Parenting Australia

The First Six Weeks are Character Building

Noah is now just over four, but I remember the first six weeks of his life very well – it was the most difficult time of my life. Here is where I say this is not necessarily a bad thing so all the mums-to-be don’t freak out and question what they’ve got themselves in to! It also must be said these are my experiences, not indicative of exactly what all new mums face.
 
After a very quick birth (2.5 hours) Harvey and I were escorted back to the hospital room (the proud dad wheeling his son along as I waddled). It was then that I got a taste of what was to be – breastfeeding can be hard work. For two hours just after Noah was born I fed him as we both drifted in and out of sleep. Like so many new mothers I assumed breastfeeding would be the easy bit – the part that came naturally where I was able to nurture my child and give it the best start possible. It was never easy and I struggled with it constantly while Noah was a baby.
 
As we crawled into bed on that first night together at home as a trio Noah decided he was awake. Harvey had no idea what he was in for, but it was my fifth night of coping with his odd sleeping patterns. We had many long nights in the first six weeks and took shifts trying to calm Noah and settle him back to sleep. I think this is perfectly normal – you all have to get used to the new situation.
 
Breastfeeding became the bane of my existence, as I have written about in an earlier blog. I saw my inability to feed Noah as a complete failure and was very hard on myself. It was unnecessary and very counter-productive because he was later diagnosed with lactose intolerance. The reason he struggled so much to feed was because it was making him sick. We only last 3.5 weeks breastfeeding before Harvey was in the supermarket late one night buying bottles and formula to soothe our distressed son.
 
Once we’d figured out what the problem was with Noah’s feeding and sorted out which formula he needed, we all felt a lot better. He slept more soundly, drank properly and was generally happier. This, in turn, meant I was a more satisfied mum and I stopped needing to call the baby clinic constantly and cry down the phone to a very understanding midwife. I cannot thank my clinic enough for the support they provided in those first few very trying weeks.
 
By the fourth week as a new mum I was willing to venture outside the house. Instead of being a hermit and feeling I couldn’t inflict my distressed son on anyone, I felt empowered when I did the groceries with him in a baby sling and I loved being able to get back into our weekend habit of coffee and a chat with Harvey. I started going to mother’s group and I’m still friends with some of those mums I met four years ago.
 
As you can see the first six weeks were the hardest for me, but going through those experiences showed me personally and us as a couple what we could achieve and how much we knew instinctively. It was tough, yes, but showed me what I was made of.
 
What were your experiences of the first six weeks?

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Johanna Baker-Dowdell is mum to two boys – Noah and Ethan – and combines looking after them with her work as a blogger, journalist, writer and public relations consultant. She owns and manages Strawberry Communications which started small in the third bedroom, but has grown into its own office space (in the converted garage).

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