You'd never have guessed!

The way a new baby impacts a person, a couple, a family is intense. A complete domino effect. You are warned and you expect some change to yourself as a person, your relationship, and the rest of your family.

Yourself*

I have found that I am a new person entirely I can feel that I have changed and just have to see this when I talk to my old friends. Not the ones who are mums (and now we relate better, and talk more) not the ones who say they'll visit, and do and take interest in your new life and wee baby boy.

I mean the ones who are now scarce. .  say they want to catch up, hey, and sometimes they do! But the awkwardness that's present.. well You don't know what to talk about because your lives are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Being a new young mum my old young friends are still studying, partying and everything else that you do when you're young (yes I've already forgotten. It seemed as soon as he was born I couldn't remember what I did with myself before I had him. .  what did I get up to in my weeks???!!!)

You think, sleep, talk, eat and dream different. .
Heck you probably walk different too!!


Him&Her*

You suddenly argue about everything, how to feed him, how to change him, how to put him to bed, how to settle him, how to interact with him, how to stimulate his brain, how to bath him, how to burp him. . . .  how not to feed him, how not to change him, how not to put him to bed. . . .  Well. You get my drift.

It's hard and nobody really warns you. You know it's coming but not to the extent that it hits you with. It's intense, exhausting. .  but at the same time brings you closer together. I'm grateful for my partner and I'm lucky that he's such a helpful man and father for that matter. Other things come into play like jobs, money, sex, family problems, sleep deprivation. These all impact the day to day things that you suddenly have to carry out as a mother, as a partner.


Family*

I don't know too much about this one as my family has just begun really. We don't have other children/siblings to keep in mind. Be loving towards just as much as ever and include them in the day to day life of the newest addition to the family while juggling the lot. Well done to the mums of 2. .  or more!

I do however know how jealousy would come into play. I have/am experiencing it over my lil button. Not myself but another is. Puzzles me as this particular should be proud to be an Aunty. .  yet is constantly fighting for the same attention and has to have a kitten to keep up with me. Jealousy? Well I think so. I just find it odd as he's not a new sibling she has to compete with. .  it's her nephew something she should be proud of. But then again that takes away from her personality. .  each to their own I guess and she in time will turn.


Fact: babies aren't born with a bridge in their nose, it grows much later - giving them the adorable button nose!

* - based on my experiences
My thoughts, my opinions. Not necessarily the same to anyone else's experiences.

What I'd really like...

HELLO WORLD!

It's been awhile huh? I had trouble on blogger for the past wee while. .  unable to post let alone sign in. Odd, I think, as other blogs I follow continued to blab away and I was left here with thoughts scraping the inside of my brain and now, I have nothing much to say!! One day I had a really amazing day. Full of revelations and realisations. .  discoverings of such. I was stupid not to write it down on paper or word!

So instead. For now. .

I've been thinking about other possible names for kids 2, 3 and 4. .
(haha shuuuush don't tell him!) I love, love, LOVE the name Hazel!
Or maybe even compromise with Olive but that's my partners Nanna's name so that goes out the window. I'm sure she'd find it a compliment!

A lot of people have been saying I should name a girl Madaline.. But it's just so common now. I want to have more babies before I get really into teaching. I don't want to come across a snotty nosed girl or bratty boy with a gorgeous name that I'd love to steal for my own! Better pop them all out now! I know once I get sucked into the world of children and classrooms it will take a lot to get me away from it all. Oh how I love them!!! x

I have made a twitter account! Basically just to follow on from this really, open it up more to the wide world of mums. I really would love all my viewers (apparently a few from Canada, USA, UK, switzerland to name a few) to comment, say hi, introduce yourself! Maybe even follow me on here so I don't feel so alone, I want to get to know my audience! :P I'd love people to ask questions and maybe I can put it out there or share my thoughts or experience with the subject/idea.

I'm no expert! But I don't know about you guys but I love just listening/reading/talking with other mummy's to see how they feel and how they're going with themselves, their wee babes, their partners and the rest of the world around them.

Call me nosey but I love just gathering the information and taking it onboard.

I was reading an article in a magazine "Would you consider attachment parenting?" A versus type thing. It got me thinking. .  I never knew prior birth that there was so many different ways of parenting. Yeah I knew some mums did it this way and some did it that observing and reminiscing back to my friends parents and how they were brought up. .  What they were allowed to do or not to do haha. I mean, that is based on teenage years.. but who knew? Not me!

I don't really have a style.
I take a bit from here and there and mash it all into one. If something doesn't work I just push it aside as I think "HEY! I know what might do the trick. ."

So, QUESTION?


- What kind of parenting style do you take on board?
- What are your favourite techniques/tips/tricks?
- Why does it work for you?


Go on.. share!
You know you'd love to :)

I've finally come to terms with it all!

That just like unicorns, flying pigs and other things like hell freezing over.. well, they just will never happen will they? (image yoinked from this blog) So in my universe there's no unicorns or pigs and no sign of ice.. (jokes!) But I have come to the conclusion that me getting a break may never happen... well not in the next 18 years or so!


If I had every second day to 'breath' without fail then maybe on my days off maybe for a few I'd sleep and meet up with a friend or go and see my Nanna but I'd also have those other things done like cleaning easily cause I love cleaning!! But when I know I'm only getting a few hours I'd rather see a friend and not spend my time when I'm not working my main job (Bubby, the most important and best job in the world I might add) working my other job, cleaning and such.. I wouldn't mind if I had a 'weekend' between these jobs..
I think as the woman who had to carry and push the lil bugger out it's my right to stay at home, so I will! But oh how I'd love to go and work teaching. I miss the little kiddywinks and what my weeks involved and how nicely they all came together. If only I could have both :)

Anyways I know even though I'm not doing that great a job. I went through a lot having to do it all on my own in the very early days as my partner left for work. I didn't have a choice. No one really does at that stage. One day you wake up and that thought of giving birth and having a baby to care for is now a reality and actually happened. Figured most of it out on my own. Family and midwife/internet help input of course! It's motherly instinct. I lasted close to 3 months before I tried admitting myself to the mental asylum.

If only they'd hurry up and accept me!

I'll be going to sleep happy tonight :D

Today was great even though it was my day to not look after bubby and have done so for all but one feed which is only stink as he suggested us having two nights on and two nights off for night feeds and do every second day for feeds. Maybe he can do some parts of it tomorrow (fingers crossed). .

HIGHLIGHT!! I met up with a new friend and her lil cutie! So that was great comparing everything and finding that we had a lot in common and were experiencing similar things! So that's always nice for a new mum aye? :)

Also we're trying a super strict routine for the lil button at the moment.

Goes roughly like this:
Back to one dream feed 5 hours after going to bed. Gets up at 6 for an hour, awake again at 10, 3, and lastly 7 for his playtime, bath and feed. So far he's been going down quite nicely during the day but just the time he goes back down (around 8pm) he'll wake 30-60 minutes later. Once it was to finish his feed as he decided to go straight to sleep after less than half of a normal feed! Wouldn't wake. Glad it humored me though!! :D

I'm also asked well what if he wakes up earlier? My partner and I agreed that if he woke say 30 minutes before we'd hoped for then we might try the dummy but if it seems that he's had enough sleep we just get him out and he has a huge play. With feeding we still do it at the same time give or take 10 minutes so he'll start to get a hunger around the same time.

In saying this it's dumb. .  they say it's sometimes a good idea to have a loose routine in place but soon he might be teething. .  and solids and gahhh always changing? Although this is definitely helping our (greatly my) sanity at this stage so hey. What works for you, and lil babe, works right? If not I guess it's onto 'plan N' (I'd say that's what I'm up to.. plan B was just SO long ago haha. .  funnily enough I had no idea I'd have to try another 15 things!)

Yay!

So trying that for two weeks and then we'll review it to see if we can just chill it a bit/let it work for itself. Also! For these whole next two weeks I'll be still taking my motillium (hadn't for the last week as I'd run out), my lactation drops and attempting to eat like I'm pregnant all over again. I've only just learnt what "kilojoules" and "calories" actually are.  When I grocery shopped this morning it took me almost twice as long because now I have a crazy interest in everything with what energy/calories I get from a recommended serving. (Although I had 5 'recommended' servings of sour cream tonight! :O)

I find it very cool and so I'll roughly monitor what I take in during the day because I believe if I focus on it really hard and make it a big deal then it'll help with my milk production. .  I think my lack of eating (next to nothing most days, maybe just dinner but sometimes not even that) is what kick started the decrease! Thankfully I'm heavier than what I was pre-pregnancy so yay and happiness all around and all over!!

:D

I take it back.. kinda.

Actually I consider myself pretty lucky that I have a man who wants to be so involved in his son's life and is forever asking how he can help the both of us. So officially from today until Monday when he goes back to work I've given him full reigns. All I'm doing is occasionally helping to swaddle him and express so his lordship can still have the goodness of what breast milk I do have.

So no more having to wake up to dreamfeed and deal with his stubbornness of taking a bottle (such a gamble weather he'll take to it or not!) Boy am I lucky. 4 days rest (well, 90%) which is more than the 10-30% rest/break I was getting before. Also this'll make him expert-ish so he can easily step in!

Happy? Yes.

What I'm not glad about (beware: TMI!) is the blood that has no end!!! Doesn't help with the expecter post birth bleeding, a mirena put in and now having a biopsy the bleedings just not going to stop is it?!?!! It also doesn't help that I STILL (3 months later) have stitches.. and it sticks out a bit and is just the littlest bit red as it gets wiped and squashed being in the place it is. I have delayed dissolvable stitches since an episiotomy wasn't enough and my body said hey let's just tear a little bit further anyway for the hell of it! So the doctors said the part where it teared needs that little bit of extra time to heal..

I can't wait until this bit ends.

And so we begin..

Here it begins but. .  where does one begin??

I guess I could start with the labour of my wee boy. I was hoping to do it naturally because that's how it was intended right? Human has just helped to make it easier with medical interventions but having downsides on the anxious mum to be and the wee bundle inside.

So it began with no sleep and a lot of confusion as I was unaware of what really was going on. I mean, if you haven't been pregnant before you don't have a lot to base it upon! So what was period type cramps - which I thought were niggles, the beginning of labour, were actually precious irregular contractions.

As my body emptied itself making way for the baby I realised that I had been awake for 12 hours. I had (at the most) 10 minutes between contractions.. not nearly enough time to fall asleep and get an amount that doesn't make you feel worse when you awake!!

I had woken up at 9:30am that day, which was 3 hours short of my normal slumbers. .  I have no idea why I got up that early! I believed that I was entitled to sleep in while I could and also because I was feeling expectedly exhausted. I didn't get the chance to have a nap either. .  so as 6:30pm rolled around the contractions began. .  not so bad at first! But by 10pmish I'd hoped to go to bed!! But lying there I knew getting to sleep was not going to be an easy or even possible task.

Emotions began to overwhelm me at this point and so that my crying and constant "Owww. .  owww. .  ow. .  owww"'s didn't wake up my partner I sat out in the dimly lit lounge. Time dragged on often looking at the clock with what seemed like 20 minutes had only been several. That ontop of my other frustrations and pain did not make for an easy night.

Lasting until 5:30 I called my midwife who instructed me to wait it out and see how the next 3-4 hours go. So I called mum even though I knew she'd be unable to help but I just needed her there. This is when the contractions became regular shrinking to 4/5 minutes apart.

Skip ahead a bit (as this wee bundle is now waking up!!) and he was born!
All up - 39 weeks and one day, a 24 hour labour, 6:23pm, 6.2 pounds. .
My wee button was born on the LOVEly evening of February the 14th ♥
Changing my Valentines day, forever.