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: 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. 

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. 

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.

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: 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.

PARENTHOOD: Rory's Birth Story - Our Third Baby - Booked Induction & Fast Established Labour

After keeping us waiting for nine days past his due date our third baby finally made an appearance on the day I was booked in to be induced. The past four weeks have been a magical mix of emotions, moments and changes as we adapt to becoming a family of five. My husband took two weeks of paternity leave and because little one was born on a Sunday it meant we really did get to make the most of every single day of those two weeks. Luckily, our eldest daughter's half term fell in his second week of paternity leave so we all had time to bond together as a family. But lets take it back to when I was 38 weeks pregnant...

PREGNANCY #3: Preparing my Hospital Bag for the Third Time

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It's that time again...time to pack the hospital bag. This is when reality hits that there is actually going to be a baby here soon, a reminder of how small newborn baby clothes are and the excited feelings of what is to come. As we're expecting our third baby I'm certainly not new the packing a hospital bag, but it still feels like quite a daunting task to me. I think it's the unknown that makes it trickier; not knowing the kind of birth you're going to have, how long it will be, when it will happen, where it will take place etc. Obviously we all have some level of a plan in place, but babies are notorious for just doing whatever they want to, aren't they? When it came to packing my hospital bag this time around it is with the vision of giving birth in hospital and not having a c-section. Only time will tell whether I end up needing an emergency c-section, but at the moment it is not part of my birth plan so have therefore not packed for one. 

PREGNANCY #3: Let's Talk About...How Announcing Pregnancy Changes After Your First

Announcing you're pregnant for the third time is a funny one really; the excitement of announcing for the first time has certainly reduced, yet it can come at an unexpected time so has that shock/surprised factor. Pregnancy and trying to conceive is a very personal journey for each couple and this is my experience of announcing we were pregnant for the third time. When we announced we were pregnant with our first baby everyone was beyond excited; baby showers were thrown, NCT classes attended and I was well and truly looked after by all those around me. If I could have the experience of being pregnant for the first time again I think I'd have endless children because it was honestly one of the most special times to look back on. The excitement, love and anticipation that we shared with everyone around us was just incredible and those moments I'll cherish forever.