A year ago...

I fell in love....


This "little" man made a very BIG entrance into the world and things haven't been the same since.


I intended to simply post about Will's 1st Birthday party but as I started to write I realised I was reflecting on the last year and wanted to relive some of those experiences. At the time I was having these experiences I didn't have much opportunity to record them so this is more for me than anyone else :-)

I remember at times in those first few weeks of Will's life I would find myself wishing the time away. Wishing Will would hurry up and get older so things could get easier. (I don't know why I thought they would get easier). I was constantly measuring my time with all his milestones and my own. I started off thinking and planning - "ok I just want to get through the first 6 weeks and successfully breastfeed. "Then I'd reach my goal and reassess. "Ok, I made it to 6 weeks, lets see if I can get to 3 months." And so on. You can probably tell I found breastfeeding a bit challenging....But I made it through the entire 1st year and I'm so happy I persevered. I also stopped wishing his time away and now I'm longing for the days when he was still a precious newborn :-) He is growing up so fast and I don't want to wish one second of it away.

I remember (though not as well as I thought I would) struggling to figure out how to get Will to nap properly. I read a great book about pregnancy but when Will actually arrived I realised I knew so little about what to do with him once he was here. I hadn't read any books on what you actually do once the baby arrived!! I had no idea about training him to sleep properly and how to breastfeed etc. I felt overwhelmed and very lonely at times. When my parents couldn't be with us visiting I'd call them everyday - sometimes several times. They were wonderful but sometimes I'd find it frustrating when they couldn't answer my questions as their response was so often "I don't remember what we did for that." "It was so long ago" or "You kids were all so good." The first 6 weeks of motherhood were HARD and there were many times I broke down and felt that I was a useless mother and that Will wasn't getting the care he needed. I still have those moments - but they are few and far between.

Even though I often felt lonely and unprepared I had wonderful people around me. A lovely lady who lives close by would often give me advice - and it wasn't the pushy kind. She always seemed to know when I was needing it and how to go about giving it. Another friend I knew from Tassie lives in my ward here and I'd ask here at times about stuff and she was so easy to relate too. The most amazing friend though was an unexpected blessing. While we were friends in Tassie I never expected her to become my confidant and example. She too had moved to Melbourne just before having her baby and left behind family and loved ones in Tassie. So much of what she went through I was experiencing. Her experiences and advice have helped me so much. However, her friendship is what has been the most important. She is an amazing mother to her gorgeous boy and I feel very blessed to have her close. She is the one who steered me in the right direction for training Will to sleep. For that I don't know if I can thank her enough. Will is a BRILLIANT sleeper now. From about 4-5 months he has been so good. It took a lot of hard work but I just knew if I persevered we'd get there. By the way, the awesome book she recommended is "Healthy sleep habits, happy child". Jess - love you so much. You're a lifesaver.

Being a self-confessed control freak has been both good and bad at times. I have always expected a heck of a lot from myself but this has pushed me to try hard and persevere with so many things in my life. As a mother it has made me persevere with breastfeeding and following a good routine when it came to Will's naps and bedtime. It's also made it a bit tough on Pete at times when I would ask him to do things. Because if he didn't do it right I could be a bit critical which he says put him off offering to do things as he didn't want to make a mistake and have me need to finish the task anyway. Ah -the joys of communication.
I have worked hard on that and Pete has worked harder at simply doing things without needing to be asked and trying to really learn Will's routine. I'm not a routine Nazi but having your spouse know what snacks to pack and what time to put bubs down for a nap etc makes life a lot easier and it feels like you're a team. Together, we're working as a team and know that for our family to be a happy one this is key!

I love being a mum. Now that Will is here I just couldn't imagine a life without him. I feel so blessed everyday when I wake up in the morning. I enter Will's room every morning smiling and excited to give him a kiss and cuddle. I can't help but smile when he makes his happy noises and grins at me when I open his door and peer into his cot!! Having Will has certainly changed the dynamics of mine and Pete's relationship. I find we have to work extra hard to accommodate quality time for each other and I have to work extra hard at being more affectionate. It's a really exciting stage when you can say you're no longer just a couple. You have a family. It's not that being a married couple isn't a 'family' - of course it is. It's just that having children seems to complete the ideal and hope of what a family is....I hope you guys understand what I'm getting at here.
Anyway, the Watt's are a knock about, imperfect but a very happy family.