Finding myself...

It's funny that you often hear so many people saying they feel like they have lost a bit of themselves when they've had a baby. I honestly feel the total opposite, I feel that since having Henry I've completely found myself. Being 'Mummy' is who I was always supposed to be...I wish I'd done it sooner.

The realities of going on holiday with a baby...

Ok I have to say I was nervous about going on holiday with Henry while he was still so little. I was panicking about his ears hurting on the plane and him screaming the place down. I worried about it being too hot and him burning. What he'd eat, would the nappies be the same as over here? Would dairy and eggs be clearly labelled so we could avoid them easily? What we'd do all day if he hated the pool....the list is endless.

What I didn't expect to happen was that I would love every second of the holiday. Nothing was stressful, Henry adapted beautifully to the Spanish way of life and we all really enjoyed yourselves.

Yes, I was a little keen in downloading 3 whole books onto my Kindle. I read about 9 pages all week. I'm not entirely sure when I thought I'd get round to reading but I'll blame baby brain for that one! Instead of sunbathing and reading, I filled the days by the pool throwing my little boy around, his little toes splashing in the water. I sat in the shade with him and played with his toys, read him stories and helped him with his snacks. I loved seeing his little face light up as he experienced things for the first time; sand between his toes and the freezing waves splashing at his feet, going on the swings in the park, eating new foods, swimming in the pool. It really was magical.

Whereas I'm usually obsessed with getting a nice even tan, I honestly didn't care. I was more concerned that Henry was protected in factor 50 to stop him burning and I now love that his arms and legs are slightly tanned, with little white lines in his creases. So bloody gorgeous.

We didn't really have to change our holiday routine at all. We ate in the same places as we've always eaten, we bought the same food in the supermarket, we all had a siesta every day, we visited all the same places. Our conversations were undoubtedly different and we sang more rounds of Nellie the Elephant than ever before but I loved every second of my baby's first ever holiday and I'm so looking forward to many more.

I think the bottom line is I've embraced motherhood and I don't care that our lives are different to how they were before. I don't look back at photos of the Maldives and wish we could be there again, spending our days drinking cocktails and lying on the beach without a baby. That holiday was bliss, it was perfect, but we are a family now and I love the changes that that's brought. I don't mind that I didn't have time to worry about what I looked like on an evening when we went out for dinner, I got so much pleasure in seeing my baby all clean after his bath and wearing his beautiful new holiday clothes. I don't care that I didn't get to read my books or sleep in every morning. Holidays with babies are different and if you're not expecting that you will get a shock. 

I'm not counting down the years till my babies are all grown up and have flown the nest so we can go on exciting holidays again, just the two of us*. I'm so excited for holidays with a brood of little bees, dinners out, bat and ball in the pool, lilo races, noise and laughter. Who needs lie ins, cocktails and an even tan anyway?!

*Just for the record, if any of you little Bees are reading this in years to come, Mummy and Daddy are going to Argentina and Brazil when you are grown up, and no, you and your new girlfriend/boyfriend are absolutely not coming. You can stay at home and mind the dog.

TBT

Today's throwback Thursday is a selfie from 5 years ago. Mr B and I outside in Hyde Park watching Blur, drinking cider and enjoying the sunshine. Good times. 

Here's a more recent selfie from dinner at Rancho Blanco last week in Spain...

We are definitely looking older and a family dinner is certainly more grown up than drinking cider in a park on a Friday night! We are just as happy though, isn't it funny how much things can change in such a short space of time?

A dairy-free, egg-free find!

I'm so fed up of the crappy 'free from'
aisle in the supermarket. The things they sell are overpriced and taste awful. Oreos, for example, are dairy free, yet don't feature in the special aisle so you'd never know. Today I found 2 more 'normal' products that I can eat and they are amazing!!

These are those biscuits you sometimes get with your coffee in a restaurant or cafe and they contain no dairy or eggs, they don't even have a 'may contain...' warning which is very rare. The spread is divine, can't wait to try it out on a slice of toast! 

We are off to the doctors again tomorrow about Henry's allergies, following on from our last appointment and total 'dairy-free' month, so hopefully that'll be productive.

The S word

I didn't like to blog about the amazing sleep we got last week in case I jinxed things. Turns out it wouldn't have made any difference anyway because it definitely didn't last!! We had 4 nights of blissful, amazing rest. One night feed felt like pure bliss compared to the usual 3 or 4 and I wondered if we'd maybe turned a corner and it was a sign of things to come....

....and then Henry's first two teeth arrived. 

Will I ever sleep again?!

Just as well I love him so much 

A holiday of firsts...

We are home from Henry's first abroad holiday. It was amazing and he was an absolute angel, will post more about it in the next few days. But for now here's a few photos of a few 'firsts' while we were away...

First time on a plane. He was an angel both ways.

First time swimming outside.

First time he's felt the sand.

First time paddling in the sea.

First time sitting in the trolley! He's getting so big. 

First time trying so many new foods. He loved them all...including lemon?!?

First time on the swings!!

First ever biscuits!! Yummy.

And last but not least, first ever tooth! He won't let us anywhere near though so will update with a pic as soon as I have one.

We had such a lovely week and I feel like such a lucky Mummy to have such a gorgeous boy.

A day in the life of...Henry on holiday

8:15am -  Time to get up and dressed for the day. Henry is happy sitting on the bed while we get ready but he needs things to play with. Today it was Mummy's watch and the teething gel box! 

10:30-11am - Henry's first nap of the day is always a couple of hours after he wakes up. This is usually his shortest nap of the day and it was timed perfectly today so we got to eat our breakfast in peace!

I totally meant to take a photo of our breakfast before we started but I was way too hungry to remember. We walked to a restaurant/cafe down the road and the food was so good! 

This cheeky face woke up just in time to steal some of his mummy's toast dipped in beans! 

Cuddles with Mummy.

11:30am-1:00pm - Chilling by the pool. Henry had some fruit and water for his snack and we took his toys for him to play with. He loved drinking out of the grown up water bottle today; who needs a sippy cup when you can be like the adults?! 

Big boy all ready for his swim

Splish splash. He LOVES the water.

Love him so much

1:30-3:30pm - Siesta time for all of us. Henry has been a superstar napper since we've been away which has meant that we've all had at least a 2 hour nap every afternoon at the same time. What a treat.

4-6pm - Back to the pool for snack time. Henry had banana, pears, melon and crisps. Mummy had Jamon Serrano, chorizo, crisps and melon and Marmar had coffee, boquerones and cheese.

More swimming for my boy.

Getting dried in the sun with Marmar

All dressed to go out for dinner.

6:30- 7:30pm - Again, another perfectly timed nap! We walked up the road to a lovely Chinese restaurant and Henry fell asleep on the way and stayed asleep until my last mouthful of food, what an angel! 

Mummy and Marmar's dinner.

Sleepy snuggles when he woke up.

8:30pm - After his bath, Henry had story time with Mummy and Marmar. Then banana porridge for his supper.

10pm - All ready for bed after a lovely day. Poor baby is really suffering with his teeth as you can see from his dribbly top and him pulling at his ear. Night night everyone.