It All Goes So Quickly…

It all goes so quickly!

Pass me the worn out copy of Groundhog day (Columbia pictures, 1993) whilst I don’t smile, and don’t nod in agreement.

Early motherhood is a shit storm, right? So let’s not go pretending that it’s anything other than.

Granted, there are incredible two minute snippets which fill your heart to Shakespearean love story levels. And acts and scenes which are not solely comprised of 24/7 cluster-feeding, incessant baby-winding exercises or figuring out how to walk the dog, whilst baby-wearing when your stomach muscles have been sliced in half (or your pelvic floor insists on you maintaining a horizontal position as standard).

But, mostly? Mostly? It’s miserable.

Let’s stop sugar-coating it all.

Let’s be honest with each other and ourselves.

Let’s congregate, like actors backstage, and encourage each other when we are most deeply in need of preparation for our most courageous roles yet.

Let’s be honest in the limelight, online, (easier said than done, right?) With portraits of dusty-grey bags beneath our eyes and mythical lagoon sized tear drops, clumsily stumbling over our faces. With the grimace of hyperbole covering our pained faces at the sheer, physical pain of early-days breastfeeding.

Throw away phrases like, “it all goes so quickly,” and “enjoy these extra cuddles,” are just plain annoying when all you want is to take care of your standard human rights (ie, drink a cup of tea, take a bath, have a wee… the list is goes on).

One year into the baby show and things have calmed down a lot since the early days.

Since about 9 months in, my little one was happy to be out of my arms for small amounts of time and I remember I baked a cake in celebration! It felt INCREDIBLE!

Now, walking the dog is a finely rehearsed chorus which is *generally* manageable as a daily occurrence.

Now, breastfeeding is that image you see in the magazines and doctors surgery posters, taking a simple few minutes to perform, anywhere and everywhere.

Now, the tears still take a curtain call more regularly than they did pre-baby but they are more under control, waiting patiently in the wings until their turn.

One year in. It’s actually gone by pretty quickly…