Best moments:

• Feeling of pride and wonder at creating such a perfect baby - having counted all her fingers and toes;
• Hours 'wasted' just watching her sleep and savouring the peace and quiet;
• Sense of achievement in watching her grow and thrive whilst feeding her myself;
• Her first times, including smiling, clapping, waving and a giggle (and secret pride when she does it before my friends' babies);
• Finally making her laugh, after 5 minutes of acting a complete lunatic;
• Waking to the sound of her babbling as she chats to her toys;
• Watching her personality develop and confidence grow from day to day;
• Making new friendships with other mums and sharing adversities;
• Having a sense of purpose and a new perspective on life;
• Having the summer off work!!!!

• The combination of stitches and piles rendering me unable to sit down for 2 weeks after the birth;
• Lack of user manual to tell me why she was crying for the first few weeks;
• Complete exhaustion and being unable to string a meaningful sentence together;
• Loss of independence and never being able to 'pop out' for something;
• Feelings of isolation at having no family living nearby to help out;
• Feelings of inadequacy when I still couldn't get out of the house before midday after 4 months;
• Anxiety of whether I'm a good enough parent. Should I be giving only organic food? Have I played with her enough today? Etc;
• Having to rely on my partner for money and not being able to treat myself to those little luxuries;
• Being 'on call' 24 hours a day and having no time for my partner and I to go for leisurely walks, go to the cinema etc;
• And finally the little pouch around my stomach that won't shift, no matter how many sit-ups I do!

Having said all this, I wouldn't have missed a single moment of these 7 months and I am looking forward to many more months of exhaustion and elation in the years to come.

Judi