Bringing Up Baby

It is 2am and the baby is awake, that is not unusual for babies!  But this is the start of my little boy waking himself up every hour until morning.  He is 6 1/2 months old now and he has never slept through, he has never really slept more than 4 hours and that is just how it is.  When I bought him home, my perfect little bundle of joy, I quickly became concerned there was something wrong with him. He never was still!  His arms waved up and down continuously and it looked so bizarre I was worried he was having some kind of seizure or that they were involuntary movements. I saw a health visitor and she agreed he was very active, we had a Neonatal behavioural assessment to help me read his cues as he just wouldn't sleep.  I felt like it was my fault bit I was reassured all was well.  The assessment was really useful we looked at his cues and how to read his behavioural states.  The newborn  has 6 behavioural states and understanding and noticing th...

Pregnancy and motherhood is the most natural and wonderful life changing events a woman will go through.  When you are pregnant for the first time there is a blissful ignorance of what is about to come. It's the most beautiful, romantic time and it's all hope and happiness.  You can't quite imagine what it's going to be like, but you know it's going to be beautiful! You feel your baby move and your heart is filled with love and excitement and you haven't even met them yet but you already know that you are carrying your world with you. It is not coincidence we all feel this way; it is by design.  Right from the word go their is a powerful force responsible; she is called Mother Nature. When your baby arrives, and let's face it ladies, labour is one hell of an eye-opener! It's nothing that you could have imagined and it's hard to describe. Mother nature makes it so you can just about cope, you can bear it, so that you will be so filled with relief...

There are a lot of emotions that I expected to feel when I became a mum. Happiness, love, joy, excitement, fear but one that I didn't anticipate feeling all the time is guilt.  Guilt appears to be the backdrop of every day life for me now. I feel guilty as a wife, a friend, sister, daughter and as a mother. I am unable to seem to get through a day without feeling this emotion in something I have done or in some cases not done. As a wife, I constantly feel like I am falling short of the mark.  Not that my husband has ever suggested it! No this is my own  self evaliation to blame here! The house is a mess, the washing basket is full or the washing in the machine is still in there 2 days later! Its the feeling of inadequecy because I am not earning, that I don't want to go back to work because my world now is a tiny little human we created but financial pressures are growing regardless. Guilt that I am exhausted, all the time!  I feel bad that I haven't got the energy...