28 parenthood confessions

We all know that parenting is hard work. And we all know that there is no real right or wrong way to bring up a child - with a few exceptions of course. But it's really easy to get bogged down with the perfect appearance of parenthood that is broadcast across social media and blogs. Hey, I'll even admit that I don't exactly publish posts on all the crappy bits of having a baby. I want my bit of the internet to be as positive as possible, but I also want to be realistic.

I've made a lot of mummy friends through this blog via social media, and they are all great girls. I'm loving see all the new babies joining us month by month (at getting mildly broody too - my tiny baby is getting big very fast!). One thing I've noticed though is that we don't always share the little secrets of parenthood.

So today's blog post is a little, ok, maybe a bit of a large list of confessions from my six months as a parent. None of them of really big issues, just little things, that I';m sure many parents have experienced, or that new ones are going to shortly. The secret side of parenting.

Henry's six month update

It's that time of the month again!!
Yep Henry is another month older, and we've hit the half way mark to his first birthday, and my return to work!
Not going to lie, it's been the fastest six months of my life, and I'm slightly scared how fast the next six months are going to go.

We're fast on the approach to our first Christmas as a family, which I'm so so excited about, and Henry has many super cute outfits - which I bought in 6-9 months, so they're going to be too big initially but thought they'd get better wear out of them!

As with his five month update, I'm going to include a little list of facts and fun bits about Henry:

Time travel for parents with Lifecake

Since Henry was born I've become a bit of a photo junkie. Ok,well, I've always been a bit of a photo junkie - you only need to look through this blog to see I spam you guys with about 100 photos for every blog post - sorry about that.

But since Henry arrived, my photo addiction has definitely gotten worse. To be fair, he is super cute, and as he's gotten older I've definitely been taking more and more photos (some of this may be down to realising I didn't take as many as I would have liked when he was really little, probably due to life adjustments and lack of sleep, so I'm compensating). And like any self-respecting mother I want to share ALL of the photos. However I'm very aware that not everyone on my Facebook friends lists wants to be inundated with photos of Henry. And I have a set criteria for images for my blog, so a lot of them aren't appropriate.

We also live quite far away from both sets of Grandparents, so they only really see him every couple of months, and through photos.

Recently I was contacted by Lifecake to try out their mobile phone app* which is specifically designed for parents. I'll describe the app the way the team does "parents can upload images and videos of their child, creating a seamless timeline of every moment. They can then privately share them with friends and family". Basically this is absolutely perfect for us. And I'm going to tell you why.

Gingerbread Houses with Friends

I think one of the best things about Christmas has to be the food. Am I right? There's nothing like really good good to get you in the festive spirit.
And the food at Christmas is always so special too. Pigs in blankets, mince pies, chocolate log, Christmas pudding, turkey, candy canes and gingerbread houses.

And I seriously love gingerbread houses. We decorated our own a couple of years back, but as this is the year of starting traditions, it only seemed right to get decorating again.
As Henry is still a little young (OMG next Christmas guys, next Christmas is going to be amazing!!) we decided to have a decorating contest with our friends (and Henry's Godparents) Alice and Arran one Friday night!

Alongside our competition we had Bailey's and Bucks Fizz, pigs in blankets and mince pies of course, to get really Christmassy.

We picked up the houses with lots of decorations and icing from Tesco.
Here's some photos from our evening - we even voted on a fave - but you'll have to wait til the end of the post to see who Twitter crowned as our winner!!

6 things I've learnt in six months as a parent

I actually can't believe I'm writing this post.
Well I can, but it's come around so so fast. Every single month when I write Henry's update I can't believe another month has gone by.
It's singularly been the hardest and best six months of my entire life.
I've grown so much as a person and changed so much in these short six months, but bringing my little human into the world has been the best and biggest achievement of my life.

There have most certainly been really really hard days, hard hours, more tears than when Alice in Wonderland tried to drown Wonderland and many a frustrated moment. But there's also been the biggest smiles, smiles that hurt my face and brought happy tears, laughter from an entire room, and the biggest sense of pride.

Every day brings a new challenge and a new adventure, even on the days when we've stayed at home away from the cold. And honestly, I could not imagine my life any other way. Henry, my little boy, the light of my life, has taken my breath away.

So he's to six months, and six things I've learnt in that time.

Winter walks are good for the soul

I'm writing up this post (sorry it's going to be scheduled) after we took a little winter walk to the woods. We just got home, and I'm feeling really happy. Like content happy. And I just wanted to share really - and I guess that's kind of the point of blogging isn't it.

So basically we had a Saturday afternoon with zero plans. Absolutely nothing! And because the weather was clear, we decided to take a walk to the woods near our house and get some fresh air. Myself and Henry have been a little bunged up with the start of colds,and have been hiding away for the last couple of days, so I thought a little walk would help clear us up a little and give us something to do - anyone else always fall into arguments if there's no plans for the day?? Maybe that's just us!

So out we went in layers of jumpers, walking boots, and Henry in our Ergobaby on Dann.
And it was nice.
We talked, away from social media, without TV, without distraction. We talked about Dann's TKD, about dinner ideas, plans for Christmas, what we want for the future. We took a shed load of photos too (you'll be seeing them here - ha ha sorry, not sorry). We found a horse and of course went and said hello. Henry took a nap. We found a local pub. We popped to the shop and picked up bits for dinner.

And we came back happy and content.

Christmas Eve box

We're properly getting into the Christmas spirit over at our house, and are loving creating lots of new traditions for our little family. After all, Christmas is all about family and traditions.

One of the things I've seen on Pinterest and Facebook over recent years is Christmas Eve Boxes, and I fell in love with the idea. Of course, having Henry meant I needed to start the tradition straight away.

I love the idea of getting the Christmas joy started as early as possible (in December, I'm not completely insane), we get our decorations out on the 1st December and do little trips out to the local Christmas Markets. We have an advent candle, and next year will do advent calendars too. This year though just made sense to start our Christmas Eve Box, and I thought I'd share how I've done it, and on a budget too.

Seven good moments of motherhood

Motherhood is damn hard!
I knew it was going to be hard, but I guess I kind of under-estimated it, but, boy it is it worthwhile.

Sometimes it's really easy to get bogged down with all the bad stuff. I mean it's always easy to let the bad times over-rule good things in almost any aspect of life, but combined with sleep deprivation and a steep learning curve, it'seven easier to focus on what isn't right, than what is.

So to help me, and hopefully you, I'm sharing seven good moments from my motherhood so far!

Why we're choosing Baby Led Weaning - and what we need!

We're fast approaching six months! Yep that's six months as parents. Henry is nearly six months old!!
And with that, means FOOD!!

I've known from the start that I was going to follow Baby Led Weaning for Henry. Today I'm going to talk about why it is right for us. Now as a little disclaimer, every baby is completely unique, and that is wonderful. And every parent is also completely different. What works for one, may work for another, or it might not. I'm by no means an expert. And I certainly don't want to say that I'm doing everything right (gosh if only - but that is never going to happen). I'm hoping that by sharing our thoughts and feelings I can start a discussion, and maybe help someone else with their research, because it's a decision that all parents have to make, and it isn't always an easy one. Who knew feeding could cause so many dilemmas!! You just got to go with your instinct.

So Baby Led Weaning. What is it? 

Christmas decorating with Homesense

It's December ladies and gents!! That means it's officially the month of Christmas and our house is decorated ready for the festive season!! And I'm so so excited!! 

With this year being Henry's first Christmas we really wanted to set up some family traditions - some of which I'll be blogging about, such as his Christmas Eve box, and visiting the Christmas Markets in Southampton and Winchester. 

But the first is all about decorations. 

I think one of the most magical and exciting things about Christmas is how everyone (well almost) decorates their homes to get in the spirit of Christmas. There's trees, and sparkles, and reds and golds and silvers, santas and elves, and holly and mistletoe. 

I always knew that the moment I had a child I would want Christmas to be their favourite time of year, and that starts with the decorating - and the decorating starts on the 1st December (or on the 30th November so it's ready for the first - in the case of this year... we decorated on the 25th Novemeber because I just could not wait any longer!). 

This year, we're starting our collection properly, and we've had quite a lot of help from Homesense. 

Remember when we lived here - a keepsake to remember

You guys know how much I love books. I mean I've talked about them enough over the last few months haven't I?
The thing is I loved books as a little girl and would literally be reading all the time. It was a running joke in my household that you couldn't get my attention as I always had my nose in a book. And I have so many fond memories of the books that shaped my childhood (some of which you can read about here) that I want to make sure that Henry gets that same experience.

I really think books make the most perfect gifts. Maybe it was your favourite book from when you were little (like when Alice and Arran bought Funny Bones for Henry just because they adored the book as a kid), or it was a book you really wanted to read but never got the chance to (we have the entire Faraway Tree collection from Emily, which I have never read, but am so looking forward to reading to Henry when he is older), or maybe it's a book that they can treasure forever.

Earlier in the month I wrote about Lost My Name and their amazing personalised books. We adored their first book, so were over to moon to receive their second one - The Intergalactic Journey Home*. Whereas the first book talked all about creatures that spelled out your little ones name, The Intergalactic Journey Home is space themed, but ends with your little one coming home - and of course it's personalised to your actual home.

Teething Troubles

We've hit that age where teething is an everyday worry.
Alongside teething, babies produce a lot of saliva as a defence against bacteria as they put things in their mouths. Of course they have absolutely no control over it, and it literally appears that your small child has turned into a water fountain of the slightly sticky variety.

With teething comes the usual drool, with extra dribble thrown in for good measure, as well as sore gums.

With this mind, Cheeky Chompers have produced a must have collection of baby bits perfect for every teething baby and slightly damp mother/father.

The centre piece for Cheeky Chompers is their award-winning Neckerchew*.

3 time-saving tips for parents

Becoming a parent is a huge adjustment. The hours of sleep dwindle, someone else relies on you pretty much entirely, and life as you once knew it is changed forever.

For instance,  I'm writing this post, on my phone, with Henry asleep in the crook of my arm as it's the only way to get him to sleep for more the 45 minutes. I'm busting for a wee, and its 8:57am and we've been up since 5:35am.

One of the biggest things I've learnt since becoming a parent is how much you have to adjust. And it isn't just once when your baby is born. It's continuous. As they grow and change, so must you.

But life still has to go on. There's still all the adulty things that you need to do, which to be honest you now barely have the time to do, nor the inclination.

So today I'm sharing some time-saving tips, so you can parent and still get all the adult stuff done too!

Henry's five month update

How is it November already?! And half way through too?!

I say this every time I do these updates, but gee is time flying!! Five months old already!! How?!

My teeny baby is gone, and is becoming a rather robust and cheery little soul. It's hard to imagine that next month we'll be weaning and I'll be half way through my maternity leave!!

I'm so proud of my little Henry,  he's literally stolen the heart of everyone he meets. 

Some five month facts for you.

Wind in the Willows at the Mayflower Theatre

I really love going to the Theatre. But isn't it always the way that we can't always indulge in the things we really love.
In all honesty I've never really done shows. I've been in the theatre loads, especially since moving to Southampton, but usually for comedy performances, but I think things are about to change.

As part of the Sotonbloggers, I was invited, along with a group of other bloggers to see the Wind in the Willows Musical at the Mayflower Theatre,* and boys and girls, I'm afraid I've turned into a theatre lover through and through.

I've always loved anything involving a little dance, and if there's some really good singing, well I'm as happy as a pig in... well I'm sure you can guess the rest!
Now to let you in on a secret... I was a bad blogger, and did literally no research before the show. But actually it was kind of nice. I didn't have any expectations going in, I had no idea what it was going to be like. I also couldn't quite remember the story of the Wind in the Willows, having read the book a VERY long time ago.

The thing is, it was beautiful. It was so much more than I could have imagined, so I'm glad I went in with no idea what I was going to see.

My simple Choc Chip Banana Loaf

Autumn is basically the perfect season for baking isn't it. 

Nothing beats the smell of fresh baking on a cold windy day, and as I'm spending a lot of time at home right now, I've decided to try some recipes and make them my own! 

For my first recipe, a tried and tested favourite banana loaf bread. However I've mixed it up a bit with a little chocolate, because, hey why not. Banana bread is literally one of the most simple things to bake, and perfectly uses up those last couple of old bananas, because we all know we leave two in the bowl for far too long. 

Teething fashion with Seb and Roo

Teething ain't no funny business, but there are a few ways to help your little one battle through the discomfort and save all of your worldly good becoming stuck in your child's mouth.

Henry has been teething for what feels like forever, and we have a number of toys to help soothe those sore gums, including our Sophie La Giraffe and liquid filled teething rings. These are great, but are more for at home. The last thing you want is the teething toy to hit the floor, especially outside, where you can't clean it properly straight away.

Luckily Seb and Roo has the perfect answer in their teething jewellery range. These modern silicone teething necklaces and bracelets are a total win for teething on the go. Not only are they made from food grade silicone, meaning they are perfectly safe for little hands and mouths, they look great for mummas too.

Lost My Name - the perfect children's gift

I love books.
I love children's books.
I love books as gifts.
So a children's book as a gift is like the perfect present to me.

The thing with books,is that can create the most amazing memories - more so than any toy. They're pretty timeless, especially if they're taken care of. They can become hand-me-downs to your children, and kept for nostalgic reasons for decades. You can see some of my own children's books in this post, which I will be reading to Henry.

Anyway, I always like books as a gift. I don't think you can really go wrong with them. You can get classics, or pop-ups or something modern. Or you can get something truly personal.

The Lost My Name books* are pretty much the perfect gift for a little one. Something they can keep forever. A story about them that will stay with them til adulthood.
(there's a 15% off link at the end of this post too so you can get your own!)

Wild friends for little dreamers - Kippins Baby Comforter

Who knew babies would need so many toys?

But all those toys are a huge part of babies development, from teaching them different textures and colours, to comforting them. 

I'm a big believer in multi-tasking, especially when it comes to children's toys.

So when I was sent the Kippins Baby Comforter* by Crab and the Fox, I knew it would be a hit with me and Henry. 

At home Katsu Curry

Ok so you guys must know I love me some Japanase food right? If you didn't, well I do! It's one of my absolute favourite foods. The thing with Japanese food though is it's not very well advertised as an at home kind of meal. But luckily that is starting to change with a little help of Yutaka.

Back in August I made my own sushi at home, which was so much fun. This month, I'm making Katsu Curry* in the kitchen.

What I really love about Japanese cooking is that it is so much fun to make. It's a little bit different to your normal at home cooking, and really pushes you to try new things.

For the Katsu Curry, we received Panko Breadcrumbs, Japanese-style Curry, and Sushi Rice.
We've used sushi rice before so knew our way around it, but we've never cooked with Panko Breadcrumbs before.

Winter baby skin tips with Water Wipes

Baby it's cold outside! And although I love it, but my skin, and Henry's skin doesn't. 

My skin always dries out that little bit quicker in the winter, and I suffer really badly from chapped lips, so I'm on the lookout and doing my research, to make sure Henry doesn't follow suit, and if he does, the most natural way to look after his super soft and delicate baby skin. 

Water Wipes* are the World's purest baby wipe, containing only two ingredients; 99.9%water and 0.01% fruit extracts, meaning they are as gentle to a baby as cotton wool and water - perfect for the harsh UK winter months coming up. 

Oxygen Free Jumping

Last weekend, I kind of did some exercise!!
I know, don't freak out, but it wasn't the traditional kind of exercise, and you guys are going to love it.

A little while back, Oxygen Freejumping came to Southampton, and ever since I've really wanted to go. And last weekend thanks to the Sotonbloggers I got to go!!

Oxygen Freejumping is basically a huge trampoline park! And it is the most amount of fun!
The park is filled with trampolines across the floor and walls, with sections for little ones and dodgeball, as well as the professional area including wall-walking. There is also a foam filled obstacle course, and giant airbag to throw/bounce your way into.

Living a life of Hygge #thelittlebookofhygge + microwave mug brownie recipe

Since starting a family a major priority of this is making sure we have lots of happy times. And a major part of this is making family time. This is where hygge comes into play.

Hygge is of Danish origin and kind of means a mixture of different things. 

According to The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking of the Happiness Research Institute, hygge can be explained as 'creating intimacy', 'cosiness of the soul' or 'taking pleasure from the presence of soothing things'. And in the infamous words of Winnie-the-Pooh "you don't spell it, you feel it" - much like love. 

The reason I've found hygge so completely fascinating is that it truly resonates with me, and how I want my life, and my families life to be. I want to create a feeling of togetherness and closeness within my family, and I really feel that hygge is so appropriate for creating this.

Pumpkin Patch

I love autumn, and that ain't no lie.

We're really lucky about where we live, as we're really close to the city, but also are surrounded by loads of rural adventures like farms and woodlands.
Within walking distance of our home is Pickwell Farm, and it's a place that both myself and Dann have both expressed a want to visit. So luckily for us, when Alice messaged me last weekend to invite us on an impromptu trip for pumpkin picking,we strapped Henry into our Ergobaby and wandered on down.

We had beautiful October sunshine for the lunchtime trip, and honestly we had such a laugh. I mean three bloggers (Arran also blogs - Alice and Arran are basically working on being the Beyonce and Jay-z of the blogging world, I swear) and a pumpkin patch, plus a sleeping four month old, made for a picture perfect photo session, plus we all needed MANY pumpkins for our homes. Alice will be getting crafty with hers, and ours will be used for Henry's Christening at the end of the month for our autumn picnic theme party!

Here's some photos from our morning in the fields (word of warning, this post is very photo heavy!! But you know that's kind of my jam!!).

Mumma multitasking skincare with Bee Good

Life is a bit manic as a parent. So much time is dedicated to looking after your little ones and making sure they are happy, healthy and cared for. Free time is not exactly in abundance, and that free time is usually used for eating, downing a glass of wine, and catching up on your favourite TV shows before getting that much relished sleep. Skincare really isn't high on the agenda, and unfortunately after giving birth and dealing with lack of sleep and general day to day skin trauma, your beauty regime is very much needed.

Luckily there are multitasking skincare options out there to give us mums a helping hand, minimising our time spent in the bath room, whilst giving us ladies beautiful skin again. 

NectaPerfecta Beautifying Mask* from Bee Good is the UK's first multi-usage head-to-toe enzyme treatment mask, and it is a must for every mum.

Henry's four month update

So we're at four months!
Four months of being parents, and being responsible for a small human!
Not going to lie, I still can't believe he's mine, that we created this little person who takes up our whole lives. People really don't exaggerate when they say kids take over your life!

Our little guy has changed so so much in the first four months of his life, and although it has been a rollercoaster, I don't think I'd change it for the world.

Travelling tips with babies

We love travelling in our house! Well I do at least, Dann does as long it doesn't involve flying or really hot weather. And to be honest Henry doesn't have a choice in the matter, but I'm hoping he develops my love for travel too.

You may have seen that we took a trip up to Leeds a couple of weekends back for the Bloggers Blog Awards. As Henry is still young, it only felt right for him and Dann to come up with me, so we drove up for the weekend.

With that, we learnt a few things about travelling with a little one. Back in the summer, I blogged about car essentials for travelling with little ones, but this time I'm talking about the essentials for the trip, especially overnight with a baby.

Westquay's Your 5

What girl doesn't love to shop? And with us heading straight into Autumn and Winter right now, the fashions are a'changing and that means a wardrobe update is required.

And what shopping trip is complete without a little personal shopping.

Last weekend, Westquay's team of personal shoppers and stylists were helping out us ladies of Southampton with our five key wardrobe items for AW16 - Your 5. 

Liptensity with Mac Cosmetics

You all know about my love of lip colours right?
I'm usually a budget girl when it comes to make up. Yes I like good quality but I don't relish paying out lots of money for lipstick - well that is until recently.

Being close friends with a number of beauty bloggers means I'm getting a real education in make up and the pros of paying a little more for a great brand.
I have to admit the two brands on the top of my wishlist for lipstick is Urban Decay and Mac, so when Mac Cosmetics in Southampton's Westquay invited bloggers to their recent lip launch I was really excited to learn a little more about the brand and what they had to offer. 

The Bloggers Blog Awards 2016

The 2016 Bloggers Blog Awards. They were literally all over twitter the last couple of months, and rightly so because anything that celebrates the hard work and dedication of bloggers should always be a viral cause in my opinion.

This year I was lucky enough to get a ticket to go up to the awards ceremony in Leeds, and a number of my blogging friends were also nominated so we decided to meet up there and give each other some support.

Here's a few photos from our afternoon at the Canal Mills.

A day in the life of a stay at home mum

 Being a stay at home mum is a bit of a rollercoaster ride. It has huge ups, and massive downs, and twists and turns unexpectedly, and occasionally makes you want to throw up. It also has the ultimate highs and that amazing feeling of being completely invincible.

I decided before Henry arrived that I wanted to take the full year of maternity leave that was on offer. We've been making sure that we have money saved for the last three months of the leave when maternity payments stop so we should be fine.
It's been an odd few months getting used to being at home with a little one and developing a routine.
More often than not our days are pretty consistent, with the occasional curveball thrown in for good measure and to keep me on my toes.

September Degustabox

It's a new month which can mean only one thing... it's Degustabox* time!
The September Degustabox is as good as always with a great mix of old and new brands with lunch, dinner and snacks covered. I still really love getting the boxes through the post, and discovering new foods and brands. I've really enjoyed learning about lots of different brands, and have really fallen in love with different foods from them over the last few months.

You can get your own box delivered direct to your home with my special £7 money off code at the end of the post.


So inside the September box splits rather perfectly into the larder, snacks for work or play and plenty of hydration.

Formula feeding - a helpful guide

Being a new mum is a complex thing. You have to navigate a maze of information and advice, whilst trying to understand your child, and attempt to do what is best for them and for you.

One of the biggest and hottest debates on the parenting circuit is how to feed your baby! Which is better? Which is harder? Which is going to cause the least amount of pressure and stigma? 

The thing is you're kind of in a catch 22 situation. No matter what you do, someone is going to have a different opinion to you. Breastfeeding is great,until you do it in public and then Bob thinks it's wrong and distasteful. So you formula feed, but Jill is disappointed that you aren't breastfeeding because it's 'better for baby'!! It's a lose lose situation!! 

I started out breastfeeding - three weeks exclusively - but decided to wean to formula because I was struggling on a mental level (you can read about the decision here). Over the course of seven weeks we gradually replaced breastfeeding sessions with bottle feeds until at 10 weeks Henry was fully formula fed. And it works for us. It really does. And we haven't lost that special bond, but it does mean Dann can help out. 

Unfortunately there isn't a lot of advice out there for formula feeding mums, especially for those that start breastfeeding and decide to move on.

From my experience I thought I'd share a few little pointers for weaning and working with formula.

Updating your homeware

One of the things I love the most about owning my own home is that I can decorate it however I please and not have to ask anyone's permission (sorry Dann I know you'd probably like some say in the house decor, but nope!).
The only downside is that homeware can be very pricey, especially if like me, you change your mind a fair amount!

We bought our house in March 2015 and have only decorated once in the time - go us! However I'm feeling a bit of an update is needed for a couple of the rooms. Our bedroom is going to be having an entire overhaul, but I'll probably post about that separately when we actually get round to doing it. The other room I want to update is our living room. It's the hub of our home, and one of my favourites. It's had a few changes made to it since Henry arrived (and just before during my nesting stage) including the rearrangement of our seating area, a tidy of our storage, and movement of the artwork and entomology on the walls.

Now I'm looking at creating a new feel to the room by adding a splash of colour to the otherwise quite neutral pallette we have. I toyed with a couple of ideas - I am in love with orange as a colour at the moment - and have landed on gold and navy blue as my extra colours. I'm hoping the gold will and a little brightness and sophistication, and the navy will be good against stains (kids eh!) and add a new depth to the room.

Maternity Leave isn't all its cracked up to be

Before I had Henry I was so excited to go on maternity leave. I felt massive, I was getting a bad back, shooting pains down my legs when walking, peeing every half an hour and to be honest was getting a little fed up of being in a constant state of uncomfortable.

The stress of finding a new job had been lifted as I had secured a new job after two and a half months out of work part way through my pregnancy, so I felt better about taking time off for the baby and still having enough money to live.

But until you live in maternity leave you don't really get it. It is just that, it is leave from your normal day job. It is not a break. It is not time off. It is not a holiday or relaxing.
I'll be the first to admit that I referred to maternity leave as a break, but I'll now tell anyone that it really is not a break. You'd be delusional to think it is after a week. And it really isn't the relaxed and lovely time off that it is made out to be.

Exploring the Emerald Princess

I love travelling. It is one of the biggest loves of my life. Discovering and exploring new places. And I'm quite happy to travel in lots of different ways. 

I've travelled by plane, train and boat. In fact my boat trip was my most recent one back in November of last year when we went on a cruise to Amsterdam (read about the trip here, and the onboard the ship here). I absolutely adored the trip, despite being nine weeks pregnant and suffering from morning and motion sickness, so I was so excited to be invited on board the Emerald Princess by Princess Cruises to have a little explore before it went on its next trip to the canary islands. 

Brunch with Thomas Sabo AW16

Thomas Sabo have been on my radar for a number of years, back to my university days when I spent hours trawling fashion magazines and googling the advertisements.

Dann bought me one of their charm bracelets for a birthday one year because I simply fell in love with them and the amazing selection of charms available. But I have to admit, since then, I've kind of put my love of jewellery to one side, and almost forgotten about them as a brand.

Recently Thomas Sabo has had a little refocus I guess is the best word, and with the launch of their new Autumn and Winter collections, they asked the Sotonbloggers to join them for brunch at their Westquay store.

The mummy tag

Blogger tags are so much fun,but I haven't done one in what feels like an age, so when I was tagged by Amy to do the Mummy Tag I jumped at the chance. To be honest I'm always game to answer questions about me, my family and my life, I'm an open book. Plus I'm super nosey so might as well share too.

Smarties Cookies Recipe

I haven't done a foodie post in ages, but when I was asked by my sister-in-law to make some Smarties Cookies for her daughters christening I just figured I might as well share here too.

These cookies are hugely popular with little ones, and well large ones (adults you know) and to be completely honest are simple and pretty quick to make.

I got the recipe from the BBC Good Food site, but I'll also add it below too.

Henry's three month update

 It's still a cliche, and I've definitely said it before, but oh my gosh does time fly.
My little baby boy is growing up so fast.

I have to admit, when he was first born and I was trying to learn as much as possible about being a mother as fast as I could, that I was looking forward to him being older, but I'm now at the stage where I kind of miss him being so tiny. Maybe it's from looking back over the photos from the last three months that I'm feeling a little nostalgic.

Anyway, Henry has just turned three months old and although I may miss some of the tiny baby stage, I am loving seeing his personality develop, and helping him to learn new things - and these beautiful photos from The Photo Rooms have really made me love this stage even more! (lots of info at the end of the post about the shoot!)

Our favourite children's books & bedtime routine

We're a family of book lovers. I've always been a big book reader, though I will admit to having less and less time for it these days. Other things just take priority over sitting in a chair with a book for several hours.

After posting my list of summer reads last month I felt inspired to share more about reading and books here on the blog, in the hope it will motivate me and my family to try and read more. It's so easy to get stuck into a TV series when a book could give us so much more.

Baby, Belo and Me

One of the best things about little ones is all the accessories, and I have loved putting together Henry's nursery and playroom. Admittedly I've rearranged the nursery more times than I can say, and I think my nesting hit post-birth, instead of before (you can see the nursery here).

Freakshakes all around

Southampton has some pretty cool places to visit, and a pretty great food and drink scene. The city is undergoing some huge development at the moment and is fast becoming a great competitor for cool city in the South. 

One example of the new cool is the introduction of the brand new Freakshakes to Orange Rooms in the Bedford Place area of the city centre.

Orange Rooms is a bar/nightclub by night, but is a little hidden gem of a daytime location if I'm honest. 

Not only is it the perfect backdrop for chatting - each room is decorated differently and it's pretty amazing - they also serve great food and drinks. 

As part of the Sotonbloggers, I was asked along with the girls to try out their Freakshakes,which honestly I was really excited about. 

Freakshakes, for those not in the know, and basically super sized,extra naughty milkshakes.They're a huge trend this year and aren't showing any signs of going anywhere - you've probably seen them on Instagram!

Some frequently asked tattoo questions answered

This blog started life as a tattoo blog as it's one of my true passions in life but tattoos have had ro take a bit of a back burner in recent months due to falling pregnant with Henry.
However I still get asked lots of questions about tattoos which of course I'm always happy to answer.

As I haven't talked about tattoos for a while I thought I'd do a little Q&A from questions asked in person over the last few months and some from Twitter and put them together here for you.

Denim Loving

I'm really enjoying getting my body back to my pre-pregnancy state. Now don't get me wrong I am overjoyed that my body was able to make, keep safe and produce a healthy baby. It had to go through a lot to get to that stage, so it's going to take some time for it to go back. But I'm pleased with the progress so far. Yes my tummy is still like jelly and isn't quite as firm as it was before I was pregnant, but my general size is pretty much back. 

Since giving birth my style has updated though. I'm no longer particularly interested in bodycon dresses and tight fitting tops. I'm all about the comfort and loose fit. Tops and dresses that will disguise my tummy, and allow me to move freely which is going to be essential for when Henry is on the move.  

Owls, Chilli and Cheese, in Winchester

Last weekend was such a hit and miss weekend in terms of weather, but we still made the most of the outdoors. After visiting family, we popped over to the Chilli and Cheese Festival in Winchester. 

We went last year and really enjoyed it, and bought way too much cheese and chilli sauce.

Again this year the weekend was tailored for food lovers and families a like. We're so looking forward to this event when Henry is up and walking, so next year's should be a blast. 

We only managed an hour as Henry was getting restless towards the end, but we snagged a couple of great chilli sauces for our ever-growing collection, and of course stopped by the owl and falconry stand. I just can't pass up an opportunity to hold an owl, and Bertie the Eurasian Eagle Owl was too gorgeous to pass up on. He's one pretty heavy lad, but so soft and friendly - and those eyes!! He might look evil but he's a gentle giant. Also did you know that owls actually don't have that amazing eyesight?! They can see long distance amazingly well, but their close-up vision is terrible. 

Family visits

Living a little way from family means we have to make the most of our visits back home. Both Dann and I are from Buckinghamshire originally and moved to Southampton for University and work. We adore the city and county that we live in, and I honestly don't think we'll ever leave the area, but going back home does make me very homesick.

We recently did a couple of surprise trips home to visit family. 

Sunny Southampton

We spent a random Friday in Southampton just hanging out with a lot of walking around Old Town. It was such a beautiful sunny day, and made me really appreciate living in such a great city. We have the best mix of things in the city, with the historic parts of the city mixed with the new modern day.

We started our day in Mettricks for breakfast/brunch - probably my favourite meal of the day when I can have it! We love Mettricks (you can see my last post on them here), possibly a little too much, but you can't beat a great environment, even better coffee and excellent and locally sourced food.

We then took a little walk around Old Town, grabbed some photos - an actual "fashiony" post for once and I really love the photos too which make a change for me - and went Pokemon hunting.

We also stopped off in Guildhall Square for Henry's feed, and for Dann to get a large Cold Brew from Mettricks Guildhall. Dann's developed a new beverage love that cannot be contained!

Henry's two month update

Can you actually believe that Henry is now two months old. Well I certainly can't! 

The last month since my last update has been so good. Henry has really developed as a person and is starting to get a personality which is so rewarding. Don't get me wrong a small part of me misses when he was really tiny, but I feel much more comfortable as a mum right now, and Henry is a delight.

Essentials for first time parents

I kinda wish babies came with manuals or some kind of guide but they don't and for every new, first time parent it's a huge learning curve.

You've probably read the books and searched the Internet for everything you need to know, I know I have!! 

In my short time as a first time mum I feel like I've learnt a lot!! 

So I thought I'd share some of my first time essentials and things to do!