Sharing the Blog Love - Showcase 45

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A big welcome to our weekly #SharingtheBlogLove Blogger Showcase! If you're new to #SharingtheBlogLove, these are mine and Laura's favourite posts from last week's linky. As part of the linky we'd like you to choose one post from each showcase post (one from mine and one from Laura's) to head over to and leave a comment to show them some extra blog love. It's always lovely to take a look at our featured posts this week and see how many extra comments they've had from you guys!   Musings of a Tired Mummy There are some things that are just part of growing up and learning to ride a bike is definitely one of them. But Laura's post, I have turned my son into a criminal, gave me ...

Testing for Group B Strep in pregnancy with Strepelle

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Have you heard of Group B Strep? It wasn't something that I'd heard of at all during my first pregnancy, but about a year ago now I read Fiona Paddon's story and campaign to raise awareness of Group B Strep and the importance of testing during pregnancy. Fiona sadly lost her son, Edward Gili just 9 days after his birth as a result of contracting the Group B Strep infection. I signed her petition and tracked it's progress through parliament, and was very disappointed when it was decided that the NHS would not be making these tests a regular part of pregnancy testing.   What is Group B Strep? Group B Strep is a common, natural bacteria carried by around 1 in 4 ...

A Visit to Greys Court National Trust

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We visited Greys Court for the first time in May last year, and I was absolutely wowed by the wisteria. So much so that I made a diary note to visit to see it again this year! So last week Max and I headed over towards Henley, and I told him all about the wonderful purple flower we were hunting for. I really love the gardens at Greys Court - they're not huge, but they're a series of walled rooms, and that moment when you open the door to the next room definitely has something of The Secret Garden about it.     One part of the gardens we've not discovered before was this little sundial 'maze'. With no actual maze planted, Max loved ...

Living Arrows 20/52

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You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth – Kahlil Gibran   I can't believe I missed last week's Living Arrows, but sadly it was a week of illness and a weekend spent at the hospital, so we just didn't manage to get out and about and take any photos. But we're back on it this week - there were so many photos I could have chosen for this week from our trip to Greys Court last Tuesday, but this one is one of my favourite photos I've taken of Max recently. He's absolutely obsessed with dandelion clocks at the moment - at first he loved to present me with the yellow dandelion flowers (and loved that I ...

The Pregnancy Diaries: Week 35

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Well week 35 was definitely a tough one for me! A mix of the mundane to start with, and then lots of unexpected drama to round off the week.   What's going on with the baby The baby is now about the size of a honeydew melon and should be getting in position ready for birth. He's pretty much fully formed at this point and is just putting on weight now ready to make his arrival.   What's going on with me I am so so sore in almost every part of my body! Getting up is a struggle, sitting down is a struggle, lying down is no better - the only comfortable place right now is sitting on my birthing ball! I had my 34 week ...

Introducing British Baby Box & Baby Annabell

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I'm sure you've heard of the Finnish tradition where new mothers are gifted a Baby Box by the government, filled with all kinds of goodies that their baby will need in the first few months, bed which will serve as the baby's first bed. Not just a lovely idea, but a very practical and safety focused one; Finland now has the 5th lowest infant mortality rate in the world, and the Baby Box programme is believed to have played a significant role in that. Apparently Finland even sent one to Prince George when he was born as a gift - if it's good enough for Prince George...! The idea has become very popular with Nicola Sturgeon championing the scheme in Scotland, and following ...

#SharingtheBlogLove #44

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A big welcome back to #SharingtheBlogLove! I hope you've all had a good week! Last week was a pretty tough one for me with an unexpected hospital stay over the weekend after a trip to the doctors revealed I had a super fast heart rate. Luckily it was nothing serious, and I'm out and armed with a load of medication which has made me feel so much better. Max and I have even managed a few days out this week too, which has made the world of difference - we've been shopping in Windsor and visited Greys Court in Henley on Tuesday to see the Wisteria, which was absolutely stunning. I hope you've had sunshine where you are and managed to get ...

Sharing the Blog Love - Showcase 44

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A big welcome to our weekly #SharingtheBlogLove Blogger Showcase! If you're new to #SharingtheBlogLove, these are mine and Laura's favourite posts from last week's linky. As part of the linky we'd like you to choose one post from each showcase post (one from mine and one from Laura's) to head over to and leave a comment to show them some extra blog love. It's always lovely to take a look at our featured posts this week and see how many extra comments they've had from you guys!   Treasure Every Moment   I love reading posts from other people at the same stage of pregnancy as me, and Helen and I couldn't be closer - we practically share a due date! I find that we share so many of ...

Returning to the Baby Stage

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I've heard it said that everyone has a stage of parenting they're best suited to. For some it's the baby years, for some the toddler years, and for some very brave people, it's the teenage years. I'm not a baby person. It's something I don't voice often, being a parenting blogger, but I've never been overly maternal, and I really struggled with the first year of motherhood. The lack of interaction in the early days I found really difficult to deal with, and the constant instruction from health visitors to 'play' with your baby I have to admit that I found baffling. When all you can do is put them on a playmat and wave things in front of them, there's ...

The Pregnancy Diaries: Week 34

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34 weeks pregnant and I'm pretty much done with this now! This week has been such a struggle to get through - the sickness is back, I ache everywhere, I can't sleep - I keep reassuring myself that we just have 5 more weeks to get through.   What's going on with the baby 34 weeks seems like a huge milestone, as 99% of babies born from now on would be able to survive outside the womb. He'll be putting on the fat ready for the birth and his skin is smoothing out and his lungs are maturing all the time.   What's going on with me I genuinely don't think I was struggling this much at this point in my first pregnancy. I didn't stop ...