Squad Goals – 2 Days after Mackenzie was Born
Many mums-to-be struggle to fall to sleep and stay asleep during pregnancy. As your body changes, the hormones go into overdrive and the little person inside you grows, it can definitely lead to you staring at the ceiling and desperately counting sheep. I remember experiencing insomnia to some extent during my pregnancy. I would also wake through the night either because I was hungry or uncomfortable. So I thought I would compile a list of items and suggestions to help you sleep better during your pregnancy.Continue Reading
Recently Mackenzie and I had the pleasure of participating in a mummy daughter photo shoot in York City Center with the lovely Framed by Laurie. Laurie was looking for some ‘models‘ for her portfolio and I thought it was an excellent opportunity for Mackenzie and I to have some photographs to help us remember our time in York (and where she was born!). The results are beautiful and I wanted to share my favorite captures with you all. They are very special to us and as my husband put it, they have captured ‘every emotion‘ of our little girl.
This year has already seen us take several flights with our toddler, both short haul and long haul. Whilst I love traveling and exploring as a family of three, I also always slightly dread the flight with my toddler whom is 21 months old. We have been fortunate enough to fly Business Class on the long haul flights so that does give us a bit more room and comfort, however it is still very difficult to entertain a little one who is incredibly active but cant quite yet communicate. As such, I have spent a lot of time scouting Amazon for toddler friendly toys and activities. I pack them into our carry-on luggage to keep her entertained during the flight and then use them throughout the holiday. Here are the top 10 toys that I have opted for to help keep my very busy toddler occupied.
I really struggled to decide on a baby bag (and I still refuse to call it a nappy bag – in my mind I am cooler than that!). I find lots of them to be bulky and ugly and definitely not something I wanted to be seen carting around with me. In the first year as a new mum you will use this bag every day, so it is worth some thought and investment. I encourage you to think outside of the box when you are choosing your baby bag and not to commit to the status quo because you think you should. And hey, if it is not a traditional baby bag then you can continue to use it for years to come. In fact I accidentally bought a Coach baby bag some years ago as a bag to use as a travel carry-on and didn’t even realize – it wasn’t until later when I found the changing mat inside! Here are a few of my fave must have bags to inspire all you stylish mums.
Are you like me and want to do everything you can to assist in preventing pregnancy related stretch marks? I don’t know whether it is genetics or my rigorous beauty regime but I was fortunate enough not to gain any stretch marks on my tummy, hips, thighs etc. during my pregnancy. I was relatively small throughout my pregnancy and at 20 weeks was mostly still able to hid my bump under a shift dress or loose t-shirt. I also delivered Mackenzie 2 weeks early so perhaps if I were to go full term then it would have been a different story. I have read that pregnancy traits are hereditary, although perhaps it is an old wives tail, however I expected that I would be small and I expected she would arrive well before her due date. That being said, I wanted to share the products that I used throughout my pregnancy. I started applying the products to my non existent bump around the 12 week mark once we had had our scan and everything was looking to be progressing well (I didn’t want to jinx it before then). I applied the products morning and night without fail and regardless of how exhausted I felt. And towards the end I was applying the products several times a day, as my skin was just so damn itchy as my belly grew. These are my recommended 5 products to prevent stretch marks.