One of the hardest things when you’re a first time mum is feeling isolated. One minute you are a member of a team at work with an active social life the next you are stuck at home with only a crying baby for company and you get excited when you have to pop out to the 24 hour chemist because it means leaving the house after 6pm. having good friends you can rely on who will share your ups and down is so important.
I found it particularly hard with the twins. First my pregnancy was so difficult. I was really ill with hyperemesis for the first couple of months with a couple of stays in hospital. My lovely friend Jude came round after and brought me some treats and a copy of my favourite newspaper. It was so thoughtful.
When the twins were born the first few weeks were a cycle of constant feeding and changing. Luckily we had lots of help from our families who would always be happy to hold a baby for a few minutes. My biggest worry was making sure their big sister Molly was happy and didn’t feel pushed out. I knew it would be doubly hard to be the big sister of twins. Lots of people offered to take her out for the day and while that was a help for me I didn’t want to take them up on it as I thought she would feel like we were pushing her away. Jude saw that what really wanted was to have some time just with Molly. She was the only one brave enough to have the twins for me when they were less than six weeks old so I could take Molly for a bike ride. She was heavily pregnant herself at the time and I don’t know that I would have been brave enough to look after someone else’s newborn twins on my own.
So this post is a little thank you for the years of friendship and advice to Jude and all my other friends who helped. The lovely people at C and G Baby Club have also sent her a beautiful personalised cake tin.
Of course finding friends can be hard. Luckily now C and G have their new Friend Finder which helps you find like minded people in your area. This is great if you’re not into going to baby groups which can be a bit intimidating.You can also chat on email which is brilliant if you just want a quick second opinion.