The Adventures of Izzy and Isaac

I was reading an article recently which talked about the difference between figuring out how to be a mother and figuring out how to be a family, and that the two are really quite different. It got me thinking, so here’s my take on that. Heads up, it’s going to be unedited, and at times, it’s going to be soppy. And apparently, long, sorry about that. I brought my baby into the world as part of a team. I didn’t make him alone, I didn’t grow him alone, and I didn’t birth him alone. Throughout my pregnancy, my husband was there to share in my worries and my excitement; we saw the ultrasounds together, heard his heartbeat together, felt him move (and hiccough) in the womb together. Being pregnant was a journey, the next step in our relationship that we always hoped we’d get to experience. It was the start of the shift from couple to family. I’ve always been very clumsy, but when my husband told me to be careful during my pregnancy, he expected me to be even more careful, for our son....

My partner and I recently decided that (for now at least) I will not be going back to work but will be a stay at home mum (SAHM). My partner is a chef so works long hours including weekends and evenings which means I have a lot of time alone with Isaac. This post is all about what I get up to all day as a SAHM. Look after baby! Surprise, surprise, right. I let Isaac set his own routine so that means feeding on demand and letting him nap when he wants too and for as long as he wants. This works for us especially while he's still under 1 because it gives us the freedom to go out when we want and do different things every day. This means I can't give you a play by play of an average day because there isn't one... but these are the things I do to look after Isaac every day: nappies, changing clothes, feeding (milk and food), playing, talking to etc :)  Playing with baby We're lucky to have lots of toys Isaac can play with (see my previous post about our favourite  bab...

I breastfeed. I knew when I was pregnant that I wanted to do breastfeed once baby was born, and I read up on it. I also attended NHS antenatal classes promoting breastfeeding, where due to my reading I was able to contribute quite a lot in discussions. Despite this, I was not prepared for the reality of breastfeeding.   I feel disappointed in the information being offered; if myself, as someone who actively sought information to ensure my breastfeeding journey would be a success, was not prepared, I suspect most mothers won't have been. I feel like the NHS staff delivering the antenatal classes vetted the information they were giving to portray a solely positive picture of breastfeeding so as not to put anyone off, therefore missing out important information. This, coupled with budget cuts affecting the availability of breastfeeding support, is likely to be a key factor in the alarming drop seen in statistics of women who begin breastfeeding (81%) compared with the rate of ...

When you sew for your baby, the end goal is often to make them clothes. A great place to start is rompers because you don't need to faff with elastic waistbands or fastenings and you can make them from most materials. I would recommend using cotton as it passes fire safety regulations for use for children's clothing. There is a variety of romper patterns available online, or you can draw around an existing romper (onto greaseproof/ tracing paper/ normal copier paper) leaving some room for a seam allowance. Place your pattern onto your fabric and cut a front and back (bearing in mind the direction of the print on the fabric) - the back is normally slightly higher than the front. If you wish to line your romper, cut just the top half of another front and back in either the same fabric or a contrasting or complementary colour.  Start sewing by hemming the bottom edge of the liner pieces only. Then  placing your liner and romper pieces  right side to right side...

This post is about attachment parenting, which I kind of discovered is the name for the way I am parenting Isaac. I needed to write this post as a bit of an emotional release... all will become clear! What is attachment parenting?  noun noun:  attachment parenting an approach to raising infants that aims to promote a close relationship between the baby and its parents by methods such as feeding on demand and letting the baby sleep with its parents. Also sometimes referred to as gentle parenting, attachment parenting means (to me anyway) being with your baby whenever they want you and seeing to their needs as soon as you possibly can. It means cuddling your baby as often as they want, being close to them, and fostering a relationship of trust with your baby.  This is where I'm putting a disclaimer so as not to offend, because parenting is an emotional thing - you are investing your whole self into another tiny person. You will find your own way ...

My quiet book for Isaac is finally finished! It took a long time but it's definitely worth it, I love how it's turned out. So, here we go with the tutorial :)  Before starting your quiet book decide what size you would like to make the pages so that all the pages are the same size! Standard size is 9" square. It is also a good idea to decide how you will bind your pages before you begin; if you choose to bind them down one edge you may need to leave extra space for your binding. There are a few options when it comes to binding - you could sew button holes into your pages and thread string or ribbon through it to hold all of your pages together, or use metal rings through these button holes. Alternatively, you could join your pages at the edge like a traditional book, or use the method I did of sewing the finished pages onto a long piece of fabric in double page spreads, stacking these together and sewing down the middle -more details on how I did this will be co...

So I mentioned in an earlier post I like how quickly I can finish projects compared with knitting and some other crafts. Of course, this doesn't apply to all sewing projects (I've been making Isaac a quiet book for months now, and it's finally finished! See it here ) so here is my round up of quick projects. Most of these projects also don't use up much fabric which is a bonus for the bank balance! Bibs Bibs are a great place to start if you are a beginner or just returning to sewing; they're quick, come in lots of styles and you can use pretty much any fabric you like, including fat quarters. For a pattern, either freehand a bib design onto paper and cut it out, or draw around an existing bib if you want to be a bit cheeky. Alternatively, bandana bibs can be made with a triangle of fabric sewn back to back to another of the same size either with a hem folded under or edged with bias binding. A little hack for this is to buy rectangular microfibre cloths in the s...

I wanted to do a slightly off topic post showing my appreciation for some of the baby toys I have got recently now that Isaac has started to be able to reach and grab for things. As baby shower and new baby gifts we got lots of lovely soft toys given but when Isaac was about a month old I started looking at different toys because I just wanted to buy him things O.o and he had so many clothes! #selfconfesssedshopaholic The first toy we got that Isaac properly appreciated was the Vtech Giggle and Go Baby Snail ( amazon link ; not affiliated). It has a ring to clip to the car seat which is great because we did do quite a few car journeys when he was very little, and then it has lights and sounds in the shell which Isaac loved to look at from a young age. As he has grown up a bit he's now able to pull the hanging ring himself and self-soothe while he's in the car seat. I'd recommend this toy to everyone from about 2 or 3 months (oh and the songs aren't terrible to have st...