Confessions of a New Mum - Guest Post by Bron | Motherhood

This is the second guest post from other bloggers about their memories of being a new Mum. If you would like to write a post for this series let me know in the comments or send me an email to kylie(@)kyliepurtell(dot)com

The gorgeous Bron is sharing her story of being a new Mum today and can I just say, it is emotional, heart-breaking and inspirational all at once. Reading Bron's post really put everything about my own struggles of being a new Mum in perspective for me. I am so impressed and inspired by Bron's strength and courage in the face adversity and terrifying times. Her children are gorgeous and her words are simply wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing your story Bron!

" Does he have brain damage?" Andrew asks.

I laugh out loud wondering where he got that idea.

I am in shock, exhausted,delirious.

Andrew is crying. Family are outside the door crying.

I am just hungry.

I just watched as they tried to resuscitate my child. Two fingers in his tiny chest. He is white. Floppy. No noise.....and still reality has not sunk in.

" Your son just suffered a severe hypoxic event during birth. His brain has been starved of oxygen and yes he will have brain damage." says a doctor.

" He is extremely sick".

" We are just waiting to see if we can transfer him, and if he will survive the night. There is not a great chance of that happening"

No smiles

No congratulations

No bringing my baby onto my chest

No latching on

No celebration

Welcome to being a first time Mother. This is not the fantasy I had been dreaming about for the last nine months.

I stand up and walk. I get to see my baby before he is taken to a city hospital intensive care unit. His hair is matted with blood, he is filled with tubes, he is sedated. He is mine.

He is alive. Just.

The first month of being a first time Mum for me involved traveling into the city each and every day to sit next to my baby in the special care nursery. On day three my baby had an MRI that confirmed damage to the area of his brain that controls movement, the basal ganglia. It controls all the messages sent to the muscles in the whole body, and indeed I would discover just how many.

We had the turn off machines talk. We met with the psychologist most days.

I would cry every night I had to leave him and smile each morning I got to see him.

Cerebral Palsy. All four limbs. His trunk. His mouth.

I thought oh yeah Steady Eddy, that will be alright.......obviously since then I have learnt that CP is a huge umbrella term and not one person is the same.

Cooper came home after a month and I began to be a real mum. Sort of. Not the Mum I thought I would be, different, hardened, hope crushed. Andrew was full of hope, always has been.

Cooper required a NG tube to be fed as he had no suck, swallow reflex. I would pump and pump and then syringe the fluid down the tube every four hours. I had major guilt issues about not breastfeeding even though for my baby it was physically impossible.

We had a nurse who would visit us everyday. We then started to have home-visits from physios, occupational therapists, speech therapists. There was always someone there who seemed to know my baby better than me. Everyone thought they knew what was best for him.

" play him music, kids like him love music".......

" take him swimming for his muscles"

" feed him this way, hold him that way, give him tummy time, support his neck"

  

Inside I wanted to scream. I wanted to just enjoy my baby. I wanted to feel confident in making the best decision for my child and my family. But there was always professionals involved.

  

I often wondered what parents of neurotypical kids did all day? I would often see them sitting in the park chatting, walking to a cafe. I would see them at the health nurse worrying about sleep cycles or feeding. I would stare blankly as my first time Mum issues seemed like they were from a different planet. I found it very hard to relate to normality.

  

Would he keep living?

Would he eat?

Would he make a noise?

Would he walk, talk, play, smile, run, jump,

I joined a Mothers group that I would float in and out of depending on how I was feeling emotionally. Sometimes it was just to hard to witness these kids roll, crawl, walk and to hear parents complain about their kids getting into the cupboard or climbing. I sat there silently, trying not to cry and wishing it was my baby who was getting into mischief rather than lying so still.

Time passed. I began to see my baby as Cooper rather than as Cerebral Palsy and we found our feet with our new kind of normal. Our little family of three.

I am extremely proud of being Coopers mother and am forever thankful that he fought to survive so that I can be.

Previous Confessions...
Confessions of a New Mum Part One - Learning Curves and 'Un'Enjoyment
Confessions of a New Mum Part Two - Stitched Up
Confessions of a New Mum Part Three - The Part-time SAHM
Confessions of a New Mum Part Four - Mum Appreciation
Confessions of a New Mum Part Five - Losing My Confidence
Confessions of a New Mum - Kelly from Handmade Tears and Triumphs (Guest Post)
Confessions of a New Mum - Bron from Big Brother, Little Sister & the Baby (Guest Post)
Confessions of a New Mum - Jenn from Mountains & Musings (Guest Post)