When I was planning for my first baby I had all these hopes, dreams and expectations of how my life was going to be now that I was going to be a mummy.
Having talked with so many other mums it is clear that I wasn’t alone in my thoughts of how great it was all going to be and how lucky I was to have my maternity leave to meet up with other mums and enjoy weekly get togethers without the daily grind of having to go into work and all that entails.
Wrong!!!
What I hadn’t counted on was that I would be exhausted, unsure of myself and the decisions I now needed to make to care and nurture this new little being I had finally brought into the World.
The feelings of loneliness, once Daddy had gone back to work and how long the days and nights could seem when my baby constantly needed feeding, changing, comforting - but who was there for me?
As mummy to your new baby (whether this is all completely alien to you or you’ve added to your family) there are very high, highs mixed with very low, lows.
That age old 'you're not given a manual when you get to bring your baby home' really does hit you like a tonne of bricks, especially when everything seems to be going wrong and the bubble of newborn snuggles and a house full of cards, gifts and visitors slowly gives way to feeling like you can't get yourself together - let alone keep the house clean and look presentable enough to make it out of your PJs, get dressed and out into the land of the living.
As a first time mum what I hadn't realised was the pressures I was already putting on my self (both sub-consciously and when I think back, consciously too) and my expectations were unrealistic and going to make my life a lot tougher in those early months than what I could ever imagined.
Having only done a handful of antenatal classes and being new to the area (we made the move from London to Ware just 6 weeks before our due date) I hadn't met many locals and didn't have much of a clue about what was going on in the area.
I didn't have a car and as it turns out wouldn't have been able to drive for a while anyway as needed a c-section.
So my hopes of meeting lots of other mums at all the baby groups (which by the way there are very few things you can really do with such a young, tiny baby hence the need to give yourself and your baby time together during the fourth trimester just getting to know each other and recover from what you have both been through) didn't happen anyway.
My family were miles away in Devon and I was in pain from the operation but more so from trying to establish breast feeding (I'll save all that for another day).
As I spent hour upon hour up in the middle of the night becoming more and more frustrated and upset that I couldn't feed my baby I googled so many different things and read hundreds of articles until it finally dawned on me that what I wanted and needed most were other mums who lived near me and were experiencing very similar if not the same things as me as they also got to grips with the changes this all brings.
I craved talking with others, acknowledging that it wasn't just me who was feeling this way, asking questions, swapping tips and just 'being there' for each other to share the good, the bad and the ugly!
THIS is what 6 Week Social is all about, building the village and supporting each other on the rollercoaster ride of motherhood.
What makes this group unique and a must do, is that from the time you get in touch with us we are there to guide, nurture and support you from pregnancy and beyond because we don't want any one else to go through those dark times if they don't have to.
This is not a franchise where we are bound by certain rules and regulations with targets to meet.
We are not an organisation with archaic beliefs and an extortionate price tag to match.
We are mums who have been through it and identified what mums truly need is time to develop and adjust to their new normal and spend time with other local mums.
Regular meet ups to get to know each other at your own pace and over a period of time ensure that you feel comfortable and more confident with yourself and each other week after week.
Organising social meet ups outside of the 6 Week Social to enjoy a cuppa, trying new baby groups together or catch ups over each others houses make your time so much more fun.
At each 6 Week Social session a fantastic team of specialists who have years of experience in their field and can therefore deliver truly authentic and empowering information and conversations enable you to feel that what you are doing IS right for you and your family.
As well as a network on social media through your own private groups so that you can get to chat with and meet the other mums who will also be starting on the same course as you, way before the actual start date is an absolute god send.
Speak to any mum who has been part of 6 Week Social, she will acknowledge that having a group of other mums that have come together and grown as a group has been the best thing they have done for themselves and their baby and given them something so valuable - friends for life.
Find out more in my next blog about the best time to sign up to one of the 6 Week Social courses.