New Mum Life 101

Latest Posts

  • Advocating for the Neurodivergent Child

    2025 has been a huge wake up call for me as a mother – realising that one of my children may always need additional support.

    Before this I was fairly obnoxious to the world of the neurodiverse and now it’s my reality every day. Trying to keep them safe, happy and calm is the constant battle, however an additional battle is trying to make sure others can respectfully understand that this is who they are.

    It’s not down to parenting or being ‘naughty’ when a child is neurodiverse. It’s simply who they are and how they react to the world. They see and react to everything through their own lense, which can be hard to interpret unless you’re with them regularly.

    It is difficult striking the balance for them of keeping them protected and allowing them to experience the world like every other child is able to.

    My own tip to any parent or adult in this world is to take everything with a neurodiverse child with a pinch of salt and never judge.

  • Hypnobirthing – Did it Work?

    Yes is the simple answer to this.

    I used hypnobirthing through all 4 of my births (including the miscarriage) and I highly advocate the use of it making my experiences so positive and calm.

    To begin with, I used YouTube to start researching into it then I did a course with The Positive Birth Company in my first pregnancy and the tools from that stayed with me throughout all my experiences.

    The best things I found most useful were:

    • Breathe in for 4 – out for more.
    • Lavender oil.
    • Visualising.
    • Positive affirmations.
    • Dark room with fairy lights.
    • Own music playlist.

  • Financially Surviving Maternity Leave

    Disclaimer: some of the links in this post are referral bonuses.

    I’ve been on maternity leave 3 times and have definitely felt the squeeze of the reduced maternity pay that is offered during those times.

    This has made me have to research ways to earn extra money to survive these times. I’ll admit, none of them brought in loads of money but they made enough to survive.

    Vinted

    Sold over 400 items in 3 years – mostly baby clothes which then helped buy the next size I needed. Click for referral link.

    Matched Betting

    Very beneficial but limited unless you have the time to do the additional offers. I used OddsMonkey for this and found it really useful.

    Surveys

    Prolific has been the one to boost income the most. I tried others but nothing really stuck with payouts being too high or not offering enough surveys. Across 3 years I’ve managed to earn £1000 from Prolific.

    Market Research

    This one is amazing for payouts if you get picked to do them. The best site for opportunities has been Respondent and the studies are genuinely interesting.

    Mobile Gaming

    Swagbucks and TesterUp (on the App Store) have helped pay out for these and helped during night feeds.

    Cashback

    Only recently jumped on this and wished I started sooner. I’ve always collected Tesco Clubcard and Nectar points but cashback is handy for other brands and purchases. My go to sites have been QuidCo, Jam Doughnut and Rakuten.

  • Weekly Prompt 4

    What are your family’s top 3 favorite meals?

    At the present moment:

    • Chicken & mushroom with mash/rice and veg.
    • Any pasta bake with garlic bread.
    • Sausages in gravy with mash and veg.

  • Completing my Master’s Degree with 3 kids under 4 years old

    In September 2023 I began my Master’s Degree. I was 7 months postpartum with my second born at the time. The course was part time and online so I could juggle motherhood alongside it.

    Little did I know what I’d experience throughout it and I still question how I even managed to complete it. The mental challenges were REAL.

    Having a miscarriage, getting married, returning to work and then a full term, high risk pregnancy and being 4 months postpartum when I submitted my dissertation really made me realise I can truly achieve something if I set my mind on it.

    Would I do it again if I knew all of those life events would happen during it? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

    But it shows that having kids doesn’t mean your life is over. You can still do and achieve things for yourself. It’s just in a different way to the norm with a lot more stress!

  • Weekly Prompt 3

    What podcasts are you listening to?

    I rely on podcasts for my sanity and currently love:

    • Parenting Hell

    • Sh**ged, Married, Annoyed

    • Life with Nat

    • Staying Relevant

    • Table Manners

    • Happy Mum, Happy Baby

    • Red Flags Pod

    • Bicker with Camilla & Jamie

    • Boj & Kate

  • Weekly Prompt 2

    What will your life be like in three years?

    Hopefully calmer! I’ll have a 3, 5 and 7 year old so the chaos should be tapering off by then…

  • Weekly Prompt 1

    What’s something I believe everyone should know?

    That you don’t know real tiredness until you have children.*

    *but with this tiredness comes a great strength you didn’t know existed.

  • Let’s Talk About Birth

    Birth is a crazy phenomenon for women. It feels like you’re so close to death yet you’re bringing in new life into the world. 

    I have been lucky that all 3 of my full term births were natural, with 2 being water births. By the 3rd experience I did start to treat birth like a sport in wanting to beat the time I did it with my 2nd (which I did by ONE whole minute!)

    However, there is no right or wrong way to birth – the key is to make it out the other side alive with your baby. And to be honest, it is completely out of our control when a birth will happen. A baby comes when they’re meant to and sometimes that can be earlier than expected just as much as later. It’s an unpredictable minefield. 

    The best advice I can give about birth is to go with your own flow. Trust your gut! If something does not feel right then say so – nothing is too dramatic or stupid. If the pain is unbearable – ask for help. 

    I will share my birth stories on separate posts for those that are interested. Also, I’ll share the hypnobirthing methods I used across my births for anyone who wants some advice on that too.

  • What I Wish I Knew…

    I’m writing this 6 months into being a new mum of 3.

    If I could go back to the start of my motherhood journey knowing what I’ve learnt by now, there would have been a lot less struggle than I have had over the years. 

    So hopefully these highlights I’ve learned can help a new mum from day one of their motherhood journey. 

    1. A Fed Baby IS a Happy, Healthy Baby

    The most controversial topic for new mums is how to feed the baby. The pressure is to solely breastfeed them for the first 6-12 months, but for many this is not possible and that is okay! I feel like the main thing to tell a new mum is that it is okay to not breastfeed – I wish I was told this with my first born, who I did breastfeed for 6 months because I felt like it was wrong to do otherwise. It was my second born, who made me realise that breastfeeding is not always best for the baby when he struggled to gain weight from having only my breastmilk. This led to me combo-feeding my last baby for 12 weeks with breastmilk and formula, which was the best experience out of the 3 for me, but it took elements of each experience to come to the best experience for me.

    So the key is to ignore any outside influence and do what is best for you as a fed baby is always going to be happy and healthy.

    2. Go to Sleep Earlier DO NOT Stay Up Late

    If I did this from the my first born then I’d probably be a lot less sleep deprived today. 

    The urge to sit and scroll or binge TV or even read to escape reality after baby goes to sleep is very real as a new mum. However, with a baby it is inevitable they are going to wake up during the night so the key is to bank as much sleep as you can. So, aiming to go to sleep within a hour of baby being put down for the night will help – yes this can mean, if you’re lucky, that you get you’re full 8 hours sleep by 3-4am BUT it’s unlikely that will be a reality for at least the first 6 months after birth. Once the baby is guaranteed to sleep through the night, that’s when you can regain a few more hours of your evenings again. 

    Also, there is a beauty to being awake earlier than everyone in the house as in that time you can simply do what you would have been doing if you stayed up late – just without the sleep deprivation. 

    3. Ask for Help

    If I genuinely asked for more help with my first born without the feeling of being a burden to anyone it would have helped my mental health a lot in my first year of motherhood. 

    Now with juggling the 3 kids, the guilt of asking for help is still there but it is minimal. It has taken for us to be fully outnumbered to understand that we simply can’t do everything or be everywhere with them all.

    4. It’s Okay to Buy Second Hand Things

    It is crazy how much we feel we must have everything brand new but being on maternity leave does mean finances are stretched thin. 

    Over these first few years, Vinted and eBay have saved us so much money and provided great clothes, toys and items for the kids. Also, reselling items on those platforms is just as effective too. 

    5. You are Allowed to do Things for YOU 

    Being a parent is a full time job and to keep functional it is important to do things for you. It took me a while to realise that I can still do things I enjoy around parenting without feeling guilty or having to wait for all the kids to be asleep.

    Doing something as simple as reading, listening to a podcast or an audiobook can help with that loss of identity you feel in the early stages of parenting.