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4. Foot massages for the win.
“I don’t have a heap of appointments or specialists in my pregnancies, but I’ve recently started to get leg and foot massages, because they’ve really started to bother me, and it helps alot. I just go to a remedial massage place that’s nearby and is easy to get in to. I get really badly swollen legs and feet with all my pregnancies. My feet don’t look like feet, my ankles are non-existent. Sam often posts pictures of my feet when I’m pregnant because I can’t describe how swollen I get. I look like I have elephantitis on my feet. The swelling should start kicking in anytime now. I’m just waiting for it.”
5. Labours are all different.
“All births were relatively quick, because I never really knew I was in labour until it’s really close to go time, because I’ve always had Braxton Hicks throughout my pregnancies. So when I actually go into labour, I think it has just started, but it turns out we’re at the end. So labour always feels quite quick, because once I’m in hospital it’s only a few hours until I have the baby. Charlie was the easiest birth because I had an epidural. With the first two I had no pain meds, nothing. Wow, that is an experience, having a baby without pain-killers. For Charlie, my doctor and Sam were both like, if you want to, have the epidural. So I planned to have it and it made it so much easier. It was a lot more relaxed and I got a lot more rest. The nurse just came in and said, ‘ok, time to start pushing’, and 12 minutes later she was here! This time I’ll definitely have an epidural again. I’m lucky to have had both experiences.”
6. In postpartum, walks are enough.
“I’m normally feeling pretty good postpartum, because my births have been quite straightforward. I’m usually not someone who needs a lot of sleep, but I’m good at taking it easy and listening to my body. Especially for the first 2 months, I think gentle walks are great. I also love getting out and going for a walk postpartum. Just to get some vitamin D, some fresh air and outdoor time.”
7. Lean on your village.
“I’m not great at boundaries, but Sam is. He’s good at being a gatekeeper when people are wanting to see us and the baby, but I’m exhausted. I’ll always say ‘sure it’s fine’, but Sam is much better at saying no. So I leave that to him. I’m hoping my mum will be able to fly over and stay with us and help out with the girls when I go into labour so Sam and I can be at the hospital. She’s come for all the girls, so fingers crossed the borders stay open and she can come.”
8. Play to your parenting strengths.
“Sam is amazing. He really does so much with the girls, and me being pregnant and not well again, he’s just gone next level. At night, we do dinner, bath or shower, and then I hand them all over to Sam, and he does the book and bed. They don’t listen to me, for me, Willow is out of bed and messing around for an hour, but for Sam, they’re asleep in two seconds. Not sure what I’m doing wrong, but I handball it to Sam now. And you know, he’s really bad at dishes, so I do the dishes, he does the kids.”
