What I'm listening to..

Since having a small needy infant who is rather demanding of my time, I've found it difficult to keep up to speed on my general knowledge and current affairs. Reading time has been put on the back burner and even though Eva now retires to bed at an early 7 pm, I've become obsessed with watching Gordon Ramsay's Hotel Nightmares while I shovel my chicken & veg in. (I haven't eaten a meal at a reasonable speed in 8 months. Dinner time in my house goes 'Ok, she's down . SERVE. EAT EAT EAT' Always the fear she will wake up as I eat the first forkful.)


So podcasts have been my salvation so I can hold an actual adult conversation with anyone and everyone who will give me the time of day. I pop Eva in the buggy with a brightly coloured 'Baby Einstein' toy and stick the headphones on to while away an hour or so with some podcasts for company. These are the podcasts that have been getting me through my spring walks around Brighton.

Thoughts you have with a newborn

Ah the baby is here! We’ve been waiting for you
She will scare you with her tininess and you’ll wonder how she fitted in your tummy 
Speculation will immediately begin about who she looks like. Spoiler, she doesn’t look like either of you. She’s just a puffy newborn at this stage
A physiotherapist will come and talk to you about your vagina. And give you exercises to do, IVE JUST HAD A BABY LEAVE ME ALONE. 
However they are important so do them
You may get the three day blues. I cried once and then I just got intensely angry because we had to stay in hospital for three days and I just wanted my bed and a shower
Leaving the hospital is very daunting and equally happy. That journey home will be when you notice DANGER lurking around every corner
The car seat will be a bastard to get in no matter how many times you practiced
It will be very surreal to get into your house with this tiny bundle 

You will immediately want to go to sleep in your own bed. But then you immediately remember tiny infant needs feeding
Breastfeeding will be painful, constant and you will be in awe that your boobs are keeping this baby alive
You will be convinced she isn’t getting enough milk and so become obsessed with timing feeds
Your boobs will be sore and you will think about shoving a bottle into her
It’s totally fine if you do
It’s all about the latch and positioning  which is tricky to master but breastfeeding pillows are a god send

Google history will be made up of the following phrase “newborn baby...”
You are now on a constant rotation of Nappy, Food, Sleep. It’s like a two hour loop
Anytime she cries you will stick a boob in her face. Usually calms things down. 
The black poop comes, it’s not that bad
Congratulations though, you will now become a poop expert
You will analyse the colour and consistency of every poop from now until..I don’t know when I’m still in this hell
Nappies are fiddly as fuck and you will change it every-time that line goes blue
You will try and palm nappy changes off on your partner. Using the “bit sore when I bend down” excuse, works a charm

Dressing the tiny infant feels like a very very risky game of operation
The grow egg will be consulted before every dressing. And then the chart of clothes produced and baby dressed accordingly 
What did we do before we knew about grow eggs? How did baby’s get dressed?
Belly button cords are terrifying when doing nappies. You may keep it when it falls off...
First bath is like a heart attack with bubbles

Swaddling is not easy.
Give the baby a dummy to give your boobs a rest for 20 minutes
Feeding is boring so you will watch full box sets of shows
When baby eats, you eat. Crumbs will fall on them, they don’t seem to mind. Also you will eat everything. 
You will receive gifts off random people
If you are Irish these gifts fall into two categories; food and knitwear
Eva got a cardigan from her great granny’s best friends daughter 
All those play mats and toys you bought pre birth and set up won’t be of any interest until about month 3

You might feel distant from your partner, or you may feel angry that’s ok 
You will probably feel very close and in love too because you’ve made the most precious gorgeous infant ever
Baby weigh ins are more serious than slimming world
The pressure to gain is real. And undressing and dressing baby in front of a medical professional is also bloody scary.
Percentiles don’t make any sense or actually have any relevance 
Everyday you will go through a myriad of emotions 
Talk about it. Don’t feel pressured to go out for lunch on day 5. I went out for cake but only because I really wanted cake
You’ll spend time you should be sleeping just watching her sleep
You will check she’s breathing at least 20 times a night 
She may not want to sleep in any of the fancy sleeping devices you bought and instead prefers arms. This is cute but you will be terrified you’ll fall asleep with her

Feeling like you’re never going to sleep again is normal. You will, she’s adjusting to being in the world
Feeling like you’re not ready for this is normal. Your confidence will blossom.
Feeling like nothing will ever be the same again is normal. You’re right it won’t, it’ll be better
Feeling like you’ve found the love of your life in this little baby is everything 

Our Baby Led Weaning Journey

Eva is fast approaching the 9 month mark, (agh how! It’s gone so quick!) and for the past three months it’s been all about getting to grips with food. I was really excited to start her food journey as I’d had such a difficult time with breastfeeding and then getting her on to a bottle. 

We started off the purée route but after a lot of spitting out and more times washing the food processor I decided to research baby led weaning. I know everyone swears by different things for their baby but I’ve found making everything home made to be the easiest way and also I know there’s no hidden sugars or salt. So this post may not be to everyone’s taste but I thought I’d write it up anyway!

All the best homeware buys from Matalan right now..

There is nothing I love more than changing up the interiors in my home. I have all the furnishings a constant rotation throughout the house as it's a fun way to keep things fresh whilst keeping spending to a minimum. Matalan is my go to shop for fun, inexpensive home furnishings and I'm constantly on the website checking the new in page. These are the top picks that are in my basket at the moment, some I've purchased, others I'm just awaiting pay day to buy!

Insta reality check

There has been a lot of chatter in the last week or so around what's reality, what's been hyped up and what's down right faked on Instagram and how these aspirational images can be detrimental to vulnerable new mums. I thought I'd throw my opinion into the mix because it's definitely something I've been mulling over for a few weeks.

When I started my account it was primarily to get some home inspiration and follow reality TV stars to laugh at the tummy tea and teeth whitening products they were flogging. In December 2016 I found myself unexpectedly pregnant, with no friends who had kids or were close to having them. This made me feel pretty lonely; I had no other girl to discuss heartburn cures or to go to pregnancy yoga with. Luckily I had a boyfriend who supported me and became an expert in all things pregnancy related but it was definitely a void that I felt in my life. And suddenly I stumbled across a midwife whose pregnancy book I had pre-ordered. Here on Instagram was this whole community of pregnant women and mum's across the world, virtually giving reassurance or making each other laugh on a daily basis.