CAPTURING THE PERFECT BABY PHOTO
We were invited to this baby photo shoot which included a complimentary printed image. Hands up if you are one of those mothers that takes all the pictures of your baby, every day?.. I suspect I’m not alone in that habit!? Our babies grow and change so quickly that each and every smile…
View PostUK SWIMWEAR: BEACH WARDROBE STAPLES
When you go on holiday with a baby there’s a lot of luggage… A hold bag full of his clothes and nappies… A hand luggage case with things that might be needed for the flight… Another hand luggage case full of milk and food (picked up at Boots airside)… A pushchair… A baby…
View PostFAMILY HOLIDAY AT RIXOS SAADIYAT ISLAND ABU DHABI
Rixos Saadiyat Island decisively changed my mind about all inclusive holidays… Since a less than luxury all inclusive break in Barbados many years ago the thought of staying in another all inclusive sprawling resort hadn’t been front of mind… Thankfully there’s a new breed of all inclusive: or as Rixos promote their luxury…
View PostA ROMANTIC FAMILY HOLIDAY VISION
‘Romantic’ in the Oxford Dictionary is ‘characterised by, or suggestion of, an idealised view of reality’… This week we have a little trip to the sandy shores of Abu Dhabi… I have a romantic vision of our time off together: relaxing and fun, rather than just memorable! Baby won’t know where he is…
View Post6 MONTHS BRINGING UP BABY
I have absolutely no idea where 6 months bringing up baby has gone… From my tracking app I can tell you we’ve had 1,120 nappies, 4,000+ ounces of formula, 200+ hours of nursing, 122 baths and 15 tastes of solids… I do love a bit of baby data! It has definitely been a…
View PostA MARK IN THE SAND: HOTEL WISH LIST
A hotel or few as a mark in the sand. We might not go to any of these any time soon but it’s a set of pretty pictures and a wish list of sorts.
View PostBRINGING UP BABY: FEEDING
I will start with the only important thing that really needs to be said about feeding a baby… A well fed baby is a happy baby is the best type of baby. And a happy baby means a happy Mummy. #fedisbest We didn’t have a particularly stressful time, but feeding baby still had…
View PostHAVE BABY WILL TRAVEL: FLYING
To say I was nervous about our first attempt at flying as a threesome would be an understatement. A lot was riding on it. We love flying and travelling and we really want Baby P to love travel and adventure as well. Turns out he did like flying on his first attempt! Especially if…
View PostPENELOPE PARKER & BABY IN THE AUTUMN
Autumn went by in a blur of coffee dates, walks with baby and business trips for Mr P. It started hot and balmy and finished frosty and soggy! Days continue to vanish. I often don’t think I’ve achieved a thing but I actually did 1,000 little things to keep baby happy each day.…
View PostLEARN TO SWIM WITH BABY PADDLERS
Water will be a big part of family life. Mr P and I met through sailing and we love to be by the sea. Getting Baby P safe and confident in the water is a high priority for us. Bathtime hasn’t always been smooth sailing for him… Sometimes we still hold his hand…
View PostSHOP SMALL: GIFTS FOR BABY AND MUMMY
Something I have enjoyed during night feeds (apart from staring into his gorgeous eyes) is the maze of small businesses selling gorgeous baby and mummy stuff on Instagram… Whilst I am the first to admit most of his clothes come from Tesco or H&M, I have found some shop small gems in my 2am…
View PostA NIGHT IN LONDON – WITH A BABY
Roll the clock back six months and we’d stay in London every few weeks. A date night supper somewhere fancy and then we would use up a few accumulating hotel points for a free stay, to avoid our commute! Now however… A night in London is a holiday! Not necessarily relaxing. But a…
View PostWHERE DO SELF CARE AND SELFLESSNESS MEET?
Self care. Something to focus on. Where do self care and selflessness meet when you have a new baby and thousands of demands a day? Probably nowhere near the middle – the tiny human is the priority! I didn’t know I could be totally selfless until he arrived. Don’t get me wrong I have never…
View PostBABY MEMORIES: MY 1ST PHOTOS
I love photos. Taking them and looking at them. I take photos to remember special places, events and experiences. I can spend hours looking through them. And I write my blog to capture the details or anecdotes: a modern scrap book or photo album so I forget nothing. I also love to read.…
View PostSWAPPING SUITS FOR ACTIVEWEAR WITH UK LINGERIE
Swapping my job in the city for an even busier job as mummy meant a sea change in what I wear. No more pencil skirts, fitted dresses and high heels on a weekday and pretty little dresses or my trusty Levi’s at the weekend… No. That’s all packed away in boxes in the…
View PostOH BABY IT’S A WILD WORLD – MY TRAVEL WISHES
Oh baby it’s a wild world 🎶 For many reasons, but lets focus on the adventures. Here’s the things I wish for my baby from travel based on the life skills I take from it. To travel Just having the opportunity to see the world in the first place is something special. Not taking…
View PostWINCHESTER COLLEGE HERITAGE OPEN DAY
There’s a certain allure to somewhere that’s behind closed doors and not open to the public. Winchester College is such a place. We’d catch glimpses of it across the water meadows on a stroll or by peering in the porters lodge door. But that’s it. We got close to spending a day at…
View PostBRINGING UP BABY: FEELING THROUGH THE 4TH TRIMESTER
I learn many things about baby and being a mummy every day. But in the fourth trimester I remember most fondly four things he’s taught me as we’ve bonded about some of our simplest feelings, emotions and actions. Some of this is old hat to many, or sounds poetic or too sugar tinted.…
View PostONE BABY ACHIEVEMENT AT A TIME
I started writing this baby post on my phone a few weeks ago… But, when you only get one thing done a day, prioritising a blog post takes a while! But the baby monitor is on, baby is napping and I fancied a bit of blogging! So, first let’s roll the clock back…
View Post1481 DAYS: MISCARRIAGE AND MOTHERHOOD
Talking about miscarriage isn’t something I find easy even with close friends and colleagues so writing this is tough. I have started this post many times… The timing was never right. But talking about miscarriage is important. Too many people go through it. Most people don’t talk about it and suffer privately. 1…
View PostPENELOPE, PARKER AND BABY IN THE SUMMER
Summer 2018 has been pretty life changing… I even altered the blog name!! But first… June marked the end of our first year in our new home. In fact it was when it really started to feel like home too. The carpets went down and the lighting was finished. The upstairs of our…
View PostBRINGING UP BABY: 6 WEEKS IN
Every day in life is a learning day… And nothing compares to the speed of learning with a new baby. It comes thick and fast… Not just the poo! It’s surreal, I had more training to be an office first aider than a parent! I never let myself get ahead of things in…
View PostTAKE AWAYS FROM TRAVEL
When you suddenly don’t travel as much as you did, you realise what you love about it. That said, I’m happy with the reason why I can count on just two hands how many flights I have taken in the last 6 months and the fact that we can’t really book any more…
View PostTHE BABYMOON – TRIED AND TESTED
The babymoon – it’s fair to say we took a few… Not just the “last jam before the pram” before the arrival, but at regular intervals through 9 months of growing the baby. Our choices were around Baby P and to be sure I got the relaxing and de-stressing breaks I needed to…
View PostDAY 1 WITH BABY: WHAT’S REALLY NEEDED?
I didn’t believe that we’d really be bringing home Baby P. Despite having watched the heart trace for the whole of labour to check his heart was beating… Even with those last few pushes when the midwives could see his little head. And Mr P was even summoned down there (!!) by the…
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