Motherhood at 6 Weeks

The past 6 weeks since Dade was born have been the happiest for us especially for me as a newbie Mom. Sometimes I catch myself feeling overwhelmed at the sight of my son - the baby that I helped create...the one who literally lived inside me while I was building him.

With the daily grind that takes place in our household, I try as much as I can to pause for a few minutes at least to take in the events, big or small, that unravel right in front of me.

So far, these are things that I learned/realized/felt/experienced:

• A baby is a special blessing. Despite the weariness his demands can do to you, seeing his innocent face can make it all worth it. And the irony of it all is that you would keep wanting to do more for him despite the trouble.
• A straight 8-hour sleep has become a luxury I could probably never afford in the next 7 years (or more!) It's ok though because it's all part of the beautiful experience of motherhood.
• Despite the deep love you have for your child, 2 growth spurts in less than 2 months can get the better of you. But when you realize that he has to go through this side by side with his developmental milestones, you just bear with his fussiness and go with the flow.
• Learning a new trick to soothe your fussy baby and lull him to sleep feels like striking an oil mine after hours of constant digging. Turns out Dade likes being swaddled even after many attempts of breaking free at first. He also likes his swing now (hallelujah!!), and prefers to listen to classical music to the likes of Vivaldi and Mozart. A combination of these two rock him to sleep pronto.
• Nursing is a fulfilling thing to do. It keeps you more connected to your child and makes you feel extra special in a unique kind of way. Hell yeah, I'm a Dairy Queen & I love it!!
• However, when you nurse, you also wanna feed yourself every couple of hours or so because the hunger pangs you feel are so intense to ignore. Well, you need to be nourished in order to nourish your child so for now, the idea of aiming for the pre-wedding shape is temporarily shelved.
• 'Baby blues' are not called such for nothing. The first couple of weeks all I ever wanted to do was cling to the husband - literally! I remember Iwould feel extremely sad when he had to leave for work. There were several times when I would nurse our son in our bedroom, and I would find myself suddenly crying buckets of tears whenever I'd gaze at my two boys. I couldn't explain why but all I could blame for all these are my hormones.
• Not all babies like being in the water. Dade still hates taking a bath. He screams and cries like crazy as soon as water is poured over his skin. I hope he overcomes this soon.
• Mini-massage is heaven to babies. They feel soothed and comforted especially after being forced to take a bath :)
• It took me about 4 weeks to finally distinguish the kinds of cries my baby makes. More or less I have mastered this, and I could now easily tell what's bothering him just by listening to the tone of his blubber.
• Mothers are there for a reason. They will never stop parenting you even when you're already a parent. So listen to what they have to say even if they seem to be too old-fashioned or superstitious for you. You will still find yourself learning a few tricks of the trade. After all, she is the mother who raised you so she has that credibility.
• A brief "me-time" can make you feel guilty for leaving your child to be cared for by someone else - even if that someone else is your own husband or your own mother. I didn't know a one-hour pedicure can lead to so much worry and guilt! Despite the calm ambiance of N-Style, the Friends episodes they played, and my very own Sennheiser ear phones, all I ever wanted was for the nail technician to finish as soon as she can so I can rush off to my waiting son.
• Shopping with baby in tow should only last for a maximum of an hour & a half. That's generally for a top, a dress, and two pairs of shoes from 4 different stores in Dubai's largest shopping mall. Go beyond that to push your luck and you'll end up dealing with a bored baby whose only means of communication is crying.
• But thankfully, my son likes to go malling. I guess he likes the noise. At his age, he's a certified mall rat - been to all the major malls around town. Just make sure you're always pushing his pram because he gets cranky when his ride is idle. Oh, and did I mention he also fusses when we're on our way home? This happens ALL the time. (tsk, tsk...lakwatsero ang anak ko - mana sa ina!! hahaha!!)

I know I'll be discovering more in the next coming weeks, months and years as a new parent. and with that, I say, "bring it on!"