12 MONTHS POSTPARTUM AND HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY HENRY

December 31, 20171 Comment

Now, I know this sounds cliché, but I literally feel as though 2017 went by in a blink. 2017 for me has been one of those years that doesn’t quite feel like it really happened.

Did I really grow a human and experience childbirth? Did I really (and successfully) reproduce! Did I endure many interrupted and sleepless nights? I’m too tired to recall. 😉 Did I really find enough inner bravery to take an almost 5 month old on a transatlantic holiday to New York?! Did I really move back to my home roots, by the seaside in Leigh-on-Sea? YOU BET I DID! Did I unnecessarily obsess over every single aspect on the things that didn’t matter? Yes. Did I obsess enough over things that did matter? Nope. Did I lose that last stone of baby weight which I’ve been holding on to ever since I gave birth? Nope.

Henry is 1. One! Uno! The big ONE! How did that happen? Here’s the final instalment of my postpartum updates…

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My recent love for organic #FeedYourHappy

September 22, 2017September 26, 2017Leave a comment

Food makes us happy, right? Well it makes me VERY happy! I turn to food when I want a treat or a dose of happiness, as do so many of you I’m sure. But in recent years, part with thanks to various medical blips and hurdles I’ve jumped (or fallen!) through, I’ve become more aware and savvy about what I’m consuming.

This isn’t a healthy eating blog post by any means – I say, currently dunking a digestive in my cup of tea whilst I’m proof reading this post. Becoming a parent has made my eyes open to the food choices I make for me and my family, especially now I have a baby son eating solid foods. I’m responsible for his wellbeing and what he eats, and I have learned so much about how important it is to ensure I provide him with a nutritional yet safe diet.

This is featured post, working with the Organic Trade Board, to help their celebrity campaigner DJ Sara Cox spread the organic love this September with their “Feed Your Happy” campaign, designed to promote the awareness of organic food throughout Organic September and why it makes us happy. I’m joining in, as I want to share my views on organic food, and why it makes me happy – albeit only recently. #FeedYourHappy…

Celebrity campaigner, Sara Cox

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Baby weaning recipe: Guest post by “Weaning the Nation”

September 17, 2017Leave a comment

Here is our third and final instalment of our mini series with mummy food blogger Weaning the Nation. I hope you’ve enjoyed the recipes so far and this last yummy meal for you and your little ones to enjoy is certainly worth the wait.

As with other recipes from this guest blogger mini series, this one yet again is versatile and is great for lunch or dinner. I LOVE meal ideas where I can eat the same as Henry and at the same time – and this is certainly one of those dishes… Gimme a spoon!

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Baby lunch recipe. Guest post by “Weaning the Nation”

September 4, 2017September 4, 2017Leave a comment

Following on from our exclusive baby breakfast recipe from Weaning the Nation, here is the second instalment of our mini series – a scrummy lunch idea for your little ones.

This is a perfect idea for baby led weaning. It’s a recipe that your babies can enjoy getting messy with and I am sure this will go down a treat due to the naturally sweet flavour it offers.

I hope you enjoy yet another exclusive dish from Weaning the Nation. The photos in this post make my mouth water and this is a great option for both parent/carer and baby to share a mealtime together…

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Baby Breakfast Recipe. Guest post by “Weaning the Nation”

August 26, 2017August 26, 20171 Comment

A very exciting guest blog here from upcoming parenting food blogger, Kelly May Armstrong! Her mission for her blog, weaningthenation.com, is simple, to create recipes that are wholesome, nutritional and healthy for little ones to enjoy.

One of my NCT friends recommended Kelly’s website to the rest of our NCT group. After looking her up and enjoying a few of her recipes for Henry, I couldn’t help but contact her to see if she would be interested in featuring on Flamingo Monroe! We even use the same WordPress blog theme so we are clearly destined to work together haha! 🙂

I’m delighted she said yes, and even better she is going to provide us with a mini series of three exclusive recipes, the first one featured below.

This follows on well from my last post, about our weaning experience with Henry. I’ve received lots of advice and feedback which is always really appreciated – so thank you everyone for reading and for your comments and messages!

And thus I think inspiration from any fellow parent is useful when it comes to weaning and introducing our babies to food, so I hope you enjoy our mini series from Kelly, starting with this super yummy breakfast option. More than just a recipe blog post, Kelly talks us through the health benefits of her ingredients and why she started blogging…

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Weaning weaning weaning!

August 22, 2017August 21, 20171 Comment

Henry is nearly 8 months old and I think we are finally getting the hang of weaning. *KLAXON* He’s now on three meals a day and sometimes can’t get the food in to his gob quick enough!

I was really excited about weaning initially and then I found it stressful, like the feeling of needing a “one way” rule book to guide me through. Almost as stressful as the whole “breast is best” vs “fed is best” debate out there whereby I felt a lot of pressure to stick with the boob for as long as possible… (I’m still not going to cover the breastfeeding subject on my blog – it’s not worth the aggravation with such strong and potentially offensive opinion masters out there!)

Referencing to my initial feeling of excitement, by the time Henry was 5 months old I had bought a variety of weaning options – baby rice, baby porridge, pouches of fruit and I had already peeled and steamed pears, sweet potato and carrots and portioned them in to ice cube trays for the freezer. I was ready!! But was Henry…???

The purpose of this post is to share mine and Henry’s weaning experience so far but also to reach out to any fellow mummy out there in the hope some of you might have some inspiration and ideas to share with me…