Finding My Own Two Feet @figaroblack - Tumblr Blog

A year of parenthood

My little boy turned one year old a couple of days ago. It feels like yesterday he could barely turn his head, and now he is on the verge of walking and trying to become the dictator of the world. He is a really strong-willed little boy, frustrated and angry with anything that thwarts his plans as most 1-year olds are. He is also a really curious, wide-eyed boy who loves to sit next to me and…

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A sleepy Tuesday

My little one is peacefully sleeping in his crib. He is almost eight months now, just five days to go, and growing up so quickly. 60 days ago — or two months, though two months sound too long ago — my little one rolled to get around. He needed support to sit. He could definitely not stand. Now…

Now he crawls, with speed, after our two cats. He stands in his crib, wobbly, worrying me, since he has…

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The story of sleeping soundly

Once upon a time I naively thought our son would happily sleep in his crib, on his back, in a pyjamas, possibly in a cute grobag, on top of a firm matress with a well fitting sheet. Oh, and with a nice pacifier in his mouth. All according to recommendations to prevent SIDS.

My son did not care about recommendations, however. Nor did mine and my husbands internal alarms. You see, it turns out that…

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5 months of parenting

I am not a super parent who manages it all. Often I serve pre-frozen foods for both lunch and dinner simply because the prospect of cooking in our messy kitchen is overwhelming. The laundry gets done in spurts of productivity, or when absolutely necessary. The only reason my bedding is somewhat clean is the occasional baby accidents (yes, little one sleeps with us at the moment). Oh, and the…

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Toys for a 4 month old

Toys for small babies can be a bit tricky if you, like me, are sensitive to sounds and would rather not have a lot of garishly coloured plastic littering your home. Reading about good toy choices for small babies it seems that the general consensus is that ugly or loud, or both, equals fun for baby.

I think my son might be a bit like me. You see he has no interest in squeaky plastic toys in…

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Plants and cats

I pick up new interests, or renew old interests, rapidly throughout the year. At the moment I am all about greenery. More specifically houseplants.

I grew up in a home where there has always been things growing. Everything from lemons, apples, poppies and oats grown from the pantry sneakily put into my mother’s pots by a curious little budding gardener (me) to large indoor trees like benjamin…

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0 - 2 months: what we ended up needing, and that which is collecting dust

0 – 2 months: what we ended up needing, and that which is collecting dust

Every baby is an individual. This can’t be stressed enough. Every time you read a list of “baby essentials” and “things you don’t need” you need to keep this in mind. For instance, on every single list I read they said a baby bathtub was a waste of money and space. If you have deep sinks with tall faucets, or a shower where you can put a towel on the floor and not break your back leaning over a…

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Cloth Nappies from Newborn to 2 Months

Long before I even started thinking about actually having a baby I was thinking about what kind of nappy I would like to use. I might be weird, but I spent hours imagining the perfect combination of nappies for the perfect child.

There would be wool covers, I’d tell myself. All natural materials, of course, because that is surely better for the environment and for the skin.

There is a definite…

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Keeping a home in 5 minute intervals

Having a baby life was briefly turned upside down before it could slowly start to become something new, different, mostly delightful. My home was a mess, cooking non-existent, and my hair in dire need of brushing in those first, hectic weeks of becoming a mum. There was no time for anything but the baby then.

Slowly, however, we’ve formed a routine, him and me. It goes like this: “Let mum have 5…

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Cloth pads for post partum, part 2

Birth has come and gone. It was as births went a rather long story, beginning with an induction and ending with a c-section. I’ll tell you all the details later, for now I promised you an update on cloth pads for post partum.

I imagined that post partum bleeding would be heavy, heavier than my heaviest period. The kind of heavy that nothing would truly contain for long. I prepared for that. As it…

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Cloth pads for post-partum - part 1

Cloth pads for post-partum – part 1

I use cloth pads exclusively for my periods. I love them. I’ve not leaked once since I started 6 years ago, I can sleep through the night without worrying because I have pads that are long enough and shaped the right way for me, they are soft and comfortable and they don’t smell. What’s not to love? The best part of all are all the pretty colours and patterns.

Washing is easy. Just toss in the…

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The magic that is soda crystals

Just a short post today about soda crystals. Or rather, the magic that is soda crystals.

We have a very stubborn kitchen drain. It seldom becomes blocked, but quite often it is a bit sluggish no matter what I try to clean it. Baking soda, vinegar, hot water, dishwasher soap…none of it has really been able to make it truly drain at the speed which it did when newly installed. It is not the end of…

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What is a bullet journal?

If you search for “bullet journal” or “bujo” on instagram, or any other picture based platform, you will no doubt come across a lot of really beautiful examples of what a bullet journal can be.

There’s colours, and sketches, and flowers and beautiful layouts and great penmanship and it can all feel a bit…too much. It can feel fake, as something people don’t really use in their own lives but just…

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Almost there

We are almost there.

35 weeks pregnant. Time suddenly raced past, after being in slowmotion for so long, and we jumped from the infinite 20, 21, 22, 22, 22 to today.

A lot has happened.

First of all, I’ve come down with pregnancy diabetes. Not unexpected, considering I have PCOS, and was probably sensitive to insulin before pregnancy, but still…it takes a bit getting used to.

Pregnancy cravings…

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BBHugme - review

BBHugme – review

I’m 13 weeks pregnant, almost 14, the first trimester is very nearly over. Still, it is barely visible. My stomach is not huge, I’ve not increased a lot in weight, which is why I thought a pregnancy pillow was far, far, far away for me. It seemed like a thing you’d need when you got huge, and couldn’t find a comfortable way to sleep.

I was wrong.

I’ve already started to have issues with round…

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Censorship in EU?

A few weeks ago GDRP came into effect. The side effects for me, personally, have been rather scary because I’ve been cut off from part of the internet.

Now EU is voting about putting even further restrictions on my ability to use the internet. Oh, they don’t call it a restriction of my freedom of expression, my freedom to create and share my creations, my freedom to make satires, to quote others…

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#afraid #angry #censorship #dystopia #EU #freedom of expression #freedom of speech #save the internet

GDPR and access to information

The other day I was happily browsing along, following different thoughts and ideas on the internet, looking for a bit of inspiration for exercise.

First click.

Access denied.

I was surprised, since it was a site I had been able to look at just a month ago, with lots of good, free information I had planned to use.

Oh well, perhaps there is a server issue? I’ll get back to them later, I thought.

I…

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#dystopia #dystopian #freedom #gdpr #information

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