New Year Musings

A few more minutes till 2014 and I think to myself what a year 2013 was I must say, looking back I was mighty busy I must say.

Had to go through all that nonsense called being born, boy wouldn’t really recommend that to anyone. Here I was nice and cosy in my pod for one and then before I know it the sky opens up and here I am grabbed into this cold dreary world of masked people and even more ugly-faced people with water sprouting out of their face.

New Alien species you ask?..No no really it was my mother, she was just glad to see me, kept doing that water gushing thing in the first few days, it was scary, but she says she was just so glad to be a mother, she was crying out of happiness.

Well once she got over the crying I took off where she stopped, boy did I give her a run for her money. I cried all night, I cried because teddy was in the wrong spot, I cried because Big Sister looked at me, I cried because it was sunny today , I cried because I was wearing my polka dot pants and I felt it was a stripe kinda day…it was just exhilarating all that letting go, very cathartic the crying.

Well one day I just stopped, it was getting too much and I had other things on my agenda, I could kinda move around so the first month or so I was like a human snowball, rolled everywhere, accept when I rolled on to my tummy then I was kinda stuck, had to enlist good ole Mum’s help to shove me over.

Then there was the disastrous day that Mummy decided to close down her milk factory for life and introduce me to something called a BOTTLE, worse day of my life, but then the bottles kept coming on demand so hey who was I to complain, even though having one’s own milk factory was very comforting and apparently would have made me more intelligence, so it’s your fault Mummy if I don’t get into Harvard when I’m ten, I told you NOT to close the milk factory down.

This year I also had to come to terms with the fact that Big Sister was going to be around and nothing I did like convincing Achacha to take her for life or not telling Mummy the right time to go pick her up from nursery, my parents insisted on having her around and I guess I’m going to have to learn to share but I’m not going to like it.

They we had other fun things like my parents trying to feed me glue and insist it was some pureed marlakey that was good for me.

So the year’s progressed faster than I thought and as the fireworks hearld the start of a brand New Year and Mummy covers me in slobbery kisses I look forward to another year of mischief and mayhem.

Happy New Year Baby peeps!

Newborns

You envisioned a picture-perfect Gerber baby -- round, rosy, and oh-so-cute.

If your newborn's head looks a little strange and cone-shaped at first, that's because he probably spent hours wedged in your pelvis.

Openings in the skull allow it to mold its shape to fit through the birth canal.

Other imperfections add to your baby's temporary troll-like appearance. If he slid out on his nose, his nostrils may be a bit squashed.

Fluids accumulated under his skin may make his eyes look swollen.

And he may even have a few small bruises on his face and scalp if forceps or a vacuum extractor was used to deliver him. Your baby is a work of beauty in progress.

Be patient, and he'll soon become the angel you imagined.

Why are mother’s so emotional after birth?

The transition from pregnancy to parenthood is a major life adjustment — both physically and emotionally.

During your baby's first few days of life, it's normal to feel emotional highs and lows, something commonly referred to as the "baby blues."

With the baby blues, you might feel happy one minute and tearful or overwhelmed the next. You might find yourself feeling angry, sad, irritable, or discouraged. Feeling this way doesn't mean that you're a "bad" mother or that you don't love your baby.

These mood swings are believed to be caused by hormone changes that occur in a woman's body after she gives birth.

Levels of estrogen and progesterone needed during pregnancy suddenly drop, causing shifts in mood. Other factors — like fatigue and sleep deprivation, for example — also can contribute to these feelings.

Breastfeeding - when to stop!

Most breastfeeding advocates recommend gradual child-led weaning. Abrupt weaning can be traumatic for your baby and uncomfortable for you.

Generally speaking, a baby won't choose to wean earlier than around age 1. Lack of interest in breastfeeding earlier than that may be a nursing strike — a temporary refusal to breastfeed — or a lull as the baby concentrates on developing a new skill that takes his interest away from eating for a while.

Most babies younger than 9 months happily resume breastfeeding within a few days.

By Mayuri Jayasinghe