5 Top Tips to get in the pool with your little one by Rebecca Adlington

"Olympic swimming champion and Huggies Little Swimmers brand ambassador Rebecca Adlington is already taking her baby daughter Summer swimming, and hopes to encourage other parents to take the plunge with their little ones. Here she shares her five top reasons to get in the pool:

I loved being in the water from a young age and my sisters and I were fortunate to have parents who took us swimming every Saturday. It was the most fun we had as kids and created lots of wonderful memories. And it doesn’t cost a fortune!

Swimming is a life skill everyone should have - it could save your life one day as well as being great for your health and wellbeing. I’d love Summer to follow in my footsteps but whatever she decides 

to do, I’ll be happy as long as she’s a confident swimmer. Just like my parents, Harry and I plan to take her swimming every week.

Getting back in the water is empowering for new mums as well as being a great confidence 

booster. It’s easier said than done, but women should try not to worry about their post-pregnancy 

figure and instead embrace spending time with their new arrivals. It’s also worthwhile remembering 

that swimming is a fantastic all over body exercise which can help tone your body. You actually burn 

300 calories for every 30 minutes of swimming, which is why it is one of the most effective forms of cardiovascular exercise.

Swimming is one of the few activities you and your little one can actually participate in and enjoy 

together – it provides that real special bonding time for parents and children.

Once you’ve been swimming with your baby a few times you’ll realise that it’s a huge amount of  fun and really not much hassle. Preparation is key of course and a well-packed swim bag can make it even more enjoyable. I never leave home without Huggies® Little Swimmers, which won’t expand or leak in the water, a change mat and oversized towels to wrap up in when we come out of the pool.

For practical advice, support videos and a step-by-step guide to baby swimming, visit 

www.littleswimmers.co.uk".

Disclamer: Huggies have provided baby wipes (couple of packs) for the purpose of this post. 

Evening reads: Darkmouth 2 Worlds Explode and Dork Diaries 8 plus a giveaway

I don't remember the last time I have read something that is not child related which hopefully I will do when L is older, but for now we are enjoying Russian and English board books during the day and sometimes if we are both in the mood I read to L something a little bit different. For the past few weeks we were reading Darkmouth 2 by Shane Hegarty (for 9+) and Dork Diaries by Rachel Renee Russell (for 9+). 

1. Darkmouth 2: Worlds Explode (£9.99) 

In the second book Finn a 12 years old 'Legend Hunter' trying to rescue his dad, who went missing. His rescue mission takes him in to the 'Infested Side' where Legends live.

"The adventures of the most unfortunate Legend Hunter ever to don fighting armour and pick up a Dessicator continue.
On a list of things Finn never thought he'd wish for, a gateway bursting open in Darkmouth was right up there. But that's about his only hope for finding his missing father. He's searched for a map, he's followed Steve into dead ends, but found nothing. And he's still got homework to do.
But soon Finn and Emmie must face bizarre Legends, a ravenous world and a face from the past as they go where no Legend Hunter has gone before. Or, at least, where no legend Hunter has gone before and returned with their limbs in the correct order".

I have found lots of reviews online from kids of the age over 9 year old who enjoyed reading the book and found it funny and scary. If your child is a big fan of monsters you may want to scroll down to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway.

2. Dork Diaries 8 Tales from a not-so-perfect pet sitter (£6.99)

Dork Diaries is a book based on Nikki Maxwell's stories written in a diary format full of fun illustrations.

The Queen of the Dorks is back in a brand new instalment of the internationally bestselling series, now with 13 million copies in print worldwide! After a bump on the head, Nikki has a wild dream in which she, her BFF's Chloe and Zoey, her crush Brandon, and mean girl Mackenzie all end up playing the roles of some familiar classic fairy tale characters. Will Nikki's dream turn into a nightmare?

It's a great light book to read and laugh with your little one. I know L didn't understand much but I found it funny and girly.

HarperCollins have kindly offered one of my readers the opportunity to win Darkmouth 2 Worlds Explode book, all you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below (the competition starts on 28 August 12am and ends on 11 September 12am):

a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclaimer: I was sent the items mentioned above for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Arts & Crafts: glitter cardboard number 1

When I saw Deborah from Super Busy Mum decorating a wooden number 2 with glitter for her daughter's 2nd birthday party I knew straight away that I want to recreate something similar for L.

It took me couple of weeks to finish the project but it was worth it!

 To create a glitter cardboard number 1 you would need:
- medium size cardboard box
- small sharp knife
- ruler
- pen or pencil
- sellotape
- white paper or paint(optional)
- glue
- glitter (100-200g)
- gloves
- tray

So here is a step- by-step guide:

- turn the box on a wider side and with a ruler and pen draw the lines for number 1 ( you would need two number 1s and small pieces of cardboard to glue the sides together)

- when finished cut the sides (I used a small knife as it was faster and easier than with scissors)

- use the first cut out as a stencil to cut one more cardboard number 1
- cut out small pieces of cardboard according to the size of your number 1 for the bottom, 2 sides and top

- sellotape each side one by one
- (optional) once the cardboard number 1 is sellotaped glue pieces of paper onto the sides. I have experimented a little bit here as had 2 cardboard figures to work with- the first one I painted with Rust-Oleum pink paint and the second free standing number 1 I cover with white paper. First method was a little bit easier as I didn't have to "cover" white background
- prepare a tray and either empty glitter on a tray or put the number 1 on one side and apply glue and then sprinkler the glitter on top and leave it to dry

Disclaimer: I was provided with Rust-Oleum for the purpose of these updates. All opinions are honest and my own.

Nourkrin® post pregnancy tablets 2 month update

I have started using Nourkrin® post pregnancy tablets (£29.95) couple of month ago as I'm suffering with a postpartum hair loss. Here is my 1st month update if you are interested to follow the progress from the very beginning.

"Nourkrin® post pregnancy for hair maintenance is a safe and drug-free OTC supplement to help maintain natural, beautiful hair for new mums".

Each pack has 30 tablets which lasts 1 month. If I'm not being forgetful I take (you are required to take) 1 tablet a day in the morning after the food.

Since I have started using Nourkrin® post pregnancy tablets I could see that if I take tablets as required my hair are silky, feel soft and if I forget to take a few it won't look as healthy. 
I was quite surprised as to how soft they are, I can compare it to after effect of a hair treatment or hair mask. 

As in between the "treatments" I had a hair cut and bleached my hair they felt "tired" and hard to touch, I even noticed split ends, but Nourkrin® post pregnancy tablets fixed it quite quickly. How can tablets fix split ends?! Sounds hard to believe but I "check" my hair every day and I can see the difference. 
I can't say that I had a massive hair growth spurt in these 2 months, I think it might be down to me missing a tablet every other day. But I can see small-ish hair under my fringe growing and overall condition of my hair is much better. 


Disclaimer: I was provided with 3 sets of Nourkrin tablets for the purpose o these updates. All opinions are honest and my own.

Review: Ella's Kitchen The First Foods Book

Not many people know but I'm very bad at cooking. Even the simplest things can taste and look awful, having said that I understand that L can't have pouches and jars all her life and I'm willing to give a cooking a go again.

I have stopped giving L her favourite jars for few weeks now, what seemed to be so normal and comforting for me is gone for good from our lives. Jars were my saviour as L would refuse normal food and I was convinced that baby-led weaning is not for us. But I came to realisation that I was wrong, now I know that if we started with baby- led weaning earlier she would be more accepting. I spoke with health visitor about portions L has, she tends to have a little bit and the rest goes on the floor, which seems to be perfectly normal but I want her to eat better.

To help me with that Ella's Kitchen have kindly provided the First Food Book (RRP £14.99/£4 with Prime)

"We think weaning should be full of fun, scrummy tastes, and lots of big smiles, so we've created the First Foods Book - the purple one!

Packed with 130 yummy recipes for weaning right up to the big table, there's everything you need to know to help your little one on their tiny taste bud adventure!"

The First Foods Book is great for new mums and dads as covers all aspects of weaning: when to start, how to start, what is allowed to eat and what's not from the perspective of "nutritionists, baby experts and real mums, dads and carers".

The book is suitable for babies who are starting their weaning journey up to a year. It includes more than 130 recipes "from single-veg purees to exciting combinations, full meals" and finger food ideas.

Every recipe includes cooking time estimate, the number of people the recipe is meant to serve, ingredients list, the recipe itself and the photo.

What I like the most about the book is it's index page, you can find any recipe by looking up the ingredients you already have in the house.

I hope my cooking will only get better with a help from the First Foods Book.

Here is courgette fritters I made today (I need to work on that one):

Disclaimer: I was sent the item mentioned above for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Little L is 13 months

It seems that in the past month L had a massive development leap. She is not a baby anymore, she is a little human!

At her birthday party she had lots of fun with a ride on toy, which she used as a walker. Since then I thought that I would keep it in the house to encourage her walking. I have previously walked with L whilst holding her hands, but the ride on toy and dandelions in our garden encouraged her to walk! In a weeks time we had a walking baby (12.5 months) instead of crawling! 

Teething seems to be a non- stop here, L has 9,5 teeth and I can feel couple more re coming through. Canine and molar teeth are definitely the worst so far, as I have never seen L in so much pain and not being able to cope with it.

Few weeks ago I have bough Russian language flashcards for L to learn the words and recognise objects. L tries to repeat in her own way flower, blue, this one, woof-woof (more as fuf), yum yum, some of the words she said only once and others she tries to repeat on a daily basis. 

She loves cats and dogs and every time she sees a picture with a cat or a kitten shows her excitement.

L started to hate pushchair and wants to walk, which is a bit of a problem if we need to be out and about, she pulls the straps or tries to wiggle her way out of them and tries to stand. She tried it once in a trike which almost gave me a heart attack.

L is very adventurous. She likes to "hang out" on a sofa by the window seal in the living room, I had to take cushions off the sofa as it was more dangerous than leaving them on. L was caught whilst she tried to climb the stairs, hence we have a stair gate in place now. Cupboards locks were "hacked" by L, I have found cheap locks on ebay so far so good. Today she was caught trying to put by pumps on and just adores trying to put all clothing items on her head.

I really like how she changed, it feels so much easier, better not because I know what to do (that as well), but because she is more "readable".

My love for L is mega massive, my heart melts when I see her cry, smile, sleep. I love her so much and I do hope she is happy and feels loved. 

Review: AHAVA facial mud exfoliator

I use cleansing and moisturising products on a daily basis but reviewing beauty products for my blog is something new to me.

I have picked AHAVA products for my first beauty review as I have tried this brand before thanks to my mum who bought me few AHAVA hair treatment products whilst she was in Israel.

If you have never heard it "AHAVA Dead Sea Laboratories was founded to study the powerful, rejuvenating minerals found in the Dead Sea. Since then AHAVA has grown to become the definitive Dead Sea mineral beauty expert".

I have opted for facial mud exfoliator (£13.49)- "a formulation of Dead Sea mineral mud and extra small exfoliating granules gently exfoliate dead skin cells to stimulate cell renewal to reveal smooth, toned and radiant skin. Dead Sea mineral mud absorbs sebum and purifies for clear skin. Vitamin E softens skin. Improves skin absorbent capabilities".

The exfoliator tub is sealed to prevent opening in transit and packed in a stylish branded box.

AHAVA facial mud exfoliator doesn't have an obvious smell which is great as it won't "annoy" you once you put it on your skin.

It is recommended to gently massage it on to wet face and rinse the face with water once finished massaging.

If you follow the instructions it the exfoliator feels very soft and almost non-existent on the skin, as I prefer "rough" scrubs I applied it on to the dry skin. I could certainly feel and see Dead Sea Salt rubbed on to my skin which is a great feeling as I know that it is definitely working its magic. 

I cannot recommend this method if you have sensitive skin and would advise to follow the instructions on the box. 

After the first use I have noticed that the skin looks clean, it was slightly red as I was applying the exfoliator on to the dry skin, skin feels soft and almost silky to touch which only proves that it works!

AHAVA facial mud exfoliator is a great, most importantly natural product, approved for sensitive skin.

Please visit the eBay store to see the full range of AHAVA products ranging from Dead Sea soap worth £7 to AHAVA night mineral makeover kit worth £69.99.

Disclaimer: I was sent the item mentioned above for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

The perfect secret shed hideaway

I have noticed that few times my husband looked after L I ran into the garden to do some tidying up s it helps me to relax. I love our wild garden and it would be great to have a hideaway spot where I can relax and enjoy my well-deserved "me" time.

I would like to have a cosy shed in my favourite dark purple. 

To be able to treat myself to a massage or

to enjoy few minutes (30 minute ideally) in a Jacuzzi

It is always great to relax, I would love to have a whole day to myself without worrying about baby naps, changing, feeding etc., but even then I need to remember when I have to go back to my little princess and for that I need clock and 

a lamp in case if it gets dark.

I don't need big sofas, I just need a cosy, comfortable armchair

to watch my favourite TV shows

Just an ideal clutter free secret hideaway shed (I have enough at home)!

This is my entry into the Ana Mum Diary and Tiger Sheds blogger competition.

Review: In the Night Garden Live 2015

Round and round we went on this truly superb show!

Few weeks ago we went to see In the Night Garden Live show, the event took place at Canon Hill Park, Birmingham and was set within a lovely dome shaped tent.

As you enter the dome, you are welcomed by beautiful hanging coloured balls, which gave the arena a child friendly feel (and that is before you even enter the seating area). There is a wait/queue of approx. 20-30 minutes before the show begins, which if you have a little one (under 2/3 years of age, can feel like an eternity – unless they are sleeping).  We entertained ourselves with a complimentary souvenir activity brochure (worth £7) which comes as a package with Standard tickets.

We decided to wear L as I wasn't sure about the the facilities inside, but upon arrival I have noticed lots of allocated spaces to park a pushchair and of course toilet facilities for parents and their children. 

The seating was on a first come first serve basis (apart from the very front seating, which is reserved as Premium). My reaction to the seating was 'wow', the whole seating area was decorated in green felt (I believe), which gave the effect of being in the actual 'Night Garden', moving images projected onto the top of the stage, showing elements of the TV show (Pinky Ponk was one of them) were fascinating!

A superb start and we have not had the show yet!

The show consisted of a mixture of dressed up characters and performers moving puppet style versions of the show characters.

Iggle Piggle was the first to arrive (after a projected version of the recognised 'round and round we go' on a childs palm. The moment Iggle Piggle arrived on stage, it was like a celebrity had surprised us with their presence, the noise from the crowd was awesome (cheers from children and parents – do not deny it!).

The crowd were then treated to the 'Iggle Piggle' entry tune (Yes my name is Iggle Piggle.. you know how it goes). With all the kids and parents singing along with the song.

Excellent atmosphere (and there were only approx 200-300 people in the arena – each showing).

The story was of Makka Pakka losing his sponge (which he cleans the other characters with), which was eventually found in Upsy Daisy's flower megaphone.

Similarly to Iggle Piggle, other characters were greeted in similar fashion, with a loud cheer and sing along.

From the perspective of L, she was enjoying the characters and songs (whether she truly knew what was going is unknown – I guess she sort of recognised the character, but she is only 1).

All of the characters were excellently presented (by the performers) and gave a sense of being part of the show. It also allowed the toddlers to engage and associate with them even better, in a live show. 

The live show lasts approx 50 minutes and guarantees enjoyment for all the family. There are 2 themed shows- Ninky Nonk and Pinky Ponk shows with extremely exciting endings which both me and L thoroughly enjoyed, without giving away too much your little one will have a chance to play with confetti or bubbles.

After the show you can meet the characters for £15 which covers up to 5 people and purchase the print after the session or you can spoil your little one with In the Night Garden themed toys and clothes. We didn't do any of that as L was getting unsettled so we opted to leave the dome promptly.


Disclaimer: We were offered 3 complimentary tickets for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

L's first birthday

I started planning L's 1st birthday since her half birthday. I have reviewed Printed.com birthday invitations, tissue paper wall decoration and LED 1st birthday banner which we have used on the day. I also used made to order and to match with my colour scheme wall and table decorations from Paper Fete, as I hate our red feature wall in the lounge I have covered it with a white tissue so that it looked like baby pink wall, ordered couple of big tissue pom-poms and made couple glitter cardboard number 1s for the garden. 

We were hoping for a good weather for the BBQ which I have planned and thankfully it wasn't too bad. We have invited close family members and their partners, the only mummy friend I know with her 2 daughter (I thought that L needs to play with other babies) and my mum came to see us as well. 
Recent research from the group Campaign to End Loneliness has shown how detrimental loneliness can be to a person’s health, especially for older people. It  was very important for me to have mum around as she lives quite far from us on her own and I want her to see L grow as well as to feel needed and loved. It can be quite daunting without any family around and every time mum comes she tends to stay for couple of weeks. 

We have prepared butternut squash and lentil soup for soup eaters, rice, fruit and veg for babies and usual BBQ food for adults. 

I have also had some entertainment- Garden Quoits, but as some of us haven't seen each other for a while there was a lot to talk about apart from looking after the kids. 

L absolutely loved having other kids around, she was so excited to see a baby and decided to get inside her pushchair to get to know her better! They tried the slide and L's 1st birthday present from us- playhouse, I have also brought a ride on toy from the shed which L liked a lot, in fact all girls liked it. L started using it as a walker and I'm pretty sure it helped her to feel more confident on her feet.

L was truly spoilt rotten with attention and present, what more can you wish for!

Disclamer: Sunrise Senior Living have provided Sainsbury's £30 gift card and Garden Quoits for the purpose of taking part in a campaign to end the loneliness, other items were purchased on my own money or review as mentioned above.

Review: Fisher- Price Russian speaking Laugh & Learn Keys

As some of you may know we are a bilingual family (English and Russian) and I always wanted L to speak both languages fluently. In order to do so I try to introduce to speak Russian as much possible, read Russian books with L and always thought that Russian speaking toys would help us as well.

I didn't realise how difficult it will be to locate Russian speaking toys in the UK, but I have finally found Babeltots- an online shop "specialises in foreign language speaking toys for babies and toddlers". 

"We are currently offering products in 16 European languages: Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish speaking toys and are continuously working to add new languages and products".

We were offered to review Fisher- Price Russian speaking Laugh & Learn Keys, the toy is suitable for 6-36 months and has different learning features which I was able to find with a small help from my daughter. 

The toy has the main interactive part and 3 additional, developmental toys attached to it.

 The main part aka funny face has 3 coloured buttons- red, yellow and blue. Each button is "themed", when you press in the middle it will tell you the colour, if you press on different sides of the button it can sing a song, make a noise (e.g. car, door bell), say- a house, a boat, a car depending on the button you press.

The additional 3 toys aka keys have different sensory plastic attachments. The orange key has a blue car attached which spins and clicks with every spin and textured, coloured rollers at the bottom. The blue key has a red boat which slides along at the top of the toy and rattling beads at the bottom. The green key has a yellow house with a spinning door which has different pictures on it for more fun and 2 additional toys attached for "sliding".

We have lost few keys already as L seems to be more interested in the main interactive part of the set, which we have attached to the pushchair to keep L entertained when out and about.

The price seems to be very reasonable for a bilingual/ foreign language speaking toy £22.99, which is just £10 more the original English speaking. 

I have also noticed a small progress with L's speech, as she keeps using the toy in a pushchair she hear to the same words, noises over and over again, yesterday we heard her say "blue" in Russian for the first time which made me incredibly happy and proud. It is a great toy which helps to learn first words and colours and I can thoroughly recommend Babeltots for those who have failed to find for bilingual toys for their little one.

Disclaimer: I was sent the item mentioned above for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Review: Dreambaby® Harrogate bed rail review and giveaway

When L was born the community midwife told me that co-sleeping is not allowed, so when we have started co-sleeping I was very scared to talk about it out loud. I thought that once I mention this to the health visitor they will noted it down and will think of me as an irresponsible mother. But when I've heard that other mums co-sleep with their babies I felt at ease, I'm not the only one! 

Co-sleeping can be dangerous and some mums are not ready for it as they are worried that something may happen whilst they are sleeping. But for me it is the only way I can have sleep at night without waking up fully if L needed/needs night feed or reassurance that I'm here. As L is a grown up little girl she can toss and turn at night dozen of times and to keep her safe we were offered to review Harrogate bed rail (£27.99). 

"Our extensive range of products is specifically designed to provide parents and carers with modern home safety solutions that make it easy to help keep children safe in and around the home.Our products are designed to not only help make your home safer, but also to make life easier".

The bed rail comes fully assembled and it takes just couple of minutes to install, all you have to do:

- pull down the side metal brackets until they lock in the position

- slide the brackets under the mattress

- position bed rail  so that there is a gap of at least 23 cm from both end

                                    

- slide the straps attached under the mattress and adjust them so that 2 "plates" are flat against the mattress (please note suitable for single bed only)

The bed rail is wider (109) than the average bed rail (93cm) which is great for a bigger bed and for more security.

Dreambaby® Harrogate bed rail is made of washable material which is ideal if your little one has mucky hands when playing on bed or just makes it easier to clean it from dust.

Another great feature- the bed rail folds down in case your other half joins you or when the bed rail is not in use, just lift both side tabs and swing bed rail down.

                                          

I would like to thank Dreambaby® for the lovely product I can now sleep tight knowing that L is by my side, safe and snug!

Dreambaby® have kindly offered one of my readers the opportunity to win Dreambaby® Ladybug night light worth £14.99, all you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below  (the competition starts on 07 August 12am and ends on 29 August 12am):

"The new Dreambaby® Ladybug Night Light is a fun, safe way to add a sense of comfort and security to bedtime for your child, who might feel scared in total darkness. The one-touch operation is really easy for parents or children to use throughout the night. Not only is the ladybug night light a cute, decorative item for the bedroom, but it’s highly energy efficient and long lasting – LED bulbs can last for thousands of hours, and the light itself turns off automatically after 30 minutes".  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please visit the Dreambaby® website at www.dreambaby.com.au and why not become a Dreambaby® fan: http://www.facebook.com/Dreambabysafety and on Instagram https://instagram.com/dreambabysafety

Disclaimer: I was sent the item mentioned above for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Extended Breastfeeding past one year (Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt 2015)

Thanks for hopping over from Lycrawidow and welcome to my post for the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt Day 5 Extended Breastfeeding we have over £700 worth of breastfeeding and baby goodies up for grabs including prizes from More4Mums providing a set of 'Hot Milk' Lingerie, a signed hardback limited edition copy of Milky Moments and a £30 voucher from Milk Chic. Full details of the Grand Prize can be found here and all entries to be completed via the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

                                       
I can't believe it's been a whole year since I have started breastfeeding. It was my plan all along as I didn't see any other option and I'm so glad I stick to it.

It wasn't as easy as I thought, those women who have it easy are extremely lucky!

L was reluctant to nurse and I didn't have enough colostrum. I had to hand express into syringe and what I had (1ml or so at a time) to give to L, absolutely overwhelming moment for me as I was so sure that breastfeeding is an extremely easy- express and feed.

The first night I have spent hand expressing every 2 hours thanks to the student midwife.

On day 2 when we came home I had high hopes for my dutch electric pump and I was absolutely devastated to see the only milk drop I had was stuck in the pump tube!

A week later I was sent to the local children centre to see a breastfeeding counsellor who fixed our latch which meant that at least one problem was out of the way. 

My supply on the other hand wasn't getting better, I was eating enough, drinking plenty, tried nursing tea and was breastfeeding L every 2 hours, but I was and still convinced that I don't have enough milk. None of the pumps worked for me and for the first 4-5 months I had to hand express which I wasn't enjoying as I didn't see much coming out plus it was a very time- consuming process. 

L wasn't putting much weight you see and I was under lots of pressure from community midwives and health visitors, some of them were shaking their heads in disappointment when L put only 100 grams in 1 week, others tried to encourage saying how good I'm doing but if by 6 weeks she won't put her birth weight they would insist on topping up with formula.

I'm not against formula, but it was never my plan to give up, but I didn't feel supported from the community midwives at all, in fact they made me doubt myself. Even now I have days when I'm not convinced L had enough milk or she is getting any, the bad memories of early days are stuck in my head! That's why it is so important to have a network support, someone to reassure you, your family, community midwives, breastfeeding support workers and keep persevering!

People were right saying that it gets easier, it does! I absolutely love the connection we have when I breastfeed L. I try to breastfeeding her first thing in the morning, before or after her naps (we have 2 during the day) and before she goes to bed. I can see how much she enjoys these moments as well, how she is used to it as her hand is always in my bra and how her face lights up when she sees a boob, all the pain, stress and struggles are absolutely worth it! 

I'm not sure yet how long our breastfeeding journey will last but I'm certainly not stopping yet!

a Rafflecopter giveaway For more extended breastfeeding experiences please hop on over Positive about breastfeeding blog where you can gain further entries into the grand prize draw. Full terms and conditions can be found on the Keeping Britain Breastfeeding website. UK residents only.