Day BY DAY

When new mum Jo found herself struggling, she knew the best person to ask for advice

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It's like the whole world's upside down,' said Jo, taking a sip of lukewarm tea. 'How does anyone get anything done when there's a baby around? Even when I come here to see you, I have to bring half the nursery.

She looked at the baby monitor on the coffee table, the changing mat and toys strewn across the floor.

'You'll get used to it, love,' her mum Helen said. 'It's always chaos to start with, and Ted's only two months. At least you can get out a bit more now.'

'Yes, but I feel like I've landed on an alien planet. All the other mothers seem to have everything sorted.'

'I bet they haven't.'

'Well, it looks like it to me. They always have perfectly blow-dried hair, and their babies don't seem to cry all the time.

Jo tucked a strand of hair that had fallen from the ponytail she'd scraped up that morning, while changing a nappy.

'What helped me was having a routine,' Helen said. 'One thing every day to get me out of the house. You don't need to do anything fancy when they are tiny. Or when they're older, thinking of it they just enjoy being with you.'

Jo nodded and took another sip of tea.