When pregnant with all of my children I’ve searched the internet for hours of what I should and shouldn’t use for them. One of the topics that kept popping up was is using a soother good or bad for your child.

The main things that were mentioned is that your child could become very attached to the soother in turn making it hard to get rid of it when it came to that time. That I could deal with!

However the most talked about theory is that it can damage you child’s teeth giving them overbites or crossbites. So I started to do some research and this is when I found MAM perfect soother.

MAM have developed the perfect soother alongside paediatric dentists to ensure better tooth development which in turn reduces the risk of misaligned teeth , however still ensuring it soothes and comforts your baby.

As you can see they have designed the teat to be super flexible and thin which means for a better more natural mouth closure. For your baby the sucking instinct is very natural when they are in your stomach they naturally suck their thumbs.

So if you ensure you are using the correct soother they don’t actually have an affect on oral development.

So once I found the MAM perfect soother and the positive research which shows so many positives on soothers they can help prevent sids as they can help open the airways, they help produce saliva which helps reduce plaque build up, and they also help with pains such as teething.

Of course as with all MAM products you can self sterilise them in their case which stays sterile for 48 hours simply add 20ml of water place your soothers in the case and microwave for 3 minutes.

* please note the girls wall mural was kindly gifted as part of a pr collaboration *

Ahh this has been such a long process but with Nicos working full time & me looking after the three minis it’s literally been getting jobs done when there is a spare second.

First of all I knew we needed some sort of storage for the toys , I mean downstairs still definitely looks like toys r us has re opened but it’s not as bad now the majority of their toys are in their room.

I explained to Nicos what sort of idea I wanted for the toys & he got to building. I love how the shelves have turned out they’re practical but also go well with their bedroom.

This wall is the first wall you see as you walk in so I wanted to keep the Dalmatian style decals on this wall but also add a statement piece to the wall behind their beds.

As you can see it is another statement piece but because of how the girls room is it doesn’t clash with the wall decals on the fireplace. It comes with super clear instructions and is really simple to pop up and as you can see it really makes the room

* the kiddic bed was part gifted as part of a pr collaboration*

If you’ve followed me for a while you know Hughies bedroom used to be in the smaller room but I decided to switch him to the bigger room & our room would be in the smaller room.

First of all Nicos repainted the walls with a fresh coat of white & glossed all of the coving/ skirting boards. I wanted to keep the room all white & then add aspects of natural wood and decor.

I’ve never been one for a cot I mean I’ve brought one with every baby and they’ve never been used (much to Nicos delight) . I’ve always co slept with them and then they’ve just gone straight into a big bed.

Choosing Hughies bed I knew I wanted it to be a natural wood with a storage draw. I searched everywhere & finally found one I loved from kiddic. I found the Alvaro toddler bed which you can choose a various amount of sizes I chose the toddler size. https://kiddic.co.uk/kids-house-beds/alvaro-toddler-bed.html

Storage wise we did a little trip to IKEA before all the lockdown rules thankfully and have used the trofast combination for his toys & then the hemnes draws for his and babies clothes!

There are so many more products on the https://kiddic.co.uk/ they have anything from accessories to large furniture for your child’s room

* This is an ad I have been compensated for my work however all opinions are my own*

Hughie is 10 months old now. Walking , talking and growing so much every single day. So we started looking in to what follow on milk we should use.

There are so many it really is hard to know which one is going to give him the best amount of nutrients. Whilst he was starting his weaning journey but also ensuring he is getting what he needs as he grows.

So i did lots of research and found Hipp organic follow on milk. They are the UK number one organic follow on milk. Containing vitamins A C D & iron which contribute to a normal functioning immune system.

Which means it goes alongside weaning and helping towards a balanced and nutritional diet. Hughie has 2 daytime bottles , a bottle at bedtime and sometimes more through the night. That all depends on if he feels like sleeping. The follow on milk comes in a powder form but also ready made bottles which as you can imagine are super handy for those sleepy night time feeds.

We simply pop it into his sterilised bottle and then into a bottle warmer to ensure it’s warmed correctly for his night times feeds. Then during the day make his bottles up as per the instructions which you can find on the back of the pack.

Hipp also ensure that no pesticides are used in pastures where their cows graze. They’ve been around for over 60 years and you can tell that they’ve done their research into what ingredients are best and how to get the most from the milk they are providing for our little ones. They also ensure that their milk is a sustainable choice as all of the packaging is recyclable excluding the foil bags.

IMPORTANT / Follow On Milk should only be used as part of a mixed diet and not as a breastmilk substitute before 6 months. Please contact your health professionals for anymore advice

This is my favourite super simple no bake cheesecake recipe ! It’s one that the girls really like to help with especially licking the utensils afterwards!

From start to finish it takes around 10/20 minutes and used very few ingredients obviously you could adapt this and change the flavour! You could add Oreos , strawberries the list is endless!

Ingredients/

For the base /.

160g biscuits ( I used digestives you could use shortbread or similar). 60g butter (melted)

Cheesecake mix/.

300ml double cream 300g cream cheese Zest of 3 lemons juice of 2 and a half lemons 100g caster sugar

1. Bash your biscuits i just pop them in a bowl and crush with the bottom of the cup. 2. Melt your butter

3. Mix together the crushed biscuits and melted butter. Then push this firmly into a cake tin again I use the bottom of a cup. Pop into the fridge whilst you make the cheesecake mix.

4. Zest & juice your lemons & leave to one side

5. Whip up your double cream until it forms soft peaks.

6. Add your cream cheese caster sugar zest and juice of lemon into the double cream and mix until it is of a thick consistency.

7. Place half the mixture on top of the biscuit base pushing down to ensure there is no gaps. Then add the rest of the mixture smoothing down the top

8. Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours ! Once removed I just popped some lemon curd over the top you could add swirls of cream with lemons or anything you fancy

Where to start with this blog. Have I always loved my post partum body? No definitely not I remember a month or so after having Ottilie Nicos looked after the girls so I could go and get some new clothes. I went to a good few shops and everything I tried on just looked absolutely awful. I stood in the changing room and cried for a good ten minutes I was absolutely horrified at how my body looked.

But now a year or so later and I love my post partum body. If you follow me on Instagram you’ll know that our newest edition Hughie is a rainbow baby as we had a miscarriage before him.

The miscarriage definitely put it all into perspective for me. I don’t know how to explain it but something just clicked I realised how lucky I was to carry another baby. The stretch marks and wobbly bits held my children and kept them safe.

I have achieved so much more with my new body than my old one. I have made three lives and one little star. Our bodies should be celebrated and admired for what they can do. Yes some people bounce straight back but this really is a very small minority, yes our bodies change a lot it’s scary, it’s hard and you may feel absolutely disgusted but remember what your body had created.

It’s real and it’s normal.

So I was kindly sent the Baby Bjorn one air carrier. I picked the vintage rose colour and it’s a beautiful dusky pink!

I’ve waited to write this so that I could try it out for a couple of weeks in order for me to give my honest opinion.

My first thoughts were that it seemed very well made , it also looked and felt so comfy!

It’s super easy to use you simply pop it over your head and then place your child in and sliding the buckles in to place. Also on the inner side of the carrier there are two height positions which you simply zip to change one for newborn (at least 3.5kg)

The wide and fully adjustable seat area ensures a comfortable and ergonomically correct position for your child’s hips.

It also has an option to back carry for your toddler or from 1 year plus!

I’ve been walking up hills, down hills and just general day to day use. To which I have found it’s super comfortable and doesn’t strain my back or suffocate me which my last carrier did! The wide straps ensure that the weight is distributed evenly throughout the carrier.

I would 100% recommended this carrier. It’s comfortable, looks stylish and can carry your child from newborn to 3 years ! So it’s such a good buy. Considering the amount of times you can use it!

my partner said “out of all the carriers that I have tried this is by far the most comfortable, not only for myself but the children too. You can see the high standards that have been put into making it as well. I would definitely recommend it.“

Here’s the baby Bjorn website so you can have some more information on the carrier or just look at their other beautiful products

https://www.babybjorn.co.uk/shop/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwn8_mBRCLARIsAKxi0GKK6MUUYwLCpXyZcNCV3jqSyCshBETqvk5phu05xyNYQxlazny6e-EaAg3DEALw_wcB

This is the cheapest place I’ve found it :

https://www.thebabyfarm.co.uk/baby-categories/on-the-go/carriers/baby-bjorn-baby-carrier-one-air-vintage-rose/prod_6098.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwn8_mBRCLARIsAKxi0GJdmLih3ogfiUD29BE5eCTkb2aTNIEQdXLenIztP4aCyLX77swIkz0aAsaHEALw_wcB

Emilia decided she wanted a troll party! So it was rainbows and glitter everywhere 🌈!

When looking around the shops I couldn’t really find any troll themed bits or anything I could make use of. So I did end up doing as much diy as possible!

On the table I put the cake, little sweet jars with tongs and bags! I also used a Kilner drinks dispenser with cups and straws! Also I found some fab little bits in Poundland. The fake grass table runners ( i used two they are quite small) and some of the jars I found reduced to 50p after Mother’s Day!

Above it I decided to pop a rainbow balloon garland and draw some troll houses using my little Brian art paint sticks!

We hired some soft play from a local company called em Ben ! The staff were very polite and helpful! They set it all up and took it all away! This made my life a lot less stressful.

I decided to attempt to make Emilias cake and for my first attempt it’s not too bad even if it’s a bit wonky ! But she loved it ! I did a rainbow cake inside and then decorated with more rainbows and of course trolls !

We were kindly gifted tickets to Weymouth sea life centre in return for a blog post. Last time we went in November not a lot was open so I’m glad we got to go again and experience everything.

There’s so much to do, so many different tanks and a huge park which the girls loved. At the moment as it’s half term they have two activities you can take part in one is to help professor finn find the shark teeth he left in the bag and one is to find the Easter eggs to spell out a word.

We only did the shark teeth game as Emilia was able to understand that ( the teeth are big and bright so easily spotted for younger children)

Once we filled it all in we popped over to the wetland area. Where professor Finn was with lots of play-dough activities, and if you filled it all on correctly you were able to take a pot of play-dough home. Which again is great for children all ages.

They also had little activities you could participate in. Which you could get a pop badge if you did the task! Emilia was unsure at first but eventually touched a starfish and was given her badge! She now constantly tells everyone that she touched a starfish!

Perfect family fun day out with so many things to do even a little splash park !

Thank you Weymouth sea life centre

I honestly don’t know where or how to start this blog post. Everyday is a struggle, constantly wanting something you no longer have. I feel so guilty anytime I even say this or talk about my miscarriage. I know so many people can carry for so much longer and miscarriage so why should I feel so down when I was only 5 weeks.

But in those 5 weeks I loved you a lot. I made plans for you. I was so excited to see you grow, to watch the bond you would have with your sisters. Ridiculous right!

But it’s not ridiculous I am allowed to grieve. I may never get to hold you or see who you were meant to be, but you were mine and always will be.

Only in the darkness can you see the stars and that’s exactly what you are my little star. I still think about you constantly but I just need to remember it wasn’t meant to be and that’s what I struggle with the most.