Motherhood has been such an amazing, rewarding experience. The bond of love shared between a mother and her child is one of the few permanent things in our lives. Holding your tiny bundle of joy after nine months of feeling like a whale (there’s just no denying the feeling) is indescribable.
That being said, motherhood is also one messy affair. It’s long sleepless nights, milk stained clothes, sore breasts, unbrushed hair and a generally squishy body. But more than any of the above, the strangest thing about being a mum in 2020, is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
The start of my journey as a mama came with 2 months of quarantine and self isolation. But I suspect being a mum during quarantine is much like being a mum at any other time. All of the same worries and anxieties, lots of googling of different poo colours and checking of every milestone development… just without the general distractions that a covid-free life would bring. So every moment of the day is basically spent fixated on your child.
I quickly discovered this probably wasn’t very healthy for me or the baby so decided to busy myself with things I used to do for myself pre-baby like studying, taking dance lessons (via zoom) and exercise (timed very carefully between feed times). This kept me in check and engaged with the world outside of my four walls, without which you can quickly become stuck in a rut.
After the first couple of months, I joined the weekly mothers group Zoom sessions to connect with other new mums going through the motions. The fact that everyone was fairing well was a testament to how much we know about parenting naturally and how much of it is actually made up as we go along. There was no weekly weigh-in or relatives and friends helping out every day and yet all the babies were breastfed, chubby and happy. It was reassuring and a conformation of how little a baby really needs to be happy. I suppose lots of love, attention and quality time with loved ones would turn any frown upside-down.
Overall, ISO life has been a blessing for both my husband and I, hardened introverts, it’s been calming to not have relatives and distant friends constantly badgering to come to see the new addition to pass on their wisdom and critique the way we parent in order to bombard us with a ton of advice no one asked for. Also, the enforced work from home requirements for my hubby meant that he was always around with an extra pair of hands if needed AND it’s been great for him to get some good solid bonding time with baby.
The only unfortunate thing is that so few of our closest family and friends have met the little one! And now, with the second wave of cases in Victoria, the chances of anyone outside of my parents and a handful of close friends seeing the little one before the age of 6 months is starting to look slim. Poor bub probably thinks the whole world is just the parents and our dog!
Looking back over the past 5 months, here are a few things I learned about being a parent, after becoming a parent:
- Getting 4 hours sleep in a row is actually a successful night of sleep
- Every child achieves their milestones their own way
- There’s nothing quite as calming as a little bit of silence
- There is actually enough time in a day to do everything you did before AND look after your baby
- We all have secret ninja-like abilities to move around the house whilst the baby is asleep (used most often whilst leaving the sleeping baby in the nursery)
- Taking a shower becomes a luxury and probably the only break you’ll get in a day
- The best part of your day is both, waking up to your baby and putting him to bed.
- ME time is essential
- You wake up everyday wanting to do everything the ‘right way’ but then life throws you teething, colic & sleep regression and you end up going to bed thinking ‘well that happened 😅’
- Breastfeeding is beautiful but hard, so if you are breastfeeding your baby, you just do not care about who’s judging you at the supermarket. You will feed your child whenever and wherever you need to, like the beautiful thing it is.
- At the end of the day your baby will look heaven sent and you will most likely look like you walked through a tornado.
Ultimately, I’ve found that being a mum is about that fine balance between being there for your child and being there for yourself. It’s being the best parent NOW whilst being a parent they can look up to in the future. It’s the sacrifice of walking around in the same clothes, not showering for days just so that you are there when your child wants a feed, take a nap, play, cry, have a diaper change, take a bath, throw-up and gift you one of their irresistible smiles and giggles. That joy is pure untainted love and needs to be bottled up for the world…
…and it’s the best thing to ever happen to me 🤱🏽♥️
Lots of love to all the new mums out there, BE KIND TO YOURSELF, I know you’ll be doing a wonderful job.
movingforwardpriya 
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