10 Post Baby Changes

We all know that bringing a new human in to the world is life changing, but you might find it changes in way you didn’t expect…so I’ve put together a handy little list…

Your Body

Okay, so hopefully you know you won’t be springing straight back into those size 8 jeans you wore pre-pregnancy, if you didn’t realise then I’m sorry to burst your bubble.

When you come home from having your baby you will probably still have your bump, it will go down but it takes time. You will likely still be rocking your maternity wardrobe if you get dressed at all.

Remember to give your body a break, it’s been through a lot, things will be loose, droopy, saggy, or in the case of your boobs; fit to burst and rock hard. It’s all part of having a baby in your tummy and then suddenly not having a baby in your tummy. It took 9 months for your  body to grow and change, it’s not going to spring back over night and some parts of it may never return to the way they were, but hey, you grew a human and that’s bloody incredible.

Your Diet

You will probably find that your pregnancy cravings will disappear as quickly as they came, but those foods you were put off may stil be a turn off. I’ve not eaten broccoli since the first trimester and I don’t think I could eat it now.

Another thing you will find is that there is just no time for food! Forget having three square meals a day, you’ll be grateful to just have a snack, at some point in a 24 hour window. This is one element that took us completely by surprise, we were not prepared for having breakfast at midday, lunch at 4pm and maybe dinner but probably not, sometimes you have to make the awful choice; eat or sleep?

If you’re breast-feeding though it is so important to try to eat and drink whenever you can, you need a good healthy and varied diet to help your milk supply come in and keep the levels up. Water is also so important, you won’t produce milk if you are dehydrated. I’ve noticed mine fluctuate with days where there just isn’t much milk at all and I am sure this is down to me not eating enough in the days before so make sure you have access to snacks, easily prepared meals and if you can bulk cook some dinners and pack them in the freezer, your belly will thank you!

Your Wardrobe

As mentioned above, you are likely to still need your maternity clothes for some time after having your baby, that’s if you bother getting dressed at all. Sometimes it’s just not worth it, you could be eating or sleeping instead which is definitely time better spent.

If you do get dressed you’ll notice that even maternity clothes are not conductive to breast-feeding, now you need nursing clothes. Essentially tops with discretely hidden holes to allow you to pop a boob out without taking the whole thing off. As if we hadn’t spent enough on maternity clothes already…

Your Friends

Touchy subject this one but it’s important to know that having a baby will affect your friends too, some you will see more of, and others,  well, not so much. Don’t be offended if your friends aren’t as interested in how many poos your baby did today, unless they are parents too they just won’t get it.

Having a new baby is a perfect opportunity to gain new friends too, mummy friends who get it. Other mummies will care about the poos, and they’ll be awake at 3am too to get you through those sleepless nights. If you don’t know many other mums in your area, turn to social media. You can find local parenting groups on Facebook, apps like Mush that match you with mums in your area that have babies of a similar age to you and also Instagram. If you’re already an avid Instragrammer be sure to geo-tag your photos. Let people know where you are, I was able to make a great new mummy friend because we noticed we live in the same town, one street apart it turns out. However, if you don’t want to sit behind your computer or phone then get out there and go to groups and social events with your baby.

I’ve been so lucky to see my friends more often now than I did before, it’s me they’re coming to visit and not the adorable little squishy baby right?

How you use your phone

Think you take a lot of photos now? HA! Just wait till that gorgeous little bundle arrives, you will take pictures of everything. Each of their tiny fingers and toes, every strand of hair, every baby grow they wear. Hours of video recording just in the hope they might crack that windy smile again and you can capture it this time.

It’s not just the camera that going to see an increase in demand though, the torch is now your number 1 source of light for night feeds, sleepy cuddles and checking they’re still breathing. Google can answer every question you have at 3am and apps like Baby Tracker can help you keep a log of fed times, sleep times, how many nappies you have changed in a day etc…

Phone calls? no thanks, if I’m not taking photos of my baby I’m probably trying to grab a minute of sleep.

Your ability to multitask

If you decide you want to steal a bite to eat you will likely be doing it with a baby in your arms. You will need to master your ability to use a knife and fork with one hand. Even baby related jobs can require some multitasking; ever tried to keep wriggling legs away from a pooey nappy whilst also cleaning a dirty bum and getting the clean nappy ready all whilst making sure your baby doesn’t scream the house down by doing a stupid dance and pulling silly faces…you’ll learn pretty fast. If you do find a moment to yourself, there will be so many things you want to do; eat, shower, brush your teeth, take a pee…before you do any of these stop for a moment and think, how many of these activities can I combine and achieve all in one go cause you might not get the chance again.

How you use your bed

Thought your bed was just for sleeping and sexy time? wrong! These might the activities that brought your little baby into existence but now, now your bed is a nappy changing unit, a flat surface to get your baby dressed on, a photo shoot studio for you to capture every outfit your baby wears, a place to cuddle, laugh, feed your baby. Some days there’s no need to even go downstairs you have everything you need right there in bed.

Popping to the shops, popping anywhere in fact

Just forget this one! Remove the concept of ‘popping’ from your memory for it no longer exists. Leaving the house now takes 4 hours and a military style operation. Want to go to the store for a loaf of bread and a pint of milk? You will need; pram and/or car seat, changing bag with spare clothes, nappies, milk, toys, muslins, the nuclear launch codes…you never know…blankets and coats to keep baby warm from house to car – car to store and back again.

Once you get to the store, unload the pram and baby, attempt to push the pram and baby around the store whilst carrying everything you need in one hand cause you can’t push a pram and trolley at the same time. Want to use one of those trolleys with a car seat shelf, good luck lifting the car seat high enough to get it on the shelf. Babies in car seats weigh a Ton, an actual Ton.

Your Instagram Feed

Are you known and loved by your followers for your glamorous selfies, mouth wateringly good dinners, exotic holiday snaps? You better hope they’re all as obsessed with your new baby as you are cause no matter how much you promise yourself that you won’t post a new photo every time your baby blinks and you won’t change what your account is all about, you will. You can’t help it, the love you have your little baby just pours out of you and all over your Instagram feed.

You will probably find that new people will follow you, those who love you and have followed your pregnancy will be happy to see endless photos of your little one but some will leave, it’s nothing personal but the things they followed you for probably aren’t happening anymore.

Your glamorous selfies now feature dark circles under your eyes, your mouth-watering dinner is a jacket spud and beans (gone cold cause the baby wanted feeding) and your exotic holiday consists of going to the local shopping centre on your own whilst your partner watches the baby so that you can actually ‘pop’ between shops.

Time

So there are still 24 hours in a day, that doesn’t change but what happens to them is a mystery I’m still working on. You will find that you spend your day feeding, changing, washing, dressing, stop…breathe…repeat! In between you will stare at your baby for hours on end, watching their tiny hands curls into fists and stretch out whilst they dream, watch their eyes dart around the room whilst they take in their new surroundings, watch their little chests go up and down just to satisfy your neurotic need to know that they’re still alive and then before you know it, it’s time to start the routine all over again. Feed, change, wash, dress, repeat!

So there you have it, no BS, 10 things that change when you have a baby!

Rachel xx