After a particularly dreary end to the summer here in England, I think a lot of us have started thinking about Autumn sooner than we usually would. I’ve always been a Summer lover myself, but each year I find myself increasingly drawn to Autumn, dreaming of cosy nights in with blankets and hot chocolates, those crisp, bright mornings and streets lined with burnt orange leaves. Becoming a family of three has made me keen to make the most of each season, to make as many memories together as possible and to teach Darcie to find joy in everything she does no matter the time of year. I’ve been looking up activities and events near us that I would like to go to this year and have compiled them into a handy list for anyone else local to Hampshire. (more…)

I had always intended to do Monthly updates for Darcie on this blog but, of course, life got in the way and that hasn’t happened. At all. I did one Six Month Update and then never got around to it again. She has now just turned 16 months, but I thought rather than play catch up on all the updates I have missed, instead I’m just going to do a general post on life with a one year old.

I’m sure this post will end up being a long one, but the upshot of it is this: I love this age! (more…)

Dear Darcie,

Tonight I fed you for the last time. Don’t worry, you’ll still be getting solid food and coconut milk and all of your favourite things but this is the last time you’ll have my milk. This moment has been gradually approaching for months and I know in my heart that you are ready to stop now. I think that really you have been ready for a while and that it was me that needed to carry on. I really needed you to keep needing me. I wanted to keep providing you with the one thing that only I can provide. Or so I thought. But as I sit here now, holding your soft warm little body in my arms, I realise that it’s not true. There are so many other things that only I can do for you, because I am your Mum and that is something that nobody else can ever be. (more…)

I recently wrote a post Dear New Mummy that was shared on Bump, Baby and You and became my most ‘viral’ post so far. It was shared nearly 500 times and had thousands of likes and comments from women saying that it was exactly what they needed to hear and that it had brought them some comfort and reassurance. This was amazing to me; I love that a blog post that I wrote on a random stroke of inspiration ended up resonating with so many women one way or another. Head over and read the post if you haven’t already but here is a section that sums it up:

“You’re going to be bombarded with advice over the next few weeks, months and probably years of your life. You might not want to take on any more, but if you listen to one thing, please let it be this.

Hold your baby. Cuddle them in close. Bond with them. Forget about everything else right now. You and your baby are the centre of the universe. Please forget about the housework; the cleaning, the tidying, the food shop. If you have visitors coming over, let them help you with it all, and if you don’t have many visitors coming then who cares what the house looks like anyway. You will only get this time with your child once and you will kick yourself so hard if you don’t make the most of it.” (more…)

I think any breastfeeding Mum knows the struggle of finding clothes that are nursing friendly but that actually look nice as well. This has been a big personal battle for me, especially in the beginning when they are feeding so frequently and there’s not chance of ‘well maybe she won’t need a feed…’ (more…)