January 2022 - Parenting, Mental Health & Lifestyle

The ultimate list of self-care package gift ideas for every occasion

29 January 2022 , 10 Comments

If you follow the blog, you’ll know I’m all about self-care. In addition to other aids, it’s what helped me recover from my breakdown. I finally started looking after myself after years of not doing so.

And sometimes we need some products to assist us with our regime. A self-care package. What better way to relax?

In this post, I wanted to draw your attention to some of the trusted products I’ve used for years. The type of gifts I open, smile, and think to myself my family knows me well.

Getting a new self-care product makes me happy. It’s also an excuse to ask my hubby to cover childcare so I can spend time trying it out

Quick note: Some of the links contained on this page are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. I only recommend products I use myself and think would be useful for you.

The reason we ALL need a bit of self-care in our lives

These days, with lack of sleep and toddler madness, sometimes self-care for 15 minutes is all I have to make me feel a little bit better. And I take the opportunity. I’m currently writing this post with a face mask on, listening to yoga music. This is the first 15 minutes I grabbed to myself today and it’s 9 pm. I always need a self-care package on hand, for the moments I get to spend alone.

As a parent, making time for self-care is so important, and we should take time for ourselves. Even if it’s 5 minutes. Focusing on yourself will make you feel better. It will boost your energy and spur you on for the rest of your day.

I learned the hard way, we should never neglect ourselves. Personal care is a basic human need and one I love to indulge in now.

Speaking of indulgence, let’s dive into the list of must have products to add to your self-care package

The Body shop

Shopping online at The Body Shop brings back so many memories. I remember buying the animal-shaped soaps because they smelled and looked amazing.

I was impressed by their ethos and I love scrolling through their range of products.

They come highly recommended by family and friends and are my go-to gift when I need to purchase something for Valentine’s Day. For any special occasion, you cannot go wrong with a purchase from The Body Shop.

Some of my product highlights

My brother loves the satsuma range and you will always find this in my shopping basket.

I love the sweet-smelling body butter and scrubs. The raspberry scrub smells good enough to eat. What an amazing addition to a relaxing bath, or even a quick shower for the busy mums out there.

For a previous anniversary, I purchased from the spa range. If you feel like getting romantic, it smells divine and you won’t be disappointed.

Sensory retreats

I’ve been checking out the self heating eye masks and they look fantastic. They also come highly recommended, by customers leaving reviews and also top beauty influencers. You can find out more on their website.

Getting a new self-care product makes me happy. It’s also an excuse to ask my hubby to cover childcare so I can spend time trying it out

The beauty of it is, through sensory retreats, you can also buy now and pay later with Klarna. (PLEASE see their website for specific T’s & C’s.)

Spectrum collections

I’ve recently been checking them out for an occasion I have coming up. My relative loves make-up and I am impressed by the huge range of cute brush collections I found on their site.

Alice In Wonderland bundle

I am loving the Alice In Wonderland bundle and would love this as a present for myself. Hehe!

Hello Kitty

For the present I need to buy, I love the look of these Hello Kitty brushes.

It’s also a huge incentive, free delivery applies to all orders over £40.00 and you can use the Klarna app for your purchases. Mine got used a lot over the Christmas period.

Final thoughts

If you like any of the products discussed in this post, or you want to browse at your leisure (I love a good internet shopping session!), click on the buttons below.

Take me to Sensory Retreats

Take me to The Body Shop

Take me to spectrum collections

Do you use any of these products and what will you be purchasing for Valentine’s Day this year?

Let me know in the comments below, I would love to hear from you.

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Gaming, Mental Health

A list of eight amazing healthy ways to mentally unwind

27 January 2022 , 3 Comments

I am on a mission to find new and inventive ways I can focus my attention on a menial task and mentally unwind. I previously wrote about my love of playing phone games to help with my mental health. Well, I’m back again with more suggestions on how you can grab those moments and make use of your time, to quiet your mind.

My motivation for writing this post comes from my need to look after myself for a little while. I had a tough year in 2021 and the factor weighing me down is now over. However, I still feel flat and worn out from my negative workplace experiences. It is time to prioritise myself for a while and indulge in self-care.

I now also take on board the point, you can’t be a great writer unless you read varied materials. And I want to become a great writer! Reading and writing are methods I’ve always used to mentally unwind and I intend to do more of this.

READ ON FOR MY TIPS ON HOW TO USE SELF-CARE TO REDUCE STRESS

A quick face mask

I have several face mask products that are easy to use. They give my skin a boost, but don’t take long to wash off or leave a mess afterward. Take time to replenish yourself, even if it’s just for five minutes.

This is my favourite way to mentally unwind, and I particularly love the sheet face masks, because they are so quick and easy to use.

Some shower products that bring calm

As a Christmas present, someone bought me a Sanctuary Spa set and it includes some luxurious shower oil. If I am having a down day, I use the shower oil and it makes me feel revived again.

My family knows me well and they understand I need to mentally unwind.

A few pages of a book

If you follow the blog, you will know I struggle to fit in time to read books. For this reason, I have set up the Goodreads challenge for 2022. I now also take on board the point, you can’t be a great writer unless you read varied materials. And I want to become a great writer! Reading and writing are methods I’ve always used to mentally unwind and I intend to do more of this.

Seek out more online games

You will all be aware, sometimes you get sick of the games you play on your phone. Because playing games helped my mental health, I must find one to keep my mind stimulated. Following my recent post, all about my love of phone games, it was time to find some more.

My search landed me here. From first logging onto the plays.org website, I was instantly impressed by the ethos and the story behind the creation of the website. Both my hubby and I grew up playing games. Suffice to say, we are both huge fans of games as a way to mentally unwind and take us away from the pressure of daily life for a while.

What impresses me the most about the website is no advertising. Given my history with mental health, I can fall into addictive patterns. Games which ask me for more money as a way to unlock levels are dangerous. It would be easy for me to become obsessed and then disappointed, rather than feeling a sense of achievement.

For anyone who wishes to play the games themselves, I have included a few screenshots for you below.

The games are easy to play. Logging into the website is quick and easy and you are instantly presented with colourful and clear instructions about how to proceed, as shown in the screenshots.

I am particularly loving one of the new games, colorush. What I love about this game is you can pause it to set up the barriers. It stimulates your mind, trying to work out where the colour will go. I also got a burst of satisfaction at going it right, seeing the colour head towards the pot.

Super spice dash is the next game I found and I was honestly chuckling at the fact you’re playing with a popcorn chicken. It’s so cool. I opted to tilt my phone to steer, which meant the game was interactive.

I then decided to play neon invaders. Homage to space invaders and just as fun to play. I think this will be a favourite of mine when I have five minutes to de-stress.

Have a bubble bath

The perfect way to mentally unwind is a hot bubble bath. Radox is my best friend. After a day of running around after a toddler, a nice relaxing bath to melt away the aches and pains is the perfect solution. I regularly have a hot bath before bed, to unwind from the day and relax. I’ve just bought some Pukka nighttime herbal teas and they are amazing.

I like to have something to do whilst I am in the bath. I play games on my phone and also catch up with Twitter, especially if I haven’t got much done that day.

Buy some fresh flowers

My hubby used to buy tiger lilies for the house and they smell amazing. If I am feeling a bit down, I pick up a small bunch of flowers from the supermarket. I also love it when daffodils make an appearance. A small touch like this can help you feel a sense of calm.

Walk aimlessley

I mean, we all walk with a purpose don’t we? For a functional reason. We are getting from A to B. But to mentally unwind, try walking aimlessly. Just set off, with no limit on time and see where the journey takes you. Following my mental breakdown, I did this daily and it improved my outlook on life. This being the case, I know for a fact sitting in nature and getting some fresh air can do wonders for you.

Sit on a bench and watch the world go by

This is another thing I did daily following my breakdown to mentally unwind. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen some of my reels from the local park. It’s exactly where I sat last year. The difference now is I am not the same person. Yes, I will always suffer from high levels of anxiety and bouts of depression. I don’t expect it to ever disappear and I have fully accepted it won’t. But, I know how to manage it better now and my mindset has vastly changed from the person I was a year ago.

Final thoughts

I hope you enjoyed reading my run down of activities you can do to mentally unwind.

What do you do to mentally unwind? Is there a favorite activity you have when you’re limited to time?

I would love to hear from you in the comments below.

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Mental Health, Pregnancy

You are a great parent despite a confirmed diagnosis of bipolar disorder

24 January 2022 , 15 Comments

Guest post – I am absolutely honoured to have Lou Farrell guest post on my blog. Please check out her blog, Mentriz.

I would like to thank her for this honest post. I loved reading it and I am happy she managed to get through such a tough time.

So if you are a mother diagnosed with bipolar, be proud of what you have achieved. You are fighting many battles on different levels and overcoming them; this is a very proud moment indeed.

How the birth of my baby set in motion my mental health diagnosis

My labour started with my cat. The feisty mini beast jumped out on me while I was hanging the washing out and attacked my ankle with her usual vigour. I bent down to shoo her away and went back indoors, whereby my waters broke and my story of being a mother with bipolar begins.

I would like to say my labour went smoothly. But they mucked up my epidural, and it went into the wrong spot on my spine and caused fluid loss. My son was in the wrong position, and I was also sick with the gas and air. Things were going wrong. I was in such pain and agony from the botched epidural, they had to anaesthetise me fully.

When I woke up, I saw my son in the arms of my mother, and I named him there and then, to the shock of my partner, but hey, I was woozy. Thankfully he liked the name. It was a name we had never discussed, but when I woke up, it just seemed to be who my baby resembled.

Back to hospital

After a few days, I was out of the hospital with an atrocious headache; I couldn’t shake it, but I put it down to all the hormones leaving my body, and I started to learn how to be a mother. But the following day, my headache was terrible, and I couldn’t move my neck. I was taken to hospital. After a few hours, it was diagnosed that I had a hole in my spine from the epidural, and I was leaking spinal fluid. They would need to transfuse my blood into the hole.

I was in so much pain I stayed in the hospital for a few days, and when I came out, I felt as though the first few days of my son’s life had been stolen from me. It turns out this thought never truly left me it metamorphosised into something much grander much more manic.

I hope sharing my story helps another woman realise, being diagnosed with bipolar after having children is not the end of your parenting life. It is about learning new ways of doing things and adapting to your needs as an individual and those of your children

The lead up to diagnosis

As the days passed, I became more and more depressed, I went to my doctor, and he said I had postpartum depression. I wasn’t surprised, given the rough ride I had had over the past few weeks, but I was determined to be strong, and I would take antidepressants so I could be a good mum.

Another few weeks of motherhood went by, my depression never lifted. It became worse, and I started believing some bizarre things. The overriding thought and belief were my son was, in fact, my mothers. It was so real to me, yet utterly ludicrous. But at the time, I believed it. It would play on my mind that I was looking after my brother, not my son, but my baby brother.

I ventured to the shops one day and left my son with his dad. I had never voiced my thoughts to him; he was completely unaware. But the feeling was just intensifying even more so. As I approached the shop, I walked past it and walked towards the seafront. When I reached the sea, thank goodness the tide was out, and it was just mudflats because I had been meaning to throw myself in and let nature take its course.

Read my other mental health related posts

Mental Health related blog posts

An open letter to my anxiety

Pre-order the book I will be published in

Being admitted to the mental health unit

I returned home and burst into tears; the rest of the day was a blur. I don’t know how I ended up in the hospital. I’ve no idea how I got there, but here I was again, separated from my son and in the hospital again. But this time it was in the mental health unit.

My delusions were called puerperal psychosis, and it is a rare form of postpartum depression. It was then I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder too. I don’t go in for things lightly.

I spent many weeks in hospital, and my son changed from newborn to chubby cheeks, and I have to be forever thankful to my partner who looked after him so well. I can’t remember much about my time in hospital. It was unfortunate that I could not go to the mother and baby unit, but they only had limited spaces, and they were full. Which made me think how many other mums have mental illnesses after the birth of their child?

Once I returned home, I was pretty much useless. Great at play but not good with the routine side of things due to the powerful medication I was taking. My delusion had gone, but even now, nearly twenty years later, the memory of that delusion is so very real; it is the same as any other memory, very peculiar.

Where am I now?

My son is now nineteen, and although I separated from his father when he was about six, I have brought him up on my own for the past thirteen years. I have had many blips along the way, but I have a good support group around me, which is crucial when managing your mental health. You can be a great parent with a mental illness.

Yes, you can still be a good mother with bipolar. There may be an odd flare-up along the way, but bipolar can be managed. If you follow the doctor’s instructions, even if you feel a bit crap on the medication, you can thrive as a parent.

I hope sharing my story helps another woman realise, being diagnosed with bipolar after having children is not the end of your parenting life. It is about learning new ways of doing things and adapting to your needs as an individual and those of your children. As I said, the key is to make sure you have a good support network around you, as, without this, it would be tough for anyone, let alone someone with mental health issues.

Motherhood changes you, regardless of whether you have mental health issues. But if you have, it becomes doubly tricky but even more rewarding, I believe. As you have to jump through more hoops than you could ever possibly think existed, this makes you stronger in the end.

So if you are a mother diagnosed with bipolar, be proud of what you have achieved. You are fighting many battles on different levels and overcoming them; this is a very proud moment indeed.

All the details you need to find out more about Lou

Lou Farrell is a writer on mental health and wellbeing; she runs a website called Mentriz, which talks about a wide range of issues from mental illness to natural remedies and positive affirmations. She writes a lot about bipolar disorder and depression as she believes in speaking from experience.

Blog tag posts, Mindset change

Mummy & mental health blogger with an overhauled perspective on life

20 January 2022 , 14 Comments

An overhauled perspective on all things in life. What better way to celebrate this, than writing this tag post!

Being unapologetically you is all about sharing the things that make you happy and help you become a better person. Never be afraid to be you.

Izzy Matias started the Be Unapologetically You blogging tag. It’s a celebration of what you love without being shy or ashamed about it!

Almost six months since starting the blog, I am a bit more comfortable with revealing other details about my life and it feels great to open up about the aspects of life I love.

Quick note: Some of the links contained on this page are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. I only recommend products I use myself and think would be useful for you.

How does the tag work?

Be Unapologetically You Tag Rules:

1. Use the Be Unapologetically You banner in your post. It can be your featured image or not. It’s totally up to you.

2. Include the link to this blogging tag (https://www.izzymatias.com/be-unapologetically-you) in your post.

3. Answer the 7 questions in this tag.

4. Nominate between 5-10 bloggers, link to their blogs, and tag them on social media to notify them.

5. Most of all, have fun!

Reminder: you don’t need to include the “Be Unapologetically You Tag” in your blog post title if you don’t want to.

Be Unapologetically You Questions:

Introduce yourself and your blog while sharing one trivia about you that not that many people know.
What topics do you love geeking out about that you would say are topics that give you bliss?
Do you blog about them? Why or why not? If not, would you like to blog about them one time?
Would you say that you are living life by being unapologetically you? Why or why not? If not, what would your life look like if you were unafraid to share more about the things that make you happy?
Permission to geek out & be unapologetically you: share with us one thing you fangirl or fanboy over and how you became a fan of it. It can be anything. Your love for soy candles, your favorite food, a boy band or an underrated film.
What do you love the most about being a fan?
Share a fun or unforgettable fan experience.

Before we get into the questions, I wanted to say this tag is perfect for me at this moment in time. Following a mental breakdown and redundancy from my job of almost 10 years, I have an overhauled perspective on life. I feel like a new person, with a fresh outlook. And I intend to make the most of this transformation and finally create the life I want to live.

Let’s dive into the questions

Introduce yourself and your blog while sharing one trivia about you that not that many people know.

I’m a mummy to a feisty toddler and a wife, living in the North of England, UK, and making it a priority to enjoy life.

Following my recent breakdown, I believe talking about our mental health struggles is key to recovery. My blog focuses on parenting and mental health, but I also explore other lifestyle topics.

Something people may not know about me, is I eat raw potatoes and I mentioned it in one of my other tag posts. I don’t know where it came from, but I still love them to this day. Although I can’t eat too many, because I don’t think the starch is very good for you.

What topics do you love geeking out about that you would say are topics that give you bliss?

In keeping with the trend of being unapologetically you, I have to talk about my love of gaming. I always thought it was just my hubby who was the geek. However, I am starting to realise it’s also me who loves geeky games. I think it comes from playing these with my dad and brother when we were younger. We have a Sega console and I love playing the old games and feeling a sense of nostalgia.

These days, I also love playing games on my phone as a way to destress. With a job search underway, a tempremental toddler and generally busy life, I need moments to decompress and a task I can easily dip in and out of.

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Do you blog about them? Why or why not? If not, would you like to blog about them one time?

When I first started the blog, I didn’t initially talk about these subjects. Almost six months since starting the blog, I am a bit more comfortable with revealing other details about my life and it feels great to open up about the aspects of life I love.

As the title of this post suggests, I have an overhauled perspective on life. It is inevitable when you go through life changing events.

Stay tuned to the blog for more on my mental health journey and my life adventures, whilst I go through this transition period. My second blog will be launching in the next few weeks and a third one in the next few months. I also plan on doing some freelance writing. The hope is I will gradually feel comfortable sharing more about my life.

Would you say that you are living life by being unapologetically you? Why or why not? If not, what would your life look like if you were unafraid to share more about the things that make you happy?

I am getting better at being more open. Simply because I realise this makes you more authentic and in turn, happier. Discussing my honest thoughts on the blog was the pivotal factor that aided my recovery from a mental health breakdown. I am so over hiding my true self. Whilst I will probably always keep some things private, there is a lot to be said about opening up.

I do have more work to do in this area though. I hid my anxiety from everyone for 15 years. Therefore I am at the beginning of my opening up journey and it is all new to me.

Permission to geek out & be unapologetically you: share with us one thing you fangirl or fanboy over and how you became a fan of it. It can be anything. Your love for soy candles, your favorite food, a boy band or an underrated film

I am a sucker for a candle or wax melt. Gone are the days I used to spend £50.00 in the Yankee candle shop on my lunchtime at work. These days I am all about deals, supermarket candles, and melts seem to be cheaper.

But yes, I have a great love of candles. If you’re looking for some cheap, but lovely smelling candles, I suggest checking out the range at Wilko. I use their tea lights and jar candles, because they smell amazing, but they are also affordable.

What do you love the most about being a fan?

The candle business is huge in the UK, but having them dotted around the house brings a sense of calm. It wasn’t until my breakdown I relaised how important these touches are. A relaxing bath and a candle literally helped to get me out of bed and start the day. Granted, it didn’t solve all my problems. A combination of factors did and this includes medication. However, self-care is a vital part of recovery.

I just love my passion for them because I know it aids my need to keep up self-care. And I always welcome a sense of calm in the house.

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I want the freebies

Share a fun or unforgettable fan experience

When I previously had my lunchtime candle spending sprees. And spent all the extra money I was earning in the name of stress, I regularly purchased some cute Yankee candle Votive holders (these were also cheap to buy compared with the jar candles). One night, me and my now hubby were chilling and it broke due to increased heat. A bit of the jar cracked and popped across the room and we are lucky it didn’t hit anyone. I am always careful to this day, ensuring the wick isn’t resting on one side of the jar.

It was my favorites candle holder as well, hehe!!

I nominate…

Real Life of LuLu

Lisa Marie

Ladybossnomad

Pinecanvasblog

DatingBitch

Final thoughts

I hope you enjoyed reading this post.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.

Mental Health

The secret of how an anxiety-prone person manages a new blog

17 January 2022 , 22 Comments

If things go wrong, like me losing my whole website one day, I panic. I am pre-dispositioned to act like this. Whilst my anxiety will never go away, I can put tools in place to manage it. I now have to find ways to balance the blog and my anxiety levels.

The excitement of starting a blog means I wanted everything to be perfect and I was eager to upload several posts and progress the blog as quickly as I could.

Pick your battles and only trade your energy where you believe it is worthy.

Like other young families, I have some time management issues. Working around childcare, having a messy hubby, housework, learning a million new things at once, I have struggled with also fitting in self-care. In my free moments, I’m always asking myself whether I should work on the blog instead of resting. I need to remember that I’m still in a recovery period following a mental breakdown, and whilst writing for this blog and speaking out about mental health is helping me, it’s about taking it one day at a time.

It’s lovely to be part of the mental health blogging community. Having like-minded people who know how you feel is amazing, so thanks to everyone who offers me support on a daily basis. Becoming a blogger is the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.

So brave of you to share your experiences with others. I hope that you get the help you need to overcome your anxiety.
— Iza Forestspirit (@IForestspirit) October 27, 2021

Tips on how I am currently managing my anxiety levels

Naps

I know I talk a lot about naps on the blog, but they do so much good. My anxiety is worse when I’m tired and therefore I must take time to rest if I don’t want other areas of my life to get out of control.

Brushing off the insignificant things

Naturally, when you suffer a mental breakdown and are going through redundancy, you identify the things in life that simply don’t matter. And you train yourself to not care or use your precious energy on this particular thing in life. Pick your battles and only trade your energy where you believe it is worthy.

Medication

I am still taking anti-depressants and intend to continue doing so for as long as I need them. There is no shame in this, despite the stigma still surrounding the issue.

Without medication, I wouldn’t have been able to get to a place where I could start recovery or let myself heal. Think about a pot on your broken arm or pain medication whilst a sprained ankle is healing. You wouldn’t be able to even begin the healing journey without these measures. Mental health is no different. My hope is that by speaking out, the perception will change.

Not stessing out about things outside my control

I’ve come to realise there are more factors outside our control in our lives than the ones we can do something about. I previously worried about other people and changing things. I don’t anymore.

It’s sometimes easier said than done and I will be honest, at the moment I still have the same reaction to difficult life circumstances. The difference now is, I stop to think about whether it’s the correct reaction and I evaluate this before proceeding.

Organising things inside my control

Before pregnancy, when everything kind of fell apart, I had standing orders set up to make bill payments and I was super organised. I am now trying to find some sort of middle-ground. In this middle-ground, the automatic stuff like money, shopping lists, meal planning is taken care of. This leaves time for the more enjoyable elements of life.

I am still working on the plan and hope to have it resolved soon. My family and I can then look forward to a bright future and concentrate on living life.

Working on the blog when it suits me

To clarify, I work at least 3-4 hours daily on the blog, and during the first three months, it was a lot more. Because I have a little one to entertain during the day, I usually work early in the mornings and late at night.

The point here is, I am free to do special things with the little one during the day. We have just started visiting soft play areas and going swimming regularly. This is the reason I would like to turn my blogging passion into a full-time job, eventually. I can then achieve my dream of finally having a work-life balance.

Vowing to never return to what caused my stress in the first place

Long work hours

Pressure to hit targets

The office environment

Significant travel time to work

All the above are things I can control and make adjustments to in my life. I now have the confidence to achieve a future job role or self-employed status which means I don’t have to put myself through this anymore.

For me, any of these factors may cause me to get to breaking point again. It’s now about creating a happy, healthy future and avoiding the impact on my mental health.

Final thoughts

I hope this post has given you some insight on why I started the blog in the first place and how I am managing all elements of life with very little time.

I know these issues impact many families. I would love to hear from you in the comments below. You are not alone.

Guest posts, Mental Health, Pregnancy, Tools for managing anxiety

Why a sleep routine is important for a newborn

10 January 2022 , 12 Comments

Today I am so excited to welcome a guest blogger! I am also over the moon to introduce a mummy, also facing difficult issues with a newborn. I can relate to this. My guest blogger today has turned a negative experience of her own into something to help others. All the details you need to connect with Lauryn can be found at the end of this post.

POST UPDATED 30 July 2022

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Quick note: Some of the links contained on this page are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. I only recommend products I use myself and think would be useful for you.

Let’s dive into why a sleep routine is important

I felt very ready to have a baby in every sense. I was 32 years old and financially secure. It was great that I had a successful teaching career of ten years and my relationship was strong.

As a confessed perfectionist, when we fell pregnant, I did all of the homework to be fully prepared. We did an online hypnobirthing course together. I planned my drug-free, calm labour. In addition, I planned to breathe the baby out (LOL) simply. I also knew all there was to know about the fourth trimester. I was, of course going to breastfeed. It was on the agenda to get started early with a bedtime routine. Additionally, I planned to be back in the gym from six weeks postnatal. I also signed up for lots of baby classes with my NCT friends.

I had all of the right things to ensure a sound night’s sleep for our baby. The right clothes, crib, mattress, baby monitor, and dream sheep to get her sleeping easily. You name it, we had it.

Finally, eight days after my due date, I started feeling labour pains. My feelings were weirdly nervous and excited. I just could not wait to meet this baby I felt so connected to during the pregnancy. Preparing, I calmly got my hypnobirthing tools ready. Bouncing on my ball, candles lit, and a comedy video, had me feeling prepared.

My labour did not go as planned. After 30 hours, I ended up having an emergency C-section and my daughter came out with suspected sepsis and was whisked straight off to neonatal care.

Once I got home, all the planning we had done during pregnancy felt pointless. I felt beyond unprepared for this responsibility. Breastfeeding was not working for us and I felt like the ultimate failure in getting the formula out. My daughter had classic colic and cried for 3-6 hours every evening. It was exhausting and I felt awful I was unable to console her.

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What a busy week I’ve had on the blog. But I wanted to bring you all the wonderful deals in…

The anxiety set in

How had I gone from feeling as if I knew exactly what to expect, to this? I realised that one thing no one had told me might come with new motherhood. Anxiety.

I have never been an overly anxious person, but all of a sudden every aspect of motherhood was anxiety-inducing. Breastfeeding, sleep, guests coming over, leaving the house. All of it. My plans to go to classes and groups were far too big for me to face and I was so anxious about guests coming in case she would cry and I would not be able to settle her.

How lockdown impacted the situation

Eight weeks after she was born, we were plunged into the very first lockdown. This was great for me because it meant I didn’t have to face my anxiety about going out or guests coming over. Although in hindsight, there were negative aspects, because it didn’t give me a chance to talk to professionals, as medical visits and access to health visitors had ceased.

To regain control, I started a very rigid sleep routine with my little one. Every nap had to be to the minute of my new programme. The sleep environment had to be perfect. If it ever went out of the window, it was a huge stress for me and could ruin my entire lockdown day.

Light at the end of the tunnel

Needless to say, I realised it was time to do some mental digging and see what was going on. I opened up to friends who had suffered postnatally and searched for information online. After thinking about it, I eventually concluded that anxiety was linked to birth trauma. I had not given myself the chance to go over my labour or the fact she was taken straight from me due to being ill upon arrival.

Once I did a little work on myself through the lockdown, the pressure I’d put myself under started to lift. I introduced yoga, meditation, and journaling into my routine.

Turning a negative into a positive

I eased up a little on the sleep routine and now two years down the line I have trained to become a sleep consultant to work with families on gentle sleep schedules and training, to cause the least anxiety possible.

If anyone out there is new to this parenting gig and finding things tough, open up. Talk it out when you’re ready and know that this storm will pass and get better. More beautiful days are coming your way.

Lauryn and her little one

Angelcare were fantastic for all of our baby’s needs when we had a newborn. Check them out.

More details on how to contact Lauryn

Lauryn has worked as a full-time teacher for 10 years, teaching Drama and English in both primary and secondary settings. Since having her first child, Eliza, she realised the importance of sleep for well-being and this led to her training to become a sleep consultant in Summer 2021. Lullaby Lauryn launched in October and she can’t wait to help as many families as possible improve their sleep.

You can find her website here

She can also be contacted on Instagram and Facebook.

Final thoughts

I hope you enjoyed reading this guest post about why a sleep routine is important.

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below and let me know whether you’ve checked out Lauryn’s amazing website.

Blogging

7 reasons you should start your own blog

3 January 2022 , 28 Comments

I always wanted to write a book about my life. I have storage boxes full of notebooks, diaries, poems I thought I could use to contribute to becoming a fully-fledged writer.

When the bottom of my world literally fell out from underneath me. Redundancy, a breakdown, a pandemic. Uncertainty central. I decided it was time for a change. Why not start your own blog, I thought? What’s the worst that could happen?

I felt compelled to share my story and what better way to do this than embracing the world of social media and online connections. After all, that’s where it’s at, right?

You have something to add. Your life experiences are unique and someone out there will benefit from what you have to say.

Quick note: Mummy Conquering Anxiety is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Some of the links contained on this page are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. I only recommend products I use myself and think would be useful for you.

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I have a list of incredible reasons to start your own blog TODAY…

Your own platform

Starting your own blog can get your message out there.

I’m seeing a lot of wonderful people with amazing things to say and messages which should be out in the world for others to see. But sometimes this is limited to one social media site and I would love to see more content from this person.

Having a blog, which is connected to other social media sites, allows you to gain more followers and get your message out to more people. You control the content and create everything on the site.

If you’re thinking of setting up a blog and need web hosting, Bluehost is amazing. They provided me with the best customer service I’ve ever received when I recently lost my website! I HAVE to recommend them to other people.

It’s your chance to create something of your own

How exciting? I did a lot of research before starting my own blog. I decided I needed a chic-looking theme and I wanted to spend money upfront to ensure the branding was good.

After all, this place is like your office, your space, home from home. You’ve created it and why not make it look appealing?

If you need a theme, please check out Bluchic. I’ve had a few technical questions since setting up my blog and their customer service is fantastic. I am considering setting up a second blog and they will be my first choice for a theme.

What you need to begin your blogging journey…

A computer

Sounds silly doesn’t it, but it’s true. I’ve heard some people try and run a blog without a laptop. But honestly, there are only certain tasks I can do on my laptop. That said, I do use my phone for some admin tasks like social media interaction and noting down ideas, occasionally writing in google documents.

Research

I spent a lot of time researching how I would set up my blog.

Pinterest was a massive source of information for me. Other bloggers give the best advice because they have walked in your shoes and can speak from experience.

Time

Luckily, due to my situation, I had time to set up the blog. I desperately needed to occupy my mind with something to stimulate my brain but also help my mental health.

Don’t worry if you don’t have huge amounts of time. Sometimes I only manage 30 minutes a day for blogging tasks. But I look at it like that’s a few things off my to-do list and you can only tackle small chunks, which then lead to bigger goals.

Small steps really do amount to something amazing.

Patience

It is correct that it takes roughly three months to rank on Google or start seeing any results in terms of traffic to your website.

I was starting to feel deflated. I went for a weekend away. I had writer’s block and was just not feeling the blogging vibes for about a week. Then I checked my DA score and surprisingly it was at 9, EXACTLY three months after I released my first blog post.

DA is at 9! Wooooooo hooooooooooo! Can’t quite believe it. But I have worked my back side off since 12 August!! 👍
— MummyConqueringAnxiety (@Mummyconquerin1) October 17, 2021

A little bit of blogging motivation

We all love a good quote, don’t we? It’s time to include some here to give you some motivation, whatever your next step in life is.

Final thoughts

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and it has given you some motivation. Or food for thought?

Let me know in the comments below.

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Month: January 2022

The reason we ALL need a bit of self-care in our lives

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Speaking of indulgence, let’s dive into the list of must have products to add to your self-care package

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Final thoughts

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READ ON FOR MY TIPS ON HOW TO USE SELF-CARE TO REDUCE STRESS

A quick face mask

Some shower products that bring calm

A few pages of a book

Seek out more online games

Have a bubble bath

Buy some fresh flowers

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Walk aimlessley

Sit on a bench and watch the world go by

Final thoughts

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Guest post – I am absolutely honoured to have Lou Farrell guest post on my blog. Please check out her blog, Mentriz.

I would like to thank her for this honest post. I loved reading it and I am happy she managed to get through such a tough time.

How the birth of my baby set in motion my mental health diagnosis

Back to hospital

The lead up to diagnosis

Read my other mental health related posts

Being admitted to the mental health unit

Where am I now?

All the details you need to find out more about Lou

How does the tag work?

Be Unapologetically You Tag Rules:

Be Unapologetically You Questions:

Let’s dive into the questions

Introduce yourself and your blog while sharing one trivia about you that not that many people know.

What topics do you love geeking out about that you would say are topics that give you bliss?

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Do you blog about them? Why or why not? If not, would you like to blog about them one time?

Would you say that you are living life by being unapologetically you? Why or why not? If not, what would your life look like if you were unafraid to share more about the things that make you happy?

Permission to geek out & be unapologetically you: share with us one thing you fangirl or fanboy over and how you became a fan of it. It can be anything. Your love for soy candles, your favorite food, a boy band or an underrated film

What do you love the most about being a fan?

Sign up for my freebie library. Each week there will be a new freebie added to help organise your life and take away some stress!

Share a fun or unforgettable fan experience

I nominate…

Final thoughts

Tips on how I am currently managing my anxiety levels

Naps

Brushing off the insignificant things

Medication

Not stessing out about things outside my control

Organising things inside my control

Working on the blog when it suits me

Vowing to never return to what caused my stress in the first place

Final thoughts

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Let’s dive into why a sleep routine is important

Check out these posts

The anxiety set in

How lockdown impacted the situation

Light at the end of the tunnel

Turning a negative into a positive

Lauryn and her little one

Angelcare were fantastic for all of our baby’s needs when we had a newborn. Check them out.

More details on how to contact Lauryn

Final thoughts

Sign up to my monthly newsletter

Subscribe to receive my monthly newsletter

I have a list of incredible reasons to start your own blog TODAY…

Your own platform

It’s your chance to create something of your own