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Life With a 13-Month-Old: What Motherhood Feels Like Right Now
I don’t think I say this enough, but I genuinely love being my baby’s mum.At 13.5 months, this stage of motherhood — life with a 1 year old — feels very full in a way I didn’t expect. The days are busy, sometimes messy, and often unpredictable, but they don’t feel like something I’m just trying to get through. I actually enjoy being in them.We waited a long time before deciding to have a baby, and if I’m honest, I never really saw myself as a particularly ‘motherly’ person. I wasn’t someone who naturally gravitated towards kids — which is probably why this phase has surprised me the most.That said,…
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10 Common First Birthday Planning Mistakes (And What to Do Instead)
Planning your baby’s first birthday? Here’s how to avoid unnecessary stress—while creating a celebration that works for your family. Planning your baby’s first birthday is a special milestone—but it can also feel overwhelming.Between decorations, food, guest lists, and expectations, it’s easy to plan things that don’t actually work for your baby, your schedule, or your energy.Whether you’re planning a big celebration or a small one at home, the goal isn’t to do more or less—it’s to create a day that feels manageable and meaningful for your family.This post isn’t about doing less. It’s about avoiding unnecessary stress and making choices that truly work for you and your baby.If you’re in…
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My Baby Won’t Eat What I Serve: Real-Life Mealtime Struggles and Wins
If you’re a parent, you’ve probably felt the frustration of preparing a meal only for your baby to refuse it—or take just one bite. That’s been our reality too. Our mealtimes are messy, unpredictable, and full of tiny victories, and I wanted to share our story to help other parents navigating the ups and downs of baby eating habits and feeding struggles. The Excitement of First Foods When it was time to start solids, I was thrilled. I wanted him to explore food in his own way—tasting different textures, experiencing new flavors, and learning to feed himself. The first few meals were a learning curve. He didn’t quite know what…
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First Birthday Expectations vs Reality: What My Baby Actually Did
Before my baby’s first birthday, I was the one who was excited about everything. When planning a baby’s first birthday, it’s easy to imagine a day full of excitement, reactions, and picture-perfect moments.The decorations.The cake.Planning the outing.Even the day before, after finishing work, I spent time putting up balloons all around — number 1 balloons, cupcake-shaped ones, animal-shaped ones. I had imagined how he would react when he saw them the next morning.But for him, it was just another day.He was just as happy playing with a simple balloon as he would be on any other day.And that made me realise something important — babies don’t really understand birthdays the…
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Simple First Birthday Celebration: How We Celebrated Our Baby’s First Birthday
It’s been a little quiet here on the blog lately. I was busy preparing for a very special milestone in our family — our baby’s first birthday.The first year of parenthood goes by incredibly fast. One moment you’re bringing your baby home, and suddenly you’re celebrating their first birthday. I wanted the day to feel special, even though we kept the celebration simple.In the end, it was just us — the parents, both grandparents, and our two dogs — spending the day together. And that made it even more meaningful for us.If you’re looking for simple first birthday celebration ideas, here’s what our day looked like. Birthday Plans (and the…
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Baby Didn’t Eat First Birthday Cake — What It Was Really Like
I had imagined this moment so many times — my baby sitting in front of his little cake, digging in, getting messy, maybe even enjoying a few bites.But when the moment actually came… he didn’t eat the cake at all.Not the sponge, not the frosting — nothing.And honestly? It wasn’t what I expected, but it also didn’t matter as much as I thought it would.For my baby’s first birthday, I kept things really simple — I’ve shared more about how we celebrated the day in a separate post, but this part is all about the cake and frosting. The Cake Smash Trial (A Few Days Before) A few days before…
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Life with Indie Dogs and a Baby: Love, Loss, and Learning to Coexist
This isn’t a guide or a set of rules — just our lived experience of navigating new motherhood alongside rescued dogs, slowly and imperfectly. Before I became a mother, I already was one — just in a different way. For seven years after my marriage, my dogs were my only children. We rescued three indie dogs over time, and they weren’t just pets — they were the center of most of our decisions. Our routines, our friendships, even our weekends quietly revolved around them.When my husband got the opportunity to move to Dubai, the first question we tried to answer wasn’t about work or logistics — it was whether we…
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Gentle Allergen Introduction Through BLW: My Personal Experience
Introducing allergens was one of the parts of baby-led weaning (BLW) that made me pause — not because the foods were unfamiliar, but because of the pressure and fear that often surround this part of feeding. There’s so much advice out there, and it can feel overwhelming. I didn’t want this stage to feel clinical or stressful — I wanted it to feel natural, slow, and rooted in the foods we already eat as a family. In practice, allergen exposure unfolded quite naturally for us. We’re a vegetarian, egg-free household, and much of our food revolves around Indian home cooking and baking. That meant allergens often appeared quietly — through…
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Baby Items We Actually Use Daily as Working Parents
When you’re working full-time and parenting a baby, you don’t have the luxury of researching every product. We quickly realized that simple, practical items are what get used daily — not all the fancy things that are sold. This list includes the baby items we genuinely reach for every single day. This is based purely on what has worked for us as working parents with limited time and energy. If you’re looking for realistic, everyday baby essentials — this post is for you. Affiliate Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost…
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Baby Baking Basics: What I Learned Before Baking for My Baby
When I first started thinking about baking for my baby, I felt both excited and unsure at the same time.I personally enjoy baking — it’s something I’ve always found comforting and creative. Naturally, I wanted to see how baking could fit into my baby’s food journey too. But once I started researching, I realized how many different opinions existed.Some parents baked everything.Some avoided baking completely.Some followed strict rules.Others like me, went entirely with instinct.I’m not a professional baker or a nutritionist — just a mum trying to prepare food gently, safely, and realistically for her baby. This post isn’t about what you should do. It’s simply what I learned before I started baking for my…