What’s Your Experience Of Being A New Mum?
So how did you feel in the weeks and months after giving birth. I seem to remember I veered from euphoria to exhaustion, and from feeling totally inept to extreme happiness. So it’s interesting to read that new research suggests that in the months after giving birth almost 40% of new mums surveyed said they suffered from post natal depression, and 45% from lack of confidence. The online survey also showed around 60% experienced problems with breast feeding and struggles with post baby weight.
Reading this bought it all back to me about how as new mums we put ourselves under so much pressure. Not only must we be totally good at parenting from the word go, but we should be able to do everything all at once from lose the baby weight, to feel confident and breast feed. I wish someone had told me that in amongst the birth plan and preparations for birth that becoming a mum takes time to get used to. In the same way that becoming a wife/partner/girlfriend does and the same way a new job does. You may (or may not) love your baby instantly, but the chances are you won’t get to grips with being someone’s mother for a good fair bit.
In my case it took 6 months before I felt confident enough to do all the things I take for granted now. Six months to get used to all the baby contraptions, six months to get to grips with the routines, and the way I had changed (mentally and physically) and 6 months to get my confidence for motherhood up into a higher gear (it still wavers by the way).
So if you’re currently struggling with a new born and worried about any of the above, my advice is to talk about it to someone you trust, don’t hide how you’re feeling and above all give yourself some time to get used to the whole of idea of motherhood. You’ll get there – we all do.
So how long did it take you to get used to being a mum? Let us know?