Riddle me this: Why it is next to impossible to get ANYTHING done when you have a new baby?
It doesn’t make any bloody sense.
Newborns supposedly sleep an average of 16 hours in a 24 hour period. So shouldn’t us new mums have heaps of free time? Shouldn’t we be lapping up the spare time?
But, as any mum knows or can probably recall, when you first bring baby home, even mundane two-minute tasks are often thrown into the too-hard basket by the end of the day.
WHY are even the simplest of tasks so hard to complete during those first few weeks of new motherhood?
Let us break it down for you. These, new mums, are the reasons why you get bugger all done when you have a new baby.
1. Because babies don’t like to sleep unless they are touching you
Your mission is to not only get bub to sleep, but successfully move bub from your chest to the cot without stirring your tiny dreamer.
Nine times out of ten, you will fail your mission.
Why? Because babies have an uncanny ability wake up the moment they are not lying on your chest or attached to your breast.
2. Because being a milk machine is a full time job
When you’re not feeding bub, you are probably expressing. Or cleaning the breast pump. Or wandering around the house trying to remember where you put the damned breast pump. Or siphoning the breast milk into freezable moulds. Or chopping up cabbage to place on your engorged breasts. Or feeling yourself up to determine if your breasts need to be emptied again….
While bub may feed every one to four hours, you are probably spending double this amount of time doing all the other fun stuff that comes with breastfeeding.
3. Because people like to show up or call at the most inconvenient times
And thus, making the bed gets put off for another few hours. As does putting on pants (and deodorant).
And, well, by the time dinner rolls around, it seems pointless to even attempt to make the beds or change out of your PJs. Might as well save it for tomorrow…
4. Because it’s impossible to go through the day without taking 8 squillion photos of your new baby
Capturing the perfect picture of your baby each and every day takes time. And deleting the thousands of photos that didn’t make the cut so you have enough space on your phone to take more is also quite time consuming.
5. Because sleep deprivation turns you into a scatterbrained lunatic
Focusing on just one task at a time is actually impossible. You know, tasks like remembering to bring the groceries in from the car. Or putting away the dishes. Or taking the washing out of the machine. Or feeding the cat…
6. Because babies poop… A LOT
When they aren’t in need of a new nappy, they are probably in need of a burp. Or a feed. Or a cuddle. Or your undivided attention in one way or another.
7. And, finally, because sometimes dozing off on the couch with your newborn in your arms is more important than mopping
Especially when it has taken you an hour to get the stubborn bub to go to sleep.
So, there you go. Seven completely logical reasons why you’ve turned into a hot mess. And seven completely logical reasons why it’s perfectly okay that you haven’t mopped, showered or fed the stupid cat this week…
You’ve managed to keep the baby relatively content and keep yourself relatively sane. And that’s all that matters at this stage. Besides, you may be surprised how long cats can go without eating…
To all the new mums out there, have a read of our guide to the first three months with a newborn.
