First Time Single Mum

Hope you’re doing well with your wee bundle of joy. My daughter was single and 19 when she had her wee boy…..and they live with me. It’s a crazy house with granny, mummy, little sis and a bub but we all pitch in together as singles do and help each other (financially and around the house too). Hehehe it has to be better than ending up an old cat lady anyway xx

Congratulations on the pregnancy!!!

I had a bub almost exactly a year ago now. A lot of mums talk about the pregnancy glow as well as feeling beautiful, all these instagram pregnancies wherein they upload photos of their perfect bodies straight after giving birth and the push for pregnancy yoga/exercise. I was the complete opposite and suffered morning sickness, motion sickness and antenatal depression during the entire pregnancy. My skin was completely horrible and I gained 40kg. So don’t beat yourself up over all these expectations.

Don’t be afraid to buy second hand baby chairs, swings, cribs etc. There’s a lot you can buy on gumtree that’s nearly new and in great condition.

Also in regards to breastfeeding, give it a good go. My bub was 3 weeks old and I was just about ready to give up breastfeeding. My bub wouldn’t latch, if he did it was super painful, I was taking antibiotics for large hard lumps of backed up milk from him not feeding enough, I found it incredibly hard to sleep because my chest was so heavy (like trying to sleep with a boulder on your chest) and my chest was always painful/sore. I was ready to throw the towel in. And then on the 3rd week, It’s like a switched had turned on between my chest and my Bub. He drank perfectly and my breasts no longer hurt when feeding. It was so surreal, how did I suffer for 3 weeks and everything culminated in to that one day, where all of a sudden my Bub was an expert boob drinker lol. I would have to say that those first 3 weeks of breastfeeding was THE toughest part (more than labour and the entire pregnancy).

Also, make sure you put “LISTEN TO ME” in big bold letters on your labour plan to your midwife. I had an 100% natural birth, when I didn’t ask for one. My episiotomy was completely butchered and I was told that there was no one available to give me my epidural. My mum who is a registered nurse was there during my birth and was completely shocked at the treatment I was given. I think the midwives/nurses boss you around when your in your 20s and it’s your first pregnancy.

Anyway I’m not trying to scare you but just giving you a heads up. At the end of it all you have this amazing little human being and all of these stressors/detractors becomes nothing but a memory.

Hello all you lovely ladies.
I am 23 years old, I’m almost 16 weeks pregnant and have recently become single.
I just wanted some advice, well…lots of advice.
I am adopted so my mum can’t offer much advice about being pregnant.
Firstly, what amazing products are out there to re-hydrate my skin (reasonably cheap, as I am recently single and have just moved out of home)? I have found that my skin is getting so dry being pregnant, it could be because it’s winter too.
I have found that I’m getting a lot of pimples too, probably due to hormones – any suggestions on a quick fix?
Also, I think I have everything I need for when the baby arrives, is there anything that I may have forgotten that you could suggest I will need?
Finally, how the heck do single mothers afford to live? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks ladies.
xxx

PS: Any other advice is greatly appreciated.

Hey dear ,
I usually prefer to use Coconut Oil which helps to keep my body soft and moisten .You must have 10-12 glasses of water each day for optiaml skin elasticity .

hug a bub

Essential oils like lavender essential oil as well as tea tree oil works great to reduce acne and pimples.

Also suggest, you do not prick pimples, keep the skin clear and avoid touching your face too many times so that germs in your hands do not contact your face.

Congrats on your pregnancy Peace.Love.Empathy! So many great ideas and suggestions here already. Sometimes searching online or asking your go about local mother’s groups to join (can be handy for support, advice once bubs comes along) or joining an online forum for mother’s to be and mum’s can be really great. Most people in those forums are wonderful and have a treasure trove of info on so many areas. Hopefully some bh’ers here can suggest some of their faves. All the best. 🙂

That sounds like a fantastic idea GM, thanks! 🙂
Do you have any suggestions for a good online forume for mothers (apart from the wonderful BH forums)
Thanks again.
I really appreciate everyone’s support.

Congrats on your pregnancy Peace.Love.Empathy! So many great ideas and suggestions here already. Sometimes searching online or asking your go about local mother’s groups to join (can be handy for support, advice once bubs comes along) or joining an online forum for mother’s to be and mum’s can be really great. Most people in those forums are wonderful and have a treasure trove of info on so many areas. Hopefully some bh’ers here can suggest some of their faves. All the best. 🙂

Oh ladies, you have all been extremely helpful. Thank you so very much.
I have got the main things I need so that’s great, I have been given so much stuff already & I’m not even halfway, so yes, I do realise I probably don’t need to buy too much as people are extremely generous.
I am blessed enough to have a large supportive family who are more than willing to help.
I went to Chemist Warehouse today and bought Bio Oil & Gaia Pregnancy Belly Butter so I will see how well they work.
I have noticed that people get very opinionated about breastfeeding, as well as other things such as what people should eat and when I should buy maternity clothes (as if I don’t know when my clothes are too small – haha) but I’m learning to take that in my stride and just do what I feel is right.

Thanks again for your advice ladies, I think I’m going to be leaning on BH a lot more than usual now. HAHA

LOVE YOU ALL xx

Hello all you lovely ladies.
I am 23 years old, I’m almost 16 weeks pregnant and have recently become single.
I just wanted some advice, well…lots of advice.
I am adopted so my mum can’t offer much advice about being pregnant.
Firstly, what amazing products are out there to re-hydrate my skin (reasonably cheap, as I am recently single and have just moved out of home)? I have found that my skin is getting so dry being pregnant, it could be because it’s winter too.
I have found that I’m getting a lot of pimples too, probably due to hormones – any suggestions on a quick fix?
Also, I think I have everything I need for when the baby arrives, is there anything that I may have forgotten that you could suggest I will need?
Finally, how the heck do single mothers afford to live? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks ladies.
xxx

PS: Any other advice is greatly appreciated.

Hi there, first of all congrats on your pregnancy 🙂

I’m a new mom with a 6-month-old baby boy. My skin was so dry and irritated while I was pregnant, didn’t have any preggo glow at all! I used QV cream as body moisturiser and it’s definitely my holy grail. QV is so good and gentle, I also use it on my baby. If you are looking for hydration products for your face, Indeed Labs Hydraluron is great. It’s $35 for a 30ml tube, but you only use a pea-sized amount under your usual face moisturisers, so a little goes a long way. I currently use other Indeed Labs products and they all work like a charm.

Unfortunately I don’t think there will be a quick fix for pregnancy pimples, as many medicated products that rectify the hormonal fluctuation may not be recommended for use during pregnancy. Always check with your GP or pharmacist. I use Oxy 5 camouflage pimple cream, which works well treating and hiding pimples, but it doesn’t prevent future pimples. Sadly pregnancy pimples are likely to continue after the birth if you’re breastfeeding, thanks to hormones. Might not happen to everyone but definitely for me!!

I agree with others, buy multipurpose items to save space and money. We got a cot that can convert into a toddler bed, and eventually a day bed when it’s outgrown. You probably don’t need baby monitors or nappy bin.

If you plan on breastfeeding, be prepared that it may not be easy for everyone. Invest in a breast pump and feeding bottles so that you can express and store breastmilk. If you don’t, you will already have bottles ready to go for feeding. And most importantly, don’t let breastfeeding nazis get to you! Whether you choose to breastfeed or not is your choice, if breastfeeding doesn’t work out, don’t feel guilty about using formula. I feel very strongly about this…my milk came in quite late and had to use formula in the earlier days, and some pushy midwives really stressed me out!

Congrats! The world is experiencing a massive baby boom at the moment! Everyone is either having babies or just had a baby – it’s baby madness!

My mother passed away before I had my children so I know what it’s like to go through pregnancy without your older wise woman guide, but at least I had my big sister that I could call. We lived so far apart that she could only really support me by listening, but that was enough. If you look, you’ll find a lot of clever ladies around that you can learn from. We all learn as we go.

My biggest money/clutter saving tip is – you don’t actually need a bassinette, a change table, a bouncer or even a cot for about 6 months. With each of my kids, I used a porta-cot that had the bassinette insert (that even vibrated, had a nightlight and a mobile and played music – all by remote control as well!), plus it had a change table. And surely you could even lay-by something like that. You will get so much use out of it for the whole first year and you won’t have to buy expensive furniture that you’ll only use for a short amount of time.

Also, things like baby monitors and nappy bins are a waste. Unless you have a massive home, you’re going to hear baby wherever you are. Nappy bins – who wants a bunch of dirty nappies piling up in one spot? Disposable nappy bag those things and put them straight in the bin!

I’ve been working mother-of-one, single working mother-of-one, stay-at-home mother of two, then three, now soon to be four. It’s always a challenge – no matter what your situation. Don’t worry – you can do it! But DO NOT think twice about taking help when it’s offered. People want to help, so let them!

Hi & congrats, this is such a magical time even if other parts of your life are testing you, try to take as much time as you can to appreciate such a miracle growing inside you. 🙂
My belly got super dry when I was pregnant, both times and I found if you don’t keep this area really hydrated it will most likely give you stretch marks, when you get bigger if your belly itches, that’s a tell tale sign that stretch marks are happening, we’ll that’s what happened to me at least. Bio Oil and other moisturisers worked well at stopping the itch and keep my skin moisturised, but didn’t stop the stretch marks. I think you just get them or you don’t. In terms of what to buy and not to. If you’re due in the hotter months think about what kind of clothes to buy, my second was born coming into spring and summer and basically just lived in singlets. Also you really won’t need a lot of clothes. Babies grow so fast that they probably won’t get a lot of wear out of a lot of clothes. My bub is nearly 8 months old and already wearing 0 to size 1, so the smaller stuff, some of it didn’t even see the light of day. I found a mobile to put in the cot great to distract and put baby to sleep. But test some out before u buy. I found loud ones useless as they’re just too noisy and the baby stays awake. Oh and Laura is right easy to deal with clothes are so handy. I found all those button up and down onesies such a pain as my kids never stayed still and I just got frustrated. If you can’t find zip up ones, they make life a lot easier! In terms of living on a budget, it is a challenge. If u decide to breast feed it will save u buying formula. Also u might be surprised at how many hand me downs you may get given from random family, friends and even just acquaintances. I barely have bought my 2 any clothes as we just keep getting given stuff from people we know with older kids. Also searching the net or emailing baby companies and explaining you situation, they may offer you samples to try. There are a lot on offer actually. Plus you should get given Bounty bags from your Dr and at the hospital when u give birth. You can also ask at most pharmacys as they have them on hand. There is also a sample bag called a Bao Bag but this is not as popular but I found it had awesome stuff in it. Just check their website for stockists. 🙂 So long as u have the main, big basics like a cot, car seat, pram and comfy chair for night feeds you should be Ok. Oh and it’s never too early to stock up on nappies and wipes, trust me they disappear so fast and don’t just buy too many newborn as they’ll probably grow out of them quickly. At least mine did, 🙂
Hope some of my tips help. There is so much info out there, I found asking Google just about anything solved just about all my problems. Good luck! <3