My first baby would fall asleep only whenever I entered a noisy mall. I will always remember the hours of pushing a pram around the pretty shop windows but never actually entering one because I was only a couple of months post-baby and dressing up and feeling good was about the last thing I had on my mind. I was sporting pregnancy clothes and an exhausted mind that wouldn’t shut up. My thoughts were streaming along the lines of stopping other mums with older kids and asking them what time her kids went to bed and HOW they went to bed and if she watched a whole movie ever again or had coffee with a friend without feeling like she was betraying something sacred. I wanted to ask women with no kids who were strolling in and out of shops if they have kids and if so, then how are they here, just aimlessly wandering around, shopping, smiling. It’s safe to assume that during the first six months of motherhood I was completely and utterly lost. Somewhere between having an emergency c-section and waking up at home with a tiny human being, the most precious thing I have ever been tasked with looking after, and absolutely no clue what to do next felt like the death of my soul.
I first became a mother in 2011, less than ten years ago, when motherhood truths and real information were nowhere to be found. Or at least I never came across any during my time researching and studying anything I could get my hands on regarding the first days of being a new mum. Blogs were becoming popular, mummy blogs even more so and that was the only place I could discover words of comfort and honesty. Because they were written by mamas, real people, real women who were writing these words with a baby stuck to their breast, a toddler screaming in a corner, a messy house and a messy heart. I craved those truths because it was the only way I could make sense of what was happening to me, the way my world was changing everyday and the way I viewed that world. They wouldn’t sugarcoat the effects of sleepless nights, they wouldn’t brush away the excruciating pain of sore and cracked nipples, they didn’t make me feel as though I was the only woman on the face of the planet finding this mamahood journey really fucking hard.
For these reasons I wanted to write a little piece about the importance of local platforms such as Baby Buddy, a beautifully designed online space for parents. By engaging with parents-to-be and new parents primarily in Cyprus, Baby Buddy is dedicated to building health literacy around pregnancy, the birth and early life of an infant by developing a unified, research-informed and socially-inclusive prenatal and postnatal web-based education programme. The information they share is vital, real, scientifically-based and parent-approved.
The platform contains bitesize written info, which means that you can get basic and very important guidance quickly and easily. It can be considered a day-to-day companion as this bitesize information comes to your inbox for each and everyday from early pregnancy up to six months of your baby’s life. It also boasts numerous short videos -available with subtitles because God knows you don’t want loud noises blaring from your phone when that baby is fast asleep on top of you- on breastfeeding, caring for your baby, mental health, being a new mum, premature babies and understanding your baby, all beautifully-made and easy to follow. There’s even a directory of sorts, in alphabetical order, explaining habits and terminology you may see or hear being thrown around as if along with your baby out came a user manual you just haven’t read yet. Words like afterpains and signs of hunger, meconium, milk spots, latching and positional talipes can make you feel helpless and hopeless. Like me, you may be hit with waves of tears and exhaustion and not know that this is called ‘the baby blues’ and about 80% of new mums experience it. So much is covered in this brilliant platform, which is based on the multi-award winning free app Baby Buddy, created by Best Beginnings and endorsed by the UK’s Department of Health and all relevant professional associations in the UK.
One of the most important features of Baby Buddy, and the one I am most excited about, is the fact that it is available in five languages. By engaging with the Greek, English, Russian, Arabic and Turkish community and attempting break down language and cultural barriers I see that Baby Buddy Cyprus acknowledges the often neglected marginalised groups in our society and how much they are in dire need of help and guidance. By giving them this incredibly powerful tool during one of the most transitional moments of their lives they are encouraging and empowering.
This multi-faceted platform brimming with knowledge and expertise by health professionals and created by parents with a thirst for normalisation and explanation, were things I wanted and needed during those endless nights as a new mum. Helpful videos, webinars and seminars and consultations, online surveys and locally available information were the type of stuff I craved for.
You may be in the position I was almost ten years ago or you may know a new mother who is. Cooked meals and a quick visit to hold her newborn while she takes a long hot shower are definitely actions you should take because they are far more appreciated than a bouquet of flowers or a body cream, but pointing that mum in the direction of useful collective knowledge such as the type offered by Baby Buddy is priceless. You are being of service. It’s your obligation. Because this motherhood journey that so many of us are on is an evolving one, it’s one that doesn’t have a final destination or just one solution and quick fix however it is one that requires companionships and resting points where new information and supplies can be gathered and stored and used throughout our different roles in life.
For more information visit Baby Buddy Forward, part of the NGO Birth Forward.
Visit Baby Buddy and sign up here
