Review: Jack N Jill & The Natural Family Co
Autumn’s first 8 words
By the time they reach 13 months old, children usually have a vocabulary of around 3 or 4 words. Of course, this does vary as babies and toddlers develop at different rates. It’s so fun seeing what word they’ll learn to say next, though. I remember when Autumn said her first word it was kind of a “Did that really just happen? Did she say that?” moment and I’m still finding it like that.
Autumn was a little ahead of the curve when it comes to speech development, as she could say 8 words when she reached 13 months. Here they are!
This time last year
This time last year, I was facing the toughest experience of my life. Sometimes it still amazes me that I got through it, but I did. I feel like I’m a completely different person to the one I was before Autumn fell ill and had her operation with Dr. Zahid Mukhtar. I feel different and I look at life somewhat differently. Hopefully one day I might be a stronger person for it all.
I’m certainly stronger than I was this time last year, but I don’t feel completely healed yet.
PYO Pumpkins at Beluncle Farm
In recent years, it has become very popular to go pumpkin picking in the weeks leading up to Halloween. There are several in Kent, but the most local to us is PYO Pumpkins at Beluncle Farm in Hoo, Rochester. Entry is free, there’s ample parking, there are toilets and refreshments and they even accept card payments! They also support Crohn’s & Colitis UK and CICRA, causes close to the organiser’s hearts as their son suffers from Crohn’s disease.
I visited them for the first time in 2015 with two of my best friends. However, after the birth of Autumn last year, I decided to start a family tradition!
5 pros of returning to work after maternity leave
Collaborative¦ I recently went back to work after 13 months. Due to a short hospital stay at the end of August last year, just under a month before giving birth, I started maternity leave a couple of weeks early. I’m fortunate that I am going to be working part time for the next year or so rather than full time. However, I’m still missing Autumn like crazy!
To make myself feel better, I’ve decided to try and focus on the positives of going back to work.
The NSFW side of CBeebies
If you live in the UK have a pre-school child, chances are that you are well acquainted with CBeebies. Astonishingly, some mums (and dads) actually start to have a bit of a thing for some of the characters. Mrs Helicopter is no stranger to these feelings (don’t read if you’re faint-hearted, or weak-stomached for that matter!) While I’m absolutely certain I’ll never be one of the “tumble tarts“, (women who would actually like to get together with Mr. Tumble for some fun), you do find that your brain seems to try and find ways to make it more interesting. After all, it’s quite mundane having the same old brain-numbing thing rotated three times a day and seeing the same episodes every couple of weeks.
I’ve noticed that on occasion, things are said that sound quite dirty out of context. Sometimes it could even be misconstrued within context! I like to think that they throw these things in to keep us on our toes and see if we’re actually listening.
Autumn’s 1st Birthday Party
We’ve just reached a big milestone, as Autumn has recently turned 1 year old! Many people seem to think that this is the age where they transition from being a “baby” to a “toddler”. However, I don’t feel ready for that change in title. Even though I’ve savoured the last year, knowing how fast it would pass, it’s still gone much too quickly for my liking!
Although she’s a bit young to really understand what’s going on, I think Autumn had a lovely birthday.
Blog On Xmas 2017 Highlights
I’d heard a lot about Blog On before buying a ticket, not least the rumours about amazing goody bags! I’d met a few bloggers before at the press launch of This Morning Live, but I hadn’t been to a blogging event as such. It was a long 7 month wait for Blog On Xmas after buying my ticket in February, but it didn’t seem to take long to come round!
I was racked with nerves as I left my hotel to go to Hotel Football for the conference, but I needn’t have been as I had one of the best days ever! I’ve never been ‘oop north’ before, so that’s something ticked off of my list of things to do before I’m 30! It was totally worth the 5 hour journey from Kent, even though I did get home past midnight and felt an absolute wreck the next day. If you are thinking about going to a Blog On event next year, I wholeheartedly recommend it and was glad I chose it for my first blogging event. Here are my highlights of the day:
Sunday Review: For Aisha baby food
If you’ve weaned a baby in the last 2 years, or have recently started looking at what foods are available, you may have heard of For Aisha. They create baby food which is bursting with flavour, taking inspiration from around the world. They are also ideal for Muslims, as their baby foods are halal.
I started weaning Autumn shortly before 6 months and started off gently. However, now I am always looking for new flavours and foods for Autumn to try. I thought that these pouches would be a great way to introduce her tiny tastebuds to some more exotic flavours. Whilst the usual baby foods such as cottage pie, spaghetti bolognese etcetera are great, I thought it would be good for her to try something a little more interesting.
Sunday Review: Bodyform Black Pantyliners
A few weeks ago, one of my best friends went to Bluewater and saw the following advert for black pantyliners in a changing room:
She took a photo of it and sent it to our Facebook messenger group. A whole conversation ensued. Why were Bodyform making black liners? It almost seemed like it was something that could be an April fool. However, it is actually a real product!
