5 Minutes a Day for New Mums

By Tania Bondarenko

This unique book takes the new mum on her journey of transitioning and adjusting to Motherhood. It identifies some common themes, challenges and struggles within the demands of new parenting. Throughout this amazing season each mum has different experiences, circumstances, opinions and coping mechanisms. This dynamic book helps the new mum to ad

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tania Bondarenko
• Release date: Oct 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9780648166283

Book preview

Having the new title of ‘Mum’ brings with it a journey of unimaginable and sometimes overwhelming emotion. You give of yourself wholeheartedly whether you feel like it or not. It is the most unselfish and devoted role you will ever play with many job descriptions attached and you will never feel more responsible for anything in your entire life.

There is an unspoken unity with every other mum who has experienced the same emotions, has known the same despair when their child is ill, has felt the same joy in the centre of her being when her baby snuggles their head into her neck, has felt the exhaustion of indescribable tiredness, has felt the glee of her baby clapping their hands, has shared the same tears of frustration and has laughed out loud at her baby’s actions.

Throughout this unique time in our life we bring with us many different experiences, situations, opinions and coping mechanisms but we all have one common purpose: To raise our babies to the best of our ability in the way we know at this point in our lives.

We often get through the seasons of life preoccupied with the circumstances that have come our way. Take five minutes a day and reflect on this time with your new baby - stop, look, smile, savour the minutes, then keep going with a refreshed perspective and focus.

WELCOME TO THE PRIVILEGED WORLD OF ‘MUM’.

The delivery of your baby is one of the unknowns in life. You cannot imagine how it feels until you’re there. You know what the outcome will be but it’s impossible to fill in the gaps. Everyone wants to tell you their birth story beforehand. Some people are kind and tell you the polite version others don’t spare a detail and horrify you. As you’ve discovered labour begins, progresses and eventually ends but now that it’s all over you may want to process it, debrief about it or have some closure on it. The best way to do this is to talk. I found it helpful to talk to the obstetrician afterwards, the maternal nurses at my baby’s first health checks and some of my friends that had been through labour.

It may have been better than what you thought or it may have been nothing like you wanted or expected, it may have been traumatic and deeply disappointing or you might have been over the moon about the whole experience. You may have loved some parts of it (probably not many) or you may have some regrets in other parts. And any of that is okay because it’s yours, it’s your experience, no-one can take it from you or change it for you. At times you can experience every emotion possible as you think and reflect on it. Everything from the duration, the pain and intensity, the epidural or lack of epidural, the pushing or the caesarean, the midwives, the doctors, your spouse, support people, birth attendees, yourself, your emotions, your recovery, your baby and everything else in between played a part in your very unique experience.

Over time your body heals, your memories are stored, and you eventually settle about the whole experience. Maybe even thinking about doing it all again for another baby, maybe. In the days after the delivery you are learning so many new aspects of how to look after your baby. You are learning about a new world in very unfamiliar territory, in such a short time frame, with a lot to take in and remember. It feels like you are doing it all in amongst the reality and excitement of finally having your long awaited baby.

IN SOME AMAZING WAY WE GET THROUGH THE DELIVERY, WE GET OVER THE SHOCK, EXPERIENCE THE JOY AND RELIEF. IN ALL OF THAT WE LEARN AND DEAL WITH A BRAND NEW LIFE. NOT ONLY ARE YOU AND I A UNIQUE MUM TO OUR CHILD BUT WE ARE ALSO INCREDIBLE WOMEN ! WELL DONE.