Here at Harrogate Mumbler we are absolutely thrilled on this drizzly Monday morning to hear the wonderful news that Meghan & Prince Harry are expecting their first child together in the spring. Between the two of us Mums working here at Harrogate Mumbler, we’ve got 5 children, ranging in age from 11 months to 9 years old and so I think that we are well placed to offer Meghan some words of wisdom as she enters this whole new world.
Naturally Meghan’s Royal pregnancy and Royal baby will have a very different experience than most of us, however we are pretty sure that many of the ups and downs as first time parents will be the same.
So Meghan & Harry, a huge congratulations from us at Harrogate Mumbler, but we’re going to let you in on the secret- this is what you need to know…
- Enjoy each other while you can. Once this little baby is born , your lives will be pulled in different directions for a period of time. You will have regular competitions about whose life is harder. who has had less sleep, who does more with the baby. You’re marriage may very well hang together by a thread at some points, but cling on to that thread- it’s worth it in the end and it will get easier!
- Spend as much time on your own as you can (bodyguards and security permitting, of course Ma’am!) Relish those moments of solitude when you can use the loo by yourself- a long hot bath- bliss! A shower without a toddler in there with you…. you get the picture!
- Start and finish a meal together. Naturally given both of your Royal duties, you’ll get to do this occasionally when Royal engagements dictate, however when it is just the two of you and your baby at home this won’t happen for a while. Sods law dictates that the baby will wake up or need feeding just when you sit down together. He or she will need rocking or cuddling or changing just as you begin to eat. You will begin to expect (or simply get used to) having your food cold!
- Drink your tea or coffee whilst it’s hot. After baby is born this will become a distant memory and drinking your coffee cold (or luke warm if you’re lucky) is standard. It becomes normal.
- Savour normal conversations that go back and forth with another adult, that don’t revolve around bodily functions. You will be utterly amazed by how normal poo, wee and sick conversations become, that is not even to touch on leaky boobs, car-crash lady-gardens, perineums, tears and rips…. the list is both long and depressing!
- Make sure you use all of your gorgeous clutch bags– they will be relegated to the back of the wardrobe- Actually this one probably doesn’t apply to you Ma’am, you can probably have someone carry all of your crap in a huge changing bag for you.
- Dry-shampoo. Buy it by the truckload. Again this one might not apply to you Ma’am but for most mums- this one is a game changer. At Mumbler HQ we used it until out hair was probably 90% dry shampoo!
- Be kind to yourself. No-one knows that they are doing in those first few weeks, everyone falls apart a little bit sometimes, everyone will have a moment when they think that they’ve reached their limit. It’s ok, it’s completely normal and I promise, it will get easier. This is when you need your girl-gang around you. Call on your mum, your sister-in-law, and your old friends and make new “mummy-friends” through NCT courses or similar. Sometimes this girl-gang can’t make it easier for you, but just knowing that they’re there or that they have been having sleepless nights too, will make you feel better.
- Enjoy the baby while they are young. This one will fall on deaf ears but it’s true. You’ll wake up one day 10 years from now, wondering about secondary schools and wonder where those years have gone. The first few weeks are so hard, but they don’t last for ever. It’s just a phase and it will get easier.
- You will not even be able to imagine how much you will love that little scrap of a human being! It might hit you like a thunderbolt as soon as they are born, or it might creep over you in the days, weeks and months as you get to know each other but either way, it will take your breath away, it will floor you and it is both terrifying and wonderful. What’s more, if you go on to have a second or third child you don’t share your love- you generate more.
