For about 4 years I have been bending my husband’s ear about wanting to start a blog.

Initially it was a food blog as I love to bake and became interested in health food and healthier versions of my favourite desserts.

Then when my first child was born, I started writing about motherhood and what it is to be a parent in the 21st century. I took lots of pictures with my dslr and experimented with my instagram account to gauge what kind of interest I received.

I never fully committed to it.

About 18 months ago (possibly longer!) I finally created a blog combining food and family.

I only ever posted a couple of articles because I overcomplicated the format (for a novice) and made it too challenging to post. Also, fear got the better of me and I worried too much about what people would think if I started promoting my page.

Ultimately, I forgot to renew my hosting and because I didn’t know how to backup my site, it was all lost by accident earlier this year.

Although it was frustrating, I wasn’t actually as upset as I should have been, as I never fully committed to the page.

Ideas are always popping into my head, skills I could learn – ‘I want to make children’s clothes!’ (I can barely use a sewing machine), crafts I could take up – ‘I want to design and make my own jewellery!’ (I have no tools or experience whatsoever), ‘I want to become postnatal fitness expert’ (I have no time at all to start a fitness qualification).

These are all things I don’t necessarily have time to pursue at this moment in time with three young children at home. These are things that take time to learn and become proficient in (that’s if you even have a talent for it!).

However, the one thing that has stayed consistent through my childhood and adulthood so far is that I love to write.

For me, although I am not currently pursuing a career in writing, ultimately everything always comes back to it.

There is something inside me that compels me to write. Especially when something in particular is playing on my mind.

I have learned that letting hesitation and fear take the lead in your life can extinguish your creativity.

A Fresh Start

So I have decided to take the leap and share my thoughts and experiences of motherhood with you – this is my turning point – my fresh start.

I am going to start this blog from scratch – properly – cut the complications and just write.

Having had twins seven months ago and being almost 3.5 years into my parenting journey I feel I have so much more to say and share.

I have a renewed interest in postnatal life and in particular postnatal mental and physical well being. In between pregnancies I trained to become a Mental Health First Aider and during my twin pregnancy my mental health took a severe beating.

I now want to share my experiences of motherhood in the hope that I may support and encourage other parents with the knowledge that they are not alone with their thoughts. 

Being a parent is hard, there’s no two ways about it.

It can be relentless and tiring, but it can also be the most rewarding and amazing job in the world if you approach it with patience, resilience and gratitude.

But sometimes it is hard to be patient, resilient and grateful when you are running on little sleep and trying to juggle your life commitments.

I’m hoping this little space on the internet might encourage you to share your story with me or perhaps my words might help you in some tiny way.

I want this space to be a safe space for parents.

If you ever feel the need to talk to someone or if you feel you are struggling, please feel free to send me a message in confidence or go to http://www.mind.org.uk to get support.

Perhaps you won’t agree with a single thing I say – and that’s ok. Let’s open up the conversation and help each other out.

Lots of love

Lxx