I hope you didnt get the wrong idea....

You know, just thinking about my last post I feel a bit embarrassed. Perhaps I was a bit gushy and oversimplified/exaggerated just how good things are going. I mean, if I had read that piece when my first baby was 10 days old I would have thought - what a show off, she's not telling how it really is.

So, let me clarify. Yes I am exhausted. One of my nipples has cracked and bleeds every time she feeds. I spent yesterday in bed, fretting I had a breast infection. I am checking my babies rash every few minutes for signs of meningitis. My body is lumpy and achy. I feel like I've been in a dehydrator for 24 hours. This is really incredibly hard work.

But there are things I know now that I didn't know with number 1. These discomforts pass, the nipple will slowly heal, the exhaustion will slowly fade, I will sleep through the night again.

And what I really wanted to celebrate with my earlier blog was that I can just go with all those things, knowing it will be alright, and appreciate small wonders - some quiet time while my boys are happy and content stretching their little independence wings, a great support network of family and friends, a place to relax and just be.

I know we are incredible lucky to have baby that is chilled and sleepy. But I dont actually buy into that story we hear that babies are relaxed because parents are relaxed. I think every baby has a personality, is it's own wee individual in its own right from day 1, and like bigger versions, the smaller versions have quirks and qualities. Some cry, some don't. Some scream, some have terrible tummy pains, some sleep and some don't. Its the luck of the draw, and whatever you draw, its good to remember that it will pass, and change, all too quickly.