My take on the first 6 months

Zan Potts - 3 Aug 16

My take on the first 6 months of being a mommy……..

Nobody can prepare you, not your own mom , your nana, your sister or all of your already mommy friends with babies or the ones that have got through it and theirs are 20+ and graduating it’s really that simple … Every experience is different as are every woman,pregnancy,labour,baby and life, care afterwards.

For all the advice, you take snippets of some and all of the other bits & wing it hoping that it helps you and your newborn…

You have to ‘survive ‘ all those different opinions – “shouldn’t you put him down “….. Well he’s my son -4 days old & if I want to sit and smell him, shut my eyes listening to his tiny little noises on my chest and ‘rest’ I will ! Shouldn’t have a dummy…. Colic and SIDS! So opinions – shove them!

Rest ……. Hmmmmm you get little to none but you would change it, especially if you’re breast feeding – those 3am snuggles and squidges are yours and yours only.
Unless you have a nanny or help.. Get both if your baby suffers colic .. It’s like having a miniature angry drunk person scream in your face for 3hrs with no let up at all.. It’s heart breaking and soul crushing knowing you cannot make them better.. Thank god for dummies and colocynth!

Help is something I struggled to ask for because I wanted to do it ALL. Even when I was physically exhausted,& mentally ruined by hormones , had mastitis & just cried.. I look back now and wish I had spoken up and said yes please I’d love a bath, or a sleep. Instead I found myself at the Drs and crying at them a total stranger, just so nobody thought I had failed at the one thing I’d always dreamed of and longed for … It worked. I off-loaded every emotion & fear I had stored up since I’d gone on maternity leave. I was told everything I was experiencing was normal.Fortunately it saved me from full blown PND .

We live in a society where the stigma of asking for help is sometimes too much.
I went home and asked for help, a cuddle & a rest fortunately my partner “got it” as did my sister and my mom

And so did my friends…
Friends or foes – From the minute I became a mommy I wanted to shout and share everything he did weather it was a sneeze or a poo…from the rooftops with everyone I knew and loved because this incredible tiny little amazing most beautiful little boy we had created was everything and more than perfect.
Some friends will get this . Some won’t. The thing is everything does change the minute you become a mommy. Your relationship with your partner first and foremost mine thank god went from strength to strength .
But the friendships you thought you had , the ones that you believed in your heart of hearts to be real.. Are mostly just that. Other than the ones that decide you don’t fit in their world anymore because you can’t party or those that stop contacting you because they think your too busy being a mommy. It hurts because your still you.

Trying to figure out who you are …
In amongst being a mommy your old self is buried whilst as a woman you change mentally, & mostly physically which takes another massive toll on your mental state because you do look different ..& you need to have patience with that… You’ve just created and carried a tiny beautiful little human give yourself chance
Which boils down to your ..you but with a different perspective & different priorities at the moment .

If you lose friends becoming a mommy ..they weren’t real anyway.

It’s been the most incredible 6 months of my life . A total rollercoaster , and every single day is a beautiful adventure watching him learn new textures, tastes, sounds, sights and develop daily …everyday I’m in awe and everyday I’m in love …. And puked & wee’d on

Zan Potts

I'm 33 ,a first time mommy to my 6month old son Blake, I live in North Devon in a coastal town with my Partner of 2 years ex serviceman Damian. I'm currently on maternity leave from a salon I've worked in for 8 years as a full time stylist. . I Love to train using kettle-bells, weights, and various other forms of excersize & I'm a pescertarian 'vegan.. Currently weaning my son with every food group possible. I love being a mother , I'm literally in awe of our amazing little boy everything is new and exciting .

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