5 benefits of yoga in pregnancy
Google ‘yoga in pregnancy’ and you’re met with a plethora of links extolling the virtues of prenatal yoga. The experts [...]
5 simple ways to stick to an exercise routine
Do you find yourself backing out of gym plans at the last minute? Or sinking down on the sofa with [...]
10 ways to lose weight without going to the gym
Want to shed a few pounds but don’t have the time – or the inclination – to go to the [...]
10 reasons to take up swimming in 2018
Are you planning to turn over a new leaf in 2018? Would you like to get a bit fitter? Then [...]
5 ways to rock being a gym bunny mum
Wrinkled tummy, odd shaped boobs and stretch marks in places you didn’t think there could be stretch marks. I don’t know [...]
Post baby running update: six months after the birth
It’s almost six months since I’ve been back pounding the pavements following the birth of Little B, so I thought [...]
Who’d have thought the best bit about a holiday could be a break from pumping milk?
It turns out we couldn’t have picked a better week to have our first holiday of the year – a [...]
Purifyne Cleanse review: an internal makeover for your body
Cold pressed, ready to drink fresh detox juice delivered straight to your door. Doesn’t that sound fantastic? There’s never been [...]
Baby swimming lessons: are they worth it?
It’s a good question, because at around £13 per class they’re not cheap. Although I took BB swimming regularly when [...]
My bum is a depot for building my baby’s brain
Excellent news: curvier girls produce brainier children. I’m not joking. Scientists have this week said that the fat found in our bums helps to build our babies brains because fat cells in our derrieres are ‘routed’ directly towards them. Apparently these ‘fat banks’ are depots for building a baby’s brain via breast feeding, and women with larger stores of fat are likely to produce brainer children. And there was me turning my back on a rather lovely looking slice of blueberry frangipane in the coffee shop yesterday, which really did have my name on it. […]
Running after pregnancy: I’m pounding the pavements again
It’s the moment I’ve been waiting for: at long last I can pound the pavements again. After hanging up my trainers at 36 weeks pregnant I then had four weeks ‘off’ after Little B’s birth and went for my first run exactly four weeks later. Without a bump I felt like I was flying. My running bible throughout pregnancy has been Runner’s World Guide to Running & Pregnancy by Chris Lundgren, one of only a handful of books I’ve been able to find on the subject. She advises waiting until you’ve stopped bleeding and then adding another week before attempting your first post-partum run, and then if you have any fresh blood afterwards wait another week before going out again. I followed this advice with both BB and Little B, and it seems a sensible approach to me. I was careful to stick to my pregnancy pace – you’re actually more at risk of injury in the months immediately after giving birth than you are during pregnancy – and not to take too big strides owing to my recent date with the needle and thread, but wow. As it did after BB was born, it felt brilliant. […]
Phil & Ted’s Dot double buggy review: walking is getting rather tricky
I thought the three year age gap between BB and Little B would eliminate the need for a double buggy. I was wrong. Although BB will quite happily walk the couple of miles to Tesco and back, anything further and she (quite rightly) starts complaining, which given that we don’t have the car during the week and go everywhere on foot is making life rather tricky. So when MadeForMums asked me to review Phil & Ted’s latest Dot double buggy (pictured), I jumped at the chance. The double-decker style forward-facing Dot is designed to hold two children from birth to five years old, with the younger on the bottom and the older on the top. Marketed as Phil & Ted’s ‘most compact’ double pushchair to date, its 59cm wide slimline design makes it no wider than a standard stroller. And with a seat height of 65cms the Dot boasts one of the tallest seats on the market, although the main seat is rather snug and I would say there’s only limited growing room left. I’d be surprised if BB would fit into it when she’s five. […]
Running in pregnancy: I made it to 36 weeks
It is with the greatest regret that I have finally admitted defeat and hung up my running trainers. I made [...]
Thanks to the garden we switched the telly off for TWO WEEKS
Living in a fourth floor flat means being able to run through a door into a garden isn’t an activity which features in BB’s usual routine. So when we decamped to my parents’ house in Dorset while they were sunning it in Spain for two weeks BB thought all her Christmases had come at once. She pram pushed (pictured), she scootered, she ran barefoot in the grass, she watered the plants and ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in the great outdoors, leaving CBeebies mercifully switched off for almost our entire trip, which has got to be a holiday in itself. With her 3rd birthday falling slap bang in the middle of our holiday and with the garden at our feet it was the perfect opportunity to throw a birthday barbecue and try out a set of garden games we were sent by Two Little Fleas, who are encouraging families to spend more quality time together by playing outdoors this summer. […]
Shock horror: I’m running in pregnancy
Week: 24 Waist: 36 inches (no change) Feeling: Pretty good Dare I admit it? I’ve been running throughout my entire pregnancy and with the sixth month almost upon us I’m still clocking up around 12 miles a week. It’s now clear I have a baby on board (pictured) and it’s amazing how many people I’ve been running past since we moved here 18 months ago have suddenly started smiling and saying hello. Which is heartening. When I was expecting BB and carried on donning my trainers it wasn’t long before I discovered people seem to view pregnancy as some sort of illness, requiring one to sit on the sofa and eat crisps for nine months. I also discovered – and became increasingly infuriated by – people who dished out their advice on the subject despite having no medical knowledge whatsoever. ‘I’m not ill, I’m pregnant’ I would find myself saying over and over again. Having run six to nine miles at least twice a week for more than 10 years, there was no question in my mind that hanging up my trainers in favour of the sofa would be more of a shock to my system than continuing to pound the pavements. Every pregnancy book you find will tell you – assuming your blood pressure is ok – to continue your normal levels of activity as far as possible. What’s more, I love it. Why would I stop? […]
