Happy Halloween!

Hey folks! Just thought I would do a quick post to wish you all a Happy Halloween! We're spending the day doing halloween crafts and then I'm taking Darcie Trick or Treating for the first time later on. 

Hope you all have a fun and spooky day!

Mummy B xoxox

Wellie Weather & Competition!

Autumn time, as you may have come to guess, is simply my favourite time of year. One of my family's favourite things to do is to go out and enjoy all that autumn has to offer. No matter the weather. Of course one of the easiest ways to enjoy autumn is to get out there, wrap up warm and pop your wellies on and get stomping in those beautiful leaves.

On Tuesday we did just that. We headed to Bury St. Edmunds as we needed to do a little shopping, but we also wanted to enjoy the Abbey Gardens with all the stunning autumn colours. It was the perfect day. 

Getting our wellies out is always lots of fun, we just got Darcie some uber cute red Hunter wellies to match our's. Though mine and Jamie's are starting to look a little tired, so I have been having a browse to update mine. Here are a few wellies that I'm loving at the moment.

I think it would be super cool to have matching red wellies with Darcie, though I'm really loving the burgundy Hunters as they would match perfectly with my Autumn wardrobe! These wellies can be be found here.

Now how would you fancy £200 to kit your whole family out with new wellies this Autumn/Winter? Shoetique are offering you just that. All you need to do is to enter your email here and sign up to the newsletter, simples! The Competition ends on November first so you need to be super quick!!

Best of luck!

Mummy B xoxox

Simple tips to feel better postpartum

When it comes to women, pregnancy and childbirth are the two events that change their world entirely. You realise that your priorities have changed once the baby lands on your arms. For most of the mums, they realise that it is not possible anymore to concentrate on their beauty regime, even taking a proper shower becomes a luxury in their life. But you can follow some simple steps to look gorgeous during the postpartum period.  

You can look good while your life revolves round your little one and you don’t need to sacrifice your looks for that. The best part is that you don’t need to spend much time behind these things. Feeling and looking good helps you to boost your self confidence. 

So let’s go through some easy steps that will help you to look amazing after delivery:

Keeping Colds at Bay This Winter

As the dark nights draw in and the mornings get colder – the inevitable happens; the colds, coughs and sore throats reign in terror too. For most of us, we are unlucky enough to catch one or two of the winter nasties each year but when we have little ones in tow, the circle of germs seems to make the rounds endlessly between October and March. “So how do we stop this??”  I hear you say! Well read on to see the areas that will aid you in your battle against the winter health woes.

Adding Shabby Chic to Your Garden

The shabby chic style doesn’t have to be contained inside. It wouldn’t take much effort to spruce up your garden with some shabby chic elements. Use a combination of natural, weathering wood and pastel-coloured flowers. With shabby chic it’s important to embrace the imperfections. Distressed and timeworn furniture is the essence of shabby chic decorating. Add tins of flowers and keep the weathered wood if you can. 

Siblings | October

Another month seeing these two grow. I already can't believe how much Henry has changed, and too Henry's and Darcie's relationship. They're interacting more and more as the days go on. Henry has started to "chat" and Darcie loves it! I have been given the role as interpretation as Darcie is always saying "mummy what is he saying?!", we have lots of fun, Henry is quite the story teller! He is also smiling and doing this goofy half attempt at a giggle, normally this is again directed at Darcie. It's strange how he has already become quite attached to his big sister.

How to prepare your child for a new sibling

When you find out you're expecting again it is, of course, a very exciting time. After the initial happy and excited bubble has popped and the realities of having another baby sink in, one of your worries may be how your child(ren) may react to a brother or sister. 

Whilst for the most part I was extremely excited to see how Darcie would react to her baby brother, I was a little apprehensive too. Would she be accepting of this new bundle of joy? Would she be resentful? Or would she just completely ignore him altogether?!

Thankfully Darcie has been super accepting of Henry and has taken to him so well. Their bond is already so beautiful, with him smiling (for the first time ever!) at her and Darcie constantly showering him with kisses and declaring they are going to be best friends forever. 

So how can you prepare your child for the arrival of a sibling?

Post Pregnancy Care

Congratulations new mumma, you’ve made it through the perils of child birth, and now you get to relax and bask in pleasure of your new bundle of joy. Of course the relaxing part is easier said than done, as just when you thought the trauma of labor was far behind you, you now have to contend with raging hormones. The trouble is, nobody prepares you for how your body is going to feel after the birth. We go through so many antenatal classes preparing us for the birth, but there’s never a wealth of guidance for how you’re going to feel once that baby is finally resting peacefully in your arms. After all, birth is a dramatic experience for your mind and body, and then you’ve got to get up and look after the baby, but don’t think you’ve got to start playing super mum immediately, these tips are things that you should start doing 6 – 8 weeks after the birth of your baby to help you recover.

Mamas & Papas Starlite Swing | Review

Having been a big fan of swings when Darcie was a baby, I knew that a swing for Henry would be high on the list of items to get when we were awaiting his arrival. A swing can entertain baby or  help relax them whilst they snooze, allowing you to get on with house work etc. I did a lot of research into various different swings on the market, I knew I wanted a natural coloured swing (I'm not a fan of brightly coloured items) and not one that was blue (I made the mistake of getting Darcie a pink swing!). Plus I wanted something that would stimulate him as well as soothe. Enter the Mamas & Papas Starlite Swing (£99.00). 

Merci Maman Personalised Necklace

When I was a little girl I remember going to my Nanny's house and adoringly look at her jewellery, she had so many beautiful pieces and occassionally she would let me try them on and pose in front of her mirror. Those warm and fuzzy memories I think sparked my love for jewellery and even though my own jewellery collection isn't huge there are pieces that I will treasure and most likely pass down to my children or grandchildren like my Nan did with me. 

Darcie's Autumn Outfit of the Day

Today has definitely felt like Autumn is finally here. I have been patiently waiting for those fresh crisp autumnal days and they have seemingly started to appear. I am all about autumn, the colours, chillier days, cosy knits & scarfs. Oh and lets not forget a good pumpkin spice latte (yes I'm totally on board with that!). 

Henry at One Month Old

Henry is one month old today and I can not believe I am typing this, where has this month gone? Well one thing is for certain it has been the most special and perfect month. I feel as though I am in a dream world, how can life be this good? 

Six Blogging Hacks

Do you ever feel that blogging can become slightly overwhelming at times? With constant pressures to create fresh new content, engage with readers, reach a wider audience, manage social media accounts, respond to comments and emails it's only natural that sometimes we can feel a little bogged down in the blogging world. 

Darcie the Ballerina

For months and months and months Darcie has expressed a big interest in Dancing, in particular ballet. So last month we decided that she was now ready to give it a go and signed her up to a ballet and tap class. For anyone that know's me personally will know that this excited me greatly. Why? Well through my childhood and teen years I was slightly obsessed with dancing, Ballet, Tap, Modern, Jazz, Street, Disco you name it I did it! My poor parents gave up so much of their time for me to be able to attend and develop, they paid for endless lessons, exams, shows (some which included performing at Disney Land  and the Royal Albert Hall) and now its my turn to become a "dancer mum" like my mum before me.

How to survive those first few weeks breastfeeding

We have almost completed four weeks exclusively breastfeeding and to say I'm proud is an understatement. It was around four weeks with Darcie that I gave up, she wouldn't latch without the aid of a nipple shield and she wasn't gaining weight (due to the shield effecting my supply) and so I turned to formula. At that point in time, for us, it was the right thing to do and I do not regret my decision.

This time round is a completely different story. Henry latched really well from the offset, he even latched himself whilst I was in recovery without me even realising! Despite it going really well there has been times when I have wanted to run to the supermarket and buy formula. But thankfully I have had a very supportive husband and we worked through some of the rougher times together. Now I know I am only almost four weeks into breastfeeding and all this could change, but I really do feel we are 'there' now with feeding.