Bit off more than I could chew…

So who’d have thought that having a baby would mean you can’t do everything as easily as you used to?! Yeah, I really didn’t quite understand that… for quite some time. Baby pace is a whole new level and, as I’ve said before, any form of leaving the house feels like you’re packing up your entire home (well almost)! There were so many things that I just wanted, and want, to get out and do but the reality is, it just isn’t that simple when you have a baby… and that’s ok! I’m still figuring out this new pace and will most likely continue to have moments where I bite off more than I can chew but hey, it’s all a learning curve! 

I’ve learnt that being flexible, when you have a baby, is the absolute best way to be. It’s easier said than done but sometimes you’ll have to accept that what you’d planned to happen won’t always happen. Your plans will likely have to change, a lot. It will be hard to deal with. It will, at times, feel like you’re the only one going through it, or like you’re letting people down, but you aren’t. Those closest to you will absolutely understand if you have to switch up the plans last minute, or if you suddenly can’t make it somewhere. I’m sure that, in time, as we learn this new parenting lifestyle, making plans will get that bit easier, or at least I hope! 

Here’s a couple of moments where I definitely bit off more than I could chew. Relate to it, laugh at it, or feel free to learn from it! 

1. On the first day of my husband returning back to the office, I decided I’d take our little boy over to my mum’s. As she was working, I knew I’d need to be there for her lunch break so that we could go for a walk. No problem, a set time, I could work to that. I even told my husband not to worry about booking our dog into daycare as I’d happily take him too 🤦🏻‍♀️. I was feeling pretty smug as I walked out to the car: pushing the pram, dog in hand, pre-packed bag all ready to go. I got both of them in the car, was about to leave… until I realised I hadn’t fitted the baby mirror in the car. To most, this may not have been a big deal but, for me, as it was my first journey on my own, it was important that I could see our little boy, whilst driving. I rang my mum, cancelled the walk, headed back inside and… cried. Thankfully, my mum had anticipated that I wouldn’t make it over and was already on her way, with cake!! 

2. One of my close friends had her baby 3 weeks after me and I was soo excited to go and see them both! As my little one was a few weeks older, I told her that I’d come to her. It was a 50 minute drive but a pretty simple route so I figured I could do it. When I was getting ready to leave, my husband said to me, “You’re cutting it a bit fine aren’t you?” Feeding wise, our little boy was in the stage of feeding, on most days every three hours, but every now and then, he’d mix it up and be hungry after two hours. I thought, I can do it. I’ll arrive just as he’s due a feed, no big deal. Well, I was 20 minutes out, on the motorway, and I hear the hunger cries (our little one doesn’t do hunger cues, he goes from 0-100, within minutes when he’s hungry - he gets his hangriness from his dad). I called my husband and he figured out somewhere for me to pull into to feed him (what a hero). I got to the garden centre, fed our little boy, and… sobbed. I messaged my friend to let her know what had happened and said that we’d rearrange as I just needed to get home. I felt so deflated. 

That’s just a couple of moments from the earlier days, believe me, there have been many more but I won’t bore you with all the stories! These two moments stick out to me, because, at the time, it made me feel like I was never going to be able to leave the house. I was so excited to go for walks, coffees etc on random weekdays with my family and friends and I felt as though that just wasn’t going to be possible. It is possible, I’d just tried too much, too soon. Three and half months down the road and I’m able to go out, with confidence. Some days I’ve fully sussed it out, other days I come home and laugh, or cry, to my husband about my parenting fail! 

E x 

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