Natural mum or be prepared?

I was astounded yesterday as a work colleague (we’ve only been working together since I was back after maternity leave) asked me if I was ever going to have more kids.  Her reasoning was “you seem like the type to have a brood of 3 or 4”.  I almost fell off my chair laughing.

For those who’ve read my tagline (“mother of one, formerly child avoider”), you can probably sympathise.

She went to to explain that she just thought I seemed really relaxed and chilled out when talking about N, and how it all seemed really natural.  Quite an honour really, I guess most mums would like to be thought of as a natural mum, although really I think I did a lot of preparation, thinking, research, and wanted to be chilled out during pregnancy in the hope I’d end up with a fairly chilled out baby.

It seemed to work, and luckily I’m quite relieved.  I think if we’d ended up with a colicky baby or a really high maintenance one, I’d be giving off different vibes.  I also think that having a great support system really helps pre & post having a baby.  I obviously have family on the doorstep; friends who’ve had babies and could impart their experience and wisdom, and my NCT friends.  But some of the best support has come from my online mum friends.  We were all pregnant together, our babies were born within 2 months of each other, so we’ve been through lots and am sure we’ll go through things together in the future.  I’m sure having so many people to discuss learnings & questions with does help me be more relaxed.