Having a baby and becoming a parent is such an exciting time in your life, full of precious moments that you will treasure forever. It is probably one of the toughest things that you will ever do, though undoubtedly it will be the most rewarding. At times you will feel stressed, exhausted, anxious and confused by this little person and all their needs. The constant changes that you will face can be challenging. You just get a grasp of one stage only for it to change. This can be tough for a first time Mum, as probably up until now, you have had quite a bit of control over your own life. Suddenly you have this little person, who is totally dependent upon you and this can sometimes feel really overwhelming.

You will learn so much about yourself during this journey. Motherhood is such a beautiful and powerful experience but it can be really hard and it may not come naturally or easily to some women. Some women have never had anything to do with babies before they have their own, while others have been surrounded by babies all their life. However it does not make you immune to the challenges that some babies bring, the more babies you have had either. Every baby is so different, so it is really important to work out what will work best for you and this baby. This can be really stressful, as you will be offered a lot of well-intentioned advice from people around you, which can sometimes cause even more confusion and bewilderment. Keep things simple and listen to a couple of people whom you trust and that you know their advice is based on good experience and evidence based knowledge. With sound advice and support, you will know what feels right for you and your baby, so trust your instincts. Babies are much more resilient than you think, so are very forgiving with the many mistakes that we all make as parents. This precious time will go by so quickly, so most importantly, love and nurture your baby and they will do absolutely fine.