A Gradual Slowing

Clara is a month old. 

Its been a whole month since this happened...

Time has done all the cliched things it's meant to do when you have a new baby and worked its speedy magic. 

As I progress into new motherhood I a learning lots of new things. Among these are gems like;

1) If your feet are getting wet, you probably forgot to use a breast pad. 

2) After a huge nappy explosion it is advisable to check your own outfit for signs of poo, not just the babys.

3) It is possible to breastfeed alongside doing pretty much anything else, brushing teeth, eating, cooking etc 

But perhaps the biggest lesson I am learning in this season is to slow down.

Physically, after the birth I was a mess. I sustained a third degree tear which meant that my movement was slow and painful, even sitting down was a challenge. One month on despite healing miraculously quickly I am still aware of the repercussions of this. 

Yesterday I left the baby with Matt and played ultimate frisbee for a couple of hours with friends. I found myself laughing with the sheer joy of running, of having my body to myself for a while. 

Today I am in pain again, feeling frustrated that healing is a process. That my muscles can't do the same things that they could before a long pregnancy and a protracted birth. 

I have predictably ignored the good advice to take it easy. I quickly decided that the wisdom of 'sleep when the baby sleeps' was for wimps, and determined that I would carry on as always. But as I am learning, even with a placid baby jobs have to be achieved three times as fast.  

Taking stock at the one-month mark I realised how quickly this little one is changing and growing. I don't want to miss these moments, the way her face looks after a good feed, milk dribbling ecstatically down her chin (see left!), her first wonky attempts at smiling and the way her hair is still so soft like goose down.

Because the truth is that we are on the clock. From the moment a child is born the time seems to accelerate, blink and she's a teenager. I can’t stop her growing up, and of course I don’t want to. Instead I need to slow down and enjoy the ride.

So I plan on doing more of this….  

and less rushing around!