Raising Nyla

  I have a confession .... i really did forget about this blog.  2 year olds really do take over your whole life. I haven't had a minute to myself, and so i forgot all about this blog.  I am back now however, now that she has started to play independently again and wants to spend time in her room away from me, mama gets a chance to breathe.  So what have you missed? Probably a lot. I can't believe i haven't posted since February!  Rather than ramble here i will be doing some life update posts including where she is at with her own bedroom, some learning activities we have been doing, and some of the fantastic days out that we have had since my last post. Mini turned 2 and we also had to say goodbye to our pet cat Skittle. It has been a rollercoaster!  I really will be trying to get more content on here, but in case you missed me i have still be as present as ever on our instagram (lifeof_nyla).  xx

  I feel so unprepared for the emotions that hit me today.  As i packed away her highchair, bagged up baby bibs she no longer wears, i realised that they were the last of her "baby" items i was holding onto. And the fact that she no longer needed them, it hit me that she is no longer a baby and an actual child!  My girl is turning 2 next week. I didn't know that this would make me emotional. It really did though. I know she has been becoming this independent little person for a while now, but lately i look at her and i wonder where the time has gone.  She dresses herself, she washes herself, she helps make her own food and gets her own snacks. The sentences are coming strong and long, and she asks for things like me to read a story, to play upstairs, for a drink or to go to sleep. She asks me questions like "where's daddy" "go outside?" "whats this?". She tidies up her toys when she is finished. We don't take the pram everywhere any m...

  As Nylas hair grows and becomes more thicker and curlier, i am always on the look for products which can work with her hair. Her hair isn't like mine, so it's all a new learning game all over again.  With little knowledge on kids hair ranges, i have been experimenting with my own hair products in her hair. One brand which i loved the results of a lot, was the  Garnier Banana Hair food .  I have been using this in my own hair on and off for a while and it had amazing results in both of our hairs.  However, a small print i missed when chatting with the brand on instagram, is it is says not suitable for young children and babies. This is due to not being tested on them however, and Ny had no negative side effects or anything to the product, and so we will continue to use this.  The lovely team over at Garnier were kind enough to send me the  Ultimate Blends Kids 2 in 1 range  which i wasn't even aware of!  This range features 3 different produ...

  If you follow my blog or instagram, you will know that i am very much in love with the montessori style of parenting. So here are some things that just make sense in my home for my toddler! A Step stool  Our step stool lives in the bathroom next to the toilet. It is a two step one and Ny uses it to climb up to flush the toilet and also to get to the sink so that she can wash her hands afterwards.  Since having the stool there i don't need to say anything to her and once i help her wipe herself and get her pants back on, she climbs up herself to do both jobs (i just put the tap on and soap in her hands).  I love the independence this gives her, and the way it has taught her hygiene on her own.  Height accessible mirror and cleaning tools in the bathroom (self car station) Nyla has her own mirror which is perfect height for her, as well as a little shelf which contains a sponge, comb, toothbrush and toothpaste. These being in reach means, again, s...

  If someone had said to me that they have a "calm zone" for their toddler when the terrible twos hit, i may have rolled my eyes at them. Now as a mother, i am fully on board with this idea.  Nyla is at the boundary testing, tantruming, being "difficult" stage of toddlerhood. It is so so easy for me to lose my temper with her when she behaves in these ways, but that isn't the parent i want to be.  We all get angry and frustrated and lose our tempers. As a toddler, they have all these new big feelings, and do not understand how to express them.  Me and Nys dad have very different parenting views. When i told him how she can be and sent videos, his automatic response was "this is when she needs discipline and punishment." Not in my house.  I sat him down and explained it to him in another way. Where yes, she understands the words no etc, what she doesn't understand is why no. She knows what she wants but she doesn't know how to get it or ask for ...

  I actually can't believe i am typing this, but my big girl has gone into her own bedroom this month!  From bed sharing, to sleeping sidecar, and now into her own room: it can be done. I didn't think it possible, and people who knew we co-slept told me it would never happen. But it has!  What made us make the move? Now this is the confusing part. I LOVE cosleeping! However, i really did feel like it was time. She was sleeping through in her sidecar bed since 10 months old (so a whole 10 months) only waking if she needed the toilet (which sometimes had her up hours). She was no longer climbing into my bed in the middle of the night, so she was used to her space now.  On top of that, i felt that we were just disturbing each other too much. She would move around so much in her sleep, all over the bed, and it would wake me up. Similarly if i woke up to go to the toilet, or sometimes just rolling over in bed, she would stir too. I found that i wasn't actually getting muc...