teeny tiny you

You may have woken up at 6am but that's definitely not when your day started...oh no...your day started at 3am...when your newborn had woke up and started crying because her arms had moved while she was sleeping and that scared her...not to mention that since she's awake now she's realised that's she's hungry and needs to feed...only to fall asleep on your breast every 5 min...and this continues throughout the night till the 6am alarm that is your toddler by your bedside telling you she needs to pee-pee...yep good morning momma...you look over your shoulder and find your partner in deep sleep and you have the very normal urge to do unthinkable, sinister things to him because at this moment he is the enemy...the one who slept in...but you get up anyway and that is how your day started. Sounds familiar? You're not alone. Whether you have a newborn or toddler, preteen or pre-adult-who-thinks-no-rules-apply-to-them, you're a mum. And while some may argue

If there is anything a mum of toddlers or older kids knows it's that they can be very picky when it comes to food! But hey! Give them biscuits and chocolate and fizzy drinks and they'll never say no...but that doesn't mean that you should. How great was it when they were younger at 6 months when you would blend everything in sight that was filled with nutrients and vitamins and they'd eat it all up with a smile on their face...ah those were the days. You might not be able to get those days back but you can start getting your children to eat better today...it'll be hard but well worth it! HIDE THE SNACKS! What can't be seen can't be eaten! right? Hide all snacks that you don't want your child to fill up on before meal times - that includes you Momma! No snacking before meal times! Remember kids watch your every move and learn good and bad habits from their parents.  PLAN YOUR MEALS! Planning your meals doesn't mean having a strict mea

I’m not the Perfect Parent. So I might not be the best person to write this. But let’s give it a go. What makes a Perfect Parent? It really depends on who you ask. Some might say it’s a parent that devotes all their life and attention on their child, others might say the opposite; it's a parent that doesn’t spoil their child and limits the attention that they get. Some might say it's a mother that breastfeeds, others might say it's a mother that bottle feeds, co-sleeps doesn’t co-sleep, disciplines, doesn’t discipline…the list goes on. As soon as your child is born, whether you are a mother or father you instantly have a protective instinct towards this child; I want to be there for you. I want to be the perfect parent. And the problem is we set such high standards and impossible ideas about this image of a perfect parent that we’ve imprinted into our minds that we no longer have space inside ourselves for mistakes, and if we make a mistake we don’t have the a

Travelling with a toddler – those dreaded three words should never be put together! Who in their right mind would think it's clever to travel with a toddler? Who wants to be stuck in a plane, thousands of feet above the ground with no comfort other than the padded seats and somewhat judgmental, beady eyes of onlookers silently cursing you and your screaming little human. I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be that hard, it might seem like a daunting, terrifying and absolutely ridiculous idea but it can be done – With your insanity intact too! They key is… PREPARATION! Although it can be incredibly hard – near impossible to be fully prepared for a toddler but a degree of preparation is very handy at times when things can go in any direction and your toddler can transform from a little angel to a maniac on the loose within seconds. SNACKS Always have a large supply of snack available within arms reach…I’m not joking! You need to be able to reach that packet of c

Could mobile phones really be robbing us of our children’s time? That’s a big statement right? But consider this scenario… You are in the living room with your child/ren, you’re browsing social media on your phone, they are playing or watching tv or snacking, they look up at you, either seeking affirmation or encouragement for sitting nicely or finishing their carrot sticks yet your eyes are glued to the screen, they carry on playing, then they look back up again thinking maybe now mummy/daddy will look at me, you’re eyes are still on the screen, they approach you and demand your attention, what do you say? “I’m busy!”…”Maybe later” They go back and sit down, discouraged, they feel that their good behaviour hadn’t been appreciated or given the attention it deserved so they start acting up, hitting their siblings, they look up and you’re off your phone! You’re approaching them. You’re giving them the attention. It worked. You may think that children are young, they don’t rea