Thursday 30 October 2014

The symbolism of the pram

I think when most women find out they are pregnant, one of the most exciting prospects of the coming months (aside from actually having a baby) is the excuse for shopping. So much shopping *drools*. Theres so many gizmos and gadgets, necessities and not so necesseties, the clothes, the toys, the cot, the pram. We all love buying baby clothes, and the smaller they are the cuter they get! Then there are all the slightly boring bits and bobs, then the nursery furniture (something I have had the pleasure not to bother thinking about yet), and most excitingly the baby carriage. Aside from the cot, it is the largest piece of baby paraphernalia you will own, and one everybody will see you parading your new bundle about the town in.

There are so many variations on prams and pushchairs available out there, it can feel a little bit daunting. I remember whilst my mum was pregnant with my sister we used to go baby-window-shopping every weekend, and she would carry a notepad and pen around in her bag to write notes and compare prices of all the ones she would try out in the shops. She also used the notepad for price comparisons on pretty much all the baby supplies but that obsession is another story. Whenever we met pregnant people or people with children (whether we really knew them or not) she would quiz them on their choice of baby transportation and scribble it all down like some sort of journalist. Her favourites tended to be the nifty modern types that were super convinient; she ended up with the Urbo from Mamas and Papas. But I always gravitated towards the pretty and traditional looking ones.

When I started to think about baby shopping I barely even looked at any before I stumbled upon the Silver Cross website and fell in love. I was actually just fantasizing about the prospect of a huge coachbuilt pram, a really old one, when i clicked on their site. They still make the coachbuilt ones to order, but they cost about £1250 for the Kensington model and £1450 for the Balmoral (pictured below).

Sigh.

I then settled on the modernised version, the Sleepover Elegance.


I love this pram dearly, it is my pride and joy and I feel proud that I saved up so much of my own money to buy it even though it was so expensive. For once in my life I wanted something beautiful and expensive that I didn't have to feel guilty about because I really did earn it. It is, however, THE most impractical baby transporting device in the world, despite all these mummy magazine awards it has supposedly won. Ok maybe it's not THAT bad, but it certainly is difficult.  It's large and takes quite some time to learn to manoeuvre as the wheels are fixed. You can't really fold it any smaller than it already is, the base goes flat but thats about it. So basically unless you drive a people carrier or a van or a flat bed truck, you have no hopes of taking it anywhere.

But the suspension is beautifully bouncy and the cream leather superior.  It really is a show stopper. Where ever I go people stop and stare, specifically the older ladies,  who I like to call the Pram Pervs. I walk by and hear them whisper "ooh look what a beautiful pram!  It's a Silver Cross!". Some people just stroll on over and tell me it's lovely, and then hastily tack on the end that I also have a very cute baby. Yes, well I know you only came to nose. Good job I know my baby is cute and I don't need confirmation from you!

I don't know about the reasons most women make the pram choices they do, but I certainly know that my choice is an indulgence of my inner little girl who always dreamed of a big Silver Cross. Its what I though motherhood was all about when I was a child. I'm proud to push my baby around in such an iconic masterpiece!

Thursday 2 October 2014

10 things about breastfeeding I never expected

So heres a few things that have surprised me about breastfeeding.  All in good humour of course...

1. MY BOOBS MAKE MILK! WTF! Yeah this is still a novelty to me.

2. If I change my breast pads every feed, I don't need to change my bra right? No I really need a new bra...

3. Expressing milk is the most mind numbing thing you will ever do... especially at 3am in the dark. 20 minutes of trying not to fall asleep whilst keeping the pump going and attempting to use your phone screen to see if there's actually anything coming out or not....

4. That jealous boob feeling.  You feed with one boob and the other one starts leaking because he wants some action too.

5. That over excited boob feeling. My nipples seem to know when baby needs to feed before baby even knows she's hungry.

6. Feeling uber proud of myself that I managed to express 5oz in ten minutes. This mama is a MILK GODDESS!

7. Then crying because I just spilled said 5oz all over the kitchen counter. Considering trying to scoop it back into the bottle because that shit is too valuable!

8. Forceful milk letdown. I wondered what this was until I was feeding Reegan in the baby clinic that is held in a church, she started coughing and pulled off my nipple, causing milk to spurt about three feet over the edge of my seat and onto the bookcase next to me. "Oh jesus! *plugs nipple with muslin* Oh shit, you can say jesus in church! OH FUCK I JUST SWORE IN A CHURCH!!!"

9. Feeing upset when baby is sick because she is wasting my milk. Shouting at my other half when he jiggles baby because she might be sick and I will hold him personally responsible for any loss of liquid boob-gold.

10. The milk sweats. Ugh what even is that!! I smell like I haven't washed in a week!