The Unexpected.

• I didn't realise that it took so long to feed a baby. Each feed takes about an hour (with a feed, change nappy & feed again routine) and babies feed a minimum of 6 up to a maximum of 12 times a day. That's 6 to 12 hours spent feeding. Happily the most feeds I've had to do is 8 in a day.


• I thought I would no longer be able to read books. But I find that I am souring through books with all the sitting down feeding time I have.


• I thought babies slept most of the time. Maya 'woke up' while she was still under one week old and suddenly needed play time. And then it was a question of.. how on earth do you play with a new born?!? Plus it means I have less time for myself than I expected.
  


• I expected to be able to saunter around shops and spend time sitting in cafes, with a happily sleeping baby in pram. But Maya hardly ever sleeps in the pram and will usually start crying if I stay still for too long. Also Maya doesn't sleep much in the car. So going out usually results in an unhappy, tired baby.


• I thought I'd be able to express enough milk for Greg to try feeding Maya. But finding the time to express milk is not at all easy and when I try to express I can barely get anything out! Maya is a very efficient feeder!


• Yesterday I attended a mother's group and on hearing other babies cries, I realised that Maya's cry isn't that bad. Not sure if that's because I am used to her cry?! But I didn't realise how horrible other babies cries sound!