Three different Slings

So I was given three different slings for my newborn baby, I wasn't sure which one would be best so I decided to keep them all and try each of them out to figure out which one worked best for me and baby.
The first sling is called a Nimnik sling, this sling is very strong and sturdy, it also has a seat from babies bum adding extra comfort for them.
 
The problem with this sling is that it's really bulky, due to the extra seating for the baby it seems to stick out a lot as you can see from the second picture. Although it is more comfortable for the baby i prefer a sling that's more tucked in and neat, also this sling is better suited for bigger babies around the age of three months. I tried using it for my little one around a few weeks old and he was falling out the sides and it wasn't supporting him at all. This sling I would Recommend if you are looking to carry your baby in one once they are abit older than a few weeks old, I only plan on using the sling during the first month or two so this sling isn't right for me.

The next sling I tried is from mothercare, it isn't bulky like the first one its just a basic sling that most strores seem to sell. It is a very near looking sling and it's very easy to use, it does feel super secure when baby is in there also.


However I found this sling really hurt my back, after ten minutes of using it my back starts to ache and then I have to take it off again. This is no use if I am looking to go outside with my son, I guess it's ok if I am doing abit of housework and my son won't let me put him down on his own. I considered the idea that it might just be my back, so my husband gave it a go also and after about ten minutes of wearing it he said his back was hurting and he wanted to take it off. I'm insure why it hurts  the back so much maybe it doesn't offer enough support for carrying a baby, my baby is normal weight for a one month old and we did try it when he was first born (weighing eight pounds) but still encountered the same problem. I would not recommend this sling

Then we come to my favourite sling, the Cuddlebug, alongside the cute name this sling is my absolute favourite out of all three! You could consider it to be more of a wrap then a sling as its just a giant piece of material that you wrap baby around you in. I would recommend this sling/wrap to anyone, it is extremely easy to use and it's easy to get baby in and out of. I have also found this sling really works well if you are breastfeeding as the material is stretchy so you can pull or move it in different directions to get baby comfortable for a feed. The sling comes with instructions but once you know how it works you will be able to put it on so quickly without any struggle, another positive About this sling is that it takes up hardly any space. Say you take your pushchair and the sling out, when you are no longer using it, it folds up really small and can be tucked into the changing bag or under in the basket of the pushchair.
As soon as I put my son in this and start moving he falls asleep straight away, he seems to stay asleep until I actually take the sling off which is brilliant for me as I can actually get some things done. If you are a new mum looking for a sling to buy I would say go for this one, I have also heard many other mothers compliment the cuddlebug and it looks super cute on!

Out of mummies bed into his own

So my little boy is now just over three weeks old,  during my time in the hospital I didn't want to leave him in the bed they provided. I just couldn't stop holding him and I wanted him close to me always, after returning home from the hospital I then had him stay in my bed next to me, for three weeks it has been like this. I put him his that hospital cot about twice!

 
However in the last couple of days I have tried to get him into his cot, so I can have my own bed back and he can make use of his, although it's lovely to cuddle up at night and sleep with him in my arms it's better for the both of us if he stays in his cot. If you are struggling like I did to get him to stay on his own don't worry it just takes time, you have to really be determined to make it work and just keep trying. For about four nights I have had to keep putting him back after each feed, although it is much easier to just let him fall asleep next to me after breastfeeding I am going to try my hardest to place him back in his cot.
I moved his cot right next to my bed, so he can see me at all times and I don't have to go far to put him back, I also have placed a worn top of mine under the sheet so it smells of me. Alongside the thins mentioned above I have had to give my son a dummy, although I never wanted to at the beginning I needed too give him one, this is due to the fact he was using my boob as a comforter. He wouldn't be drinking he would just keep it in his mouth, which meant every time I took him off and put him into his cot he would wake up and cry. The dummy has meant he stays in his cot and falls asleep alone without me holding him or cuddling him, for some people they may like sharing their bed with the baby however I found I never really sleepy properly due to the worry of rolling onto him or something.
I should have listened to my sister when she went on at me about putting him in his bed in the hospital and letting him learn to be on his own, but I decided not to listen as I just couldn't put him down. The cot looked so big and cold and he was so tiny and just wanted to be snuggled, but now he is over three weeks I feel like I know he is going to be ok, that he doesn't need to be in my arms all the time and I feel it's safer for him in there.

My best advice if you are trying to get him into the cot is using a top or something that smells of you and placing it in his cot or under the sheet, a dummy if you find he uses your boob for comfort, I also give him formula just before bed as it is heavier on there stomach so he sleeps for longer and then after that throughout the night I breastfeed him. I must confess that I also place him on his tummy to sleep, I know you are advised not to by professionals but my mum did it with all three of her children, my sister did it with her son, and I'm doing it with mine and he sleeps for hours. He hates being on his back, I am not saying you should try this, you have to do what you feel comfortable with as its your baby, however I have found this works best for my son.

Nursery inspiration

Nursery inspiration for mums to be 💕
So I was unsure if I was having a girl or a boy, as at the last scan they were unable to tell me because baby was curled up in an awkward position. Therefore I decided to go with a colour scheme of grey and white so regardless of the gender it would still be suitable.
I currently only have a small flat, so babies nursery is in the corner of my bedroom, I couldn't buy as much as I would've liked to due to not having enough space for it all. But I decided to give my son a little corner of his own and attempt to make it cute and cosy for him.

My inspiration came from this picture below I hope when I move in a few months and have more space I can add more to his nursery and make it more similar to this picture I love.



 I purchased the cot of mine from IKEA for £55 pounds it's really good quality for money and is light to move around and clean under, it also has different levels that you can place the mattress. This will come in handy for when baby starts getting older as the front can be taken off and it can be left as a bed for him. The mattress also came from Iowa for £20 and two sheets for £8 this mattress is really soft for the baby and a good size that fits many different cots.  The cot cloud and star mobile Was purchased from the white company for £20 although his doesn't spin or play any music I found it really cute and thought it fitted with my the near, I couldn't find one with clouds and stars that had any music or moved so I went with this one. The tiny grey wall stickers I purchased on eBay they come in a pack of 16 for £5 and you can get various sizes I found these really sweet and thought they would add some decoration to babies corner instead of just a while wall.  Lastly the basket filled with baby teddies and odd bits and bobs is from Tkmaxx for £9.99 💕 They sell many different ones with various patterns on!

Developing a breast infection whilst breastfeeding

So unfortunately during the week I developed a breast infection also known as mastitis, this infections happens in the tissue of the breast. Breast infections are most common among women who are breastfeeding, when the nipples become cracked and sore, allowing bacteria from a baby’s mouth to enter the breast. I thought the pain and problems with breastfeeding were long gone as I've been feeding my son for over three weeks now and had no further problems, I had never heard of this infection before and antibiotics are given by the doctor to prevent a cyst or abscess occurring. 

From developing this infection one of my boobs became hard and sore again, when baby sucked it caused a sharp pain through my breast, it was also really red on one section. I also developed flu like symptoms, this was really difficult to have whilst looking after a newborn baby! I had to beg my friend to come over and take care of me as my body hurt and my head was pounding, I was sweating and then shivering and I was so so tired. 

If you have any pain and swelling in your breasts or a red rash on one side then you should get it check out by the doctors, however the doctor will advice you to keep on feeding from the breast that hurts. Honestly you should keep feeding from it, the more you feed from it the better the chance you have of it becoming unblocked, it worked really quickly for me and helped my breast go back to normal. 

Also another few things you can do is massage the area, this really helps stimulate the milk flow and encourage the milk to become unblocked, you have to do it regularly throughout the day. I started doing this as soon as I got home from the doctors alongside hot compresses using a flannel and warm water, and it started feeling better straight away. Don't give up on breastfeeding if you really want to do it, as these problems that occur are only temporary and it will go back to normal quickly, I've decided to stick with breastfeeding and just keep giving it a go. 

Morning sickness

So for some very lucky pregnant women, they experience no morning sickness or very mild morning sickness. Mine was the complete opposite of that, at about three months I developed hyperemesis gravidarum also known as excessive vommiting.

This for me lasted almost my whole pregnancy, I found it to hard to work or really do much as every time I went outside I ended up throwing up. Although I was always prepared with a carrier bag it still doesn't make you feel any less embarrassed especially when you don't look pregnant yet, as I'm sure people probably thought I had a rough night out or something!

Hyperemesis gravidarum is not somethings you can really get used to, I always tried every possible medication to try calm it down just so I could try get my life back to normal. But nothing really worked for me, I ended up losing a lot of weight and visited the hospital many times for a drip due to dehydration. However I can say that one medication called ondansetron did eventually calm the sickness down, it didn't stop all together but I was able to keep some fluid and drink down.

The best advice I can give is to visit the hospital if you have been throwing up mostly everything you have taken in, don't leave it to long if you are feeling weak or dehydrated. Anything that you fancy eating or drinking in the day try it, as even if you are sick some may stay down which means you are getting some nutrients rather then none. Try AVOID foods strong in flavour as this can really put you off them for that and also try avoid greasy or fatty foods. 

Another thing that helped me during my sickness was my partner, he kept encouraging me to eat and drink even when I fancied nothing and he ran me baths when I didn't have the energy to do it myself.

I can't tell anyone to take medication or not as its a personal choice, obviously it's better to try and  take nothing during your  pregnancy. However If you are finding the sickness to much to cope with then you should consider speaking to the doctor, I had tried a lot for the sickness to try calm it down and I took one throughout the whole if my pregnancy and this had no effect on my sons health.

My wonderful waterbirth

So I decided I really wanted a water birth with my son, I've heard a lot of people say they wouldn't want one because the water would be abit gross after birth or it would get cold and become uncomfortable. I had a very positive experience with a water birth, for my next child I would definitely have one again, my water remained warm throughout the whole two hours of my labor in there and the water didn't become gross during of after the birth of my son.
If you are anything like me and take hour long huge bubble baths then I would seriously consider a water birth as its very relaxing during labor and it can ease some of the pain you are experiencing.

Another thing I found amazing about it was that when on my back pushing the baby out I was slightly sat up and I was able to see my babies head come out and then his whole body. On a bed you can't really see this that well but in water your body tends to float a little so you can really see what's happening, I know not all people like to look but I promise you it's not that bad!

The advice I will give expecting mothers is to stay home as long as possible with those contractions, until you are getting three every ten minutes. I did this and once I got into the hospital I went straight to my birthing pool and was ready to push the baby out, the worst thing to do is go to soon as they will not offer you pain relief if you aren't far enough along, if they use the pain relief to early it will have no effect during labour.
Another bit of advice is to call the hospital when you are on your way, as the pools take a while to fill up, so if you tell them they can start preparing the room for you ready for your arrival. Otherwise you could miss your chance of having a waterbirth as once the baby wants to come out and you feel the urge to push the last thing you will want to do is meet up and move rooms!

Newborns attachment to mum

So my week old son will not let me put him down even for five minutes, I have learnt the art of doing everything one handed from washing up to sweeping floors. I read somewhere that the baby at this age doesn't understand the concept of being their own person, so when you leave them they feel abandoned. Many people have suggested leaving then to cry it out, but being a new mum I find it to hard to hear my baby screaming and crying for attention!
I feel like my whole life is currently on hold, i used to take hour long baths, cook  luxurious meals and have endless amounts of time for myself. Whereas now, I'm lucky if I even get dressed anymore and make it out of my flat, it's a hard thing to adjust too especially after so many years of freedom.
My advice to mothers experiencing the same problem, is to just accept that this tiny newborn baby needs you, you are second now, the baby is number one top priority!

In regards to getting anything done at home I have started using my sling, he falls asleep as soon as I put him in which then allows me some time to cook and clean which was proving  impossible whilst holding him in my arms before.
I have decided to just enjoy the fact that someone wants to be with me all day everyday, your baby loves you and feels comforted by the sound of your heart beat or the warmth of your body. So don't deny them this comfort, spend time with your newborn as they grow up so fast and you will only regret it.