A year of Motherhood

MOTHERHOOD – A ONE YEAR MILESTONE.

AS I APPROACH TEX’S FIRST BIRTHDAY AND MY OWN PERSONAL MOTHERHOOD MILESTONE, I FOUND A MOMENT OF REFLECTION. HERE ARE MY THOUGHTS.

IT REALLY DOES GO SO FAST.

How, I repeat, how – has it been 12 months. I wish more than anything I could go back and do it all again, particularly the first 4 months. Sleep deprivation, learning to feed, figuring out car seats, remembering to put breast pads on before you leave the house. So much is going on in those early months of Motherhood, I blinked and it was gone. Time was a bloody thief and I would do anything to go back and soak it all in.

OUR BODIES ADAPT TO SO MUCH CHANGE & IT’S AMAZING.

Whatever I did with my time before a baby, I will never know.Work I guess?! On solid night’s sleep, feeling fresh, with full brain capacity and no need for coffee pick me ups… agghh memories.But honestly, how our bodies adapt to function on so little sleep still amazes me.Us Mumma Bears. we are warriors.Not to mention the incredible journey our body shape and form goes on. For the rest of my life, I do not want to speak ill of my body shape, worry about how I look… I built a human – and that is bloody impressive!

A WHOLE NEW LOVE FOR DINNER TIME

The only time of the day, the three of us are together. Happy, close and enjoying food. This is a sacred time for me. I truly love having Matt home from work, Tex next to us, cracking jokes, pulling faces and chatting about our days over dinner… I whole heartedly appreciate why my parents were so big on dinner time conversation, being present and no TV. This is a small window of the day, before bedtime and they truly are the moments that fill my soul.

SEPARATION ANXIETY IS REAL… AND I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT TEX. I AM TALKING ABOUT ME…

When someone has a new baby, I will no longer ask to come over and hold their baby. I will however, come over with a cooked meal or do “the house stuff” while they hold their baby.While I know people mean well, (and I was extremely lucky to have lots of support) I was constantly offered help that consisted of taking Tex “off my hands” or “away for a few hours” or coming over to hold him. Let me tell you right now – I do not want to sound ungrateful. But what I really needed was more time with him, and less time doing house work, dishes, cooking.I felt most calm and at peace, with my baby in my arms or on my chest… whenever he was gone, I could never fully relax. I never needed a break from him, even when things got hard, but a break from the Motherhood juggle and house work, that stuff I needed to be separated from.From now on, I hand on heart, will come over and unpack your dishwasher, fold your clothes, so my friend/family can have more time with their baby.

PEOPLE SAY STUPID STUFF… ALL THE TIME

You’re holding him too much. Put him down. Gosh you never leave him alone. Go and put him down to sleep, do not rock him. Are you still feeding him? Surely it’s only for comfort now. Is he sleeping? Is he a good baby?I am still working on blocking comments like these out. 12 months on and I still have people saying stupid, uneducated things to me, about how I should parent my own child. It is really hard as a first time mother (and probably any stage of motherhood) to hear these things… every day. We are all running our own race. Stay in your lane.

EVERYTHING IS MORE FUN, WHEN YOU EXPERIENCE IT THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHILD

Balloons, bubbles, animals, the wind. All the simple things, bring them so much joy. I am reminded every day to step back and soak in the simplicity of life. When things get hard, or overwhelming… I just sit on the floor and watch him watch the world… everything seems easier and a lot more fun.

NOTHING CAN PREPARE YOU

No amount of baby books, blog reading, chats with friends can prepare you for Motherhood. It is starting a new job with no idea, no qualifications but rather, sheer determination and passion.It is the hardest, most rewarding thing I have ever done and nothing prepares your heart and soul for the first time your baby says “mumma”.I never ever want to forget how I felt that day; and now, I look forward to the first time he says “i love you”

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

It Tex a Village…. my Instagram handle is this for a reason.My mission was to surround myself around supportive, inspiring people; I knew I would need to call on them during midnight feeds, mastitis madness, is this normal/should I be worried photo texts and are you as tired as I am, when will he sleep phone calls. I would be lost without those people and I am so grateful to have them in my life. This year has opened my eyes to so much… and friendship is such an important part of this year. To every person who I text, called or met at the park for coffee this year… you know who you are… thank you.

There is nothing a cuddle, walk in the sunshine and food cannot fix.

Love Jorjax