5 things to stop apologising for.

Hey readers,

I know it is a British thing to just constantly go I'm sorry and as I person with low self-confidence I am guilty too off over apologising especially for things where I don't actually need to say I am sorry. Some of the things that I think but people don't need to say sorry for are:

1. Crying. 

I don't know but I know I do this all the time and say sorry for crying like it is a bad thing. But it isn't it is a natural emotion and it is good to cry. We need to cry or else there will come a time when we will explode, it helps us regulate our emotions. Lives are not pretty 24/7 sometimes tough, and having a good cry helps us to heal, release the pain, and move forward. You should never feel ashamed for crying it is natural and everyone does it whatever they say, it is human instinct.

2. Wearing what we want.

When we think we don’t fit in, we apologize for being underdressed, overdressed, or mismatched. Except for rare circumstances, no one really notices what we are wearing. We can stop apologizing for what we wear.

3. For not being okay. 

This one really has to stop. People have feelings, some days are good and some days are just bad. If it was something a human could control, I bet you they would because we are control freaks.

 How else do you explain borders and countries? Anyway, it’s perfectly normal to feel a wave of emotions and not understand where they’ve come from or how to respond to them. The best way to deal with this is to sit with your emotions and take time to yourself. When you take this time you don’t need to apologise for pulling a disappearing act. Let’s normalise that one already.

4. Saying no!

Society seems to make it seem like saying "no" is rude. So whenever we say "no to something, we may feel guilty and want to say sorry. But saying "no" is a way to set boundaries for yourself. Just as you don't have to apologise for having boundaries, you don't have to apologise for saying "no". 

You're not obliged to be there for everyone. You have the right to reject or decline something that you have no time for, no interest in, or just because, You don't need to explain yourself As long as you not doing it in a hurtful way, there's no need to apologise. 

5. For being opinionated. 

Fight, fight, fight for what you believe in. Don't give up, don't give in. It's necessary to be open to ideas, that's obvious, but women are penalised for expressing themselves strongly. This is funny because men are out there one step away from grabbing each other by the throats and no one seems to care. You say what you got to. They'll adjust. 

What do you think about my list of things to stop over apologising for? do you agree? Have I missed anything that you think people should stop over apologising for? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section down below. 

Cheers for reading X 

My Sunday Photo 28/08/2022

Naughty naughty 😂 

My boys had fun sitting in the back of the police van 🚨 

10 things you need to know about newborns

Hey readers,  

I remember having a newborn and feeling absolutely terrified beyond belief. So let me you 10 things that I didn't know before having a child that may be of enlightenment to you. 

 1. First poo. 

The first poo will surprise you. Firstly did you know Your baby's first poo is called meconium? This is sticky and greenish-black. Some babies may do this kind of poo during or after birth, or sometime in the first 48 hours. After a few days, the poo will change to a yellow or mustard colour.

 Meconium stools are quickly followed by transitional stools by the time your baby is three to five days old. These stools are a little looser, more greenish-brown in colour, and are the "transition" to regular milk stools on about day six. 

2. Babies look funny when they are born. 

Be warned that is not always cute when the babies are born. For example, their head may be elongated aka 'conehead' because, During delivery, your baby’s skull bones may have shifted and overlapped so that their head could fit through the birth canal. This is called moulding, and it will be particularly apparent if you had a very long labour.

 During delivery, pressure on your baby’s head from your uterus, pelvis, or vagina may have caused your baby’s head to swell, thus adding to the conehead appearance. Do not fear with time the swelling will go down as your baby's head will round itself out naturally. 

At birth, your baby’s eyes may be closed. This is because the bright lights of the birthing room are hard on their sensitive eyes. In a few minutes, they will open their eyes. 

You may notice sticky secretions coming from their eyes, and one of their eyes may appear to wander. This is normal. The secretions should disappear in a few weeks when your baby’s eyes start to make real tears. Their eyes should gradually stop wandering over the next few months.

At birth, your newborn baby’s skin may be covered with amniotic fluid, blood, and vernix, which is a white, cheesy material that protected your baby’s skin while in the womb. Much of the material coating your baby’s skin at birth may be wiped off before they are bundled up and presented to you. 

Your baby may also have some fine, downy hair called lanugo all over their body, especially if they were born prematurely. The lanugo will rub off and disappear after a week or two if they were full-term; if your baby was premature, the lanugo will take longer to completely disappear.

 If your baby has a bowel movement before they are born, they may be covered in meconium, a greenish-black tarry substance.

Your baby’s skin may be dry and flaky, and somewhat translucent. You may be able to see blood vessels in certain areas such as over their nose, eyelids, or neck. Their hands and feet may be bluish rather than pink, and they may be cool to touch. These are signs of an immature circulatory system, and they are all quite normal. Over time, these problems will fix themselves.

3.  Sleep. 

This is a painful one for any new mum or dad to have to fact and that is that babies do not sleep throughout the night. Of course, this is only temporary Generally, newborns sleep about 8 to 9 hours in the daytime and about 8 hours at night. But they may not sleep more than 1 to 2 hours at a time. Most babies don't start sleeping through the night (6 to 8 hours) without waking until they are about 3 months old, or until they weigh 12 to 13 pounds.

4. Babies can't see very far.

Babies are born with a full visual capacity to see objects and colours. However, newborns cannot see only objects 8-15 inches away very far. Newborns prefer to look at faces over other shapes and objects and at round shapes with light and dark borders (such as your adoring eyes).

5. You don't have to give the baby a bath every day.

Three times a week might be enough until your baby becomes more mobile. Bathing your baby too much can dry out your baby's skin.

If you're quick and thorough with diaper changes and burp cloths, you're already cleaning the parts that need attention the face, neck and diaper area. Between baths, you may also check the folds of your baby's skin, including thighs, groin, armpits and chin. If needed, clean these areas with a wet washcloth.

6. Skin may peel.

Is it normal for newborns' skin to peel? Yes, it's normal for newborns' skin to peel in the first two weeks after they are born. Your newborn is shedding its top layers of skin as they transition from the uterus into the outside world. Their skin is developing its own natural barrier.

7. Leave the umbilical cord stump alone.

Leaving the umbilical cord stump to heal on its own is the best thing to do. Keep an eye on it and make sure it's not getting infected but otherwise, let nature take its course.

8. It goes by quickly. 

It does go quickly even though at 2am evens like hell with the lack of sleep but don't feel guilty if you don't enjoy every second of it, just enjoy the moments. 

9. The first three months are the hardest.

The first three months are the hardest especially when you are a new parent and have no idea what you are doing. But do not worry with time you get more confident. You will get through this and if you feel scared just remember this too shall pass. 

10. Milestones. 

Milestones are important in some senses to get an idea but they're not there to tell you if your good parent or not. There used as indicators. Just remember all kids are different and they react differently to different situations what works for one child may be completely different for another. 

Cheers for reading  X 

 

My Sunday Photo 21/08/2022

We went to the Weston Super Mere for the day and it course went to the beach.

It was muddy with the tide going out so had so much funny emerging himself in the mud 😂 

The perfect strawberry milkshake

 Hey readers,

It is absolutely roasting outside so what better way to cool down with this amazing strawberry homemade milkshake, below is the recipe so you can do it yourself at home and enjoy. 

Ingredients 

* A high ball glass.

* 4 cubes of ice. 

* 4/5 strawberries per glass.

* 1/2 a cup of whole milk. 

*  2 big scoops of nice strawberry ice cream. 

*  Glug of cream (if you don't have any cream then you add in some sugar instead). 

Method. 

 Put all the ingredients in a food processor until the consistency is smooth and creamy then put them into the glass. If you are feeling fancy you could put a straw in the glass to drink it with. 

Enjoy!

Cheers for reading X

My Sunday photo 14/08/2022

 

Absolutely roasting this week but the sunsets were stunning :) 

How to take your mind of things

Hey readers,

We can all be caught up in our thoughts that can drag us down but sometimes the best thing to do is stop and do something else to distract ourselves. I have some ideas that I think are good when you need inspiration for how to take your mind off things. Check the list out down below.  

1. Read a good book.

A good way to take your mind off things is to distract yourself is to read a good book because you can focus on the story and it can take you away, it gets you to focus on using your imagination on focusing on the words. It is a great way to transport yourself away from the here and now and an overall way to just relax. 

2. Exercise.

Sitting around and focusing on your thoughts won't do you any good, so one way to take your mind off things is exercise. It is well known that exercise is really beneficial to help relieve stress, and anxiety and ward off depression. There are many different types of exercise so you can choose the ones which you prefer whether that be aerobics to the gym there are many different forms of exercise you can choose from. 

3. Volunteer your time.     

Sometimes giving back to others can boost your own self-confidence because you're giving something back to other people.  You are not focusing on your problems but working on helping manage other people's problems.

There are many organisations that require volunteers from food bank assistants, homeless shelters, dog walkers, keep old people company etc. 

4. Brain game. 

A good way to distract your focus on something else is to try out a brain game such as a puzzle because your whole focus is on trying to work out how to solve the problem so that you can't have the space to focus on anything else. It is one thing that I have started doing myself and really enjoy I can put my whole focus on one activity and it helps relax me as I am a person that likes doing something physical to help keep me occupied when I am stressed or need distracting. 

5. Talk to a friend or family member. 

Seeing other people gets us out of our thoughts for a bit and it can help take out minds off things. Listening to other people's problems or talking about something completely different can help break obsessive thinking. 

6.  Try a new recipe. 

Trying a new recipe gives you lots to focus on from getting something new to think about, to getting the ingredients, following the recipe, and using your sense of smell. The whole progress of making something with your hands is very engaging with the mind so takes time away from your thoughts and when you have completed the recipe you feel good because you have received something.

 

5. Make something. 

Instead of focusing on the thoughts that give you doubt do something productive with your time like making something. There are many easy to complicated ideas you can do that keeps the mind and hands busy such as following a Bob Ross drawing tutorial (watch on Iplayer) or making simple origami items following youtube videos, writing a story with a one-word prompt or even doing a collage using paper and newspaper cuttings, fabrics lying around for example. 

What do you think of my list of things to take your mind off things? Have I missed out on anything that you think would be a good idea? Love to hear your thoughts in the comment section down below. 

Cheers for reading X