I’ve reviewed one of Hollie Smith’s previous books (The Ultimate Baby & Toddler Q&A), and found the advice to be sensible and covering all angles – which to me is a very good thing. There’s a lot of books out there and so much information your head can explode at times – or you just end up bursting into tears with the fear of it all (thanks to the Dr Miriam Stoppard book, though that could have been hormones).

First-time Mum is the follow-up to Pregnancy for Modern Girls

What I really like about First-time Mum is there’s never a right or wrong way to do something – you kind of muddle through it all, and this book is full of good suggestions and down to earth tips. It covers emotional advice as well as practical, and the thing which stood out to me (more to follow on this very soon), there’s a section on the pelvic floor – something that’s drummed into us all in our antenatal classes, but how many of us actually do it? We really should be you know – and there’s very helpful and important advice why in the book.

Tips included are:
• What to buy for your baby
• The early weeks
• Basic babycare
• Feeding
• Sleep
• Development
• Health and safety
• Your body after birth
• Emotional well-being
• Love and sex
• Going back to work

I love how Hollie writes – I felt like reading it I was sitting chatting with a friend having a cuppa in a cafe – it’s not preachy, it’s full of helpful advice and there’s enough it’ll help you make your own mind up. It’s also an easy read, as I remember those early days, and actually reading anything was a task in itself.

As Hollie says “I try not to lecture people but give them hints and tips that can really help – like what things you definitely don’t need to buy, where to get help with breastfeeding, how to sleep safely in bed with your baby, how to tackle the Mum-Tum. I remember my first year of motherhood in vivid technicolour.”

I wish this book had been available when I was pregnant. While it wouldn’t change anything we did, getting the reassurance you’re not doing it wrong is equally as important – and this book does exactly that. Highly recommended by us!

You can read excerpts from First-time Mum over at Amazon.
Hollie’s website is over here

We received a copy of First-time Mum for review – look out for a guest post from Hollie coming very soon