Tag: parenting

motherhood

11 Tips For Parents When Visiting Cbeebies Land at Alton Towers

Jen

Last month when Jasper was 15 months old, me and James took him to Cbeebies Land. We went on a Thursday, stayed overnight in the Cbeebies Land Hotel and then came home on the Friday. It was a really fun trip and a great place to visit with children, even as young as Jasper. It was quite expensive though and I found there wasn’t as much interaction with the characters as I would have liked. I did a lot of research before we went to make the trip run as smooth as possible and so we could get the most out of it. I also learnt some things whilst we were there so I thought I would share my top 11 tips for parents when visiting Cbeebies Land at Alton Towers.

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At Cbeebies Land!

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motherhood

3 Tips For Coping With Sleep Deprivation

Jen

Jasper has never been a great sleeper, he is amazing in every other way but sleep has never been a strong point, so I am quite well versed in sleep deprivation. Before Jasper was born I used to be one of those people that loved sleep and needed around 10 hours sleep most nights. Now you will hear me say things like ‘we had a really good night last night’, when I got 6 hours of sleep and that’s without even mentioning that it was in 3 blocks! So I thought it could be useful to share my top 3 tips for coping with sleep deprivation.

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A day time nap with my baby (this was before he started to nap in his own bed)

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Recipes

Sushi Bites – Snack Inspiration – Healthy Toddler Meal Idea

Jen

Sushi bites, some snack inspiration for you which can be shared as a healthy toddler meal idea too (a bonus rhyme!). This is a super simple recipe with just 2 main ingredients. But it can be easily jazzed up with different fillings to give it different flavours and get your little one used to different tastes. Sea weed can be quite a difficult food to include in your diet so this are a great way to include this sea vegetable that is a good source of iodine. Depending on the age of your toddler this is also a fun activity to get them involved in making.

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Jaspy’s lunch: sushi bites, houmous and cucumber.

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other mothers

#othermothers Summer Challenge Roundup

Jen

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.

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motherhood

Baby Firsts – Choosing Babies First Shoes

Jen

Last week I took Jasper to get his feet measured and to get his first pair of shoes. Since he was not confidently walking yet we went for the crawling/pre walking shoes so that they are still really flexible as his feet get used to walking and he gets more sturdy. When we were in the shop he kept curling up his toes because he wasn’t used to wearing shoes so it was really hard to get them on. Then when we did manage to put them on he pretty much refused to walk or stand in them because he had no idea what was going on. The first few times after this he kept tripping up over them so we let him wear them round the house quite a bit to get used to them.

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Jasper’s first outing in his new shoes.

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Lifestyle

Getting back in to blogging!

Jen

Firstly, apologies for the lack of posts over here for the last few weeks! Between mumming and working there hasn’t been much time left for blogging, but I’m hoping to change that. I have a couple of interesting posts lined up for the next few days about Jasper’s first steps, some porridge topping ideas and a summary of the #othermothers summer instagram challenge, quite a mix of topics!!

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Jaspy enjoying the warm weather in his make shift paddling pool!

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Pregnancy, Birth and Breastfeeding

My Story of Group B Strep Infection – Group B Strep Awareness Month

Jen

The Group B Strep Support charity focuses on raising awareness of the Group B Strep (GBS) infection in babies during the month of July. Although rare it is the most common cause of infection in newborn babies so I thought this would be a good time to share my experience with GBS and raise some awareness too.

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After we arrived home after being discharged from the  hospital. I’m very emotional but look at how little Jaspy is.

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motherhood

7 Tips For Supporting Your Return To Work After Having A Baby

Jen

Returning to work after having a baby can be a daunting experience. You have been off work in a baby bubble for a while and the thought of having to now work can seem impossible. How will I fit in getting ready for work, the commute and actually being in work alongside nappy changes, playing with my baby and all the other things I need to do? I know I definitely had these thoughts! The other day I read an article that said most first time mums don’t want to go back to work after having their babies so I thought it might be useful to share my experience.

Some people see going to work as a way to challenge their brain, the opportunity for a hot drink and a way to have some balance with mum life, which is brilliant. I found that, whilst these things are true, I spent several months worrying about my return. What if Jasper needs me? Will I miss him too much? Will my brain have turned to mush? I have now been back at work for nearly a month and, whilst I would still rather be with my baby, the return hasn’t been as bad as I expected and working is fine but I definitely built it up in my head way more. I worked my first full day this week and I even managed to do it without taking a nap at my desk! But I did video call Jasper half way through the day because I missed him, he waved at me and kissed the phone then carried on playing so it really helped me to see he was happy.

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motherhood

Transitioning Jasper in to a Bed

Jen

Over the weekend I changed Jasper’s cotbed from a cot to a bed. He has never actually used it as a cot, he slept in his Snuzpod for his first 5 months and has coslept with me ever since. I have tried on a few occasions to get him to sleep in his cot but it just resulted in him waking up crying every 15 minutes and lots of banged heads on the bars. Jasper has never been a great sleeper anyway, so I up until now decided it was best to cosleep so that I could at least get some sleep between wake ups. But I feel like now he is at a good age to be introduced to the idea of his own bed and bedroom.

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Telling his teddy all about his new bed!

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