Mother of 3
Having a baby will always bring a new experience for any mother, new or with previous children. With my third son, I was the most prepared mentally but drained physically as I was caring for my other two sons. A mother of boys is a busy job, keeping up with their energy on a regular level is a task and during pregnancy can feel like a marathon! Taking care of household duties- cooking, doing laundry, cleaning as well as having a full time job can be exhausting on a daily basis. Being blessed with a husband who takes on a lot of the physical tasks of caring for the children is a huge help. Simply activities of bending down to bathe children were too difficult for me during pregnancy.
Having an even wider support system is essential when raising young children, unfortunately I don’t have that. Having a reliable baby sitter or nanny is an avenue I am pursuing to ensure we don’t burn out ourselves while taking care of our bunch.
When I was bringing home baby #3, I was quite anxious about the dynamics of being able to cope with a newborn, recover physically from giving birth and still be able to take care of my 4 year old and 22 month old. I got my mum and 11 year old niece to fly in to help me out because I couldn’t do it on my own as hubbie would have to be at work. Their presence was a great help and I was able to focus on caring for baby and healing my body. I have learnt that it is as important to care for myself as it is to care for my children.
Being a mother is probably the best and hardest job on earth. Getting alone time weekly is needed to refresh and renew the spirit and to remind yourself that you are an individual and not only somebody’s mother or wife. Although these early years are some of the most difficult on our bodies and minds, we must remember to enjoy the moment as these days won’t last forever.