faced the bathroom door instead!"

First time shaving your legs again

While some moms we know can't (and didn't) go even 24 hours without personal grooming, others waited a little longer to bust out the razor.

"People shave their legs when they have newborns?" quips Jessica Martin, a mom to four in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Her daughter was born in late November, and she took full advantage of the cold weather to avoid this particular chore.

"One night I finally slid between the sheets after shaving my legs in a gloriously hot shower while the baby snoozed," she says. "It was early February!"

First full night's sleep

Newborns are exquisite little creatures, and lucky for them, because the havoc they wreak on your sleep schedule will drive you to the brink. But take heart, moms. You'll get a full eight hours of shut-eye sooner or later—sooner if you have a helping hand or two, like Carrie Penning Bush.

Bush, who lives in Champaign, Illinois, says her sister gave her the greatest gift of all—sleep!

"When Charly was about 3 weeks old my sister came to stay with us in Chicago, where were living at the time," Bush says. "She told us she would sleep in the baby's room and do the midnight feeding. I think I cried. At that time I couldn't imagine anyone doing that for someone. It seemed like self-inflicted cruel and unusual punishment!"