Giving Birth
As the country welcomed its latest royal baby this week, mothers across the country may have been taken back to that moment in their life when they too left the hospital carrying their baby together with all those post-partum emotions and physical reminders of recent months.
For anyone under the illusion that you’re going to fit in those pre-pregnancy jeans the moment you reach home… dream on! It won’t happen for a few weeks and then only if you remember to keep doing the exercises that the physio lady has given you on those sheets! Your feet may still be swollen, you may be sore in places you didn’t know existed and all of us, yes ALL of us, regardless of age, colour of eyes or position in society, will be wearing granny pants and panty liners-it’s perfectly natural to experience some blood loss after giving birth. Further details on this can be found via this site:
https://www.nct.org.uk/parenting/guide-blood-loss-after-birth
However, as always, if you have any concerns or experience any abnormal bleeding and/or pains or cramps, please consult your GP immediately.
It’s All Very New!
If it’s your first child, expect at times to feel overwhelmed at times, scared, concerned (I can remember calling a friend who was a nurse worried that something was wrong with my daughter because she seemed to keep holding her breath from time to time.)
If they cry, when they won’t feed, or it hurts just to think of those gummy lips cramping themselves like a limpet on your sore nipples again and yet you want that baby to wake up and feed because your breasts feel like they are going to explode, you’re going to feel like the worst mum in the world, but you’re more than likely doing it all right.
With time, everything will become so much easier and if you have another baby later, there is a wonderful sense of ease in just knowing that you’re not going to be baffled by a top and tail tub or why your new born is suddenly pooping mustard.
Lack of Sleep
My biggest issue was always lack of sleep and just feeling like a zombie; most babies may have problems sleeping, so I just grabbed whatever kip time I could while they nodded off; even a 40-minute snooze helped. I managed to get through 16 months when my son didn’t sleep for longer than an hour at a time after his inoculations.
And for those of us who don’t have close family and friends (or a Norland nanny) to help out, please don’t be hard on yourself. It doesn’t matter that the floor hasn’t been hoovered today or that it’s beans on toast for dinner again. Eventually they do all sleep through the night and believe me, when they get to their teenage years, it’s even harder getting to wake up in time for school!
One day you too may see a celebrity baby on the news and think “Awww, I remember when…”