A day in the life of a new mom
I
knew having a newborn around would be hard. I mean I used to joke about how I
might go through an entire day without showering. So I knew. But experiencing it is another thing entirely. I thought I'd
share exactly what I get up to in a day so that anyone about to have a baby can
get all the details and those without newborns can be grateful that they can
lead normal lives.
I am starting my day at 4pm. That's when Squeak decided to go to bed for sleepy time last night.
15:58 Ah so content in my arms. I can't believe he wants to sleep now when The Husband is about to come home from work. Oh well, there goes your play time with dad and the bath you were supposed to have.
16:00 Feeling exhausted, I'm grateful that we started preparing supper last night. Time to catch up with The Husband, finish cooking, enjoy a delicious meal together which we rarely get to do.
19:30 Squeak screams bloody murder! We manage to get him into PJs. Do you know what a mission it is to put a vest over his head? His head is like a third of his body. Memo to self: google how big a baby's head is supposed to be in proportion to his body. The exhaustion is catching up with me. That's it! After this feed, I'm going to get an early night.
20:00 I put Squeak down to sleep. So cute! I think he's dreaming about boobs. He has a smile on his face, moves his head around looking for a boob while he opens his mouth and tries to bite down. I'm happy he's just dreaming and then get into bed.
20:33 waaaah I check the time expecting Squeak to have gone down for three hours. So much for catching up on some sleep. Memo to self: when The Husband gets home at 4, I need to make that my new nap time. He gets a clean diaper amidst the wriggles and flailing around all over the changing mat.
22:42 He's up again. I cradle him close to me and he feels wet. I look at Squeak. See what happens when you wriggle around. The Husband awakes for diaper duty and then back to me for a feed. He falls asleep on the boob. I put him back down to sleep.
00:35 How I wish I didn't have to get up. This time it looks like Squeak just wants to be held while he tries to fart. I never thought I would comfort someone to the point of helping him fart. This must be love. He goes back to sleep only to scream in pain minutes later. I hold him and massage him and feel like crying because he's in pain. This continues for a few hours until the wind is out and he sleeps again.
03:43 Another cry jolts me awake. I look to the right and The Husband is fast asleep. I promised him I wouldn't wake him up for this 4 o'clock nappy change. I'm going this one alone. Aite! Executive decision made. No diaper change even though I smell something a bit unsavoury. Let's get straight to the boobs! As the feed goes on, I can see Squeak expelling waste, I can smell it and Squeak starts to fuss because he's uncomfortable. I ignore it. I change it up and give Squeak a different boob to play with. Oh no, he's wide awake and fusses louder. The Husband suggests changing him in a groggy voice. Ugh...I brave the cold to find the biggest poop ever. Where did all that shit even come from? Like where in this tiny body? I ponder about what a bad mother I am while I try to put him to sleep.
04:30 Still fussing. He won't sleep. You know why? Cos I should have changed him early on. Now he's wide awake and loud.
05:00 Rocking him doesn't work. I place him on my chest while I'm propped at an uncomfortable 45 degree angle. Soon, with pelvic thrusts to gently rock him (how else do you rock a baby lying down), he falls asleep.
05:30 He's asleep. I'm sleepy but I might drop him. I calculate that despite going to bed at 8pm, I've had 4 hours of sleep. I could do with more. I put him in bed. Within minutes he's back on my chest crying cos no amount of blankets can replicate my warmth. I shortly try rolling over to my side so he lies in my bed still touching me. Nope! He wants to lie on top of me. Fine then!
06:30 The Husband kisses me goodbye. Great! Another breakfast with him missed. I was really hoping we could continue starting our days together with a meal.
07:52 Squeak wakes up. Time to start the day. I managed to get an hour of sleep in there. Clearly my need for sleep out weighed my logical thinking that Squeak could have fallen off my chest.
09:00 Awake time. I set up his play mat in the bathroom and place him on there. I slowly attempt to get ready to shower in case he needs me. I take off my clothes slowly and he doesn't seem to mind entertaining himself. As soon as I step into the shower, I hear him whimper. I rush to him naked and pacify him. He's calm and I attempt to shower a few more times. Eventually, I'm in the shower. Time to prioritise. At lightning speed, I wash the essentials. The baby is still doing ok. Yay! I can wash my body today. I soap up my body and he yells out for me. Ah crap! "Mommy's here, baby." I wash off the soap and try to get to him as quickly as possible. His cries get louder. "I'm right here. You can hear my voice, baby". Louder now and I'm worried that the construction workers next door are going to call child services for an unattended child. "It's ok, babe. I'm coming right now. Water switched off and I rush to him dripping water all over his play mat. He won't calm down. I cuddle him. Put him down. Dry myself. Great, my boobs know that he is crying. Wrap a towel over myself and bring his hungry mouth to the milk dripping for him. Feed him while being depressed that I'm sitting in a wet towel dancing to his tune. Somehow I squeeze in getting dressed and brushing my teeth despite the fact that no one will see me today.
10:55 He starts to fuss again. I carry him with me and pop a slice of bread in the toaster. I gulp my toast down as he screams for his own breakfast. What is that in his ear? Holy shit! It's a breadcrumb. I try to inspect further in his ear. What else did I drop in there? Squeak's breakfast is served and Squeak decides that the day has much more to offer than his dreams. He fights the yawns to stay awake while I put him to sleep.
11:30 Aww cute man. He's asleep in my arms. I gently put him in his crib and then sit down to sort out work admin. He cries before I could even switch on my laptop. I rock him to sleep and put him down again. This keeps happening. I get no work done and I eventually decide to let him sleep in my arms while I watch some random shows on television. I dream about the days when whipping up lunch was so easy. I'm hungry but I don't want to move in case I wake him up.
14:02 He's had a good two hours of sleep and now he demands food. Nay, he wants booby? A new nappy? Entertainment? God! I don't know. I offer all of this and there's still crying in between like it's not enough. Baby seems to have a meltdown.
14: 30 I can't wait for The Husband to come home to take over. Let's put on some Rockabye to lull him to sleep. Don't wanna be an American Idiot. Am I supposed to be exposing him to my worldly views this early?
15:00 I feel bad for being frustrated. I apologise to him about what a bad mother I am and that I deserve all the scolding he seems to be giving me.
15: 35 The Husband put the laundry to was this morning. All I was supposed to do was hang it up to dry. Crying baby and one arm rendered useless because I'm carrying him. Seems like mission impossible. Idea! I should take one item of clothing out of the washing machine at a time. Maybe walking to the clotheshorse outside (which fell over while I tried to put it up) and back will help him to sleep. Nope, it just resulted in a sore shoulder and back from lugging around three kilos while walking unnecessarily.
15:50 Looks like he was crying because he was tired. He's dozing off to sleep. Another day of no play with The Husband. Another day skipping a bath. I don't know how healthy this is.
16:00 uh huh uh huh uh huh Looks like he's still fighting that sleep. Daddy bonding over bath time will happen after all. And maybe now that he's home, I can eat some lunch.
And so the cycle continues. Slightly different every day but each day comes with it's sleep deprivation, parent frustration, baby fussiness and cuteness overload. Does it sound familiar if you've been there?
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