Being a mother is while feeling strong enough to move mountains and then, all of a sudden, being left with thousands of question marks and worries with just a single lip pursing of one’s child.
I understood it when I became a mother.
I realized the existence of an inexpressible love in the world when I became a mother.
I became aware of over-excitement and endless worries when I became a mother as well.
Neither reading books during pregnancy nor being an aunt beforehand helps.
In the hospital, I could not yet fully grasp what was happening. The real adventure began once we arrived home.
Surely, it is a known fact that the changing hormonal balance constantly makes the whole journey a turbulent one.
Now I laugh so much about most of my memories. However, some moments were not that funny while I was living them.
I just wanted to write my own experiences so that you can enjoy your time with your newborn.
What did I learn from my daughter who I love to bits when I had her?
Since breastfeeding is the most important thing for the baby’s growth and health, I, like all the other mothers, attach special importance to this issue. As my daughter nurses for at least 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours, I breastfeed her in the chair I put pillows in so that I will have no back pain. Thus, both I and my little baby are comfortable.
I try to get her in the most comfortable nursing position by laying her in my arms with her whole body turned towards me and then holding my breast with my thumb over and the remaining four fingers below the breast.
I take the doctor’s advice and make my daughter nurse at both breasts so that I will not have any breast pain and she will get enough milk. When she is full, I lay her on her belly against my shoulder and stroke her back gently. I read that this was a better method than patting. We have no gas problem for now. However, I have been told that she will have gas pains after day 21 with the growth of intestines. In the meantime, I am trying to brace myself for this.
The color of her stool was somewhere between black and green for the first week. Sure enough, you panic when you see that but when I asked my doctor, he told me that it was due to ‘colostrum’ contained in the breast milk in the first week. In one week’s time, the color quickly turned to green followed by mustard.
Nowadays, I change her diaper 9 to 10 times a day. I have been told that this number shows that she is healthy whether it is stool or urine. Even though once or twice a day, there may be stool spurted with gas all over the diaper, I ventilate her bottom for maximum 5 minutes every time I change the diaper. This is an effective method for preventing diaper rash because we have never suffered from diaper rash thanks to this method.
When I became a mother, I came to understand what it is like to be happy even when your child poops!
By the way, since I have a daughter, I wipe from front to back while cleaning her bottom. You need to do it from back to front in boys. I just wanted to share it as a brief reminder.
After drying her bottom thoroughly, I put the diaper on my baby and I do not use any powder or cream.
Being a mother is getting very happy when the slightest beautiful thing happens; I understood it when I became a mother.
I have been learning new things everyday since I first held my daughter in my arms.
As I came to understand when I became one, being a mother is being a student all the time.
Choosing clothes, clipping nails, toys…
I will keep on writing so that I will not forget and share these moments while growing up with my daughter.
I think my little one has woken up. Being a mother is taking time for oneself according to the baby’s naps. I understood it when I became a mother.
