One of my favourite quotes that is quite often written in beautiful calligraphy and hung up on nursery walls is ‘Let them be little, let them be wild’. I don’t want this to be something that I just frame for Darcie and put on the wall, I really want to make this a motto for how we raise our own little wild child. I want to raise Darcie to be free, to run wild, to finish the day with knots in her hair, dirt on her feet and a crazy sparkle in her eyes. I want to encourage her curiosity and I want every day to be an adventure. When I look back at my childhood I think of spending time outdoors, of exploring and of being creative. This is what I want for Darcie, I don’t want her to be glued to the television, finding all of her joy in CBeebies, I want her to be outside whatever the weather. I want us to go strawberry picking in the Summer and splashing in the puddles in the Winter. I want us to go on treasure hunts through the forest and shell collecting on the beach. I want her to feel free, to not be afraid of the world around her but to feel a part of it. (more…)

I don’t think I’d ever heard of a tongue tie until we were told that Darcie had one. It’s not something I’d thought to research which is why I thought I would share our experience to help any other parents out there who are expecting a baby soon or who have been told their baby has one and are making the decision about whether or not to have it cut. (more…)

This feels like Dan’s first Father’s Day, we hardly celebrated the day last year as we were still very much in the frazzled newborn haze. I managed to organise a card for him but I think that’s where the festivities began and ended. So this year I want to do it properly, I want him to know how much we appreciate his hard work and commitment to his role as Darcie’s Daddy. So this ones for you Dan, maybe this will be the first of my posts that you read to the end… (more…)

I’ve received a lot of parenting advice over the last year, from the downright ridiculous to the insanely helpful. Some things I’ll be wholeheartedly ignoring but one thing that has really stuck with me is when people have told me to pick my battles and learn to let the little things go.  (more…)

I’ll be the first to admit that some days I don’t want to be a stay at home Mum, it’s definitely not the easy ride that a lot of people perceive it to be and nothing grinds my gears more than when stay at home mums are talked about in a derogatory way. There are days when I would love to swan off to work in the morning, wear smart clothes, drink hot coffee and talk to adults and then come home to my beautiful daughter who has been worn out all day by somebody else. Ninety percent of the time though, I absolutely love being a stay at home Mum and these are some of the reasons why. (more…)

It’s funny how Motherhood changes you. I was ready for the physical changes, I was expecting stretch marks, saggy skin, bags under my eyes and I was bracing myself for a blow to my body confidence. Miraculously I seem to have got away pretty easily as far as the physical changes go but that hasn’t meant I’ve come out the other side with my confidence in tact. I’m not talking body confidence or confidence in myself as a Mother, that’s a whole different issue, I’m talking the main stage, real deal kind of confidence. Your basic ‘Who am I and what do I even want?!’ kind of situation.
Disclaimer: If you’re not in the mood for a pretty deep, soul searching kind of post then I would suggest you click away now, if you are planning on sticking around then I would suggest a large glass of wine and a good pile of snacks. (more…)