Last month we celebrated our sweet little boys first birthday and it felt like such a huge milestone! Not just for us but for our families and friends too. It's one of those moments where it's so far off for ages that it feels like it's never going to come and then all of a sudden 'Bam!' We have a one year old and I realised we are no longer newbies at this. I also started to feel incredibly grateful to have had so many supportive people in our life. They offered us kindness or encouragement even when we were so exhausted and over it  (trust me we had our fair share of those days). I truly feel thankful to have such a great village around us to talk to, to bring us meals and to moan to on those days where I didn't want to Mum anymore.  Looking back on this year has made me realise I've learnt so much! not just about my baby and my husband but also about life in general. Here's just a few things I wanted to share. Take advice with a grain of sal...

Recently I have been having an internal battle over this whole sleep training thing. You might be wondering what sleep training is so maybe I should explain that first... Sleep training in simplified terms is essentially training your baby to sleep for longer periods in their own bed. Theres a range of different strategies and ideas around how to do it but whatever way seems to involved some element of crying out or leaving you baby to cry until they 'get used to it'. I realise this is some what of a controversial topic which is why I have been thinking about it for a long time. As an early childhood teacher I personally would never promote sleep training techniques with my families because it didn't fit our centre philosophy of following children rhythms. However, I know there are some parents who really do benefit from it especially if they haven't had a decent nights sleep in years- ek! Now that I'm a mum (a very tired one I might add!) I feel so conflicted ...

Since becoming a Mum I have been through some trying times. In fact even for this qualified and experienced Early Childhood teacher I have had days where I threw my hands up and wanted to cry. Being a Mum is HARD! It's so hard, it is the hardest job I've ever had and I'm still learning everyday on the job! Lately I've been reading a lot online about Mum's who feel guilty for their parenting decisions for whatever reason. Maybe you forgot to boil some pumpkin for their lunch so had to give them baby rice again (shock horror) or perhaps you are beating yourself up about not letting them sleep longer because you want to meet a friend for coffee (and end up feeling like you're such a bad Mum!)  One of my Dream catcher creations a made for a beauitful friend of mine. Also a good way to unwind after a tough day. NEWSFLASH! No you're not! I have a lot of knowledge around educational psychology and philosophies after almost 9 years of teaching and I ...