Being a first time Mum can be daunting. While it is the most magical time in one's life it can also be a minefield, with people giving you all sorts of well meaning advice-do's and don'ts, routine scenarios etc. The one great piece of advice that a friend told me was "you know your baby better than anyone, so go with your instinct" and she was right. Despite it all being new to you, your baby is your baby and you will figure it all out together. Sometimes I think it’s harder on Mama than it is on the baby! Being a pharmacist and healthcare professional I know the benefits of breastfeeding and all the wonderful advantages that it has for your new baby. And so armed with a tonne of information & assistance from the team in the hospital I breast fed my new born daughter. Was it tough?-yes it was, was it hard?-yes it was. Am I glad I did it-absolutely! Each feed, once done, was a relief and a sense of achievement (and yes I was keeping tabs). I managed two weeks which I am delighted with but looking back on that very hazy and blurry time now I realise how sleep deprived and emotional I found the whole process. When I made the decision to introduce formula to my daughter I felt like I had failed but I couldn’t ever get the latch right and everything hurt. My entire body was adjusting to the fact that I had recently given birth & let me just say-nobody tells you about all the gorey things that happen to your body when you arrive home with your bundle of joy. Everything about that time was amazing, exhilarating, scary & emotional. This little creature needs you 100% all of the time & it’s full on. During the nights where Ella cried incessantly and I wondered and wondered what I was doing wrong and how long this would go on I said to myself- this is the last night that she is just 3 days old, this is the last night she is 12 days old- I will never have that time again. Those crazy night disappear and now 7 months on I am sad putting her in her cot in her own room because I miss her! Being a first time mum- I read all the books (well mostly, as I skipped a lot of the scary pages). I read all the blogs and I thought I had enough information to deal with the situation. However, everything changes when the baby arrives. The onesies with the matching bibs, the bottles with the matching caps, the nice neat sterilsing station in my utility room where order was to remain at all costs, all disappeared one after the other as I slowly gave way to the total lack of control that invades your home once your baby arrives. There were a few things that I definitely wouldn’t have survived without and of course there are lots that became increasingly irrelevant. So here is my list of essentials to survive a day in the life of Ella.

For Mama:

(All available in our stores with links to items to buy on our online store) MutiMam compresses Multimam nipple shields Lansinoh cream Paracetamol Tea tree oil and lavender oil Natural and gentle shower gels Maternity pads-if you don’t know why you need these you wont be long finding out!

For the baby:

Swaddles and burping bips Buy HERE Tommee tippee perfect prep machine plus an extra filter-will tell you more about this later! (CALL TO ORDER & Pick up in store- 096-77998- Facebook Page Contact -HERE) Bottles, sterilizer, soothers Burts bees baby oil & shampoo Buy Burt's Bees HERE When I started bottle feeding Ella the best thing I ever got was the Tommee Tippee Perfect prep machine. I love it and while it has mixed reviews, I think it is a life saver! No heating bottles, no waiting while she screams the house down and the bottle is ready in two minutes. The sterilizer I went for was a Nuk one which is super easy to use and has all done in six minutes. I like having the order and the control that comes with measuring bottles and formula. If anyone asks me-what are the two essential items you need at the beginning-I say with ease, my mum (the saint) and the Tommee Tippee perfect prep machine (sorry Conal). After a while we got into our groove. I will safely say it took six weeks to emerge from the baby fog and certainly a few more weeks to feel more like my new self (old self is definitely gone). It is simply the most emotional and exciting time in your live and the joy is limitless. (mushy but true). I won't bore you anymore-if you need any other information I am happy to help and can be contacted through our Facebook page HERE or email olivia@foodyspharmacy.com I will be back with more on teething, weaning and some tips for travelling with a baby! Until the next time, Olivia & Ella