Hi my name is Alishia, founder of Oh Me Oh Mama and like most women these days I had a baby later on in life, caught up in the rat race of trying to carve out a good career, thinking "now is not a good time to have a baby," "just one more holiday" or "how the hell am I going to be able to afford it?"

So, to prove the old adage from John Lennon; life is definitely what happened while I was busy making other plans! 

And thats when real life began …

As my bump got bigger and due date grew closer I thought I was as prepared as any expectant mother could be. Wrong! There were so many things I didn't expect, I thought that labour was going to be the hard bit and everything after that was going to be plain sailing! 

My journey into motherhood wasn't such an easy one. My baby seemed to be in a rush to join us, so much so that she decided to surprise us 5 weeks early! What an emotional rollercoaster that day was, torn between wanting to meet her and wanting her to stay snuggled up inside a little bit longer so she would be ok. 

Noa Belle was born at 7.28am on Friday 19 December weighing a tiny 4lb12oz, she was the tiniest little bundle of fluff I had ever seen.

I knew straight away I wanted to breastfeed, but what I didn't expect was how unnaturally it came to me. I struggled for weeks. Doctors advised that Noa had tongue tie although after her hospital appointment, it turns out she didn't. Then there were the constant repetitive comments from people like “is that baby feeding again”, “is that baby getting enough”, “she will sleep better off formula” …. it was pretty soul destroying and not what any new mum wants to hear when she is doing her best.

Breastfeeding is one of the most rewarding things you can do for you and your baby, but take it from me it certainly isn't for the faint hearted. Just when you think your swollen, tender breasts can’t take anymore and your baby is crying to be fed; what’s an emotional new mama to do without turning to the bottle? Of formula that is, not wine!

My ever changing post pregnancy body needed things I didn't know existed and were really difficult to source, especially products that were the right price and right fit for me. It was difficult at first to even know what I was looking for, and I thought I was just on my own.

It was then that I realised that if I was struggling with low milk supply and sore cracked nipples then surely other mums would be too? I started going to mum and baby classes and made some mummy friends who began to talk about the difficulties they had breastfeeding. I soon realised that I wasn't on my own. I began telling other mums about the things I found that had helped me and they soon asked if I would be able to source the products for them too. And this is how Oh Me Oh Mama hampers came to be, although they were just put in the baby's nappy bag at this point!

So there you have it, Oh Me Oh Mama is my way of providing new mums with new products to help them on their new journey into motherhood. Just like a big hug in a box, and there when you need it, and lord knows we all need a hug sometimes!