It’s been very quiet around here of late, right? Perhaps more so than ever before…
You see, I had all these grand plans to use the start of my maternity leave to plan and schedule content, and then keep it up whilst baby naps. What actually happened was I managed three days of maternity leave before my daughter decided to show up, with a short, sharp three hour labour. We’re now 6 weeks in and it turns out she is one of those babies who refuses daytime sleep (but I forgive her because she is great at night!).

So this post was actually supposed to be a product review, however due to aforementioned speedy (and shock) labour I never actually got a chance to even get my hospital bag out of the car, let alone use what was in it until long after the event! So in the spirit of Christmas I’m here to tell you THE most perfect gift you can give to anyone expecting a baby, the Mamas Moments Birthing Essentials Gift Pack from Natural Birthing Company.

I was genuinely really excited to have this packed in my hospital bag, and having given them a little try since I can say with confidence that these would make a wonderful gift for any expectant mother (or a present to yourself if you are the expectant mother).

For £20 you get a lovely little pouch containing four products:

Cool It Mama (Cooling Body Spritz) to help calm and revitalise you (and your birth partner) during labour. I actually found this quite useful post-birth on the ward as we had to stay in overnight. It was BOILING on the ward and I was exhausted yet to afraid to sleep lest my brand new human needed me. This spray really did make me feel a little bit more human and a little less like I was about to melt.

Relax and Breathe (Calming Massage Oil) this is supposed to help ease any feelings of discomfort and is a good way to get your birth partner involved during labour. It certainly smells good! Had my labour been slower I think a massage with this would have done me the world of good, if for no other reason than to keep me grounded and stop me tensing up so much in my back and shoulders!

Bottoms Up (Soothing Bottom Spray) I am not exaggerating when I say this spray saved me in the two weeks post-birth. I tore, and grazed, and had stitches and nobody warns you about just how painful recovery from birth can be, even from a “normal” vaginal delivery. Going for a wee felt like torture but one thing (the only thing) that really eased that pain was spritzing this on a maternity pad as well as direct on the skin. I got through so much of this and cannot recommend it enough- that and a jug so you can pour warm water “down there” when you pee; it took me a few days to believe this could help, trust me, it does and you should do it!

Sleep Mama (Relaxing Pillow Mist) this is another lovely post-birth product and one I use on the rare nights when I struggle to drift off- rare as these days my eyes are shut before my head hits the pillow but I still enjoy the soothing scent of lavender and other essential oils for a calming sleep experience.

You can find this gift set, and the other products from Natural Birthing Company in Boots and Holland and Barrett as well as from various online retailers such as Amazon and Feel Unique.

This might be the only Christmas gift-guide/gift idea I post this year, but damn it’s a good ‘un!