Try on my first ever @shein_gb order with me! ✨ Try on my first ever @shein_gb order with me! ✨

(Feat lots of P & Indie interruption…) 

Which one is your favourite? 

#highstreethaul #sheinhaul #fashionhaul #fashionreel #breastfeedingfriendlyfashion #mumstyle #highstreetstyle
🐚 🐚
✌🏼 ✌🏼
Let’s talk about the nap trap. 💤 Controvers Let’s talk about the nap trap. 💤 

Controversial opinion incoming…

Firstly, your child won’t die if they don’t have their nap in a dark room, with their white noise machine, Egyptian cotton sheets and sleep spray once in a while. 

Children do need an element of routine, but it’s also important for them to understand how to adapt. And you aren’t a bad mum for taking them out over nap time. 

If I had a £ for the amount of times someone has said “I can’t come at that time because X will be asleep” or “X is still napping so we won’t be able to make it now” and my personal favourite “we have to go to dinner at 4pm because we need to be back to start bedtime” …

I’m not judging, each parent is only ever doing what’s right for their children. We all know that, we’d walk on hot coals for the little buggers. 🔥 

But are we always doing what’s right for us? 

You need to be able to go out, socialise, take a walk, eat a meal, go to the shop without timing your life around your baby every single day. 

If you’re at home then sure, go for the routine, enjoy the dark room and the guaranteed break that time gives you. But don’t be fearful of breaking that routine to enjoy something else on occasion. Especially with the summer holidays coming up, when you may have other children to entertain. 

You might find little one will adapt just fine and maybe even sleep on the go. A baby sling is pretty much a guarantee for most babies! Indie lived in my @freerider.co , bless her! 

And if they don’t, then that’s ok too. It’s a one off!

Allow yourself a little freedom and you might find that you can not only release yourself from the nap trap, but also not miss out on things you want to do! 

This is your permission to put yourself first on occasion. Meet for that coffee, go to that event that’s right across nap time, enjoy a late dinner with friends, just go for it! 

You got this mama! Naps are not prison ❤️
Visiting Krka National Park with toddlers was a ri Visiting Krka National Park with toddlers was a risk, but it paid off. 

We read loads of reviews about whether it’s possible or not with toddlers, but we took the risk and I’m glad we did. 👌🏼

Now don’t get me wrong, we did and saw less than we would have if we didn’t have the girls. But what we did see was stunning. 

My tips with toddlers: 

👉🏼 get a private transfer if you can as they can usually provide car seats. It’s about a 1/1.5 hour drive from Split. 
👉🏼 Buy the boat tickets and get dropped off at the Scradin entrance to hop on the boat. We also got the boat back to here, but if you want to you can also walk back to the other entrance, Lozovac.
👉🏼 You can walk the gravel paths with buggies, it’s not the easiest, but it’s pretty doable.
👉🏼 Take the wooden bridge to see the waterfalls, but unless you have baby carriers or older kids you won’t want to walk up to the higher view point. 
👉🏼 You can’t swim where the bus drops you off, so if you want to swim you need to hop on a bus, and then a boat to a different location. You can paddle and enjoy a small waterfall in this location though. 
👉🏼 Remember to take some coins for the toilet, and lots of water and snacks! There are food and drink places there and benches to have food, but the boat and the queues can be long and it’s gets hot. 

Have you been to Krka National park, what did you think? 

#familytravel #toddlertravel #familytravelineurope #croatiatravel #croatiawithkids #krkanationalpark #krkanationalparkwithkids #europetravel #croatiatravel
Went to town in @homebargains to spruce up this li Went to town in @homebargains to spruce up this little area of the garden. 

Feels like gardens take so much effort and work for so little time in them 😂 anyone else?
These moments remind me why I picked you 🥰 These moments remind me why I picked you 🥰
Come to Croatia with us ✈️ A super easy and Come to Croatia with us ✈️ 

A super easy and quick (2.5 hour) flight with @jet2pics and we stayed at @le_meridien_split in Split and it was gorgeous.

I’d say the hotel isn’t very kiddie, but it was child friendly. There was a kids club (the girls didn’t go, but we saw through the window and it looked jam packed with fun stuff) and all the staff were super into kids. So so friendly. 

However, it did have a very adult vibe. We didn’t mind that and our girls are used to being taken along to more adult environments, but if you are looking for a more family inclusive hotel this one probably isn’t the one I’d go for.

There were no kids meals for example, but I was really impressed with the amount of children related extras you could have added to your room, such as bed guards, stools for the bathroom, nappies etc. 

But the pool was great (deep) and there was a very small splash pool for the girls, which they loved. It was right on the beach and there was a beach club which we went to one day with rentable cabanas and sun loungers. Again pretty adult heavy, but we didn’t mind, we had a lovely day. 

Split itself was great and the small cobbled streets were easy enough to navigate with strollers and little feet. 

We also went to Krka National park (I will do a seperate post for that one) which again was doable with toddlers, but limited. 

All in all a wonderful trip and Joss and I actually felt like we had a holiday too, which can be a challenge when you have to chase toddlers around all day. I will definitely be back to Croatia ☀️

#familytravel #toddlertravel #travelwithtoddlers #travellingwithkids #europetravel #europeantravel #familyholiday #toddlerlife #familyfriendlytravel
We read multiple reviews about whether or not krka We read multiple reviews about whether or not krka national park was suitable for toddlers/buggies, but we decided to take the chance. 

So glad we did! 

Beautiful ☀️
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Mama · 27th July 2019

Surviving the first six months

IMG_7673

Wow, we made it through and now P is somehow nearly six months old! I don’t know where the time has gone and it’s mad to think it’s nearly been half a year since we jumped on this rollercoaster called parenthood. 

It’s been amazing and nobody can ever prepare you for the love you feel when look at that little baby and realise you made her. But with all new adventures there are lots of ups and downs and I don’t think people speak out enough about the post partum bit of their journey, which, whilst being my biggest achievement to date, has also been riddled with guilt, anxiety, health issues and just generally feeling overwhelmed. And hey, guess what, that’s all totally normal!

You aren’t a bad Mum if your everyday doesn’t look like what you see on Instagram and you certainly aren’t abnormal for wondering why on earth you made this crazy life choice, or how you can kill your Husband and bury him without anyone knowing. Being a parent is the most rewarding thing you will ever do, but it is hard and the more we pretend it isn’t, the more unprepared others Mums are becoming.

For me the fourth trimester started with a stay in hospital as I was one of the few women who got pre-eclampsia after birth. I have had hypertension for over 8 years now so my pregnancy was full of regular checks and the risk of pre-eclampsia, but never did I think that once I had made it through to the end, I would be struck down with it afterwards. But hey, when do I ever take the easy road? But the silver lining was that this extra stay in hospital and the fantastic midwives at MKUH had provided me with a delightful little safety net and it wasn’t until I got home that I experienced the actual “Oh shit, we have to keep this baby alive…”

I am not generally a worrier and I am pretty chilled about most things, so the anxiety that hit me when I walked through the front door was a shock to me. The paranoia that they aren’t breathing, that there is something wrong with them, that you might just be doing it all wrong and the baby hates you; yep all of that is totally normal. Leaving the house for the first time alone was one of the scariest moments. I bottled it the very first time and made my Mum come with me, but we eventually got the hang of it and getting out of the house pretty much every day is something that is 100% keeping me sane. The hours spent on the sofa in my three day old pajamas, binge watching netflix and crying into a pack of biscuits seem long gone now, but they were also some of my favourite. 

And let’s just discuss the fact that nobody bloody tells you that after you’ve had a baby your body is basically fucked (for a while anyway). Every single organ is pretty much shoved in all directions and wow hello hips that I definitely didn’t have before. So when it comes to your insides working in a normal manner again, give it a while. The piles, stomach cramps, huge boobs and leaky nipples, yep, all totally normal. But I mean, I did grow an entire human, it doesn’t really get much cooler than that. So, embrace it, love it and thank it. 

Oh and then there’s your relationship. Cuddles on the sofa and date nights are a thing of the past and I spent most of the early days thinking Daddy was an arsehole. Of course Daddy isn’t really an arsehole, in fact he is a bloody brilliant team mate, but there have been plenty of times I could have murdered him in his sleep. Mostly because he didn’t have a baby that wanted to be attached to his nipple 24 hours a day. This resentment was really hard for me to deal with and it definitely took its toll on our relationship. Having a baby doesn’t bring you instantly closer, in fact it probably creates more of a divide at first, but as long as you learn to communicate then you’ll be just fine. On the plus side, we are five and a half months in and Joss and I finally managed to watch a whole episode of Love Island together for the first time whilst the baby was in bed. 

Small wins and all that!

Now the Mum guilt. I heard this phrase a lot before I had P, but I didn’t really understand what it meant until I felt it. I felt trapped, trapped by this baby who I adored, but nonetheless I felt like a prisoner to her and boy did I hate myself for that. I missed work, I missed my bank balance, my freedom, my body and just being alone and that was when I truly understood Mum guilt. That feeling in your chest that you are a bad Mum for thinking all of these things, for on the odd occasion regretting your life choices and the feeling that planning days or trips without your baby means “people” will think you are a terrible Mum. You aren’t a bad person, you are actually just human and despite now being promoted to the 24/7 job that is Mummy, you are still entitled to sometimes just be you. 

And let’s not get started on breastfeeding, that’s one for a whole different post. All I can say on that one for now is hang on in there, it’s the most rewarding thing in the world when it works and don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t. You are still a fantastic Mum, however you feed your baby.  

Women don’t get told that enough.

So now I have had the time to reflect on the first six months of my motherhood journey, it’s fair to say it’s not all bad. In fact, it really is fantastic 90% of the time. Not only have I learnt to love in a way that I never knew I could, I have also found myself and a new confidence that I didn’t know was hiding in me. I very quickly appreciated that women are bloody miracles and the fact that we don’t all realise that is pretty darn shit. We rock, so go and pour yourself a glass of champagne to toast the fact, that hey, we are all flipping superheroes!

In: Mama · Tagged: baby, baby girl, birth, life, lifestyle, mama, mama spinkdot, parenthood, parenting, pregnancy journey

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Comments

  1. Brian Varney says

    27th July 2019 at 9:57 am

    Remember those feelings so we’ll, and I’m a dad!
    You should get Joss to add his perspective as a Dad.

    Enjoy every moment because, 6 months will quickly turn into 6 years, then 16 years and before you know it Pepper wl be all grown up.

    My tip – don’t save money… spend it making brilliant memories, because when she’s grown up you’ll have something of far more value than a pile of dosh.

    Live, laugh, love
    X

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A lovely weekend spent with family & friends. A ve A lovely weekend spent with family & friends. A very full and happy heart today ❤️
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Happy Friday everyone! 💐 This beautiful little Happy Friday everyone! 💐

This beautiful little piece of art was created for me by my lovely friend @hollywetherall when she asked me to be her bridesmaid 3 years ago. She said she drew me arrows because if I want something I just go and get it. 

So here is your daily reminder to go out and get it! No better time than right now ❤️
Looks like we have another Daddy’s girl 💕 Th Looks like we have another Daddy’s girl 💕

This one is so alert and so chatty already. It’s hard not to compare, but you can’t help it. I’ve really started to realise how having a prem and tiny baby affects the way they develop and grow in the early months. Pepper was born at 36 weeks, Indie at 37 and they are so different in so many ways. P was always behind a lot of her peers in size and development for a long time, and having Indie had made that even more apparent, but look at her now. Flying! 

Each child is so different, just like us. As long as they get love, care and plenty of attention they will all flourish in their own time ❤️

#mumblogger #mumlife #motherhood #parenting #siblings #dadlife #daddyanddaughter
Happy 4th Birthday Spinkdot 🎉 The blog has ev Happy 4th Birthday Spinkdot 🎉 

The blog has evolved a lot over the four years as I found my own little space on the internet. It’s allowed me to have a hobby that I love, continue my passion for writing, build confidence, meet wonderful people and even help some lovely women along the way. 

It’s been an outlet when I needed it the most and a little place I’ve found solidarity on some of the hardest days. I have so much more planned for this little space and I wanted to thank you all for being on this fun journey with me ❤️

#mumblogger #miltonkeynesblogger #mkmums #mumlife #motherhood #parenting AD baby sling kindly gifted by @freerider.co
Pepper is always copying what we do because that’s how she learns, but this was one that brought a tear to my eye 💕 

I wear Indie in my @freerider.co sling every day, so P is so used to seeing that as normal parenting. Today she asked me if she could wear her baby in the sling too and she was such a natural. 

#babywearing #mumlife #toddlerlife #motherhood #parenting AD Freerider sling kindly gifted
My babies are always my favourite accessory 💕 My babies are always my favourite accessory 💕 

#mumlife #motherhood #mumstyle #babywearing
Loving our @byhannahwalker matching hairbands 💁 Loving our @byhannahwalker matching hairbands 💁🏻‍♀️ #mummyandmini
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A lovely weekend spent with family & friends. A ve A lovely weekend spent with family & friends. A very full and happy heart today ❤️
Happy Saturday guys 🌸 Happy Saturday guys 🌸
Happy Friday everyone! 💐 This beautiful little Happy Friday everyone! 💐

This beautiful little piece of art was created for me by my lovely friend @hollywetherall when she asked me to be her bridesmaid 3 years ago. She said she drew me arrows because if I want something I just go and get it. 

So here is your daily reminder to go out and get it! No better time than right now ❤️
Looks like we have another Daddy’s girl 💕 Th Looks like we have another Daddy’s girl 💕

This one is so alert and so chatty already. It’s hard not to compare, but you can’t help it. I’ve really started to realise how having a prem and tiny baby affects the way they develop and grow in the early months. Pepper was born at 36 weeks, Indie at 37 and they are so different in so many ways. P was always behind a lot of her peers in size and development for a long time, and having Indie had made that even more apparent, but look at her now. Flying! 

Each child is so different, just like us. As long as they get love, care and plenty of attention they will all flourish in their own time ❤️

#mumblogger #mumlife #motherhood #parenting #siblings #dadlife #daddyanddaughter
Happy 4th Birthday Spinkdot 🎉 The blog has ev Happy 4th Birthday Spinkdot 🎉 

The blog has evolved a lot over the four years as I found my own little space on the internet. It’s allowed me to have a hobby that I love, continue my passion for writing, build confidence, meet wonderful people and even help some lovely women along the way. 

It’s been an outlet when I needed it the most and a little place I’ve found solidarity on some of the hardest days. I have so much more planned for this little space and I wanted to thank you all for being on this fun journey with me ❤️

#mumblogger #miltonkeynesblogger #mkmums #mumlife #motherhood #parenting AD baby sling kindly gifted by @freerider.co
Pepper is always copying what we do because that’s how she learns, but this was one that brought a tear to my eye 💕 

I wear Indie in my @freerider.co sling every day, so P is so used to seeing that as normal parenting. Today she asked me if she could wear her baby in the sling too and she was such a natural. 

#babywearing #mumlife #toddlerlife #motherhood #parenting AD Freerider sling kindly gifted
My babies are always my favourite accessory 💕 My babies are always my favourite accessory 💕 

#mumlife #motherhood #mumstyle #babywearing
Loving our @byhannahwalker matching hairbands 💁 Loving our @byhannahwalker matching hairbands 💁🏻‍♀️ #mummyandmini
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