Model Mother

By Laura Yates on Mar 11, 09 06:43 PM

The day after my night out in Kings Heath, we journeyed Londonward to see Rona, a woman who until recently actually was pregnant (and not just doing an impression like I was the night before).

The beautiful baby was just two weeks old. I love spending time in the company of new babies and new parents. I love hearing the story of the birth, and seeing how the new mommies and daddies are adjusting to their new life. No matter if parents are anxious, overwhelmed or completely at ease there is always that tangible sense of excitement mixed with the aroma of fairy non-bio and that delicious, nostalgic 'new-baby smell'.

This particular baby girl was absolutely adorable, and Rona, despite only having given birth the week before was looking amazing. There was no sense of putting on any kind of front, she was just one of these women to whom motherhood comes naturally.

The model mother came complete with clean, shiny hair, perfectly applied make-up and a waist-line. Attributes I didn't possess till a good few months after the birth of The Kid. The whole house was an advert for having babies.

Now, I loved having people round so I could show of my beautiful new arrival, but there are certain rules that must be followed when visiting new babies.

Don't go with a massive crowd of people.
Offer to make drinks.
Don't go round if you're ill.
Don't outstay your welcome - a quick visit would be up to an hour, and not more than an hour and a half.
If the parents begin to look tired or stressed, that is your cue to leave.

With all that in mind we were planning to stay for around an hour. Unfortunately for Rona this wasn't meant to be. There was an unavoidable delay in the proceedings and we were there for over two hours. During the last hour the new mother began to feel sick. The poor woman spent ages in the bathroom while her husband looked after us and the baby.

My heart went out to her. Imagine, having a new baby, no sleep the night before, visitors turn up (two of which you've never met) and they're in your house for hours. Then on top of everything you start to feel sick. If that had of been me I think I'd have fallen down the stairs covered in vomit and made it very clear to all concerned that visiting hours were well and truly over.

I remember years ago when my friend Emma had her second daughter she welcomed a massive number of family and friends to her house a matter of hours after the birth. She happily made them all tea while the sleeping baby was passed round and round. This was all well and good at the time. Emma got a great many comments on how well she was coping and all around were impressed.

Later that night the newborn baby decided that actually, she didn't want to sleep quietly anymore. It was at this point that Emma realised that she herself had not slept in two days and spent the best part of one of those days in labour. Dealing with a restless baby after a house full of guests is something no new mother needs to be doing. Emma subsequently used any quiet time to sleep and not entertain visitors.

I loved hearing the story of Rona's labour - people have been emailing me with their own funny labour stories for me to put on a future blog. If you've got a funny labour story you'd like to share, email it to
fromheretomaternity@live.co.uk