Motherhood such a life changing experience.
It’s overwhelming, not difficult but demanding, but you will never even for a
sec complain about it. That’s the beauty of Motherhood, it melts you literally,
for me it has made me happier joyous. Innocence, affection, love, these words
now are much more than the meaning, they are real feelings now.
I am writing this to share my
experience with the new Moms and to be moms, while pregnant I enjoyed reading
real stories from moms across the world on the web, so my attempt to give back.
For a child the world is as beautiful as the Mother. So be kind, love a
lot, keep smiling, be happy, make faces, do the animated talks. Lift up,
cuddle, and sing. My personal belief love never spoils indiscipline does. Be prepared
you will hear lots of stories from the veterans – how their baby had achieved
developmental milestones way ahead of time. Do not get carried away- I always
tell people mine is a human child and has got no super human genes ( I only get
see super human movies J
); will achieve all the developmental
milestones at a natural pace. All kids are different, they have different ways
of doing things, some achieve some milestones early, some take their own time,
some run through all milestones at once. So enjoy their infancy and let them
have their own time to explore themselves and the world around.
“Perfect mom”. You want that title right, but from whom? No
point in toiling it out to impress others. Just be
a happy Mom to a happy and healthy baby,
and that’s what the perfection in motherhood is all about. There are no best
practices apart from the ones recommended by docs, to massage once or twice or
thrice, to bathe once or twice, to put in a cradle or to co sleep, to bottle-feed
or not to bottle-feed, to use diapers or not to use, whatever works best for
you and your baby in maintaining health and hygiene is the best practice.
Please follow Pediatrician’s advice. If need be
consult two three and then choose one that is best suited for you. A lot of ppl
especially older ones will tell “ Let the doctor say we had many kids we used
to do it this way” Find your way out of
this and let them know times have changed, and yes docs are sitting there for a
reason.
Every new mom will learn it the
hard way, like I did,
Babies do cry,
sometimes they cry a lot. Try not to be too concerned about it, (I am still trying:
P ) soon you will discover ways to soothe your baby and learn the terms- colic
gassiness growth spurts and blame it all to them. If the crying doesn’t stop,
visit the ped, don’t know what it is with the ped , babies feel fine just by
seeing them , most of the time it would be nothing. There are lots of parenting
apps available, it’s worth to have one. You will find lot of ideas to engage
with the baby and useful info about various growth stages. If you like to read,
read the poem Baby’s way by Rabindranath Tagore. And if you like to read, do
all the reading before baby comes, you will hardly get anytime to do the
reading afterwards.
Do breastfeed. There is a lot to
be said about this a lot. Please consult your doctor about breastfeeding, beforehand,
before delivery, ask all the questions you would have, like does it hurt, is it
necessary, anything that comes to your mind , do ask if the hospital staff is
updated on lactation practices. I can write another blog on this. But here are
the few important points – lactation is the function of mind, every women can
breastfeed, and every women needs to learn it. Go to a secluded place, engage
with the baby, put on some nice music and feed. Feed on demand. It’s basically supply and demand principle,
the more you feed the more you produce. I followed these tips and it all worked
very well for me.
For some reason if you cannot
just don’t stress about it. It’s alright, remember most important thing – Happy Mommy Happy Baby.
To be a working Mom or a stay at home mom , you will get a lot of
advice, but decide what’s good for you and your family and remember you are not
answerable to anyone else on this , your baby your life your decision. Many people
will talk what kind of a mother you are , that you left the baby at crèche , or
they will complain that you left a worthy career and doing the household chores
; don’t bother at all they will judge you anyways. Take your own decisions
after all you are a mother now, you need to be strong decisive and thoughtful.
Last but important thing, I have
thoroughly enjoyed my pregnancy, not that there were no red flags or ups and
down, in fact there were way too many , and now I am enjoying my life every
moment with my son and the credit to make it all so beautiful and comfortable
for me goes to my family. My mom especially, see the motherhood at play. So my
suggestion would be, yes you would need support and help so be at a place where
you are comfortable and happy. Your feelings
resonate with the child, trust me it does, in the womb and as well as once
they are out.
So Mommies enjoy, you are a
creator and nurturer. You are going to shape up the child you bear, with your
thoughts actions and decisions. Make the child feel this world is about love
and liveliness. And as my sis in law always puts it out –“ its your chance to
relive your childhood with the baby”, don’t miss on that, have fun , do crazy
things with the baby they love it, but remember the mess has to be cleared by you
.. J Love all.
Anmay’s Mom - Anamika
