When I heard my cousin complaining about how pregnancy is tough as she cannot lie down properly nor eat the spicy food she wants because of heart burns, I thought to myself “hmmm… and this is just the fun part, the hard work is yet to come’.
The baby doesn’t come with a manual and even if he/she did I believe the longest part of it would be the ‘trouble-shooting’ part! As new mums we don’t have a clue of most things, so when dad or ‘others’ (remember everyone knows better than you how to take care of your baby) ask you why is the baby crying or keep telling you the baby is hungry (even when you just fed for the last 30 minutes!), or (the best one) advise you to ‘sleep while the baby is sleeping’, you really want to pull all your hair out!
New mums, don’t lose hope, you will soon learn all the strings; you are great since you can do everything that you are doing even though you’ve never been trained for it. You will get there. Motherhood is hard but so rewarding and so worth it. So, hang in there! YOU ARE DOING A GREAT JOB!!!
The following was written by Julie Lay and I’m sure most new mums will agree as these are things only a new mum will understand.
1. The complete joy of a warm sitz bath.
2. Being so afraid to poop that you avoid the bathroom at all costs.
3. Having incredible boobs … that hurt so badly you’ll kill anyone who so much as brushes up against them.
4. That taking a shower is a luxury, not a necessity.
5. The isolation of being alone with a tiny, helpless human. All. Day. LONG.
6. Celebrating your new eau de parfum: slightly spoiled milk, cabbage, and A+D ointment.
7. The fear that every other mother in the world is doing a better job than you.
8. What a dairy cow feels like.
9. Loving your other half for giving you such an amazing gift.
10.Hating your other half for the way they eat/sleep/breathe.
11. What it feels like to have no shame about whipping out a boob in public.
12. The feeling of victory that fitting into your pre-pregnancy clothes awards you (no matter how much muffin is left on top).
13. Using the baby as a legitimate excuse to get out of absolutely anything.
14. Wearing granny panties that are made out of mesh and come up to your eyeballs.
15. Why you can no longer do jumping jacks. Ever again.
16. Watching a horror movie and sympathizing with the zombies. If you can stay awake, that is.
17. Going so crazy with fatigue you find yourself mindlessly rocking a jug of milk to sleep at the grocery store.
18. That “mother’s intuition” is real. And it is powerful.
19. The pure joy that is a first glass of wine after nine LONG months of sobriety.
20. The joy/embarrassment that are Preparation H pads.
21. Being so in tune with someone that your body actually produces food for them on demand.
22. Accidental shoplifting.
23. Leaking through your shirt during an important presentation at work.
24. Waking up in a cold sweat, convinced you rolled over on the baby — only to find them sleeping soundly in their crib.
25. That “sleep when the baby sleeps” is the stupidest phrase anyone has ever uttered.
26. Being proud of the fact that your stomach looks like it was attacked by a tiger.
27. The amazing feeling of being the one who created this unique human being.