The gift new Mum’s actually need

Post written by Sabrina, owner of Early Daze Hampers

I’m Sabrina and I launched Early Daze Hampers in 2025 after being made redundant from my corporate job whilst on maternity leave with my second daughter.

When my first daughter was born in 2021, I’ll be honest, I felt quite prepared for her. And I was overwhelmed by beautiful gifts for her. What I wasn’t prepared for was me. I was so naïve to the recovery process. I didn’t know I might have stitches, I would bleed a lot, my body would be exhausted from what turned out to be a 52 hour labour! It shouldn’t have been surprising that, 10 days postpartum, I came out in hives from sheer exhaustion. That was the point at which I decided; my next friend to have a baby I would gift her a box full of things she really needed to support her physical and mental recovery.

But it didn’t exist. There were gifts with socks, candles, bath salts, baby toys or outfits. All gorgeous and well-meaning – but not the things she actually needed, or even had the time to use! So that’s when Early Daze Hampers was born. Initially just an idea, then old parcel boxes filled with useful items whenever friends had a baby. It took me being made redundant to finally invest in it as a business. I conducted some market research on items that new parents found genuinely useful, I tested products on friends and began purchasing stock.

Early Daze Hampers are filled with the genuine essentials:

•  A water bottle, to keep hydrated

•  A dimmable night light for those middle-of-the-night feeds or nappy changes

•  Nipple cream

•  Reusable breast pads

•  Vaginal or caesarean relief pads, the list goes on.

There are pre-filled hampers, a build your own option or digital gift vouchers. And I’m

always on the lookout for new items that help postpartum recovery so I can include

them in future.

One of my best, oldest and most talented friends, Sara, created my logo and my stunning keepsake hamper boxes. The inside lid includes illustrations of the various feeding positions (because I honestly didn’t even realise there was more than one until long after I’d had my first daughter!). My logo includes a prominent E and Z - the initials of my two girls (now 5YO and 2YO).

Not long after launching the business, I realised I wanted to do more for postpartum.

It’s a lonely time filled with far too many Google searches and conflicting advice. And so, I launched Early Daze Coffee Mornings. Every Wednesday morning at The Swan in Streatley. I work with a range of postpartum experts who support with breastfeeding, maternal mental health, pelvic health, sleep and more. It’s set up for new parents with newborns up to 6 months old. You can book, or register your interest, via my website.

I am so proud of Early Daze. Of what it means to be a Mum. To champion postpartum recovery in a way I never thought I’d be able to. And I would never have had the opportunity if it wasn’t for my redundancy – so every cloud, I guess.

West Berkshire Family Life members enjoy 10% off all hampers at earlydazehampers.co.uk.