It's the greatest moment of your life, having your baby handed to you after so many hours of labor, but we all know, this is where the real work begins. It can be an exciting time, but it can be one of great anxiety. Whether you've heard the horror stories about postpartum depression, or some mothers feeling they don't connect with their baby, anxieties are what we all go through as a new mother. Coping with some tasks that were easy and normal before can now appear to be a big challenge.
Being On Your Own With The Baby
The first time you're on your own with the baby is an incredibly nerve-wracking experience, because we feel that we are finally, solely responsible for this baby, and we don't know if we're going to be able to do it right. Being on our own with the baby for the first time can be something we've mentally built ourselves up towards, and there may be a few tears leading up to this moment, but doing your best to keep calm, and doing exactly what you've been doing before, is the best course of action. You realize that there is nothing different than before, apart from the fact that there's one less person in the house. And in fact, you may find this incredibly liberating, because you can finally learn to trust your instincts, and not worry about what others will say about your parenting skills.
Taking Your Baby Out
When feeling ready, taking your baby out can be a tumultuous task. We feel like this baby is a delicate package, and that there are threats around every corner, and we've built it up in our minds that the worst could happen, a car accident maybe, or something so horrible occurs, that we end up contacting an experienced law firm, going down the legal route, and fighting for justice on the corner of our street just because a neighbor looked at us the wrong way! Our mind can easily spiral out of control, but it’s okay!! Taking our baby out for the first time is all about baby steps. Make it a challenge just to get to the end of your street, then come back, and tomorrow, you can go a little bit further. From there, are you progress a little bit further, until you feel confident in yourself that you can do it.
Functioning With Little Sleep
And with all of this, we have to do it with little sleep. It's something we've all prepared ourselves for, or experienced a lot of towards the end of our pregnancy, but for those people who manage to sleep like a baby until the birth, learning to function with little sleep is something we get used to. Yes, caffeine helps to an extent, but being awake is about frame of mind. It's an expression used a lot, but sleep when the baby sleeps! Yes, this isn't handy when you suffer anxiety, but when you are that tired, you will sleep. It's just about learning the routine of the baby first and sleeping around that. Again, this may seem like fuzzy logic, but when you understand your baby's patterns, learning to sleep at the drop of a hat will serve you well.
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Cheers to the weekend friends! Its a cold and dreary day over here in the Pacific Northwest. We have plans to sit back and watch the Cougar game and the kids and I may whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies and some homemade pumpkin loaf. We also are going to decorate for Halloween and watch Hocas Pocas this evening. What are your plans on this lovely Saturday? Leave a comment below.
Have a wonderful day.
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