A lot of things in this world come with a manual or a handbook or a dummy’s guide. Want to learn cooking? Want to go on a pocket-friendly tour? Fan of DIY craft? Well, Google it and you will have the precise knowledge. However, there are still some experiences that are as raw as they can be. Being a new mom is one of them.
Your mother and her mother must have told you so much about motherhood-what it is going to be like, the challenges and gifts it will pose to you but trust us, it is more of a ‘to each their own’ kind of an experience. For some mothers, it is downright amazing and for others, it might be the most challenging experience. We at BabySquad have got a few of the most experienced new mom experiences for you to relate to and learn from:
- A time of confusion: You are a mom for the first time so you don’t know much. Probably, not at all. You won’t know why is the baby crying, why is it not sleeping, why is it not eating or why do you have to feed it every half hour, why is it not smiling, why you are not able to bond with it, is it trying to communicate, how to feed it and how many times and so much more. Embrace the confusion. Learn each day from your baby. Take baby steps with your baby. Funny, but babies have a way of teaching us by asking us to drop our pre-conceived notions and start learning from scratch. You will take as less as a month to get accustomed to your baby patterns and your motherly instincts will gradually get activated.
- Body changes: You are barely out of the trauma of an excruciating delivery and boom! Your body is no longer as previous. You might put some pounds postpartum, you have stretch marks, you start to lose hair, your breast change shape due to the forthcoming lactation, areola and labia darken, and above all, you are a volcano of haywire hormones. While you can’t do much about it, you can surely be prepared. Be mentally prepared and take care of yourself. Post-natal exercises, yoga and meditation can ease dealing with such changes. Your diet needs to be rich in macro and micronutrients to support you and a feeding baby.
- Sleep deprivation: With the baby demanding your attention constantly and untimely, you will have trouble catching enough sleep. Feeding it frequently or maintaining fresh pumps, burping it, changing diapers, cleaning poop, singing lullabies etc. and simultaneously managing household chores will get taxing. Try to delegate part of your responsibilities to your husband. Divide the work with him, take turns and take out time for yourself and naps. Sleep when the baby sleeps can be the best advice ever. Enough sleep is essentially important for you to process and take care of the baby.
- Priorities change: Once you have a part of your heart out of your body, your entire life starts revolving around it. You will think, process, and act keeping the baby in picture. You will eat what is good for a healthy feed, keep unnecessary things at bay, compromise and sacrifice your joy and routine for it. You become extra cautious about and for the baby more than anything/anybody else. Even if someone holds your baby (other than your better half, of course) you will get over-protective and keep an eye on the person. Well, dear mama bear, this is absolutely normal and a part of motherly instincts. After all, he is the star and the moon of your life now. Precious!
While these might be the most common experiences, each mother-baby duo are prone to have a different story of experiences. Do share such stories with us in the comment section.