Street party felt like a wonderful trip back in time

Posted in motherhood, Mummy life, The adventures of Sonny Jim by
Katy Pearson, Sonny Jim, #whatkatydidUK, Essex, Street party

Running wild: My Sonny Jim making the most of the road being closed

FOR a few hours on Saturday afternoon I felt like I’d stepped back in time.

Our road was closed for a royal wedding street party. There was bunting. Chalk drawings on the floor. Kids running wild up and down the avenue. Neighbours sitting on curbs in the sunshine, sipping beers and prosecco.

It was blooming lovely.

I was never allowed to play out as a child. But even if I had been, it wouldn’t have been as charming in the Nineties as it was for my Sonny Jim on Saturday. He literally had the time of his life. He ate his tea in the street, chased his aunties (and his football) up and down the road for hours and by the time bedtime came around, he had two grazed knees, dirt all over his face and was a sweaty, sticky mess of sunshine in toddler form. Continue reading →

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New IVF clinic officially opens this week in Essex

Posted in Features, motherhood, Sponsored by
Katy Pearson, Angela Leach

Bourn Hall Wickford: Me with fertility nurse specialist Angela Leach

A NEW multi-million pound IVF clinic officially opens in south Essex this week.

More than a thousand procedures, to help people struggling to conceive, will be carried our per year at the £5.2m Bourn Hall centre.

I was given a tour around the London Road clinic in Wickford ahead of the opening.

The purpose-built centre replaces a smaller, satellite clinic, which was in the same road, and is one of six Bourn Hall clinics in East Anglia.

Sarah Pallett, Bourn Hall’s business development director, said: “Our concern is people often go into denial about their fertility problems and put off getting advice through embarrassment. Continue reading →

Life skills my toddler has taught me

Posted in motherhood, Mummy life by
Sonny Jim, Katy Pearson, #whatkatydidUK

Multi-tasking: Typing while saving Sonny Jim from stunts like this…

BEING a mummy is a job like no other.

I mean, in what other role would you be prepared to be on call 24/7, get literally pooped on, get screamed at for hours at a time and your only reward be an occasional wobbly smile and a tiny hand wrapped around your finger?

But two years down the line of mummying and I have to concede that I’ve definitely picked up a few new skills.

Here are some of the most utilised:

  • Mum-versations: The ability to chat to another parent, break off to shout/pick-up/wipe down your child, and then pick up the conversation again without missing a stride. Continue reading →

Let’s talk about… Pink Vanilla Events’ Tipsy Tea Party

Posted in Events, Mummy life, Today I'm loving, Today I'm trying by
Katy Pearson, #whatkatyydidUK

Child-free… and enjoying the fizz

It’s not often I get a whole toddler-free Saturday afternoon.

So when I do, I really, really want them to be fun. Which is why I was delighted to be invited along to Pink Vanilla Events’ first ever tipsy tea party.

Held at the Rayleigh Club, the afternoon is the brainchild of creative director, Amy Langmead.

And, Oh My God, was it a fun few hours.

When we arrived at 2pm we were greeted by a couple of butlers in the buff (*blushes*) and handed a glass (the first of many) of prosecco. (NB if you’re given a glass of prosecco with a puff of blue candyfloss on the top, eat it, don’t push it into your glass. It’ll turn your fizz blue and you’ll end up looking like you’ve got a flute of WKD blue in your hand. Classy.) Continue reading →

I’m #thereforher this maternal mental health awareness week… are you?

Posted in motherhood by
#thereforher, Katy Pearson

Mums supporting mums: #thereforher

Do you know three mums? I’m pretty sure most of us do.

The thing is, statistically, one of them is struggling with a mental health issue – right now.

And all of them – especially new mums – are, probably, battling loneliness at some point each and every week.

This week though, it’s maternal mental health week. It shouldn’t take a campaign to remind us that mums matter, but us mamas are pretty good at putting everybody else’s needs before our own.

And it’s doing us no good. One of the most scary statistics I’ve read is that suicide is the leading direct cause of death for mums within the first year after their child is born. Continue reading →

Yes the duchess looked fab… why wouldn’t she?

Posted in motherhood, Mummy life by
Katy Pearson, Sonny Jim, Gary Pearson

Not quite as put together as the duchess: Our first night at home with our boy

Unless you’ve been living under a rock this past week, it won’t have escaped your notice that we have a new baby prince – little Louis Arthur Charles.

And on Monday, the Duchess of Cambridge, appeared mere hours after giving birth to her third child, at the hospital entrance looking like she’d been on a relaxing spa weekend or something.

She looked absolutely immaculate… which is a little awe-inspiring when just seven hours earlier she’d been reaching the end of a five-hour labour.

But, somewhat depressingly, her post-partum appearance now appears to be something to be criticised, with some claiming it puts pressure on all new mums to look that put together.

Seriously?

Can we just all take a minute and get a bit of perspective? Continue reading →

If it’s good enough for the Duchess…

Posted in motherhood by

Duchess of Cambridge, Do It Like A MotherMidwives at the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, London, where the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to her three children were trained in hypnobirthing ahead of the newest prince’s arrival.

This decision comes almost two years after expectant parents in North Essex were the first to be offered hypnobirthing courses on the NHS. Indeed Colchester Hospital has the highest number of hypnobirth teachers in the UK and TOWIE stars including Sam and Billie Faiers are among the celebs to have attended hypnobirthing classes.

Here Keri Jarvis, who runs Essex’s Do it Like a Mother Hypnobirthing (www.doitlikeamother.co.uk) chats to me about it… Continue reading →