Two of my gorgeous friends are currently pregnant and are due in April and May respectively. This is the first baby for both of them and they are as excited and nervous as I was.
Thinking about it, I wanted to share some pearls of bubba wisdom in preparation for the bundles of joy arriving and once they arrive.
1. Nap. You will never fully nap again. So take that two hour Tuesday afternoon nap once mat leave starts and do not feel bad about it. While you won't be storing up those zzz's to help you once the baby arrives, you will feel a lot more relaxed in the run up to the main event
2. Freeze. No, I don't mean for you to freeze, but freeze a hell of a meals and soups which you can just heat up in the weeks after baby arrives. Given the amount of cake and biscuits which will keep you going during the day, guaranteed you need something with a bit of goodness to keep you going through the night.
3. Marathon. A box set marathon, that is. Break out the DVD's or Netflix. Not only is it good for relaxation, but it will allow you to get caught up on all the tv before baby arrives and screams through every episode of Scandal. The only exception to this rule is when you are feeding during the night or the dreaded 4am wake up.
Once baby arrives, it is possible to function at almost full capacity despite the lack of sleep
4. Clean. Don't listen to all those people who say you will never shower or have breakfast again. It is possible. Sure, the baby comes first in terms of feeding, changing, feeding again and changing again. However, I have had a shower every single day since N arrived. I just take a bouncer chair and toy into the bathroom with me and voila - I am in the shower.
5. Bottles. Before baby arrived I read that babies should never have a bottle before 6 weeks. Really? Having asked our health visitor at my 10 day check during a time when I was struggling to breast feed (was very tiring and painful), she let me know that there was no problem to start bottle feeding immediately. We have never looked back. Not only does it allow hubby to feed N during the night, allow me to go out to places where it is difficult to find a space to get my boob out; but it also allowed me to have a night out or an extra glass of wine. Bliss.
Now all of this can be taken with as much salt as you want, but certainly these are things which have helped me maintain some sanity - as much as is possibly possible. X
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