the first six weeks (just a ramble)

Just wanted to put this out there incase my experience helps anyone else...
I was so unprepared for the changes that a newborn would bring. The first 6 weeks were a total nightmare for me. I loved my baby from the moment I saw her but only now am I starting to feel like life is returning to normal. It really bugged me that I didnt take naturally to being a mum, I felt like I couldnt get anythign right and that things were out of control. Add to this sleep depravation and hormones and I was a bit of a wreck really... and people said to me that things would get better after the first few months but I just didnt see it happening.
Anyway we re 7 and a half weeks now and I am just starting to feel like things are gettign better, it's like suddenly a fog has lifted and I can see things more clearly now... and only now am I really starting to enjoy spending time with my daughter without letting my anxiety get the better of me...
So just wanted to say to all the new mums and almost new mums out there, you may have a fantastic time from teh moment you give birth, you may have a dream baby that sleeps and feeds well, and thats great if you do...
But if you are like me and you have a tough start dont worry, things will get better, you WILL eventually be able to get out of your pyjama's before 4pm, you WILL figure out how to get you baby to eat/sleep/settle, and most of all you WILL regain control of you life...
I am so much happier now, we still have our days (and nights!) but things are definately on the upswing...
anyway, dont want to go on too long...just wanted to say that....

Well said! Glad things are improving for you

Thank you for that,
I am suffering from huge feelings of being overwhelmed at the moment and it's almost as if I have only just worked out that being pregnant means having a baby. I feel like everything about having a newborn is negative (I think i listen to other people too much) so yeah it is reassuring to hear that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Don't get me wrong I am not afraid of the hard work and commitment, but just think I have hit the 7 month bump and it's all a bit soon and grown up to deal with.
so well done on getting over your hump and thank you for sharing that it will get better. It's nice to hear at my end of the experience
glad you are enjoying your daughter now

Claire

Edited by Redbedrock

LOL I love what you wrote about the fog lifting... For me, it was more like 8 months after Emma Rose was born that the fog lifted! Up til then, I was living in my pyjamas and she still wasn't sleeping totally through the night!

What powerful words for all the new mums out there -- and old mums with second, third, fourth, etc new babies who had forgotten how tough it can be for those first six weeks. You know, in a lot of cultures, new mums don't even leave the house for the first six weeks following birth. I tried really hard to do this, but it's not easy, with relatives wanting us to bring the baby around, shopping to be done, dog to be walked...

Just remember to take it easy as long as you can and don't be too hard on yourself. You're right, it does get better, the fog lifts, and you eventually start shaving your legs again!

:)

Ohhh Mrs F, you just wrote my first six weeks... well, first three months actually !! Really glad you put this out there, I wasn't very prepared either, but you are right that things DO get better !!

Well said Mrs F.
I think everyone goes through that foggy period and no matter how long or short that time is you can't see an end.
But ladies and gents, babies DO sleep for more than 10 minutes at a time.... eventually So hold on in there, listen to all of the advice (good and what seemed like bad at the time) and accept all of the help you are offered and don't be ashamed, it's Bl**dy hard work being a mum for the first time. But what better reward than that first smile, just for you!

Yep i can totally relate to the fog thing too - bor me it stuck around for about 6 months with paris.. was just like a constant haze. I remember going to my few classes i had a week, (2 2hours classes) and just feeling blah the whole time, nothing sunk in dunno how i passed my exams for those two.   

Funny, before you have kids you think "ok, yep, whatever, yeah yeah yeah" when everyone tells you things.. then when you're living it and people tell you it will get better you think "LIAR!!!!" until one day a few months down the track you realise that things aren't quite as hard as they used to be, .. and you r4ealise that they WERE right.. it's a bit like pantene, lol - it won't happen overnight.... but it will happen. PMSL

OMG almost 6 weeks already Emz?

charli is 6wks today!
it is a little easier but i'm still hanging out for the day she starts sleeping through the night!

emma, i had it easy the first time round too! jack was such an easy baby, this time i don't know what to do with her half the time

Hey there Frantic - pleased to hear everything is going well for you now.

To be honest with you all - I am finding being a Mum a breeze, Lily is great we get 6,7 hours a night, and about about 4,5 hours during the day. Im loving it!!!! She is feeding really well also.