Dear Henry (March 2014)

My little Pigwidgeon,

You're over 6 months now, where did the time go? It seems like only yesterday that I was in hospital cuddling you for the first time. I couldn't take my eyes off you for hours, you were so perfect and you still are, little one.

This month has been an exciting one. You can properly sit up now and you are so good at it. We've taken so many photos of you doing it you must be sick of us always having a camera in your face! You want to be off exploring but you can't crawl yet. You sit and rock until you get yourself onto your tummy but after that you get stuck. I think you get quite frustrated that there are things you want to see but you can't get to them.  You're still enjoying your bouncer though and you enjoy being up on your feet.

You have also really got the hang of this eating thing and you're loving it! Your favourite is probably yogurt with fruit purée at the moment. Mummy is loving making all of your purées and meals and I love having you at the table with me and Daddy at dinner time. You're allergic to cows' milk though which is a bit of a pain, you broke out in awful hives all over your little face when you had it. Hopefully you'll grow out of it, most babies do. In the meantime Mummy will just keep making her milk for you. I've stopped drinking cows' milk too, I think maybe it might help your reflux a little bit, it's worth a try.

We went to stay with your cousins in Essex last week and you had a lovely time. They love to share their toys with you and Auntie Amy gave you Finley's old bike for you to use in the summer. I'll take some pics for the blog soon. You were a really good boy while we are away, you always are. Daddy had to work so he couldn't come with us but he really missed you. I sent him lots of photos of you while we were away and you had huge smiles for him when we got home.

A lot of our friends have commented on how relaxed and content you are and it's true. You're happy to go to other people for cuddles and always have a huge smile for whoever you meet. You giggle all day now too which I just love.

Yesterday was my first ever Mothers' Day and I loved it. Daddy brought me my pressies in bed and you helped me to open them. You bought me a lovely picture and some treats for me to have a nice quiet bath on my own. You and Daddy went to Starbucks to buy my breakfast and then I took you downstairs for your breakfast. We went to Marmar's for a roast dinner and then had a lovely quiet night in together. It was the best first Mothers' Day in the world. Being a mummy is amazing.

I love our life at the moment little one, we spend every day together, some are lovely and quiet, others exciting and busy...I love them all and I love watching you grow. We are so excited for the future together as a little family and can't wait to see you grow up. We are so glad that you are ours.

Until next month my gorgeous boy,

Mummy xxx

My 1st Mothers' Day

7am - I was awake early after settling Henry a million times in the night. I lay there holding his hand, just watching him, enjoying the peace and quiet.

8:30am - Daddy brought me presents to bed and Henry helped me to open them.

I got a gorgeous card, treats for my bath and a 'naps fix everything' picture for our bedroom wall.

9:30am - Daddy and Henry drove to Starbucks for breakfast so I watched some TV in bed while I waited for them to get home.

They brought my favourite. A soy latte and a cinnamon bun.

12:30pm - We had Sunday dinner at Marmar's house. My gran came over too so we made sure we took a pic of all 4 generations of our family.

3pm - Afternoon nap time for all 3 Barkers. What a treat. Here is me and the littlest Barker snuggling in bed.

5pm - Playtime with Daddy and George after a long nap.

6pm - Henry's tea time. Homemade chicken, asparagus and peppers for tea and a rice cake to feed himself.

6:30 - Relaxing time for Mummy. A hot bubble bath and time to enjoy my Mothers' Day treats.

7:30pm - despite the time change and lighter evening, I closed all the blinds and managed to convince Henry that it was bed time. Result!!

Going to bed feeling like a very lucky Muma today.

To my Muma on Mothers' Day

To my Muma,

In this year that I have also become a Muma, I have understood more about you. I have appreciated you like never before and loved you more than ever.

I finally understand the pain you must have felt to see me cry every day for a whole term when you dropped me off at infant school and how upset you must have been to drop me off at university, many years later.

I understand why you always corrected my grammar and went on about pleases and thank yous. 

I understand why you wouldn't buy us the best trainers or most expensive coats and why you wouldn't let us go into town on our own when we were too young.

I understand why that dress was too short or those shoes too high. That make up too orange and that curfew too late.

I understand how hard it must have been for you to never be able to do the school run but I appreciate more than ever how hard you worked for us.

I understand the pain you must have felt to see me cry over the years and the indescribable worry you must have felt during my operations and illnesses, however minor they were.

I finally understand why you told me 'no' when you did and also when you let me learn by doing it my way, no matter how strongly you disagreed.

Just know that you are my hero and I love you so much.

Happy Mothers' Day Muma xxx

Before you...

 Before you I could have a sleep in, a leisurely shower and breakfast in bed. I could ' pop' out without it taking an hour and plan my days based on what I wanted to do, rather than milk stops. I could drink wine as often as I wanted and our Sky+ was full of trashy tv rather than Night Garden and Franklin and Friends. Our house was spotless and I didn't trip over toys or walkers or high chairs. We could go out for dinner whenever we wanted or go out for a few drinks if it took our fancy. When I got dressed I had the pick of my wardrobe, I didn't give a thought to easy access to boobs for feeding. Before you I only had me to worry about.

But before you there was something missing in our house and it was you. And your toys, chairs, clothes, blankets and general baby paraphernalia that takes up every surface these days. Mummy has never been happier than she is today, little one. Who needs naps, lie ins and a tidy house when you have what we have, total unconditional love.

Family lunches

We went out for Saturday lunch again today, just us 3. It was lovely, food was great and it was nice to spend time as a family after being away all week. Meals out are definitely more stressful now than before we had Henry. We have to pack things to keep him amused, water, a bib and lunch...which then needed heating up when we arrived. I know there are a lot of people that would say we shouldn't bother going out with Henry until he's older but it's so important to us that he gets used to restaurants and more importantly as he gets older, knows how to behave in them. We go out to eat a lot and we both love food and it's something we want to continue doing as Henry grows up. When I was younger we ate out at least twice a week, every week...often more. My parents never had to worry if we'd behave in a restaurant, we always did because we were used to it, we enjoyed it and we knew there'd be consequences if we messed around! I'll never forget being dragged out of the restaurant and back to our hotel room in London when I was about 6 because I was being naughty. I didn't get to finish my lunch or have pudding to give my mum an easy life. Instead she left our lunch and made a point. The fact that I never did it again and the fact that I can still remember it today says a lot.

I have so many funny and happy memories of meals out when I was younger. 'Pizza for a penny' coupons every Friday with my cousins, the time that Simon sobbed the whole way through a Pizza Hut lunch because the optician had just told him he needed glasses, the time Mum made Simon eat a whole spicy chilli pizza because he'd ordered it, claiming to like chilli at the grand age of 8. Getting dressed in our best clothes to go to somewhere posh and then spending the whole meal marvelling at the candle in the wine bottle, caked in multicoloured wax that I was always so desperate to pick off!! All good memories.

So that's why we'll continue to eat out with our baby in the coming years. I'm sure we'll have nightmare dinners and I'm sure they'll rarely be relaxing for a good 10 years, but we're hoping it should pay off eventually!!

Oh and Henry will NEVER be the child at the dinner table with headphones in watching a DVD or listening to music, but that's another rant for another day!!

The Highway Rat

I love the poem The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes. We do it at school with the kids and it's a fab story that really gets a lot of children hooked on poetry. Before they study this particular poem they tend to just love nonsense poems with rhyming couplets.

Anyway I picked up The Highway Rat in Asda yesterday for £3.50 (massive bargain) for Henry's book collection. It's obviously a totally different story aimed at children (no forbidden love or suicide!) but the rhythm of the poem is the same as the original and it has some direct similarities too. It is a fantastic book and a huge hit with my niece and nephews. Henry's still a bit young but he loves being read to and looking at all the beautiful illustrations.

Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler can do no wrong in my eyes, absolute geniuses in children's literature. 

Why I love being Auntie Bee

There are three little children in the world who know me as Auntie Bee. I love those three babies so much. I love that being an auntie is different to being a mummy.

Whereas with Henry I am aware that I don't want to spoil him as he grows up, I totally spoil these three without a worry...I leave the worrying to their mummy and daddy. I can buy them the expensive shoes that they want, popcorn at the cinema and treats if they've been good. I can let them stay up a bit later, eat cakes before their dinner and if they ask for ridiculously overpriced olives in M&S as Mimi did the other night, I don't say no. 

I'm aware that it's probably really irritating as a parent to have someone coming along ruining all your hard work, but I think it's just one of those things and The Nod is showing signs of doing the same for the little hen, he's definitely a spoilt boy already.

I love that Henry has 3 big cousins that love him so much too. They pull faces at him, show him their toys and kiss him. They also sit him in boxes and put paper hats on his head all day, but he doesn't seem to mind!!

I grew up seeing my cousins all the time and it's lovely that we are all close now we are grown up. I'm glad Henry can have the same. I know it won't be long before we are dropping the three boys off at the pub to watch the football and I know that Mimi is really hoping for a little pink baby Barker to be her BFF one day too.

Happy family days :-)

Breakfast of kings...

If I lived in America I'd be morbidly obese, that is a fact. Their food is bloody amazing. I think we will have to go on holiday to America soon. Both Mr B and I love it but we've never been together.

Here's my breakfast from this morning from Grand Central in Basildon. It was SO good. 

Just a thought - striking teachers

I've heard so many parents (quite understandably) moaning about who will look after their children today. I haven't heard one that's worried about who will teach their children today. It says a lot about attitudes towards teachers and our jobs at the moment.

To all my teaching friends out on strike today, well done.

My little freezer stash...

So the weaning is still going brilliantly. We have yet to find something that Henry doesn't like and he now happily eats 3 meals every day. I have frozen some 'meals' that I've cooked him, things like fish pie and lentil casserole which he's loving. But for quick meals I've built up a stock of fruit and vegetable cubes that I've made and am now working on some meat and fish cubes to put with them. Just a note....puréed chicken looks and tastes totally rank!! Some things are just not made to be blended.

Our veggie cubes - sweet potato, squash, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, carrot, swede, leeks and parsnip.

Our fruit cubes - mango, papaya, apple, pear and grape.

Feeling...tired

So today I'm feeling tired. So tired that I feel sick, dizzy and a nap just won't shake it. I need 8 hours solid sleep to really feel human again and the depressing thing is, I have no idea when that'll happen. I slept for an hour this afternoon but Mr B had to bring the grumpy baby up to me because he was hungry (the baby, not the husband). It's the one downside of breastfeeding I suppose. Just to really rub it in after waking me up, Henry then decided to have a lovely snooze himself.

Someone please remind me that this is a short phase of my life and breastfeeding is totally worth this absolute exhaustion...

Here's a pic of the sleeping beauty himself...

Daily cuteness

Here's Henry in his new outfit that Daddy bought him last week. We were just taking these pics when Henry's BFF came to get sone attention too...

He was lying on his back and lifting his legs to get Henry to rub his belly! What a soft dog. I love how gentle he is with Henry and how much they love each other.

Half a year old

This time 6 months ago Mr B had just left us to go home for a much needed sleep, and I was sitting on the hospital bed on my own cuddling the most precious bundle. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world and I still do, every day. I love this little boy so very much, I would do anything for him. We have had the best 6 months ever and I'm so excited for the next 6.

Happy half birthday little one.

A self indulgent mummy milestone

Today marks 6 months of breastfeeding for us. How is my baby boy half a year old already?

Before I had Henry and before I was even pregnant, I always knew that I wanted to breastfeed and I'm so glad that I did. I said that I wanted to get to 3 months and then when we got there, I said 6 months, and I'm so proud that we made it this far just on Mummy's milk. I helped him grow from a tiny 8lb baby to a strong 20lb boy and although it may be a bit self indulgent, but I'm actually really proud of myself. Only 1% of babies are exclusively breastfed up to 6 months, and although we started weaning a couple of weeks ago, breastmilk has been his only 'food' until then. In the last few days we have pretty much worked out that Henry's allergic to cows' milk, which means he would have been pretty ill if we'd given him formula when he was born too so I'm so pleased that I chose to exclusively breastfeed.

I've been lucky not to have had mastitis or thrush and even in the early days had very little pain or problems with his latch. The only tricky bit was the crazy cluster feeding days where he'd spend all day feeding. Looking back now I realise that it made me rest and sitting down to feed whilst watching endless crappy tv was good for my recovering body. I've lost more weight than I thought I would and have loved every single one of the extra 500 calories a day.

But must of all, I've loved cuddling up, skin-to-skin with my baby at all times of the day and night, at home, in bed, in cafes and restaurants, feeding rooms and toilets...even on a freezing night sitting on a bench on Roker beach before the illuminations. I love when he's feeding away, his eyes rolling with tiredness, and he looks up at me, we lock eyes and I tell him how much I love him and I know that he understands.  I love the excited panting noise he now makes before a feed and his little satisfied 'milk drunk' face afterwards. I love when he's feeding away, he often strokes my skin as he's falling asleep. I love when he smiles up at me and breaks his latch which leaves milk running everywhere. I love that he needs me, and only me.

So although this is a little self indulgent, and although I'm proud of myself, it has also been an absolute pleasure and I have loved every single minute.

My favourite milk drunk shots 

(It should also be said that although he regularly strokes my face when he's feeding and he likes to cuddle up, he also often kicks me, puts his fingers up my nose and in my mouth and has now started getting distracted, turning his head and taking my boob with him....something us breastfeeding mummies refer to as 'niplash'! All good fun)

Henry at 6 months

Well our little hen is 6 months old tomorrow and I thought I would start doing a little update about him each month. These are mainly for me to look back on when I have baby #2 when I'm despairing over lack or naps or sleeping at night etc. It's so easy to forget when things happened and at what age the main baby milestones occurred.

Weight: Around 20 pounds, I haven't had him weighed for weeks officially but our scales at home say 20 pounds so we'll go with that.

Routine: Henry has only just started getting himself into a routine that's pretty predictable every day. I know that if we stayed home every day I'd be able to be a lot stricter about nap times etc. but I love our lifestyle of meeting up with friends and going to various baby groups. It's very rare for us to have a full day at home on our own and I'm certainly not going to let the pursuit of a perfect routine get in the way of us living our lives so if a friend suggests meeting up at nap time, we just change nap time rather than turn down the social offer! 

7-8am Henry usually wakes up between these times, occasionally it's slightly earlier or later. He isn't hungry for a feed when he first wakes up so we get straight up after a snuggle in bed.

8am - breakfast time. We have our breakfast together at the table and it's one of my favourite times of day.

9:30am - feed and nap time. Henry always needs a nap about 90mins-2 hours after waking up. If he doesn't sleep then he turns into Mr Grumpy and is really hard work. He will usually sleep for around 90mins-2 hours. After his nap we will play until lunchtime.

1pm - we have our lunch together usually around 1ish, depending on how starving I am!! Breastfeeding is hungry work.

1:30pm - playtime

2:30 - feed and nap time. Henry usually has a nap for around 90 minutes and if we've had a rough night, I join him for a snooze. Whenever he wakes him we go downstairs and play with his toys or read some books.

5pm - Henry's dinner time. I tend to feed Henry before we have our main meal because it's much easier and also we sometimes eat pretty late because Mr B often doesn't get home until around 7pm. Henry sits with us in his highchair when we eat and we give him some finger foods or just some toys to play with.

5:30 - sometimes Henry will squeeze in a short nap after dinner, it totally depends on how long his naps were earlier in the day.

6pm - we watch tv, read books and play together for the rest of the evening

8pm - bath time with Mummy. Another one of my favourite times of the day. Henry loves bathtime and has started crying when I get him out if he's not ready!!

8:30pm - feed and bedtime. This may seem like a late bedtime but trust me, it's been a battle getting it to this time! When he was a newborn, Henry went to bed at 11pm at the earliest, he just wouldn't settle before then. I think ideally he'd be the same now but we've gradually made it earlier to try and get some sleep and time to ourselves on an evening. He's such a night owl!!

Food: we started weaning at 23 weeks with tastes of fruit and vegetables. Henry is now eating 3 times a day and so far has loved everything!! He's tried porridge, cheese, rice cakes, apple, pear, banana, grapes,  papaya, mango, avocado, nectarine, potato, red pepper, leek, sweet potato, brocolli, butternut squash, parsnip, carrot and swede. I'm really enjoying making his purées and he's pretty good with a lumpy texture, he definitely doesn't need it to be smooth. Now we've hit the magic 6 month mark he can try anything so we are excited to try him with meat and fish in the next few days.

Henry is still breastfed and feeds around 4-5 times during the day and anything from once to five times a night!!

Sleep: Henry is sleeping terribly at night still. Some nights we only have one wake up for a feed, but it's more common to have 4 or 5 wake ups. He doesn't always need feeding, he sometimes just needs comforting. He's still sleeping in our room, I don't fancy being up and down to him all night in his own room! He sometimes naps in his cot in his nursery during the day though. 

Sizes: We are currently in 6-9 month clothes (towards the 9 month end!) and size 4 nappies.

Milestones: 

•He can now sit up by himself for ages without support. He loves to be on his feet and stands up well if he is being held.

•He can roll over from back to front and front to back, but doesn't seem that interested in doing it very often. He's not a fan of tummy time because it seems to make his reflux worse. 

•He is always smiling and laughing and seems to particularly love George the dog at the moment. 

•Henry makes all kinds of noises, blowing raspberries seems to be his favourite! If he isn't getting attention he often starts making loads of noise so everyone notices him, spoilt baby!!

•His fine motor skills are much better and he is much better at holding things in his hands and putting things where he needs them to be. At the moment everything he picks up is going in his mouth!

• Despite having all the signs of teething, there are definitely no teeth yet. 

Our day, in pictures

My poor baby's been having a pretty awful time with his reflux recently so we had an early start when he woke up screaming in pain and I couldn't settle him back down. We got up for a few hours and had breakfast and it looks like Henry has an allergy to cows' milk. It started last night with his face coming out in a nettle-like rash as soon as he'd had cows' milk for the first time with some porridge. We assumed it was the porridge but after trying milk mixed with banana this morning and porridge mixed with breast milk this evening...it looks like it's the cows' milk that's the problem. Here's his poor little eye covered in the hives after breakfast. It originally came out around his mouth and chest too but that cleared up pretty quickly.

Bizarrely he seems to be ok with cheese and yogurt so it seems to just be the proteins in actual milk that he's allergic to. Anyway, poor old Mummy is now cutting out dairy to see if that's what was causing his reflux to be so bad. We'll see how we get on and then we'll make an appointment to see the doctor to discuss it with them. I'm also going to have to up the expressing because I'll have to use breast milk in all of my cooking for Henry rather than cows' milk which was my original plan. Usually they recommend cows' milk after 6 months. He won't be able to have normal formula either.

Anyway we had a nap together which made everything better and then we went swimming with Marmar.

Henry loved it again, I'm going to try to take him more regularly and of course, he'll get lots of swimming time in Spain when we go in a few weeks.

Swimming made him especially tired, so after his lunch he had a nap and snuggle with me on the sofa which was lovely.

Then Daddy came home and I caught this cute picture of my 3 boys watching some tv together. George is always close to his Dad and he loves Henry so much too.

I made Henry his first proper dinner tonight, not just fruit and veggies. He had cheesy leek, sweet potato and cauliflower and he loved it!

After dinner I plonked Henry on the floor while I washed up and then I turned round to find these 2 little cuties watching tv together.

We've had bath time, a story, porridge for supper, snuggles and now my little one is fast asleep in his cot and I'm going to have an early one too as Mr B plays football on a Wednesday so it's always a good excuse for a super early night.

Hope you all had a lovely Wednesday wherever you are x

Just a thought...

Back to work...

Tomorrow is my first KIT (keeping in touch) day for work, I can't believe I'm at the stage where I'm thinking about going back already. Tomorrow isn't too bad, I'm only attending a network meeting after school so I should only be gone about 3 hours. Henry will be with his Marmar and I know he'll have a lovely time but I know I'll miss him terribly too. It'll be so strange putting my professional head back on, I'm not sure if my poor frazzled brain will cope.

I didn't really notice the 'baby brain' during pregnancy or the early weeks, but it's definitely kicking in now. Just the other day I came home with a bag of bananas and a bag of chicken goujons. Guess which ones went in the freezer and which I left by the fruit bowl?! Just as well Mr B found the goujons before they defrosted. He did say he wondered why there was a whole bag of bananas in our freezer when he opened it!! I'm seriously losing the plot, so let's hope I manage to engage my brain for a few hours tomorrow at my meeting.

I'll miss this gorgeous face so much when I'm back at work.

Best maternity and new mummy buys

When you first find out you're pregnant you spend a fortune on maternity clothes and items that you never knew you needed...the reason that you never knew you needed them is generally because you didn't need them in the first place. With all the excitement of being pregnant, you are talked into buying so much rubbish that you just don't need. I packed so much into my hospital bag after reading time and time again about hospital bag 'must-haves' in magazines and online. Turns out that the only 'must-haves' we needed were a lot of change (Mr B's coffee and car park money) and mints for me (gas and air really dries out your mouth). Guess what? We didn't have either! I did however have a refreshing water spray for my face, an iPod full of motivational music, a flannel for my brow and high carb snacks...none of which I needed or used. I wouldn't like to think about how much I've spent on maternity and new mummy items in the past year. This has inspired by blog post today, this is my list of 'must-haves' for any mum-to-be or new mummy. 

1. Bio Oil

So many friends recommended this product to me to stop the dreaded stretch marks appearing during pregnancy. I probably only used it from around 20 weeks as it is on the pricey side, but a little goes a long way. Now, it could be a total fluke, but I didn't gain one stretch mark in the entire 41 weeks that I was pregnant which is somewhat of a miracle. All I can think of is that this oil really helped keep my skin hydrated. I used it before bed and first thing every morning and I even used it for a few weeks postpartum to help my skin shrink back. Definitely worth every penny.

Bio Oil RRP £11.99 per 100ml

Stretch mark free tummy 

2. Lush 'Therapy' massage bar

Following on from the above, I also used this massage bar on my belly from around 12 weeks. It sank straight into my skin so I could rub this on when I was wearing clothes, which I couldn't do with the oil. This bar smells divine too which the Bio Oil definitely doesn't. (Thanks to my lovely friend for keeping me stocked up with these for my pregnancy!!)

Lush Therapy bar £6.50 per 50g bar

3. Mamas and Papas jeans

I LOVED the 2 pairs of jeans I got from Mamas and Papas when I was pregnant. They were the ones with the huge panel that came right up over the bump and they were so comfortable. I wish I could still wear them now. They were on the expensive side, but they were worth every penny. I tried on so many pairs of jeans and these were by far the best. Needless to say, they've been safely stored away for baby number 2.

4. Lansinoh 100% medical grade lanolin 

This stuff is pure liquid gold if you are planning to breastfeed. It also makes a bloody good lipgloss, but that's beside the point for this blog post. I used it after every feed for the first week or so and I never had any soreness or cracked nipples. It could be luck, a bit like the stretch marks, but I'm sure this had something to do with it. It wasn't cheap, but I only used around half a tube so a little really does go a long way. If you are planning to breastfeed, have this packed in your hospital bag, it really was a god send.

Lansinoh HPA lanolin RRP £9.99 per 40ml tube

5. Lansinoh breast pads

Another glamorous product...haha. Giving birth and breastfeeding definitely isn't the most attractive thing in the world. I must have tried about 4 or 5 different brands and all of them bunched up, leaked or didn't stick properly. These worked perfectly. For any of my pregnant friends, I have 2 unused boxes in the cupboard that I don't need any more. If you want them, just ask.

Lansinoh nursing pads RRP £5.49 per 60

6. My Gownie

I took plenty of stick from my husband about this one but I stand by it, it was one of the best things I bought and every midwife I saw during labour commented on what a great idea it was. Basically it's a hospital gown but in a pretty pattern. The company that sell them do loads of different patterns and I chose a pink polka dot number to welcome my baby into the world! In all seriousness, it buttoned up the back and down both sides at the front which was perfect for having skin-to-skin time with Henry as soon as he was born and it would have been great if I'd needed a Caesarian or chosen an epidural. There was no way I was giving birth in one of those horrific hospital gowns they provide you with, with my bum on view of the whole world and 'hospital use only' being all over my first photos of my baby. Pink polka dot was way nicer! I got it from: http://www.theprettycompany.com/

7. Badger Balm

Now you'd think that when you were so sleep deprived and more tired that you ever knew it was possible to be, that you'd be able to shut your eyes and be asleep in seconds. Wrong. I found getting to sleep after night feeds so difficult in the first few weeks, especially as feeds often took up to 2 hours at times. By the time Henry was full and sleepy, I was starving and wide awake. My lovely sister in law bought me this balm to use and it really helped me to sleep. I'd also recommend some biscuits by the bed for when you are starving in the night. Belvita or other breakfast biscuits were the best because they have slow release carbs and contain less sugar than normal buscuits. Having said that, there aren't many times in your life when you're able to get away with eating chocolate digestives in bed at 3am so just go for it if that's what you fancy!!

Badger Balm RRP £5.99 per 21g tin

8. Primark Camisoles 

When I was pregnant I was really concerned about breastfeeding in public, I was worried about flashing my boobs at random strangers, despite telling myself that it really didn't matter and breastfeeding was totally natural etc. My poor mum spent a small fortune on 3 special nursing tops from Mamas and Papas with special openings to help feed your baby discreetly....they were a total waste of time. Every day i just wear a camisole (Primark £2) under my normal top, then when it comes to feeding I pull the cami down and lift my normal top up. It's so much easier than the nursing tops and means I can wear anything from my wardrobe. The Primark camis are great because they have adjustable straps which mean you can have them nice and  long to make it easy to pull down at the front. I can't recommend these enough if you're planning on breastfeeding.

Camisoles, Primark £2 each 

A bit of discreet breastfeeding/multitasking over lunch!

So there you have it, the 8 things I really couldn't have lived without over the past year. I definitely could have lived without the nursing tops, endless mum-to-be toiletries (that I'm still using up), cooling facial spray and relaxing music for the labour room! I'm already planning my blog post about our baby 'must-haves', magazines and the Internet would have you believe that you need everything to be good parents....it turns out that you absolutely dont...we've learnt the hard way and have a house full of baby related items that have never been used.

The best advice I was given....

You've all heard it before, "sleep when the baby sleeps" and I've done just that for almost 6 months. I couldn't have done without my morning or afternoon naps since Henry's arrived. Yes, my house is probably in need of a good dust and I should really defrost my freezer, but those things can wait just a little bit longer. 

I'm so glad I got round to doing some serious cleaning when I was 'nesting' before he arrived when I was on maternity leave. Every inch of carpet was hoovered, every skirting board was dusted. It's meant that I don't feel too bad at not doing those things now. Obviously the basics are always done, the carpet is always hoovered, bathrooms are always clean and the washing is done. But for now I'm going to enjoy the peace on an afternoon at nap time and have a rest, my other jobs will have to wait.

My nap time partner today 

The ordinary moments #1

The ordinary moments in our day are often the best, the ones I love most.

Snuggles before bathtime

Rockliffe Hall Afternoon Tea

Now I've had afternoon tea in many places, I've had amazing ones and some pretty horrendous ones. I have 3 favourites though; The Ritz, the tea rooms at Tiptree Jam Factory and Rockliffe Hall. The Ritz is so expensive that it's a 'once in a lifetime' kind of place and Tiptree is no longer on my doorstep, so Rockliffe seems to be our chosen spot recently. Today was our 4th visit for afternoon tea. I've had many spa days there and a few meals, as well as a posh overnight stay for my birthday a few years ago. The hotel is gorgeous, the interiors luxurious and plush, and the staff are beyond helpful, nothing is too much hassle.

We started off our trip today with a walk around the grounds. The sun was out and there were signs of spring everywhere. As Rockliffe is also a golf course, there are acres of beautiful grounds to explore, but you need to be aware of stray gold balls flying around! There is plenty of wildlife and we spotted a couple of squirrels on our walk this afternoon.

You are greeted at the door of the hotel and directed from there. We had afternoon tea in one of the lounges today but it is also served in the orangery at other times too. There is a massive selection of teas and coffees, I went for chai tea and Marmar had a latte.

The actual afternoon tea was just divine. It gets better every time we go. Unfortunately the sun was so bright today that I couldn't get a decent photo of the cake stand. It's not often you hear me complaining about the sun!!

Today we had finger sandwiches (ham and mustard, cream cheese and cucumber, smoked salmon and cream cheese and egg and cress), mini cheese and tomato tartlets, warm cheese scones, fruit scones with jam and clotted cream, raspberry and rose petal pavlovas, strawberry and white chocolate macaroons, mango and passion fruit cheesecake pots, millionaires shortbread and Victoria sandwich. What a feast. It was all so good, I wish we'd been able to finish it all but once again I was defeated by the sugar overload! Why did I eat that cheese scone to begin with?!

We had a really lovely afternoon and can't wait to go back. I think a spa day has to be on the cards soon, it's been 6 months since I was there, waddling around with my enormous pregnant belly! It was lovely being back with my gorgeous boy, he loved being in the new surroundings and even found a new doggy friend by the fire!!  

I really recommend it to any of you that live in the north east or if any of you fancy a trip up here, Rockliffe is the place to stay. We had a gift voucher today which was given to my mum by a very kind friend (thanks Ann!) and they make a really good present if you're not sure what to buy someone for a birthday or Christmas (husband, son, brothers, JLAD, you won't get a hint much more obvious than this!)