From Minus 9 Till Plus 9: Motherhood So Far

It is almost impossible to get my head around the fact that yesterday Nahla was 9 months old! Meaning that she has now been as long out of my belly as she was once in it! So hard to belive that my mummy adventure started as long as 18 whole months ago, from this tiny little tadpole nestled deep inside me, flutters and kicks and a wiggely baby carried under my heart, to now, a crawling, babbling, smiling, adorable, amazing baby girl. My little princess. A love greater than anything I have ever known. So powerful it at the same time scares and amazes you, this lioness-like urge to protect your baby, to make sure she is loved and safe and happy.

I remember finding out she was on her way, sitting there with a plastic stick in my hand, in the office bathroom, having bought a pregnancy test at the corner pharmacy while out on the morning break coffee run. I took both tests that were in the pack, the two of them confirming with the uttermost certainty that I was pregnant. Very much unplanned. But at the same time not unwanted. There was never a doubt in my mind, despite the fact that BF and myself had only been together just over a year, that I wanted to keep this baby. No matter what. I am a firm believer that certain things happen for a reason, like life is forcing us to take a different direction than originally planned, and this was one of those times, I just knew.

After breaking the news and coming to terms with the reality of it all and figuring the logistics out, my pregnancy was pretty much as amazing as amazing pregnancies can be. No morning sickness. No crazy mood swings (BF might have a different opinion of this, but if there were any, they weren't that bad. Seriously.) My skin glowed, my hair grew thicker and shinier than ever before, nothing was swollen- except my growing tummy which was meant to be! The only thing I craved was sour worms from The Natural Confectionary Company- and I mean HAD TO HAVE THEM. Oh, and I had heartburn. But apart from that, most amazing months ever. I LOVED the whole experience. The feeling of being so utterly womanly. The closeness to other mummies. The bond with BF, knowing that we had created something like this- even if it was by total accident! Serendipity. And just perfect perfect bliss.

From the moment I laid eyes on my newborn, screaming, purple-looking, most-beautiful-thing-in-the-world daughter, I was in love. It seemed so unbeliavable, so science-fiction'ish that we had created this perfect perfect creature. And ever since that moment, a whole 9 months ago, I have counted my blessings every day.

Even things friends/magazines/16 and Pregnant had warned me about either never happened or was not as bad/horrible/scary as you sometimes are led to believe. Giving birth? Sure it was sore and yes I cried, but it was all over and done with in 4-5 hours, at the point where I figured I was about to die it was almost over and I have no problems commiting to doing it all again some time. Several times over even.

Sleepless nights? Have yet to have one. Sure there have been some late night feeds, but feeding Nahla myself for the first few months ensured I never even had to get out of bed. And now sometimes, when I have to heat up a bottle or two during the night, sure I can think having to get up for worse things than my daughter wanting some milk!

My hair has not fallen out either- despite everyone warning me this was bound to happen to my lovely due-to-pregnancy much thicker and glossier hair. Still there- thank God.

"When she has teeth she will bite you when you feed her." Nope. Clever little Nahla never bit her mummy- yet another scare that never came through.

Ok, so my social life is different than before I became a mummy- but for those nights out in fancy bars that have for now taken the backseat, I have coffee mornings with fellow mummies, walks in the park, trips to the playground and have more so than ever learned to appreciate date nights!

My body- although close enough to pre-pregnancy status for me not to have a melt-down, will maybe never get there 100%- and that is perfectly OK. A little more yoga, a touch of pilates and some nights pounding the pavement with my iPod plugged in takes me as far as I need to go.

I have developed multi-tasking skills of super-human capasity. I make a mean mashed carrots and sweet potato dish. I can change nappies at the speed of light even with my eyes closed. I have learned that when babies start to move around they reach further every day- a lesson i learnt the hard way in terms of tablecloths being pulled down, books ripped apart, juice spilled all over and mobile phone smeared with banana; you get the picture.

And most importantly, I have survived, enjoyed, been amazed by, grown from, stumbled through, learnt from and LOVED the past 18 months of my life, and cannot wait to see what more motherhood will bring! Happy 9 month birthday, Nahla!