HB04. Leaving the House and Other Impossible Tasks: Lesley from E17 Baby shares her labour and postnatal experiences

In this episode I talk to the awesome Lesley - founder of E17 Baby - about her experiences having baby Fox during the 2020 pandemic. We chat about: her birth, tricky postnatal experiences, feeding issues (tongue tie), creating a support network, starting nursery... and how she found comfort in getting out of the house, finding and documenting Walthamstow's best baby friendly activities. Take a look at her new E17 Baby directory and her instagram account @e17baby for a lot of baby-activity-inspo. Some references for this episode: Postnatal recovery: recovering from a c-section (or any kind of delivery) can be a bit of a shock to the system and take longer than oft quoted "six weeks." So once again I'm going to give a shout out for Mummy MOTs around the country, and specifically Niamh Burn at Fix in East London.  They can take a look at scars, pelvic floor, abdominal muscles and other pregnancy/birth-related issues... and get you on the road to full strength and recovery. Here's a nice summary of abdominal scar massage that you can do post c-section. Breastfeeding support: Lesley and Fox struggled with tongue tie... and they are very much not alone in this. Some useful free help can be found via La Leche League, The Breastfeeding Network, NCT helpline. If you're in Waltham Forest (like we are!)  then you can get support via The Henry Team. If you're at home with baby in the early days and don't know where to get help - call the hospital where you gave birth, as Lesley did. Postnatal and labour wards are staffed 24 hours a day and will (usually!) be happy to help or point you in the right direction. You can always pay for a private lactation consultant; it's worth checking out who is recommended local to you (e.g. somewhere like Walthamstow Parents is a great resource in WF).What Mothers Do: Especially When it Looks Like Nothing by Naomi Stadlen is a beautiful, reassuring exploration of motherhood. It basically made me weep and punch the air when I first read it. Someone who understood me..! Providing feedback and improving postnatal services: if you want to shout about something good or suboptimal about your maternity care, you can contact your hospital's Maternity Voices Partnership and/or PALS. It really does make a difference!Support networks: soon you'll be able to socialise freely again! Hooray! Look for mates on local Facebook Parent groups, talk to other parents in parks and cafes, start a local WhatsApp group (or ask to join existing ones!)... don't be afraid to put yourselves out there! Find me online, Instagram, Facebook or [email protected]. Special thanks to Tom Herbert for the music.