How My Nappy Bag Became My Lifeline

When I became a mum for the first time, I wasn’t prepared for the feelings of  loneliness that would follow. Now before anyone comes for me in the comments, yes I love being a Mum, I love my kids and I always knew I wanted to be a Mum. Two things can be true at the same time - Cool now we have that out of the way lets dive in. 

 I really thought that I was fully prepared and knew what to expect when I was due with my first born.  A lot of my friends already had kids and I had a lot of experience with babies, so I assumed I was good to go. But no one talks about how isolating those first few months can feel. 

After all the visitors fizzle out and your partner has to go bak to work the silence can be deafening. I went from a very social full time job and a a busy social life, to being home alone with my baby, all day every day. So much of my time was suddenly taken up by nap schedules, feeding times, and nappy changes.

Yes of course there are  the beautiful snuggles, first smiles, learning to sit up, and all the amazing parts of becoming a mother, but that does not mean that we can't talk about the hard parts, and we MUST allow new Mums to talk about how they are feeling.  

At times I felt like breastfeeding had become my full-time job. The couch became my new best friend, my body now belonged to my baby, and everyone else seemed to keep moving on while I was stuck in a loop of feed, nap, change, repeat.

Quite honestly what got me through that time was  making myself get out of the house.  I was lucky to live in a state where all new Mums get allocated a mothers group of other new Mums you can meet up with, and this was such a lifeline to me. Thankfully most of us got along well and having other Mums with babies the same age as mine was so helpful because we all dealt with the same phases of at the same time.

Whether it was going to mothers' group, meeting up with a friend for coffee, or just taking a walk in the fresh air— getting out of the house helped me so much.

But leaving the house as a new mum without anyone else there to help was very overwhelming at first. I suddenly had a tiny human who was relying on me for everything—and I was panicked about forgetting something, or missing nap time! 

This is really one of the things that inspired me to start my business. My nappy bag became my tool for getting out and about without feeling too stressed about it. I started packing the bag the night before so I could check, and double check that I had everything I needed packed and ready to go for both myself and my son. 

Motherhood is hard, and yes it can feel very isolating and overwhelming. But you’re not alone. And sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of fresh air, a walk with your baby, or a chat with a friend who gets it.