Resolution 1 - Be a fantastic mum

[Please note - This blog post was pre written in advance. I have used a Blogger tool to schedule when these posts appear. Pre written posts will appear once a day until they run out! I may go into labour any day now and am not necessarily monitoring this blog, able to publish or respond to comments or correct errors. Normal service may or may not be resumed depending on how this whole being a mummy thing goes]


In my previous post I outlined how I was planning to behave in 2012 and what my resolutions are. Just to recap they are as follows.

1. Be a fantastic mum
2. Have a well organised home
3. Eat healthy meals most of the time
4. Help my husband as much as I can
5. Get out of the house occasionally and make some friends

I also have two general principles which I'm going to stick to. 

• Principle One: Don't try to do anything else. Stick to the 'big five' resolutions.
• Principle Two: Keep things as simple as possible. Take the easy route where I can. 

Resolution 1 is the most important of all of them but its also possibly the most vague. What does being a good  Mum actually mean? How will I know if I've achieved it? 

To be honest I don't know yet. I suppose I'll get feedback from my husband and family. I imagine the baby might have a few things to say on the matter as well. Other then that there is really no way to measure how I'm doing. 

Ultimately I think this resolution is pretty much well tied in with the other four so I suppose how I perform in those will have the biggest impact. The baby was paramount in my decision to pick those five resolutions. 

Having an organised home will help me to be a good mum. It means my baby will grow up in a comfortable environment and hopefully with a relaxed mummy who knows what needs to be done, doesn't waste time and can therefore devote herself to her baby. 

Resolution 3 will be important in the first few months as I'm planning to breastfeed. I'd like to think that my breast milk will be filled with nutrients and I've got a better chance of achieving this if I stick to a healthy diet then I will if I survive on takeaway pizza and the odd mars bar. Also I'm hoping that by eating well I'll be able to combat some of the new mummy exhaustion that is heading my way hot on the heels of the pregnancy exhaustion that I'm currently 'enjoying'. All the handbooks warn you to have a lot of food to hand and that's what I intend to do. 

Resolution 4 is key to the babies financial and emotional future. Supporting my husband in what ever way I can as much as I can means practical support for the business as well as more generalised emotional support. These are obviously essential for keeping our marriage afloat which has to be good for my little one.

Resolution 5 is a bit more vague but I want to get out into the world so my baby will be well socialised. Research has shown that isolation is bad for mothers and if I can get out into the world and meet other mums in particular I'll probably get loads of useful advice that will help me to raise him well. 

When I get to the end of 2012 I'm hoping to have a baby who has met all his milestones and seems emotionally well adjusted and secure. If I can do that I think I'll have managed Resolution 1 pretty well.