I am in no position whatsoever to give medical advice. Anything I mention below you must please research yourself. What works for one may not work for another, but these are the things that work for us. Also please feel free to add your tips and tricks to this post.

Eglonyl. I cannot highlight the importance of eglonyl and the immense contribution it made to my (semi-sane) state of mind during those first few weeks enough. Read up on it, talk to your health care professional about it, and if you feel that there might be even a 1% chance that you might need it, then get the script before you leave the hospital with your new baby. This way you can get it, or not. But you won’t have to call your gynaecologist in tears on a Sunday morning because you have no milk and you feel as if you have pms equal to none.

In Durban we have a pharmacist called Greg. Greg is one of those unsung heroes and most moms will know him. He makes his own teething muti. I know people who come from jhb to buy Greg’s teething muti…http://www.sunningdalepharmacy.co.za/

Schlehen Blackthorn Berry Elixir. Enough said.

Diemersfontein Pinotage, no jokes.

Flings for shopping. Many people will frown upon this, but really when your child has a fling in each hand it makes it more difficult for them to grab things off the shelves and they are more likely to sit still in the trolley or pram.

Baby Powder to remove sand after a visit to the beach. It really works wonders. Just make sure that when your child plays in your car, he or she cannot get hold of it and empty its entire contents onto your passenger seat. It does not come out for months, true story.

A few drops of Telament on the dummy for children who refuses to take a dummy. That is, if you decide that you want them to like a dummy. I know we might regret this one day soon, but we opted to like the dummy and massive respect to those of you who can go without.

Gericomplex after a night of no sleep. Yes, it is a geriatric medicine actually meant for the old and frail. But when you have slept three hours you feel old and frail. It is a prescription multivitamin. Get it.

Sudocrem bum cream. But when the rash is really bad you may want to take that bottom to a pharmacist who can tell you if you need a fungal or a bacterial treatment. I have found starch (common, cheap, every day starch that you find in the washing powder aisle) to be amazing for quickly healing a bad rash, it is cool and brings instant relief.

A relaxing facial. I love Salon Sedona in La Lucia and if you really really need to you can even bring your sleeping child. http://www.salonsedona.co.za/

Time Out. I think this is something us moms do not do enough of. We view ourselves as all-important super heroes, and while we of course are that, a happy mom is a better mom. I can highly recommend ladies night at Mama Luciana’s in Glenashley (Durban). On ladies’ night all their food is half price and with the help of some wine and good friends you get your sanity back. For three hours.