So Mila is actually one month old now but i've had zero time to write this post up - well I have had time but I've either been using it to sleep or eat a gazillion biscuits (definitely more of the latter). Anyway I wanted to start a little series of monthly updates for Mila to look back on in the future and also document my own recovery after pregnancy. Personally I don't think there is a lot of content out there in regards to postpartum recovery and when I was pregnant I had so many questions about what happens after you've had a baby, so I hope sharing my experience might help others.
Looking back the first week was an absolute whirlwind of cuddles, crying and lots of cake (thanks family & friends for the cake, i've never seen our cupboards so full!) but it was also hard. Joe pretty much took it in his stride and was the biggest support to me whilst he was on paternity leave - cooking, cleaning and holding the baby so the I could have a bath and a break from the constant feeding. We also had lots of visitors and were so well looked after by friends and family when they came to visit Mila. I know a lot of people moan about having too many visitors and wanting rest and time with their baby but for me it really helped to see people so I didn't just feel cooped up at home. Plus lots of our friends brought food or were kind enough to cook us lunch or dinner when they came so that we could relax with the baby.
Mila's First Week Update
So firstly I just want to say having a baby is the most surreal thing I have ever done. I spent the first couple of days just getting my head around the fact that 'yes' she is mine and 'no' no-one is going to come and knock on the door and take her away. From day one it really has been mind blowing that she came from me. I'm definitely a bit of a neurotic mother and in the first week I was paranoid about everything, googling every symptom and just generally not being very relaxed. Looking back I wish I had chilled out a bit more but with motherhood being so new to me I just wanted to make sure she was all ok.
Sleep
Now i'm not going to do the whole 'she's such a good baby' because really what is a good baby? But if you're talking in terms of sleep, touch wood, we've been pretty lucky. In the first week she fell into a pattern of sleeping for a 3 hour stretch at night before waking up, followed by another 2/3 hours. On average I was probably doing about two night feeds depending on what time I put her to sleep at. At first I was setting an alarm for every 2.5/3 hours to wake her up for a feed because she wasn't waking up herself. It was taking me so long to wake her up and then get her back to sleep, I was sometimes up for over an hour just trying to get her back to sleep. After getting advice from friends and family, many of them saying 'WHY on earth are you waking a sleeping baby?', I stopped setting an alarm and just let her wake up naturally whether that meant she slept solidly for 4/5 hours.
Feeding
I've chosen to breastfeed Mila, I've not decided for how long we're just seeing how it goes but it definitely took some getting used to. At first my nipples were so sore and when my milk came in on around day 3 my boobs were very tender, but by the end of the first week we were getting into the swing of things with feeds every 2/2.5 hours and with the help of Lanolin cream it wasn't painful to feed her anymore. After 5 days she'd only lost a pound which the midwife was really impressed with and by her next appointment she'd put on 8lbs taking her weight up to 81bs5oz so we were discharged from the midwife. Whoo!
Everything else
As Mila was 2 weeks overdue she was born with really dry skin, so the midwives recommended that we applied olive oil to her skin to help heal the skin. We actually used rapeseed oil in case anyone was wondering and that worked really well. She's also a very strong baby and was already trying to hold he head up in the first couple of days, she loves looking around and taking everything in which means she finds it hard to nap during the day because she feels like she's missing out. When she was 6 days old we had a nightmare day where she wouldn't stop crying and looking back it was just because she was so overtired. I had a bit of a panic when she was 4 days old and her cord started bleeding, in a fluster I called the birth centre to be told that it's all normal and it just means that her cord is falling off. Phew. We've also started using a dummy (reluctantly). I don't even know why I feel so bad about giving her a dummy, but when she's being unsettled it's a god send, I've tried swaddling and much to my dismay she hates it! I had all these romantic ideas of pretty Instagram pictures of her in a swaddle and they've completely been dashed.
My First Week Update
I haven't yet shared my labour story (it's coming soon promise!) but if you saw my last post you'll know I had a water birth. I managed to get away with one 2nd degree tear - which at first they thought might have been 3rd but thankfully it wasn't. For the first week everything was very sore and swollen, if i'm honest it was like my body had been through a massive trauma, which I guess it had. It was hard to walk and it was uncomfortable to sit as well. Whenever I did walk I felt like I had a horrible dragging sensation and felt a bit breathless and weak. For the first few days my tummy was still quite round - like a mini bump and it wasn't till the end of the first week that it started to go down properly.
What I struggled with the most was the massive change it was having a baby. I suddenly realised that I had this tiny human that was depending on me for everything and being the sole provider for food made me feel like my independence had been taken away a little. It was the strangest feeling and it's really hard to explain, but for a couple of days I felt really down, especially in the evenings and everything was making me cry and be emotional. I'm pretty sure it was because my milk was coming in but even though I was enjoying motherhood so far it was like I was mourning my old life. We ended up venturing to my parents for the weekend in her first week and that really helped as well as just getting out of the flat to go for walks around the parks. I've never really been the best at settling into changes at first, it takes me a little while so it's just time that I need to get into a routine and for everything to feel more normal.
So I think that's about it for the first week update, the next update will be our one month update. If you're reading this and you've had a baby I'd love to know how you found the lifestyle change of having a baby.
No comments
Post a Comment