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10 things I wish I’d known in the first 72 hours after birthing my daughter…
The contrast between my daughter’s early days and my subsequent son’s are so stark that I can hardly believe they had the same mother. I know that the births of both and the subsequent after-care made a tremendous difference to how I reacted to bringing a new person into the world. As I continue to discuss the early days with my hypnobirthing clients, I felt compelled to put pen to paper (or digits to keyboard) and jot down a few thoughts….
1. BREASTFEEDING
I truly believed the pretty little lady who was “appreciated” by most
My first child was just not that interested until I bought the nipple shields of destiny, whacked them on my tender and swollen feeding-stations and let her find the massive plastic “YOU ARE HERE” signposts. Child two was an angry, sucky, grabby feeder from the moment he was born –
2. HOUR 1:
Having stitches can really hurt, and I’m saying that as a hypnobirthing teacher. In hypnobirthing we talk about pain being a message sent by your brain to your body that “THIS NEEDS TO STOP. NOW.” Given that surges in labour are
3. HOUR 6:
I always thought my husband was brilliant. I never really understood just how brilliant he was until those early hours with our daughter. He could see I was an exhausted husk, but that I was always hysterically over-excited. He
4. THE GREAT FEELING OF BEING OVERWHELMED
The most terrifying bit of all. Of looking at my baby, who I already loved so much that I felt physically nauseous when I imagined her getting any older than she was, right in this moment, right now, and thinking:
“can I give her back? Just long
I never suffered with post-natal depression, but the GFoBO (like the GBBO but less fun) was truly hideous. I still get it now when the now 3 year old daughter has those epic tantrums where you wonder how to ever get them to be still and calm…
5. WHY CAN’T I SLEEP?!
In those first 72 hours (and a bit longer) babies are REALLY GOOD at sleeping. It made sense, therefore, that when baby was sleeping, so I should.
6. GOING TO THE SUPERMARKET WITH A NEWBORN FEELS LIKE GOING TO THE MOON
Quite why – after just 30 hours at home with my baby – any of us thought it was a good idea that I “nipped to Tesco” I’ve got no idea. I remember standing in front of the trolleys, trying to hold a stupidly heavy car-seat, while my bent coccyx and stitched lady zone screamed out in pain, panicking as I said to my mum “where do I put her? Will she be
7. I WOULDN’T LIKE BEING A “MUM” STRAIGHT AWAY
I have always wanted to be a mum. I was one of those little girls, who adored her dollies, who has been
I wanted to have a shower and not spend the whole time with a pounding heart, in case she needed me and I couldn’t be there instantly. I wanted to drink a glass of wine and not worry about falling asleep on my precious bundle. I just wanted to be Laura, not Mummy Laura.
8. BABIES ARE SO NOISY!
We thought we’d got confused during a Christmas telly campaign and adopted a bleating goat. Her grunts, bleats, shrieks – possibly it’s because we are both singers, but our
9. I WOULD IMAGINE I WOULD HEAR HER AND RUN TO HER COT.
It was clear she was happily asleep and safe, and yet there I’d be, waddling as fast as my maternity pads would allow, staring down at her with simultaneous panic and adoration, or muting the telly and whispering frantically “did you hear that? Does she need me?! Is it ok?!?!”
10. I WOULD NEVER, EVER TIRE OF STARING AT HER.
Her every microscopic cell, every eyelash, every tiny fingernail, the dimples in her legs, the
Laura, Power of Mum