Baby it’s cold outside

Sadly, Santa brought me one present I didn’t ask for this year – a cold. I spent the three days of festive fun faffing with tissues, lemon and honey and throat sweets.

In the mornings, that meant three hot drinks – nursing tea, aforementioned lemon and honey and a large mug of standard tea to help keep me a functioning and sane person.

It was, of course, inevitable that TJ would pick up some of my germs. The NHS website told me to keep breastfeeding. So, I didn’t keep my distance – well, except for when all of our relatives got in their cuddles on Christmas Day.

Despite following the medical advice, it doesn’t stop me from feeling guilty as I see my little man with the snivels for the second time before he’s old enough for me to reach for the Calpol.

Have any of your had babies with blocked up noses this Christmas?

I got the blues

I learnt a vital lesson recently. I should have known better but, when coping with the busy schedule of a new mum, a basic rule went out of window.

You may not be able to really see it in the picture but this once white cellular blanket is now pale blue.

Remember that weekend away I mentioned? I threw all the baby laundry in together – which included said blanket and a teeny pair of denim dungarees.

I don’t need to spell out what happened. Let’s just say that the blanket and a few vests are no longer white.

It’s a good job TJ is a boy and I can pretty much get away with still using everything in that fateful wash.

But at 32 years old, I’m reminded daily when I use that blanket to separate whites and colours when doing laundry. No matter how covered in baby poop they are.

Bugged by my fitness

Pre and during pregnancy, I was pretty fit. I ran. I used my gym membership. I had even spent many a Sunday hiking around Surrey countryside (though that was before bump!) So when trying out post natal exercise, my horrendously poor fitness levels surprised me.

But with a mum tum firmly in place, and a wardrobe full of clothes which don’t cover my new wobbly bits, I tried out Buggy Fita UK wide company which offers fitness classes for new mums and, as the name suggests, babies are welcome.

Many of the classes are run outdoors but my (free) trial session was inside. The hour-long class provided a great variety of exercises which change every week and options for mums with different fitness levels or stages of post natal recovery.

Despite napping beautifully for the 10 minutes preceding the class, TJ cried almost as soon as the class began. He was fed and dry so maybe it was just the change in surroundings which caused a little tantrum. The instructor was amazing and helped to comfort him so I could still take part. For much of the class I just toted him along with me – which could only have made the lunges and squats more effective!

I sweated. More than I expected to have done. Definitely more than I would have done doing such exercises a year ago. But Buggy Fit is especially for new mums like me who need to get back in the (metaphorical or actual) saddle.

TJ must have even burnt off some calories as he was asleep before we even reached the car after class. Annoying, but I’ll forgive him.

I’m looking forward to returning to try out the outdoor classes which Buggy Fit is renowned for – come rain or shine!

Road is tripping me out.

So it’s the first weekend away with TJ. We’re travelling the grand total of 90 miles for a friends engagement do (don’t worry, it’s a family friendly occasion)

For days I planned the packing in my head. It included every baby grow we own as well as two party outfits for him (for obvious reasons), something resembling a look for me which covers the mum tum and doesn’t have baby drool on it (yet) and the essential dry shampoo.

It’s only now half way there that I’ve also made a mental note to buy a non-electric breast pump. That’s because I have stuffed a muslin down my bra having left breast pads at home. I hope my fellow travellers on the M25 don’t see.

Wish us luck.

Makes sense.

So today we ventured to our first Baby Sensory class at our local Gymboree. A fellow blogger talked of “mum points” (MP) for chalking up good parenting and I was excited to get TJ working that little mind and chalk up an MP score for myself.

Gymboree is a national company running classes for all ages of munchkins and it’s easy to see why (no, they haven’t paid me to say this!)

After TJ kicked off proceedings by screaming the place down only to be placated with food (an hour after a previous feed) we enjoyed lots of songs, games and other fun stuff.

TJ particularly liked the bells, hand puppets and a parachute game where a large colourful sheet of fabric is waved in the air over the babies. I’m not ashamed to admit his happy reaction brought a tear to my eye (although I think I managed to hide it from the other well-seasoned baby sensory goers!)

My little man has been sleepy all afternoon which I’m taking as a good sign. I left somewhat out of breath too – definitely a good sign.

Can’t wait to go back.

The first two months

So as I type this with little TJ resting on my chest, it’s a good time to look back on the madness of the last eight weeks. Like all new mums, I set out with all the best intentions. Here’s a list of stuff I’ve done differently to those best laid plans. Amongst the intense pressure on new mums to be perfect, here’s how I’ve been happy not to be.

• I wanted a water birth with gas and air as my only assistance. In reality, I was induced (bye bye birth centre), I didn’t dialate despite all the pain (hello epidural and pethadine) and then I ended with a c-section. 
• I would not have a problem with my post-natal figure. Well, I’m sorry, but I haven’t got there yet. My c-section left me with a proper mum tum and I haven’t got over that. I will, just not yet. Let me do those 10,000 planks first.
• I would exclusively breastfeed. Here’s one form of pressure all new mums know about. I read all about it and thought the main issue would be latch. No one warned me about low supply – even copious amounts of nursing tea, fenugreek pills, expressing and lactation consultants haven’t got me over that one. So me and SMA have become close friends. A Medala Swing pump continues to be a close companion too.
• I would shower and eat properly daily. Ha ha ha. My weekly shop largely consists of Babybels and other food I can eat with one hand and Batisse Dry Shampoo.
• We wouldn’t co-sleep. That lasted around 3 hours after we first got home and I realised the effectiveness of Moses baskets is about as mythical as the bible itself.

The only promises I’ve stuck to are not filling my social media with pictures of TJ (I won’t be sharing pictures here either) and not checking my work emails – which OK has been pretty easy! But, we do what we can do to get by and keep our new little ones at the centre of our world.

As TJ develops daily and is starting to flash me some toothless grins, it’s a fun journey. 
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