A personal reflection on early motherhood, the pressure of outside advice, and why trusting your instincts matters for maternal mental health.

We didn’t plan on having two children under two, but life had other plans! When my second baby arrived just 9 months after my first, it was a huge shock—especially as I had just returned to work. While it was challenging, I wouldn’t change a thing. Having two children so close in age has many advantages. My children, George and Ivy, are 18 months apart, and while they have the usual sibling arguments, they also share many interests—from books and music to TV programs and acti

As a holistic sleep consultant who has regularly attended training with the Baby Sleep Information Source (BASIS), I was delighted to see the NHS update its guidance on bedsharing in March 2023. For years, NHS advice around co-sleeping and bedsharing was clear-cut: “Never bedshare.” However, the latest update now reflects the NICE guidance (originally published in 2014) — bringing UK recommendations more in line with the latest evidence on safe infant sleep. This is an incred