Hello new mummy! Yes, YOU, if you are reading this post of mine and just had a baby, this post is dedicated to: YOU.
Firstly, congratulations for your new bundle of joy! I hope that you, like many of us mums here is happy that the wait is finally over! You finally get to see your precious baby and hold him/her in your sweet caring arms.
Now give yourself a pat on your back because you just birthed a baby! You brought a new life into this world. That is mighty huge a sacrifice one could ever made.
What follows next is all challenges from here onwards. Not trying to scare you or making you feel you have made the worst decision in your life by having a child. NO, NO, NO.
I'm sure you would have by now feel completely different - now that you have a child, somehow life is more meaningful don't you think so? You look towards everyday with goals and dreams for your child. You want to see them grow, everyday, bit by bit and cherish every single moment you can have with them. Right?
Now back to challenges. Yes, I say challenges because parenting is not an easy job. No amount of parenting books or guides or tips can ever teach you how to handle crisis or situations with your child. Reading from a book is one thing, to really experience and feel it on hand and then figure out how to deal with it IMMEDIATELY is another different topic.
So, you new mummy here, take a deep breath, trust your instincts and do what you think is right at the moment. Do not be pressured by others to do things according to their ways. It is your child, you are the mother, why let others decide and parent your child?
Not enough breastmilk? Need to supplement because your child is crying? Which baby does not cry after born? For months and months the baby is comfortably coccooned in your womb, nice, cosy, and dark place, with reassuring heartbeat sounds from you and all of a sudden, being birthed out in a completely NEW environment. Bright lights, noise, cold/hot temperature, weird sounds, of course a baby will cry!
If you are planning or decided to breastfeed your baby, stick to this decision and don't let others negative responses swayed your decision. Breastmilk normally comes by 4-5th day after birth. Before that, baby is still full and do not need to be fed. Their tummy is very small still (imagine their tiny little fist curled up = that's the size of their tummy) and supplementing with formula milk or feeding via bottle is not going to help your breastfeeding plans. Baby might be overfed and get nipple confusions.
Fever? Take note that fever is a good thing. A sign that your child's body recognises the bad virus/bacterias' presence in the body and work out to fight them off. Let your child fight the fever.
There's so many more things - baby sleeping too much, baby not sleeping much, baby keeps crying, baby pooping too much/too little, so on and so forth.
My point is, the possibilities of things that challenges you as a new mum/parent are endless.
Don't ever compare your own situations with other parents (whether they are new parents or already have more than 1 child). Don't ever think they have other family members or maids with them that their parenting life is much easier. The grass may seem greener over the other side but we never know what happens on that side. Focus on your own situation and don't compare. At all.
Yes, it may seem daunting at times but trust me, we all learned on the job and we moved on from our mistakes. No parents ever sail through parenthood without ever making any mistakes. So, trust your instincts, trust your body, trust your baby. And pray to God for guidance and wisdom to decide.
