I always say that my NCT friends were the best friends that I ever bought.

There’s something very special about having people go through things at exactly the same time as you. I already had a gaggle of amazing girlfriends that I've had since school but I genuinely don't think I could have got through the early weeks of motherhood without the support of these incredible women. I’ve just come back from a weekend away with two of my NCT* faves and our five babes and know just how lucky I am that we all found each other. Especially after finishing the weekend with Vomfest 2018 when we all came down with a sickness bug!

Having a baby is hard, especially the first time around, (sorry second and third babes that had slightly more slapdash Mums!) You're exhausted, overwhelmed and regardless of how much you adore your new bundle you will most likely miss your old life. Planning your new social scene around venues that can accommodate a pushchair, rather than who does a decent G&T can get somewhat depressing, but the G&T days will come back eventually I promise.

It seems like a lifetime ago that we all sat in a room together, massively preggers with the giggles, not having a clue what was in store. Basically like the first day at school. Checking eachother out and trying to decide who the cool ones were. If I'm honest I wasn't even looking to make friends but six years on and all of our babes are like siblings. We've held eachother up through lost husbands and parents, celebrated our successes and championed eachother's children. These girls have been my sounding board for advice and moral support in the dark days of sleep deprivation and the crazy days of having two under two on my own.

Don't underestimate the power of having a group Whatsapp chat at 3am typed with only one eye open that generally starts with "is it normal that.." or "is anyone else..."  and having immediate reassurance. Being so comfortable that you can sit with your boobs out crying on a bad day and have your gang turn up with cake and no judgement. Drinking gallons of tea talking about the men in our life, varicose veins, cracked nipples, mad toddlers, spraying milk ...we've shared everything with each other. Some might say overshared! Knowing that someone just 'gets it' is invaluable.

I might have found these girls anyway, but NCT was the perfect place to start. My journey would have been completely different without them.

Find your tribe and love them hard, vom and all.

Written by Kate @ktothemac

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*NCT stands for National Childbirth Trust. It’s a charity and they run ante and postnatal classes, as well as providing lots of different support for mums and dads.