My top tips for starting a new job

So this week I started my new job! Being made redundant really affected my mental health and I knew I wanted to get back into work as soon as possible and while I had the best time off with my monkey, I was over the moon to be offered a new job!

I am currently working as a claims handler for used car warranties. It's Monday to Friday 9 -5 which is perfect with Sam's shifts. I've moved jobs a couple of times since Harry having Harry so thought I would share some tips I've learned to make the whole experience easier, because let's face it, starting a new job is never easy!

1. Put your outfit all together the night before.

This one may seem like common sense but honestly, it is the biggest time saver for me. I like to put my whole outfit on one hanger and then hang my weeks worth of outfits in my wardrobe. In the morning when I need to get ready I can just grab the hanger and I'm ready to go! No running around looking for tights or trying to decide which top goes better with my jeans or shoes. Obviously, if you wear a uniform, do this with the uniform too for easy access.

2. Get your bag ready the night before.

I LOVE watching what's in my bag videos on YouTube and watch these obsessively in the days leading up to staring my new job. I then write a list of all the things I need and buy these specifically. I then rewatch the videos while packing my bag the day before to ensure I haven't missed anything. My bag is then ready and all I need to do is to pop my phone and whatever lipstick I'm using that day in as I'm leaving and go! I'll be posting a 'what's in my work bag' soon if you are interested in knowing what I take to work with me.

3. Relax and pamper!

The night before my first day I go up around 7pm just as Harry is going to bed to start my relax and pamper routine. I'm a firm believer in making a good first impression and while you may have already met your new boss at your interview, it is important to me to make a good first impression on your new colleagues too! So the night before my first day I have a long soak in the bath, wash my hair, do my skincare routine and usually a face mask. I will also shave my legs, even though no one will see then because I NEVER have bare legs, but it makes me feel more put together and comfortable.

4. Get yourself used to getting to bed early and getting up early.

If like me you have a while off before starting your new job you may have gotten into the habit of waking up later and staying up late. So about a week before starting I force myself to get up at the time I would normally be getting up for work, I then try to get to bed at a decent time meaning by the time I need to get up and ready for work I'm completely used to it and I'm not in a rush or worried about being late which is a big fear of mine!

5. Plan your route before you need it. 

Make sure you know exactly how to get to work, whether you be going by car, bus walking or cycling. Always make sure you know how long it's going to take you and leave in plenty of time. I like to make sure I have time to grab a cup of coffee when I get to work so leave around 10 minutes earlier than needed.

I hope you find these tips helpful next time you start a new job! And good luck to you!

Making the most of having some time off!

Working full-time as a parent, let me tell you, is not easy. So when I was made redundant back in the beginning of July, I was worried about how we were going to cope moneywise but I was a little relieved. I was finally going to be able to spend some quality time with Harry. 

As you are probably aware, I went back to work full-time when Harry was 7 months old. While this was totally my choice and what worked best for our family, it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. But now I was getting to have some time with him and I really wanted to make the most of it. 

I am now back to work full time and got really lucky that I am working a perfect 9-5 job. I was out of work for a total of five weeks. After my first week, Harry broke up from Nursery for the summer. We had decided this year to take Harry out of Nursery in the school holidays as it would be expensive and my mum was happy to help out. Luckily we did because we would have never been able to pay the bill while I was off. 

It took a week or so for Harry and me to get into a routine, working around nap times and Sam's shifts, but when we finally did it felt great, I even found time to do a proper clean of the house which it seriously needed and Harry and I got some fun times in too! 

Here are some of the photos we took! We also tried out some of the Free things to do in the summer I spoke about in my last post! 

really going to miss these times with my little man but I get every single weekend with him now and am looking forward to some more fun days! 

Free things to do in the summer!

Summer always makes me think of day trips out and they always seem to cost the earth. So with that in mind, I started looking at things we could do for free over the summer months.

One of the things we have always loved doing together is going for a walk. Usually, more recently this involves a trip to the swings and slide, but I honestly think Harry likes the actual walk just as much as the swings and slide! It’s a chance for him to run around like the monkey he is. Harry definitely takes after Sam with his love of being outdoors!

We tend to make the walks a little more interesting for Harry, now he’s a little older and also making it a little more educational – although there’s absolutely nothing wrong with just letting him run free across the fields sometimes! We like to point out the wildlife in the park as Harry is obsessed with animals and discuss what noises we think all of the different animals make.

Another suggestion I had from Victoria at travelvixta.com/ was to Go for a nature walk and collect leaves and flowers to do leaf rubbings and press the flowers to make pictures – which sounds like a brilliant idea and one I know Harry would absolutely love. This would be a great idea for all seasons too – not restricted to just the summer months!

We are incredibly lucky to be able to afford to rent a house with a garden – I say lucky, Sam would never live anywhere without a garden – and so sometimes we spend the whole day in the garden with Harrys various outdoor toys and sometimes just simply reading a book or doing some coloring. Anything to get away from Hey Duggee on the TV which seems to be Harry’s favorite at the minute.

Arts and crafts are big in our house and I remember as a child making things from the recycling leftover – there is nothing better than a large cereal box in my opinion! – so I can’t wait to do this with Harry.

Another suggestion we had was from Becky at mummyest2014.wordpress.com which is quite honestly the most brilliant thing I think I’ve heard all summer and I will be doing this will Harry as soon as possible is to Set up your own obstacle course using pillows from the sofa, crawl under a sheet, through legs of a chair etc. use whatever is around the house. Great for indoors or in the garden depending on the weather. Another suggestion that is great for all seasons!!

Lisa from www.thefamilyticket.com said Go to a country park. The the majority are free and have some of the best play parks you will come across. Perfect for bikes, scooters, and picnics too.

Claire said water painting has always been a winner with all ages. Give them a bowl or bucket of water and some paintbrushes and let them paint anywhere they like outside. – find her suggestions at mymoneycottage.com

Have you got any other ideas?

Passions from my childhood I want Harry to love

Everyone has things from their childhood that they still look back on fondly. Things that when they see them later in life still bring a huge smile to their faces. I have plenty of them and most of them are things I want to pass on to Harry.

When we are talking about my childhood it seems crazy not to talk about Harry Potter. These were the biggest influence of my life (Note my son, who is also called Harry) I was seriously late to the game with reading the Harry Potter books, the first book was published in 1997 when I was 5 but I didn’t read them until I was in year 5 in school and my teacher, knowing how much I love to read put me on to them. I am so ashamed to admit that the first chapter in The Philosophers Stone bored me so much I put it down and read The Chamber of Secrets first. I fell in love with the wizarding world there and then and went back to read Philosophers Stone again.

My love for Harry Potter is one of the things I most want to pass on to Harry. We are very lucky that Harry adores books and while right now at 3 years old, his attention span is just not up to a chapter book – we have tried a chapter a night but he gets easily bored – I really want to keep persevering with this and now that he is managing to sit through a short film I am looking forward to snuggling up with the films with him!

I remember in the autumn when my nan would take me down to find the blackberry bushes, we would pick the bushes until they were bare and then we would go back to my grandparent's maisonette and spend the rest of the day making blackberry jam and blackberry and apple pies. Some of my fondest memories were being in the kitchen turning those sour fruit into the tastiest treats. We would also go ‘pick your own’ every summer to do the same things.

I’m really lucky that my grandparents now have their own allotment meaning and my grandad still loves to send us out to pick fruit, whatever fruit is in season at that time you can guarantee it is growing in that allotment.

Now that Harry is walking and more confident, I can't wait to get him out in the allotment picking the fruit and then helping my nan and myself in the kitchen making those delicious treats. Harry already loves to help in the kitchen!

When the weather was crappy and we had nothing to do in our tiny little flat in North London, my mum would clear a huge space in the living room lay out a blanket and bring in all sorts of ‘picnic’ type treats. We called them our indoor picnics and the TV would be turned off our favorite teddies or barbies would sit with us and we would spend hours on that floor eating and chatting and laughing. I have already attempted this with Harry, and he likes the food bit at least!

Netflix go-to's

Who doesn’t love a good Netflix binge session? I hate to admit it but Netflix is the most visited website on my laptop and we use it load on out TV. I love that it has a massive range of programs and films and there are loads of things on there for Harry too.

I have to say I must have watched something for every genre on Netflix and there isn’t much I haven’t loved. There are things on Netflix that I keep coming back to again and again so I thought I would write up a quick post about my favourite things to watch on Netflix. I constantly see posts on Facebook asking for recommendations of what to watch on Netflix so maybe this will help those people too!

1.       Gossip Girl. I LOVE GOSSIP GIRL. I honestly don’t think I watched it before I discovered Netflix and honestly don’t even remember it being on TV before, but I had heard so much about it so thought I would give it a go while I was at Uni. I don’t know what it is about this programme, but I have loved every single second of it.

Its still a go to for me. In fact, I’m currently re-watching it for about the 100^th time. It never gets old. The characters are brilliant, and the story line keeps you on the edge of your seat. I’m also a little bit in love with Chuck – Maybe more than a little bit…

2.       Friends. What 90’s baby doesn’t love friends. When the whole 10 seasons went on Netflix I was over the moon. Safe to say I have watched it all multiple times now and still cry my eyes out at the last episode.

3.       Making a Murderer. If you don’t know me personally you will not know but I love true crime documentaries and Netflix is full of them! My favourite has to be Making a Murderer. I had never heard of Steven Avery or Brendan Dassey before this and to be honest didn’t watch this until I was on maternity leave, but I binge watched the first season in one day and the second season in about the same amount of time. Have you seen it? Do you think they are innocent?

4.       Blackfish. I’m not sure how I came across this, but I think it is the most powerful documentary I have ever seen. Being a child of the Free Willy age seeing the turmoil Orca’s go through at SeaWorld hit me hard. Growing up I had been desperate to visit a SeaWorld and then since watching this I have vowed never to visit there and I have spoken to others who have felt the same way after watching this – I have watched it multiple times and it hits me just as hard every single time.

5.       Gavin And Stacey. Wow – Who doesn’t LOVE Gavin and Stacey?! This is my favourite show, not just on Netflix but possibly ever. Gavin and Stacey is my go-to whenever I’m ill or feeling down and the fact it is on Netflix makes it all so much easier. Also, who’s excited for Christmas day?!

What are your go to Netflix shows?

Happy Fathers Day - A thank you note.

Happy Fathers Day! Today I wanted to put a really quick post up just to say thank you to the three most important men in Harry’s life (and mine!)

Happy Fathers day to Sam. I don’t talk about him too much on here because he isn’t the greatest fan of it, but on today I just want to say thank you. Thank you for being everything I ever wanted in a dad to my children. Thank you for always putting Harry first and stepping up with this crazy journey we have found ourselves on. I know I couldn’t be the mum I am today if I didn’t have you with me. You make everything easier and the difficult things bearable.

Sam, you are definitely Harry’s favourite person, and always have been, and I know that Harry is your everything which is all I have ever asked for. We both love you so much.

Happy Fathers day to my Dad. We haven’t always had the best relationship, probably because we are so alike, but on this special day I just wanted to say thank you, for everything you do to make me being a parent easier.

You have also been the most amazing Grandad to our extra special little boy. I know that Harry’s diagnosis was hard on you, but I am so proud of the way you have stepped up and made the effort to learn so much more and try and make sure Harry has everything he will ever need. Thank you for that.

And to Sam’s dad, who has also been so much more then a father in law to me. Who has given me advice on things I needed and taught me things that I never would have known before, like how amazing real ale is! Thank you for the support you have given us as a family and for all the fun times.

Thank you for everything you do for Harry, that I know must put you out of your way a lot of the times. Harry is the luckiest little boy in the world having you in his life and he truly loves his Pops. We really couldn’t do this without the support you give us and we are so grateful to have you.

These three men have all had a hand in making me the woman I am today. Without their love and guidance, I don’t like to think where I would be. But more importantly these men have made Harry the cheeky, brave and confident little boy he is today. And for that I will never be able to say thank you enough – and probably don’t.

Happy Father’s Day!

10 things about being a parent

So, as you may know by now, I have been a mum for just over 3 years. It has been an amazing 3 years and I can honestly say I would not change it for the world.

Being a mum has also taught me a lot! So here are the 10 biggest things I’ve learned since becoming a mum!

1.       Everyone has opinions. But honestly no one else’s opinion matters! You want to bottle feed? Good for you. Breastfeeding works for you? That’s great. You went back to work. Well done! You decided to stay at home? Great!  What works for you isn’t what works for others so let's try and stop being so judgemental yeah?

2.       Random strangers will touch your baby. And you will want to murder them on the spot. I’ll never forget taking Harry out for the first time and an elderly woman stopped me and started touching him in his pram. I briskly walked off (may have run, not going to lie) before I said something or became violent.

3.       Going on a night out really isn’t worth it anymore. Getting a babysitter can be the main hurdle here but then when you finally have someone to look after your money for the night the effort of getting ready and staying awake to make it all worth it seems too much to handle. Then there are the hangovers… not fun with a three-year-old. It takes a really good reason for me to put all that effort in these days.

4.       Family time seems like a good idea, but usually results in me shouting Sam huffing and puffing and Harry throwing a tantrum. Threenanger is not a fun stage of life. I’m dreading Harry’s teenage years!

5.       Kids are expensive. I can easily drop £150 on clothes for Harry that four weeks later no longer fit him. Then there’s me running around in clothes that I picked up a year ago from Primark (Yay for t-shirts for £2).

6.       Your body will never be the same. It has done something magical but it's not going to bounce back. No one ever told me about the postnatal bump, I always thought my bump would disappear as soon as Harry was born – How wrong was I? I also have zero bladder control now. Thanks, Harry!

7.       You will cry for next to no reason for the rest of your life. Harry grew out of a pair of shoes the other week and I burst into tears. I also cried my eyes out getting rid of his 18-24 months clothes. Sam must think I’m a mad woman honestly.

8.       Going to the toilet without an audience feels weird. Honestly. If Harry isn’t there, I feel strange going to the toilet. It’s a good strange though – not having to defend the stream of pee (and my privates) from tiny toddler hands make a nice change!

9.       Talking of pee, who knew you could get so excited about someone peeing in a tiny plastic toilet – Welcome to parenthood!

10.   Oh how your social media feeds change – My feed used to be full of pictures of me and Sam, dressed up or me and friends on nights out (there are a lot of drunk pictures of me out there on facebook!) then you have a baby and BOOM! Your feed and camera roll on your phone is now full of pictures of chubby cheeks and it takes you a full minute of scrolling to find the last picture of you that you took!.

Coping with my depression

I’ve never hidden the fact that I have depression. Its always been something I have been very open about on my blog, in the hopes that by talking about it, I can encourage others to be open and ask for the help they may need.

Sometimes as a parent I need some time to myself. I love to take some time to unplug from the world and look after myself and my mental health. There are certain things that I love to do in this time and the main one is to come away from social media and even my blog which can be extremely hard as I work really hard to try so that my blog succeeds. I try and have a regular upload schedule but when I’m in that bad place mentally I feel so much pressure to keep that up and generally get overwhelmed so, for now, I just upload if and when I can. My mental health is far more important than getting views.

Life, in general, can be overwhelming for me. I work full time (Although I now only work 4 days, not 5 – still full-time hours) and have a three-year-old. Lately, I’ve been feeling really alone as Sam works shifts and I have just been feeling like he's not here and I’m doing it all on my own. I honestly salute all single parents doing it on their own, because it's not easy. I know it will get better – We have been doing this for almost 3 years now and I’ve just been struggling a little lately with the shifts Sam’s been working.

Social media I find really hard when I’m in that dark place. Seeing every perfect life and happy faces make me feel worse every time. I’ve learned to stay away now.

When I’m feeling bad I always love a long soak in the bath. I love baths and always have. When Sam and I first moved in together he was shocked at how long I could spend in the bath – sometimes reading whole books in there or watching 3 or 4 episodes of a Netflix show, but its always been a great a way for me to relax. When I’m having a down day a bath helps me to relax too. I also find something soothing in the fact I get out completely clean, no matter if I’ve had a shower that morning or what there is something about getting into the bath feeling dirty and getting out feeling completely clean and that helps – maybe it’s a mental thing?

Getting out of the house is something I always struggle with when I’m down but I always try and get out even if its to nip to the shop. I’m often found on my days off wandering around the city center or our local shopping center. Feeling trapped in the house makes everything seem a lot worse and it reminds me of being on maternity leave with Harry and I worry that I’ll go back to being that bad so I try to leave the house once every day.

Keeping busy is key when I’m feeling down but can also make everything overwhelming – I still struggle to find the balance and fingers crossed I will do soon!

The number one thing I try to do is talk about how I'm feeling. Whether it be chatting with Sam, who has been with me through plenty of my 'episodes', or my mum I find that talking about it really does help

Kat's April favorites!

So, as I said in one of my other posts, I really want to do two separate posts for my favorites and Harry’s favorites so, this post is all about the things I’ve been loving in April.

Deciding what things to put into a post all about my favorites can be quite difficult, especially as, because it’s a blog post rather than a youtube video, I don’t want it to go on forever so I've limited it for now to 5 things. Sometimes I think it's not enough but others I wonder how I'm going to find 5 new things I've been loving every month, but here are my top 5 for April!

1.      Game of Thrones. What can I say about this one? Sam and I were really late to the game with GOT. We had been talking about watching it forever but it was only really when we swapped from Virgin to Sky in February that we started watching it, and boy was we hooked! We were watching three or four episodes a night some nights but then would go a week without watching one because of Sam’s shifts, and no one wants to commit the ultimate sin of watching ahead without their partner. We got all caught up just after the first episode of season 8 aired and I’m getting really frustrated with having to wait to find out what is happening next. I think I might have to invest in the books and give them a read when its all over!

2.       Jordans Skinny Syrup.

             So, as you all know one of my goals for 2019 was to lose some weight. I faffed around for a                 couple of months and then mid-March I decided I needed help, so I joined slimming world.                 It hasn’t all been smooth for me and I still struggle with my sweet tooth some days but                         Jordans Skinny Syrups definitely help! My favorite and the first one I got is definitely the Mint Choc. Anybody who knows me knows that if I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life it would be Mint Choc Chip ice cream and its something I've really been missing on slimming world, especially with the warmer weather coming so when I found this in TK Maxx I was excited to try but also skeptical. IT IS AMAZING. I mix it into my 0%fat yoghurts and mix with some berries or I microwave a choc brownie fiber one bar for 30 seconds and have the yogurt mix with that. I also have the cinnamon vanilla syrup and it really helps with the sweet tooth!

3.       Fibre one popcorn bars. This is another slimming world one but more in the way that I wouldn’t have discovered these without slimming world and I now honestly think that I have eaten one almost every day in April – I use it as my Healthy Extra B mostly and eat it as a morning snack after my fruit and yogurt. They come in two flavors (as far as I know) Milk chocolate and peanut butter and I don’t have a favorite flavor honestly, they are both beautiful!

4.       Grey’s Anatomy. I have watched a lot of TV this month. Feeling tired all month and being really busy has left me sitting in front of the TV looking for something to watch and I’m now finally on season 15 of Greys! I again was really late to the bandwagon with this one – I think I watched a couple of episodes of the spin-off private practice when I was at Uni but it wasn’t really until maternity leave that I decided to give Greys a go and I was obsessed. I binged the first 12 seasons then just kind of forgot about it. This month I have watched almost every single episode. I’m halfway through season 15 and I don’t want it to end!

5.       Hello fresh. I know Hello Fresh is hyped up a lot, especially by influencers on YouTube, which coincidentally how I first heard about it. I told Sam about it and he looked into it and we decided to give it a go. We haven’t looked back. The meals are beautiful and work well with just a few adjustments for my Slimming World. It’s also convenient for us as we don’t always have time to go out and do a food shop and we get to eat loads of different foods! We pay 29.99 per week for three meals for two people and at first, it seemed a little expensive but now we wouldn’t be without it!

Joining Slimming World!

So, I joined slimming world! I had been toying with the idea for a while umming and ahhing about if I was going to do it and I found a group close to me, so, after putting it off for a few weeks I plucked up the courage and went along.

I had been trying to lose weight on my own for a while and it just wasn’t working for me very well. I’m the kind of person that needs a plan, with motivation and lots of encouragement. I have next to no will power so I felt that slimming world would really help.

I looked at WW (Used to be weight watchers) but after talking to some people I felt that Slimming World was a better fit for me.

It took me a few weeks after I have made the decision to join slimming world to actually go because I was so nervous. I am embarrassed about how big I let myself get and felt like I was going to be judged for letting myself get that way.

I was still so nervous when I finally got into that room. Being the only new member that session probably didn’t help with the nerves.

The group I go to is honestly the most caring and considerate group. I instantly felt accepted and now know how stupid it was to worry about being judged. Honestly, everybody who goes to Slimming World is there do the exact same reason as I am. To lose some weight and have a healthier lifestyle.

I don’t go to Slimming World just to lose weight though. I go to help get a healthier relationship with food. Food has always been my comfort, especially in the days of my deep depression. My bad days mentally are the hardest for me but I’m definitely learning how to cope without binge eating whenever I feel down.

I’d like to do some more Slimming World posts on here so if you like these definitely keep your eyes peeled for them! Also if you are following Slimming World let me know your top tips for keeping on plan!

Harry's April Favourites!

Another favorites post – I’m going to try to do two of these every month; one for all of the things Harry has loved that month and one for all of the things I have been loving, so make sure you keep an eye out for my ‘April Favourites’ coming soon!

April has felt like it’s been a busy month for us. We’ve had a lot going on to be fair and so Harry has discovered lots of new things to love this month and even rediscovered some old loves too! Here are his top 5 in no particular order!

1.    Milk – What a strange thing to be put into a monthly favorites post! Who doesn’t love a nice cold glass of milk? Harry for some reason has been drinking milk like it's going out of fashion. For a couple of months, he really went off milk, not wanting to touch anything remotely milk like – We just about got him to eat some yogurts – and I was really getting worried about him not getting enough calcium, but lately, he is drinking milk nonstop. When offered a drink he will always ask for milk. He also can’t get enough of yogurts and cheese. Don’t need to worry about the calcium now!

2.    Chicco goal league – For Harry’s birthday this year he got this interactive goal from my dad and he is obsessed. It’s a great little toy keeping him active and encourages him to run and aim and all sorts of things. The goal itself has three settings, penalty shots which you can play 1 vs 1, golden goals which seems like a timed setting and then challenge. Harry loves the light and sounds. It comes with a very soft ball which makes it perfect for indoor play but its super lightweight (Harry can lift it and carry it around his room, we are constantly going to get him in the morning and it is in a different place then we left it the night before) and we are hoping it will be good in the garden in the summer too!

3.   Talking Mr. Tumble toy – When shopping for Harry’s main birthday present in Smyth’s toy store, Sam and I came across this and knew we had to get it for him! It has fast become his very favorite teddy. Mr. Tumble is the first thing we hear through the monitor in the morning letting us know Harry is awake. He will work his way through the phrases that Mr. Tumble says until he gets to the Something Special theme tune, which he then sings, and signs along to. Harry will find his Mr. Tumble whenever he can and sing the tune – Because we obviously need more Mr. Tumble in our lives!!

4.       Pizza – Has anyone noticed that there is always food in Harry’s favorites? To be honest he has always been a big eater and food has always been his favorite part of any day. Harry discovered a real passion for Pizza this month. I think it helps that he has almost learned to say pizza, but he has asked for pizza for his tea almost every day this month. His favorite seems to be Cheese and Tomato, but Harry will happily eat any pizza put in front of him.

5.    Peppa Pig 

It pains me to be putting Peppa Pig in a harry favorites. I was that mum swearing my child would never watch Peppa Pig. I feel that Peppa is rude to her parents – Well rude in general – and promotes bad behavior – Unfortunately Harry doesn’t seem to agree! I don’t really know where its all come from but Harry will happily sit and watch Peppa for hours if we let him and once it's turned off he will sign ‘pig’ while saying please – He’s really cute but I need to learn to say no once in a while!!

And those are the top 5 things Harry has been loving this month!!

What do your toddlers love?

Don’t forget to check us out on Facebook but searching Raising Harry and on Instagram @harryraising!

Three Years Of HARRY!!

I don’t know how it’s possible, but we have a three-year-old!

Harry turned three on Sunday the 31^st of March, which this year also happened to be Mother’s day. I have to be honest at first I was not thrilled with losing out on ‘my day’ – especially when I don’t have another day all to myself as Sam and I share a birthday – But the more I thought about it the more special it felt to celebrate Mother’s day on the day I became a mother.

But let’s talk about Harry. I still cannot believe he is three!

I look at him now and I am amazed at how far he has come, from that tiny dot of a new-born who looked so fragile in the NICU crib we were scared to touch him, all the way to the little boy he is now – And I realised this weekend he is a proper little boy now – with a serious attitude and a cheeky grin that melts even the coldest of hearts. He is doing fabulously and all in his own Harry way.

I still remember finding out I was pregnant like it were yesterday.

I have never had regular periods, so when I had missed a few it didn’t sound any alarms for me. I was also tired all the time but had just started a new job so I put it down to that – Sam, on the other hand, knew something was different about me. I remember the weekend of our anniversary. We had taken a trip to London to celebrate and we were going to see one of our favourite comedians record his TV show – Dave Gorman’s Modern Life is Goodish if you were interested. I remember feeling unwell and exhausted all weekend but didn’t think much of it.

We had a great time but when we got home Sam kept on at me about taking a test – He was convinced I was pregnant. So, just to shut him up, a few days later I did.

'Oh shit,' I remember muttering - Or I thought I had muttered it, but apparently it wasn't quite as quiet as I thought because Sam came running in. The look on his face was somewhere in between smug and horrified. Smug because he was right (I never admit he is right) and horrified because I was pregnant. Not that we didn't want kids. We had discussed it when we realised we were serious and both knew we wanted two children, but the timing was HORRIBLE. I had just started a new job and Sam was only on a temporary contract in the job he was in. We discussed 'the other option' but I knew I couldn't do that. So we were having a baby. 

Little did we know what an adventure this would be!

You can read my birth story here - https://www.raisingharry.com/2017/07/birth-story.html

NICU was hard - Somehow we got through that too. (I remember drinking a lot of alcohol the night I had been discharged without Harry - Not something I would recommend!) 

On the 17th of April 2016, after 18 days in the hospital, we got to bring our amazing little boy home. During the time spent in the hospital he had endured endless blood tests, UV lamps and we got our T21 diagnosis. We didn't care. We were just excited to bring him home.

And then - The adventure really began! Here are a few of my favourite pictures from the last 3 years! (WARNING - there are A LOT of them!!)

Harry's Current Favourites

In today's post I want to talk about some of the things Harry is loving at the moment.

It's crazy how fast his interests are changing at times. Somethings he really gets stuck on and others he is only interested in for a few weeks or months.

As you may know Harry is nearly 3 - Where did that go?! His personality is really coming out now and he isn't afraid to let you know when he doesn't like something or doesn't want to do something, but he is also really expressive when he enjoys something or wants something so at this stage, its been really easy to recognise what some of his favourite things are now.

1. Sausages.  Anyone who really knows Harry knows how much he loves food, so its not really surprising that the first thing on this list is a food item.
Harry's loved sausages from the first time he tried them. Every child has that one go to meal for when they just wont eat anything else, and for Harry that is definitely sausages, chips and beans. He loves the sausages and I have honestly never seen a child eat anything as fast as when Harry is eating sausages!

2. The Twirly-woos. Harry finally seems to have found something else to watch on the TV. I think Sam and I were really starting to get sick of Mr Tumble and PAW patrol that we were desperate to get Harry to even attempt something else - Not that Harry doesn't still love Mr T and PAW patrol. We are still objected to this most days as well - But when Harry saw the Twirly-woos it was instant and he screamed when we turned it off.
I sometimes question how many times a child can watch the same three seasons of a programme but it doesn't really seem to bother Harry that hes seen every episode 4 times already he will watch and watch. It has gotten to the point where me and Sam wish we had never put it on... But if Harry likes it, just like with Mr Tumble and PAW patrol he can always have it on. We just love to see him smile.

3. Alexa. I am extremely lucky that I have two Amazon Echos and so a few months ago we decided to put one of them in Harry's room as we spend a lot of time in there, and Harry is obsessed.
Its becoming a regular occurrence to hear him shouting 'LEXA' at the top of his voice. He does tend to get frustrated that she doesn't seem to understand his signing yet but we are hoping that this will also encourage his speech and getting him to talk more.

4. The Gruffalo.  I don't really know what to say about this one - Harry has always loved books but there is something about the Gruffalo that really excites him. The book is one of the only things that he will sit still and listen to all the way through.

5. Slides Harry has always been a big fan of the swings whenever we go to the park - and we have enough pictures to prove it! But since moving up to the toddler room at nursery and having access the 'the big garden' with a climbing frame and slide, he hasn't given swings a second look. Its all about the slides.
He's really independent with them too which used to terrify me, but now i love watching my little daredevil - he seriously has no fear and will just throw himself down the slide!

What are your toddlers favourites?

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook by searching for Raising Harry and on Instagram @harryraising