What you can expect with baby may be somewhat different than what you what you are expecting. You may be expecting crying & sleepless nights. You may be expecting endless blissful afternoons on your glider, gazing at your sleeping child. Long walks in perfect weather (which will somehow become a reality in Montreal just as soon as your child is born…)
While you will certainly have crying & sleepless nights As well as time to gaze at and walk with your sleeping child- this will not be what consumes your entire day. You will be feeding. A lot. You will be changing diapers- quite frequently. You will feel like you need something from the store- every day. On some days, you will have trouble understanding how you, a normally highly efficient, productive &, in fact over-achieving, woman, can look at the clock, see that it’s 2 pm and realize that not only have you not eaten lunch, but you’re only half-dressed and feel like you’ve done nothing all day except throw in a load of laundry (You can expect a lot of laundry).
I will say this to you now. Remember it. I wish someone had said it to me when I was nursing my first, then my twins & then my fourth. (Maybe they did & I was too stubborn to listen). Feeding your baby is something. Burping your baby is something. Changing your baby is something. These things take time. I was reading an article in which a high-powered career woman, mom of triplets was interviewed and she gave this advice: Realize that feeding & caring for your baby is SOMETHING. It was like a big revelation for me. I always thought about the “other” stuff that I did as the “productive” part of my day.
That being said- there is hope- you can & will, have what you consider to be productive days, and months outside the realm of feeds & diapering. You will organize yourself to get done what you need to get done. Just don’t pressure yourself too much. Be content with caring for your baby & having a healthy meal on the table. And by the way, there’s nothing wrong with the healthy meal taking a break once in a while in favour of a pizza if it means some extra time for Mom.
Now, if this is not your first baby, you will have other things to expect. Kids needing help with the toilet or with homework while baby is feeding. Seemingly constant screeches of “Mommy” just when you can’t get off the couch as you are feeding. This hectic time will pass. The best advice? Observe your craziest time of day & see if you can’t get someone to help you during that time. A mother’s helper, a grandparent, an aunt or cousin who just doesn’t happen to be working at the moment…For those few crazy hours, you will buy yourself sanity and an extra set of hands.
Sometime…Expect The Unexpected
Quiet time with your baby.
If this is your first baby, you will find pockets of silence during your day. When baby is awake but content, you may actually find it too quiet. Click here to read more about this awkward silence & how to break it, in our infant section.
Quiet time with your spouse
When baby is sleeping in between feeds- you & your husband may find time for a quiet meal together or to watch half of a movie ( the next half to be watched at next nap!). It may be at an odd time of day or night, but you will find these “pockets” of time. You will learn your baby’s habits & learn to be prepared for these “pockets” & enjoy every minute of them.
Keep enjoying this time of great expectations 😉
Tanya
