Breaking the blogging silence

                                              

So I've been a bit quiet on the blogging front recently... in fact, it's been a few months. Not on purpose but, as I'm sure other bloggers will know, blogging can often be put at the bottom of the never ending to-do list. 

It's been an exciting few months though! We've moved house and I'm now back at work (in a new job) and have been getting to grips with juggling being a mummy, working and life in general. Abigail is now walking and keeping us very much on our toes. She's also starting to talk with new favourite words dog, duck, ball and shoes (or dooos). It's amazing to see her grow and to watch her personality shine through. Although I didn't realise the terrible twos can start at fifteen months!! 

I do wish sometimes there were an extra couple of hours in the day (the plea of all parents). There's nothing I would love more than to spend my evenings writing, reading, tweeting, linking, liking and sharing - but the reality is by 7.30pm I'm really good for very little apart from watching a bit of Netflix and pretending to listen to my husband. 

So I've been more of a blogging observer. Keeping up to date with my favourite bloggers and enviously tracking #britmumslive (maybe next year).

This summer I will definitely make more of an effort to post, even if it's just a few words. These summer evenings do make the days feel that little bit longer, don't they?

In the meantime, I thought I'd pass on a few Netflix recommendations for those of you who, like me, are curled up on the sofa by 8pm...*

1. Grace and Frankie - I confess I didn't have high hopes for this but found to to be genuinely heart-warming and hilarious! Roll on season two...

2. Chef's table - so I'm working in food and hospitality PR now and I saw this as a bit of research but it was really interesting learning about chefs Massimo Bottura and Dan Barber. One for the foodies. 

3. Once Upon A Time - it's amazing how they link all the fairytales a together

4. The Good Wife - always good to watch an American law drama

5. Pretty Little Liars - a guilty pleasure but it's so good!

*Netflix has in no way sponsored me to write this post and I can guarantee my husband's list of recommendations would look very, very different. In fact, our profile looks like a confused mix of gritty dramas, indie comedies and a few episodes of Peppa Pig thrown in for good measure!

Now we have a one-year old

   

So it's official, we no longer have a newborn baby. I can no longer count my daughter's age in weeks or months (well, I can try months for a bit longer but will likely just get that weird look as friends put their mental arithmetic to the test and attempt to make sense of what I have said) and can now say I have a one-year old. And wow what a year it has been. 

Timehop shows me pictures of my post-birth self cradling my tiny sleeping daughter on this day last year. Oh how far we have come since that newborn haze,  surrounded by muslins and pillows! 

Today I have an explorer on my hands. Crawling round our new home (yes, we finally moved!), unpacking bags, climbing the stairs with already too much ease (supervised!) and reaching higher and higher for things she should not have. A is already very observant, and today for the first time, I saw her pretending to have a conversation on her baby phone full of laughs and 'no, no,no!' Now might be the time to start watching we say in front of the B-A-B-Y...

This milestone has me thinking about the past year and what I advice I would give myself or indeed anyone with a newborn now.  A couple of tips spring to mind:

• get comfortable: whether it's the sofa, rocking chair or your bed, settle in for lots of cuddles with your little one and get to know them. 
• eat and drink plenty: you need to keep your energy up! But don't go overboard on cake, your body really needs the good stuff right now.
• take lots of pictures and videos: capture as many moments as you can.
•  forget dieting and trying to lose weight: give yourself a break, you've just had a baby! It took nine months to make your little one, why wouldn't it take at least nine months for your body to get back to normal?
• try not to do too much too, too soon: this can be particularly challenging if you've only recently started maternity leave and are still adjusting to life without meetings and spreadsheets. Take each day at a time as you learn to live with your baby and handle all the practicalities. 
• cherish every moment: even when it feels like you will never sleep or shower again. You will.

Now, what does life with a toddler look like? *Gulp*

It's time to get moving

2015 has started off as a fairly active year over here at The Changing Bag. We are about to move house and our little girl started crawling during the festive period (after weeks of trying to persuade her to crawl using a wide range of toys and remote controls it was in fact a novelty dancing Christmas Tree that gave her the inspiration to move forwards). Other parents warned us about the 'fun' that we would have in store when A started crawling but, much like the rest of parenting advice, I didn't fully comprehend what they actually meant. Here are few ways in which life has changed with our mobile baby:

1. We have had to find new homes for our shoes.
2. Toys now fill the spaces where our shoes were.
3. The coffee table now has to stay clear because that glass of water will end up on the floor.
4. After four years of living in our home, we are finally using the kitchen door.
5. Hoovering must be done everyday or she will find those crumbs.
6. If the DVDs aren't spread across the floor they are in the wrong place. We are reminded of this every morning.
7. The stairs make excellent drums.
8. A doorstop I didn't even realise we had is the most fascinating of objects... move over Elmo.
9. Plugs and wires must be hidden. Charge your devices after 7pm.
10. That spot wedged between the table and the sofa is the perfect place to hide.

So in amongst organising a move, sorting through our belongings and starting to pack we are also trying to keep up with our daughter who keeps taking off with anything that she thinks she can't have. It's time to rally the babysitters I think. Here's hoping the next month will go smoothly and we can settle in before it's time for walking.

6 Top Apps for New Parents

Our mobile phones are becoming increasingly integral to our day-to-day lives and also (scarily) part of our parenting. How often do you look something up on your phone? Dr Google is definitely an acquaintance of mine...How many times has your little one  reached for your phone or tablet? How often do you pass your phone with an app that you know will keep your little one quiet and entertained for a couple of minutes at least? Maybe you don't do this. Certainly before I was a parent I ruled out tablet use for my unborn child. But I have changed my mind in these past few months and I see how happy A is to play on a phone and experience the colours and sounds (right before she tries to put it in her mouth).  So I've given in and think that a bit of supervised use on child friendly apps is probably the way to go ( I may, however, be writing another post soon about the destruction of my phone by a nine-month old... watch this space).

There are a whole host of mobile apps out there aimed at parents and children and in these past nine months I've been surprised at how many I have used. I wanted to share with you my six top apps that we have found both useful and entertaining. I hope you find it helpful :)

1. Safe Dreams

I confess we downloaded this the first night we brought A home. We'd read somewhere that newborns feel comforted by white noise because its a familiar sound after hearing mum's heartbeat for the last few months. Safe Dreams is a free app that plays white noise sounds like jet cabin and womb sounds. You can set the time on it too so that it plays long enough to help soothe your baby. Ideal for those first few weeks.

2. Baby Centre

Often when you are looking on-line for information about babies, Baby Centre ranks quite high in the search results. The Baby Centre app is really useful as it provides daily updates about your baby and what's happening to them at different stages. There's a chat forum which can be helpful if you are looking to connect with other parents with babies of the same age and you can use the app as a picture diary of your baby too.

3. The Wonder Weeks

The Wonder Weeks app has been created to support The Wonder Weeks book. It breaks the book down into short, summarised chunks that are easy to read when you have a spare five minutes. The book is based on 35 years of research about the development of babies in their first couple of years and the milestones that they reach. I personally find all this very interesting and it has been a great resource to use when trying to understand A's behaviour and development. It has also helped to explain a few cranky phases!

4. Go Baby

Go Baby is a great app for London parents. From your location it can pinpoint the closest child-friendly venues and it details if they have baby change, high-chairs and lift access. This is a fairly new app so listings are being added all the time but its particularly well set up for central London travel.

5. Koi Pond

OK, so this is my new favourite app. So simple and is perfect for babies as they learn about cause and effect. The app is simply an interactive Koi Carp pond. The pond is full of fish and creatures and every time you touch the screen you interact with the pond i.e. scaring the fish away, splashing the water, creating ripples etc. It works really well on a tablet and I think I may be enjoying it just as much as my daughter!

6. Rhymes

Nursery Rhymes have been brought to life and into the twenty-first century with a dose of animation and bright colours in a mobile app. The old favourites have been animated into interactive videos for your little one's amusement. In Old Macdonald, the cows parachute, the pigs play the trumpet and the farmer dances (who knew!?!). Rhymes is an essential mobile app to keep handy when you need a break from singing!

8 signs you might be having an off week

1. Your normally sound sleeping child stops sleeping through and decides that 3am is the new time to wake up. (the winter lurgies are currently paying our house a visit so poor A is all congested and just wants cuddles at night. I'm more than happy to do this but am praying we all get some more sleep soon...)

2. The woman in the bakery points out that you have done your three tog coat up all wrong. Fashion fail.

3. When trying to make a healthy smoothie the milk pours out the bottom of your blender and covers your kitchen floor. 

4. You forget the online shop and end up popping to the supermarket four times in one week not knowing what to buy when you get there. You only know there is not enough food in the fridge and you have run out of Ella's pouches and finger foods and milk and oh, anything you want for lunch.

5. You end up buying lots of chocolate.

6. After planning a nice meal out for your wedding anniversary months in advance,  lining up babysitters, getting your nails done and planning an outfit - you have to cancel due to sheer exhaustion and the knowledge you won't enjoy it as you will likely fall asleep in your starter. Plus you end up awake at 2am anyway so it was probably a good thing you didn't splash out on some champers.  Maybe next year...

7. You eat more chocolate.

8. You don't get to write any blog posts or articles as you don't have the time or energy. This equals a super crabby mummy.

So now it's the beginning of a new week, and indeed a new month, so here's hoping the germs will leave our home and we can start to get into the festive spirit. And that I can do my coat up properly upon leaving the house...