Every parent knows how hard it is to adapt to having a child.
No matter how many classes you've attended, or how much advice friends and loved ones have shared, nothing can quite prepare you for welcoming that little person into your life.
One of the biggest problems many new parents face is sleep deprivation - and it was that which mum Nicole Ratcliffe says almost tore her marriage apart.
Sharing an account of her struggles to mark Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, the mum-of-two says she and husband Rob were 'heading for divorce' within weeks of welcoming their first child Sofia, now six.
With her birth plan thrown out of the window when she ended up needing an emergency C-Section, she and Sofia having infections and struggles with breastfeeding, Nicole says their experience was far removed from the one they expected.
And when her baby wouldn't sleep, it pushed them both to the edge.
"At five-and-a-half weeks I managed to get help with breastfeeding, and you would think this would start to improve things. Feeding improved which was great, but sleep was still non-existent," said Nicole, who lives in Sharston, Wythenshawe.
"By this point, me and my husband were arguing a lot. We disagreed on everything, and I couldn’t stand being in the same room as him. If I heard him breathing, I just wanted to punch him. I really hated him, and him me.
"When Sofia was four months old, we had the worst public argument ever. That night we were seriously contemplating divorce."
The 40-year-old said it was only marriage counselling that kept them together, as well as seeking professional help to improve Sofia's sleep.
It was then her 'obsession' with sleep began and - driven by her own exhaustion and the will to help others - she started studying it herself, eventually setting up her own Baby2Sleep business as a sleep consultant.
As well as being able to help other parents, she felt better able to deal with sleep issues when their second daughter Alyssia was born three days before lockdown in 2020.
And having learnt so much from both experiences - a more pleasant one the second time around - she has put a course together to help other parents be prepared for every eventuality.
After putting on a 'facade' to others that 'everything was fine' when in fact it was far from it, above all she wants other people to feel able to share their struggles and not pretend that everything is OK.
She said: "I don’t think I ever suffered with postnatal depression - some family members would disagree - but I definitely had some major struggles with my mental health, which if I am honest about, I didn’t really see at the time.
"It’s only when looking back, or something happens that triggers me, that I realise just how affected I was by so much in my parenting journey.
"I must stress, this wasn’t just me who struggled, but my husband as well, and some of the effects are still living with us now more than six years later. It is important that people know they are not alone, they will not be judged and that there is help available. Please ask for help if you are struggling."
You can read more about Nicole's parenting journey on Facebook or her website here.
For more details about maternal health support visit the Maternal Mental Health Alliance website here.
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