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I packed my hospital bag weeks in advance! As you just never know when the baby will come along, and I wanted to be prepared as I possibly could! Knowing exactly what to pack can be hard, so I thought I would share with you what I included in my hospital bag to help you:
I hope my hints and tips above are helpful! Enjoy every minute packing your hospital bag! It is an absolute joy to do!
By making sure you are organised in advance will help you stay calm and focused throughout your labour Kxx
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When I was pregnant I remember a colleague of mine saying, “good luck with the sleep deprivation it is a Bit*ch” (her words, not mine). To be honest as a first time mum I didn’t know what she was going on about.
Just after my labour (check out my labour story here) all I wanted to do was sleep, I was wiped out! No one tells you as soon as your baby is put onto your chest you won’t sleep solidly for the next 18 years (joke). But seriously I so desperately needed 10 hours straight sleep but, your new bundle of joy needs feeding, changing, cuddles etc. So to all those lovely mums to be out there, you will have broken sleep for a while. After a few months of broken sleep, my little lady shocked us! She only went and slept all the way through the night for the first time! We were absolutely elated! How did this happen you may ask? Well my hubby (unlike me) likes order and routine. Thank goodness I have him, because he insisted bubs had as much of a night-time routine as possible.
Every night we kept everything the same. Here is an example of our night time routine in the early days:
I honestly didn’t mind not having a social life, because I needed the sleep. I was running a business at the same time. If it wasn’t for the hubby putting this into place I wouldn’t have been able to have functioned as well as I did. My little lady is nearly three years old now, and when it gets to 6:30pm she asks to go to bed. All of our hard work and perseverance has paid off. Of course every baby will be different, but this is what we did to get a good nights sleep! I wish you every success with sleep “training” (hate this word for some reason) your baby, and I hope you too get a good night sleep Kxx
When you are a first time expectant mum or dad it is SO exciting to go out and purchase all of the new things for your baby! Everything is all new, and it is such a big adventure!
It is so easy to get swept away with it all. You end up buying things because it’s what the baby books say, or what the shop assistant recommends! It is OK we all do it! We purchased so many things we didn’t need and I am going to list some of them below for you: Nappy Bin Now these are great, I am not saying they aren’t. Just for us it wasted valuable space in our nursery. We used it whilst the bin was stocked with nappies but after that we just used simple nappy sacks, and took them to the bin. I didn’t want to be faffing with this at 2am! Dummies We had about 3 dummies ready and waiting. Why I don’t know because we had already decided we didn’t want to use dummies! Great for some, but not for us. Cute and expensive baby grows and sleep suits We had NO idea how many of these you we would go through in one day! They get pooped on, sicked on, you name it! My precious white company sleep suit was stained yellow within the first 1 hour! I would recommend buying the cheapest ones around! Baby shoes Absolute waste of time! Yes they look cute, but they are not practical and won’t stay on for more than 2 minutes!
Baby mittens
Another great idea in concept, but they didn’t stay on my little ladies hands for two minutes! Just make sure their nails are carefully cut regularly. Too many pretty dresses etc. Your baby will most likely live in their baby grows and sleep suits! I purchased WAY to many cute clothes that never got worn! Ewan the white noise sheep We never used this…once! She went to sleep through my gentle rocking, or singing. Baby Head Positioner These are supposed to help to prevent a condition known as plagiocephaly, or flat head syndrome. If you make sure you baby does tummy time etc this will stop this happening. I hope this blog is helpful. At the end of the day it is your exciting adventure, who am I to say what you may or may not need. This is just a guide from my personal experience, I wish you so much happiness Kx I am the first to admit I am a bit of a control freak…so during my pregnancy I decided I wouldn’t take any pain relief, or gas and air during my labour. I was absolutely adamant. My entire labour from start to finish lasted about 23 hours. And being as stubborn as I am, I stuck to my wishes. Crazy some may say! I know I am not the only one in the world to have gone through labour drug free, and I most definitely do not judge anyone who takes pain relief because everyone’s labour is so personal, and different. I thought I would share with you how I coped with the pain, and what techniques I used to get through it. I have had endometriosis for many years now, so every time I have a period I am in discomfort (some months are worse that others) so I genuinely think this prepared me for labour pain (although I needed to times it by 20).
What got me through each contraction was breathing and focusing my mind. I didn’t practice any form of mediation, yoga, or mindfulness before, I just did it. It was like my mind was outside of itself for hours. The only time I came out of this trance like state, was when my husband left the room for a sleep! It made me loose concentration and panic, which in turn made my labour pain a million times worse! As well as almost mediating my mind, I focused on my breathing, this gave me a focus, but it also relaxed me. The more relaxed you are during labour, the less pain you are in it seemed. So by literally doing two things, breathing and focusing my mind I got through it. I am not going to lie it was exhausting, my mind and body were drained. Looking back I am so happy I got the labour I wanted, because I appreciate things can happen. I am proud I dug deep and found inner strength within, that I had no idea existed. I really hope this blog helps mums to be, and gives them the strength and belief that they too can have the labour they so desire. At the end of the day all that really matters is we have a happy/healthy baby and mummy Kx
When I became pregnant I wrapped myself in cotton wool! I had, had a miscarriage 6 months before this pregnancy, and I was so scared of it happening again! As a result I literally stopped myself from doing certain things with the fear of losing my baby. Looking back I was definitely a bit over cautious, but it all felt right at the time! I thought I would share with you my regrets, and be honest about them.
NOT GOING ON A BABY MOON I am an extremely nervous flyer so I didn’t want to raise my stress levels, and for it to affect my unborn baby. I was also frightened the something would happen to the plane (completely irrational I know). Looking back it would have been so amazing to have spent some quality time with my just my husband, in the warm sunshine. It actually would have done wonders for me to have had time to completely relax. DIDN’T EXERCISE When I look back at myself pregnant I was SO bloated. I think this has a lot to do with the fact I didn’t exercise. In fact I didn’t push myself at all. I think I would have felt a lot better had I moved a bit more! DIDN'T EAT CERTAIN FOODS I watched everything I ate! I checked every ingredient and cut out lots of foods. I wish I hadn't worried so much as I had a good diet anyway.
Looking back I didn't need to be as worried as I was. I actually wasn't controlling if I would have another miscarriage, or not, by not doing the things above. They only created more stress and anxiety. If there is one thing I have learnt in this life, what will be will be. I am so grateful to have a happy and healthy little lady. Kxx
I am not going to lie, I was dreading potty training”. As a first time mum I literally had no clue! I had so many questions…how do I know she is ready? Where do I start? What if it disturbs her happy routine?
As a first time mum I think it is perfectly natural to worry about all things parenting, as it is all so new. Nobody really likes change, and feeling out of their depth. Like most things though, all of the worry was for nothing! My little lady has taken to it like a duck to water (much to my relief). I thought I would pop together some hints and tips for mums and dads about to embark on their own potty training journey with their little one/s. Check them out below:
We are in week 5 of our potty training journey, and my little lady is doing so well. The only time we seem to have an accident is when she is distracted by something really fun! My biggest tip is every single child will be different so just go with it and follow their path. Happy Potty Training K x Before my little lady came into our lives, turning our world upside down (for the better obviously) my baby was my business (Crafts and Giggles). I was literally doing emails during labour. I was a mad women on reflection! I literally put blood, sweat, and tears into my business, sacrificing way too much. In my later stages of pregnancy I remember my midwife asking me how I was going to continue running my business when bubs was born. I thought what a ridiculous question…I would take her to the office, and she would work around me. Talk about denial, and having NO clue what was about to happen! When bubs was born, I took 3 months maternity leave. I then continued to work. I remember going to under ones and being so envious that the mums could spend every second of the day with their babies. They also didn’t have any other stresses (it was all stressful enough). I remember crying with exhaustion, and my head was all over the place. Looking back I honestly wonder how I got through it all. Thankfully I had great support and I didn’t have to work every day. Here are some positive tips and ideas for people who own a business, and have a baby:
I honestly feel so proud of being able to raise a beautiful young lady, and continue to run a successful business. My little lady is my world, she ALWAYS will be my priority. It is possible to do both. I do however think that the only thing that has been neglected a bit is me. I need to work on this. I also haven't been able to run my business at the same pace as before, but that is OK. Money isn't everything, but my little lady is. I hope this has been some help. Just remember to prioritise whats important to you. You can't buy a family, health or love. K XX  The dreaded two words…Chicken Pox!! A month or so ago they hit our house! My little lady who is 2 years old picked them up. They had been going around her nursery for three weeks; we thought she had escaped them (we felt pretty smug about it). Then we got the dreaded phone call from nursery saying she had a couple of spots. It was Sods law she came out in them two days before we were meant to be going on a surprise trip to Amsterdam for daddy’s birthday (why does this always happen?) Anyway the holiday was cancelled, and I spent the next several days giving my poorly lady lots of cuddles and love. Those blister like spots just scream evil, don’t’ they? I felt so sorry for her. Everyone says it is best to get them young, as they are less irritated by them and forget having them. This was the only positive really. Having not looked after anyone with Chicken Pox before I had no idea what to do/expect, so I have put together some suggestions which I hope help others: (these are all my own ideas, I am not medically trained).
Anyone else often on the lookout for something fun, and where possible free for your little one/s to do? Come on, I can’t be the only one! Don’t get me wrong, I do take my little lady to places where you have to pay, however it all adds up and sometimes the best things in life are free… I thought it would be fun to put together some ideas and places that cost nothing (except petrol sometimes). Check them out below:
There here is so much you can do with your children for free! If you have any more suggestions please pop them in the comments as I would love some more ideas! I hope this post has given you some fun tips. Enjoy. Thanks for reading K x
My hubby’s favourite past time is going to the cinema. Even when our baby lady was the size of an avocado he was dreaming of the day he could take his “Princess Warrior” (his name for her, not mine) to the cinema for the first time! Drum roll please… his dream came true! On Easter Monday we took our 2 year old to watch Peppa Pig’s Festival of Fun at Cineworld. The perfect choice as she is loving all things Peppa Pig at the moment. We were in the cinema for an hour and a half (as there were WAY too many adverts). I was concerned she wouldn’t sit still for that long; she did and loved every minute of it! They showed 10 new Peppa Pig Episodes. They were broken up with some audience participation with real children, this was a fun addition. Our lady loved it so much that she cried when it finished! After the cinema we headed for some pizza (just like Peppa did in the film). It was a lovely way to round off our day. I really do rate Pizza Express, as they make families feel very welcome. The children's menu was great value for money, and tasty too. I loved the chefs hat they gave her to colour in. All of these touches make such a difference.
We had the best family day! We were such proud parents seeing our little lady all grown up watching her first cinema film! (I think the hubby is looking out for the next family film!) If your little one likes Peppa Pig I would highly recommend The Festival of Fun for their first cinema experience . |
ABOUT ME
Hi! I am Katie... a new mum trying to balance life, work and a beautiful baby girl! I love to take photos, travel, write, make art, and spend time with my family! xx
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