I was asked the other day what products I would recommend to new mums and dads. A few items sprung to mind and so I’d like to share them with you now – and as a reminder to my future self if I ever have a second child!

Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine
This is a bit of an expensive one to start my list with (and only applies if you choose not to or are unable to breastfeed), however I absolutely loved this gadget. This machine will help you make bottles of formula milk quickly. It heats water to a hot enough temperature to sterilise powdered formula baby milk and then tops it up with cool water so that you’re left with a bottle of milk that is the perfect temperature for your little one. Yes It’s essentially a kettle, but when you’re super tired, unsure what you’re doing and you have a crying baby in your ear, this bad boy is a godsend! I know lots of other parents who have purchased this and have all agreed it’s amazing.

A baby sleeping bag  
I wasn’t sold on these to start with but it’s an easy way to ensure your baby is warm and snug at night. I still use baby blankets and a large muslin from time to time, but a sleeping bag takes away the worry if you ever think you might not be tucking the blankets in well enough, or if your baby has a habit of kicking their covers off. You can buy them in all sorts of thicknesses to suit the season or your nursery temperature.  

A dummy 
Eek! This is a risky one to put in here, and I have read lots of literature on the cons of a dummy, however this really helped my little one to settle. I was in a bad place when I first used it, my little girl wouldn’t stop crying, I hadn’t slept in what felt like days (probably was days) and really didn’t know what else to do. I’m sure there are more experience mums, dads, nannies and so on out there who would of had another trick up their sleeve, but in the heat of the moment i’m so pleased I had a dummy in the house to try. All was calm once I whipped it out!

I’ll revisit this topic in the future, as I’m sure there are other items that have been life savers. If anyone would like more details on the items mentioned, please feel free to leave a comment below or add your own suggestions to the list!

Before my baby arrived, I could never have imagined the in-depth conversations I would later have surrounding milk. Who knew the white stuff could be so complicated…

After I announced my pregnancy to friends and family, I was surprised by the number of people who would ask me whether I would breastfeed or not. Yes, I knew I would be giving my baby milk but I really couldn’t understand the fascination with this question and I started to find it quite annoying. However, that was before I truly understood this age-old debate.

My answer was always “I’ll give breastfeeding a go and if for some reason that doesn’t pan out well, I will move onto formula”, simples. After a long labour (that’s another story) my baby was given to me very quickly to breastfeed. It was such a strange sensation, but in my mind my daughter seemed to latch on with ease.

I had to spend some additional time in hospital after giving birth. During that time I continued to breastfeed but my daughter struggled to latch onto one particular side. Several midwives visited me to review my method and all agreed I was doing everything correctly but she just wouldn’t latch. It became increasingly frustrating, for both me and her, and that’s when the guilt kicked in. I felt so ashamed and embarrassed that I couldn’t breastfeed my daughter. I was certain she wasn’t getting enough milk and when I resorted to expressing my milk I was horrified to see how little I had produced after hours of pumping! Within the first week of having my baby girl I moved onto formula feeding but felt such guilt for doing so.

My little girl genuinely seemed more content once I did, but I hated telling people I was using formula milk. Especially when it was the first question midwives would ask as well. Friends of mine persevered for months, whilst I had ‘given up’. All my pamphlets talked about breastfeeding too and gave just a few lines worth of attention to how to feed your baby formula milk.

Most of my friends and family were very supportive, but I often thought they were just being nice. Whilst a few closed to me made it quite clear that they thought I was doing the wrong thing. It really was a challenging time and to think, my journey as a mother had only just begun! I’m just thankful that my husband was on my side and that my baby was getting the food she needed. In the months that followed and once the guilt had surpassed, a little, I realised there are so many more things to be concerned about and milk (once you find what works for you) shouldn’t be something that causes so much grief.

Spoiler alert…

1. You still look pregnant after.
2. Lots of people will say have a curry to encourage labour to start, what they don’t say is that curry combine with everything else going on in your body at this late stage of pregnancy will give you the runs – just saying…
3. Mums will warn you about being tired and never sleeping again. You’ll laugh it off but it’s no joke once you’re the other side. There needs to be a new word developed to describe new parent tiredness. ‘Hell’ could be an option. This is the kind of tired that will make you feel depressed and emotional! Enjoy your sleep while it lasts!
4. The love you have your baby is overwhelming, but I also want to be sensitive to those who don’t have this immediate feeling – which is more common than you may think and can sadly come with a lot of guilt. Those I know who experience this to start with have all eventually felt that love everyone talks about. Just thought i’d share that. 
5. You may fall in love with your midwife. How does she know when you should push, and what will hurt when, and how is she looking so calm when she is obviously staring right into a bloodbath! Oh, and does she or he know how amazing that pain relief just felt. I love you.

A few things I’d like to talk about here. 1) The name of my blog 2) The name of my baby. Let’s start with the blog name.

So, once upon time I was the online Editor for Weight Watchers. I was a member before I worked for the company and I’m still a member now. I’ve always been fascinated with healthy eating and exercise, I just wasn’t quite able to mimic what I read and adored in everyday life. I love avocados but I also love a ton of chocolate. I enjoy running, but I’m hungrier for weeks after I ever exert myself. Long story short, I’m always on a diet but I don’t want that to come across in a negative way – especially now I’m a mother (and all that).  So, I wanted to write a blog that encompassed my desire to lead a healthy lifestyle and diet – plus focus on my new life as a mum, because so much as changed. I brainstormed so many blog names but turns out I’m not that original and they were all taken. So here I am with my dietmumfeed blog.  Choosing a blog name very much reminded of choosing my baby’s name. It’s permanent, it reveals a lot about you, there’s a lot of pressure in choosing a blog name and a baby name! Especially when you can pick anything in the world.

When it came to choosing my baby’s name we went through a lot of options. Names I loved, my husband hated or thought were too popular. Names he loved, I just couldn’t take seriously. I’m sure he made them up trying to create the new ‘Beyonce’; they sounded like names of ancient gladiators. When we found out the sex of our baby (a girl), that helped narrow names a little! Long story short, we settled on Eleri. I love this welsh name (my husband is Welsh) and thought it looked quite ‘cool’ written down. However, we wanted the name to be a secret and so we told no one and I have always heard a Welsh person say the name. Our baby was born and we had our name. Once I had come around (that’s another story) we sent texts to our friends and family boasting about our new bundle and her gorgeous name. I soon realised us English folk don’t pronounce this name in the same way. If you’re saying it and it rhymes with Hilary then I’m afraid that’s not how we’re saying it in my house. It’s more like ‘El-air-ree’. When people ask me what my daughter’s name is, I quickly follow with this explanation on how to pronounce it. Boy it’s tiring! So, picking a blog name filled me with the same kind of fear. There’s no going back folks, and if you’re choosing a baby name do what my friend did – sound board it, even if you want it to be a surprise!

Chloe x
P.S If my daughter ever reads this in the future; please know I do love your name!