View as: GRID LIST
10 things I would tell my newly mummed self
The emotional rollercoaster of oxytocin driven euphoria immediately followed
It’s OK to feel trapped, like the walls are closing in on you and your squalling newborn. Having a baby in the dankest depths of the British autumn, when you can’t go outside or you’ll end up with a gangrenous trench foot, is
Don’t turn to Dr Google for everything. It is a false
Don’t worry about what everyone else thinks ALL the time. On one hand it’s great that we live in a world where we can access information at the tap of a finger and where we can see how everyone else does it, all laid out on a rose-tinted grid. But on the other, it means we constantly judge ourselves against yardsticks that don’t matter. All that does matter is that you do what’s right for you, and you get through it all with your sanity
Hug Bella all the time. Hold her close and breathe in that lovely baby-biscuit smell (that somehow heady combo of pee, milk and sweat). For she will soon be a rampaging toddler, aka ”Conan the wrecker of living rooms and chaser of cats”, and will only want cuddles when ill.
Physically, birth is like getting hit by a truck (slowly). Expect to feel like your vagina has run a marathon, and don’t try to do too much too soon. Enjoy. The. Sofa.
Take care of your relationship as
Travel anywhere and everywhere whilst she is small. When they are tiny you can strap them to you and off you go. And you can sit in cafes for hours, knocking back flat white after flat white until your eyes bleed
Don’t be afraid to talk to other mums (AKA don’t be so British). Maternity leave will be lonely, so you need other mothers around you. Don’t be scared to say hi, no one will tell you to piss off (let’s face it, we are too British for that too).
Eat more cake. You need it. You deserve it. Eat it all.