Musings from a First Time Mom

“Motherhood becomes you, Brinee” said a friend of mine a few days back. This made me muse on the small changes that took place in my life since I gave birth.

·       I hum nursery rhymes while taking a bath. Our baby girl listens to nursery rhymes and lullabies all day long. It is no wonder that the music sticks to my head.

·         I rush home from work. No more overtimes. As soon as we enter the flat, my husband and I blast to the room and eagerly take the baby in our arms. Yes, the stories are true. The little angel in our arms takes away all the weariness and tiredness our desk jobs bring.

·         I smile when I see my daughter’s poop. I could not believe how a small poop can make me so happy. It relieves me to know that our little one is healthy and she is excreting her waste regularly.

·         I visit the baby’s section in the shops first. No more shopping for mommy’s new clothes now. She comes first in my heart. She comes first in my wallet too. (Disclaimer: All purchases subject to daddy’s approval.)

·         I take hundreds and hundreds of baby pictures in my mobile. I have over 1300 pictures now. 90 percent of these are her photos. There is no stopping me from clicking and capturing every moment of her.

I am a  first time mother to a 6-week-old baby girl. Her name is Unica Elyse. She is God’s gift to our lives. I know that there will be more first-time experiences to come. There will be more challenges along the way. I am not going to be the picture-perfect, textbook mother. But I know that I will be the perfect mom for my baby.

“I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.” - Philippians 4:13

My First Pregnancy

This blog is dedicated to the most exciting phase in my life – my pregnancy! I am recording the marvelous and the not-so-glamorous moments that happened throughout this period:

The positive pregnancy test

The minute the two red lines appear in the pregnancy test, I immediately rushed to the hospital and had my blood checked. I had to pay twice the amount to get the results after one hour. I could not contain the excitement when I revealed the news to my husband. It was the happiest news we received ever. 

The proof of life

On my first ultrasound at 3 months, we heard the heartbeat and we saw a very tiny being growing inside the womb. We shared the great news to our parents and the rest of our friends. Everyone was so thrilled.

The gender reveal

“The baby is a girl!” The doctor revealed the news to us. I was ecstatic! My husband was silent. It took him a couple of days to finally accept that we are having a girl. He grew up as the only boy in their family. He wanted to have a boy. But gradually, he came to love this precious little girl the Lord gave us. 

The name reveal

My husband did not have difficulty picking up our baby’s first name – Unica. It means “unique”.  The second name was quite a challenge. My husband turned down almost all of my name suggestions. Finally, after an exhaustive research, he finally accepted – Elyse. It means “pledged to God”. Our firstborn’s name will be Unica Elyse M. Don.

The physical changes

I had acne all over my face. I gained almost 20kgs during this period. Swollen. I am swollen all over – my fingers, my face, my breasts and my feet. I was not really happy with my physical self. I had to buy an entire new set of wardrobe, including shoes. I cannot move around easily. I get cramps. I could not sleep at all during the evenings. I felt so dull and so unattractive. But my husband always reminds me that I may look like an elephant now, but he still does love me with all his heart. 

The shopping spree

My mother told me to start buying stuff for the baby on my 7^th month. When I hit the 7^th month mark, we started looking out for baby things. As first time parents, we have no idea what to get. The advises we received from our friends helped and guided us a lot. Eventually, we got the basics: the crib, carseat, stroller, the closet, onesies, blankets and feeding bottles.  And of course, we received lots and lots of gifts from our very generous friends. 

The big day

I am on my 36^th week now. I will reach my full term very soon. Yes, I am very anxious. I wake up at night and tell my husband how scared I am to give birth. The stories I read and hear do not help alleviate my fears. I pray and I surrender everything to Him. I know that the Lord will see us through that day and that He will deliver me and the baby safely. I trust in His undying goodness and His unfailing love. 

On a side note, I checked my first entry for 2014. I achieved three out of four of my 2014 goals. Yes, the three items happened in 2015 but this does not matter. The Lord got me to where He wanted me to be, in His own perfect time.