Here are some crazy things I learnt only after I delivered a baby of my own:
1. Babies are born with so much hair on their body. Its called lanugo. My baby had so much of it on her forehead, ears, shoulders and back. She looked like a little monkey with hair all over and for a minute I got scared coz she is a gal after all.
But thankfully, these hair fall off on their own. She has lost most of
it and the remaining will be gone too over the next few weeks, says her
pead.2. Babies often have poop blow outs!!! I took my baby to the pead for a rectal wash once, as I thought she was constipated. Soon after the rectal wash, there was a huge blow out. She was pooping with so much force, poop was all over the room and the nurses were running everywhere to save themselves.
The other day also as soon as I took off her diaper, she blew it
all out and before I could realize, there was poop all over my clothes!3. Babies are born with a strong, no very strong, sucking reflex. You will realize this only when you put your finger in a hungry baby’s mouth. She will suck it with the intensity of a vacuum cleaner (almost).
4. Babies are also born with a rooting reflex. A hungry baby knows where to turn for food. As soon as she in her mother’s arms, she will start rooting for the breast! Nature has its way of ensuring that the baby finds her food.
5. Babies pull their own hair and scratch their own faces without realizing that they are hurting themselves! I once found my baby crying hard, coz she was in pain from pulling her own hair. She kept pulling and crying. The poor soul did not realize that this pain was self-inflicted. She often scratches her face also with her own finger nails (only a parent can tell how difficult it is to clip a baby’s finger nails).
6. Babies can develop bald patches. My baby was born with a head full of beautiful hair. But just a couple of weeks back, she started losing them and developed a bald patch at the back of her head. Thankfully, the pead assured that its completely normal and happens with many babies. I was afraid my little gal was becoming bald!!!
7. Mommys can have leaking breast! Yes, it is one of the most embarrassing and one of the most common phenomenon with breastfeeding mothers. The breasts can start leaking when there is time for the baby’s feed or when the milk has not been expressed for quite some time. Some women even report leaking breasts on hearing a baby cry! Thankfully, there are breast pads available in the market these days.
8. Mommys always want to ensure that their child is breathing. As much as it sounds weird but motherhood does this to you. On the one hand you want your baby to have a sound sleep (so that you can also get some), but on the other hand, when the baby is in a deep sleep (i.e. not twitching at all in her sleep), you want to ensure that she is fine and you check whether she is breathing or not! Crazy mommys!
9. Mommys find it very difficult to trust the apple of their eye with anyone. As tiring as motherhood is, mommys still want to do it all on their own. They think that what they can do for their babies, no one else can (which is true in a way). Even if someone offers help, for a while mommys find it really difficult to let go and trust their baby with someone else. They give up only when they are on the brink of passing out due to exhaustion!
10. Mommys often blame themselves for things they are not responsible for. My body was not producing enough milk and thus the baby was not getting enough coz I was exclusively breastfeeding and hence her weight gain was not great. When I learnt that the weight gain was not sufficient coz I had insufficient milk production, I instantly held myself responsible for it and felt guilty (as if the milk production is in my hands!). I guess its the hormones which make you less practical and you are just a bundle of nerves!
Motherhood is crazy, but I am loving it!
Himani can be reached at himanithukral@gmail.com .
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