Must haves for surviving the newborn period

So your baby has arrived...congratulations! There is nothing quite like the rush of love and protectiveness you feel when you first meet your little one. The thing is, after the initial high from the birth and the postnatal hormones wear off, reality has a nasty habit of catching up with you. As a new mum, you probably feel like a milk machine if you're breast feeding and, even if you're not, your days are filled with the constant cycle of feeds, sleeps and nappy changes. Your nights are desperate snatches of sleep between feeds. And let's face it, the lack of sleep is going to make the best of us teary.

Firstly, breathe, grab a tissue and acknowledge what a great job you're really doing. Secondly, find ways to survive the early days. I'm still IN the early days and still trying to survive but here are the things that are getting me through:UWPX6VC9MESQ

1. My iPhone. I know, I'm part of -that- generation. I constantly have my phone at my fingertips. But let me tell you, when you're breast feeding at 3am, a mindless game or easy access to facebook is a life saver.
2. A social life. A social life? I can see the raised eyebrows. Your days are filled with keeping your head above water, how on earth can you have a social life? I am lucky enough to have a dear friend who is able to bring me lunch and come for a gentle stroll when I need company but I am also gradually building myself up to going to one or two mum and baby groups. It's taking a while to get over the fear of trying to fit those things in with the hectic schedule of feeds and sleeps, and equally the fear of baby having a meltdown in public but I'm starting small, with places where I know I can breast feed or change baby. The only way is up!
3. A good book. For those stolen moments to yourself when baby is sleeping and you're not.
4. This blog. Truly. Writing about my experiences is really helping.
5. My breast pump. Having hubby do the late feed is like a little piece of freedom. Love it.
6. Online grocery shopping. The idea of trying to take baby to a supermarket is truly terrifying on many levels. I know I'll get there eventually but right now, I'm raising a glass to online shopping!
7. Parenting forums. It's so good to have some other people to discuss issues with, I wouldn't part with them!

I'm pretty sure I'll think of more but these are the first things that spring to mind. Whether you're a closet technology geek like me or not, I hope you find some things to get you through. Pretty soon we'll all be wondering what the fuss was all about. X

Big Fat Positive

BFP. It sounds a little like a character from a Roald Dahl novel and much less like a reference to that momentous occasion when you find out you're pregnant for the first time. My husband and I were exceptionally lucky and we were able to conceive in the first month of trying. I felt pregnant...I knew I was and yet it still took weeks after the Big Fat Positive to really start believing it. I was excited, I was feeling pretty good. I'd even escaped the worst of the dreaded Morning Sickness. This was going to be a breeze. And at the end of my perfect pregnancy, I'd give birth to a perfect child (that's the kind that sleeps through every night, is never sick and definitely doesn't answer back) and we'd all live happily ever after.

Uh-huh.

In those heady early days of trying to conceive and pregnancy when many don't want to share the big news, we are now able to turn to the internet to find solidarity amongst the hundreds of other women waiting for that all-important 12 week scan. As I was initiated into the world of pregnancy forums, I quickly developed a whole new vocabulary - starting with the '2WW' (two week wait), that nail biting wait each month before you can take a pregnancy test and hopefully progressing quickly from the BFNs (Big Fat Negatives) in the TTC (Trying to Conceive) phase to the BIG FAT POSITIVE. After that, there are a mind-boggling number of acronyms from LOs (Little Ones) and DH (Dear Husbands) to MW (Midwives) and BF (Breast Feeding).

I didn't realise when I signed up to that forum just what a life saver it would be. It turns out I didn't have the perfect pregnancy or the painless childbirth I had fantasised about (what a shocker). But when the going got tough, I found I had a very welcome outlet for my questions and anxieties - not just for that initial 3 months but in fact, all the way through pregnancy and beyond. With my new found group of online friends, all due in the same month as me, I was able to discuss even the most sensitive of issues and bodily functions (providing such posts are preceded with the warning 'TMI' - Too Much Information!).

So, in an era where internet friendships are, at best, tolerated and more often belittled, I found a very valuable and supportive group of friends. Long may it continue.