CONTROLLED CRYING - OUR STORY

Patrick was a great sleeper, he truly couldn't have slept any better from the age of 5 weeks till 6.5 months. He go down in the evenings when Noah did and rarely wake up till around 7/8am, if he did wake I would always give him a feed as I presumed it was a growth spurt and given that he was under six months I know it's a big expectation to think he can sleep through the night without being hungry. But as I said, it was a rare case he needed feeding. I was elated if I'm honest and completely shocked by it all. In hindsight I believe it was initially due to Patrick being quite a poorly and weak baby, he naturally slept more than most, so by the time he recovered fully and became more alert he was already well used to sleeping so long at night. Controlled crying was never something I even contemplated, as wake up's just were not an issue.

MY THOUGHTS ON CONTRACEPTION

Contraception is usually the very first thing your doctor talks about with you post baby, it's almost a little off putting if I'm honest during a 6-8 week check. After both sons I have felt that appointment is more to ensure I wont be getting pregnant again soon, as opposed to a 'How are you feeling' kind of thing. I'm well aware of the time your body needs to recover however, but having two children back to back would be something I made damn sure of never happened. Contraception after Patrick was a subject I didn't really want to think too much about, I've felt extremely frustrated with it over the years and given the fact I fell pregnant with Noah whilst using it, I didn't really have a huge amount of faith.

SUNSHINE BLOG QUESTIONS

I was kindly tagged by the lovely Charlotte to take part in the 'Sunshine Blog Questions' where she has given me some individual questions she would like to know the answer too. I think it's a lovely idea and a great way to find out some more personal information about the blogger behind the blog. I am naturally a super nosy person, so reading these lately when they have popped onto my radar have been of great enjoyment.

INCONTINENCE - TIPS & ADVICE

A weak pelvic floor is something nobody wants, let's face it, but I was so naive after having Noah and never really suffered with any incontinence, so I didn't exercise it. I guess it's an out of sight,  out of mind kind of mantra with me. Common sense tells you that after pushing a 10lb baby out, things probably aren't going to be in as good of a condition as they were before, but ignorance was bliss and I just carried on as normal. Queue baby number two, pushed out, and now I seem to have the bladder control of a potty training toddler - I massively regret my ignorance and wish I'd done something after Noah.

WEANING ON THE GO

Motherhood is tough, incredibly tough and we often need things along the way that are going to make our life easier. Maybe it's just me but I find so much of my days sometimes are spent prepping for things; I wash and sterilise bottles to prep them for my sons milk, I get clothes out, swapping and changing ideas to prep my sons outfits for the next day, I am constantly cooking, steaming and blending to prep their meals for the week. Motherhood is a lot of prepping. Perhaps because I like to be organised and prepared and that's why baby food pouches will always be incredibly useful to us a family. They make life easier and as parents I think we all need a little bit of the easy life every now and again, don't you? Pouches are a go-to for on the go.

MOTHERS DAY GIFT GUIDE

Mothers day is less than a week away, and as a parent blogger I couldn't miss the occasion without featuring a gift guide. I definitely think Mothers day shouldn't just be about mothers, it should be a day spent celebrating all the women in your family - as we know not everyone is lucky enough to still have their mothers with them, I have the exact same feeling towards fathers day also. I do really enjoy the build up to mothers day, especially given I am now back at work so will spend a lot of this week making cards with children, listening to their favourite things about their mummies, it's all very sweet.

GIVEAWAY - LEE STAFFORD CORDLESS STRAIGHTENERS

I'm a sucker for a good hair tool, I don't think you can have too many. Especially after I realised just before Christmas that my beloved GHD's were slowly breaking, and found myself abandoned with no alternative to tame the frizz, I realised it was quite vital to have options shall we say? Thankfully, Lee Stafford reached out to me and asked if I'd like to trial their cordless hair straighteners, which of course I bit there hand off to do so. I'd never used cordless hair straighteners before, in my younger days they'd always been way out of my budget though I'd lusted after them a lot, but at a bargain £49.99 on amazon at the minute - can you really go wrong with these?

BABY CLOTHES - MY FAVOURITE STORES

One of the most enjoyable things to me that isn't directly with the boys, is styling and dressing them. I like them to look good but also be comfortable so it's something I'll admit I do put a lot of thought into. You wont see my grabbing something off the shelves just because it's cheap, because I think you can get reasonably priced clothes all over you just have to shop around. I don't like spending a crazy amount on baby bits, as they're usually only in them for three months at tops. However when they reach one you usually get a year or half depending on the seasons, worth of wear out of their bits which makes me a bit happier to spend that little more on their clothing. Anyway, today I'm talking about my favourite stores and why for Patrick.

MY BLOGGING ADVICE

Today I'm sharing six tips that I wish I had known when I started blogging. The blogging world has changed a lot in the last four years, but I feel if I had known some of these tips then life could have been a lot easier over that time. Blogging is constantly evolving,  I'm still learning vast amounts each day and I thought if I could write down some tips that I thought would have been invaluable to me over the course of my time with a blog then it might be helpful to someone else. Of course these are all circumstantial to me and other people will have different views and opinions.

TRIED & TESTED - BLUESTONE WALES

Last month we made lengthy journey south west and headed to the wonderful Bluestone Wales. It was quite a slog getting there I wont lie, taking us in all around 7 hours when we factored in some stops, but on that wet Monday evening we finally pulled up to our lodge and none of us had killed each other on the drive. An achievement in itself. We had a mid-week break up until Friday which meant we had a good few days to discover what Bluestone had in store.

NAILING IT

It's no secret my nails are absolutely pants. It doesn't help that I work in childcare so nail polish and long nails are a no no. However, that doesn't quite apply to me at the minute as I'm on maternity leave (yay) and really keen to get my nails looking to the best of their ability so I can really take advantage of the nail trends in 2017. Just last week I was speaking to my lovely friend Faye who is training in nails at the moment, what exactly it is I need to do to get my nails in ship shape condition and she has given me some invaluable advice.

PATRICK AT NINE MONTHS

I feel like all I ever start these updates with is how fast the last month has gone, how I can't believe he is another month older and all the other cliche terms you can think of. This month however, I don't think it's gone as slow as previous months, it feels as though I have been saying 'He's eight months old' for months on end which if it was the case I would be quite content with as I am really enjoying my little bundle so much lately. The end of maternity leave is in sight and it's incredibly bittersweet, I want to return to work to be someone other than 'mum' and provide for my family but I also want to spend an indefinite period with my sons. Nonetheless another month has passed and my boy is nine months old now. 

FEBRUARY FAVOURITES

For once I don't feel like a month has flown by. It feels absolutely ages since I did my January favourites, so naturally I have accumulated another little collection that I have enjoyed using this month. This months favourites will include a mixture of both Mum and baby, and in essence anything that my sons love I will also. (Except paw patrol, I'll never love that) And as I am incorporating a bit more beauty back into Babies and Beauty, there are a few pieces to reflect that. February has been a month of new and exciting faves and some old goodies.

CAR TYRE SAFETY - MY STORY

I touched on this issue a couple of years back when it initially happened but at the time I didn't realise the lasting effect it would have on me as both a driver and passenger. In 2015 we had a car accident, one of the worst kind and one you don't normally survive to tell the tale from. A lorry hit us, a heavy goods vehicle at 50 miles per hour, with a one year old Noah in the backseat. Terrifying. We were lucky though, thank heavens we escaped with nothing but a horrendous memory - I didn't even have whiplash. Someone was definitely watching over us that day.

TRIED & TESTED - WILF BOOKS

If you haven't heard of Wilf Books, don't worry I hadn't myself but I am incredibly glad that I now have as their service is something pretty fantastic that I know you guys just have to hear a little more on. Callum and Amelia, the creators behind Wilf books wanted to design a completely bespoke book service that has been tailored with your children in mind, you can subscribe and every month you'll receive a beautiful little parcel with individual books for your little ones. How sweet?

WHY I DON'T CO-SLEEP

If you follow me on Instagram at all, you will have most definitely saw my mini moans (not so mini) about Patricks terrible time sleeping last month, after always having a baby that slept through it was a shock to the system. Thankfully he seems to have worked it all out by himself, and I feel like I have my baby back, tough sleepless nights were making for both a grumpy me and a cranky baby which really was no fun at all. I'm not sure whether it was teething, the move into his own bedroom, colder nights or just a mix of them all together, maybe he was just being a bit of a sod, I really don't know. But something that was always suggested by people from my friends to my family, was 'Why don't you just bring him in with you?' and while I'm sure it would have kept him sleeping through, it's something I vehemently did not want to do. Co-sleeping, just isn't for us.