#othermothers Summer Challenge Roundup

Over the summer I took part in the #othermothers challenge on Instagram. It involved a different prompt each week, as listed in the picture below, to create a post on. I took part in the first 6 weeks but missed the last week because we were away at cbeebies land. I thought it would to be nice to share what I posted each week in one post as a roundup. If you want to see what other people posted check out the #othermothers hashtag on Instagram.

Week 1 of the #OtherMothers summer challenge: OUR STORY.

This is what our story often looks like at the moment, Jaspy loves reading books so we get through a lot in a day. We also like to spend our days playing with toys, walking to the park and going to baby classes too, when we haven’t been up all night.

As well as on here, I also share some of our story over on my blog (linked in bio), which includes my journey as a mum, tips and tricks and lots of recipes, if you want to know more.

What does your story look like? Do you or your baby like to read?

Week 2 of the #othermothers summer challenge: CAMPING.

I have never really been in to the outdoors so I haven’t actually been camping before!
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So I thought I would use this post to talk about Jasper’s current sleeping arrangements. He sleeps ‘camped out’ on a mattress on my bedroom floor. Jasper has never been a great sleeper so after he outgrew his snuzpod, he has always co-slept with me. I used a bed guard but as he got bigger he would crawl to the end to try and get out so I was always worried about him falling.

This current arrangement seems to be working quite well though with him even sleeping from 8pm until 4am on several occasions! He is close enough to me that he isn’t upset and I also manage to get some sleep because I’m not constantly worried about him crawling out of my bed.

What crazy things have you done when sleep deprived or to try and get your baby to sleep?

Week 3 of the #othermothers summer challenge: Friendship.

This picture was taken at a toddler yoga class today. I have really enjoyed going to baby classes since Jasper has been born and I have made a good friend from going. We met at an All Kinds of Play group at the children’s centre and Jasper and her daughter are friends too. As well as the play group we like to go to Mothercare with them (the café is so good), to a sensory room or to soft play. I love seeing Jasp and his friend play together, even though they are so young they always interact and give each other kisses, it’s really cute!

When I was pregnant I didn’t know any that had recently had a baby or anyone that was pregnant. I am usually quite an awkward and anxious person so I find it difficult to just talk to people so I was really worried about not making mum friends and that Jasper wouldn’t have other little people to play with. So I am happy we have managed to make a friend from going to play groups and that their are lots of other mums there to chat to as well. I also started this page and my blog since becoming a mum and there is a fab online community of mums too.

How did you find socialising after having a baby? Did you /do you have any concerns when pregnant?

Week 4 of the #othermothers summer challenge: Fairy Tales.

I’m not sure if this really counts as a fairy tale but I’ll go with it anyway. Me and James really like watching The Jungle Book and ever since Jasper was born we have always sang ‘The Bare Necessities’ and ‘I Wanna Be Like You’ to him. So when I saw this outfit I had to get it for his birthday. Now that Jasper is walking more and more, his crawl has also developed in to a Mowgli crawl too.

What is your favourite fairy tale?

Week 5 of the #othermothers summer challenge: Bees.

I tried to take a picture of a bee on some lavender at a bbq I was at on Sunday but the bee kept moving so the pictures were really blurry. So instead here is a picture of a baby holding a bee toy, which surprisingly isn’t blurry for once.

This toy was Jasper’s first toy that was more than a soft toy or rattle. He got it just before he was 6 months old and he still plays with it now.

What toys have stood the test of time for your babies? Which unexpected toys have your babies got attached to?

Week 6 of the #othermothers summer challenge: Family.

This is our little family, otherwise known by our band name ‘The 3 J’s’ because all our names start with a J. When I was looking for a photo for this challenge I realised we don’t have many pictures of the 3 of us together. So this is a throwback to the day we went to register Jasper’s birth and he was still really tiny.
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We have loads of photos of Jasper (obviously!) then quite a few of me and Jaspy or James and Jaspy but not many of all 3 of us, so I am going to try and get more of them! Do you have many family pictures?

I’d love to know your answers to the questions and what you think for each of the prompts, let me know in the comments or on facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Thanks for reading, Jen x