A Note to My Pre-Mama Self

If you could talk to your former self before you became a Mum, would you want to tell yourself anything? Would you have any advice to give? Or words of wisdom? When I think about how my life has changed, I'm not sure anything could have prepared me for this journey. I thought I had an idea of what life would be like, after all I'd had plenty of experience with babies. But they were someone else's babies, it is Soooooooo much harder with your own!!! Don't get me wrong, I love my boy more than I could ever express. He seriously has me giggling and smiling on a daily basis and I'm not sure anyone else has ever been able to match up to that. But on the flip side it's been one of the hardest things I've ever had the pleasure of doing.

Here's what I'd tell my Pre-Mama self

Enjoy meal times and eating as slowly as you like. You will soon learn to eat as quickly as possible, one handed, while doing a multitude of other things. And it doesn't get easier, once they're on the move and eating solid food they'll want yours too, even though they've just eaten 2 minutes ago. And if you give in and give them some of your food, they will always expect it. And you can bet your bottom dollar the minute you sit down to enjoy some food while they nap, they'll instantly wake up. Never mind sods law, that's parents law.

Go to the movies. Doesn't matter what you see or if you're with someone, just go. Sure there are baby screenings in some areas, but your baby won't be little enough for long to be able to enjoy it. Do you remember those times when you weren't sure what to do on a Saturday evening and thought, lets just go to the movies because it's an easy option. Yeah, enjoy that while you can!

Hate having to pop to the shops because you've forgotten something? Don't!! Because once you have a baby in tow it'll take you half an hour to get you both out of the car, everything you need gathered and into the shops. Then you've either got to deal with a pushchair or trolley around a busy shop and all you want is a couple of items. Popping to the shops without baby will soon become a luxury and something you long for!

Enjoy a lazy Saturday morning, lounging in bed. It doesn't have to be late, anything past 7am will do. 7am will become your new sleep in time and if you're lucky, very occasionally you'll get till 8am. But you will lay there thinking I should really get up and get dressed before I have a baby that needs my attention. Weekends, they'll become a thing of the past.

Just enjoy sleep in general. When other parents say to you, you won't know when the next good night sleep is coming, they couldn't be closer to the truth. Some babies will be good sleepers and some won't, it's a bit of gamble to what yours will be like. But even the good sleepers will have their moments and have you walking around like a zombie for days and weeks on end.

It's going to be tough!! You're going to cry more times than you'd ever admit to, you may even wonder if you're suffering from post natal depression, or wonder if you're going a little bit crazy. You'll experience a multitude of emotions all in 1 day. You're going to get frustrated at this precious little person, when all you want is five minutes to yourself. Five minutes to breath, or to go to the toilet uninterrupted, or to complete a task you've been trying to do all day. And you're going to question if you're up to the task of being their mum and there will be times when you feel like you've failed your baby. But I can guarantee you're not the first mum to feel this way, and definitely won't be the last.

Despite all those sleepless nights and everything you wish you hadn't taken for granted of before embarking on this journey, you're going to love it. Maybe you won't love every moment of it, but you wouldn't want to change it for the world. That little person who sends you a little bit crazy at times, is going to make you laugh and smile so much. Just wait till their little face lights up when you walk into the room or they do something that gets you all excited. And the cuddles they'll give you are to die for.

Pre-Mama self, I may miss some of those things you're enjoying, but I think I'll stick with what I have. It's crazy hard work physically and emotionally, but worth every single bit of it.