Aside from labour and birth, this was probably the most difficult, frightening, intimidating and emotional time that I have ever been faced with. The reality of it all suddenly hits you like a ton of bricks. Your little baby that you spent nine months incubating and endless hours getting out is suddenly in your arms and home with you and the question that kept thumping about in my head was “what on earth do I do?”.

I was tired, on completely new territory and absolutely in love with my gorgeous baby girl. The midwife does pop in quite a lot in the first two weeks to check that you and the baby are doing ok, give a little support and answer any questions you might have. This did help but at the same time I could remember thinking “just leave us all alone”. Midwife talk has just reminded me…For some stupid reason I was always apologising for the ‘mess’ in my house (as you will soon find out, housework is that last thing on your mind when you have just given birth). Please, please, please try to ignore it as you really can’t afford to overdo things when your body is still recovering. If it worries you that much, see if a family member can help out by dong some dishes/hovering/laundry etc. One of the midwives said to me that she would be worried if it was neat and tidy considering that there’s a new baby to be looked after, which did ease my mind as that was exactly why things weren’t as I like it.

Now, the little surprise that I (stupidly) hadn’t thought about and certainly wasn’t banking on was the fact that my once delicate, little lady bits suddenly resembled a beaten up baked good with the throbbing feeling that one would get if kicked there with a steel toe capped boot. I’m sure that I don’t recall reading in any of the little booklets about pregnancy and birth “Err, by the way, your insides will be on the outside for about a fortnight and you will be forced to walk like John Wayne.” I recommend Arnica tablets to help bring down the swelling and bruising along with a few drops of Essential Lavender Oil in your bath. Ahhh, relaxing isn’t even the word.

Oh, yes…and the dreaded first visit to the loo after giving birth. After 5 days of not daring to open my bowels, my step-mum got me to take 2 sennacot tablets to get the ball rolling. I still get flash backs to this day…It was like passing a bloomin’ comet. Take a tip from me girls, don’t put it off like I did, or your first one will be so huge that it will have its own gravitational pull. I imagine that it would have been much less painful if I had just got it over and done with sooner. My bad.

Understandably, my family were as wrapped up in my little girl as I was and in the beginning came around every day to see us. Getting into the swing of being a new mum with barely any sleep and a sore everything is difficult in itself, and if you feel that you can’t deal with someone else there almost all the time then you have to just say. Don’t worry about treading on toes, as I’m sure that your family and friends will all understand. There were a few occasions where I did request this, but luckily my family are supportive and understanding anyway. I for some reason felt (and still do I suppose) the constant need to prove that I could do everything and be a good Mum, particularly to my family, and unbeknownst to me, was being incredibly protective to the point where it made my Grandmother feel like I didn’t want her to hold her Great-Grand-Daughter. If I could take this back, I would, as I know she loves her dearly and would never do anything to hurt her. My only explanation is that I was a new mum that didn’t want to let her baby out of her sight for a minute. Not to alienate the people that I love. Family are there for you and really did make all the difference, so thank you all.

This brings me onto my Husband. He was my rock throughout and is still a very good Dad. He helped with everything and did all the cooking, washing etc throughout his paternity leave. So ladies, make sure to get your other half in on the nitty gritty!

For my last few little tips I would just like to remind you all to not forget to eat, sleep when the baby does (co-sleep if it’s easier!) and above all, do things the way that is best for you. I have every confidence that you will be fantastic mummies. Enjoy every minute of it.