So I’ve been a mommy for four months now and the last time I was able to blog was on June 13. Not too bad. Want to know what I’ve learnt?
You can’t plan anything. Here’s what went awry:
- I am bottle-feeding. Now if you know about the breastfeeding brigade, you will understand why this is such a big deal. If one more person asks me “Are you *only* bottle-feeding?” I will scream! No, I won’t – too polite for that shit. It was hard to feed Lentil (or like I like to think of him now, Beautiful Boy or just BeBo) because he was *tiny*, I was nervous about the amount of milk he was getting, he was in hospital for almost a month because he refused to drink all his milk, I was depressed (yes, clinically) and then went on some lovely drugs and am much better now thanks. Fuck, can you see how guilty I feel?
- I am using disposable nappies. I bought the damn eco-friendly ones, tried one of them on when he eventually came home but thought better of it. I gave them to a friend whose baby is allergic to the disposables. Yes, there’s a landfill with my name on it.
- I don’t use bum cream. At all. I have millions of samples and presents from well-meaning people. I’ll use some if his bum is red.
- He doesn’t smell like baby. He reacted to the sweet-smelling array of lotions and potions that I also have a million of…
- He sleeps in our bed sometimes. My parents disapprove and so do the nurses and his paediatrician. Even The Man is a bit worried about that. Whatever.
- I haven’t moved him in to his “own” room yet either. I was saying that he’d be in it by three months. Yeah, right.
- I let him sleep on his tummy. He’s over that now though – he flips himself over onto his back himself. Probably knows what’s good for him.
- In my wisdom as a mom-to-be, I declared that dummies/pacifiers are bad and I had no intention of giving him one. He has three.
And the reason I am able to sit here and formulate all these thoughts: We took him to creche today. It’s quiet – I’ve been at the PC for more than an hour without getting up. I miss him. It’s raining. And I have an appointment with the dentist. How’s that for a blue Monday?
