Now that our baby has passed the newborn months my husband and I have had more time to reflect on the experiences we had in late pregnancy and childbirth. One of the things we discussed was our experience of our chosen antenatal course. Unfortunately we believe there are many things about it that need improving. …
Becoming mum
A useful section for new mums or mums-to-be featuring my experiences of pregnancy and advice for new parents!
Life-saving vaccines, tests and supplements to have during pregnancy
As the focus in the media lately has been on the potential new vaccine for Covid19, I thought it time to blog about the necessary vaccines and other tests you should have during pregnancy. Vaccines on the NHS There are two essential vaccines that you should have when pregnant. They are provided for free on …
Breastfeeding – why I became an exclusive expresser
There seems to be so much literature out there about breastfeeding and an increasing amount about formula feeding. Something that is less talked about is expressing. In fact, expressing breast milk seems to be a fairly new phenomenon (perhaps because pumps have improved over the years). In this blog post I want to discuss my …
I’ll never be “that mum”… the many things I said before having a baby!
I won’t dress all ‘mumsy’ I remember watching a series on TV like ’10 years younger’ or some other trash and saying to my husband “I’ll never let myself go like that and dress all mumsy.” Haha! How wrong I was! I now sport the mum bun daily, live in leggings, wear dungarees on a …
Ouch! Postpartum joint pain
I’m too young to creak! At 31 I think of myself as reasonably young (though apparently I’m only 4 years away from being considered a ‘geriatric mother’ – jeez!) Despite this perceived youth, since giving birth my knees have become creaky and painful. I needed answers for why my knees were playing up. Maybe it …
Why Isaac? Choosing my baby’s name…
What’s in a name? “What’s their name?” is often the first sentence new parents hear when they introduce their baby to friends and family. A name is so very important. It stays with the baby as they grow into adulthood and (hopefully!) for the rest of their life. There are so many factors to consider …
Shout out to the midwives!
In these incredibly difficult and dangerous Covid-19 times every front line worker deserves our applause and huge respect. This includes the unbelievable everyday heroes that are midwives! I had an easy pregnancy, a lovely pregnancy, and didn’t need much support from community midwives (though every one I saw at antenatal check-ups was lovely). My true …
Perils of prodromal labour
Before becoming pregnant (in fact before I was 40 weeks pregnant!) I had never heard of prodromal or ‘false’ labour before. I just assumed you had your contractions, your water’s broke (in either order) and bam you’re in labour and will welcome your bundle of joy in the next few hours! How wrong I was… …
The big gender question…
To find out or not to find out? When expecting a baby one of the most exciting parts can be finding out whether you’re having a little boy or a little girl. According to research from 2001 reviewed in 2015, 58% of both men and women choose to find out the gender of their unborn …
From Pregnant to Parent
… what I know now that I didn’t know then During pregnancy I read all the ‘childbirth’ and ‘pregnancy’ books going and I knew far more about the labour and pushing a baby into the world than how to actually care for it for the next 18 years! When baby did arrive many of my …