Before and after you have a baby

Recently I have been thinking about how much different my life was before Alice came along. You don't realise how much different your life was back then when you were child free. You could go anywhere and do anything without having to worry about this small child who needed your constant care. Although I wouldn't change being a mum for a world just sometimes I day dream about life before I was a mum and just how glorious it was for example:

Showering-

Before baby- nice long hot relaxing showers

After baby- 5 minutes if that in a cold shower while my child screams

eating-

Before baby- mmm this sandwich looks nice I cant wait to eat it all!

After baby- did I even eat today? Oh yeah I made myself a sandwich which Alice ate all off because she wouldn't eat hers even though it was exactly the same!

Socialising-

Before baby- have you seen the latest pitch perfect film its so good!

After baby - have you seen the new episodes of Gigglebiz?

Sleeping-

Before baby- ah its the weekend no alarm for me!

After baby- whats sleep?

Your life changes so much once you have a baby and it is important to remember that you were a person once before a mum and that is okay to day dream about having a wee in peace and shower that lasts more than 5 minutes no one is going to judge you. Life may never be the same but I sure as hell wouldn't change it for the world! Whats something miss that has drastically changed since having a baby i'd be interested to know so comment down below! See you all soon.

The Honest Mum 

xoxo

Review: Silver Cross Pop

The other day I purchased a Silver Cross Pop off Facebook for £10. I have never owned a Silver Cross pushchair before or a stroller for that matter so had no idea what to expect but I absolutely love it! I have now used it a few times and thought I would review it for you all!

The stroller itself is an easy to use stroller which can be used from birth onwards. the stroller lays down flat completely making it safe from birth. You can purchase the stroller from many places such as MotherCare, John Lewis, Argos and many other places. Below I have listed the pros and cons of the stroller:

Pros: 

1. light weight
2. easy to push
3. compact

not to pricey
4.  comes with a good extending hood and rain cover
5. very durable
6. will last baby a long time as is large enough for a 3 year old to fit in

Cons:

1. the basket is a little small
2. the wheels are not very good for turning


As you can see the pros definitely out weigh the cons on this stroller and I have been using it for 6 months now and I am extremely happy with it and would defiently buy it again at full price so if you are looking for a stroller then I would definitely recommend this one! Let me know what other strollers you all have and what you would recommend as I would be interested to know! Thank you for reading this post and I will see you soon!

Places you can purchase it:

https://www.mothercare.com/baby-buggies-and-strollers/silver-cross-pop-star-stroller-exclusive-to-mothercare/LKB743.html

https://www.johnlewis.com/silver-cross-pop-stroller-black/p1861126

https://www.silvercrossbaby.com/our-products/prams-and-strollers/pop2/jet/

The Honest Mum 

xox

5 ways to beat loneliness in motherhood!

Motherhood can be a lonely time. The world is a busy place but you feel like for you that normal everyday life has come to halt and that you are all alone. I know I feel like that 90% of the time. You begin to get into a routine with your child and you start to do the same thing day in day out with your child and it becomes very repetitive and boring. You always read about and see in films; mums strolling around with their friends in their gym kit off to Starbucks for a skinny no- coffee no- sugar no- calories latte and you envy them. You wish your life was exciting as that but the only excitement you will be getting is if there is a new programme on Cbeebies.

When you first have a baby everyone is always round but it seems the older they get the less interested people become. Alice is now nearly 10 months old and James has a full time job so for 5 days a week Alice and I are left to our own devices. Of course I am used to it just being the two of us and we are now in a good routine but I can't help but feel alone. I have friends and family around who care about us and I am grateful for that but it doesn't stop the loneliness from creeping in. It doesn't matter whether you have 1 person stood by you or a 100 motherhood is lonely and it is isolating. 

I know I am not the only one who feels like this because I have spoken to other mums and they feel the same way. No one can prepare you for motherhood and they especially can't prepare you for how isolating it can feel at times. Although you have this tiny version of you to keep you company its just not the same as having an adult conversation. I often find myself rambling away to Alice about things that she wouldn't even understand half the time. Its okay to admit that you are lonely and that you would like to be around other adults and resume to normal life, no one is going to judge you if you do. Although motherhood can be lonely it is also a rewarding job and when your kids are all grown up you will be longing for the days when it was just you and them sat at home in front of Cbeebies. So here are my 5 top tips to beat loneliness in motherhood: 

1. Attended a local baby group- Have a look online for your nearest local baby group most are situated in churches or there is a sing song at the local library. 

2. Join a FaceBook page for mums- I am apart of a few mum groups on FaceBook- one being called "Mumma bears" and the other "Teen Mummies" you can go on these groups and ask for advice and make new friends! 

3. Walking- Go for lots of walks also help as you will be surprised at the amount of people you chit chat with when out on a walk and its also good exercise for you too! 

4. Eating out- Take your little ones out for lunch to your local cafe- that way you converse with people and get a nice lunch out of it and it gives you a change of scenery from being stuck in the house! 

5. Advice lines- Another thing to do is you can contact advice lines such as breathing space where they will put you through to someone who can you have a talk with if you are feeling lonely or anxious! 

This year I am going to try and get out more with Alice and meet new people because I am sick of being stuck in a rut. There are always plenty of baby groups in the local area so if you are feeling like you are isolated then why not go out to one of your local baby groups, you'll meet other mums who I can guarentee feel the way you do! 

New years resolutions: fab or fail?

Ah 2019. Another year has been and gone. I always feel very focused and inspired when the new year comes around and I always say this year is going to be my year. Everywhere I look on social media all I see is "New year, new me", "My goals for 2019" and so on. It is great to see so many people inspired and ready to take on the new year but are new years resolutions fab or a fail?

Don't get me wrong I am not against anyone who sets new years resolutions I mean good for you if you want to try achieve something this year however I personally think what is the point? I have a few "goals" shall we say for the new year but nothing in set in stone? Why because I feel that if it set in stone and I don't achieve it then I feel like a failure.

I remember the days when new years resolutions used to be something simple like make your bed everyday or smile more, nowadays people want to loose 10 stone, go on a 3 month travel round the world, set up a YouTube channel, blog, vlog, stop drinking, stop smoking oh and don't forget buy a house, have a cool car and so on... Although you  could do all of those things it would be very hard and unrealistic to achieve all that in one year. I personally think you should find one thing that you are really adamant on doing and stick to it and focus on it for the year because if you set a million and one things to do in the year you are just going to get overwhelmed by it all and then be miserable and feel like a failure when you can complete it all. So my advice to you would be to pick something that stands out something that you have wanted to do for a while and focus on that. When you give something your all you will find the results are 10x times better, so if your goal is loose weight this year then just solely focus on that and you will find that in time maybe 6-7 months time you have lost the weight you wanted and therefore giving you time to focus on a new thing.

Now I understand that its a new year and that most people see it as a clean slate however something that baffles me is around December time people will chit chat and say in the new year I am going to exercise more, I am going to eat more healthy and so on but personally I think its wrong. Why do you have to wait until the new year to do all those things? What is stopping you from starting them right now? People are so engrossed in the fact that is a new year, clean slate and fresh start which it is but if you want to achieve something then it would't matter what day of the year it is. There is never a wrong time to achieve your goals and aspirations. So if you haven't quite figured out where you are going yet there is still time and anytime is the right time to achieve your dreams.

So what are your goals and aspirations for the new year? I am interested to know. Here are mine:

1. Grow my youtube channel and blog
2. be more tidy and organised.


I decided that I would only set myself two this year as last year I told myself I would do this and that and I got stressed out at the fact that I couldn't keep up with them all so this year I have set myself two goals that I am going to try and stick to for the rest of the year. I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas and fantastic new year and I look forward to seeing you all here a lot more!

The Honest Mum xox

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