Ada's Christening

Despite not being religious myself, I always knew I wanted Ada christened. I like the idea of her being a part of a community, and we chose the church my Mum got married in, with one of the loveliest vicars running the service. I hadn't set a date until the end of May which gave me only a few weeks to get everything sorted and organised, so it was a busy time but it all worked out lovely and was such a nice day. 

I'm always terrified trying to organize anything; I spend the few days before in a state of constant worry over whether anyone will turn up, will the two families get along (especially with it being their first time of meeting, despite me and Kane being together over five years!), would the food arrive on time and be tasty.. As it was, everything went off without the slightest glitch, and the day was spent tucking into some delicious food, sipping on one too many glasses of prosecco and enjoying some great company.

Mama Friendly Skincare

I've never had particularly good skin, but since having Ada my once spotty, blemish prone and uneven skin-toned face has been replaced with one that looks ten years older, with a baggy, wrinkled forehead, large pores and a general dullness. Although the occasional spot is still there too, so there's really no positives to take from this situation. It's hard to really find the time to treat my skin the way it should be with a little baby in tow, so I've lined up a few of my favourite time saving and mama appropriate skincare items.

By the end of the day, I just want my make-up off me and I want it off now. If I'm really lazy I'll just grab the nearest packet of baby wipes to me, but that's only in extreme situations. The Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm is my go-to evening cleanser for something that removes every single scrap of make-up in seconds. I leave my Caudalie Moisturising Toner in the bathroom so whilst I'm brushing my teeth I can swipe a cotton pad covered in this over my face, and by the time I'm done it's all sunk in and I'm ready to jump into bed. 

A few years ago I'd have a few products by the bed and I'd spend a good twenty minutes layering them up to work some magic on my face whilst I was sleeping; now I'm so exhausted when I'm going to sleep that I've just got enough energy for one. The Trilogy Rosapene Night Cream is one of the very few skincare items that I've always repurchased. It's a lovely thick cream, packed full of anti-oxidants with goji and manuka honey, so there's no need to layer up a bunch of serums and oils, this will do the whole job for you. 

When it's finally time to drag myself out of bed, I can usually bet that my face is looking pretty exhausted. If Ada has been co-operating with me, I've usually got the time to pop on a quick layer of my Origins Ginzing Refreshing Face Mask which helps to perk up my complexion, making everything a little brighter and less tired looking. If you follow me on snapchat (username:heymamablog, go find me!) you'll have seen me ranting about the name of this recently thanks to a little song from the 1930s.. But anyway, misogynistic lyrics aside, I kinda love this from REN. I don't know where it's all come from but the skin around my eyes, nose and between my eyebrows has gone hella baggy with large pores. Just a little dab of this tightens it all up nicely and makes me look a little closer to my age, rather than a decade or two older!

Have you tried any of these products? Can you recommend any time saving skincare?

MOTHERLY LOVES | Friday Five

It's been another week of feeling like I'm rushed off my feet. It's Ada's christening on Sunday so I've been busy ordering decorations, altering outfits (the trousers of mine, the neckline of her dress) putting together all the final touches. I've also been offered a little stall at Bygone Times so my mind has been non-stop, thinking about what stock I can sort out for it, how I'll have everything arranged. As well as catching with a friend I need to make more effort with, working, looking after a teething baby and everything inbetween, it's busy. But enjoyable! I don't know how I wasn't bored out of my skull before I had a baby. 

1. Veronica Dearly EU Prints - politics can get very serious, which is fine, it needs to be really, but sometimes it's nice to poke a little bit of humour into a situation to stop people getting so riled up. Whilst there are quite a few people who are still undecided, the majority of people I know are firmly in one camp or another. I'm writing this on Wednesday evening, preparing to get up first thing and head off to vote. I'm personally voting in to remain, but I hope everyone can have a little giggle at these prints, regardless if they got the verdict they hoped!

2. This gorgeous little romper that has just headed into the Mamas & Papas sale!

3. Celebrating National Breastfeeding Week having a look through the hashtag on instagram and feeling proud that Ada and I have reached over six months of breastfeeding. It always amazes me just thinking that my body not only grew a baby, I managed to keep her alive solely on my milk for over six months. 

4. Perhaps I'd remember to take out reusable bags with me if I had one as awesome as this tote from Oh No Rachio

5. Reading about Parenting Boredom on Me & Orla. I think a lot of people out there, who either haven't had children or have forgotten what it's like, might be quick to judge if you mentioned occasionally finding parenting boring. It's not something to be ostracized about, there is only a certain amount of times you can sing along to Mr. Tumble or shake the same teddy around without feeling a tiny bit bored. It's not that we don't love our children, it's that we're human beings who need our own time, too! 

What have you loved this week?

Remembering to Nurture Yourself

I've written on here before about some of my favourite ways to spend some 'me time', but putting them into practice is a whole other issue. Like many things as a parent, it's easier said than done, and with so many things on my virtual to-do list, looking after myself falls by the wayside. Reading through those daily parent newsletters from parenting.com and mumsnet (remind me why I signed up to those?) I'm reminded of ways I should be looking after myself, mostly by putting down my third cup of coffee and going for a walk; going for a real walk, not one to morrisons to stock up on chocolate bars and tonic for the gin I'll be enjoying later.

I've actually been trying to diet recently, despite being a stone and a half lighter than I was before getting pregnant, I'm still not happy with my figure. But I'm also not happy when I've spent the day looking after a teething baby who's refusing to nap, with no treat to come at the end of it! Recently I've even found myself almost racing to the fridge for a cool beer as soon as Ada's snoozing away in her cot, despite never being a big drinker.

I spend so much of my time looking after the others around me that I do forget to look after myself. I wash and put away all of Kane's clothes, tidying his wardrobe as he goes, then when I come to try and find an outfit for myself it's buried in a dirty washing pile, or beneath a ridiculous mountain of clothes forming in my wardrobe. I buy Ada anything and everything she needs, to the point of excess, then when I reach in my make-up bag I've run out of several products. I work most nights from the minute she goes to bed, I forget to just take some time out for myself to just be. Remembering to take some time out for yourself is like getting a good nights sleep for me, I always wake feeling so refreshed and ready to deal with anything the day throws my way. Without it, I crumble and buckle under the pressure too often.

Starting blogging again has been a big way to rediscover my hobbies. I've blogged on different services for over ten years now, and just writing, whether it be something useful like a review, or a ramble like this, I've just loved for so long. I get a little embarrassed to admit just how much I love gardening too, but I really do. I find myself at my most calm when I'm filling pots with flowers, or even digging up the pesky grass and weeds growing between the patio stones. Even if it's just a few minutes spent alone outside, admiring it all, it just gives me a chance to slow down, breathe, and reflect, rather than building up feelings of stress. But hey, perhaps all that gardening will help to burn off all the chocolate and gin calories? I can hope!

How do you nurture yourselves?

For Kane On Fathers Day

Okay, so I know it was Fathers day yesterday, but Kane occasionally likes to have a little peek at my blog, so I didn't want to risk him spying on all his presents! It was Kane's first Fathers Day this year, so I really wanted to give him a special day. Of course it's not all about the presents, but it's still nice to feel appreciated with a few little things to unwrap. I know I'm not alone in that I occasionally give my guy a bit of a hard time; I spend all my days looking after Ada and working after that, and I think the lack of sleep sometimes makes my frustration levels extra high anyway, especially when I'm having to pick up dirty socks and wash up the pots from yet another midnight snack (all the men I know are extremely messy beings, it just seems to be built into their DNA!)

But I realised once Kane headed off to Barcelona for a few days last month and left me as a single mother just how lost without him I'd be. I don't think he'd disagree that I do the majority, but even bringing me home a little coffee treat from work, or taking Ada off me for an hour or so when he gets home, it helps me A LOT so I'm forever grateful for that. Plus he looked after me throughout my entire pregnancy, bathing me and washing my hair when I was too weak to even sit up after being sick for the tenth time that day. He breezed through the birth with me, nothing seemed to faze him; anything I needed or wanted, he did (including almost having his hand broken from all the squeezing!) so I wanted to try and give a bit back to him for everything.

The first gift I bought was the Pulp Fiction vinyl which I bought from a record store in Bangor, although I wish I'd hung on a couple weeks later when I found it 25% cheaper, in Sainsburys, of all places! Pulp Fiction is his favourite film, and this has the soundtrack as well as little spoken excerpts from the film. I have a decent sized record collection myself, so I thought it might be nice for him to have one too!

We've always been big coffee drinkers in this house, but since Ada came along it's cranked up a gear. We do end up just drinking the bean stuff from the supermarkets usually, but whenever I'm out and about and spot some beans, I have to take some home. Bags only last 3-4 days here, so I thought a coffee subscription would be a good idea! I found the Three Month Coffee Club from Bean & Ground on not on the high street; for just £29 a month you get two bags of coffee sent out each month, I do believe it's different bags each month.

Other than that, I picked up a few Dad themed and typical Dad gifts. He was in desperate need of a new wallet and some new socks, so when we popped into TKMaxx recently, I found both of those. I also got the little "Papa" bottle opener keyring from The Fourth Trimester. I hope he loved them all!

Did you have a lovely Fathers Day?

6 Months In

It's such an odd feeling looking back on these last six months; part of me can't believe my once tiny little baby is already half a year old, and part of me feels like she's been here so much longer. 

Some things haven't changed much; I still have my wobbly mum tum, we're still breastfeeding (wahoo!), and as of this going live, Ada is still sleeping in our room. But lots has changed in six months. Ada has turned from a completely helpless newborn who required so much care and attention, to a little baby who's growing in independence each day. She's not really on the move yet, unless you count on her back, then she can scoot across the room in no time. She's close to sitting up on her own, she's rolled over from her front and her back now, she's been eating for a couple of weeks (we started a little early, sssssh! there'll be a whole post on our weaning journey soon) and she pretty much chomps away happily on everything I put in front of her.

Happily is the world I'd use to describe most things about Ada, really. Everywhere we go people stop to have a little look in her pram, and she'll wave around her arms, smiling and giggling away. It doesn't matter where we are or what we're doing, she babbles away, making a real racket most of the time! She's teething quite badly now (if you follow me on snapchat you'll have seen her trying to steal my phone just to munch on it!) but even that she seems to be going through like a little trooper. I can tell already she is so much more confident and outgoing than I am, I hope that never changes. She laughs at the funniest little things, and you can basically make her laugh saying anything to her as long as you look away, then look back and exaggerate the word. Or even scaring her a little, reduces her into a fit of giggles! Playing peekaboo or hiding her under a blanket is her favourite. 

I know it's silly to focus on sleeping habits, most babies suck in this department. But she's even been better at this recently, and she's now finally napping in her cot through the day and only waking once during the night for a feed. I think she's ready for her to finally go into her own room soon, and I know it'll be me having to make the hardest adjustments, not her! I look forward to my evenings when Ada's in bed so I can have a bit of time to myself, only to find myself looking through my phone at pictures and videos of her. 

My little Ada Grace, you have filled my life with so much joy and love in the last six months, I can't wait to spend the rest of my life as your mother. 

Mama & Baby Wishin'

Aaaah, the return of the good old fashioned wishlist. Ada is coming into a new age bracket and I'm just forever wanting stuff that I can't afford or have, such as all of the dresses. It's funny, I was never a dress wearer before I got pregnant, but since I haven't really been able to fit in too many later on into my pregnancy, or wear any thanks to breastfeeding, they're all I seem to want to buy. I've heard that wrap or shirt dresses are good for easy boob access, but I still don't know how comfortable I'd be wapping one out. I'm a big fan of a wrap dress, and the gorgeous red shade of this Topshop one makes it look like you've made an effort when in reality, you've just thrown on a dress. I think I'd pair it with these Clarks Leopard Sandals, I don't really do much leopard print but I've fancied some sandals like these for ages!

My skin is looking seriously lacklustre these days and there's not a great deal of time anymore to give myself a home facial, so I need a couple products I can throw on at night and work their magic for me whilst I snooze. I've always been recommended the Kiehls Midnight Recovery for helping to add a much needed moisture boost to my skin. REN have always been one of my favourite skincare brands, and their Wake Wonderful Night Time Facial sounds perfect too for evening out my skintone and making my skin a little brighter looking.

I don't actually need to pick up too many things for Ada as she moves into 6-9 month clothes, I always seem to be pretty well prepared and buy things I like as I go along so she has a pretty decent selection of clothing already. Somewhere I never really think to go to but always have such cute bits is Boots Mini Club. Rompers are one of my favourites to dress Ada in, and I love this little woven mint green one - it'd look perfect with this little cardigan too!

It's Ada's christening next Sunday, and I have pretty much everything sorted for it except some decorations. I'll probably pick something up next week, but I love the look of these pink & gold plates, the honeycomb decorations, and of course, pink paper straws are a must!

LATEST BUYS | Vintage For Ada

I may have mentioned previously that i LOVE buying vintage for Ada - having sold vintage for over six years now, it's not hard to see that clothes from previous decades seem to be a lot better made than the clothes we can buy today, and it also gives me an excuse to splurge a little extra with the backthought that everything can always be sold on after she's done with it (depending on how much food she decides to spill down it!)

We went away to Wales twice in May, and I picked up quite a few things along the way. I haven't even actually photographed everything I got in fear this may get a bit boring quickly, so I just picked up some of my favourite things. In a vintage emporium I found a pack of three deadstock bibs, which I'm afraid is one of the things I won't be able to sell on, this kid loves strawberries and tomatoes too much! I also found the CUTEST pair of little shoes from a car boot, they look like something that would belong to the royal family, but I'll jazz them up with some bright socks.

Ada is heading into a new size bracket soon (six months on Sunday!) so I've been picking up a few new thing for her. I found a couple of these adorable little smock tops at the car boot for £4 each, although the neck is a little small so she's not going to get much more wear out of these. From the same stall was the incredible little cat romper, that I would seriously wear if I could find one in my size! This one is a little bigger so she won't be in it until next year now.

There are far too many instagram sellers that tempt me on a daily basis, and I am all over them if they do a £5 sale. I recently picked up a few things from Pineapple 9 Vintage, my favourite including the little yellow spot sundress that she can wear now if the sun ever reappears, and the little purple floral dress that's for when she's a bit older. 

..And now, for my favourite of them all! I spotted this on the Essentially Eagle Vintage facebook page, run by Gail, a trader I know from Vintage Village. She had taken this to a fair with a measly £20 price tag, and no-one had snapped it up! Queue some quick messages from me and it was mine, or Ada's rather - there's no chance of me squeezing my thighs in there! She's still a little teenie for it and may have cried when I tried to put her in it, but I'm sure she'll love it when she's older!

What do you think of my buys?

New Around Here

Possibly because I just spend so much time here, my home is seriously important to me. Whereas Kane would be happy with a sofa, TV and his Xbox, I'm forever looking at ways to improve our space, buying new furniture, decorations and prints. In some of those many hours I spend with Ada in my arms whilst she naps, I scour Ebay, and it appears to be dangerous, dangerous business. I found a couple 1960s cocktail chairs I decided I needed for my conservatory, so my beautiful Ercol has found it's way into the living room with the £5 sheepskin rug I scored at a car boot a couple weekends ago. It's meant a bit of a change around a refresh and I love it, although with the pram and baby toys, it does get a bit cramped in here now.

I also finally picked up some new curtains for the living room, after living with the boring brown set the previous owners left in. I've been struggling to find a set I liked for ages, until in came Dunelm with the Natural Marrakesh Curtains. They're a lovely light shade, with a pretty pattern that's not too bold and in your face, and their also lined with a little pattern too so the outside world can enjoy them as well!

In this space we used to have a little bar cart, but thinking in mind to a few months time when Ada could be crawling or even walking around, a little trolley full of glass bottles of alcohol wasn't particularly ideal. I went on the hunt for a vintage sideboard, but needed something taller rather then wide. I did buy this with the intentions of drilling hairpins legs into the base, until we collected it and I realised just how big and heavy it was. I still really like it, I feel it fits the space nicely and have a ton of storage space for me to throw my rubbish in!

.. And said chairs! These must have lived in a twenty a day smokers house because they were BLACK when they arrived! I spent a good hour at about 11pm at night when they arrived going to town on them with a sponge and some fairy until they turned a nice dark cream shade, although they did manage to cover my floors in black in the process. They're small so work well in the conservatory, and they're actually surprisingly comfortable. I love how they're a set too, it's fairly difficult to find a matching pair of vintage chairs.

What do you think of my new home changes?

A Look Inside Ada's Nursery

Despite Ada not actually sleeping in her room yet, I've been really keen to share it with you for some time now. The pink, floral vintage style isn't what I fill the rest of my home with anymore, but I really wanted her nursery to be something quite special, filled with handmade decorations, vintage toys and books. Kane doesn't really 'do interiors' so luckily I got free reign over the entire room, I just had him and a friend paint the room and put in a blackout blind so it'll be nice and dark when she does move into here to sleep.

It's quite a small room so I had to pick what pieces I wanted quite carefully. There's a cupboard with a boiler in with a rail for clothes and quite a lot of storage space, so I decided on getting drawers rather than another wardrobe. This vintage set was probably the most expensive piece in the room (after the cot when it moves in!), despite me usually scouring charity shops and car boots for most of my furniture, I was having some difficulty finding a tallboy set which I needed for the space. I finally found a set on ebay for around £175, although I don't really see vintage purchases as spending, as I have my own little vintage store I can always sell things on in (have a little peek here!) 

We didn't have a huge budget for this room but I'm so pleased with how it's all coming together, I think a couple more pieces for the walls and we should be done! I'll be sharing the full space as soon as Ada moves in, although with how many times she's still waking in the night, I'm not in any rush!

• tallboy drawers : Retrolicious on Ebay
• chair : Wilton chair from Made
• dolls cot : charity shop
• books : from various sellers at Vintage Village
• noticeboard : DIY job (a shoddy one, at that!)
• pom pom garland - Auntie Lorena
• rug - vintage from GB Antiques
• prints - thrifted
• books - gifts
• pull along chicken - thrifted
• vintage 'a' sign - Ironbridge Antiques
• wire basket - thrifted
• wooden coat hanger - ebay

An Update

Well, hello there! I certainly didn't expect to be finding myself posting after a two and a half month break, trying to find my feet in the blogging world again. Turns out, that whole "we're in a routine where I know exactly when I can work" didn't last very long, the novice in me didn't realise babies were changing all the time. Gone were the 10am starts, replaced with cries at 7.30am to get up, and a morning coffee with the sounds of Rastamouse and Mike the Knight in the background. 

Ada also decided that sleeping through the night was much too easier for Mama, and as three months she went through what is normally the four month sleep regression. We're still working through that now, although not particularly well; on a good night I feed her 3 times after she goes to bed at 7.30, on a bad one I could be up every 1-2 hours. We've never particularly been one for routine and set naptimes, but I'm going to see how she responds to sleep training this week.

It's been a bit of a difficult time recently as I just feel like I've got no time for myself; especially with Ada refusing to nap during the day anywhere but on me, as we'd previously had success with her napping in her pram, I'm managing to get less and less done and basically work until I go to bed after she's gone to sleep. Blogging has always just been a hobby for me and something I can lose myself in, so I'm determined to try and get some more posts up.

In terms of my little baby, well she doesn't feel too little any more! She's close to being sat up on her own now, although most of the time needs to rest on her hands. She's always reaching out for things though, so she doesn't stay up too long before toppling face first into whatever's in front of her. And she's been reaching out for things that technically she shouldn't be doing quite yet, like Mama's food! She's been grabbing at my food and stuffing it in her mouth for a while now, and her hand eye co-ordination has been seriously good for sometime, so we starting weaning a week ago, so a little earlier than I would have done considering she's only 24 weeks. I've been mostly just offering her very well cooked vegetables and soft fruit, with a tiny amount of puree. There hasn't been much she hasn't fancied yet, only the cooler fruits like watermelon that I don't think she likes handling too much. Broccoli is her absolute favourite, she absolutely goes crazy for the little stalks I give her, although the majority does end up all over her, the floor and the highchair.

So, hopefully I won't be writing another one of these updates in a couple months time having not heard from me again, I'm going to be getting to snapping away and having photographs ready for some late night post writing, I guess it just means I'll be getting even less sleep!