It's been 5 months since I last posted and my life has certainly changed a lot in those 5 months! I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl (maybe she wasn't so beautiful at the time, but she sure is a little cutie pie now!) in August and I have spent the past 4 1/2 months enjoying being a mum and watching my girl grow and change every day.
The birth was a relatively easy birth so I will have to revisit a previous entry about which would be harder, child birth or an ironman! I was blessed from day one with a baby that sleeps fairly well so I haven't experienced the extreme sleep deprivation that some other poor mums experience. Though it would be nice to just have one day where I don't have to get up at 6am (especially on New Year's Day when suffering a hangover). I have been lucky enough to successfully be able to breastfeed, though the early days did present some challenges with a blocked duct turning into an abscess that required draining 6 times. I started to look like a junkie with numerous needle marks and severe bruising on my breast, thankfully it all resolved itself eventually and I could start relaxing and enjoying motherhood a little more.
I have learnt that motherhood is the hardest job that I will ever have as it's a 24/7 job, yet it is also the most rewarding job. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing a great big smile every morning when I get her up (though this smile is very short lived as she becomes extremely impatient wanting her feed!).
I have learnt that babies will always poo or spew as soon as you put them in the car seat on your way out somewhere. I never leave the house without a spare change of clothes and plenty of bibs and spew rags! I have been spewed on countless times, and now don't even bother changing, just wipe it off and get on with things!
I have learnt that the human body is truly an amazing thing, at 41 weeks pregnant I had gained 20kg's and my stomach was stretched to the max! At 4 months post partum I had lost the whole 20kg's plus a little more and my stomach almost looks like it has never housed a baby.
I have re learnt the words to a number of nursery rhymes and have discovered that Old MacDonald is the only acceptable song when she is unhappy. Many a time in the car Old MacDonald has ran out of farm animals and suddenly ends up with some rather interesting things on his farm. After singing multiple renditions of this song yesterday I decided to create a new version 'Old MacDonald had a Zoo' only to quickly discover I don't know what noises any zoo animals make!
I have learnt that talking to a baby all day long can send you slightly crazy and when craving adult conversation you find yourself going to the local shops and making conversations with shop keepers just so that you can have one non baby conversation for the day!
I have acquired new skills such as being able to perform nearly any task using only one arm whilst carrying a baby in the other. I have learnt that whilst breastfeeding you can multi task and catch up on emails and do all of your Christmas shopping online. I have learnt that tiny humans create a mountain of washing and you can't tell them to do it themselves! I have learnt that coffee and dry shampoo are my new best friends.
I have learnt that the love you feel for this tiny person you created is like no other you will ever feel. When she smiles and laughs you smile and laugh with her. When she cries you feel her pain and it hurts when you don't know what's wrong and how to help her. When you are feeling down she somehow knows how to make you happy, a smile, a hug, a sloppy wet kiss.
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