we are roughly 1 month away from the expected due date of Baby No. 2. i have a feeling she might make a surprise early entrance, but for now i’m just trying to wrap up a few work strings before settling into the waiting game. Axel was one week overdue and i was ultimately induced, so i’m hoping that she can come in her own time and we don’t have such a rough start as we did with him.
i’ve been thinking a lot about what it will be like this time round and how this new addition will impact our neat little 3 family unit. over the past 2 and a half years i have learned that you can’t have any expectations when it comes to having a child, how they will impact your life, how you’re going to cope and how everything everything will change… i do know she will be completely different to her brother. so all i’m hoping for this time round is that i can let go and fully embrace the new baby phase, because it really is fleeting.
hopefully i can resist googling furiously into the night (“when do they sleep??”) and just accept whatever is thrown my way – because ultimately that is what having kids is all about. everything is a phase and before you know it you can’t even remember those sleepless nights, the teething, your weird body, how it feels to not recognise yourself anymore. one day you wake up and your baby is a whirlwind of a 2 year old and this “new” life that felt like it took so long to adjust to is just your life. the new normal.
one thing that i was grateful for from day one was the amazing community of moms i unwittingly connected with on Instagram. especially since the launch of Stories, i have asked kid related questions so many times (sleep training! fussy eater! toddler bed! schools!) and i’m always met with a deluge of helpful advice. this is how i connected with Mama Days aka Kirsty from Wales whose daughter is roughly the same age as Axel. Kirsty makes beautiful, simple line drawings inspired by her motherhood journey…
I decided not to go back to work after having a baby. The hours were more than I wanted to be away from her. And I was lucky enough to be able to make that decision. I started drawing little self portraits of her and me whilst she napped to get back to something I love. And to help my brain grapple with her growing so quickly, after a tricky few months at the start of new mumhood. I shared a few on Instagram. People asked if they could buy them. I set up a little shop. And to my total and utter surprise, they bought them. So hi ??and thank you if you’ve bought one of my drawings. Each one a little step closer to me supporting my family. Thanks if you’ve liked my words. Commented “me too!” Whilst we’re getting the babies to sleep every evening x
you can buy prints from her online shop.
