Surviving A Newborn with Grace

As we begin the month of May, traditionally the month of Mary, may we pray for all new mothers and mothers to be that they be strengthened by the intercession of the Mother of all of us.

My newest grandson is 17 days old. His dad must work 12 hour days for the next two weeks and his mum, my daughter is recovering from a traumatic birth experience, the kind that happens in one in  thousand births. Basically, she almost died. So I am helping out during the weekdays. After walking and rocking for hours, I wonder how I managed to mother nine newborns because it is exhausting. Life is indeed reduced to the basics as we mother new life.

I AM REMINDED OF HOW DEMANDING LIFE IS WHEN WE ARE YOUNG MOTHERS.

As every mother knows, a newborn takes at least eight hours a day to nurse, burp, rock and comfort, bath, change clothes and diapers (at least ten times a day), and to wash diapers, clothes, receiving blankets, sheets and baby blankets as well as your clothes which tend to get covered in vomit, and other nasty surprises.
The lack of sleep leads to a rather narrow existence where the best days are when you can sneak in a nap or shower and dress before noon. Oh, those were the days when babies reduced life to the basics.
Guess what?
Those basics were all I required when I relaxed and allowed myself to live in the moment, enjoying my newborn rather than bemoaning all the "important" activities that I couldn't seem to even start . continue reading>