This time last week I was giving birth to our son, Jesse Jack Barton. It was by far the most physically and mentally demanding thing I have ever done….and I loved it. I was absolutely pushed to my limits and many times wanted to give up but in the end my labour and delivery was a really beautiful experience.  And it resulted in a perfect little boy whom we are growing more and more smitten with every day.

The last 7 days have been a roller-coaster ride to say the least.  We have felt just about every possible emotion from overwhelming joy to plain overwhelmed and everything in between.  I don’t think I’ve ever questioned myself more than I have this week.  But all in all I think we are doing pretty good.

I knew Kaine would be a great dad but I am in awe of how he has taken to being the head of our family. He has been my rock this week.  He seems to know exactly what I need whether it be an encouraging cuddle, a reassuring word or just a clean kitchen and a hot meal in my belly.

There is so much I could say about my first 7 days as a mum but here are a few points that basically sum it up….

I have…

• Squeezed out a human being
• Felt like a birthing goddess while simultaneously feeling like I’ve been repeatedly run over by a truck
• Been ‘milked’ by at least 8 different women
• Cried happy tears, sad tears, frustrated tears and I-have-no-idea-why tears
• Inspected my body in the mirror and missed my baby bump, liked seeing my hips again and wondered when my tummy will go back to normal
• Already done several things I said I would never do (and I’m sure there will be many more)
• Marvelled at my beautiful baby; kissed his face a million times, counted his fingers and toes, stared at him for what seems like hours and giggled at each different face he pulls
• Felt like super mum
• Felt like a terrible mum
• Celebrated getting 2 hours sleep in a row

  

While we are living in the fog of those first few weeks with a newborn we are trying really hard to just enjoy it all and take it all in.  We know we will never get this time back and that soon we will find our feet.

So for now we will  just do our best, learn as we go and enjoy our little boy.