Librarians in Harry Potter dress

Celebrating 20 years of Harry Potter at Strood Library

As all big fans of Harry Potter, (or ‘Potterheads‘) will know, this is a very important week indeed. Monday 26th June marked the 20th anniversary of the first book, The Philosopher’s Stone being published. In the two decades that have ensued, the hearts and imaginations of children and adults worldwide have been captured.

Many have been celebrating, and J.K. Rowling has thanked her fans.

When I found out that Strood Library/Community Hub were also celebrating the 20th anniversary, I was so delighted that I almost felt 8 years old again!

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5 ways to help an early teether

Collaborative Links¦ Autumn has been teething since just before Christmas, when she was 3 months old. I felt sorry for her, even more so as she didn’t quite have the coordination of babies who are of average teething age (around 6 months) to hold teething toys in her mouth herself.

Here are my top tips for helping a little one that is teething and lacks the coordination to help themselves very much:

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A tale of tongue tie, bonding issues & a healed heart

This is a guest post from someone I know in real life. She is also a first time mum and wanted to share her story to help other mums. I’ve previously shared my stories of how Autumn fell critically ill at 2 weeks old, my subsequent anxiety and how we had to give up breastfeeding. However, a lot of mums have a tough time in one way or another.

This powerful story discusses bleeding in early pregnancylabour with some complications, bonding issuestongue tie and a failed tongue tie procedure once the baby was born. Please be warned that it may be triggering for some. 

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Emma’s Diary Baby of the Month photo session

If you’re a new mum or mum-to-be, you’ve probably signed up to Emma’s Diary and collected your free goody bags. You may also have heard of their Emma’s Diary photo sessions and Baby of the Month competition. When the opportunity arose to go to our nearest participating photographer and try it out, I couldn’t resist.

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A letter to my daughter at 8 months old

Dear Autumn,

Wow, you’re 8 months old! It seems like no time at all since I wrote the first one of these letters to you at 4 months old. Now you’re twice that age! You’re so big now that I struggle to carry you, especially when you’re in your car seat.

So, what have you been up to this month?

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