I was looking over my photos last night and I was struck by how young I looked – a smooth, line-free baby face – and that was just 11 months ago! Sleep deprivation being the number one cause of the rapid ageing since then. I was so naive at the beginning of this journey. Having read all the Mum blogs and heard the whispers through the grapevine, ‘you won’t finish a hot cup of tea’, ‘you will never sleep properly again’, ‘you can forget about lengthly showers’, I have to admit I was smug. In the early days and months following the little man’s arrival, I was actually drinking tea by the lorry load – making another cup, just for the sake of it! I might even have sat down to watch it with a biscuit and watch another episode of a box set. Long hot showers were a plenty and contemplating washing my hair or wondering would I get another day out of it, was not on my radar.
I soon discovered that the Mum blogs on the interweb speak truth. Since returning to work part-time and the baby getting older, a full night of uninterrupted sleep is a thing of the past. Showers have been fine-tuned to 20 second affairs with the door open allowing me to occasionally stick my head out and wave reassuringly at the baby standing in the cot at the end of the landing. ‘I’m still here, dotey!’
The beauty of working freelance is that I work my own hours when suits me (for the most part) but with the new boss in town, I work to his demands and hours. When the munchkin sleeps I am busy responding to emails, making calls, choosing recipes for demos and so on. No time for tea. Not to mind cold tea!
There is little choice but to ignore the washing that keeps piling up, the dishes, the mess. The horror of an unexpected caller – everything is shoved into the back room, door firmly closed. Grandparents are here a lot more frequently (and thank goodness for them!) and I have given up my mortified mumblings of “don’t even look, the place is a state, excuse the mess”, and they know us well enough not to deny the chaos but I am grateful for my Mother in Law’s words in response to my ramblings, “all I see is a happy home”. And this too is true. Josh has brought us all immeasurable and boundless joy.
When he wakes I play Mum; feeding, burping, nappy changing, outfit changing, snuggling, bathing, walking in the park, more feeding, new outfit change, day trips, singing, reading, lots more snuggling, putting down to nap, attending playgroups, grocery shopping, hoovering, washing, more feeding and snuggles, dinner prepping, and repeat. There is also a lot of time on google. How long should a 10 month old sleep for? What should a 6 month old eat? How to entertain a 9 month old? And so on.
So what can I say but 2018 has been a blissfully busy year. The best year yet. Elbows off the Table didn’t get the attention I would have liked to devote to it but that is ok. The Mum blogs also say the time goes by in a flash and I am not so naive on that front. The days can be long but the years are short. However, I am going to give this blog another whirl in 2019 and post recipes and random articles as often as I can and I would really love if you would stay tuned.
In the meantime, thank you for reading and I wish you a very Happy New Year!
catherine allen 