Tag Archives: Motherhood

Motherhood // The seven stages of sleep deprivation

We’ve been the proud owners of a newborn baby for almost three weeks now, and with a Toddler who isn’t sleeping particularly well either (“Wheels on the bus” at the top of her lungs at 4am… what a TREAT!), it is suffice to say we’re pretty knackered at the moment.

Indy, the Boob Muncher, has provided me with lots of thinking time at 3am, and I’ve decided that there are seven stages of sleep deprivation that I’ve experienced so far.

1. The “being awake at 3am is actually quite fun” Stage. “This is fine. Actually quite fun. It’s like I’m 21 again and have been up all night clubbing. Yeah. A club with a small person suckling my breast for two hours non-stop, no alcohol and a distinct lack of music… unless you count the Mr Bloom theme tune that’s on a continuous loop in my head. Maybe not the best club in the world… But hey, I can read my Kindle and draft blog posts.” Continue reading →

The Week That Was: Captured #101

Hullo! Welcome to The Week That Was: Captured! Have you had a wonderful week?

The rules for #TWTWC are simple; link up one post about your week (it doesn’t have to be the whole week - it can just be one day, or your weekend)! It can be photographed, Instagrammed, written, videoed… basically in any format you wish! This linky is about capturing memories and I treat it a bit like an online diary. Please only link up relevant posts. Also, if you fancy commenting on other people’s posts that would be super too – everyone loves a comment!

Last week

Huge congratulations to Sophie (Cider with Sophie) on the purchase of their new abode! It sounds like they’ve been super busy moving in, especially with a toddler in tow! But the change of pace in life sounds wonderful. Continue reading →

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Busby // Unexpected Separation Anxiety

Busby originally started Nursery when she was eight months old; I had to return to work after Maternity Leave, and as much as I hated the thought of leaving her with “strangers”, we didn’t have much choice.

Plus it was only one day a week.

At eight months old, Busby did her fair share of crying and arm stretching for us when we’d leave, but she couldn’t walk, she couldn’t talk, and so the heartache of leaving her was made slightly easier… Continue reading →

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Review // Choco Leibniz: Powering Motherhood (and New House Owners)

A few weeks ago we were sent a delicious package of Bahlsen Choco Leibniz biscuits to try. They arrived with fantastic timing as we had just picked up the keys to our new house, and were preparing to begin the copious amounts of DIY and degranny-fying required to make our bricks and mortar home… And it goes without saying that doing up a house requires fuel in the form of tea and biscuits!

Bahlsen have just welcomed a new member into the Choco Leibniz family, in the form of a white chocolate biscuit. I was rather dubious about trying these as I’m not a huge fan of white chocolate, but the usual buttery biscuit base (sorry, I had to) has been replaced with a delicious, crispy cocoa biscuit - which results in a beautifully light tasting biscuit… and consumption of a whole packet in one sitting. (Busby helped.) Continue reading →

The Week That Was: Captured #89

Hullo there! Welcome to The Week That Was: Captured! Have you had a wonderful week?

So I’ve been away in Sussex all week, having a truly fabulous time! Thank you to everyone who linked up last week, and sorry I haven’t had a chance to catch up with your posts - my days have been long and fulfilling spending time with my amazing daughter and family/friends, and my evenings have been spent asleep from the long days of fun, but I will be catching up with everyone who links up this week - so don’t forget to pop your post below!

Our week
Sunday was Mother’s Day, and was pretty rubbish to be honest so we’ll gloss over that; this week has been amazing and I don’t want anything to spoil it.

1. Dodgy fringe chop (Sunday) // 2. 26 weeks pregnant! (Monday) // 3. On the train (Monday) // 4. St Pancras (Monday)

Busby and I travelled down to Sussex on Monday. We had lunch in London with Mutti, who met us off the train at St Pancras, and then headed back to her house. I also turned 26 weeks pregnant. Continue reading →

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Combating Loneliness as a New Mama with AXA PPP Healthcare

When Busby was born we had recently moved from Brighton to Lewes; we lived at the top of a hill (with the town centre at the bottom), and it was a very cold, snowy, icy winter so I didn’t feel safe leaving the house in case I got stranded or slipped over with my new bundle. When Nick’s paternity leave finished I felt very lonely and isolated; I didn’t know anyone, I had A BABY (which was a whole crazy, new experience), and I was living somewhere new. If it hadn’t been for social media I would have gone completely mad; it helped me meet local mamas, it kept me company during night feeds, and best of all, it confirmed that I wasn’t the only one going through the newborn haze.

Skip forward two and a half years, and I’m about to do the very same thing again… You’d think we’d learn??! Next month we move into our new house in East Yorkshire, having moved our lives up here from Sussex… and then our next bundle is due in June! Continue reading →

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Pregnancy // Rebranding “Morning” Sickness: A Poem

Oh “morning” sickness,
You are a laugh.
The hormones whizzing around
Making me barf.
But let’s be honest,
You need a new name
Because I feel pretty rubbish
Most of the day.
If you were a business,
You would have rebranded by now;
Misinforming the public?
The ASA would not allow.
So, what best describes
The way you make us feel?
The headaches, the nausea,
As if we’ve been spinning on a wheel.
I’ve got an idea Continue reading →

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The Week That Was: Captured #71

Hey there! Welcome to The Week That Was: Captured! Have you had a wonderful week?

The rules for #TWTWC are simple; link up one post about your week! It can be photographed, Instagrammed, written, videoed… basically in any format you wish! This linky is about capturing memories and I treat it a bit like an online diary. Please only link up relevant posts. Also, if you fancy commenting on other people’s posts that would be super too – everyone loves a comment!

Last week
I really enjoyed reading this happy half term post from Mama vs Teacher. It sounds like she had such a wonderful time with her son, and it was so lovely to read. (And it was lovely to have her join in again!) Continue reading →

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Busby // Exploring Nymans

Busby and I headed to Nymans, a gorgeous and local National Trust property, on Friday (Halloween) with Busby’s bestie “co-conspirator H” and her Mama. The girls spent a lovely morning exploring and burning off energy in the glorious Autumnal sunshine… and we had fun laughing at them copying each other and generally being adorable together.

We also attempted to complete the pumpkin trail, but the girls had other ideas, and I think we would have been there until closing time if we’d tried to finish!

Here are some snaps - all taken on my iPhone 5S - that really capture the beautiful morning.

I love this shot

Continue reading →

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Would you share your labour on Facebook?

Yesterday, this article popped up on my Facebook feed written by the inspiring Milli Hill (of The Positive Birth Movement); two images shared on their Facebook page had been removed by Facebook and the organisation were subjected to a 24-hour ban from the social network.

Why?

According to Facebook, these images “violated community standards”. The two images in question have been used in the article on The Guardian website (linked above); one shows a woman, naked, on her knees, breathing through contractions, and the other shows a woman birthing her own child in a water pool. Both images are beautiful, poignant and, in no way pornographic.

Before I had Busby I would have agreed with Facebook. “Take those images off! No one wants to see a woman, naked, in labour! How uncouth!” but then I gave birth. It wasn’t a difficult birth, but looking back, it wasn’t the birth I wanted. I felt stressed in hospital. No one listened to me. I felt out of control. But at that point I didn’t know any different. I hadn’t gone to antenatal classes; I figured that ignorance was bliss, and that my body would tell me what to do. I assumed I’d lie on the bed and push (and maybe break Nick’s hand), but at the end of it all I’d have a beautiful baby and it wouldn’t matter how the birth had gone, really.
Continue reading →