The beginning

As a hopeful expectant mum embarking on maternity leave my mind was filled with ideas about how I’d spend my days while my baby slept soundly every few hours. Mine would be a placid child, the take every where kind who would sleep in a pram while I enjoyed that hard-earned cappuccino and muffin at a different al-fresco café every week.  Mums reading this are probably tittering at my first-timer naivety, already knowing where this is heading.

My baby boy heralded his arrival with a lusty screech just as the sun rose on October 28, 2009. And save for the couple of weeks newborn reprieve, he has been doing so ever since. Judging by the particular pitch of his cries I soon found out his opinion on a variety of carefully chosen baby gizmos. His pram – with its comfy interior, light handling and suspension – was hell on wheels, the car capsule was worse, eliciting the kind of choking screams which knife a mother’s heart. His only comfort was the ergo baby carrier, which soothed him to sleep while we paced the hallway or pounded the pavement and gave me back both my hands to get about my day. I didn’t think it was possible to love an inanimate object so much – that carrier gave me a taste of the kind of freedom that I thought was now lost to me.

The reason for these ramblings? I soon realised how isolated my world had become. Although I made the effort to get out most days, my son strapped to me, I started to feel on edge, my sanity brushing the inside of my palm threatening to slip away at any moment. Grateful to be aware of this, as I am sure many women aren’t, I decided to start this blog as a way to save my own sanity and potentially other mums out there.  Getting out and about is often an integral part of a new mum’s wellbeing and self-esteem but it can be frightening endeavour trying to navigate your way through a world that’s not always child-friendly.

This blog is my journey, and hopefully there will be some hints and tips in it for you too.