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Baby

75 posts
  • Baby
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Buggy board or double buggy – The pros and cons of a buggy board

  • Posted on October 17, 2013October 17, 2013
  • 7 comments
  • byChloe
ย  Buggy board or double buggy? With a 2.5 year age gap between my children, I deliberated this question for a long while. I didn’t really fancy lugging a bulky…
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  • Arlo
  • Baby

Potty Training: 10 things I’ve learned

  • Posted on July 26, 2013August 20, 2013
  • 10 comments
  • byChloe
1. Potty training is not always something that is done and dusted within a week. It could take a month, three months, six months. 2. Don’t be disheartened by accidents,…
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  • Baby
  • Campaigns

On infant car seat safety and i-Size

  • Posted on July 25, 2013December 21, 2016
  • 6 comments
  • byChloe
By now, everyone ever in the whole wide world has seen the footage of Prince William carry his one day old baby boy to the car, plug him into his…
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  • Baby
  • Rory

Six weeks of Rory

  • Posted on July 10, 2013
  • 3 comments
  • byChloe
During Arlo’s first and second years, I wrote an update every month, and since he turned two I’ve been aiming to write his updates quarterly. I doubt that I will…
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  • Arlo
  • Baby
  • Pregnancy

Breastfeeding a toddler through pregnancy and tandem feeding

  • Posted on June 28, 2013September 10, 2018
  • 27 comments
  • byChloe
Arlo was 19 months old when I wrote the last ‘breastfeeding a toddler’ post. He is now two and a half years old. We have experienced a near constant demand…
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  • Baby
  • Rory

Naming Rory

  • Posted on June 27, 2013July 4, 2013
  • 6 comments
  • byChloe
I love the naming process. Even when I don’t have a child to name in the immediate future, I’m always on the lookout for names. Writing down new ones. Making…
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  • Baby
  • Motherhood

Things I’ve learned about having a newborn and a toddler

  • Posted on June 17, 2013June 17, 2013
  • 3 comments
  • byChloe
Things I’ve learned about having a newborn and a toddler: That a newborn isn’t as intimidating or intriguing as last time. You know what you are doing, the responsibility is…
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  • Arlo
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  • Rory

Life round here lately

  • Posted on June 4, 2013June 4, 2013
  • 15 comments
  • byChloe
  Two weeks ago, I knew I was on the cusp of a huge change. I knew that change would soon become normality, and that my current point in life…
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  • Rory

The first week with Rory

  • Posted on May 29, 2013May 29, 2013
  • One comment
  • byChloe
The phrase ‘all babies are different’ struck home as soon as Rory was born. His first cries were loud and urgent, entirely different to Arlo’s mild protest. Arlo was happy…
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Sorry About The Mess
Hello! I'm Chloe. I live in South London with my three children and their dad.ย I love storytelling through film-making and photography - cameras have made me happy ever since I was a child. Click below to read more about our story:
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Sa Tuna

Things to do in the Begur area of Costa Brava

  • Posted on August 13, 2018August 13, 2018
  • byChloe
  • 5 minute read
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empire state building new york

A winter trip to New York

  • Posted on April 27, 2015January 31, 2018
  • byChloe
  • 3 minute read
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Aldeburgh

Exploring Suffolk | A family holiday to Walberswick and Southwold

  • Posted on August 9, 2015January 31, 2018
  • byChloe
  • 3 minute read
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A mini-break to France – Lot et Garonne and Aquitaine

  • Posted on May 1, 2017January 31, 2018
  • byChloe
  • 5 minute read
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A Cornwall Summer Holiday

  • Posted on August 4, 2016May 3, 2018
  • byChloe
  • 6 minute read
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Our California Adventure – LA, Santa Monica, Encinitas

  • Posted on June 25, 2015February 5, 2018
  • byChloe
  • 4 minute read
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avatar @MostlyChloe
"We sampled a fair bit of ice cream in Begur, but none as good as Gelat Artesa ice cream in Peratallada โ€“ we may haโ€ฆ https://t.co/nkrOBdzwBp
about 1 hour ago
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Instagram
  • Today I uploaded the video from our wedding day. It captures so many of my favourite moments from the day and words from the speeches. Not sure when Iโ€™m going to get bored of watching it! The link is in my profile if you fancy watching it - let me know what you thought ๐Ÿ˜ #bredwedding ๐Ÿ“ท: @shariandmike
    122 13
  • Sam works away a lot and, after years of practise, this is basically my master list of how I manage the solo weeks: 
Meal plan - what you are going to eat, what the kids are going to eat. Plan it all out at the start. Buy it all in. 
Delve into something on TV, or a really good book. Anything easy viewing works. Gilmore girls or Friends? Perfect. True crime and thrillers? Not so ideal. 
Create a routine. Plan to see people. One of the hardest things for me is feeling lonely, or planless when Sam is away. Weekends can be hard, but the week routine works itself out nicely now the older two are at school. Pre school days, this was one of the aspects I struggled with the most. 
Have a contingency plan for every possible thing that could go wrong, and then tell yourself that you wonโ€™t dwell on it. Even though you clearly will dwell on it - this one is particularly hard if you are a natural worrier like me. 
Early nights. Sleep when the kids sleep mantra. I tend to eat with the kids, and go to bed not long after the kids when Iโ€™m solo parenting, because chances are usually one of them needs me in the night. 
Do bathtime at 11am on a Sunday. Wash the toddler during the day when the older ones are at school. Because trying to bathe and do bedtime for 3 kids in that hour before bed is sheer madness. (Also, take time out from your work from home day to wash your own hair). There will be times when the shouty / fun balance tips WAY off kilter. Itโ€™s natural and feeling guilty about it will get you nowhere. 
Say no to things (social events, engagements, favours, for the self employed - be flexible with your big work projects, if you have the luxury) that are just not going to work for you whilst you are solo. Tough for people pleasers, but it relieves so much extra stress. 
Wear an outfit that could really only vaguely pass as clothes on the school run but that is actually most definitely your pyjamas. Because itโ€™s comfy and what?
    119 8
  • The end of a lovely, simple weekend full of food (the best kind of weekend ๐Ÿ˜) celebrating my birthday with my boys. 34 - bring it on ๐Ÿ‘Š๐Ÿป
    95 6
  • The kids are back at school today and Iโ€™m feeling that this is officially the end of my Christmas break laziness for me. Letโ€™s get back to it ๐Ÿ‘Š๐Ÿป So, what happened over Christmas? Otto is 90% potty trained ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿป. We were spoilt for family time and I was today years old when I realised itโ€™s the only school holiday where we all get so much time together. I cried at Coco. AGAIN. The boys were baffled, but then Rory cried at the end of Homeward Bound so now we are even. I did zero work. No writing, no videos, no blog posts - and typically, Iโ€™m now feeling directionless and all โ€œWhat do I even want to DOOOOO with my content??โ€ Classic January. We had a minor panic when we thought we had bed bugs - the upside is that we definitely DONโ€™T have them, the house is now cleaner and tidier than itโ€™s possibly ever been, and we got a thorough education on prevention from the pest controllers ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป The downside is that we now have TOO much knowledge / fear, I have no answers for my mysterious rash ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ, and my enduring love for my bed has been tarnished...just a little bit. Iโ€™ll have to find a new place to hide from the children. What mundane yet notable things happened during your Christmas break? ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜œ
    166 21

When you can’t think of a baby name – Our experience

  • byChloe
  • Posted on November 20, 2016January 31, 2018
  • 8 minute read
View Post

A Birth Story Part 1 – Being diagnosed with Obstetric Cholestasis

  • byChloe
  • Posted on July 14, 2016January 31, 2018
  • 5 minute read
View Post

The Last Baby – Will I ever be ‘done’ having children?

  • byChloe
  • Posted on June 29, 2016September 10, 2018
  • 3 minute read
View Post
OUR FAMILY STORY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzBvBnGNT7w
mumsnet bloggers network
  • Today I uploaded the video from our wedding day. It captures so many of my favourite moments from the day and words from the speeches. Not sure when Iโ€™m going to get bored of watching it! The link is in my profile if you fancy watching it - let me know what you thought ๐Ÿ˜ #bredwedding ๐Ÿ“ท: @shariandmike
    122 13
  • Sam works away a lot and, after years of practise, this is basically my master list of how I manage the solo weeks: 
Meal plan - what you are going to eat, what the kids are going to eat. Plan it all out at the start. Buy it all in. 
Delve into something on TV, or a really good book. Anything easy viewing works. Gilmore girls or Friends? Perfect. True crime and thrillers? Not so ideal. 
Create a routine. Plan to see people. One of the hardest things for me is feeling lonely, or planless when Sam is away. Weekends can be hard, but the week routine works itself out nicely now the older two are at school. Pre school days, this was one of the aspects I struggled with the most. 
Have a contingency plan for every possible thing that could go wrong, and then tell yourself that you wonโ€™t dwell on it. Even though you clearly will dwell on it - this one is particularly hard if you are a natural worrier like me. 
Early nights. Sleep when the kids sleep mantra. I tend to eat with the kids, and go to bed not long after the kids when Iโ€™m solo parenting, because chances are usually one of them needs me in the night. 
Do bathtime at 11am on a Sunday. Wash the toddler during the day when the older ones are at school. Because trying to bathe and do bedtime for 3 kids in that hour before bed is sheer madness. (Also, take time out from your work from home day to wash your own hair). There will be times when the shouty / fun balance tips WAY off kilter. Itโ€™s natural and feeling guilty about it will get you nowhere. 
Say no to things (social events, engagements, favours, for the self employed - be flexible with your big work projects, if you have the luxury) that are just not going to work for you whilst you are solo. Tough for people pleasers, but it relieves so much extra stress. 
Wear an outfit that could really only vaguely pass as clothes on the school run but that is actually most definitely your pyjamas. Because itโ€™s comfy and what?
    119 8
  • The end of a lovely, simple weekend full of food (the best kind of weekend ๐Ÿ˜) celebrating my birthday with my boys. 34 - bring it on ๐Ÿ‘Š๐Ÿป
    95 6
  • The kids are back at school today and Iโ€™m feeling that this is officially the end of my Christmas break laziness for me. Letโ€™s get back to it ๐Ÿ‘Š๐Ÿป So, what happened over Christmas? Otto is 90% potty trained ๐Ÿ™Œ๐Ÿป. We were spoilt for family time and I was today years old when I realised itโ€™s the only school holiday where we all get so much time together. I cried at Coco. AGAIN. The boys were baffled, but then Rory cried at the end of Homeward Bound so now we are even. I did zero work. No writing, no videos, no blog posts - and typically, Iโ€™m now feeling directionless and all โ€œWhat do I even want to DOOOOO with my content??โ€ Classic January. We had a minor panic when we thought we had bed bugs - the upside is that we definitely DONโ€™T have them, the house is now cleaner and tidier than itโ€™s possibly ever been, and we got a thorough education on prevention from the pest controllers ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป The downside is that we now have TOO much knowledge / fear, I have no answers for my mysterious rash ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ, and my enduring love for my bed has been tarnished...just a little bit. Iโ€™ll have to find a new place to hide from the children. What mundane yet notable things happened during your Christmas break? ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜œ
    166 21
  • Theyโ€™re ready!๐ŸŽ…๐Ÿป
    152 6
  • That time we took a nice walk on the Gower during storm Callum ๐Ÿ˜ฌ๐Ÿคฃ. I had a hard time keeping my camera steady in the wind, and there wasnโ€™t really enough footage to turn into anything substantial. But I put together what I had and this is it. #sorryaboutthemovies
    83 7
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  • Our 2018 – My favourite memories
    • byChloe
    • Posted on January 22, 2019
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  • My favourite fashion picks from Simply Be
    • byChloe
    • Posted on January 7, 2019
    • No comments
  • The 3 Top Christmas Gifts for your Husband
    • byChloe
    • Posted on December 19, 2018December 19, 2018
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  • Premier League Writing Stars poetry competition – Diversity
    • byChloe
    • Posted on December 5, 2018
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