Being a mum ......

the moment of birth!

Being a mum rocks!

1. I loved being pregnant, found it fascinating and it total awe of my body even though it insisted on throwing up each and every day from about 8 weeks in (thank you doctor for the loverly diclectin!). I am still in awe of what my body managed, during the pregnancy, birth and thereafter until weaning at about 3 years. Thank you body!
2. My Wee Guy continues to amaze me. The force of his own personality at such a young age impresses me. I'm sure that I wasn't as much my own person at his age. I only hope I can nurture and not crush it.
3. We do fun things together, activities that I wouldn't even have thought of, like movie nights with popcorn, browsing for treasures at the local thrift (which he thoroughly enjoys), making pretzels, movies for mummies, cycling round the zoo ..... I'm sure some of these are just extensions of what I loved doing as a child but many are new to us both.
4. I love watching him react to new situations and learning to handle these experiences in his own way. Certainly there are some instances when personality traits get in the way but it's rewarding seeing him learn for the next time around. He re-discovers the magic of the world for me. It's easy to become jaded as an adult "been there, seen that" so many times before. On his level, he's seeing everything afresh and his enthusiasm is infectious
5. I'm amazed at how he is pre-programmed to grow and learn. His brain is like a sponge, his reading ability races ahead with every book and he gets bigger! How do his bones know to lengthen, how does his body know to get bigger? Yes, I know - I studied developmental anatomy and biology at university. I know that there are growth plates, mitosis, cell growth, hormonal cues etc etc etc ..... but when you see it in action it's quite astounding!

Being a mum sucks!

1. I can no longer do anything on the spur of the moment. Leaving the house can take 20 minutes with lots of nagging about shoes, jacket, books, toys, toilet ..... and so on. I really notice how much less encumbered life is when I travel around by myself.
2. My attention span has shrunk. Since I am on call 24/7/365 I have to be ready to drop everything at a moment's notice. Thus I no longer concentrate well on long, ie. more than 2 minutes, projects. I'm much more of a butterfly brain and I resent that imposition. Carving out 'me-time' is a practical necessity yet it is tinged with guilt at not spending time with the Wee Guy or with my husband. I spend a lot of time in conflict with my feelings.
3. My waistline - now where did it go? and what's with the flaring ribcage? Luckily the boobs shrank back down to a more normal size.
4. See no. 2 above - he may have his own forceful personality but often it is in direct conflict with mine! Life can be less than smooth for days on end - sometimes I think there will be no end to the hostilities (and there's still the teenage years to come!).
5. I've grown up, I've had to grow up to be a mum but I feel my husband has lagged a long way behind. It would be incredible to feel like a wife again instead of just someone's mother - as far as I remember, I only gave birth to one child ........ and I don't think this is an unusual opinion for many mums out there.
   

On balance I have no regrets about becoming a mum, there would have been more if I had decided not to have a child I think. I love my Wee Guy and what he's brought into my life. He's an amazing companion for my day-to-day and we both learn from each other. I am so glad I didn't leave the option of motherhood until it was too late but now when I do the maths I do sometimes wish I'd started a bit earlier!

Thanks to i should be napping for kind-of tagging me via twitter! If you're reading this and you're a parent, please consider yourself tagged and comment back here to let me know!