TRANSITIONING FROM A COT TO A BIG BED

I have found that when it comes to the question “when should I move my toddler from their cot into a bed?” there is never a “one size fits all” kind of answer, it really does all depend on the child. If I had a pound for every time I’ve been told that “Noah should be in a big bed by now, especially now that he’s 2” I wouldn’t ever have to do a days work again in my life!

I’ve always found it weird that so many people feel like because a child reaches a certain age it means that specific things should be happening or changing, why should it depend on their age and not their individual circumstances or needs? I feel that each parent knows their own child best and will know when the right time to make certain changes is, not based on their age or when society says so. As my ever so lovely health visitor told me, “until it becomes a problem for you and your family, don’t worry about it!” and that honestly could not be truer!

So, with that being said, we have never ever been in a rush to move Noah from his cot bed to a bigger bed because he has always slept so well in his cot and never shown signs of needing a bigger bed, the only reason that Ben and i recently decided to make the change was because we wanted to use Noah’s cot for Ivy as she will be going into her own room in a couple of months (cue my utter devastation!) and it didn’t seem to make sense to spend more money out on a second cot bed when it would only be a short time in the future that Noah would be moving out of his anyway because he’s going to be turning 3 in a few months and by then, I imagine, he would definitely be ready for a new bed. We also noticed that as the time went on, Noah would have growth spurts and literally shoot up in height in the space of what felt like a day and end up clattering against the cot sides in his sleep (he doesn’t half wriggle in his sleep) and funnily enough, once we actually had his new bed on order, he climbed out over the side for the first time EVER! It goes without saying that had he ever done that at any point in his life and being in a cot bed with the sides up became an issue of safety, we would have either taken the cot sides off or moved to a bigger bed but because that never happened we never felt it was necessary, so it all seemed to happen for us at the right and most appropriate time. It’s certainly a good job we had his new bed ordered by the time he actually started trying to climb out otherwise that would have been a nightmare!

We decided to skip the toddler/single bed point and go straight to a double bed for Noah, he has a lovely size room so plenty of space for a bigger bed and because of how much he wriggles and fidgets in his sleep, I thought the extra room would be good for him! There are also other upsides to having a double bed for your child such as being able to lie down next to them nice and comfy while reading bed time stories, being able to sleep in with them if they are ever poorly and you need to be there to keep an eye on them and hopefully you won’t ever have to buy them another bed again! Also, Noah’s bed is an ottoman storage bed (I’m all about extra storage space) so it means I can always store his extra bedding etc under there and as he gets older he can store whatever he likes under there!

I found his bed from Happy Beds (after searching online for what felt like an eternity) and it was exactly what I had been looking for! I wanted something grey and upholstered (I didn’t like the thought of a wooden or metal frame bed because I worried he could knock his head or hurt himself somehow) with a statement headboard and storage underneath and I was delighted to find this bed at an absolute bargain price in the sale! It’s upholstered with grey velvet fabric which matches his carpet almost perfectly and just completes his bedroom and it really gives it that big boy room feel. I highly recommend this company too, their communication and punctuality was faultless and I highly rate their customer service! For whatever kind of bed you’re after, be it a luxurious bed for you or a cool bed for your little one, their options are endless!

We also purchased his mattress from Happy Beds, they have a huge selection of mattresses to suit everyone and funnily enough, the mattress we chose for Noah is called the “Noah” mattress!

I also managed to find some Thomas the tank engine bedding in double size (one downside to having a double bed for your child is having limited character bedding in double size, most of them are toddler or single size, but I guess it depends if you like that sort of thing or not!)

Noah is a huge Thomas fan so his new bedding (plus some Thomas cushions to add) was an amazing touch to the change for him and we also got him some new Thomas pyjamas to wear on his first night in his new bed, plus some new bed time story books to read. We ultimately wanted to make the whole experience super positive and exciting for him and we are so proud of how well he took to it all and from the word go he’s been sleeping brilliantly in there, he hasn’t even made a fuss about his cot bed being in Ivy’s room (I was worried he might kick off a little seeing it in her bedroom after it being his for so long) and he’s just been all around amazing with the whole thing.

My top tips (from my own personal experience) with making the transition from cot to big bed would be

⁃ Talk to your child about it lots in advance to it doesn’t come a big shock to them when the time comes

⁃ If you’re able to, involve them in choosing their new bed

⁃ Incorporate something they really love in to the change, for example, Noah is Thomas the tank engine (and steam trains in general) mad, so getting him special bedding, pyjamas and bed time stories to enjoy on his first night his new bed made it really exciting for him.

⁃ If you’re able to, try to involve them in the dismantling of their old bed and assembly of their new bed so they feel included and helpful

⁃ Fill them with praise when they sleep well in their new bed and tell them how wonderful they are!

⁃ Keep their bedtime routine exactly the same if possible, that way everything (except their bed) is totally the norm!

⁃ Make sure their bedroom (and anywhere that they’re able to access) is totally child proof, we had to make some adjustments in Noah’s room (newer plug sockets, fixing chest of drawers to the wall, fitting slow close hinges to his toy box etc) and it gives you total peace of mind that there is no way they can harm themselves with their new freedom in their bedroom.

Thankfully the transition for us has been a huge success and I’m so pleased we didn’t rush into it, Noah is 2 and a half and its the perfect time for him but just go with your gut as you know you’re child best!

I’m happy to answer any questions or just have a chat with anyone about bed changing in general, just drop me a message!

Once again, thank you so much for reading and I hope this will be useful to some of you in some way!

Lots of love, Paige xxx

POTTY TRAINING

I’m fairly certain that potty training is something that the majority of parents dread…. including myself! As Noah has grown and hit so many milestones in his little life so far, potty training has been one of those tasks looming only a few steps ahead of me and after careful consideration and a good chat with Ben, we decided that the right time for us to get Noah out of nappies and crack using the potty/toilet would be during Ben’s paternity leave after the arrival of our second baby (who just so happened to be a baby girl, our beautiful little Ivy). We had never had a particular time in mind prior to this and never wanted to rush anything with Noah, it’s always been important to us that he feels as relaxed as possible with it all.

Despite us deciding this would be the right time, I did worry that potty/toilet training alongside such a huge change of having a new baby might be too much at once for Noah to deal with, but he blew Ben and I away with how brilliantly he took to everything and we haven’t looked back since! It’s so lovely to be done with nappies during the day with him now and only have baby Ivy’s to worry about! Now, I’m certainly no expert, but I’d like to share the things that we found useful during our potty training experience and the general approach that we took to the whole thing. It’s worth bearing in mind that all children are different and may respond differently to things and aren’t always ready at the same time as other children of the same age. You can never force it on them as it won’t make things happen any more quickly, they will use a potty when they are ready and these are the things that’s worked for us. I’m by no means an expert on this but having successfully potty trained Noah, I feel I can happily share the following tips.

⁃ Watch for any cues

When children start doing things like pulling at their nappy, telling you they need to have a wee or a poo before they do it or even going off somewhere to hide while they go are all really good indicators that your child may be ready to start trying to use the potty. Keep a watchful eye out for any of these things and if you notice any of them, perhaps consider give the potty a try to see how they go.

⁃ Gentle approach

We didn’t want Noah to feel any pressure with using the potty and we didn’t want him to have any negative associations with pottys/toilets at all, so a while before we planned on starting potty training, we bought a potty (Noah was about 20 months old at the time) and just had it in the house so that Noah could see it every day and become familiar with it and whenever he asked questions about it, we would explain that it’s for doing wee wee’s and poo poo’s on. We found that this made him quite intrigued and he started to regularly want to sit on the potty, not to actually use it but just to sit on it and explore it a little bit which was a great sign for us that he was becoming more ready. We have always gone at Noah’s own pace and been completely patient with him and never shown any frustration, it’s been our main goal to keep the whole thing great and positive for him.

⁃ 100% commitment and consistency

Potty training, like sleep training and any other similar task requires complete and utter commitment and consistency from our side as parents. If you aren’t completely on top of it, you won’t get anywhere fast and accidents will happen more than necessary. Make sure that when you go out, take the potty with you and offer the use of the potty to your toddler every half an hour to begin with and then as time goes on increase that time to every hour and so on (this is just a guideline and what we found worked best for Noah after witnessing how often he was using the potty in the first few days and also assessing how often he would have any accidents)

⁃ Prepare for accidents

It’s also important to be prepared for lots of accidents because 9 times out of 10, they WILL happen in the early days! Even when children become fully potty trained, accidents are still likely to happen from time to time. There are times when they can become engaged in play and are having too much fun to tell you they need to go. It’s not the end of the world if this happens and doesn’t mean they are regressing, it’s all just part of the journey.

⁃ Praise, praise, PRAISE!!!

I cannot stress this point enough, it is so important. When your toddler is successful using the potty/toilet, praise the absolute hell out of them! Give that praise like it’s going out of fashion! I’m talking jumping up and down, swinging them around the room, covering them head to toe in kisses and cuddling them to death kind of praise. It is such a HUGE thing, a massive milestone for them and they need to be shown how amazing it is what they’ve done so that it gives them that incentive to continue, and nothing does that quite like mummy and daddy showering them with praise and affection. Keep it up as well, don’t let the praise slide as time goes on, Noah has been potty trained now for a few months (although he uses the toilet now 99% of the time) and we still tell him how brilliant he is when he has a wee and even more so when he has a poo, because the poo situation was harder to crack and he was quite reluctant for a while and would hold them in until bedtime when he had a nappy on but that’s very common, so don’t worry if you experience this too. They soon learn it’s much nicer and cleaner to do them on the toilet too!

⁃ Never ever tell them off for having an accident

This is just as important as giving them praise, absolutely under no circumstances tell them off for any accidents. It isn’t their fault as it’s such a huge change for them to adapt to and they are still learning, and all telling them off will do is provide them with a negative association with potty training and you risk taking backwards steps with it or they may decide the don’t even want to do it any more. It has to be a big, positive experience for them. Whenever they have an accident (which they will, there’s rarely any getting around that) it’s best to just say something like “it’s ok baby, we will try again later” and give them a cuddle just to reassure them.

⁃ Don’t compare your child to anyone else’s

All children are different, you can never compare and some get there quicker than others but it isn’t a race, it’s best to just go at your own child’s pace. What works for them might not work for another child and vice versa but that’s totally fine, you just have to figure out what works best for your child and go with it.

⁃ Let them go to the toilet with you when you need to go

Children learn by watching and copying what we do, so it’s a great idea to take them to the bathroom with you when you need to use the toilet so they can see what you’re doing and feel more comfortable and familiar with it, plus seeing you using the toilet will be another incentive for them to want to try because all children want to be like mummy and daddy and do what they’re doing! Just remember, it’s not a weird thing to do by letting them watch you, it’s a natural process and there’s no one else they can learn that from than us (unless your child has older siblings which may work even better, as younger children always want to be like their older siblings so seeing them use the toilet would be a great incentive also!)

⁃ Keep a change of clothes in your bag at all times

It’s important to always have an emergency change of clothes for your toddler in your bag in case of any accidents when you’re out and about, you never know when a little accident might happen and it’s always best to be prepared just in case. Also, dungarees are not a practical clothing choice whilst potty training, trust me on that one! (LOL)

⁃ Let them be involved in choosing their big boy/girl pants

It’s surprising how getting them pants that they love can make such a difference! It was such a novelty for Noah to start wearing his superhero pants (Spider-Man, Batman, the Incredible Hulk etc) and it’s another great incentive for them!

⁃ Positive positive positive!

I know I’ve covered this already, but it’s so important to try and keep the whole thing positive and fun! Get them some potty training books (Noah has the pirate Pete one and it’s really good) or a sticker reward chart, or make up a fun song about potty training, toddlers love all of that stuff!

I hope that this helps anyone who may need it and if you have any tips yourself, I would love to hear them so let me know!

Once again, thank you for reading

Love, Paige xxx

AN AT HOME FAMILY SHOOT WITH KATHRYN ANNE PHOTOGRAPHY

If there’s one thing that’s important to me, it’s family. Nothing will ever come close.

I grew up as the only child in my house until my mum and dad separated when I was 9 and then I left our family home with my dad to live elsewhere, which is where I spent the next couple of challenging and quite unfortunate years where I didn’t get to see my mum at all. It’s one of those things that as a child, you can’t really understand, but once you become an adult it all makes sense and you learn a lot about people and situations. Let’s just say that I ended up back with my mum when I was in my teens and it’s the best thing that could have happened, my mum and I have always been best friends and she is and always will be my rock, something that I endeavour to be for my family.

Throughout my school years I never really thought much about meeting someone and starting a family one day, I think I was too wrapped up in living in the present with my friends to think too much about the future. I think I also never really believed something as wonderful as that would or could ever really happen to me, it’s funny how a messy separation of your parents and a few turbulent relationships during your teenage years can make you feel that way. Real, happy, comfortable relationships and having babies seemed like the fairytale that nobody really lived anymore, all I ever knew was friends parents divorcing or friends relationships failing and that just seemed the norm to me for so long. Fast forward to the autumn of 2010 and that all seemed to change, when I found my soulmate, something I never imagined would ever happen.

Ben was someone who I knew briefly through mutual friends. We would say hello to each other in passing and on nights out, but that was the extent of our knowledge of each other (aside from being friends on Facebook as well, of course). During the summer of 2010 I was working a season out in Magaluf with two of my amazing friends and as fate had obviously intended, my path crossed with Ben’s as he was holidaying with his friends in the same place. We bumped into each other a few times during those 2 weeks and had it not been for those encounters, there would have been no reason for us to talk when I returned home after the summer, he wouldn’t have asked to meet up with me and we potentially wouldn’t be together now. So, it turns out quitting my job at home to fly relatively last minute to another country to work and party for a few months was the best decision my 19 year old self ever made! Fast forward almost 8 years and here we are living in our second home, with our little almost 6 year old doggy and our 2 absolutely beautiful children. I truly believe I have found my soulmate and it turns out that that fairytale is now my every day life, I am literally living my dream, something I am thankful for everyday.

During my pregnancy with Ivy I had thought an awful lot about wanting to capture us all together as a family of 4 after her arrival so that we could always look back on such a special time of our lives, I am a huge photo taking enthusiast and I have a passion for photography (as a hobby, that is!) so having the opportunity for the absolutely outstanding Kathryn Anne photography to come and do an at home family photo shoot for us was something we grabbed with both hands! For Ben and I, there’s nowhere we love to be more than at home, not only because we are natural home birds, but because we put our heart and soul into making our house a home (and continue to do so, the renovations go on!) and turning our dreams into realities so where better to capture us together as a family than the place we all share together every day?

From the moment Kathryn entered our home I felt at ease after being admittedly a little nervous about having photos taken by a stranger, it was like I was meeting an old friend and her warmth and enthusiasm for what she does is infectious. What Kathryn managed to do for us was so much more than I could have imagined, she captured those fleeting moments that often go by unrecognised or remembered in the haze and the whirlwind of day to day living and parenting and we will treasure this forever, not only because they are memories of us together as a family and in our home, but because they give a true insight into our daily lives as parents with young children and the joy that we all share together. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in all the hectic currents of life and we are all guilty of feeling stressed, impatient and frustrated at times as parents but having things like this to look back on and to remind you that time goes by in such a flash really helps you to appreciate the here and now and not to worry too much about the small things.

Not only was I impressed with Kathryn’s kind and gentle nature towards my children, but I just adore her ability and talent for capturing the most authentic shots that, on reflection while browsing through our completed story once Kathryn had sent it to me, I found myself saying “wow I can’t even remember that being taken!” and those kind of images are my absolute favourites, when everything is natural and unposed. I just feel these moments are the more intimate and meaningful ones, so when you have those moments to physically look back on over and over again, it’s a real treat and something to treasure.

Another thing that I’m thrilled about from this shoot is that I’ve now gained a wonderful friendship and as I knew she would be from our connection on Instagram prior to meeting in person, Kathryn is just gorgeous inside and out and I look forward to hiring her as my wedding photographer one day (should that day ever come, that is! Ben will have to ask me first… ha!)

You can find out more about Kathryn, her photography and how to book your own family shoot here. Also, Kathryn is kindly offering anyone who books a family shoot and mentions my name as a referral an amazing 10% off!

Once again, thanks so much for reading

Love Paige xxx

IVY ROSE – BIRTH STORY

April 23rd. My due date. A date that I had made a conscious effort not to focus on, but let’s be honest, it’s impossible to hide from it. Even telling myself that due dates mean nothing and baby will come when baby is ready, as more time ticked on after my DD had been and gone, the more anxious and fed up I became. Not because I was sick of being pregnant, I just had my heart set on a water birth at home and I knew that the more “overdue” I became, the less likely I would be to have my dream birth. With this being my second pregnancy and experiencing a rather traumatic time with the birth of my first baby, Noah, it was so important to me to do everything that I could to make this time around a more positive experience and most importantly, to educate myself so that I had the tools to make my dream become a reality. That’s where Siobhan Miller’s (@thepositivebirthmama) hypnobirthing course came in, and after downloading her amazing digital pack and completing it with Ben, we both felt confident and equipped with the knowledge we needed to make informed decisions about the birth of our new baby. I honestly can’t put into words how much it changed things for us completely and I would highly recommend hypnobirthing & Siobhan’s courses to any expectant mums/parents! It’s the best thing we ever did without a doubt.

By the time I got to 41 weeks pregnant, I was offered induction for the Saturday of that week (where I would have been 41 + 5) at my routine midwife appointment, which I decided to decline. After using my B.R.A.I.N (one of Siobhan’s acronyms, if you know you know!) I decided that I would prefer to wait an extra couple of days and get to a full 42 weeks before induction to give my body the best chance of going into labour naturally. I did agree to see a midwife on that Saturday, however, so that she could give me a sweep and that in itself was an experience to say the least! (She did warn me before hand that she was really going to go for it!) and she told me afterwards that my cervix was quite hard to reach and still quite long, so I didn’t hold out much hope for any success but to my surprise, later that evening and then throughout Sunday I was experiencing irregular surges varying in intensity, I even had to get my TENS machine out at one point! Yet still, Monday morning (at a full 42 weeks) arrived with no sign of baby, so it was time to make the phone call to the hospital to arrange a time for me to go in for induction.

After my mum got to our house to look after Noah, we arrived on the maternity unit at the hospital that morning at 11am and by lunchtime I had been monitored, examined and given a pessary in the hope of getting things moving. The midwife told us that I would need to be monitored again at 6pm that evening and encouraged Ben and I to go out for a walk and enjoy the sunshine in the meantime, so we did exactly that. By the time 6pm arrived I was having irregular surges again which continued to grow in intensity until we got to around midnight at which point they were around 4 minutes apart and very intense. I had been managing just by using my up breathing, my TENS machine and watching a funny film on Netflix to keep myself occupied, meanwhile Ben was keeping track of every surge with the help of our pregnancy app. A midwife examined me again and to my delight I was 3 almost 4 cm dilated and she offered to take us up to delivery suite to have my waters broken in the hope to speed things along, to which I accepted.

I was absolutely elated to arrive at delivery suite to find that the midwife who took care of me throughout my first pregnancy was on duty and she recognised Ben and I straight away. She took us into a room and we had a chat and I told her of my dream to have a water birth, to which she told me the birth pool room was available and that it would be good for me and would set a positive tone if she were to take us straight in and get us settled in there instead. I have never been so grateful to anyone for anything, and I can safely say that just being in the same room as the pool and having such a wonderful midwife with us made me completely relaxed and at ease and like my dream water birth really was still within reach.

Ben set the scene for us by dimming the lighting, spraying our liquid yoga room spray and playing my favourite Spa music. My midwife broke my waters at 1.40am and as soon as I stood up afterwards I knew things had changed. Ben asked me if i thought it would be a good time to let our birth photographer know to come in and I said yes, definitely! My surges were coming thicker and faster than ever, now every 1-2 minutes and the intensity was at a definite peak. I asked for some gas and air but quickly decided it wasn’t helping and only making me feel less in control. I told my midwife that she needed to start running the pool as I felt things were happening quickly and by the time I was able to get in I had already felt that something had changed and I had reached the down stage. I told her that I felt like I needed to push but thought I might hurt myself as it was only a very short time ago she told me I was 3-4cm dilated, but she reassured me that some women dilate very quickly and to trust my body and go with it. I found the transition quite overwhelming but I’m proud to say it’s the only time throughout my entire labour that I had a little wobble for a few minutes, but Ben soon got me back down in the green zone with some words of encouragement and some positive affirmations.

Ben took himself off to get changed into his swim shorts so that he could join me in the pool, but while he was mid change my midwife shouted to him that he might want to just jump in in his boxers because things were happening very quickly! By this point our lovely birth photographer had arrived and after asking me how I was doing, I shouted THE BABY IS COMING!! THE BABY IS COMING!! along with some animal like sounds that I had no idea I was capable of making. Ben joined me in the pool in his boxers as instructed and after only a couple of pushes I could feel our baby’s head being born, one of the most incredible sensations I have ever felt. I can honestly say I felt no discomfort and certainly no pain at this point, I could just feel every tiny part of baby’s face slowly emerging, first the eyebrows, then the nose and finally the mouth and chin. I was smiling to myself while leaning against the side of the pool at this point, not only because it was such a remarkable feeling, but because I knew it was only a matter of moments before our baby would be here. Finally, with just 2 more pushes, at 2.36am (only 50 or so minutes after being told I was 3-4cm and having my waters broken) our baby arrived calmly, gently and safely into the water and I lifted her slowly up onto my chest. This was the point we discovered that we had a little girl and Ben and I just burst into tears of happiness. Our 2 year old little boy Noah had been right with his prediction all along throughout my entire pregnancy, he had a new little sister.

After baby Ivy’s arrival I was swiftly taken out of the pool and laid onto a bed due to the fact that I had started to bleed quite heavily (most likely from such a fast delivery) but my midwife and one of the doctors soon sorted me out without the need for a hormone drip. All together I lost a litre of blood but other than feeling a little light headed and tired during all of that, I still felt completely on cloud 9 and was just absolutely elated and full of happiness! Oxytocin really is our best friend! Also, I’m pleased to say I had a physiological third stage, I was really hoping I would deliver the placenta naturally as my first labour was a forceps delivery and I never got to see the placenta (not sure if I’m weird wanting to have a good old look at it but I was just intrigued) so being able to see it this time around was brilliant and so fascinating. Another thing that happened which still amazes me, is that I didn’t tear at all, just a teeny little graze which you could just about see! Now to me, that’s pretty incredible seeing as Ivy weighed a healthy 8lbs 12oz and when Noah was born I had to have an episiotomy, so I was convinced I was going to tear but no!

I can honestly say that giving birth to our beautiful daughter was the most amazing, positive and rewarding experience of my life and there was a point in time where I thought it would never be possible to have such an experience, until I discovered Siobhan, hypnobirthing and the incredible digital pack. I truly believe that without it, Ivy’s birth would have been quite different and I can never thank Siobhan enough for everything. Also, my outstanding midwife who went above and beyond for me contributed hugely to keeping everything just perfect and our birth photographer, Eve (@birth_photography_by_eve), who not only captured the most beautiful shots but also went that extra mile by making sure I had a drink close to me at all times and that Ben was ok, the whole experience and everything about it was just perfect and I could not have asked for anything better. Lastly, my partner Ben who is just my rock in every aspect of life, proved to me once again that he is the most amazing birth partner and as the affirmation says, he really was by my side and on my side the entire time.

Once again, thank you so much for reading. If you have any questions about hypnobirthing or birth photography, feel free to message me on Instagram and be sure to follow Siobhan @thepositivebirthmama & @thepositivebirthcompany and Eve Hazelton @birth_photography_by_eve

Love Paige xxx

NEW BABY ESSENTIALS

I haven’t blogged in what feels like an eternity, and I can’t explain how nice it feels to be able to have a bit of time to do so again (good old maternity leave) and seeing as my due date has now been and gone, I feel this is a very fitting time to share with you all my new baby must haves.

Being a second time mum now, it’s such a huge benefit to already know certain products that I couldn’t have lived without first time around and to also be able to reflect and think about what I might have done differently and things i may have even not bothered with had I known they wouldn’t be useful to me.

With baby’s arrival being so imminent, I’m thankfully completely organised. We have the car seat set up in the car, our labour bags packed and ready should we need to go into hospital, his/her little nest set up next to my side of the bed, all of my favourite newborn essentials ready to go! It’s just a case of waiting patiently on the all important arrival now and it’s so exciting!

The anticipation is growing day by day too, we just can’t wait to find out who we will be meeting! Noah is forever talking about a little sister (we don’t know why, he just said it by himself months ago and has continued to say it ever since with no prompting at all!) so it will be very interesting to see whether our little 2 year old has been right all of this time or not! People ask me a lot if I have any inklings but in all honesty, I don’t, I don’t think there’s any way you could ever guess but I think because we already have a boy, I naturally imagine having another boy! But either way, as long as I have a healthy baby in my arms, I will be absolutely delighted!

When we were expecting Noah, I absolutely LOVED nesting and the same can be said again for this time around. It’s undoubtedly one of the best bits of pregnancy for me. I have spent time going through all of Noah’s newborn to 6 months clothes, pretty much all of which are gender neutral as we never found out if Noah was a boy or a girl either, so that’s absolutely perfect for us again this time around being able to reuse it all. My washing machine has been non stop over the past few weeks and I’d forgotten how many beautiful things of Noah’s we had packed away! Even being able to re use things like Noah’s pram, car seat, even certain pieces of nursery furniture has been such a great way to save money and although I love a good shopping spree, there’s also nothing I love more than having my sensible head on and getting my money’s worth from things and I’m also a sucker for a bargain when the opportunity arises!

So, with all of these things in mind, I will share with you my ultimate list of new baby essentials that I just could not live without! I won’t include the obvious essentials like clothes and nappies and instead stick to specific product recommendations that in my opinion make life with a new baby much easier. There is so much to choose from nowadays and it’s so easy to get lost in a sea of products and not know where to even begin, so I really hope this can help any expectant mums who are finding it all a bit of a minefield. Everything I have listed I have tried and tested with Noah and can highly recommend and will surely be using again with our newest addition. There will also be a couple of bits that I haven’t tried yet and are relatively new to me, however going by recommendations and reviews from friends and other bloggers, I know these things will be useful to me and I can’t wait to try them!

If you have any recommendations for me that I may have missed, comment and let me know!

Feeding

I have a blog post dedicated to breastfeeding should anybody want to have a read, I will link it here.

I know it’s not for everyone sadly, but for me it’s the most wonderful thing in the world.

So, top of the list for me would be the amazing Lansinoh Lanolin cream!

If you havent already, get yourself a tube of this stuff as it’s a life (and nipple) saver! I wouldn’t ever use anything else, THIS is the ONLY nipple cream you could EVER need. Trust me! It’s so soothing should you get any soreness. I fortunately only ever had one or two occasions where I became a little sore but this stuff soon sorted that out! You can apply it and then feed baby immediately after too without having to wash it off, which is so convenient especially as newborns are feeding all the time!

Nursing bras

It’s so important to have comfortable nursing bras as you’ll be living in them! The best ones I found were on Amazon, I will link them here. In my opinion they don’t need to be pretty, they just need to do a good job and be functional and comfy.

Breast pump

A good breast pump for me was essential after having Noah, not only so that I could express my milk after a few months so that he could become familiar with taking a bottle from his daddy, but so that I could rest assured that pumping would work for me and that my milk supply would be high enough for my return to my job after 9 months leave and that I could continue to express at work to ensure a good supply at home for Noah in my absence.

I have absolutely loved using the single manual pump by Lansinoh, it’s so straight forward to use, keep clean and also to store away. I was concerned that a manual pump might make my hand ache a bit but the design is great and I never had a negative experience using it at all so I’m thrilled that i kept hold of mine even after Noah decided to stop breastfeeding at 19 months and I look forward to putting it to good use again this time around. I also found the bottle and teat that came with the pump fantastic, so much so that i went out and bought spares. Lansinoh just seem to produce all round amazing products, as you will be able to tell from my next product recommendation…

Breast pads

Again, I’ve tried and tested them all and the ones that come out on top without a shadow of a doubt are… drum roll… Lansinoh breast pads! Honestly they are such an amazing product and did best at absorbing in comparison to others BY A MILE! Not the cheapest option available but if it works, it works! And therefore is worth every penny!

Dummies

I realise that dummies aren’t for everyone and that’s absolutely fine. I was someone who vowed to never allow my baby a dummy before Noah’s was born, fast forward 2 weeks after he arrived and he had one! It’s one of those things, if they help they help and that’s what’s most important. I personally prefer the clear Phillips Avent dummies, I’m not keen on anything too colourful personally, I like how the clear dummies don’t hide any part of baby’s gorgeous face and blend easily with whatever you dress your baby in.

Sleeping

This first product is one that is new to me this time around, but given that I will be breastfeeding I just know it will be something that I benefit from hugely and will be super practical.

Snuzpod

This seems like the perfect alternative to cosleeping for anyone who isn’t comfortable with or just doesn’t want to ACTUALLY cosleep. For Ben and I personally, cosleeping in our bed has never been an option, purely because 1. We worry too much about the risks and 2. We don’t actually get a better nights sleep with having a baby in bed with us, if anything we sleep worse!

So this product was something I knew I had to have this time around.

When Noah was born we had the Mothercare swinging crib at the side of our bed which was fine, but it just meant every time he needed feeding or changing (which was constantly) I was having to get up out of bed, pick him up, sit back down, faff around looking for everything I need etc whereas with the snuzpod, it attaches onto the side of your bed so all you need to do is prop yourself up, lift baby out without having to get up and to make it even better you can get the handy snuzpod organiser to hang on the end of the crib to store all of your essential nappy bits so that you don’t have to search about for a nappy bag on the floor in the middle of the night.

Ewan the dream sheep

I’m fairly certain that most mums will already know about this little guy and how amazing he is! But for any mums or mum to be’s who aren’t familiar with Ewan, he’s an amazing little sleep aid in the form of a fluffy sheep who plays gorgeous white noise and emits a lovely pink glow from his tummy which mimics the light that a baby can see from inside the womb.

Ewan comes in a choice of either a purple face or a grey face and he plays 4 different sounds which are a harp (Noah’s favourite), a vacuum cleaner, a foetal heartbeat and also rainfall, all of which have the consistent background sound of a mother’s heartbeat playing. Each sound plays for 20 minutes and turns off at the end of that time which is when baby is presumed to have fallen asleep (I believe that’s the average time it takes for a baby to nod off, according to Ewan’s information). He also has a Velcro tail so that you can attach him safely to the side of a cot or crib.

Ewan for me is literally up there at the top of my list of things I could not live without as a mum, I’ve used him from day one with Noah and Noah still has him in his bed with him now for naps and night time, he absolutely adores him and I’ve been so impressed with how he’s able to relax and comfort Noah and he instantly associates Ewan with sleep time. Also, now that Noah is a little bit older it means if he wakes in the night for any reason, he can turn Ewan on himself to settle back down without me having to go into his room and do it for him which is lovely. A very worthy investment in my opinion!

Sleepyhead

Ok, this is another “could not live without” product for me, I can’t explain how amazing these little sleeping pods are! Before I bought Noah one of these, he would frequently wake with a start and would hit his little arms and hands on the sides of his crib which would disturb him and wake him even more. After I introduced the sleepyhead, his sleep improved so much and the fact that it’s so cushioned and helps to keep baby a little more confined and stops them from hitting the sides of the crib is brilliant, I think it provides them with more of the comfort they would have had when inside the womb which is lovely.

The sleepyhead deluxe is suitable for babies from birth to around 8 months (depending on baby’s size that is, Noah outgrew his deluxe at around 6 and a half months old) and the Sleepyhead Grand is the next size up which is designed for children aged 8 months up to 3 years! Noah is now 2 years and 3 months old and is still sleeping in his Grand and I don’t see him coming out of it any time soon, he absolutely adores it and quite honestly, I wish you could get them in adult sizes because if you could, I would be all over that!

Sleeping bags

I used sleeping bags from birth with Noah. He was never a fan of being swaddled and in all honesty I never really mastered it properly and every time I would wrap him up in a swaddle it just never felt that natural and I was just more comfortable using sleeping bags.

It’s only in the last 6 months or so that we took Noah out of sleeping bags and changed him over to a duvet, we attempted it about a year ago and he was not a happy bunny with the change so we decided to leave it and try again later on down the line and it turns out that by the time we tried again, he loved it! I will definitely be taking the same approach with our new baby though and using sleeping bags straight away. I feel they just give you that reassurance that they can still move around without restriction, it’s keeps their body temperature at the right level throughout the night and there’s no risk of them kicking any blankets over their face at any point.

Bathing

Angelcare bath support

Ben and I used a proper little baby bath with Noah for a while when he was born, we were living in our old house at the time and we loved filling it up and positioning it in front of our log burner in the living room so we could give him a lovely relaxing bath in a lovely warm environment.

However, once he started getting a little bigger and our arms started aching holding him in the right position, we went out and bought the Angelcare bath support seat and what a brilliant little invention it is. It allows your baby to lie in your own bath in a lovely reclined and supported position while you are able to wash and bathe them without breaking your back!

Aveeno baby skincare

This is something that’s really important to us in our household because I’m the only person who doesn’t suffer with eczema or dry skin of some sort! So ensuring that we have the right body washes and moisturisers to suit Noah and daddy’s skin is paramount and the one product that has worked wonders for them both is Aveeno.

The Aveeno Baby range is soap free and unscented with no nasties hidden in them anywhere and I can rest assured that I can use it on Noah’s precious, sensitive skin and it won’t cause him any irritation. I am pretty sure our new baby may take after their daddy in the skin department as well, so I have ensured to stock up on plenty of Aveeno bath time essentials so that we have plenty to go around.

Hooded bath towels

I feel like this essential is one that all mums would include on their lists, it just makes sense! Hooded bath towels are so practical and easy to use and I love how they are designed to wrap your baby up lovely and warm as soon as they come out of the bath.

Travel

Getting out and about with your brand new bundle of joy is such an exciting time and it helps to have products that are practical, easy to use whether it’s in the car or while out walking, it really makes what can be quite a nerve wracking and daunting first experience a lot more enjoyable.

Car seat and isofix

We opted for the Maxi Cosi pebble and the Maxi Cosi 2 way fix base for Noah (the base also works with the Maxi Cosi 2 way pearl car seat which is what Noah is in now he’s bigger and allows you to keep your child rear facing for as long as possible) and we plan on using the Maxi Cosi pebble again for our new bundle, we just need to buy an extra base and we are ready to go!

We decided to go for these particular products because 1. The safety rating and 2. The endless amounts of fantastic reviews, Maxi Cosi seems to be a winner for so many parents which we found reassuring.

Pram

For us, choosing the right pram was really important and something we thought about for a while. Given that Ben and I are dog owners and love getting out and about for walks, we knew we wanted something that could cope with harsher terrain and that would be as easy to push out in the countryside as it would along the pavement. We also wanted something nice and sturdy and not too “feminine” shall i say, a lot of prams nowadays I feel are directly aimed at mums and I wanted something that I could feel confident and proud to push my baby along in, but also that Ben could take out and about while on his own that doesn’t include anything too out there like wild patterns and colours etc (not that he would have minded, it’s just something I had considered mainly, and I’m much more a fan of basic colours like black, navy etc).

It didn’t take us long to fall in love with the Bugaboo Cameleon 3 (we went for the all black frame and black canopy and accessories) it’s just such a lovely, sleek, practical and easy to use pram and makes light work of pushing a baby around, it’s just all around brilliant and I can’t wait to use it again this time around with the new baby. We plan on getting a Bugaboo comfort wheeled buggy board to go with it this time so Noah can use that, we decided against a double stroller as nowadays Noah much prefers walking around than being strapped in a buggy so it wouldn’t make much sense for us to spend our money out on a double stroller really.

Fornessi wrap carrier

This is another product that is new to me, but going by what I’ve seen and heard from other mums on social media I am confident I’m going to love it! I’ve always loved the idea of baby wearing and when Noah was a baby I only ever used the baby Bjorn carrier which was fine, but it doesn’t give you the same closeness and intimacy as baby wearing with a wrap does (from what I can see, anyway) and I can’t wait to try it out! I have the lavender coloured wrap (perfect colour for spring/summer) and I just can’t wait to have the new baby on my chest all the time!

I really hope this little list might come into use to some of you reading, I’m sure with my current baby brain there’s a possibility I may have missed something but if you have any recommendations for me I’d love to hear them!

Finally, to all of you mummy-to-be’s patiently awaiting the arrival of your babies, just like I am, I wish you all the very best and I’m so excited for you! Motherhood really is the most INCREDIBLE journey!

Thanks so much for reading,

Love Paige

xxx

BABY NUMBER 2 – THE FIRST TRIMESTER

I am now 24 weeks pregnant, so a quite late in the game when it comes to writing about this, but as I’m sure most of you fellow parents will be able to relate to, time is just flying by without warning at the moment and I feel like in comparison to my pregnancy with Noah, I haven’t got much of a chance to really sit back and think about the fact that I’m even pregnant! I still haven’t got my head around it in general to be honest, so this is a great way for me to be able to reflect and focus on the here and now and soak up all things pregnancy, the highs and the lows and what not.

I will never ever forget the day I found out I was pregnant again. I had just finished having lash extensions done by a lovely local beautician and as she worked away she asked me if I wanted any more children, to which I replied absolutely! But probably in a year or two’s time, as Ben and I had discussed a 3-4 year age gap and felt that that would suit us well, what with aiming to have Noah in preschool at the age of 3 and then giving me more time to focus on a newborn. As the conversation continued I felt myself reflecting on some feelings I had been experiencing for the past week or so, like extreme and unnecessary tiredness during the day, having vivid dreams every night (I must add here that I’m not usually a dreamer when I sleep, the main time in my life I’ve ever had continuous vivid dreams is when I was expecting Noah) and just feeing all around very aware of my own health and wellbeing, much more than usual anyway, and I began to question myself silently in my head…. could I be pregnant?

I brushed it off for the rest of my appointment, but as I drove away from the salon on my way to pick Ben up from work I couldn’t shake the thought from my mind, so I decided I would quickly pop to boots and grab a pregnancy test so that I could just forget about it and move on… my period wasn’t even late at this point either! So, after I had purchased a test I ran into mothercare which is practically next door at one of my local retail parks so that I could quickly use the toilet before dashing back to the car so as not to be late to collect Ben. I considered waiting until I had arrived home to check the test result, but as I was about to pull out of my parking space I decided to have a quick glance and right there, staring me right in the face, were TWO very dark lines… the test was POSITIVE!

Well, I think I went into a state of shock and didn’t look away from the little stick for about 10 minutes. I had 100% expected it to be negative and that my mind was just playing tricks on me, but once again I was floored by how incredibly strong and accurate a mothers instinct is. The thing is, before Noah was conceived, Ben and I had tried for a baby for 18 months and we were even referred to a fertility clinic before we got lucky and found out I was pregnant (read about that here), so we just assumed that the next time we tried for a baby it would be the same and take forever because that’s all we have ever known, but this time we weren’t even trying, yet we had still been blessed with a beautiful little miracle for a second time! It was the most exciting thing ever being able to tell Ben the good news just 10-15 minutes later once I had picked him up from work, he was just as shocked as I was but the sheer elation and euphoria we felt at that moment was just indescribable and I will never forget it for as long as I live. I believe in fate even more so now and that if things are meant to be, they really will be and at the time they are supposed to!

Unlike my pregnancy with Noah, i feel as though this time around, I’ve not been let off quite as lightly! First time around the only pregnancy symptom I really had was heartburn from around week 7 and lasting right up until the birth, and while that was still painfully unpleasant and inconvenient, I would definitely say that I have found things a lot harder this time around, certainly in terms of the first trimester. From around 6-7 weeks right up to around 17-18 weeks i was constantly nauseous/sick ALL DAY and it was hideous, absolutely hideous. I have nothing but total sympathy for those poor women who suffer with HG, I cannot imagine what that must be like, especially when already looking after a toddler! Regular sickness is bad enough let alone that!

I would like to add at this point, to anyone reading this who is currently going through their first pregnancy, listen up…. MAKE THE MOST OF THE TIME TO YOURSELF! I cannot stress how much easier things are when you’re pregnant for the first time compared to subsequent pregnancies, you have time to chill out, prepare things, even acknowledge your pregnancy on a daily basis! This time around I’ve found that no matter how tired or ill Ive felt, there’s no magic fairy to come and take over your responsibilities (other than amazing grandparents, of course) but the reality is whatever help you do have isn’t likely to be around ALL the time, especially if you’re partner works away etc, so even when you have your head in the toilet or you’re so tired you can barely see, you have to keep going for your children and it’s bloody hard work in my opinion and us women deserve a medal or some sort of equivalent recognition. I’ve never been so thankful for 2-3 hour naps, I definitely won the nap lottery with Noah during my first trimester with this pregnancy and it was such a relief to be able to sleep at the same time as him each day when I was shattered! I’m going to include some of my symptoms below that I experience during the first few months and any advice I have on how to try and ease them.

⁃ Morning sickness – it still makes me howl with laughter that they still call it that. In my case it was definitely “from the moment I woke up in the morning to the moment I went to bed in the evening” sickness and it was awful. The only things I found that eased it for me were diet lemonade (oh my goodness I will never be able to live without lemonade now, it’s all I could stomach for ages and it really REALLY helped me) and while I realise it’s not necessarily ideal, it’s better than nothing! Also tiny sips of ice cold water and nibbling on things like salt and vinegar crisps also helped me, other than that it was a case of ride it out and hope for the best. I tried ginger in practically every form from fresh ginger to ginger biscuits, also travel sickness bands etc etc and nothing helped in that respect.

⁃ Heartburn – to be honest I’ve only just started getting this again properly recently, and while it’s only mild at the moment, I find peppermint rennie always saves the day for me and they are perfectly safe when pregnant.

⁃ Tiredness – this was my main problem in the beginning and one of the things that made me think I might be pregnant before I even found out, I was just SO unnecessarily tired all the time and it made no sense because I wasn’t doing anything differently, but I found having a sleep when Noah had his afternoon nap totally saved my life and I don’t know what I would have done without those opportunities. So, if you get the chance, SLEEP WHENEVER YOU CAN!

⁃ Problem skin – this is probably one thing I find particularly challenging at the moment more than in the early days, but it’s because it’s a total first for me. I’ve always been very lucky with my skin and all throughout my teenage/adult life I’ve had very clear, fair skin and even during my pregnancy with Noah my skin wasn’t affected, whereas this time I have so many little spots and blemishes around my mouth and chin and also even on my chest now too! I’ve found the only thing that helps me with this is a decent face wash for oily skin and my absolute go to product is the La Roche Posay face wash, I could not live without it.

Now that I’m in the second trimester (fast approaching the third) and have had the joy of experiencing both my 12 and 20 week scans, the things I’m enjoying the most now are:

⁃ Having a proper bump! – I found that until around 17 weeks I just looked fat, like I had eaten my entire family! Yet now I feel it’s blatantly obvious that I am in fact pregnant!

⁃ Feeling baby moving! – This is something I have been quite impatient with this time around, purely because everyone says to me that you’re likely to feel movement earlier second time around, and considering I never felt Noah move in my tummy until I was around 25 weeks, I hoped that it would be true and to my delight, I went from feeling absolutely nothing to really strong kicks within the space of 7 days between weeks 20 and 21. There really is no better feeling than that of life dancing inside your womb.

⁃ Having pregnancy nausea/sickness behind me! – I now realise how easy it is to forget how awful it is, even though I was still feeling dreadful only a few weeks ago, it feels like a distant memory now and just goes to show how even when women say “I’m never doing this again”, they always end up back with their head in the toilet and a baby in their tummy eventually!

⁃ Wearing maternity clothes – I have never felt so body confident than when I am pregnant, so I totally embrace it and wear whatever I want because I just think when women have a baby bump, they never look more beautiful!

⁃ The apprehension and suspense of another surprise baby! – Ben and I decided again to opt for a surprise with this baby and not find out the gender and it’s honestly the most exciting and magical thing. I can’t put into words how out of this world it was to find out we had a baby boy after such a long, hard and scary labour with Noah and I want to experience that feeling over and over again. It’s like opening your presents on Christmas morning

X10000000000000!!!!!!!!

(This picture above is one that the sonographer insisted on printing for us at our anomaly scan because she thought it was too cute not too! Teeny tiny little baby feet!)

I really hope youve enjoyed reading this, it’s the first blog post I’ve written that hasn’t been home or renovation related in absolutely ages and I’ve so enjoyed writing it! I absolutely love following other expectant mamas during my pregnancy so if you’re expecting, do say hello and let me know when you’re due!

Love, Paige xxx

KITCHEN EXTENSION – PART 2

Here we are again! It feels like 5 minutes ago since my last post but it’s been a good few months! 

Everyone always asked me if it felt like the work had been going on forever or if the dust and upheaval had been a nightmare during the whole extension process but if I’m completely and utterly honest, it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I had anticipated. I’ve actually really enjoyed every step of the way and seeing all the changes bit by bit, day by day. I’ve never been able to relate to people who say that renovating is their worst nightmare and they would rather just move into a new build that’s all ready to go where nothing needs doing at all, each to their own of course but that’s my idea of a nightmare right there! Seeing potential in a property and the opportunity to create something that you’ve turned over and over in your imagination is so exciting and once you’ve completed the work, be it yourself or with help from tradesmen, it’s the most satisfying and rewarding feeling ever. I have a real passion for interiors and putting my own stamp on a place so this project has been a dream come true for me. Luckily enough for me, Ben is equally as enthusiastic about home improvements and decorating as I am, plus we have the same taste, so it’s always a win win situation!

So, getting back to where I left off on my last post. After the main wall in the kitchen was knocked down, we were left with a kitchen that was half inside the house and half in the garden! I have to say washing dishes in the sink whilst standing in the rain because we had no roof was quite the experience! 

But it didn’t take long for the builders to get the roof on the extension and fit the velux windows which I have to say, are probably my favourite feature of the whole room. They let in so much natural light and brighten the room so much, I mentioned in my previous post how dark our kitchen was prior to the extension so having a light, bright space was really important to us. 

The skylights we went for are pretty big and also one of the most expensive aspects of the whole job but absolutely 100% worth it! 
So, once the roof and skylights were completed, the floor joists were boarded over and the boarding and plastering of the walls commenced! Not forgetting that our entryway/doorway into the kitchen was taken back a good few feet to create more space and in doing so, an under the stairs utility cupboard was created for out hoover, steamer, iron & ironing board, tumble dryer etc!

Once all the plastering was finished and had enough time to dry out, Ben made a start on the mist coat of white paint and then another coat on top of that afterwards. He only covered half of the room because our kitchen was due to arrive only days later, so he had to make sure that the side of the room where the kitchen was to be fitted had been painted and dried out in time for its arrival. Also, due to work and other commitments there just wasn’t the time to carry on with the rest of the room before the kitchen was fitted, so that was still a job on the to do list. Honestly, I’m still getting used to how much bigger our kitchen is now, so naturally jobs like painting take so much more time because you have lots more space to cover! 

Finally, kitchen arrival day came! And what an exciting day it was! I was itching to get it all unpacked but I had to restrain myself and leave it to the carpenters the following Monday. 

The workmen we have used on the whole project have been outstanding from start to finish and I feel genuinely sad that they aren’t all over my house every day any more! They became part of the furniture by the time 3 months had gone by, they would even do little things like let Hugo out into the garden regularly if we were out which they didn’t have to do but they were all just so lovely and I would highly recommend them to anyone and everyone so if you’re local and have plans for an extension or a loft conversion or a project of some kind, get in touch with me and I will pass their details on to you. 

So, once the kitchen had been fitted (which took the guys just one day, they were so rapid! I was very impressed!) it meant that we could start unpacking the boxes and boxes full of kitchenware and food that we had stored up in our spare room. It was so great to get everything stored away in new homes and also to get our spare room back again, you literally couldn’t see the bed or the floor because of all the boxes! 

A few days later we had guys arrive to fit our worktops, along with the electricians and plumbers to finish off their bits and bobs, the tiler to tile the floor and voila! Mission accomplished and our new and very long awaited kitchen became fully functional! 

I appreciate that this post has been pretty long winded and will only really be interesting to anyone who is planning on or is currently extending/renovating but I hope you’ve enjoyed it and I will also be posting something more focused on decor, all the details about colour schemes and all the bits and bobs in the kitchen soon so keep your eyes peeled! At this stage we still aren’t completely at the finish line as there are things like putting up shelves, tiling the splashback and building built in cupboards that we need to do ourselves when we can so the next post will cover the actual fully finished kitchen. 

Thanks so much for reading 

Love Paige xxx 

KITCHEN EXTENSION – PART ONE

Ok, so if you’ve been following me for a while you will know all about the current building works we have going on for our new kitchen/diner extension. If you haven’t, let me fill you in and get you up to speed on what’s been happening! 

Ben and I bought our beautiful family home last year after quickly discovering our house at the time was not big enough for a new baby and everything that comes with him! 

We sold our old house to the first person who came to view it which was early Feb 2016 and we moved into our new house in the July and from the moment we first viewed the property we could see that it was crying out for an extension! (Before pictures to follow shortly)

Ben and I bought our first property in 2012 and it was a complete doer upper which we loved, we literally stripped everything back to the bare bones in that house and did everything ourselves to suit our tastes and what we wanted and loved every minute, so we knew that we wanted our next house to be somewhat of a project too. We love to be able to put a real stamp on the place and despite knowing it would be more complicated this time around with having Noah added to the mix, we were still set on wanting to buy somewhere that we could really do something to. There’s nothing more satisfying than making big changes and seeing your hard work pay off, it makes you appreciate it all so much more. 

As soon as we moved in we arranged for a couple of local builders to come and have a look at our kitchen and discuss the ideas that we had. Luckily, one of the builders gave us the number of a great architect who he does a lot of work with, so we then contacted him and once he had come to visit us and produced the drawings and plans that we needed, the builders both gave us their quotes for the proposed work and to our delight, we chose the builder who we had known from the very start we wanted to go with. We had seen their vans here there and everywhere which to us felt like a sign, and hearing from other people that they were known for their high standard and excellent work it was a no brainier for us (not to mention that he and all of his team are so so nice!). 

However, it’s still important to get two or more quotes to compare because you never know how much money you could potentially save. For example, the quote we got from our current builder and the quote we got from a different builder were almost bang on identical, except the other builder didn’t include any plumbing/electrical work or kitchen fitting, whereas our current builder had included all of these things in his quote and as you can imagine, work like this is not cheap (it would have meant thousands on top!) to say the least so the added money we would have had to fork out if we had gone for the other builder would have been ridiculous! I still to this day can’t make heads or tails of how the other builder could be so expensive for just the build alone, but it meant we got to choose the builder we had our heart set on anyway, so it was a win win for us. 

We then were pencilled in for a date for the work to commence (which was actually brought forward by a few weeks in the end which was great!) and it was all systems go!
Here are some before pictures of the back of our house/garden… 

As you can see, there was already a small existing extension on the back of the house which was built in god knows when, but this needed demolishing and also the built up floor level and wall needed to be dug away. Unfortunately the path that runs from the front of our house around to the back is too narrow to fit a small digger through, so the poor labourers had to do the whole dig by hand! On the first day they started it was torrential rain and by the time 4pm came around they were completely soaked through to their pants the poor guys! 

Once the dig was all finished it meant that the foundations could be laid and the carpenters were soon around to demolish the small existing extension and fit the flooring joists. It’s so surprising how much work they managed to get done in such a short space of time, although we have been incredibly lucky with the weather in Devon over the past few weeks. 

I know a lot of people who say that moving out is the best option when it comes to having building work done, and if it were just ben, Hugo and I we probably would have, but we didn’t want to disrupt things for Noah and his routine so we decided to stay put at home and it’s actually been fine! Apart from one day where there was a complete blizzard of dust EVERYWHERE in the kitchen, but the carpenters were so kind and came in and cleaned all the kitchen surfaces and even swept and mopped my kitchen floor bless their hearts! 

*Just a quick tip that I thought I would add in here for anyone who is going to be having similar work done in the near future, make sure you look after your workers! My mum and I have been baking them treats every week (lemon drizzle cake, chocolate brownies, banana muffins etc) and making sure they are topped up on tea and coffee throughout the day. I don’t know if it’s the motherly instinct in me that makes me want to look after people but at the end of the day, the way I see it, they are working very hard to make our dream vision a reality and I know there are lots of people who don’t even acknowledge tradesmen who are doing work for them let alone make them a cup of tea which I just think is awful, so I like to try and look after them as best I can and make their working environment as nice as possible* 

So, once the joists for the floor were all in place, the build began! This for me was such a satisfying week of labour to witness, I loved going to work in the morning and then coming home at the end of the day to see how the walls were progressing and getting higher and higher each day! All of a sudden a great big open space soon began to take shape as a real room! Especially once they had built around the gaps for the window and the sliding doors to be fitted, it made it a lot easier to be able to start properly imagining what it was going to look like at the end! 

With regards to doors, it took us a little while to decide for sure what we wanted. It was a case of bifolds vs sliding doors vs french doors (see pictures of examples of all three kinds below).

Bifold doors

Sliding doors 
French doors 

In the end, we decided on sliding doors for a few reasons, including being significantly less expensive than bifolds and also providing more glass and natural light than french doors. The back of our house where the kitchen sits doesn’t get a huge amount of natural light due to the position that the sun rises and sets, so it’s naturally a darker room and so we wanted to make sure we could maximise natural light in any way possible. We have also opted to have 2 large velux windows fitted in the flat roof to bring even more light in.

 We did originally love the idea of having bifold doors all the way across the back wall, but this would have then restricted the amount of kitchen space we would have had for units and things and also, our builder told us that he has fitted many bifold doors for people who live locally and many of them have admitted that although they love them and they do give that wow factor, they seldom have them fully open because sadly we aren’t particularly fortunate when it comes to British weather. So, sliding doors were the winners for us. 

We are now currently at the stage of having the main kitchen wall knocked through, having the supporting steels put into place and having the entrance door into the kitchen from the hallway moved back so that we gain even more space in the room. Once the roof has been put on and the window/sliding doors are in place and the walls are plastered I will do another post. It’s such a big job with so much involved that if I don’t break it down into a few posts, I’d be rambling on for ages and I know that to most people this is probably a bit of a boring read, but to us it’s incredibly exciting and with it being the most extensive work we’ve ever had done before, we love seeing the changes and progress made every day. 

I look forward to being able to post about the rest of the progress and then the final result!

Thank you for reading,

Love Paige xxx

OUR BATHROOM RENOVATION

So this post has been a looooong time coming! I have received so many messages asking me if/when I would be posting this and I can’t quite believe the length of time it’s taken (that’s what house renovating alongside running around after a lively toddler and going to work does for you!) but finally, the day is here! I can officially say our bathroom renovation is (almost) COMPLETE! The happiness I’m currently feeling is like no other, it’s like something I imagine Mo Farrah would feel after winning Gold at the olympics and can be closely compared to the delight of when you put your baby/toddler down for an afternoon nap and they go off without a sound! And like when you consume an entire jar of Nutella to yourself in one sitting or when you fill your brows in and they both end up looking exactly the same! Sheer bliss! 

So, without further ado, here is what our bathroom looked like when we first moved in and during the rip out (warning, disturbing content to follow!) 

I think we can all be in agreement that this bathroom was in desperate need of some TLC! The plastic cladding on the walls was hideous, the dated walk in shower came complete with a grimey old seat and not to mention the fact that there was no actual bath to begin with, which to me is just unacceptable. I have no idea how people live without a bath and only a walk in shower, my life quite literally revolves around scalding hot bubble baths! Plus, with having a little one, a bath is a must! Noah certainly takes after me with his love for baths, he would stay in there all day given the chance!

Here are some pictures of the work in progress…

It would have been a dream to have been able to make this room larger as we would have loved to have had a freestanding bath and separate walk in shower, but unfortunately we can only currently afford a one storey extension (the next project for us is our kitchen/diner which is currently in progress) and a two storey extension would have been the only possible way to be able to increase the size of our bathroom. However, we’ve utilised the space (or lack of) in this room very well in my opinion and we now have a small yet very tasteful and functional family bathroom that I am very proud of. 

I had always had my heart set on grey metro walk tiles for the shower area and pale grey patterned floor tiles and we were luckily able to find the perfect ones from one of our local tile superstores called Original Style (The Exeter store). I absolutely adore their vast range of tiles to suit any taste and the staff are incredibly friendly and helpful, I will certainly be returning when it’s time to pick out floor tiles for our new kitchen. 

It was also my dream to have a beautiful roll top bath, but again due to lack of space we had to improvise and so we chose the Burlington Norfolk showering bath and we absolutely love it! It’s 1500mm in length so roughly around 190mm shorter than a standard length bath, but it’s so luxuriously deep and I could sit in it for hours on end if it didn’t mean having to resemble a 129 year old woman after getting out! The pruney look is not a good look, I’m sure you will all agree! 

When it came to choosing the fittings we knew we didn’t want to opt for chrome. I don’t know what it is about chrome but I have a bit of a love hate relationship with it and in certain areas I love it, whereas in others I detest it! I so plan on going for chrome fittings in our new kitchen but in this instance, it wasn’t what we wanted for our bathroom and we opted for a beautiful antique brass overhead shower and bath tap and also a matching basin tap. Our overflow unit and our toilet flush both feature some minimal chrome and I think some may argue that the two metal finishes together doesn’t work, however I really love the very subtle mix of warm and cool metals together! 

For the wall colour we chose Almond White from the Dulux endurance range specifically designed for bathrooms as we wanted something hard wearing, easy to clean and waterproof, plus it’s the perfect colour match for the primary chalky colour of our chosen floor tiles. I really love the tones that we’ve chosen for this room, we have incorporated our love for grey with the shower tiles and the pattern on the floor tiles (it is the best neutral, after all!) and the chalky colour of the floor tiles and our chosen wall paint colour give the room the little bit of warmth that I think every bathroom needs. I am a huge lover of white (literally, all white everything is never a bad thing!) but when it comes to a room in which you spend the majority of your time completely starkers, I think it’s nice to feel a bit cosy if at all possible. 

In terms of accessorising, I wanted to try and keep things as minimal as possible as I don’t really like spaces to be too cluttered, so I decided to purchase a couple of bits from the Newcombe Ceramic range from The White Company as I love their simplicity, so the little tumbler and storage tray were a must for tooth brushes/tooth paste and bath/body lotions etc. Of course, I have my pretty faux flowers dotted around because no bathroom is complete without them if you ask me! Im still yet to buy a mirror as I haven’t found “the one” so to speak, but I intend to get one eventually. I also still need to get a roman blind for the window, but these are things that probably won’t happen in the near future because I currently have bigger fish to fry with tackling our kitchen extension. Plus, I had a lady give me a totally ridiculous quote for a blind that I absolutely will not be paying and there’s more chance of me making one myself! (Watch this space, you never know!) 

Now, you just cannot have a relaxing bath without lighting a candle. To bathe without a candle burning would be a crime in my eyes, it’s just not ok! So, of course, I had to treat my shiny new bathroom (and myself) to a lovely new candle (or 2) to burn while having a long hot soak. As far as I’m concerned you just cannot beat the Seychelles range from The White Company, it is the most beautiful smell there is! Naturally I had to indulge and get the big daddy of the gift sets with all the other bits and bobs every bathroom needs like bath foams, hand creams, a reed diffuser etc! Plus I thought it would also be a good excuse to pick up a new Diptyqe to throw into the mix (Baies, obviously!) which you don’t even need to light for the scent to fill the room, when it comes to amazing quality candles Diptyqe have got it covered! There’s nothing better than a beautiful smelling bathroom! Oh and not forgetting the famous candles from Aldi that have been all the rage recently! I picked up the No.1 fragrance to have in the bathroom as it’s such a lovely fresh scent. 

I also bought a custom made bath caddy from the little Instagram shop @FinchCraftUK, I didn’t want to risk buying a standard size from another shop so I decided to play it safe and go for made to measure. I love that you have the option to choose between different woods and finishes too! I can’t recommend them enough and if you’re thinking of getting one, go for it, you won’t regret it! Mine fits absolutely perfectly across my bath and I love it! 

I’ve still yet to get the final finishing touches like a toilet roll holder, a different light pull switch and new door handle but these are all just little things and I guarantee if I had decided to wait to get these things first before posting this, it would have ended up being next year! 

I hope you all like the finished result, I’m sure you will agree it’s quite an improvement to what it was like prior! Now it’s time for us to really focus on the kitchen diner which is a much, much bigger project but we are already almost halfway through and it won’t be too long before I’m posting all about that so keep your eyes peeled!

Thank you for reading, 

Love, Paige xxx 

 

LOSING MY MOJO… AND FINDING IT AGAIN!

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt over the past several months, it’s that you can’t always fit everything in. Life can get seriously busy and I often find myself wondering why there aren’t more hours in the day or days in the week. There has been so much going on and juggling work, in depth extension planning, other house renovation matters, running around after a lively 14 month old and desperately clinging to any time Ben and I actually get to spend in the same room as each other even for an hour or two is hard work! Don’t get me wrong, I love being busy and I love having all of these responsibilities because it gives me a real purpose and it’s a reminder that things are going well and our plans are all coming together, but sadly it has meant that seeing friends and any kind of socialising has gone out of the window and writing for my blog has hit a massive brick wall. Even my beloved camera that I could not put down a few months ago hasn’t seen the light of day for ages! These are the downsides of being crazy busy all the time, I really wish I had more time for the other things that I really love to do.

In saying that, I feel like I’m getting my mojo back more and more each day and I’m going to make it my mission to start posting a lot more over on the blog, especially considering the fact that the work on our extension started TODAY! So I will be posting about this in stages as it’s a big job and the proposed end date is June 16th! So nearly 3 months to go! But I want to document this properly as it’s the biggest thing that will happen in our house and I want to be able to look back and remember how much Ben and I have achieved and how we managed to turn our family home into our beautiful little dream! 

Those of you who have been following me for a while will remember that a while ago I had a negative experience on Instagram where photos of Noah were taken and used in fake accounts claiming that Noah was someone else’s child and I would be lying if I said that this didn’t upset and anger me, I mean how dare somebody have the audacity to do that?! Not to mention that it’s just downright bizarre and weird to do something like that, and for a while since this I have been a little more wary about posting photos of Noah, so while I plan on not posting quite so many pictures of him as I used to, I will still continue to show him off to you all because at the end of the day, life is too short and I’m so so proud of him and I REFUSE to let anybody ruin that for me. 

So, in a nutshell, I guess I’m saying you’re all going to be seeing a lot more of me again now! Oh, and one more thing for those of you who are on the same page here, I started slimming world a couple of weeks ago after deciding that eating my body weight in Jaffa cakes every day probably wasn’t the best idea (this is an exaggeration I can assure you, I happen to be a VERY sarcastic individual in case you weren’t already aware) and much to my surprise I’ve managed to shift half a stone of timber in two weeks! Who knew I could actually see this healthy eating thing through?! So, I plan on documenting my weight loss journey too as well as all things mummy & house renovation wise! So to any of my fellow SW followers reading this, keep your eyes peeled for those posts! And feel free to get in touch with any tips or recipes, I’m always eager to hear of both. 

I’m looking forward to getting back to myself a bit more again and  making more time for the things that I’m passionate about, starting with 2 weeks off with my boys in just over a weeks time. I can think of absolutely nothing I need more!

As usual, thank you for reading 

Love, Paige 
Xxx