Well, Freya turns 7 weeks tomorrow. And what a rollercoaster ride parenthood has been...
I spent 3 days in hospital after the birth. My iron levels were scarily low, so I had to be put on iron tablets and they did think I would have to have a blood transfusion for a while. Thank goodness I convinced them against it.
The last few weeks have been really hard. I know that isn't the fashionable thing to say, but I think all of the women who act as if motherhood is a walk in the park are either compulsive liars, or overdosing on Prozac! I have never been more tired, stressed and, yes, happy in my whole life. There are definate up days and down days.
Freya is now affectionately known as the Moogle (or the Poogle when she is in a mood!) We tried to breastfeed at first, but she just couldn't get the hang of it. She kept falling off the nipple or getting distracted, so we had to resort to expressing milk to feed her. For the first two weeks of her life I was practically attached to a breast pump! Finally, though, I was struggling to keep up so I had to fall back on the emergency formula carton. I have never felt more awful in my whole life. I felt like such a terrible mother. But, I figured, it was better that she was fed, and I was rested rather than continuing to struggle. I still expressed as much as possible for the next few weeks, but now she is pretty much a formula fed baby. (She even has Hungry baby now as she is always begging for food)
She's not exactly what I would call a happy baby. When she is asleep, she is beautiful. But 80% of the time she is awake she is screaming! It's actually quite scary as it sounds as if she is in terrible pain. I worry a lot, but I think mainly it is wind and tummy aches. But it can be very tiring. She demands constant attention, and although we have had a couple of fantastic nights where she slept really well, there are other nights when she hardly sleeps at all!
Everyone keeps telling me that it will get better when she is a bit older, but it is sometimes hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Still, I try to keep upbeat about the whole situation, and as soon as she smiles at me, I forget all of the stress and fall head over heels all over again. I still sometimes can't believe I helped to create such a beautiful little person.
I spent 3 days in hospital after the birth. My iron levels were scarily low, so I had to be put on iron tablets and they did think I would have to have a blood transfusion for a while. Thank goodness I convinced them against it.
The last few weeks have been really hard. I know that isn't the fashionable thing to say, but I think all of the women who act as if motherhood is a walk in the park are either compulsive liars, or overdosing on Prozac! I have never been more tired, stressed and, yes, happy in my whole life. There are definate up days and down days.
Freya is now affectionately known as the Moogle (or the Poogle when she is in a mood!) We tried to breastfeed at first, but she just couldn't get the hang of it. She kept falling off the nipple or getting distracted, so we had to resort to expressing milk to feed her. For the first two weeks of her life I was practically attached to a breast pump! Finally, though, I was struggling to keep up so I had to fall back on the emergency formula carton. I have never felt more awful in my whole life. I felt like such a terrible mother. But, I figured, it was better that she was fed, and I was rested rather than continuing to struggle. I still expressed as much as possible for the next few weeks, but now she is pretty much a formula fed baby. (She even has Hungry baby now as she is always begging for food)
She's not exactly what I would call a happy baby. When she is asleep, she is beautiful. But 80% of the time she is awake she is screaming! It's actually quite scary as it sounds as if she is in terrible pain. I worry a lot, but I think mainly it is wind and tummy aches. But it can be very tiring. She demands constant attention, and although we have had a couple of fantastic nights where she slept really well, there are other nights when she hardly sleeps at all!
Everyone keeps telling me that it will get better when she is a bit older, but it is sometimes hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Still, I try to keep upbeat about the whole situation, and as soon as she smiles at me, I forget all of the stress and fall head over heels all over again. I still sometimes can't believe I helped to create such a beautiful little person.
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