47/365 - the almighty poo explosion

Just when I thought this week was going rather smoothly with the bub and I was lacking inspiration for what to write, it happened. And boy did it happen, fast and furious too. Long had I been warned about the almighty poo explosion by other mums and when I said to one mum this week that I still haven't had a big one, she smiled and reassured me that it would happen soon and not to worry. Mums generally know best.

To date stamp when it happened, it was 20 minutes ago as Liam finished one of his regular feeds. Nothing out of the ordinary to herald its approach, he was a little bit squirmish but he's been a bit like that in the last week or so so I didn't suspect anything as I finished his feed. Then I smelt it, you always do (that killer sense of smell that you develop when you're pregnant generally doesn't go away). So off we hop to the change table and get rid of the dirty nappy. At that point, it was just a regular poo and of course, whenever I change him too quickly he burps up some milk which goes over the changemat cover. All good, take that off and get that into the wash.

Wander back into the living room with a bub with a fresh nappy and that's when I smell it again. Look down and oozing out of his nappy, down his leg and onto my hand is the distinctive mustard coloured stream of poo. 'Shit!' And they don't call it a poo explosion for nothing. No changemat cover so straight onto the changemat (thank god it's plastic so you can wipe of poo) and by that point, poo is on my hands, down his leg, on his jumpsuit and still on its way out. Of course, I'm down to the last wipe in the packet so amongst wiping away poo and trying to keep it off me, I'm fumbling around trying to get another pack of wipes open. Yank out one wipe and then about 100 wipes come with it. Not sure what's stressing me out at the point but I just knew I had to think straight.
1. Clean poo off myself so I don't keep smearing it on everything
2. Clean poo down Liam's leg and surrounds so he doesn't keep smearing it everywhere
3. Remove poo-stained clothing off Liam
4. Wait till the last of the poo has made its way out. Wipe furiously Liam's bum and surrounds.
5. Swap with a fresh nappy
6. Another wipe of Liam and surrounds
7. Secure Liam. Thoroughly wash own hands and give the changemat another wipe.
8. Soiled items in the wash

And now the bub is still cranky and farting away. I just hope that there isn't another one on the way anytime soon. Well at least not till dad comes home.

43/365 - 6 weeks

Bub and I had our 6 week checkup at the local GP today and I'm still in mild shock that that the bub has grown 7cm in length and packed on a whopping 1.7kg since birth! I'm calling him my little sack of potatoes; yep he's nearly 5kg and its no wonder that both my wrists are starting to feel like they're about to collapse. Ironically, I was going to go see the physio near me and it turns out the physio is out of action due to a fractured wrist! I'm hoping I'll hang in there till he's back.

Bub seems to have handled the immunisations reasonably well. One jab in each thigh and then one vaccination taken orally. A little bit of crying when the needles went in but the GP was speedy gonzales with it. Though the one taken orally might have half come out in a spout of milk vomit which the GP was quite stern to tell me that I shouldn't have fed him half an hour before the visit.  Now can I just say, how was I meant to have known if no one told me in the first place?

On a side note, mum had to plead with the receptionist for the GP to see bub as after 4 weeks of submitting our Medicare form to add him onto my Medicare card, I still hadn't heard back. Was told initially that it was going to be a $150 consult fee but perhaps I was looking like I was about to break down in tears with the news that the receptionist said she could put the charge on hold whilst we went over to Medicare to get the temporary number. We did that straight afterwards and of course, my posted form had been processed as they issued me with a temporary slip and ever so quickly took my old card away from me. Now let's just see when my new card is going to turn up. 

So immunisations and Medicare aside, we also made the trip to Centrelink to follow up on my parental leave claim. Bub's birth certificate only turned up last week so we could finally provide proof of birth for those payments to come through. Lovely lady at Centrelink was ever so helpful but did mention it might be a few weeks away before that gets processed. We then come home to get some letters in the mail and guess what, hubby has been granted his daddy pay already and he didn't even need to provide proof of birth. Seriously - what happened there?

But you know what, after 6 weeks of minding bub, nothing really phases me these days. Some lessons I've learnt:

1. You are meant to know anything and everything despite dealing with the professionals

2. Chaos is the new normal. As a mum, you can deal with it.

3. Play the mummy card to your advantage - sometimes you need to remind people that you are exhausted enough already looking after a bub

Happy 6 weeks Liam!

40/365 - staying positive

There's been a common theme to this week's conversations (be it at mother's group or catching up with one of my mum friends) and it's the topic of being positive both during pregnancy and through motherhood. It's actually not that easy and as any mum will tell you and you will find out yourself, bringing up a child is a lot of hard work and persistence. I'd like to think that I'm a positive person but there are days now that challenge me; moreso than work or any other aspect of my life ever did.

At mothers group this week, we talked about natural births and how people have misconceptions about what it is to give birth naturally. Fortunately, I was able to go through with a natural birth without any drugs and as I shared my story with friends and family, people were in wonderment of how I managed to do so without laughing gas or an epidural. Everyone seems to think they need an epidural or that something is imminently wrong when the mum doesn't have one. This is when positivity comes in - if you think you can go through with a natural birth, you will. As one mum once told me, a woman's body is designed to give birth. Obviously each mum's situation is different but here I say, be positive and you can go through with it.

Last night I had little Liam thrashing about, cranky as ever during a feed and there was a moment there where I asked myself, how on earth am I going to get through this feed. The minute I stopped thinking about how horrible it was (1.30am in the morning and the fact that I'd just managed to get to sleep), the bub does his thing, finishes his feed and promptly falls asleep and slept through till the morning. They say bubs can sense your tension; I think they're right.

A few people have commented on how great it's been for me to get out of the house so early on with the bub. I honestly didn't think of it that way; more that for practical reasons I needed to get out of the house to return to some sanity and the earlier you make that effort, the easy it will be. Now almost 6 weeks on, we are out and about and I actually enjoy days when we stay at home. There needs to be balance in the week.

And well, it's the end of the week and we now have the weekend to look forward to with dad. There's so much to be positive about!

38/365 - mothers group

I went to my first mothers group when Liam was 2 weeks old; it was the week before the hubby had to go back to work so I dragged him along with me as support. And at 2 weeks knowing your husband is going to have to head back to work and leave you alone with the bub, you probably need all the support you can get (trust me - I'm no supermum). Friends with bubs have given me mixed comments about mothers groups. Some had gone, learnt a lot and made friends for life, others stopped going as they were too intimidated by the other mums or particularly how well dressed their babies were. You hear a lot when you're a new mum and the only way to really find out if mothers group is for you is to head to one yourself.

At the moment, I'm going to two mothers groups. One run by the local health clinic which runs for 4 weeks and are more formalised sessions which cover everything from baby sleep, settling to mum's wellbeing - all the babies at this group are around about the same age. It's great to meet other mums who are going through exactly the same thing and remind you that you are normal. As for the information they go through, to be honest, most of it you would've learnt through trial and error after looking after a bub for a few weeks but nonetheless a great reassurance that what you're doing is fine.

The other mothers group is at the hospital where I gave birth and this is more of an informal gathering each week of other mums who've given birth at the same hospital. You can choose to drop in one week and miss the next and well, it's already been 4 weeks since I've been to this group and I'm starting to see and be a regular myself. Having mums that are further along than you is a great help as you get to learn about what babies are going to be like further down the track.

Trust me, it wasn't easy at the start going to either of the mothers groups. It felt like a first day starting a new job, you ask yourself whether the other mums will like you and whether you will make any friends. It's too early to say whether these mums will be my friends for life but if you give it a go, you'll learn something along the way and if anything, it's been that push for me to get out of the house and embrace motherhood with a bang. 

As for Liam, I can't tell if he enjoys mothers groups but given he's only 5 weeks old, he's still got a fair bit to learn. The only thing I know is that he loves to poop before a mothers group outing so does make it a little tricky when you are trying to dash out the door. Thankfully mothers groups are forgiving towards lateness; just get there when you can.

36/365 - things to do with a newborn

I always thought that newborns slept most of the day. Even in the pack that I was discharged from the hospital with, it said that 'your newborn should sleep around 16-17 hours of the day in the first couple of weeks' (the other times being feed times followed by a short period of awake time). If I've learnt anything since having a baby, never trust everything that you read - each baby is unique and you need to learn what they're like and this baby of mine definitely doesn't follow that pattern of sleep. I've been constantly asking other mums 'What do you do with a newborn when they're up for 4 hours straight a day?' and yep, you heard me right; this newborn of mine has a habit of being up for 4 hours straight on a number of days now.  Since when do newborns do that? Thankfully those four hours are during the day and not at night time so makes it somewhat manageable.

'He could be over-stimulated or overtired' (was what one friend suggested) but living in a shoebox of an apartment, this didn't seem to apply. The majority of other parents seem to smile politely as their newborns contentedly clock on their 16-17 hours without fail and meanwhile I'm left to ponder my own question and find my own answers (unfortunately Mr. Google doesn't seem to have the perfect answer for my newborn).

Here's what I've figured out in the last 5 weeks:
1. Tummy time - Hospitals recommend tummy time for the baby to strengthen their neck muscles. Whether you have the baby on you or on a playmat, it keeps them amused till they start to tire out but at least you know they've had a decent workout. And if they're anything like my newborn, keep an eye on them as I've already noticed my little Liam wriggling his way off the playmat (since when do newborns know how to crawl??)
2.  Playmats - If your baby likes to wave around their hands and kick their legs, time lying on their backs on the playmat lets them do exactly that.
3. Bouncers - We were gifted with two bouncers; one which you rock manually, the other which is battery operated with the function of 'calming vibrations'. The latter has been great; leave the bub by the window to stare out, turning on the calming vibrations and you might be lucky and they'll fall asleep.
4. Chat to them - Make sure you're looking them in the eye and whilst it might seem a bit like a one-sided conversation, I've been reassured their listening and well, if they decide to fall asleep it's a win-win situation.
5.  Sing to them - You do not want to hear me sing but babies love sound; even if its my mish mash of nursery rhymes where I haven't quite remembered all the lyrics.
6. Walks in the baby carrier - Great for mum to get some exercise too and I'm finding the bub generally falls asleep after about 10 minutes in the carrier. One of my mum friends uses the baby carrier around the house so that she can get things done which I might start doing too.
7. Trips to the shops - Whilst it seems daunting to take a newborn out in the car, in the stroller and battle the shops and crowds, each trip generally takes 2-3 hours and I'm finding Liam tends to fall asleep with all the excitement.
8. Bath time - Aside from getting him in and out of the bath, Liam loves bath time. Something about the warm water instantly soothes him.
9. Leave them alone - When you've exhausted every other activity and feel like you're about to tear your hair out, putting the baby down on their playmat in a wrap or in the cot is the solution (but I find it only ever works when you are at boiling point). Babies need their quiet time too and we tend to forget that.

There'll be days when I exhaust everything on the list above but I just remind myself that babies are human too, they get bored. Some days they want to do everything, other days they'll happily sleep through most of it.

32/365 - a trip to the big city

I was a ball of nerves yesterday as I decided to tackle public transport and meet a friend for lunch in the city with bub in tow. Up until a month ago, catching the train was something I used to do day in day out - wasn't the most fun thing as you tackle peak hour crowds, go to work and then you reverse the trip for the way back home. I was probably 34+ weeks pregnant before people would actually get up for me and offer their seat but then it was winter, I was probably passing off as fat as opposed to pregnant in my layers of coats. Not that I was desperate for the seat but either way, I can't see a positive side to it.

So first trip to the city with bub, here's what I learnt:
- No, you don't need buy your baby a train ticket. I googled that one - kids under the age of 3 travel for free.
- Think your trip through. Make sure the station you get on/off at has lifts and pray to the gods that the lifts haven't broken down.
- Don't expect other commuters to help you out with your pram and getting it on at train that doesn't sit level with the platform. Do expect 3 construction workers to watch you whilst you board the train; their eyes telling you that they don't think you can make it on by yourself but you prove them wrong and get on in one piece. Personally, they could've come and help; standing only just 5m away from me and bub.
- If the train is higher than the platform, lift up the front wheel onto the train and then push the pram up to get on the train. Getting off, back out of the train with the back wheels. We have the Baby Jogger City Mini GT pram and I think it's excellent for getting out and about.
- Time your outing so that your husband can finish work a little bit earlier with you so can help you with the return trip home. I was buggered on the way back and needed his help!

Other than that, bub seemed to enjoy his first trip on public transport. Of course he decided he wanted to eat just as we sat down for lunch but otherwise the city noises kept him happy and sleeping for most of the outing. He came home still sleeping which is a very rare thing. This newborn of mine has decided to be active for long periods of time during the day so when I see him sleep, my face just lights up!

At the end of the day, I tackled the trip to the city - one thing off my bucket list with bub!

31/365 - It's been 1 month!

It's been one month since I gave birth to Baby Liam and gosh, how life has changed. For starters, no 9 - 6pm daily grind (albeit temporary whilst I look after the bub and give motherhood a real shot), days which are structured around the bub's feeds, nappy changes, playtime and cuddles. These days I'm happy if I get a solid 4 hours sleep which I think for a newborn is already quite the achievement!

I was chatting to my best friend the other day about how our kitchen rangehood had died on us in amongst minding the baby. When cooking is one of those things I love to do when I have that spare moment, it felt like my whole life had spun around (maybe a slight exaggeration but when you are homebound with a newborn - mum definitely needs something to keep her occupied). Otherwise, yes I will go and stare at the baby and watch the rise and fall of his chest just to make sure he's breathing (being so worried that I am that he's not ok in those moments when he's actually being good and giving me some rest time; it's crazy what it's like to be a mum). So at my friend's encouragement, she suggested I write things down to document my year with bub and thinking about it, it would be good to read back on these posts in a year's time to see how far along we've gone.

So here I am, 'Hello Grumpy Pants'. Grumpy Pants was the name I gave Liam within the first week we were back at home. Being a boy, he's ever so active, very quick to let mum know about a wet nappy or that he's hungry and whilst he'll shoot mum a smile or two every now and then, he can be a real grumpy pants (and he surely doesn't take after me)!

Happy 1 month Liam!