Help! 12 Weeks and Teething | When NUBY gets it right

‘Teething normally begins at around 6 months of age’.

 Google, you liar.

Twelve weeks old and teething has hit us like a tonne of bricks. Our first two months of newborn life were filled with puke and discomfort, to put it bluntly. Harrison’s inability to bring up wind, and desire to feed 24/7 meant that pretty much all of his milk in the first few weeks ended up projectiled over himself, myself, or our couch. As we neared three months old, we changed milk and voila - the problem was solved and we had a little happy baby for all of three days. Cue teething to come and knock us off of our happy little pedestal. We were never going to have that easy a ride were we? If I'm honest, I hadn't given teething a second thought until it hit us head on: I thought I'd have a good few months before I even had to think of it, so I can now thank the lord we are Nuby Brand Ambassadors and they'd obviously planned more in advance than we had.

I'm a Judgmental Parent | Baby Wearing Mothers Are Pack Ponies

Loose Women publicized their debate on the 'Pack Pony Baby Wearing Mothers', and it's forced me to come to terms with the reality of parenting. The world of parenting is judgmental, that much, I've always been aware of. No matter what decision you make, someone will disagree, and if like me, you choose to put many of your choices online, someone will disagree publicly. Everyone judges, and that in itself is nothing to be ashamed of. I always liked to believe that I was not one of these people though when it came to parenting. I could preach to the high heavens about how much I do not judge anyone based on their own parenting decisions - but this week the ladies of Loose Women and another blogger showed me I was simply another one of those judgmental parents I claim to be nothing like.

Living Arrows | 4/52 Making The Most Of The Little Moments

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

– Kahlil Gibran

This year I'm taking part in Living Arrows - Donna's project that celebrates all things childhood. A photo a week to document the everyday moments - 52 lots of photos I can look back on at the end of the year and see the change in him.

This week I've been reflecting a lot on going back to work. My date was never set in stone, and I originally planned on going back around January as maternity pay was getting me nowhere. A little extra on the side from Life With Boys has allowed me to continue to push back returning to work month to month, but the reality is, I was never cut out to be a stay at home mum. I do miss working, I miss adult interaction, and feeling like I'm doing something with my day. I love being with Harrison, but I can't shake the feeling that a lot of the days seem to amount to little more than jammie days with Jeremy Kyle. It may be different down the line when Chunk is a bit older and we can go to mother and toddler, or baby sensory classes, but right now, those would be lost on my little one, and so I spend a lot of time at home doing very little. I've finally set my back to work date, and although I've given myself a few months still, I can't help but feel that it will be over before I know it. Although my days can at times drag in right now, I know fine well that the minute I have to leave H with one of his grans, or drop him off at nursery for the first time, I'll be kicking myself for not taking advantage of all of the days we did have together.

Can You Live On £2 A Day? | #2poundchallenge With Zamcog & Voucherbox

It costs £2 to feed and educate a child in Zambia every single day, a mere £2 to allow them to have future prospects, and keep them healthy; well, as healthy as can be achieved through nutrition alone. Yesterday, I spent £4.40 in Starbucks before 9am - the White Chocolate Mocha’s are great - but are they worth two days worth of education and how many meals per day? Jordan was peckish last night and spent £8.00 in the Kebab shop alone. I hate to admit it, but we are throwing money down the drain. For us, we’re throwing away a few extra pounds towards our mortgage deposit. Whilst it adds up yes, it’s not leaving us hungry, or without school for a day. What would would we do if we had to live off of a measly quarter of what we are spending each per day? This week, we found out.

H is 3 Months Old

Harrison is 3 months old. I have a three month old baby. I honestly cannot get my head around this. I can hand on heart say that my pregnancy (which was essentially just over 3 months long) felt like the longest stretch of time in the world. Every day dragged in, and the weeks didn’t go in any quicker. I was in a constant cycle of wishing my days away, whilst being terrified of what was to come. Now though, time has absolutely flown. It feels like yesterday I was bringing Harrison home from the hospital, absolutely clueless as to what I was supposed to be doing and to what motherhood would hold. Whilst it feels like no time at all has passed since then, I also cannot remember a time when I wasn’t a mother. I can’t remember a reality where I didn’t have someone to rely on me 24 hours a day, and although I complain often, I wouldn’t want to. In the last week especially, Harrison has hit my favourite stage yet. He’s happy, giggly, and a joy to be around. I’ve accepted the lack of sleep, and my body has adjusted to living off of what feels like next to none, but he makes up for that shortcoming with the smiles during the day.

Living Arrows | 3/52 Teething Isn't Always Terrible

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

– Kahlil Gibran

This year I'm taking part in Living Arrows - Donna's project that celebrates all things childhood. A photo a week to document the everyday moments - 52 lots of photos I can look back on at the end of the year and see the change in him.

Is it possible to sanitize baby fists? My baby is teething - and boy do I know all about it. We've said hello sleepless nights and painful cries, the red cheeks and the slabbery chin (well technically, we've never said goodbye to the sleepless nights, but still). Despite him obviously having his moments, this has probably been my favorite week with him yet. He's turning into a right little character - constantly giggling, smiling or looking guilty and each day he's finding his voice more and more. His night routine may not be great, or rather, it's nonexistent, but he makes up for it daily with his little quirks. Teething isn't fun for anyone, and given that we're only at the start it's only going to get worse from here - but for now, I'm enjoying the stage he's at.

The Dummy Debate: Taking The Easy Way Out With Tommee Tippee

When I was pregnant, I was completely adamant my child would never use a dummy. Not by any stretch of the imagination. A dummy wasn’t necessary and shouldn’t be necessary, you should be able to calm your baby without the need to shove something in their mouth - in my eyes, a dummy was a sign of bad parenting, and I’d have preached it to the high heavens. Looking back, it shows my own personal naivety. My own lack of understanding about babies, about mums, about being a parent, and now, I cringe at my own audacity.

Our Newborn Photoshoot | A Modern Day Rip Off

Before Harrison was born, I jumped at the chance to book his newborn photoshoot. Taken before he was 10 days old, it was supposed to be a keepsake - a special way to remember the cushy baby days as they pass so quickly. The pictures of the little babies in the baskets, or nestled into their fathers arms made my heart melt and I was all too eager to jump on the band wagon and book my own. My pictures are a keepsake, but I found myself in a situation where I felt completely overwhelmed by the price and extravagance of it all. I found myself questioning my ability to be a parent due to my lack of willingness to pay an arm and leg for the sake of a few pictures. Albeit lovely pictures, but no picture could ever be worth the prices asked. My newborn photoshoot left me with pictures to last a lifetime, but if given the option again, I would never go back.

Living Arrows | 2/52 A Snow Day

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

– Kahlil Gibran

This year I'm taking part in Living Arrows - Donna's project that celebrates all things childhood. A photo a week to document the everyday moments - 52 lots of photos I can look back on at the end of the year and see the change in him.

This week, was a difficult one. Actually, it was worse than difficult: had it not snowed heavily by Thursday I'd have probably left Harrison in our back garden. The snow changed everything though - it sounds ridiculous, the weather managing to lift my spirits that were practically 6 feet under at this point, but it worked. I love the snow, and by some lucky strike, we were snowed in on birthday. I tried to capture Harrisons' first snowfall as candidly as I could, and I love these pictures for the sole reason that they mark a small victory in what has been a tough month. It snowed, and we were happy, there was no fussing, or crying whilst he was out in the fresh air, and for just that small amount of time I had my happy little baby back, one who isn't teething, or crying, or driving me to pull my hair out. I had my happy baby again.

5 Days With A Baby Who Won't Sleep | The Sleep Diary

Sleep deprivation is like nothing else - for the past few months I've gone through phases of being in somewhat of a trance, when Harrison is not sleeping and therefore neither am I, and phases were he's been good, and I've been able to grab a solid 5 hours sleep in a night and feel like an entirely new woman. At one point, we went through a week where he woke once or twice per night, and I swear I felt on top of the world. That feels like a long time ago now, despite it being only a few weeks, and I can't remember the last good night sleep we had. This week, with Harrison finally outgrowing swaddles, it's probably only going to get worse..

An Open Letter To The Stranger Who Told Me Not To Rock My Baby

You don't realise how self-righteous the world of parenting is until your thrown into it. Everyone has an opinion, absolutely everyone, and some voice them louder than others. I voice my own pretty darn loud through my own blog, but I talk about my child and my experiences with my child only: never will I claim to be an expert, in fact, I don't have a bloody clue what I'm on about it, but I don't think any parent completely does. And for that reason and that reason alone, please don't tell me how to raise my child.

Living Arrows | 1/52 The Calm Before The Storm

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

– Kahlil Gibran

I originally started this blog to remember a period in my life that I'd otherwise start to forget. I look back on my pregnancy, and I remember parts vividly, but others are already fading, less than a year later. Sure, I probably don't need to remember the exact point at which my feet ballooned to the size of watermelons, or that specific breakdown I had that single Tuesday in September over noodle soup, but one day (most likely in a few years when I'm contemplating the prospect of another baby and I need something to convince me otherwise) I'll have the option to read back and remember everything about that time. I want the ability to do the same for Harrisons' first few years. It's easy to get caught up in the moment, but I want to make sure I remember the little things. The little moments that are the first to go. This year I plan to take part in Living Arrows - Donna's project that celebrates all things childhood. A photo a week to document the everyday moments - 52 lots of photos I can look back on at the end of the year and see the change in him.

Newborn Hacks | Sleeping Better With An Orla Kiely GroSnug

 For the past month or so, we've been testing out the GroSnug from the brand new Orla Kiely Collection with the Gro Company. It's been a life saver as far as sleeping aids go, and we'll be investing in a good few more in the next size up to see us through the next few months. The Orla Kiely designs were released on the 6th January, and we were lucky enough to try out one before the launch.

Newborn Essentials: Products NOT Worth The Hype

When does a newborn not become a newborn, that's the first question I'd like to ask. The second is, why does no one tell you not to buy so much crap before they are born? Harrison is now closing in on three months old, he's not a newborn anymore, and I think we've had a decent amount of time to figure out what works for us, but also, what doesn't. We've had a good few products that have been holy grail finds for us, and I've talked about them a lot in the past few weeks, but what I haven't talked about, have been the products have been utter wastes of money. Babies are so individual that this is probably just personal to myself and to Harrison, but if you take anything away from this post, take the fact that babies will not like HALF of the stuff you buy for them. Be careful how much you buy prior to birth - pregnancy is a sure fire time to waste a hell of a lot of money that you do not have to waste. Even now, Harrisons room is overflowing with clothes and products that have never been touched let alone used frequently, and at the minute I can only liken it to the Mothercare January sales... filled with complete crap.

Being a Mum is Not As Easy As People Make Out

Quick note: I started this post two weeks before Christmas, and I was in a completely different post when I finished it two weeks later, and I think the change in the way I talk is pretty obvious. Pre warning for anyone wondering why the hell it sounds like two different people writing it...

 I always knew that having a baby wouldn't be easy, that much is obvious. I'm now entirely responsible for another person, another life, someone that relies on you for absolutely everything. How could that possibly be easy? What I didn't expect though was the change in my personality, I'm sad, I'm frustrated, I'm anxious to leave the house, and I have absolutely no motivation whatsoever, for anything. I've gone from being someone who had their life in order, who had plans and goals and who knew what they were doing, to someone who feels like they have absolutely no control over anything, but with the added pressure of having a baby to provide for. I'm not writing this because I want sympathy, I can tell you right now that I don't deserve any - I have an amazing life, an amazing child and all of my successes still to be had - I'm writing this because I'm sick of feeling sorry for myself. Having a baby is not simply a matter of milk, nappies and love. My life has been flipped on its head, and whilst it is entirely for the better, right now I'm completely lost and I'm trying to find my feet again. I love my son, and I couldn't imagine life without him now, but that doesn't mean I don't miss how easy everything once was.