Author: agnieszkawhitaker

I am 31 years old first time mum to a gorgeous baby girl who was born end of October 2014. I am also a Visual Merchandiser Manager for one of the biggest High Street Fashion Brand in the word. I love fashion, beauty, travel and now also babies :-)

KEEP IN TOUCH DAY … More like the worst day of my life !!!

MY BABY EXPERIENCE

Keep in touch day at work … We all need to do it in a build up to the maternity leave finishing (can’t even think about it!!!!!!!). So today is the day that I need to leave my baby and go for few hours to work !!!!  Leaving the house and saying my goodbye was one of the hardest things in my life ! I have left Chloe with her dad and grandfather which is making it much easier …. Right? So why was I in tears leaving the house ??????  It’s so so so hard … I can’t even think about how will I be able to go back to work full time ???? Leave Chloe in the nursery or only with grandparents without my husband checking that Chloe is ok ??? 

 On one hand I just want to shout : I QUIT, I DONT WANT TO WORK !  I want to be at home withy baby …. On the other hand I know that it’s good for her to be surrounded by other people, and that I go back to work so she can have everything that she needs and wants… There is also this small part of me thinking that I nee to think about my future and my carrier …. 

BEING A MUM JUST GOT WHOLE LOT MORE DIFFICULT 

  

Bigger bigger bigger each day ! 

MY BABY EXPERIENCE

We are 9 months old today !!! That means that she is older than the time she spent in my belly! For some reason 9 months feels as important as 6 months. Quite emotional! Where did this time go? Didn’t I just gave birth to her ????  

 
What did I get as a present from her ? 3 sleepless nights in the row while 2nd tooth is coming through ! 

  

ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER MEAL ANOTHER OUTFIT 

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TODAY WE ARE WEARING : H&M lace cardigan and jeggings, Marska and  Spencer blouse and Mamas & PAPPAS hair band.  
VEGETABLE BALLS 

Today I have made those for the first time. Suitable from around 9 months, makes around 30 balls. Brilliant finger food . 

INGREDIENTS:

– 2 carrots 

– 1 courgette 

– 75g butternut squash 

– 1 onion

– 50g parmesan 

– 150g breadcrumbs 

– 1 egg

– a little bit of flower 

 All of the vegetables have to be greater or mixed in food processor. 
 Once that’s done add all of the other ingredients and mix together.

  
 Form in to small balls (around 30) and coat in flower. 

  
Fry in the frying pan for 5 minutes on each side. 

DENIM DENIM DENIM !

MY BABY EXPERIENCE

  

Cool outfit for a baby? Go for DENIM! Denim never goes out of fashion (it doesn’t really matter with babies as they grow out of they clothes so quickly) but very often comes back with a big blue bang!  Now is the time to rock it, especial that as a mum (or dad) you will start slowly to shop for autom clothes or as me for clothes for the next 3 months ( yes I need to start preparing wardrobe in size 9-12 months !!!!!! ) .

There are some amazing pieces :

River Island does a lot of cool denim pieces :

   
In love with this little piece ! Had to get it for Chloe ! 

   ZARA  is doing those dungarees. Pair with any top underneath for the cute little outfit.   
H&M does this dress for £5,99!! You can pair it with a pretty blouse/ top for a cute look or go for cool printed leggings with a edgy top (stripy) for a cool look. And those denims couldn’t be any cuter. 

  

NEXT went with the denim trend as well producing this really cute skirt and blouse (which Chloe owns now 😁)   
   

BABY FASHION

MY BABY EXPERIENCE

 I work in fashion and I love fashion.  What comes with it is the desire to buy lots of clothes for my baby girl. I am trying to be sensible with the amount of clothes I buy as she is growing so quickly. Because there is no point to buy lots the key is to buy carefully. Look at what do you need? how many of? And be selective! What is the most important, is making sure that clothes are comfortable and practical; trust me there is no point of buying lots of white clothes (as they won’t be white for long) or a silk blouse (as it probably will be ripped after first wash or wear) or something what is difficult to put on (as you baby will scream the place down!)   

 I am into fashion and trends, and I do want my baby to look nice but comfortable is a priority. I don’t agree with putting your baby in leather (think about how comfortable it is to wear for you, and you aren’t learning how to move and control every part of your body), lace (how itchy !!!)  ect! 

 Your baby can look cool, cute and be comfortable ! 

 Best retailers in my opinion is : H&M, NEXT, ZARA, MAMMAS AND PAPPAS and RIVER ISLAND MINI. Lots of cute, comfy and fab stuff. Look at my YUMMY BABY section for food and fashion updates ! 

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER MEAL, ANOTHER OUTFIT … 

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ITALIAN PASTA WITH CHICKEN 

INGREDIENTS:

– 100g of baby pasta (you can add more if you like) 

– 1 small leek (washed and chopped)

– 1 red pepper (deseeded and diced)

– 1 cove garlick (crushed)

– 200g can chopped tomatoes 

– 150ml unsalted chicken stock 

– 150g of chicken breast (skinless, diced)

– handful of chopped basil

– 25g greater Parmesan 

   
Fry leek and pepper for around 5 min. Then Add the garlick and cook for another 30s.

 
Add chicken stock, tomatoes, basil and chicken and simmer it for 8-10 minutes. 

Cook your pasta seperatly according to the instruction on the packet. 

Finish by adding Parmesan cheese! 

Now you can 

1. blend everything together and then to your pure add pasta so the baby has a texture (that’s when you starting to introduce texture to your baby diet) 

2.If your baby is eating now solid food just make sure that everything is cute in to a small squares when preparing all ingredients and you are ready to serve. 

3. If your baby is still eating purrs you can blend everything together and serve it like that. 

GOING BACK TO WORK – THE SCARIEST THOUGHT  OF ALL !!!

MY BABY EXPERIENCE

Before Chloe was born you would hear me say : I am coming back to work after 6 months on maternity. You see I was a workaholic and I loved my job in fashion! Soon after Chloe was born only thinking about work and needing to live Chloe was stressing me out. My beautiful baby has totally changed me and the way a see work. I quickly decided that I am taking my full one year maternity leave (it’s very fortunate that I can do it) and decided not to think about it. 

 But now as Chloe is 8 month old I have had no choice but to face the fear of going back to work.  What was making the whole process worst is the fact that all of my mum friends are going back to work part time (most of them are teachers) and I know that I won’t be able to do it.  I work for one of the biggest fashion high street brands as a Visual Merchandiser Menager … We know that fashion and retail aren’t really baby friendly + you simply can’t do my job for only 3 days a week. The whole situation was making me feel really shit! Even the fact that my in laws will be looking after Chloe for 3 days a week wasn’t making me feel any better … Why? Because simply no one can look after her as well as I can ! No one knows my baby as well as I do!  

 So I had a meeting with work to discuss going back, what are my expectation, how flexible am I ect. But it does feels a bit like a waste of time as I know that they won’t accommodate what I really want. So we have this meeting where they are pretending that they care and are open minded ( if you are not flexible or want to do part time you will need to step down) ; and where I am pretending that I want to do full time and that I am excited to go back 😁 . The whole meeting is just a joke 😁

 But I got the ball rolling which I am proud of, now I am trying to see how far I can push. I will return to work few weeks later than my maternity finishes which is amazing as it gives me 3 more weeks with my girl. I have also asked to work for the first few months 4 days a week … Let’s see if they will agree to it….

 I have some keep in touch days coming up … That shall be interesting as I have never left my baby for a long time ! 

What I am trying to do very hard is not to think about going back and pretending that it’s not happening 😊

TEETHING ??????

BABY ADVICE

If you ask me if Chloe is teething my answer would be YES … For the past 4 months ! Was she really teething for so long? God only knows,as the teeth have a long way to go and it doesn’t happen overnight … What I know now is that she is DEFINITELY teething now. My usually very happy baby for the past 2 days has been so  upset, crying every 5 min and having small temperature. 

 We all keep waiting for those first teeth, now finally at the age of  8 months I can see tooth coming through !!!!!

 We all think that dribbling and putting everything in to the mouth is a sign that baby is teething-wrong !!!! I have reed an article which explains that this is a normal phase in baby’s development and has nothing to do with teeth. 

 So how do we know if baby is teething? 

– dribbling lots and lots more than the usual lots ! 

– temperature

– one red cheek (apparently not both)

–  red bum 

– swollen gums

– moody, clingy 

…. But it’s still a little bit of guessing game as it is with everything when it comes to babies  😉