Being a New Mom: What it really feels like

Motherhood so far has been quite an interesting and eye-opening journey! Can’t believe my little baby of that time is now 2 years old!!!

Every day I feel so blessed to be the mother of this cute and bright boy. Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing moms around the world, Y’all are superheroes. Being a mom is such a blessing!

From early pregnancy to the very last trimester, to labour and delivery and every month that passed by with my infant (now toddler) my level of respect for mothers has increased by leaps and bounds. Motherhood is no child’s play!

What?! E no easy eh, please give your mother a special hug when next you see her and if you are a mother please celebrate yourself.

A couple of my friends recently joined the mommy gang last year and in 2018 and we have been exchanging mommy notes sharing experiences and helping each other out.

Here are some of my funny experiences and lessons in 2016 during my first few months on becoming a new mommy

Vigils on a regular

I don’t know about baby girls yet(update I know now and I can say Baby boys eat more) but I now understand what they usually say that Baby Boys can eat for Africa. Being a new mom I used to think, the maximum amount of time to breastfeed was 15 minutes and baby would be full but nope, they can latch on for over 40 minutes non-stop, keeping you stuck on a spot, so girl you better get ready for it. When they grow up to be about 3-4 months they could just wake up to play at night so if you are one who can’t stay awake all night, start preparing for this one too.

READ MY LABOUR/DELIVERY EXPERIENCE IN NIGERIA VS ABROAD

 No favourite dresses 

Almost every lady has a set of dresses she considers most comfortable and stylish but sometimes those dresses don’t exactly fit into the new role you have just taken up. The Mommy role. You might not have gained so much weight after having your baby but you still won’t be able to wear those dresses for a bit. I personally thought I would grow into a round balloon during pregnancy but thank the lord, that didn’t happen.

 Let me share one of my experiences with you. On this particular day, I wore one of my “sisi” gowns and took the baby out. I had expressed into a bottle so I just assumed that would be sufficient for him till we returned but I was so wrong. He finished the milk in the bottle and started screaming. Trust our older mothers na, they started scolding me about my choice of dress. Before I knew it, one of them was already unzipping my dress to enable me to breastfeed easily. Since then I switched to the nursing-friendly dresses with front zippers or some elastic peplum or wrap tops that you can effortlessly flip open.

Hair on Fleek

That hair on fleek arrangement might not work for now ooo, you can’t leave an infant to make your hair for 2-3 hours. At first, I resorted to home service but at some point, I just decided to get my wig game on and trust me I’ve been loving it ever since.

Read 9 things your husband needs to do for you when pregnant. Send this to him now

Double check always

 When going out always double check to ensure you have everything you might need. Being a new mom, it might take a while before you get used to this but soon enough you’ll get a hang of it and become a pro! One day I took everything else but I forgot to take baby wipes. I almost cried when I had to cough out #800 naira for something I had in excess at home.

Internet Guru

Being a new mom you tend to read a whole lot, however, not everything you read on the internet applies to your baby. In these times when you are just a button away from a thousand links to information on whatever topic, you might just have to slow down and find out what actually applies to your own baby.

No matter how adorable the adverts of baby creams are on television, I would never be captivated by them because I have found what works for my baby’s skin and it’s the reason he still has his natural glow since birth. Some of these creams just change the baby’s skin to something else so my mother-in-law created a special naturally made cream for her grandkids that soothes their skin perfectly.

 What is irritating?

Becoming a mom just helps you realize that nothing is really irritating, whether they poop on you or they piss right into your face when you just had your makeup done, nothing is irritating. Take it all with joy; it’s all part of the joys of motherhood.

 Baby’s got Teeth

As soon as Jason ad his first teeth, that became his weapon of fighting me. If I get in his way of doing whatsoever he wants, I’ll receive a sweet bite on my cheek or on my shoulder. I used to be so scared of bites but now I have become so used to it I don’t even feel the hurt like I used to before. It’s all love innit?

 Routines

Before I became a mom, I had a regular timetable of my evenings and weekends but now it’s all different. I had to change my prayer night and venue because of him. I used to like an open space or car park so that I could shout with a loud voice to the heavens but I can’t do that as often as I would have wanted now.  One has to make a whole lot of adjustments once a baby comes.

 Help

I thank God for giving me an amazing mother in law, she assists me so much. My mom also does a great job whenever she is around and I’m always thankful for both of them. Having to attend programs, write, go to work, training, meetings and occasions would have been impossible if I didn’t have people to help out. My sister Eniola also helps me babysit and she goes with me to events and speaking engagements. So if you need help, try and get a trusted person. Don’t try to be a superwoman and do it all alone. Remember being a mom should not stop you from fulfilling your purpose.

Those are a few of my experiences and lessons in the first 12 months, my son is 2 years old right now and with each day I learn new things about him and about motherhood.

Being a mom has been a blessing so far, definitely not the easiest job to take up but I love it so much and I look forward to more major milestones as a mother!

Cheers to all the good mothers in the world!

Share with me some of your most memorable experiences as a new Mom or as a parent in general. What are your favourite experiences so far?

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