5 Weeks Old

Hey everyone! Remember me? I’m  writing this as 5 weeks postpartum and as the mom as a 5 week old!

Baby girl is currently sleeping so I’m writing this while hoping she doesn’t wake up soon. The last time I posted was when I was 39 weeks pregnant and so ready to pop! Little did I know that I would go into labour only a week later…

I was so scared of going over my due date and having to be induced that I stressed about it 2 weeks before my due date. As soon as I passed 38 weeks I was like let’s go, et’s get this show started! But baby girl was going to come when she wanted to.

I actually ended up going into labour the day I was due! Labour and delivery were NOT FUN. Try every synonym for excruciatingly painful (and this was with pain medication). I have no idea what it’s like all-natural! But I survived. My beautiful baby girl, Emaan, was was born the next day at 10:04 in the morning on Monday April 24th.

The past 5 weeks have been such a blur! I love to be prepared but becoming a mother is something I don’t think anyone can ever be prepared for. The emotions you feel, the fullness you feel in your heart, the attachment to this tiny human being that you would do anything for, the exhaustion and stress of it all. It’s been a huge learning curve, and of course it’s not over.

Every time I think “Ok, I got this mothering thing, I know what to do,” baby girl throws me a curve ball! Everyday is literally completely different. No two days are alike and it’s been challenging to keep up.

I think the first 3 weeks I was in such a haze. I’m a girl who has never been able to survive on less than 8 hours of sleep (I used to be in bed by 9:30 or 10, all throughout high school and even in university) and so the lack of sleep totally got to me! Now I know why people drink coffee and tea to get through the day (although I haven’t succumbed yet). Every time Emaan was asleep, I would try and sneak in a nap as well, even if it was just for 30 mins. And luckily I had the support of my family to be able to do, alhamdulilah.

But now I feel like I’m getting used to the lack of sleep a little better. I still try to nap at least once in the afternoon, but there’s a lot to get done in the day before I allow myself to do that. There’s laundry, cleaning up, restocking of diapers and wipes, taking the time to eat and shower, and a million other mundane things that take up my day. I’ve been meaning to sit down and write this post for a week now but there’s always something to do during the naps.

The first few weeks were a bit of a haze for her too. But now she’s able to track me with her eyes, and gives me the cutest gummy smile and has even started giggling now. I have no clue what she finds so funny; usually it’s like she’s just laughing at an inside joke only she knows, but it’s the best sound in the world. She smiles at her dad when he comes from work and has started grabbing things (and not letting go). She’s already growing up so fast and it’s only been a month!

Even though it’s already been 5 weeks, it still feels like yesterday that I first held Emaan in my hands. When I’m feeding her and her tiny finger tightly grasps mine, I still can’t believe that she was inside me for 9 months and that I gave birth to her. It honestly feels like a dream.

I still can’t believe she’s all mine. <3 She’s definitely the most precious gift I’ve ever received. 🙂

I thought pregnancy was life-changing, but it was just the beginning. The real adventure is motherhood and it’s just beginning!

Anyways, I’m going to wrap this up before baby girl wakes up! Ramadan Mubarak to all those observing. Hope your Ramadan is going well!

As always, thanks for reading,

Ikhlas