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Ultimate 7 month survival guide

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The first 7 months with Baby O have flown by, but have also dragged by like a painful 3 day hangover. It’s been filled with total joy, and utter confusion, pain and anguish. I’ve never known any single “job” to be filled with so many contradictions. Saying all of that, DH and I made it and Baby O is happy, healthy and here! So here is a my totally personal guide to the top 9 things you  need  to have to survive the first 6-7 months. 1) Dry shampoo. Or a hat and a ton of hair bands (one of which lives on your wrist) I never thought I would struggle to find time to shower but I did, and often still do! Washing my hair (including actually rinsing shampoo and conditioner out successfully) sometimes feels like a real luxury. Feeding on demand in those first few weeks/months means your mummy milk/bottle needs to be accessible at the drop of a bra strap, and if little one is going through a growth spurt you can bet your life, they’ll be hungry the moment the hot water starts to wash the
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Clueless Mummy of Two

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I'm Real Average Mummy’s Friend. Another Real Average Mummy (of two). Today was the day I wiped my sweat soaked face with a sock that I’d worn at softplay because, despite now having two children, I apparently don’t carry anything more suitable for the job.  After a wholly unsuccessful trip to softplay  (1.5yo needs tiring out, but apparently not in the company of other humans, who are only for hitting and grabbing), we ended up in the park. At 34 degrees, the heat had fortunately driven away all other children, but also made the play equipment somewhat redundant. Still, 1.5yo took great joy in running between the slide and swing tentatively poking the plastic and shouting “hot!”, then blowing his finger like a forkful of his dinner. I mopped my face dry with the aforementioned sock in a welcome snack break in the shade, newborn happily breastfeeding in the carrier and toddler chowing down on some raisins.  After being nervous about taking my oldest out
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Trying to Go Green

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Just over a month ago, DH and I decided to attempt one month totally plastic free. It was Earth Day and it seemed like the perfect way to honour the day. Now, I’ll start by saying, we failed. But, we gave it a really good go, and we learnt a huge amount. We’re now making major changes to the way we live day to day and hopefully that will mean a positive impact for Baby O. People ask why I’m so passionate (read:ranty and opinionated) about the environment and whilst it started before Baby O arrived, he is now one of my key reasons for being more diligent in my attempts to live sustainably. It devastates me that he may never see the Great Barrier Reef, or Polar bears, or be able to sit on a beach in the Maldives, all because we messed it all up, it’s not fair. So, every little bit I do, is in the hope of making a positive change. We kept track of every bit of plastic we used for the month and here it is: DH makes granola every few weeks, so a lot of this is ingredients for tha
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Getting out of the flat, without losing your sense of humour. Or maybe just a bit.

I have been in Hong Kong for over 7 years and happily talked of its convenience and amazing weather. Now I have Baby O, I have had to rethink this - not because it isn't convenient per se, but that it is absolutely not convenient when you have a buggy with a screaming hungry baby, and you are sweating from your shins, you have no idea how to get to a nursing room, there are no seats and you need to wee. When I was pregnant I was very oblivious and perhaps a little naive about how much I would be out and about - I was convinced it would easy. Pah! Now, in the cold light of a hot humid day, with a baby who wants feeding, or holding, whilst you also have a nappy bag, buggy, and all of the other paraphernalia required to just exit the house, it is a little more of a chore. Michael McIntyre does a skit on leaving the house with children, and I laughed so hard my pelvic floor nearly let me down! Now the point of this post isn't to bemoan the set up of HK or the trials and tribul
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Real Average Mummy

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After years of talking about wanting to write, but being unsure of what to write about, I have decided to start a blog about being a Mum in Hong Kong, for now. A real, average, run of the mill Mum, trying to get through every day, sometimes washing my hair and occasionally feeling like I have my sh*t together. I became a mum five and a half months ago and it is truly the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. "Amazing" for a multitude of reasons, which I am sure I will write about at some point in the near future. But, mostly amazing because... well, f*ck me, it is the single hardest thing I have ever done. In the midst of the Harvey Weinstein scandal and discussions about the gender pay gap filling the news, I feel even more acutely aware of the pressures on women to be something - sexual beings, domestic goddesses, mothers, quiet! And for a long time, I was NONE of those things. To clarify, I am still only one. Surrounded by mixed messages and pictures of &quo
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