One more sleep until my baby’s homecoming?

Soloman Grundy might not have been a part of our thought processes when thinking about Harley originally, but he is coming to mind now that we are preparing to take her home. Born on a Tuesday, Harley is coming home on a Wednesday. That’s right, barring any unforeseen issues, we are able to drive to the hospital tomorrow and drive home with our little girl! After 36 days in the NICU, she is finally ready for her homecoming.

It’s exciting, exhilarating and more than a little terrifying. I have changed her nappy a bunch of times, bathed her, given her a bottle and breastfed her. So, I know I should be able to keep her alive what with being able to feed her, keep her clean and hopefully comfy. Of course, comforting her when she cries is still a bit hit or miss, although she is still a tiny little thing and I suppose that’s par for the course for a while. Still, at least I’ll get to figure that out at home instead of during NICU visits. Continue Reading

The parable of the plugged duct

I haven’t updated this blog since my birthday, which was quite a few weeks ago. I had planned to write words more often, but somehow they just didn’t flow when I would sit down to write. I remember my mom saying that Writer’s Block was usually more a result to censoring oneself – it’s hard to find anything to write about when certain topics are off limits. And I suppose that was part of the problem. I had ideas of what I wanted to write for New Year’s, but I woke up on the first of January with a blocked milk duct, which has been painful and occupying way more time and energy than I would have imagined.

Of course, now that it’s started to be relieved, I can only see it as something of a metaphor. I was blocked in what I wanted to write about, blocked in what I was willing to think about, and physically blocked in terms of what I could actually produce. As it’s slowly clearing (but not entirely and I’m totally open to all your blocked duct advice!), I’m slowly able to share more of the feelings that have been taking me on a rollercoaster the past couple weeks. Continue Reading

A very mortal birthday

Today is my birthday. As of 7:30pm, I will have been on this planet for 31 years. It’s an odd birthday though.

Usually, I love for everyone to make a big fuss. I love to be well wished or congratulated by anyone and everyone, and I really enjoy big celebrations. I like to go out for a nice dinner and be made to feel super special on the day. It’s not so much about presents as it is about marking the day. And yet this year, it all feels a bit different, and my requests for celebrations are unlike what I’ve ever wanted. Continue Reading

Exclusively breast feeding, without nursing yet – a premature beginning

Entering this world when I was only 32 weeks pregnant, not much about Harley’s birth went to plan. Eclampsia, an emergency C-section and extensive recovery were not what I wanted, and it made me worried about an important plan of mine. I really wanted to breast feed my baby; not just breast feed, but I was hoping to exclusively breast feed. It wasn’t set in stone – I’d known enough moms who had struggled and I would never judge anyone (including myself) about this stuff, but I really wanted to be able to feed my little munchkin. After everything that happened, I was worried that I might not be able to.

While still in the ICU, the physio came to see me, and she was so helpful about a range of things, one of which was the breast feeding. She pushed down on my (incredibly sore) boobs, and out came the tiniest bit of milk. My milk had come in, and I was raring to start using it. Of course, it wasn’t quite so easy. Continue Reading

A day of reconciliation about my staggered entry into motherhood

Today, South Africa marks its Day of Reconciliation. It’s all about reconciling differences and working towards national unity. However, for me, I’ve been more consumed with trying to reconcile different aspects of myself, of what I’ve gone through, and of what this all means for the future. I knew that parenthood would mean that nothing goes according to plan, but it feels like something more than that at the moment.

Thus far, being a good mother has meant different things than I thought it would. At this point, I should still be pregnant, with being a good mom pretty much meaning that I would be taking care of myself, maybe playing music for Harley or talking to her, and getting all my things in order to prepare for her arrival – stuff like buying a cot and a car seat and all the rest. Instead, she is already out of my body but not in my home, and my role as her mother is a bit different than I’d planned. Continue Reading