Wednesday 20 July 2011

New perfume

I'm a new mom and for the first few months, I also had a new perfume.  It was called formula!  Don't be surprised to find this new 'perfume' streaking your neck and shoulders at any given time, especially in the earlier months.  Burping can be so much fun.  You'll find it in the oddest of places...like your hair.  Until you learn to tie it back, because really who has time to wash their hair every day.  Not new moms, lemme tell you.  There are some days you'll barely make it in to shower. 


Upon meeting up with one of my friends who was the first to be a new mom in our circle gasped as she suddenly realised she had not brushed her teeth that day.  Oh boy did I poke ample fun at her.  I should have thought about that because fast forward to a year later and there I was gasping about the very same thing.


Another friend told me the best way to avoid this scenario is to jump in the shower before your baby wakes up in the morning.  Freshen up yourself before anything.  I was all like, what? I am so NOT a morning person but I can tell you my baby is.  He's up before me every single morning.

But, take it all in stride!  It's all good!  Before long you will be looking back at when they were wee little and that nostalgia will hit you like an arrow and you will be wishing your baby was that tiny again.  You won't even mind the new perfume...

Monday 18 July 2011

Wake me up like a yo yo

Why is it that the moment you fall into that sweet deep sleep, that abyss that takes you away into nothingness, that your little one decides to stir, needing something?  Most times I'd rather stay up than sleep, because it's so much harder waking up after just an hour's worth of slumber than keeping watch.

If you've never cared much for sleeping, well then you're going to now.  You will MISS your sleep.  The first few weeks as your baby regulates himself, prepare yourself to be up every four hours.  Of course, that doesn't mean you've slept for the past four hours.  Breastfeeding in the early stages takes up to an hour for a new born, no one ever tells you so.  The average baby feeds every four hours, you do the math!

If you're one who looooves your sleep, well all I can say is that I wish you luck and I hope you have help to delegate all of the tasks that will be cutting in into your short 'naps'.  I call them naps, because that's exactly what they're going to feel like.

Eventually your little one will sleep through the night on a regular basis, but that might be a while.  My son has started doing this since he was about eight months, however, when he's teething, all bets are off.  Prepare yourself to be up at least once.  So far he's been pretty good, but you never know.  Each teething experience is different.

So prepare yourself...and catch some zzzz's whenever you can.  It will save your sanity.