Suze Returns

Everyday at least 50 people type pregnancy related search words into Google and wind up on my site. I’m not sure how or why it happens, but I think it’s only fair to tell those people what motherhood turned out like, for me.

I’d spent my late twenties watching in fear as I saw all of my smart, strong, maternal friends really struggle through the first 6 months. I’d also seen other less smart, badly organised women in my life crumble for all the world to see. Not wanting to be part of the latter group I had prepared for, and expected, the worst. So you can imagine my surprise when our baby turned out to be the most delightful girl in the world.

I have put off this post for weeks, not wanting to jinx things. So I’m hoping, even though it’s early days, that it’s safe to tell you that I’m finding motherhood the most mind blowing, amazing, rewarding experience of my life and it’s a lot easier than I thought it would be (so far). Since AJ was born 5 months ago I’ve had just one night where she was awake between 12 and 4am. To make my fellow mothers hate me even more at 6 weeks she was sleeping through ‘til 7am and I was getting a solid 7-8 hours sleep a night. Incredibly enough Jarno hasn’t lost a SINGLE nights sleep in the whole 5 months, how insane is that!? She’s never been sick, cries for less that 10 minutes a day (generally when I’m fumbling around unprepared to feed her) and she spends the rest of her wakeful hours chuckling like a mad baby and gazing adoringly at us with her beautiful big baby blues.

OK, you can gag now.

I would too upon reading such a brag. In our defence, it’s probably 99% her character and 1% us not totally screwing it up. I was never one of those obnoxious, arrogant women saying what great parents Jarno and I would be. To the contrary, we were scared stupid and I still worry about massive gap between who I am and the role model I want to become.

I do have to recommend the book “How to enjoy year 1″. We would have been lost without it and followed it quite religiously. It’s a bit old school with structure and routine but I was never going to be that mother-earthy-let-it-all-run-wild-type so it suited me perfectly.

I hope I don’t have to eat my words in coming months. I just wanted to let all those pregnant women know, it’s not as hard as you may fear it will be.  Once you get through the nightmare of pregnancy, you are in for happiness you’d never imagined possible.

Gag again.

Good luck!