Welcome to After Birth, where we take an honest look at the raw, messy, and transformative days after labour—not just the recovery, but the shift into life with a newborn. Because birth is just the beginning.

Mum of two and For The Creators writer Ellie shares her home birth story –and what life is really like in very early postpartum with two-under-two. Spoiler: it doesn't involve being allowed to nap while the baby naps.

One upside of the hospital trip? Double helpings of post-birth tea and toast for breakfast, followed by mushroom stroganoff and jam sponge with custard for lunch. I hadn’t even skipped a meal, but I was ravenous.

On the way home, we swung by the supermarket. My husband ran in to grab ingredients for an enormous bowl of spaghetti puttanesca—a family favourite and exactly what I needed.

I never understood why people raved about the first post-labour shower. After my first birth, I was so wobbly and sore that even the water on my skin felt like too much. But second time around, I got it.

A couple of hours after Violet arrived and before going into hospital, I stepped into a warm shower in my own bathroom. The midwives had hoped gravity might coax my placenta out—but no such luck. Still, I felt euphoric, standing under the water with the door open, watching my husband sit on our bed, holding our new baby.

Violet spent most of her first day on earth snoozing, so as we crawled into bed that evening—after being discharged from hospital—we knew what was coming. Sure enough, just as we were hoping for some rest, she properly woke up and discovered her hunger.

Not much sleep was had.

She would only settle while sleeping on someone, so we took turns through the night, each of us cradling her on our chest. There was something magical about it—the weight of her, the warmth, the rhythm of her tiny breaths.

We woke up in our own bed the morning after Violet arrived—exhausted but happy—and I barely moved from it all day. After two nights away, my one-year-old came home to meet her baby sister. We’d tried to prepare her for this moment, but I wasn’t sure how much she truly understood. She let the baby cuddle her favourite toy, which felt like a promising start.

I sat there, cradling both my girls, overwhelmed in the best and most terrifying way.

Compared to my first birth—where I’d needed strong painkillers and still couldn’t sit up because my stitches were so sore—I felt miraculously fine. Not even a graze this time. I couldn’t believe how quickly my body seemed to bounce back. But physical recovery is only part of it...

We had all our baby checks, the heel-prick test and hearing screen, as well as follow up midwife appointments at home, thanks to the home birth team. It was so nice to just be able to stay in my pyjamas this time around and have people come to me. 

I had hoped to spend the first few days in bed, resting as much as possible, but it didn’t quite go like that. 

The first week was the beginning of a big adjustment for us as we got used to life with two under two. 

My 1-year-old got really distressed if I tried to go upstairs and nap, or even if I went to the toilet without her. I think she worried I was going to disappear again. 

I struggled a lot with the nights – they felt out of control and I was getting very little sleep. Violet continued to only sleep while being held. My eldest wanted me (and only me) for long bedtimes and, after months of reliably sleeping through, started calling out for me multiple times throughout the night. It was hard when Violet was crying for a feed and my toddler desperately wanted me too. I felt I couldn’t give either of them what they needed. It broke my heart a bit.

Feeding was also hard. I had cracked, bleeding nipples because Violet had a poor latch due to tongue tie. We couldn’t get it snipped until she’d completed a course of treatment for oral thrush. There were points when I’d rather have given birth again than done the next feed. It was so painful. I ended up using nipple shields and silver nipple cups which helped me keep going.

My first time parenting solo

I was so nervous about being left at home with two babies by myself when my husband went back to work. As a freelancer, I didn’t have any formal childcare for my eldest while I wasn’t working, so I had both girls full-time.

It took a while to build the confidence to leave the house, so that first day, we kept it simple—pyjamas, the sofa, and a lot of reminders to be gentle! My toddler’s love for her baby sister was enthusiastic, to say the least. When she wasn’t trying to snog Violet, she was happily drawing, colouring, or pottering around by my feet.

Physically, my recovery was so much easier the second time around. But emotionally? Those early postpartum weeks and months were some of the most challenging of my life. I’d assumed the jump from one to two would be smoother than becoming a mum for the first time—but for me, it wasn’t. I felt waves of grief, guilt, and near-constant overwhelm as I tried to meet the needs of two tiny humans at once.

Looking back, I’m so grateful I had an empowering and positive birth experience. I know it gave me the strength I needed to navigate the early days and months.