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Pyjamas on the Polar Express and the Mad Christmas Frenzy

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As if being a parent wasn’t busy enough already, the onset of the Festive Season brings with it a set of additional time-management requirements.  A string of extra activities from school/nursery will see parents squeezing in nativity plays, Christmas parties, Christmas fairs and possibly more, all to be fitted around extra family commitments.  Then there’s the Christmas shopping (gifts and food!).  For Cosycat Baby Gifts , this time of year also brings with it a surge of sales activity, as customers place orders for our handmade Personalised Christmas Stockings .  In an attempt to survive the increase in orders my business partner (aka my Mum!) and I have spent the year cutting out stocking shapes and sewing up the socks (ready for the names when the orders come in).  This does mean, however, that we have to be thinking about Christmas at times of the year when most people would rather not. Piles of stockings This year we have been honoured to receive a stocking order from Th
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Fed up Feeding

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The ability of a mum to multi-task is an undisputed phenomenon.   This is because sometimes doing several things at once is the only way to get things done.   As I sit typing this one-handed whilst breastfeeding, my 9 month-old is currently relieving my engorged and lumpy left breast which for the last hour has been desperately in need of his attention.   Don’t get me wrong.   I have been lucky enough to be able to breastfeed both of my boys and have really enjoyed it, making the most of the best excuse ever for cuddles, but this hasn’t stopped me from making some amusing observations on the subject. My name is Aimee, I’m a mother of two, and I haven’t worn a normal bra for nearly four years.   This is due to being pregnant or breastfeeding (or both) during all of that time.   Jokes aside, my husband has been very supportive during my BF journey (why wouldn’t he love the idea of NEVER having to get up in the night to make up a bottle?), and jokes only playfully about it not being
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Parents Talking Cr*p Again!

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Non-parents will be justifiably forgiven for avoiding conversation about babies with those who have children.   Under the circumstances this has to be the most boring topic imaginable, and, non-parents, you have my sympathy!   But the problem is, parents love to talk about their children - a fact which does have benefits in social situations.   Two parents meeting each other for the first time don’t have to have anything in common – they can just talk about babies! The thing about becoming a new parent is that when you get together with other parents the conversation will inevitably graduate into a discussion about the contents of nappies, potties, toilets and our tried-and-tested tactics and experience of the same.   In other words, and not necessarily meaning to, you end up talking about poo.   This is a known fact. As a new parent, daily experience with poo is unavoidable.   A friend recently told me she’d reached an all-time low of motherhood through catching her potty-train
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The Pregnancy Productivity Axis

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As life changes go there’s nothing more monumental than the arrival of a baby into the family.   Having recently given birth to our second little boy, I’m not sure that the equation of double the trouble is quite true in our case, but it’s fairly safe to say that your life (let alone your work life!) will never be the same again.   The juggling act has entered the big leagues! In terms of pregnancy itself, it’s widely recognised that many women enjoy being pregnant and its positive side effects (the stereotypical “blooming”) but I am sorry to say that I am not one of those women.   For me (both times) being pregnant was uncomfortable, and with a string of unsavoury side-effects to try the resolve of any normal person.   Of course, there’s the promise of a lovely baby to look forward to at the end, but other than that the list of pregnancy pros and cons is a miserable one: Disadvantages of being pregnant (not exhaustive) Sickness Weight gain Lethargy Acid reflux Haemorrho
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Toddler TV – Driving You “(Down The Hills and) Round the Bend!”

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Most of us parents would be happy to accept that allowing our children to watch copious amounts of television at the expense of more stimulating and enriching activities is not a good idea.   However.   Most of us will also happily admit that kids’ TV does have its place and use, and we therefore allow it to enter our lives, as I have found, with some amusing consequences. Being pregnant with baby number two as I recently was, I found that allowing my two-year-old to watch some TV from time to time would enable me to snatch a desperate daytime kip on the sofa, at times when energy reached an all-time low.   TV (albeit the mobile phone YouTube variety) is also my tool of last resort when all else fails to entertain a toddler in a café or restaurant.   The children's DVD's in our house have been recently moved to a high shelf in order to maintain optimum levels of parental control (and less pestering!)   Toddler - "DVD's... too high up!" Me - "Yes. Ye
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Domestic Goddess or Domestic God-forsaken?

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When juggling a new baby (or children in general) with all of life’s other demands, how much time is there really left for having a beautifully clean and tidy house which is ready to welcome visitors at the drop of a hat? I raise this point in this latest instalment to the Mumpreneur blog as this is an area in which I fail on a regular basis.   And I wonder how many others out there will take comfort in that thought knowing they are not alone!   For my own part, my time is split between looking after my little boy, paid freelance work, volunteering with the NCT, and, as the title of the blog would suggest, running a small business.   In quiet work periods I also have a huge painting and decorating project underway in my house, so by the time I’ve domestically project-managed all of the above, plus made dinner for the family (and done the grocery shopping!), how much time is there really left for cleaning and tidying?!? I have to admit to being guilty of being spurred into cle
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Been a Long Time Since I Rock and Rolled

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Many of us lament the elements of our lives that are no longer possible following the arrival of babies – trips to the cinema, theatre, pub, hobbies given up, expensive activities re-prioritised.   Well, The Times They Are A-Changin’, or rather, as any new parent knows only too well, Mr Dylan, they have already changed beyond all recognition.   My husband and I used to be in a rock band before we became parents.   We used to call it our secret double life (now we call it our secret past life!)   The band was called ‘Action Replay’ and despite sounding like a cheese rock covers band we were an alternative heavy rock band.   We never became famous, mostly frequenting Birmingham’s “toilet circuit” as I used to call it (and I have got changed in a LOT of toilets over the years), but had a string of achievements that I am still proud of today, including an EP and album that is still available on iTunes.   We had the joy of playing to 2000 people at an open-air festival on a big stage wit
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