We'll learn as we go

We are part of a VERY small group of parents-to-be who decided not to attend Pre Natal classes even though we were ideal candidates as we knew VERY little about babies.  We decided to give the classes a miss as I was getting more and more panicky with each baby book I read. I felt SO overwhelmed by all the info. Husband probably knew my head would explode if I had to sit in a class while the process of giving birth was explained to me in full detail. So we ventured into the world of parenting with a ‘we’ll learn as we go’ attitude.

Roll on to 13 August 2013.  

The first morning in hospital as brand new parents to a gorgeous baby boy we had to attend a demonstration on how to bath your baby. I sat there deer in headlights trying to take in as much as I possibly could of what seemed like an impossible task. The next morning we had to do it ourselves.  I did not sleep at all that night. I walked the hall to the nursery like someone on death row. A terrified nervous wreck.  I couldn’t remember a thing the nurse said the previous day. I filled up the little baby bath with a sense of dread while they rolled my teeny tiny human over. It took me forever to undress him as I was petrified of breaking him. It took me even longer to bath him as I used a new cotton ball on every tiny part of his body worried about spreading infection. While washing his hair I honestly thought I was going to pass out from all the anxiety. This very long and very careful bath routine carried on for about 2 weeks. Now I cannot even believe bath time was such a terrifying experience as I plop my baby in the bath and wipe everything with the same wash cloth without even giving it a second thought.

 

Same goes for changing a diaper.  I made husband change the first 3 diapers in hospital as I just could not handle that kind of pressure in my fragile state. Now I change the diaper of a screaming baby trying to crawl off the changing table while banging the Sterimar bottle on the pretty porcelain bunny next to the change matt in seconds without even breaking a sweat.

The moral of the story is that yes being a parent can be scary, there will be tears, there will be moments of thinking ‘I can’t do this’ but you will adapt, you will learn, and soon it becomes second nature.  I now laugh at scared new mom me who took 20mins to top and tail her baby. What frightened me so is now my favourite time of day as I watch my baby splash in the bath and chew on a rubber ducky.

My favourite Pregnancy product

You get two kinds of women: The one's that love being pregnant and then those who hate every sweaty, uncomfortable, swollen minute of it. I am the first kind.

I loved being pregnant and I adored my baby bump. I felt healthy, pretty and for the first time ever I actually liked my body. That pregnancy glow they talk about, I don't know if I looked it but I definitely felt it.

Yes there were sleepless nights where I just couldn't take one more minute of sleeping on my side. There were the extreme exhaustion of the first trimester where every minute not spent at work was used for sleeping. That whole December and January is just one big tired blur.

Second trimester I had a few horrible-head-about-to-explode headaches but all in all it was a pretty good morning sickness free pregnancy. I was also pretty mobile right up to the end. I actually played swing ball at 37 weeks pregnant. Sure the low balls was a no go, but I still rocked that game.

Except for being tired the only other thing that bothered me was the itchy tummy.  I looked like a flea ridden dog. I would just scratch and scratch and scratch.  Eventually I heard about Mama Mio's Tummy Rub.

Mama Mio is a pregnancy skincare product that protects against stretch marks and itchy tummies by increasing skin elasticity.

 Image: I am mumalicious

It's a little more that what I usually spend on beauty products but it is so worth it. I just adore this product. It's feels soft and creamy on your skin and the smell is glorious. I use to love rubbing my belly after baths. My skin felt healthy, soft and I had no more itchy skin issues.

Best part is I went through nine months of pregnancy with not one stretch mark. That in my book makes this the best thing since slice bread.

Mama Mio is imported and distributes in South Africa by POISE Brands. Have a look at their website for the list of stockist. Also check out Boob Tube. Another amazing pregnancy must have.

To the moon and back

The day I did the pregnancy test and it was positive I spent a good few hours completely speechless. I was in complete shock and disbelief. Then when I got the message from the doctor later that day confirming that my blood tests did in fact confirm I was pregnant I could not stop smiling. It was true and we were over the moon. And then my thoughts jumped to the nursery. I've been excited about decorating a nursery for years. Pinning baby rooms long before the decision was made to try get pregnant.

Luckily I have the most creative mom who can make anything happen.  At around 34 weeks (yes, we left it very late) we finally had a clear idea of what we wanted and we went to work.

The very first purchase was the crib. I wanted something plain, not too bulky. We found the perfect crib with waterproof mattress at the Institute for the Blind's shop in Worcester. Duvet inner and cover was bought at Mr Price Home.

Next up was finding the perfect wall colour. The best place to go for paint is Paint and Decor in Stellenbosch. They are any creatives dream. We left with quite a few sample's but none of them were right.  They were either too blue grey or to beige grey.  We wanted something in between. A soft, warm dove grey. We gave them feedback on the samples, they changed a few things around in the mixing process and voila we got the most gorgeous grey. I am very tempted to paint my whole house this colour.

The rocking chair we bought at a second hand shop and had it covered with a very soft velvety type material. My mom knitted the gorgeous little rug and I just adore it.

The blue eared bunny was a gift from my Gynaecologist to celebrate the birth of my baby boy. Just one of the many reasons I love my gynae. He gifts little girl babies with rag dolls and boys with bunnies. They are specially commissioned and made by a special needs school in Stellenbosch. This really is such a great gift.

 His little closet was also bought at a second hand shop and is actually a very old doctors cabinet. It had this very weird hook in it that husband removed and added steel pipes for hanging clothes.  I painted the outside grey and the inside with black chalk boor paint.

The most important area of any nursery is probably the changing table as this is where you will be spending most of your time.  We got a work bench from Builders Warehouse and painted it white. We then had a piece of wood cut to fit the workers bench and covered it in a white fake leather material. Which worked out perfectly cause it's soft but also easy to clean.

The little canvas paintings above the changing table was another creation by my mom. Like I said, the women can do anything.

Then came all the pretty bits and bobs that I collected. They come from markets, Woolworths, Typo, Mr Price and even the Crazy store. The little wooden train was my husband's as a little boy and the elephant soft toy we bought on our honeymoon at the Knysna Elephant sanctuary.

I just couldn't find a mobile that I liked. They were all so brightly colored and plastic. At first I wanted to order one from ebay but then when I saw the 'I love you to the moon and back' laser cut piece from Doodles I knew I had to create a mobile with it. I painted the laser cut circle a buttery yellow and attached the tiny little dog's that were actually key chains from Woolworths. I just love the result.

It is definitely my favourite room in our house. And as we are moving to a new house end of June I get to create it all over again.

I'm a mom on Mothersday!

I am beyond excited for my first Mothersday. Being a mom, what an amazing privilege. I am thankful for this gift every day, even when so tired that brushing my teeth is an activity that totally overwhelms me.

On this special day I would like to thank my baby boy, for he has taught me so much in his short 8 month old life that it completely blows my mind.

He frequently forces me to stop and take a second to appreciate something I would otherwise not have given a second thought to. Like the total amazement on his face as he watches the leaves on the tree blow in the wind. How he marvels at everyday mundane things like the good old washing machine. We are so stressed and rushed ALL THE TIME. Trying to get a million things done, feeling guilty when taking it easy. I love how Ben gets me to let go, making me forget about the huge To Do list as we just sit together and giggle.

 
I love how he keeps on reminding me of how great God is. As each new milestone is reached he just proves what an amazing miracle we are. How expertly we were put together.

I love how he has changed my relationship with my own parents. I have always been thankful for everything they have done for me, but you can only understand HOW MUCH they did for you once you become a parent yourself. You now understand all the worry, all the rushing to the doctor, all the tiredness, the overwhelming feeling off wanting to keep this little person safe no matter what it costs you.

I love how Ben has opened my eyes to how much my parents love me, not that I ever doubted their love, but when I look at my little boy and my heart wants to explode, knowing there are two people who feel the exact same way about me is just flipping amazing.

On this Mothersday I want to tell my mom. I get it. I fully understand you now. And my love for you is the biggest kind of love there is.