Mommy talks with Dawn

When you are pregnant, people (aka strangers at the store, in the bus, even in public bathrooms when you have morning sickness) give you advices. Weird!!! It's not that I don't want advices. On the contrary, I crave maternity/parenting tips! It's just that I like to decide who the "expert mom" will be! This is why I asked a few blog friends to share their experiences with me.

It is with great pleasure that I introduce my first "expert mom"!

Dawn is an English woman living in California. She has a 7 year old son and a 5 year old daughter. Her blog, http://uklassinus.blogspot.com, is all about the lovely things that she creates in order to stay sane ;)

Things that I learnt about childbirth

Water breaking feels like you are peeing, except that the flow does not stop - until the birth. I was in the bathroom for 5 minutes before it finally dawned on me that my water had broken.

You can take your husband to childbirth classes, but that doesn’t mean that he’s listening...

Pitocin makes contractions hurt more. Avoid it, if possible.

It hurts, but it’s a pain that you know has an end. That makes it more bearable.

My husband kept asking me to walk about more to speed things up. I even gave him the bed, as I was sick of him complaining that he was tired. I learnt that I should not have let him in the room!

Things that I learnt about breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is not easy for about the first two weeks, even if you have breastfed before. Both you and the baby are learning. My kids both had me in tears but it really is worth persevering.

The thought of not wanting to deal with bottles and pay for formula helps.

No two babies are alike. My second’s piranha-like approach was a surprise.

At first, I would use pillows to support the baby during feeds. I would never have imagined then that, in later months, I would be casually walking around during feeds (usually while stopping my toddler from climbing the bookcase...)

Breast milk is best but plenty of people have grown up just fine on formula. Maintain a sense of perspective about these sorts of issues.

Things that I learnt about being a mum

There is a 3 month window after the birth during which you can do things like catch a movie with the reasonable expectation that your baby will sleep / eat through it. After that, all bets are off!

Some hand-me-down clothes weren’t to my taste. They still got used for everyday playing around at home while the cutest clothes were saved for the days when we would be socialising.

Babies seem to know when they are wearing the cutest outfit and will pick that day to have the explosive bowel movement that will go all the way up their back (really). Pack a spare outfit.

I should have slept as many hours as possible before having kids. Seven years later and my kids still don’t let me have a lie-in.

The best friends a mum can have are the sensible non-judgemental friends that you can vent to. Try to be one yourself.

...and most importantly, enjoy it! Time really starts to fly when you are measuring it by your child’s precious moments.

Thank you so much Dawn.
I will make sure that my husband is listening during childbirth classes!
xox