I cannot believe it has been two months since the birth of our little human! After a much needed hiatus, I am finally figuring out the balance of being a new mum, running a business and keeping this blog up-to-date! Here’s the scoop..
No this won’t be another post on “my birth story” as every woman’s experience is her own so won’t allow grounds for comparison, sympathy or judgment. It’s just a part of my life I wish to keep private regardless of how easy or complicated things were. Anyway! So the past couple of months have definitely been a test on all things patience, a test on how well we transitioned from being a party of two to a little family of three!
Phoenix was quite a chilled little man to begin with. Feed, burp, cuddle, sleep and that was
pretty much a predictable schedule! The main thing I wanted to discuss in this post was how bloody difficult breastfeeding was and still is. As a dietitian, exclusively breastfeeding your child up until 6 months is something I have always advocated for, and still do yet not understanding why so many women give up quite early. My challenges just like so many new mums was getting him to latch on and stay there, including the glorious experience of cracked and sore nipples, milk blisters and breast engorgement. No mastitis thank god as I am fully aware of how horrible it is! And I thought breastfeeding was all butterflies and unicorns…
As soon as we crept up to 6 weeks, unexpected tantrums began and oh the fussiness drove me crazy. The frustrations were taking their toll especially during feeding times. These tantrums were mainly in the evenings where we would start off a feed so perfectly that I would proudly gaze into my son’s eyes until “il diablo” takes over. His screams would pierce your soul! Feelings of being a crap mum followed where I felt completely helpless in trying to console him. Whether it was a fast let down, his mild reflux or him simply being a fussy 6 weeker, I would try everything until papa intervened. Times like these made me hate breastfeeding and I will admit to this, I did feel guilty. Guilty that I just wanted to give up the experience of bonding, nourishing and providing what women were meant to nurture their children with. After trials and errors, we slowly established a healthy routine combining breastfeeding, expressing for bottle feeds and a formula top-up when needed. That, so far, works perfectly for our sanity, keeping our social lives in check and everyone’s happy! Little bub is growing just fine, his fussiness is subsiding and the reflux is under control!
Since this is a blog about all things nutrition, here’s a little glimpse as to how things have been:
- Prepping meals and stocking up our freezer was the best idea ever. Convenience and speed are your best friend. To learn more about my meal-prep, click here!
- Breastfeeding seriously makes you hungry, ALL THE TIME. Having healthy snacks around the house have been a must as I’ve turned into a constant grazer! My snacks of choice have been fruit, chopped veggies and dip, lentil chips, nuts, energy balls, home-made snack bars and smoothies.
- In terms of weight loss, I have lost around 11Kg and think I’ve still got a few more to go but to be honest, I haven’t weighed myself at all apart from when my 6 week postnatal check was due as that WILL NOT be my focus. I must admit, it is not easy seeing how your body changes as incredible as many describe it to be. It is truly remarkable but I do have times where I am not pleased with what I see and long for what I had. However, I am more determined to become a better version of the pre-baby me! Personal training starts in a week and boy am I excited to get my core and pelvic muscles in top shape!
- There are definitely times where I truly cannot be bothered defrosting anything and have chosen the easiest route – ordering online and having food delivered straight to my doorstep and into my belly! This common reoccurrence made me really research what’s out there for the health conscious – and unfortunately, there’s only a handful of places that deliver at decent times and are decently priced! These were my go-to choices whether we picked up food to go or ordered online: Hitzberger, Kai Sushi, Jack & Jo, Asiaway and Lily’s –> yes you can come up with a relatively healthy meal with those two. The occasional indulgences included Pizza Blitz –> which FYI, has the best gluten free delivered pizza in my opinion, topped with lots of veggies and not so much cheese, Kerala for possibly the best Indian food in town and tonight, we opt for burgers from Korner! Haven’t had one in a while and must satisfy the craving!
So on that note, I’m wrapping up this not so short update and moving back to my couch as I fight this unexpected cold, hence the comfort food craving! Would love to hear about your experiences as a new mums so feel free to share!
FYI: New website coming soon so bare with me as I slowly emerge from the radio silence and get my work life together!
Sandra x
Dolphin Solutions
Leave a Reply