With Busby about to reach three and a half next week, and then H-Bear turning one on the 23rd (also next week!), I’m feeling rather emotional… This time last year I was heavily pregnant and waddling around like an obese penguin; I couldn’t get out of bed without creaking and groaning (this applies to both myself and the bed!), and I spent every day in an oxymoronic state – excited to meet our baby, but wishing that he’d stay in a little longer so I could feel him kicking, connected as one, for a few more days.
Then he arrived in the most glorious way (home pool birth – you can read the story here), and the love was overwhelming; I’d grown this beautiful, chunky squish of a baby, birthed him how I always dreamed I would, and he was snuggled up to my chest; smelling absolutely delicious.
The newborn days were tough with both. With Busby I felt completely out of my depth, struggling with PND. With H-Bear, we entered the unknown land of silent reflux, of allergies, of absolutely zero sleep. But despite the struggling, amidst the utter chaos, it was still a beautiful time… A beautiful teeny amount of time that goes by far too quickly.
I remember the nesting instinct kicking in; Busby’s old clothes coming down from the attic – sorting through them, sobbing at how small she used to be! Washing all of the tiny clothes to ensure they were clean and super soft for their new owner!
I remember the first (very yucky!) nappy changes: Busby explosively caking herself in meconium on her first night at home, and Nick and I giving her the first bath, but omitting this information from the Health Visitor and Midwives because we’d been told not to bath her until after a week old! We felt like the worst parents!
I remember the cuddles. The feeling of complete devotion and love when smelling their heads. The tiny mews they both made… and the big wails they created when they were hungry (we create hangry children!).
Oh goodness! I’m getting rather emotional writing this!
*Makes inappropriate joke to Nick about trying for a third baby*
Comfort Pure have just released their brand new ultra-concentrated fabric softener, which has incredible softness from a tiny dose for you and your babies’ skin: “A tiny dose of love”. I’m still very much in the habit of using Comfort Pure in every wash because the water here in East Yorkshire is so hard, and both myself and Busby have sensitive skin. The smell still sends me off into the land of nostalgia!
Hannah
*Post written in collaboration with Comfort Pure. All views and opinions are my own.*