INTRODUCING: My Small Business...Isabella Mai-de - The Home of Personalised Hand Printed Gifts for Everyone

Starting this post feels a bit de ja vu because I wrote a very similar post back in 2016 when I originally launched Isabella Mai-de. Back then it was all about hand printed children's leggings and joggers, but after only a few months of being open I had to close due to morning sickness with my second pregnancy and then we entered the busy life of two children and I just didn't get around to reopening. However, in the spring/summer of 2021 I started to wonder whether I should open Isabella Mai-de back up again. Our middle daughter was due to start school in September, leaving just our youngest at home, so I felt that I'd have enough time to really concentrate on it this time. Then followed many excited months redesigning the logo, setting up the Etsy shop again, photographing products, making reels, filming TikToks, writing listings, trialing products, carving stamps, putting together new designs/patterns, sourcing stock, hand stamping labels/thank you cards, finding more sustainable packaging options etc. Along with the inevitable questions like 'will this work?', 'what if no one buys anything?' that I think are all part of launching your own business. 

REVIEW: BabyBjörn Harmony 3D Mesh Baby Carrier

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Baby carrying will change your life as a parent, whether you're expecting, have a little one or even a toddler, it will honestly make your life so much easier. When I first became a parent back in 2015 I didn't know how much my life was going to change, but it certainly did, in every way possible. The most simple task became a challenge and every waking hour (and there are a lot of those!) was dedicated to our little bundle of joy. It was hard, a learning curve, challenging, as well as being magical, precious and filled with more love than could ever be expressed. But what I didn't know back then was quite how much of a game changer baby carrying is. 

FAMILY: Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide for Everyone 2021

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Christmas is almost upon us and I'm sure, like me, you're either starting or in the middle of trying to think of thoughtful, special gift ideas for your loved ones. It seems to get trickier every year to think of unique gifts that our loved ones don't already own, which is why I'm here with this year's Family Christmas Gift Guide 2021! Usually I split my yearly Gift Guides up into categories, but this year I thought I'd keep it simple for you and have everything all in one place. Your ultimate gift guide for the whole family, friends included too of course. I hope you leave this post feeling inspired and manage to get a few more people ticked off your 'to buy for' list, so without further ado...

FAMILY: Rory - One Year On

Well, I can't exactly say that Rory's first year of his life was how I imagined. Back in October last year we were blissfully unaware of what was to come, but despite lockdown and a worldwide pandemic Rory's first year has been so incredibly special. I honestly I can't believe that this time last year I was willing to go into natural labour after two inductions. We had been booked in for an induction on the Sunday, so with no real signs of labour off we went to hospital for 2pm. I was checked into the induction ward, my husband went to Costa for supplies and we were told that I could be in for a few days as they were really busy. I was feeling Braxton Hicks, but I was so bored of telling everyone I was 'definitely' in labour (like I had 2957503804 times during the previous few weeks) that I just kept quiet. 

BABY & TODDLER: How to Create Sensory Messy Play at Home with Messy Senses

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Since lockdown began back in March we haven't be able to go to any children's classes because essentially it isn't safe enough to do so. This not only has had a massive impact on the businesses themselves, but also has meant our babies, toddlers and children have missed out on the opportunities these classes offer too. As we are now six months into this 'new' way of life and it is becoming evident quite how tricky it is for baby and toddler classes to resume; now is the perfect time to consider how we as parents can recreate some aspects of these classes at home.

FAMILY: Why I Love Routine and Think you Will Too

Routine. When you become a parent I think you either learn to love it or hate it. Loving the familiarity of routine or resenting the repitiviness, either way routine becomes a part of your life. Prior to your child starting any form of childcare you can generally be in control of how your days go, whether that be going with the flow or creating a routine. However, as soon as you're back at work and your child is in childcare and then school we are all suddenly controlled to some extent by external forces. Drop offs, pick ups, naps, meal times, bed times etc. are all contributing factors within a family routine of younger children and then as they get older you may have to throw in homework, reading, spellings, after-school clubs, sports clubs etc. There's no denying that life as a parent is one big juggling act, which is why I find creating a family routine that works vital to our happiness and wellbeing. 

PARENTHOOD: Ways to Prepare for your Third Baby

When those two blue lines first appear so many thoughts may be going through your mind, from excitement to panic to apprehension and all the emotions in-between. Finding out we were expecting our third baby was such a special moment, but one that filled me almost as much fear as the first time. Not fear of having another baby as such, but more how was I going to manage looking after three children? My husband and I would be outnumbered from the moment our third baby came into the world, which was a scary concept and I know I'm not alone in thinking that. In fact I remember having almost exactly the same concerns when expecting our second baby - how would I split my time between two children? But you do, trust me. You change and grow as every parenting situation you face influences your life; if there is one thing us parents are experts at it is adapting. 

MOTHERHOOD: My Experience of going from 1-2 Children compared to 2-3 Children

Finding out the news that you are expecting a baby can create so many different emotions and one I've certainly felt is fear. Not fear of having another baby as such, but instead of how I was going to manage parenting one/two/three children. In 2015 we had our first baby, Isabella, and it was such a magical experience. I was lucky enough to have a smooth breastfeeding journey, the love was like nothing I'd ever felt before and it was just such a precious time. Then in 2017 we had our second baby, Poppy, and the adjustment from one to two children wasn't as easy. 

PARENTHOOD: Our Lockdown Daily Routine with Two Children and a Baby

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We're now well over a month into this lockdown/quarantine life and it certainly is a rollercoaster, isn't it? Everyday is a mix of emotions, but since finding a routine that works for us we are having more happy moments than challenging. I have always loved a good routine; I'd go as far to say they it is my parenting security blanket, which is why I found it hard when the lockdown was announced our daily routine suddenly became irrelevant to the new way of life. Over seven weeks later and with quite a few adaptations we have finally found a routine that keeps everyone as happy as possible, the older two children know what to expect throughout the day and home learning is dotted throughout to help keep the focus. At the moment we have a five year old, two (almost three) year old and a six month old baby at home, so our routine is all about coordinating their individual needs. My husband is working from home at the moment, but we wave goodbye at 9am and don't really see him again until at the earliest 5.30pm (a good hour and a half earlier than pre-lockdown life, so that is a big bonus), so for the vast majority of the time I'm solo parenting our three children and implementing this routine.

PARENTHOOD: Struggling with Combination Feeding when baby has a High Palette

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Combination feeding was always the aim, but the journey there wasn't the simplest. In October of 2019 we welcomed our third baby and first son Rory into the family. As with each of our children I was nervous about being able to breastfeed him, but within 20 minutes of being born he had successfully latched on and our breastfeeding journey began. I was extremely lucky that he latched well, I only had the usual pains you experience when you initially start breastfeeding and it all seemed relatively smooth sailing. That was until we had our six week check-up and Rory had dropped from the 75th centile to the 50th; although he was gaining weight it wasn't at the rate he should be. I had also noticed that he was making a clicking sound every time he fed, then getting upset due to trapped wind. It all became a vicious cycle of struggling to feed without taking in a lot of air, then getting uncomfortable, and then needing feeding to calm down etc. I began to become concerned that he might have a posterior tongue tie, so mentioned this to my health visitor who recommended that we attended one of the county's breastfeeding clinics.

CHILDREN: 140 Indoor Activities for Hours of Entertainment

There are so many reasons why we may need to stay indoors with our children, whether it be wet weather, a cosy weekend, illness or the current pandemic of Coronavirus. The idea of staying indoors with children for a prolonged period of time can be quite a daunting prospect, but in an aim to help parents I have put together 140 ideas for indoor activities. These will keep you busy for hours, days, if not weeks and can easily be combined with more educational activities too. There are opportunities to practice fine motor skills, be creative, learn new skills and simply have fun, which is really important for children, but especially with the current concerns, unknowns and changes.

PARENTHOOD: 7 Creative Ways to Capture your Children's Childhood

Capturing our children's childhood is such a special thing to do, not only for our memories but for theirs too. I have such fond memories of all gathering together to look back through the photo albums of my childhood and children these days are incredibly lucky with quite how many different ways their childhood can be captured. Our parents generation only have a few photographs, our generation have more along with the odd video and the current generation of children we are bringing up have all the digital photos and videos they could ever dream of. But how can you capture your children's childhood in a slightly more creative way?

PARENTHOOD: The Differences between having a Spring/Summer Baby compared to an Autumn/Winter Baby

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Prior to having children I hadn't really thought about the potential differences between having a baby in the spring/summer compared to autumn/winter. Expecting and having a baby is such an incredible experience whenever in the year it happens, but after being lucky enough to have three children at different times of year it has been interesting to see the impact the season has. There are perhaps a surprising amount of differences I've personally found with having a baby in the warmer months compared to the colder ones. There is no 'best' time of year to have a baby, anytime is special, so let's look at some of the differences...

BABY: Our Experience of a Private Tongue Tie Consultation and Discovery of a High Palette

When it came to breastfeeding my third baby I thought I had enough experience (over 3.5 years in total) to overcome any challenges we may face. This, however, wasn't the case and after talking to various health professionals we decided to go down the private route for support and guidance. The story behind why we ended up looking into having a private tongue tie and breastfeeding consultation is here. It certainly isn't for everyone, as it can be quite expensive, however the waiting time with the NHS was around three weeks and we felt like that was too long for our situation. 

BABY: The Story behind having a Private Tongue Tie and Breastfeeding Consultation

When it came to breastfeeding our third baby, Rory, I was extremely lucky and had such a positive start to our breastfeeding journey. Breastfeeding my older two children was also a really positive experience; I breastfed Isabella until she was around 18 months and Poppy until she was two years old. Despite this I was nervous about trying to breastfeed Rory because I am all too aware that every baby is different and therefore every experience can be different. It certainly wasn't a given that I was be able to breastfeed him just because I had done my older two children. However, within fifteen minutes of being born he was rooting around, so I latched him on and there started my third breastfeeding journey. I felt so relieved and beyond lucky to be able to breastfeed our third baby and, despite the usual uncomfortable episodes when you first start feeding, all was going well.

PARENTHOOD: Christening Gift Ideas

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In the UK, fewer and fewer children are being Christened, whether it’s because of changing beliefs, or simply not having enough time or even money to plan and organise one. However, I was curious to look into the traditions of a Christening – as well as some of the best Christening gifts out there if you have one coming up this year.  

PARENTHOOD: Tips for Visiting Family or Friends with a Newborn Baby

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Travelling and staying over at family or friend's houses isn't always the easiest thing to do with a newborn baby. Despite being so small they somehow require a lot of equipment, have an intense feeding routine and the witching hour is never any fun! Over Christmas we spent a lot of time travelling around to visit different family members with our three children, who are 4 years old, 2 years old and 8 weeks old, which came with a number of challenges to overcome. When it came to coordinating travel times, planning ahead with regards to packing and fitting in with other people's plans it we became well practiced in the skill of travelling and visiting family with a newborn baby. There are many events throughout the year that may require travelling around to see family or friends, including Christmas, Easter, Holidays, Birthdays, Weddings, Christenings etc. I thought I might be helpful to share some of the ways which we found the whole experience a lot easier, calmer and generally more enjoyable.

PARENTHOOD: Our Weekday Routine with a Newborn Baby, School Run and Toddler Group

One thing I was really worried about when we found out we were expecting our third baby was being able to do the school run on time, every day of the working week. I just couldn't see how I was single-handed going to get all three children ready, fed and out of the house all before 8.30am every single day. School doesn't offer any flexibility, so for the first time as a family our lives were being controlled by the constraints of the school day. My eldest daughter, Isabella, started school in September 2019 and I gave birth to our third baby, Rory, in October 2019. It was essential that we established a 'school day routine' as quickly as possible in September, so that when Rory arrived I hoped he would just slot into the routine with ease. 

CHRISTMAS: Gift Guide for Babies 2019

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Babies are such a joy to buy for, aren't they? The clothing is so teeny, the prints are adorable and the range of gifts is always growing. This year we are back to the world of babies with Rory's arrival in October, which is incredibly precious. As babies don't really need that much, in terms of toys, I always think Christmas is the perfect opportunity to treat the babies in your life to extra luxurious versions of what would usually be considered as 'essentials', for example muslin cloths and clothes. There are lots of lovely smaller businesses to support when it comes to buying gifts for babies too, some of which I've included in this Gift Guide. I hope you feel inspired and come away with lots of gift ideas.

PREGNANCY #3: Let's Talk About...Expecting a Baby Boy After Two Girls

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From the moment we found out we were having a baby boy, after two girls, I began to imagine what life will be life. I know nothing about raising boys, despite knowing that every child is different, he idea of having a boy does intimidate me to be honest. we couldn't be more excited about expecting a boy and personally I'm finding the unknown very exciting.