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by lambandbear Leave a Comment

Today fellow blogger and new mum Amy from All Things Amy is telling us her top tips for first time parents. Her beautiful boy was born a few days before BB, so it’s lovely to have her here sharing what she has learned since his arrival.
Over to you Amy…
Congratulations if you’re expecting your first baby! Becoming First Time Parents can be daunting so I’ve put together a few of my top tips..
Most importantly, don’t worry about what other people are doing. Just do you. Every baby is different, what works for one, won’t work for another. Don’t doubt yourself if you do things differently to someone else, and don’t ever justify why you do it. You’ll find what works best for your family and whatever that is, is ok.
Trust your instincts. You know your baby more than anyone else. Believe in yourself; it’s better to be safe than sorry but don’t get caught up in comparing, and worrying about milestones. Babies will learn and achieve things at different ages.
Try to get out and about. Being stuck inside can be really stressful so try and get out as much as you can; fresh air can do the world of good. Go for walks, go for lunch and do some things you enjoy. Around four months, they’ll start to naturally get into a routine which makes it a little harder to get out and do things.
Take offers of help. You’ll be exhausted and emotional so if someone offers to help in any way, say yes. Don’t feel guilty, they wouldn’t be offering if they didn’t want to. Use this the time to take a bath, or have a nap. Having a good support network is so important.
Also, don’t be afraid to say NO. Lots of people will want to come and see your new arrival, but if you’re not ready then make them wait. It’s okay to want to spend time as a family, it takes getting used to.
Enjoy it. Try not to get caught up in the stress, make the most of every moment, and appreciate it. It is hard, especially the early days but they really do go by so fast, they’re only so little once. You’ll miss the newborn squishes before you know it.
Lastly, be kind to yourself and each other. You’re going through a big change, and having a baby is one of the biggest tests on a relationship. A new baby is hands on but try to make some time for each other and remember why you love each other.
Thank you so much to Amy for contributing this post. She’s absolutely spot on with her tips and I agree with all of them! If you haven’t already, go and check out Amy’s blog. It’s beautiful. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram. Her Instagram account is one of my faves.
A little while ago Hayley who blogs over at Sparkles and Stretchmarks put a shout out on her Facebook for bloggers who might be interested in a new little project she was thinking about.
The project being a brand new collaborative YouTube channel for mums, by mums.
You may have seen me dabble in vlogging in the past, but the time involved alongside blogging, designing, running my online shop and, of course, being a mother and wife, I just couldn’t keep up and stopped filming.
Hayley’s idea for a collaborative channel was exactly what I needed. So along with a few other bloggers, we have come up with The Parent Pod.
Launching on the 1st of September at 6pm, The Parent Pod will bring you videos covering anything from weaning to weight loss, baking to breastfeeding, tips and tricks or helpful advice. The channel will be honest and real. We won’t sugar coat anything and we will try cover topics that parents want to hear.
So head on over to The Parent Pod, subscribe and enjoy!
Oh, and here we are…

Let’s face it, we all expect it to rain on Bank Holiday Monday, but to everyone’s surprise it’s been lovely! I had such a busy weekend seeing lots of friends and family, I felt the need to write about it and document such a fun few days.
Thursday
My older brother, his partner and my niece all came to stay at my younger brothers house. They live 180 miles away so we don’t see them as much as I’d like, so when they do come down we try to cram in loads of fun stuff.
Thursday we all hung out at my younger brothers house and the kids enjoyed some quality time together. My niece and nephew are both 4 years old, and Lamb is 3 1/2 so they get on really well, my other niece turns 2 in September so she’s starting to enjoy their company too. Poor little BB has some catching up to do!
Friday
We all packed up the cars and drove to Jimmys Farm in Suffolk. We had such great day although the weather was way too hot for me. Being blonde and fair I struggle with the heat and generally don’t like being sweaty.
Luckily it wasn’t too busy and I even managed to catch a new Pokemon 😉
My older brother etc came to our house for a bit so my niece and Lamb could run around the garden with the hose to cool down. We enjoyed a game of Crazy Chefs before they headed to my younger brothers house for the night.
Saturday
We all headed to the Zoo at around 3pm. Lamb loves animals, he says his favourites are elephants. Another great family day spent eating ice cream, seeing animals and catching Pokemon.
Sunday
Today myself, the hubby and kids had a family (hubbys family) celebration a couple of hours away. So this day was spent with the in laws etc. We had a meal at 3:30pm then a party at 7:30pm. Both kids were so well behaved. In fact, BB didn’t cry at all in the car… a first! I honestly don’t know what his deal is with the car but he literally screams his little heart out during almost every journey. Sometimes I think it’s wind, sometimes I think he just misses me. I mean, who wouldn’t? 😉 To our surprise we had a super smooth journey there.
By around 9pm Lamb was asking to go to bed (totally unlike him) so we walked back to our hotel. We stayed in a family room in a Travelodge and it was fab. Super spacious and it had a kettle with tea and coffee. Perfect!
Monday
We were meeting my brothers and family for breakfast the next morning so we couldn’t have a lay in unfortunately and were back in the car home at 8:30am. The journey home wasn’t as smooth and we were around 3/4 of the way back when BB had a little explosion and woke himself up. I had a feeling it would happen as he hadn’t been in a while and we all know babies like to do it at the most inconvenient time and place!
We all met up at our local Toby Carvery for a buffet breakfast and then we had Lambs BFFs 3rd birthday party to go to.
Wow I’m getting tired just writing this!
The party was lots of fun. There was burgers and ice cream and the Frozen soundtrack on repeat. Oh, and of course the sun was shining!
Overall I’d say we had a fun filled bank holiday weekend and saw so many family members in such a short period of time!
I hope you all had fun weekends. What did you get up to?
~A~
by lambandbear Leave a Comment
Sometimes I look at my baby and wonder what’s going on in his head. In fact, I think this about Lamb too. Millions of thoughts whizzing through their minds, constantly soaking up their surroundings and making memories.
C&G Baby Club‘s latest campaign, Sound Of Happy, asks us ‘what makes your baby happy?’.
When Lamb was younger he could be quite shy, so it often took him a while to give you a smile, but when he did it was infectious. He absolutely loved Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the theme tune always caught his attention. Whenever he saw anything with a Mickey Mouse picture he would point and shout “mee mouse!” So the trick to get him to smile was give him something with Mickey Mouse on!
It seems that BB is following the same steps as Lamb and loves watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
When Lamb was around 1 years old he went through a phase of not being able to fall asleep unless I sang twinkle, twinkle little star to him. I would rock and cuddle him, whilst singling and he would slowly drift off. It’s funny how, no matter how good you are at singing, a mothers voice can be so soothing and calming to a baby.
AS BB gets older we will learn what sounds make him happy, and whether he will be similar to his brother.
I’ve recently noticed a little smile on his face when Lamb is around. He knows his brother so well and I can already see their brotherly bond forming. It’s so cute to see BB’s face light up when Lamb is talking. He also thinks its hilarious when I call him a cheeky monkey!
I’d love to know what makes your baby happy?
Let me know in the comments below, or you can tweet me @lambandbear using the hashtag #SoundsOfHappy.
~A~
* In collaboration with C&G Baby Club