First 6 weeks are tough!

I won't bullshit you - the first 6 weeks are hectic LOL! You don't get much sleep and you are nervous & apprehensive as to whether you are doing things right. If you are breastfeeding you keep on wondering if your baby is getting enough to eat - if you are bottle feeding your baby has twice as many eina winds to try and rub out.

You feel guilty when you can't get your baby to stop crying - like you are a failure as a mother cause you can't read her cues. It DOES get stressful and on top of it all your hormones are still all over the place so you cry at the drop of a hat..... AND your own body is still recovering from the birth (whether C-sect or vaginal). I kept on saying to Jeroen that when I step out of the shower (TMI following.....) that I don't know where to pad first - sanitary, breast pad or tissue for my tears. Your breast may hurt & I did not like the tingling feeling every time my milk let down.

BUT - it gets better! There is light at the end of the tunnel & you WILL get through it. Make sure you have a support network - even if it is just your husband or a domestic worker that you trust. You will need to be able to have a nice long bath or a walk down the road while someone else holds baby or keeps an eye on her. Get out of the house even if just for half an hour! If you are close to your mother, let her come visit for a week or so after your baby is born (but only from week 3 I would recommend - so you have time to bond with your baby first!)

And all of a sudden at about 5 - 6 weeks she starts making noises that sounds like she is trying to communicate with you and she might start smiling and you can read most of her cries and you know it was all worth it!!

I said to Jeroen that I can not imagine going through this with a man who I don't feel 100% comfortable with. Cause all of a sudden you are not their sexy love goddess (LOL!!) anymore but a human milk machine that bleeds & cries and want to talk about how many dirty nappies there was today ;-)

So, prepare your DH's for what lies ahead!!!

Also, the BIG thing that has made this whole experience sooo much easier for us is that we had no preconceived ideas about what lay ahead. I know I've said this before, but it is so true (for us at least he he he!!). Make peace with the fact that your best laid plans (breastfeeding, co-sleeping or not etc) MAY not work! If you are willing to just take each day as it comes & not get stressed out cause your plans are not working then you will have so much more fun with your little bundle.

Also, HUMOUR! Laugh at yourselves! Cause crying doesn't make anything better & if you can see the humour in a situation you will calm down & your baba will be more relaxed as well!!

Imke 'slept through'!!

On her 6 week "birthday"!!!

Which doesn't mean she slept right through the night (yes, you learn these things quickly!) - but she dropped her 11 o'clock feed! Which means she slept from 19:30 to 02:30! That is a whole 7 hours :-)

Unfortunately she did not inform her mommy of her plans and mommy sat up waiting for the wake-up call (ahhh ahhh ahhh wheeeeeeeee) - so mommy only got 2.5 hours sleep last night he he he ;-)

PS - preggy girls, you must must must get the Sleep Sense book - and read it beforehand if possible. Try to implement the sleeping strategies from the start & you will be a MUCh more contented mommy & your baby will love you for it as well. In baby world sleep begets sleep -so the better she sleeps during the day the better her night sleeps are. Really a very helpful book.

PSS - she is also smiling at mommy - melts your heart I tell you!!

Our first gummy smiles!!

First Shopping trip with Imke :-)

I am heading to the shops WITH IMKE for the first time today...... he he he please think of me LOL!!! I am a little bit nervous :-)

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he he he, so we are back!!! And we survived!!! She is actually such a little angel that I don't know why I even get stressed :-)

And she got spoilt rotten again - she got a bouncy chair & a bumbo seat and new vesties & a rattle etc etc etc. Amazes me to think that I would NEVER EVER have spent R2000-00 in 1 day on myself but I don't even blink when it's for Imke LOL!!!!!!

(BTW - it was the bouncy chair that was so very expensive (R780 odd))

Had fun though with all the tannies wanting to see this cute tiny little baba!!!