Bonding with baby as a second-time mama

The most notable difference with a second pregnancy for me has been the lack of time you have to think about things the second time around! Unlike last time, when baby is ALL I thought about, my energy goes into looking after my beautiful toddler girl and sometimes I kinda forget I'm pregnant until my big bump gets in the way or Sprout gives me a little kick or nudge as if to say "hey, I'm here too!" Luckily, I've found a few ways to bond with our little baby when I get a moment...

Good habits

I've mentioned recently on Instagram that I've been working on practicing better self-care (particularly the next-week next-month, next-year, type of self-care, although a long bath is never something I'd turn down for that hit of instant gratification). This means I'm really trying to get into good habits, the goal being to boost health and reduce stress. There's various things I'm trying to change or add in, but more yoga and a daily green smoothie are my favourite habits that I'm really trying to keep up because they make me feel infinitely better.

World Maternal Mental Health Day

It's World Maternal Mental Health Day and raising awareness of this is so important. I chat a fair bit about mental health in a roundabout way in my posts on Instagram but it's not something I've addressed directly.

Self Care for the Second Trimester

Despite what I'd expected, it seems that the second trimester of my pregnancy has whizzed past and suddenly I'm approaching the third. It's a whirlwind of a time - it feels like there's so much preparation to do, so many changes going on in my body as Shroomie grows, and combining these aspects with a full time job can mean everything starts to feel a little overwhelming. I've written about self care before but it has never felt so important as it does now, as if I'm not looking after myself then I'm not looking after Shroomie - meaning suddenly it doesn't seem so much of an indulgence as it does a priority. For this reason I'd like to share a few favourite things that have really allowed me to indulge in self care, and the best part is many of them are fantastic whether you're pregnant or not!

2017 Reflection and 2018 Goals

Hello, 2018. It's New Years Day and today I want to take a little time to reflect on what I've achieved over the past year and to set my own personal goals for 2018. New Years Resolutions are something I rarely partake in as I find they're not always realistic, but I hope that by documenting my goals here it might help me to keep them fresh in my mind as a priority.