Putting Mum Back on the Agenda

Today, Amanda Duncan, the brains behind Mummahh(a company whose primary focus is right where it should be, on Mum!) shares the story of her journey into motherhood and tells how her business was born.

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My first child, Max, was born in June 2004 and has recently started school. It seems like yesterday I woke up at the crack of dawn grabbed my husband and my hospital bag and headed to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital to be induced. I had done all my research on what to pack in my hospital bag and, of course, the process involved in turning this bump into a baby! So off I went, well prepared or at least I thought I was.

I arrived at hospital at 7am excited that I would soon have my new baby boy in my arms. I saw the administration staff and was taken through to a delivery room. At 9am after a whole lot of “stuff” (described as such due to my excitement at the time and now not being able to recall what happened during those 2 hours) I was hooked up to a drip and the wonder drug that was going to get things started.

Things got started around lunchtime and I was in a lot of pain. I was told that the baby was lying posterior which meant his spine was along my spine. Babies who are posterior often cause “back labour” which essentially is a (bad) back pain during labour. I would call it intense pain! I was breathing in the gas – it didn’t work. They offered me pethidine – I was desperate so I would have said yes if they offered to knock me out with a big stick.

By mid afternoon I had the epidural – instant bliss. I felt normal again and could start speaking and communicating with people rather than barking and screaming at anyone who talked to me.

Once I felt slightly normal again I realised I had packed nothing in my hospital bag for my time in labour or delivery. I was craving something that didn’t smell like “hospital” , maybe some aromatherapy and definitely something to eat and drink.

By 7.50pm Max made his way into the world to meet his very tired and sore mother and equally tired father. I had internal stiches, a catheter in and felt very “dopey” (mainly from all the pain relieving drugs) and was wheeled up to the maternity ward in a wheelchair.

I know women do this every day but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t looking for at least a pat on the back. I had just given birth! But what happened next ultimately led me to start my own business. People came into hospital to visit and they weren’t really there to see me – they were there to see Max. The occasional visitor would give me a “Well done” or “You did a great job” but there is nothing like a newborn baby to steal the limelight.

The gifts poured in – for the baby.

Maybe it was the baby blues they say kicks in a few days after birth but I was in pain, recovering from a long labour and trying to cope with a new baby I had no instruction manual for.

I thought to myself, women are amazing, we give birth and then give our all to our family and very rarely think about ourselves. We constantly make sacrifices. I don’t know one mother who wouldn’t do anything for their children.

I wanted to do something to help new and expectant mothers. So not long after my second child, Jessica, was born in 2006, I decided to start Mummahh. I created a range of maternity and pamper packs for new and expectant mothers which included pre-packed hospital bags and packs for delivery and labour.

The majority of people who purchase Mummahh Packs are buying them as a gift. I still find it amazing that new and expectant mums spend so much on their children and families but when it comes to taking care of ourselves we constantly sacrifice. My aim is to let Mums know that they are amazing and that they deserve to be pampered – everyday!

A number of Mummahh’s product packs are on special until the end of February, including;

• The Hospital Pack, $119 reduced from $155
• The Home Pack, $69 reduced from $99
• The Pregnancy Pamper Pack, $60 reduced from $90

PLUS, enter the discount code, ‘FREE,’ at checkout for free postage!