River MacPherson was born on 29 Sept 2016 and has since followed Plunkets newest fundraising campaign Raise a Bundle RAB. Onto day 552 of Raise a Bundles life she has had quite the amazing and transforming start. Plunket had a chat with her mother Jana about Rivers life in the first 500 days.

Below you will read about Rivers first few challenging weeks Janas amazing support system from her Plunket nurse and some great advice from Jana about raising a bundle.

Plunket How have the first 500 days been for Rivers life

Jana Rivers first 500 days were very up and down. At 7 days old River was diagnosed with hip dysplasia everything was going very well including her birth but on day 7 we went for a hip check and were very shocked to have been diagnosed. We had to have River in a hip harness 24 hours a day for 4 months. We couldnt bathe her and we had a lot of trouble with various things from putting her in a car seat or pram to simply dressing her.

Although it was a really hard start River coped really well with it all which kept us positive. She slept relatively well which didnt last long unfortunately ha she was a very easy going and happy baby.

She had also suffered a lot with colic which we struggled with and made it hard for River to settle. I tried a lot of different things to help her but it was cutting out dairy which almost immediately made her better.

River bounced back really well from her hip dysplasia which kept us really positive.

Plunket What has been one of the biggest struggles for you during the first 500 days of Rivers life And how did you overcome this

Jana Hip dysplasia has definitely been the biggest struggle with River but it made me realise how lucky we are to have the support we have in New Zealand if you know its there. I found a really awesome Facebook page which helped me A LOT while we had River in her hip harness HarnessHeroesNZ. This page and the people on it helped me through this a lot. I struggled with what clothes to dress River in and other simple things which I found great help and support with through this page.

I also got really exhausted when River was really young and my oldest was only 18 months so there wasnt a big age gap. Neither of my babies slept particularly well. Throughout this time I was struggling I learned to try and be kind to myself and learnt to listen to my body. Its so important for parents to continue to look after themselves as well cut yourself some slack you can live without a super tidy house and freezer food can be just as good and nutritious as a home cooked meal.

Plunket What has been the biggest value of having a Plunket nurse

Jana I live in Arrowtown and we have an awesome Plunket nurse down here I have been seeing her for nearly 3 years. The Plunket clinic is located just down the road so it is easy for me to visit my nurse. I struggled a lot with my first child during breastfeeding and I was very determined I got on super well with my Plunket nurse. She was not pushy in opinions but really open to trying as hard as possible which I felt I aligned really well with. She was always available to help me or have a chat one time I texted her after hours and she was at my house first thing in the morning to help and support me. She offered support every time I needed it whenever I felt low or had questions I was always felt supported by her.

I take my children to the Plunket playgroup here in Arrowtown every week and I sometimes bump into my nurse. She is always interested paying attention to what is going on with my family and I.

I feel as though through my Plunket nurse Plunket has become a part of my family. There is a genuine community connection feel and support in Arrowtown which I value a lot.

Plunket I understand you have an Instagram for your family and what you do on a day to day basis the macpherson diaries Can you tell me a little bit about why this is important to you

Jana We live in a small town where I sometimes feel quite isolated from my side of the family and the rest of the World. I mainly run this Instagram as it makes me feel connected to the rest of the social World and it connects me with real life. Recently my son was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder and being able to talk about that to all different kinds of people made it feel not as strange or different. It normalizes things for me. I think social media can make people feel level and solidarity being able to connect to a stranger is a really beautiful thing.

We live in an amazing part of the World and I love to be able to share that with people too. I love to cook be social and have a lot of other passions so to be able to share these made me feel great. It all fell together nicely.

So for me The Macpherson Diaries channel is about normalizing things which go on in everyday life within families and children. I dont try to be perfect but I love to realistically share my life with others.

Plunket How has the support from Plunket positively enhanced your childs life and or baby experience

Jana I would have to say resources. I get a lot of external resources from my Plunket nurse she can always point me to the right person for support or help. For example I took River for her normal check up and asked about her eyes as she has a bit of a lazy eye. My Plunket nurse referred me to someone who specializes in this and I would never have known this specialist existed until she referred me.

She always manages to connect us to other great people. Shes awesome and fits me and my style of parenting really well.