She Who Mums Wins

Holy smokes, I thought I had no time for myself before but now I am back at work time seems to evaporate before my very eyes! I am definitely guilty of being a miserable so and so this month as the days have gotten darker and every item I have online shopped this month hasn't fit so I am determined to make this post more of a gratitude journal and only focus on the good stuff, and definitely not mention that Rose has sleep regressed, has had hand foot and mouth, Liam worked away for a week and the bloody cat has started peeing everywhere again. Having got in to a bit of a rut I am going to use this post to give a shout out to a few things (and people) that have made me very happy in the last few weeks. I read the new Lucy Dillon book - All I Ever Wanted, if you haven't read any of Lucy's books I highly recommend them as they are a tonic, you can read more about Lucy, her books and reviews over on  Amazon . They are along the lines of JoJo Moyes and Katie Fforde if you h

I didn't realise it was World Breastfeeding Week this week and then a friend shared an article on Facebook that really resonated with me, it can be found here: Don’t infantilise pregnant women. Tell them how tough breastfeeding can be Lizzy Davies I wrote much of this blog as a post on my Facebook page and I wanted to share it with you all, and my friends have agreed for some of their subsequent comments to be included. I didn't ever think I would become someone determined to speak up about breastfeeding on such a regular basis but I was genuinely shocked by how different it was to how I thought it was going to be and I want my friends to feel they can ask questions and feel 'ready' if it is something they want to do, I don't want them to feel as blindsided as I did at the time!  In my opinion the Guardian article is brilliant.  I loved breastfeeding Rosie and I would definitely recommend it, on the flip side it is the hardest thing I have ever done! 

I'm heading back to work next week after my 12 months of maternity, I am equal parts nervous, sad and excited! Nervous that I will feel like the new kid, sad that I am leaving Rosie and excited that I will be back doing what I love with my brilliant colleagues and clients.  Personally if I feel like I am wearing the right outfit I feel like I can conquer the world and as absolutely nothing suitable for work from pre pregnancy fits me I have had to invest in some new workwear. I am going back 3 days in the first instance and so I don't need loads, and I need to bear in mind that one day it might be boiling and the next raining! I have purchased a few key pieces from H&M and thought I would go through them with you in case you are looking for inspiration for your return to work wardrobe.  I should mention I did hit the Zara sale and tried on so many amazing items but unfortunately none of it fit well enough for me to buy, if you would like me to link any of the Zara workw

It has taken me so long to publish this that our holiday was now nearly 2 months ago but I am hoping it is of some help to those of you who still have lovely holidays to look forward to!  I have to be honest and say when time drew closer to us going on holiday I began getting nervous and thought it may be a really bad idea! What if it was just really hard work?! Thankfully the day arrived and we were packed and ready to go on time, for some reason we decided to have the house rewired whilst we were away and so that caused a few last minute hitches but by 10am we were in the car with all of our luggage and on our way to Bristol!  Rose was 9 and a half months when we went and bum shuffling around the house but not properly on the move and this did make things easier.  Below I have outlined what worked for us and what didn't in the hopes it is of some help, anything we bought which made a real difference I have listed at the bottom. The flights We made the decision t

I wanted to write another post on breastfeeding as it is such a huge part of motherhood for me and I had an overwhelming response to my last breastfeeding article, it clearly hit a nerve and resonated with some of you which is great, I had a lot of private messages as it is a very personal and sensitive subject and thank you to those who shared your stories and advice with me. It has taken me so long to write this new post as every time I have thought about what I would like to get down on paper my thoughts have become a bit of a jumble.  Do I still like breastfeeding? How has it changed? The irony of getting used to it and then weaning, and when will I stop? So I didn’t know where to start and didn’t want it to to be a train of consciousness of my sleep deprived mind!  I found breastfeeding really hard at first, people asked me to explain why, was it a physical or emotional issue? and I found it really hard to articulate, it was both really. It can feel relentless and be

Below is a list of 10 things I now know about weaning that I didn't know when I started, hope it helps if you're about to embark on your weaning journey!  You can never have enough bibs! Sometimes we go through 3 a day and unless you want to wash them all the time buy loads Your baby will at some point sneeze in your face with a mouthful of food Try to see the funny side! Perhaps we should be wearing a bib too! Every baby is different in terms of the type of solids they will attempt and when, your baby will let you know when they are ready Don't compare your baby to other babies where food is concerned, remember all adults eat differently! Get some bowls that suction to the high chair There will be a time (or many times) when you look away for a second and the meal is on the floor, get regular bowls as well, as babies love playing with the spoon and bowl when they have finished eating Now is the time to wear breast pads You don't know how quickly your baby will

When I was at work it felt like my maternity leave was hurtling towards me and I wanted to make sure everything was sorted that needed to be, so that there would be a smooth transition with me leaving. At the same time the bigger I got the more tired I got and I was getting to work closer to 9am every day and was ready to go home at 5.30pm and walk ever so slowly to my car and then get home and lie down for the rest of the evening.  So where, during this time, do you find the time to go to ante natal classes and meet potential new mum friends? The point of this piece is to say find the time, it really will make all the difference in the long run. via GIPHY At first I perceived ante natal classes to be expensive and only important if you wanted to have a plan, I didn't want to have a birth plan as the universe usually has its own ideas and presumably my baby was going to come out the way it wanted to whether I liked it or not!  A lot of my friends already had children and

I am going to hold my hand up and say I have always been coy about discussing my daughter’s sleep, because she was a great sleeper very early on, from about 8 weeks old she slept 7.30pm to 5 or 6am, most new parents do not want to know that your baby is a good sleeper and if you tell people with older children they often look at you with a look that says ‘it won’t last’. So I kept schtum and felt I couldn’t moan about anything, because my baby slept through - what did I have to moan about?!   I ummed and ahhed about including the above paragraph as I am so afraid of people's feelings on sleep, but I have always been honest on here and I need to be able to be happy and honest when things go right as well as wrong.  In the first few months Rose barely napped in the day so the days were long, but I couldn't complain as she slept all night, not every single night, but almost all of them, she was a dream sleeper for a newborn and it was completely unexpected. Having suffe