“Even though we’ve been here three times already, I’m still not sure on the best way to prepare for a new baby”
BY KATY ROBSON-MALONE
It was 8am on Boxing Day when Lynz declared Christmas to be officially over. This meant all “festive clutter” was to be cleared away, and the house completely cleaned. In her defence, Christmas had started for us in November and a whole month of festive cheer is 💯 her limit.
By 11am, I was up in the loft putting the decorations away while Lynz looked on with a massive smile on her face. Supposedly, we have something else to prepare for now…
Nothing prepares you…
Even though we’ve been here three times already now, I’m still not sure on the best way to prepare for a new baby. I know that you can’t “bank sleep” and no matter how much we have now, we’re still going to be absolutely knackered later. We’ve had some lovely couple time together over the last month – dim sum dates, peanut butter and banana milkshake moments, plus a carol service, which was a dream date for me. Happiness to a pregnant person is definitely through the stomach…
What is really nice is having some “normalish days” together as a family before the fog arrives. This is the fog of sleeplessness, crazy crazy hormones, as well as the physical healing – all part and parcel of having a new baby and I must admit, I’m feeling pretty nervous about it all. Add to that the immense excitement about bringing another tiny human into the world and spending time getting to know them, and I’ve got myself completely exhausted already…
Right now though, I feel pretty grounded and rational. The family are well, and Lynz and I are bossing life together which is nice, so I guess it’s natural to worry that all of this will be turned upside down – very, very soon.
A 2020 baby
I am relieved, however, to know that we are having a 2020 baby as there were so many times that this almost wasn’t the case, so I feel very lucky and reassured that we’ve come this far. We have had a few occasions of reduced movement which needed some monitoring, and thankfully all was fine, but now it’s just those Braxton hicks and a few more days between us and holding our fourth child.
It’s funny, I go from absolutely loving feeling this baby moving around to hating it by the end of the day with how intense it is. I’m sure we have another crazy “Mid Kid” on our hands, as she was like this too and doesn’t stop moving now either. By the end of the day my insides feel bruised and achy. I know I will miss feeling a tiny human in my belly one day but this one is having a rave of it’s own which is exhausting…
What’s in a name?
We have finally managed to agree on names that we love and are both hoping that this little baby suits them when we see them. The girls are really excited to meet their brother or sister, although they have asked if it’s a girl that we call her Rose or Mary – and Jesus if it is a boy. Nativity season, anyone? Hmm.
Names-aside, I’m feeling rather large now and was fairly ashamed when I got weighed at my pre-op, but I keep reminding myself this is the last time it’s (kind of) okay to be eating family-sized bars of chocolate, but bending over is proving to be very difficult.
Nesting is also at an all-time high and getting me to leave the house is a challenge. Isn’t the human body weird? Making you feel so very intense about home and preparing for babies. I have one day off with the bigger girls before they go back to school and nursery and I want to soak them up as much as possible as I’m already worrying I’ll be a terrible mother to them and won’t be there for them like they need me to be (maybe the irrational hormones have already arrived after all…)
Still, in my head we have a lovely day together where we all laugh and enjoy ourselves, sharing love – but the reality is it will probably pee it down, they’ll start fighting and I’ll spend the whole time telling them off. Standard family life, hey?
Anyway, this will be my last blog for a little while as that familiar fog sets in… Hopefully, we’ll see you on the other side when the R-M family becomes six!
#WhichOneIsMummy
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