Tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m 25 years old, married and have 2 gorgeous kelpies. I’ve always wanted children my whole life, especially because I am the eldest cousin of too many to count.

Love the outdoors, camping, mountain biking and a good old walk along the beach (mainly to look at shells..)

Our little girl is a rainbow baby and I am forever grateful for that however we have run into some unexpected difficulties with Olive as she was born with a colonic atresia which then created her imperforate anus.

Her diagnosis was unknown until birth so it was a wild ride for the first 2 weeks of her life and will be for the next few months, until all her corrective surgeries are completed.

What were you doing before babies?

I finished a degree in social work and just started our own business so my husband and I were busy making changes to our lives. Our wedding was postponed which was a whirlwind of a ride but we got there in the end.

How did you come to be a mum?

I’ve always wanted to be a mumma, and I am so grateful that we were able to conceive with no issues. My pregnancy was bliss until the end where a few pains had shown up. Both of my pregnancies were planned.

What has your feeding journey been like?

When Olive was born I was able to feed her for her very first feed, I had an abundance of colostrum (which was very lucky as she needed it all in the NICU) so I had a feeling that I wouldn’t have an issue with supply at all. When she was diagnosed with her colonic atresia and imperforate anus, she was made nil by mouth. So for the first week of her life I had to pump every 3 hours to try and bring my milk in by myself. I would run up to the NICU, cuddle her and run back down to my room and pump immediately. I did this constantly for 1 week. I was then able to breastfeed her! We then found out she had a 100% tongue tie and this was the reason behind a very shallow latch (which we still have not been able to correct). Breastfeeding eventually proved too difficult for her as she was then diagnosed with failure to thrive. I them began pumping and found that I was not producing as much milk as I initially thought which was devastating. So now she is bottle fed exclusively with expressed breast milk. This would have had to be one of the hardest things to come to terms with, the fact that I couldn’t provide for my child and I was losing the chance to breast feed her which I so wanted to do.

She is now finally putting on weight and I cannot be happier that I’m still able to express for her.

What has sleep been like in your house?

I have been very lucky, Olive spent 2 weeks in the NICU so she was used to loud sounds, alarms and chatter so when she came home, we were getting large stretches of sleep. Most of the time it was 6-7 hours long! I soon came to realise that she was missing too many feeds. She now wakes up 3 hourly but goes down so quick and easy that I get a really great rest too.

The hardest bits…

Not being able to breastfeed her and the unfortunate timing of being a new first time mum in lockdown and being left to do it on my own. Also adjusting to her diagnosis which we are slowly overcoming!

The best bits…

Watching her grow every day, her personality is just blooming and everyday she amazes me with what she can do and how well she is recovering.

How do you make time for you?

I haven’t quite figured this out yet but I am hoping to one day! Hopefully soon would be nice..

What’s next for you and your family?

Once she has her final surgery and we are cleared with genetic testing, we will try for more little babes as we want a few. We will move up to the family farm and take over from my mother in law. Our aim is to make a very easy self sustainable farm and hopefully get off grid one day.

A piece of advice for our readers?

Enjoy the moment as it is exactly that, a moment. It won’t last forever as each day is new and full of growth and possibilities.