Routines, I've had a few...

I wanted to write a post about the horny issue of routines, but I might have to leave that until I have a few more minutes to spare (also known as when the Bean is asleep and I can actually dedicate my attention to one thing in earnest).

So in the meantime, here's the current timeline we are following. I aim for this each day, but as we go to classes at varying times each day, I can't be too rigid about it. If I get it 80% on target then I can be guaranteed a happy, cheeky bubba.

Bean is currently 20 weeks (just over 4.5 months) and we've been following this for ooh maybe 4-5 weeks now… perhaps a little more!


7:30am - Feed, usually a breastfeed.
9am - 9:30am - Nap, back in cot
10:15am - if we're going to a class, we'll leave around now, otherwise nap until:
11am - Feed (classes permitting), usually 9oz from the bottle
1pm - Nap, ideally back in cot
3pm - Feed, usually 9oz from the bottle
5pm - a little catnap of no longer than 45 mins
6pm - General distractions to get through the tortuous hour before bedtime routine.

[Any tips on what to do for that last witching hour??! Usually we go for a wander round the garden, watch a bit of telly (argh!) or do some bouncing in his doorway bouncer. Anything to fend off the CrankyPants.]

Then the bedtime routine is pretty fixed:

7pm - Feed, usually 5oz
7:20pm - into bath. Let him have a massive kick around and wear himself out
7:30pm - massage with the lights down low and singing the same 'lullabies'*
7:45pm - into PJs and sleeping back. Dummy in and story (we're favouring the Mr Men series at the moment).
7:50pm - final 'lullaby', cuddle and lights out.

We put him to sleep with a white noise machine on (he currently favours 'Calm Waves'… !) and a star projection. I'll write more about our night-time arsenal a bit later because we do have a few tricks, but these are the most important.

We'll then wake him for a feed about 10pm which at the moment is 9oz, but I think I may start cutting back on this as he's taking less and less in the morning now.

I am blessed with a boy who sleeps through, and has done since about 8 weeks. We had to do some dummy-training around 12 weeks as he was waking up pretty frequently looking for a dummy but other than that he's been a delight.

I'm a big BIG fan of the 10pm, I'm certain that this is one of the reasons he goes so long. For us it's less about a dreamfeed and more about a feed. If he stays asleep, great, but 90% of the time he's properly awake. I know a few of my friends haven't got on with it so well but I'd really recommend trying it out and giving it time to stick. There's lots of different versions of this feed, in terms of how you handle it (fully awake or treat it like a night feed etc etc) so just experiment with what works for you.

Right anon, dear hearts, the grocery shop calls.

xxx Mama Mumbles xxx

* I don't actually know any lullabies, so we do Jazz classics instead, usually starting with a bit of Fleetwood Mac and finishing with Mama Cass. Whevs.

Leave the poor lass alone

So a few weeks ago, we had news that Kate Middleton is pregnant again… if you were to believe the tabloids and gossip mags that is. Then only a matter of days later, it was deemed she couldn’t be, because she dared to have some wine whilst visiting a vineyard in New Zealand.

This story has aggravated me on so many levels, even putting aside the whole press harassment / Diana argument. The poor girl had the announcement of her first, historic, pregnancy ripped away from her so can’t we at least grant her the privacy to reveal any future pregnancies in her own time? And, what’s more, why does having a glass of wine therefore mean she can’t be pregnant? Oh yes, of course, it’s because if any pregnant woman is irresponsible enough to have a modest amount of alcohol in isolated incidents during gestation then she will have a baby with three heads and be condemned to eternal damnation… Thus spake the gospel according to the misinformed maternity militia whose only purpose seems to be spreading half-truths and scaremonger. 

There seems to be this parallel universe you enter into when you are pregnant or a new mum that gives others some sort of right to tell you how to live your life, whether they are aware of current guidelines or not. And even more aggravating, the frequency with which said guidelines change is mind-boggling! Even in the short period between my pre and post-pregnancy chapters, the pendulum on the guidelines for alcohol consumption has swung from one end to the other and back again! Then there’s the u-turns on sushi, hair dye, soft cheese, deep space voyages… Ok so maybe not the last but you get my gist. Thankfully, I came across a ruddy good read, Pregnancy for Modern Girls which gave me much needed frank and down to earth advice amongst the myriads of contradictory and confusing tomes dictating “What to Expect” and the like (By the way, What to Expect is about as much use as a chocolate teapot if you want my opinion - stop telling me not to do something and then tell me not to worry if I’ve done it as it’s unlikely to harm my baby!!) Together with the well-researched Bumpology, Pregnancy for Modern Girls cut to the chase, didn’t preach and presented both sides of story wherever possible. Which was just what I needed; and so after considering how I (not anyone else) felt on the matter, I happily ordered an occasional glass of Pinot with my  goat’s cheese salad. After all, I reasoned, you can’t tell me the French don’t have an occasional bite of brie whilst up the duff.

I’m sure that if I’d had a higher risk pregnancy or had a heartbreaking history of miscarriages and TTC I’d have acted differently, but as it was, I didn’t so I made informed choices for my situation. And yet so many people felt the need to comment or pre-suppose - “Oh you won’t be wanting wine”, “I don’t think you can eat prawns” - which then put me in the uncomfortable situation of justifying my actions. 

Look, I’m not trying to say that when you’re pregnant you should go out and get sloshed. Nor am I saying that you should simply ignore official guidance, even though it does seem to change every fourth minute and is pretty much impossible to keep up with. What I am saying is taking a common sense approach, consider the evidence (both anecdotal and scientific), weigh up the risks for your own circumstances and then proceed accordingly. But for goodness’ sake stay out of other people’s business, and leave the poor Duchess of Cambridge alone!

Errr, now what?

So I thought I’d start a blog as a way to document and help muddle through my existence as a new mum. This crazy new world I’m living in has so many different things to talk about, discover and share it seems only natural to take to the web with it. Just like every other mum out there it seems!


Problem is I don’t know how to start! What to say… How to say it…I thought I was pretty tech-savvy but it turns out the world has moved at such a lick I’m in danger of being left behind. Not to mention the fact that as soon as my fingers hit the keyboard I get a serious case of the ———//


So I suppose this is a little plea to bear with my whilst I’m trying to figure out what this little corner of internet real estate is all about. And also to bear with me on any typos as it’s likely I’m typing with a smelly, wriggly babba on my lap.


So catch up with you again real soon with some actual content but in the meantime…


xxx Mama Mumbles xxx