Last year I decided to do 10 Things I Learned in 2016, and since it's that cliché time of year (again) where everybody is making their New Years resolutions and summing up how their 2017 has been, I thought I would reflect on the year and what I have learnt... Being patient is important. I …
Babies and Pets
Before you have a baby, you can't even start a conversation without someone telling you about how hard raising a child is with the sleepless nights and the dirty nappies. The same happens when you get a puppy or a kitten, you get the "no more holidays for you, you're tied down now!" or "they're …
Motherhood Loneliness
Becoming a mother (or parent in general), is supposed to be one of the biggest blessings in the world. So why can it feel so lonely? I was told what motherhood was like by a lot of people. I was told to prepare to lose my nice figure and for sleepless nights. But nobody - …
World Mental Health Day
Every person has a mental health and studies show that two-thirds of us have experienced some form of mental health illness in our life. Mental health illnesses can range from anxiety to eating disorders, depression and forms of psychosis. Today I'm going to focus on mental health illnesses in pregnant women, those who are postpartum, …
Routine and a Baby
Routine, routine, routine. I live for organisation and schedules, but as a mum (and as a student), that doesn't always go to plan. In my first year of university I was in bed for 9pm most nights, (minus the nights I was out, at work or at the gym etc), then I would be up …
Group B Strep
While I was carrying Leo, I had every pregnant woman's dream. No morning sickness, no weird cravings, I still fit into all my clothes so none of that 'my jeans fit me' one minute and the next 'the zipper won't even go up!' But one thing I was definitely, 100% lucky with was a urine sample which showed I had …
Six Months Old
Today Leo is 6 months old. Some people wonder why parents make such a big deal over the 6 month age but it's a huge thing to a parent because so much has happened, and so much more is (usually) about to happen. It's really strange to think that Leo was born 6 months ago …
Post ‘Baby Body’
After having a baby, it's a given that your body is no longer how it used to be. A lot of people say you should be proud of your "baby body", that the stretch marks and little belly are a sign of achievement, but others often ask "when are you going to lose the baby …
Postnatal Depression – Men
After having a baby, everyone asks how the mother is doing: "Are you feeling okay?", "are you eating well?", "how're you coping?". Even the midwives and health visitors make sure the mother is doing okay, and the doctors at the six-week check-up. It's understandable them asking, your bodies just gone through a painful experience, your …
Baby Blues
When you’ve just had a baby, everybody expects you to be beaming with happiness at your little bundle of joy, but not me. Like a lot of new mums, I cried a lot in the first few weeks of my baby being born and had what people call the ‘baby blues’. I couldn’t help crying, …