I am a first time mum to a 5 and a half month old who was born 3 weeks early.  I do not have any siblings and my mother died 5 years ago leaving me with my dad.  I have a sister-in-law who works full-time and has 2 girls

and a mother-in-law who also works full-time.  My husband works and could only have 2 days off when our son arrived.  When we brought him home, I was alone and had feeding problems due to my son's prematurity he could not suck.

During my pregnancy I developed gestational diabetes and pregnancy induced hypertension.  I found reading information on websites very useful about what lay ahead for me and my baby. Even now that he has been born I still enjoy surfing the net looking for valuable information.  Also the parent helpline is an excellent help especially in the middle of the night.  I have joined a mother's group and for me it was not very useful.  We discussed teething which my son has already gone through and starting solids which I have also done.  The babies in his group were much younger than him.  In January we are starting a beginners babies swim class, and I have enrolled him into an early learning centre.

Although I don't have much support, I have learnt to cope and when things get me down I call my sister in law and she is a pretty good listener.  I would love to have more minti friends and share advice and experiences.