Let's be honest and admit that breastfeeding is a little boring. Of course, initially it's all cuddles, unique moments and precious bonding time, but by month three, the novelty wears thin. When it's 3am and your midway through a mammoth cluster feed, I can be forgiven for being less than enthused. There just isn't much to do while feeding is there? I would find myself struggling to think of ways to stay awake and stay entertained - especially during those long night feeds. I tried the usual reading a book or watching TV, and Netflix became my ultimate friend, but by the time I'd binged watched the whole of Friends, Gossip Girl and Line of Duty, I was altogether a bit bored. I'd watch my husband snoring annoyingly beside me, and I slowly felt like I was going insane. That was until I found a much more fun way to pass the time.
Online shopping wasn't a new concept to me, and I had always been partial to a virtual peruse. In most ways, I preferred online shopping to actual shopping. I mean where else is it socially acceptable to wear your PJ's while filling your face with a family-sized bar of chocolate on a Wednesday night? Initially, this new hobby began when I needed to order my older son new trousers for school. I suddenly remembered in the middle of the night while sat bolt upright feeding. It all happened so innocently I put the trousers in the basket and hovered on the checkout button, but at the last moment, I hesitated. I had an innocent gander at the baby clothes, and before I knew it, I had added several items to my order before promptly checking out. It wasn't until a few days later when the package arrived that I remembered even ordering anything. I have to admit there was a brief moment of excitement that felt a bit like Christmas. It became quite addictive, and so I found myself back online the
following evening.
After a few weeks, I had all my favourite shops, bookmarked. By this point, packages were arriving daily, and I was on first-name terms with our delivery driver - Lance! Often I would be ordering items half asleep, so I was just as surprised as my husband when I opened them! The problem was, I often realised when items arrived that what seemed like a great idea in the early hours of the morning wasn't quite as good in the cold light of day. Like the time I thought I'd bagged myself a bargain pair of designer trainers. I was so confused when they showed up, and the box was really tiny. Upon opening them, I realised that I had, in fact, ordered a child's size! Incidents like this meant many trips returning items - much to the dismay of my husband. I would reassure him that it was all free returns and this seemed to appease him initially.
He would make the odd comment about the influx of parcels, but It wasn't until the statements arrived that he really became bothered. He wasn't remotely amused as he highlighted that I had ordered 36 items in the past two weeks. He said it was 'ridiculous, excessive and completely unnecessary' which I thought was a little harsh. I informed him that by breastfeeding we were, in fact, saving money, so if you looked at it from that point of view, it essentially cancelled itself out. He didn't buy that though and subsequently banned me from all online shopping activities. He even said online grocery shopping was off limits! To be fair, I did see his point with that one considering I managed to spend our weekly food budget without a meal to show for it!
In seriousness, I realise that my online shopping did get somewhat out of hand, and it was a good thing to break the habit before we went bankrupt! My husband likes to remind me of these events regularly, and he still thinks I'm on an online shopping hiatus! The reality is that I just make sure Lance chucks the parcels over the gate, so he doesn't see them!
