2 years of Ella-Grace: 2nd birthday and 2 year update

Introduction...

Taking a break from posting about my ever growing bump and focusing on my first born. Recently our wonderful daughter, Ella-Grace, turned 2 years old and that is definitely something to write about. I started this blog because of Ella-Grace (well out of boredom on maternity leave but also because of her haha) and so many people who read my blog now have followed my journey as a mother and Ella-Grace's journey since birth becoming the two year old she is today, so I thought you would all like the details. The purpose of these posts as well are for us as a family to look back on, a sort of online time capsule if you will that once my children are old enough they can look back on and read and know how they were doing at this time, how their Mother and Father were doing and hopefully smile. I would love to know what my Mum and Dad were thinking about/doing when I was two years old. Anyway without delaying the post anymore (I am literally ready to burst any day with this baby so I have limited time as it is haha) here is Ella-Grace's two year update. Enjoy. 

Overview of Year 2...

Our second year as parents and Ella-Grace's second year of life, a lot happened and it most definitely went quicker than the first year (I hope this is not an on going thing, I want her to stay little as long as possible!). 

I remember when Ella-Grace turned 1 year old I thought to myself "This is it, this is my favourite age" but oh my goodness this past year has shown me that although having a walking, talking toddler is challenging at times, it is beyond worth it because there are so many special moments. I feel like this past year her personality has really developed and she is now her very own little person. She has likes, dislikes and opinions (which she will of course be happy to share) and I just love it! 

Her development from a 1 year old and a 2 year old has been amazing and as parents Reece and I are so very proud of ourselves for how we are raising her and what we have managed to help her achieve so far as well of course being proud of the little lady herself, these are her personal achievements and we burst with pride every day for our darling girl... like I am sure all parents do. 

Big Milestones...

Going into more detail now, Ella-Grace's second year was full of big milestones; some we did not think we would be reaching by age two but she surprised us. 

Side note: Please do not compare anything your child is doing to what Ella-Grace is doing, I really do not want to put any parent or child down nor do I want my child put down if she has not met something that another child has. Please read this in the mind set we all should have which is all children are different and develop on different time scales, reaching milestones when they are ready. Back to regular programming haha. 


Ella-Grace started walking at 13 months old, taking her first steps at her first ever toddler group. Ella-Grace was babbling at 12 months old but not saying full words, now at 24 months she has quite a vast vocabulary and we are able to have small conversations with her and she can definitely understand instruction. Ella-Grace has been potty trained through the day since about 22/23 months old- still wearing  nappies through the night, that is yet to be tackled but no rush. Ella-Grace has learned to run, jump, spin around, skip, hop etc this year also and this I think is a massive thanks to her gymnastics class we take her to; this has really helped with her balance and co-ordination. Ella-Grace has gradually used cutlery instead of her hands for her meals over her second year and is now able to use a 'big girl cup' instead of a sippy cup or bottle- bottles went at about 12/13 months. We said goodbye to her dummy when Ella-Grace was 1 and 1/2 and never looked back (thank goodness for this process being east!) and around this time also Ella-Grace moved from her crib to a toddler bed. These are the milestones that really stuck out in my mind. 

Hard times...

Like with everything in life there were of course hard times during Ella-Grace's second year including a traumatic first haircut- sounds dramatic but when someone hacks off your child's hair cutting their ear trust me its traumatic, ruined this first but we have moved passed it-, struggles with possible asthma, of course the expected illnesses that all children will get and the tough times in transitions such as potty training, moving to toddler bed as you would expect although we are very lucky she took to these transitions pretty easy. Over all we have been quite lucky to not have too many tough times in Ella-Grace's second year and we are very thankful for that even if at the times that were difficult we felt overwhelmed. Overall, very fortunate. 

Good times...

Like I said, fortunately we did not have too many bad times during Ella-Grace's second year and thus the good out weighs the bad significantly! 

Obviously the milestones I already mentioned were big highlights and we are so proud of our little angel! Other good times that stick out include her first (followed by many consecutive) trip to the cinema, visiting Willows animal sanctuary, taking her to her first (and my first) vegan festival, trying out different classes, making new friends, taking her to her first pantomime, celebrating holidays, having Ella-Grace as a flower girl at our wedding, finding out Ella-Grace is going to be a big sister and of course celebrating her second birthday with a Toy Story birthday party! All amazing memories that will last a life time and lessons we have learned together of which we can carry into her third year of life our third year as parents. 

Looking forward to her 3rd year...

Now into Ella-Grace's third year of life (I cannot believe I have just typed that!) and there are so many fun things ahead of us that I am sure come with their own challenges. This year will of course be consumed by the life changing transition to being parents to two children instead of one, Ella-Grace taking on her role as big sister and getting used to no longer being an only child. I have a feeling this will be her toughest year yet as it is a big change but it will all be worth it and I do feel she will thrive as a big sister once we settle into a routine; still waiting for baby 2 to make their appearance so it is hard to know anything but I can tell you we are all very excited. 

Aside from this huge change that will be happening I am excited to see what other milestones our first born will meet this year and what more we can teach her! I am hoping to get her into more classes this year, start to teach her more about life as she gains more understanding but focusing on her having fun, that is of course what a childhood should be full of. Reece and I hope to go on our first family holiday before Ella-Grace turns 3 and that I am sure will be all about fun! Who knows what Ella-Grace will know or who she will be when she turns 3, I can just tell you I am excited for the upcoming year and I am going to enjoy seeing her bloom. Although I do hope she doesn't turn 3 too soon, stay little for a little longer please sweetheart! 

Ella-Grace as a 2 year old...

So, now I have recapped on past year and what I am looking forward to in the year to come, it is time to talk about the present, time to talk about Ella-Grace as a 2 year old (well 2 years and 2 months old) and all that comes with that! 

Eating 

*Touch wood* Ella-Grace has never been a particularly fussy eater. As most of you know by now Reece and I are raising our children vegan and some think that this comes with being a fussy eater or having limitations on what a child can eat but really this is not the case and there are is a whole world of plant-based goodness out there that our family thrives on!! I mean Ella-Grace loves tofu and all different kinds of beans and pulses, there are many children I know who wouldn't even know what those things are and neither would their parents (this is not a judgement I am just stating that our choice may be different to yours but that does not mean it is limiting, only different). 

Of course Ella-Grace will have her fussy times, what child doesn't? And we do find she eats better when things are in her routine and if we were to have supper at my parents house for example she may not eat as much but that I think is understandable- I mean I get anxious outside a routine so why wouldn't my child who depends on it perhaps more than me. Then there are her dislikes, she does not any kind of berries (unless baked in a muffin or warmed in her porridge haha) and lettuce and spinach aren't her favourite but majority of the time she is up for trying anything and in our house as long as you try it that is good enough. 
Her favourite foods include beans, rice, pasta, tofu, banana, raisins, carrots, broccoli, cereal, vegetable fingers (vegan take on 'fish fingers' just full of veggies), soup and more, like I said not fussy and open to a lot of different foods. 
Ella-Grace loves to get involved in cooking or baking and I think this really does help towards her trying new things. 
She has 3 meals a day (breakfast being her favourite) and snacks (lots of snacks haha). A typical days meals would perhaps look like this: 

• Breakfast (6am/7am): Multi-grain hoops with oat milk, avocado toast and chopped banana with chia seeds. Cup of water. 
• Lunch (12pm/1pm): Vegetable fingers, beans and half baked potato. Cup of Oat Milk. 
• Supper (5pm/6pm): Tofu and vegetable curry with brown rice. Cup of Oat Milk
• 
  
• Snacks would include things like bread sticks and hummus, toast with peanut butter and chia seeds, dairy free yogurts, crackers and dairy-free cheese, boiled carrots, raisins, fruit pouches, rice cakes, banana etc.   Through the day we always have water available to her. 

Her health has always been great and we have never had any worry about nutrition (thankfully), long may this continue. 

Speaking 

Our little girl is most definitely a chatterbox, her vocabulary is something that seems to widen every single day! She is always learning words and finding it easier to repeat familiar sounds so if you tell her a new word that is similar to one she already knows it is likely she will be able to say it and remember it. 

In the small time since she turned two years old, Ella-Grace has gone from knowing a few single words to being able to put sentences and phrases together. "I love you", "hug and a kiss please Mummy", "Silly Daddy" and "Thank you" being just some of the phrases that melt my heart! She of course knows a few cheeky phrases such as "No way!" but let's not talk about those haha! In all fairness she does change this to "No thank you" very quickly. 

Ella-Grace enjoys singing songs and currently knows all the words to the chorus of 'Let It Go' and is quickly learning the lyrics to JoJo Siwa's song 'Bop'. These are her songs of choice. 

She can ask questions and ask for things she would like such as asking for a snack, a drink, to watch tv, a toy, to go outside etc and vise versa she can understand our questions and take instruction which brings me onto the next point, behaviour. 

Behaviour 

I would just like to make it clear before I write in this section of the post that I despise the term 'terrible twos' and so when I talk about behaviour I would like you all to know I am very much teaching on the basis of gentle parenting and knowing that my two year old is just that, a two year old, who is still learning the 'suitable' way to behave and how to handle her own emotions. This I think many people forget and think that somehow the magical age of two they go from a baby who is understandably crying to a terror? No they are just learning and feeling and of course you need to set boundaries, gently discipline and steer them in the right direction but in my opinion, a two year old mainly needs guidance and understanding. For this reason I do not tend to use the word 'tantrum' I prefer using the word 'moment', example, Ella-Grace is having a 'moment' because that is exactly what is happening. 

Majority of the time Ella-Grace is quite a happy- go lucky, easy going toddler. There are times however, whether that be when she is sleepy, in an unfamiliar environment, out of routine, not feeling well or simply moody (which yes toddlers are allowed to have grumpy days) that she does have her 'moments'. I deal with these by sitting her down and talking to her, asking her what is wrong or removing her from a situation where she is feeling overwhelmed. Not to say this always works and of course I have been that Mum who has had to leave a shop because my child is too upset but you know what future Ella-Grace if you are reading this, please know this was no problem because showing emotion is not something that should be punished and especially not at the mere age of 2. 

Things like hitting (this is not something she does often and when she has it has only been towards me when she is overwhelmed) I of course do not tolerate but I still take the same approach, sit her down and talk to her. Tell her what she did was not nice, ask her if she understands and if she does she will say sorry, hug and move on. No dwelling on the moment, no on going punishment or grudge and definitely no shouting or physical discipline (it would not be okay for her to do that to me or others so why would I treat her that way is the way I see it) and this seems to work for us majority of the time. Not saying I know everything simply sharing what this post is all about, my two year old and how we are raising her/teaching her. 

Ella-Grace loves to help out which is lovely to see! We are teaching her a lot about helping and so she will tidy up her toys when she is done playing, she knows to take her shoes off and put them away when we come in from being outside and loves to help with household chores such as putting on the washing machine, cooking supper or sweeping the floor. She can wipe hands and face and is really coming a long with her manners- please and thank you are used daily. Over all we are very happy with her behaviour but that is not to say we wouldn't be if she suddenly started to 'act out' a bit more, like I said, she is a two year old and still learning about life. I want to help her understand it and encourage her towards the path of 'good' behaviour, that's all any of us can do.  

Likes and Dislikes 

Ella-Grace's personality summed up in three words: Independent, Loving and Playful (Reece said Happy, Cheeky and Loving). Our little firecracker is everything we could of asked for and more. She is feisty at times and I have had comments such as 'diva' maybe because of how strong-willed and confident she is but wrapped up in that independent little girl is also a helpful, caring child who shows so much kindness and positivity towards others. For those who know me well they will not be surprised that my little girl is both sassy and soft at the same time haha! Radiating kindness and confidence at the same time; I could not ask for anything more. 

Ella-Grace loves music! She loves to dance and sing with you but also loves to have an audience. She loves dressing up whether that be with outfits from her dressing up box or picking an outfit from her wardrobe (usually a dress). She LOVES being outside, doing anything from a simple walk to running around the play park. She loves to watch movies and her favourite form of play is probably anything creative; drawing, painting etc. She loves to read stories to us and have them read to her. She loves to visit her friends and family and has a massive interest in make up whenever Mummy or her Auntie has their make up out. Animals amaze her and she thinks they are (in her words) so cute! She loves bath time and could spend hours in it if we let her. She likes baking with Mummy and imaginative play with Daddy.

Now for what she does not like so much... Ella-Grace does not like sitting still unless it is to watch a movie or play a game she is very interested in. She does not like getting a photo taken unless it is on her terms or is being offered a bribe haha. She does not like getting her hair washed although we have moved passed the tears stage. She does not like public bathrooms or hand dryers because they make her nervous. She does not like long journeys because they make her feel sick and although she is very affectionate any affection has to be on her terms- as it should be (Reece and I are working on teaching consent from young age including hugs and kisses, this is a very important lesson in our opinion)! This makes receiving a hug and a kiss from her even more special because she is giving it because she wants to not because she feels she has to. 

Sleeping 

We really hit the jackpot when it comes to Ella-Grace's sleeping (I can feel the wrath from all the parents who's toddlers do not sleep through the night, I am sorry but I am just being truthful). Ella-Grace really loves her nap time/bed time routine and although of course there are days that nap time may be missed (rarely but it does happen) or it gets to 2am and only Mummy and Daddy's bed will do, but over all she sleeps soundly. 
Her nap time is around 1/half 1 and she usually sleeps till about 3/half 3, maybe even 4! This does give me a much needed break especially being heavily pregnant but at the same time sometimes we miss out on activities or sunny days because she has to nap in the middle of the day but if she needs it then so be it, there is plenty of time for fun and nothing would be any fun is she was over tired. 
As for bed time that is Daddy's territory. Reece works all day and it is very important to him that once he gets home they have time together so it is usually a little play, bath and bed time all done by Daddy. Bed time usually starts at half 7, one or two stories and cuddles in her bed then she is ready to sleep and is out until about 6/7am the next day. Thursdays (when Daddy works late) I treat her to a late bed time so she can say good night to Daddy and we watch a movie in bed together- sometimes she falls asleep and Daddy lifts her through to bed but this is a nice treat for her that she looks forward to. 
When it comes to the normal bed time routine, some days she goes straight to sleep, others she may get up to pee (which is good to know she may be out of night time nappies soon) or she may babble to herself and her teddies until she falls asleep. Pretty easy going and like I said we have been pretty lucky. 
The only trouble we have had is that for a few nights this month Ella-Grace was having some nightmares or night terrors and we were having to take her into our room to settle her. It was so sad to see her in distress, this has seemed to pass now though. 

Potty Training 

I have done a separate blog post on this so I am not going to go into too much detail but potty training is still going smoothly and we are not at the point where Ella-Grace will just tell us when she needs to go. For a while she was nervous telling us when she needed to go 'number 2' but even that she seems to be progressing forward from now and we haven't had a poop accident in a long time. We are confident that soon she will be out of nap time/bed time nappies although we are in no rush for that; it is just good to know that she is slowly making her way too that transition and it will hopefully be smooth.  

Bonding 

When you have a child there is always the worry that you will not bond straight away or even at all. I am fortunate enough to of bonded with Ella-Grace straight away even though her birth was not what I had planned and I did struggle very much with baby blues, our bond has always been solid. Reece took a little longer to bond especially considering he did not get any time off work but it was not long before these two were thick as thieves and Ella-Grace became a major Daddy's girl. 

This bond between us and Ella-Grace has only strengthened over time. She is my best friend and I know Reece thinks the world of her, he is constantly saying she is his favourite person. Every day she wakes us up and wants a group hug haha, the bond between the three of us is unbreakable. Soon we will me making room for a 4th member of this team and I am sure it will take time to adjust and perhaps time to bond, especially between Ella-Grace and her sibling as she is so young but I am confident time will show that the four of us are a great team and the bond will also be unbreakable. After all that is what family is; unconditional love and unbreakable bonds. 

Classes

As much as I love being in the comfort of my own home, both Ella-Grace and I love to get out the house and try new things. We are both social butterflies you could say and I love to take her to classes where she can learn new things and she can have new experiences, not to say every class is a hit but it is trial and error and over the past two years I have learned what Ella-Grace likes to do and we have found groups/classes that fit. 

We have attended many a toddler group as well as more focused classes such as football, gymnastics, dance, ballet, nursery rhyme and story times, swimming and more. At the moment we are on a bit of a break as my pregnant butt is a bit too pregnant to get out to all the classes but our usual routine is gymnastics once a week, toddler group once a week and (starting soon) ballet once a week- she had her first class recently and adored it! 

I know Reece is hoping to start taking Ella-Grace swimming regularly as he is a very confident swimmer and would like to teach our children himself and also we are looking into perhaps getting Ella-Grace into a play group once a week she can go to independently for an hour or two but that would not be for a few months yet. 

I do think all these classes and socialising opportunities have helped Ella-Grace become the confident little lady she is today. I took her to her first group at 4 weeks old and never looked back. We have made very close friends through groups and classes also, which I am very grateful for. 

Soon to be a Big Sister 

This still has not sunk in and I don't think it will until baby 2 enters the world and Ella-Grace being a big sister becomes reality. I really feels like yesterday she was born but in no time at all she will be the big sister to a little brother or sister and that makes my heart melt. Ella-Grace loves other children and babies, she is such a social child not to mention how caring she is towards her friends so I am sure she will adore her sibling and rise to the role of big sister. We are very lucky that Ella-Grace has not found it hard to adjust to changes in her life so far so I am hoping this will continue and that the transition to being a big sister and sharing the spotlight with her sibling will go just as smoothly. If however she does have a tough time adjusting though that is okay too, it is a big change for all of us, especially the toddler who does not fully understand what is to come. If you were to ask Ella-Grace about Mummy's tummy however she would probably proceed to tell you that "baby in Mummy's tummy" and say she wants to "meet baby" haha. So cute! No time at all now before she will be able to meet him or her. 

Happy Birthday Sweetheart...

My favourite photo of us

As this is Ella-Grace's second birthday post I would like to add a little birthday message for her if she were to read this in the future..

Ella-Grace, Happy Birthday Sweetheart! Daddy and I cannot believe you are two years old already. This has been the best two years of my life so far, you have brought so much happiness and joy into our world and every day we are thankful for you. We could not ask for a better daughter and you truly are my best friend. I hope to do right by you in the future and to be the Mother you need and deserve, I know Daddy wants to do the same. We adore you and wish you all the happiness in the world. No matter what we will love and support you through everything and my dear thank you once again for showing me what life is all about. There are no words for how much you mean to me. We love you so much! Never stop being you. Happy Birthday!

Birthday Party Photos...

(Thank you everyone for reading and following along my journey as a Mother and Ella-Grace's 2 years of life so far. Plenty more posts to come! 

Stay Happy Everyone!) 

Second Trimester

Second Trimester over already...

What?! How am I now in the third trimester! As I am writing this I am 34 weeks pregnant, just 6 weeks to go until baby 2 is here (roughly anyway, it is 6 weeks till my due date who knows if baby will arrive on time, early or late). When I was pregnant with Ella-Grace it felt like I was pregnant forever but this time round it has just flown past. I am so ready to have baby 2 with us, it is so exciting but at the same time I am really trying to enjoy the last part of pregnancy because I do not plan on doing this again. 

In this post I will be talking all things second trimester (weeks 13-28 of pregnancy). From feeling better, then worse to going on a little baby moon and an unfortunate hospital visit (not to worry it all turned out okay) everything will be explained in this post. 

13 week scan and saying no to Down syndrome test...

So, kicking off this post with my 13 week scan. This was supposed to be my first scan/booking scan but if you read the previous post about my first trimester of my second pregnancy you will know I had an emergency scan at 11 weeks. That scan turned out fine thankfully and so this was my second scan. Having the scan at 11 weeks I was not nervous for the 13 week scan, I was just very excited. I went with Reece and Ella-Grace (the hospital said it would be better to get a baby sitter for her when we went to the scan but our friend ended up being sick so we ended up taking her last minute, they were very understanding however). 

The scan went perfect! Baby was growing as expected, the placenta and cord were fine and my due date did seem to be correct. I did have to do a little wriggle to get the baby in the right position for the sonographer but everything, like I said, was fine. 

Something I should mention is that Reece and I decided against testing for down syndrome. This test involves a blood test and the sonographer measuring the fluid under the baby's neck (nuchal translucsancy) on the scan. Although they do still measure this if you decide not to test for down syndrome they do not tell you what the measurement is and they do not put on your medical records anything about the measurement or test, it is just routine. 

The reason we decided not to have the down syndrome test this time around was because when we got it done during Ella-Grace's pregnancy for us it did more harm than good. This is just personal preference, we are not telling anyone else how to handle this situation or what tests to get, we just felt for us second time round this would be better for us. 

As some of you may know, Ella-Grace was 1 in 5 of having down syndrome. Her nuchal translucancy measuring too big at the first scan and the blood test came back with her being 1 in 5. From this we had no further testing 1. because we knew if she had down syndrome that would not change the way we feel about her and 2. The tests were invasive meaning they did hold a slight risk to the baby and even possibly losing the baby which we did not want to risk. Through out Ella-Grace's pregnancy the 1 in 5 of down syndrome statistic came up a lot and I was even asked early on if I wanted to terminate the pregnancy (again this personally was something we were not comfortable with and never even crossed our minds). Although the pregnancy was straight forward pretty much we were constantly reminded about this 1 in 5 risk and it made bringing Ella-Grace into the world a bit more stressful than we wanted. One of the first things that a midwife said when Ella-Grace was born was 'she doesn't look like she has down syndrome by the way' which I understand is what she may thought we wanted to know but in that moment all I wanted was to feel happy and have congratulations, I felt there was plenty time to talk about that considering she was healthy when she was born. Anyway so this time round we knew that the result of a downs syndrome test would not sway our decision to continue with the pregnancy, we would once again deny invasive testing and we wanted to avoid the stress and so we said no this time round and do not regret it. If you want to know more about my first pregnancy you can go back and read those blog posts. 

So yes that was (officially) my first scan, a lot more stress free than my first pregnancy and it was a very special family moment. 

Week 14, sickness subsiding...

FINALLY! After being very sick in my first trimester, definitely more so than I was in Ella-Grace's pregnancy, I was finally starting to feel better. No more sickness tablets and now gaining back the weight I had lost. Food aversions were subsiding too and I was managing to eat full meals. Thank goodness because we were now on the run up to Christmas. Getting my appetite back, starting to get cravings and feeling all round more energetic. 

Cravings and Christmas...

Ella-Grace's second Christmas, mine and Reece's 7th together (first as a married couple) and our last as a family of three; it was the best Christmas yet!

Ella-Grace got loads of presents from our loving families, my Dad made a very yummy Christmas dinner (vegan for us of course). We stayed at my parents from Christmas till New Year and it was such a lovely time, always my favourite time of year. 

While we were there I also experienced some of my first strong pregnancy cravings, some of which were quite strange. For example I was craving pickles, ice cream and mustard? Not together but I would eat them relatively close together. In my Mum's words 'your clearly pregnant' haha. I am so glad my morning sickness subsided in time for Christmas and it is fair to say that I made up for all the food I didn't eat in the first trimester over Christmas- I ate so much! 

New Year, our second child will be born this year...

Like I said we spent New Year at my parents house and on New Years eve I turned 18 weeks pregnant- almost half way through my second (and most likely last) pregnancy. 2019 was here, the year our second child would be born! Things were getting even more real and more exciting! 

20 weeks pregnant = half way...

As tough as the first trimester was it really went in a flash! I could not believe I was 20 weeks, half way through my second pregnancy already. At this time one of my best friends was coming to the end of her pregnancy with her first baby (picture above is me all dressed up for her baby shower) and so there was lots to celebrate. 

20 week scan...

For my 20 week scan my Mum came with myself and Reece. My mum played a big part in my first pregnancy and accompanied me to many scans (for those who don't know Ella-Grace's middle name is Angela, which is my Mum's name) and so it was important to both of us that she get to be involved just as much in this pregnancy. And so, this was a lovely moment that she got to come to a scan for the first time this pregnancy and not just any scan but the 20 week anatomy scan! 

This pregnancy has differed in so many ways to my first pregnancy, one of them being the amount of appointments/scans I have had. With Ella-Grace they found a hole in her heart when I was 19 weeks pregnant and so I was getting scanned by a Dr every other week to check if it was a heart problem or if that part of her heart was just taking a little longer to develop; luckily we had the positive outcome and Ella-Grace was fine. This made me slightly more nervous for this scan in case this baby also had a hole in their heart but there was no such hole, everything was developing as should and so we were sent on our way with another scan not until April (at this point we were in January!). So strange not having more scans when I had so many with Ella-Grace but relieving that this pregnancy is going well so baby doesn't need checked on as often. 

Such a lovely experience and it was so lovely to see our little baby for the third time! 

More cravings...

Of course most women get a lot of cravings when they are pregnant, for me it was more I wanted to eat the same meals ALL the time. This is not like me usually, I like to make something different every meal, every day, give myself and Ella-Grace (and Reece of course but a lot of the time he is at work) variety in our diets but for a while I could only cook/would only want to cook the same meals. These were either baked potato and salad or pasta with green pesto and sun-dried tomatoes- don't forget the sundried tomatoes! Reece was not happy with the fortune I was spending on sundried tomatoes hahaha. I was also craving fizzy sweets for a snack- which is so weird for me because when I am not pregnant I do not have a sweet tooth at all but apparently when it comes to pregnancy, both this time and last time, I love sour sweets! These can be hard to come by vegan but our local shop had a big pack of fizzy sour dinosaurs on offer and they were vegan- these I could not get enough of! 

While on the topic of cravings I often get asked if I ever crave anything non-vegan and if I did would I indulge in it? My honest answer is no I don't, for example if I crave a burger I will crave a bean burger. If I was to crave something non-vegan I would definitely not have it for both moral and health reasons that most of you will know from my other blog posts/instagram. I would find a vegan alternative to solve that craving. 

Bump popped at 21 weeks...

At the start of pregnancy you obviously don't have a bump so I expected that but everyone told me you get a bump sooner second time around. I got to 16/17 weeks however I didn't think I looked that different apart from my post-partum mum tum and a bit of bloating. 21 weeks is when my bump clearly popped. It was really interesting because when I was pregnant with Ella-Grace I had a bump at 16/17 weeks and although this time I did get a bump at this time too as I mentioned I felt like it still looked more like a 'mum tum' until I got further on, not that there is anything wrong with a stretchy mummy tummy (I love mine) it is just interesting how a woman's body looks different with each pregnancy. As you can see in the picture above 21 weeks was definitely when I popped and bump was most certainly there for everyone to see, making it all that bit more real if it wasn't already!

Feeling faint followed by food poisoning...

The first trimester sickness may have passed but as February rolled around, just as I was celebrating my Dad's 60th birthday, sickness came back with a vengeance. 

Firstly, around this time (22/23 weeks pregnant) I had started feeling very dizzy and if I got up to quickly I would feel as if I was going to faint. This was then followed by severe stomach cramps and sickness! Not food aversion sick or anything to do with pregnancy actually but more like a sickness bug which was just my worst nightmare. With no idea what it was I consulted the doctor who tested for a few things and it turned out I had food poisoning! I was prescribed anti-biotics and my symptoms improved quickly! I am just glad baby was not affected! Gutted I couldn't stomach much of the yummy food at my Dad's 60th though haha. 

Baby name dilemma...

This will most likely be brought up in each pregnancy update until baby is here because this is one dilemma that I do not think will be solved until baby 2 is in my arms! That dilemma is baby names! 

As I explained in an Instagram post, we had Ella-Grace's name picked out before she was born. Pretty much as soon as we found out she was a girl we picked her name and that was that. This time round we decided not to find out the sex of the baby (not that I think this matters because no names really belong to a specific sex, this is just what society has convinced us) and we also decided not to officially name the baby until he or she makes their appearance. We did however want a few names we liked picked out, this has been a challenge to say the least! I like VERY unique names (such as Journey, Bravery, Lavender, Wednesday) and Reece is more mainstream (Bethany, Cody, Joey), so finding names we both love is hard! One minute we will have a few we both like and the next minute we will both change our minds and hate them all! Perhaps baby 2 will be called just that.. baby 2... or one of us will have to cave! Only time will tell... 

Kicks getting strong...

By 24 weeks pregnant I had been able to feel baby for a long time, since about 16 weeks, but it was now that others could really feel him or her move! Reece was feeling kicks frequently and even Ella-Grace managed to feel one or two when she kept her hand on my belly long enough (although I don't think she really knew what it was, but she would say 'baby kick!'). 

All very exciting and a lovely bonding experience for the three of us and bump, connecting as a family of four already! 

My mum and sisters also felt the baby kick a few times which was nice. If only they stayed pleasant little kicks, soon enough they began to be painful which I never experienced with Ella-Grace. Either this baby is stronger or my muscles are just ruined from last pregnancy, who knows? Worth it for my beautiful second child. 

Ella-Grace understanding more...

The further a long in this pregnancy I have gotten, the more Ella-Grace has started to understand what is going on.. as much as a 2 year old can anyway. She loves to hug my bump, kiss my bump, sing and talk to bump and ask me all about the 'baby' in my tummy. It is so sweet! 

Through this and her understanding on what a baby is she has become very interested in playing with her baby dolls, looking after her little friends like babies and reading books about being a big sister. This is so sweet to see and although I am sure she will have her jealous moments when baby is here I do think she will thrive as a big sister and take on a caring role (or at least try to). So yeah, baby 2 even if your big sister annoys you she does love you so much! Even before you entered the world. 

Pelvic pain and more...

I am so grateful to be pregnant again and to be able to carry a healthy child but that does not make it easy and the further a long in this pregnancy I get the more I realise that (symptoms wise) I had it pretty easy in the first pregnancy. As I neared the end of the second trimester some not so fun things kicked into gear including pelvic pain, insomnia and braxton hicks contractions which don't hurt but they are very uncomfortable. Unlike when I had these with Ella-Grace, this time round it has felt that whenever I do anything that involves moving I get a braxton hix contraction. My midwife has suggested that perhaps I have an irritable uterus and to take it easy but when you have a toddler at home that is just not possible sometimes. So these symptoms were not so fun and they have only kicked up from there but I am getting a head of myself. 

Baby moon...

Now to stop the moaning and talk about something fun. Reece and I went on a little baby moon! Our two close friends got engaged and so with our other two friends we travelled down to Edinburgh for one night (my Mum took Ella-Grace for a sleep over) and celebrated. This was the first time I had left Ella-Grace since the honeymoon (that was extremely hard for me and I think made my separation anxiety worse) so I was very nervous but she had a great time with my Mum and it was nice for Reece and I to get dressed up and have some time to ourselves and with our friends before baby 2 arrives and we never get peace again hahaha. We also got a cute photo out of it so that's nice. 

Low fetal movements and fast heart rate...

Unfortunately when we arrived back in Aberdeen after our short trip to Edinburgh I barely got to see Ella-Grace for an hour before I was told to go up to the hospital due to baby having reduced movements. I was just about 27 weeks at this point, entering the third trimester with a hospital trip, not ideal. Once I got to the hospital baby started moving again thankfully (midwife said the travelling may have thrown baby off) but the heart rate was high so I was kept for an hour for monitoring. Heart rate was still on the higher side but not to the point where it was worrying so I was let away home. A scary experience but on the up side my close friend had given birth to her first little one less than 24 hours before this and I got to go up and hold her sweet baby and congratulate my friend. Good ending to a stressful experience. Made me all the more excited to have baby 2 here too. 

Weeks 27-28...

And so that brings us to the last week of my second trimester which was pretty uneventful. So all I have to share is a bump pic. This trimester was by far the easiest of all three (which is usually the case) although it did come with it's challenges. 

Third trimester post coming soon ...

And so that was my second trimester. I am now well into my third trimester and have so much to tell but you will all have to wait another week or two for that update and then before I know it I will be writing my birth story! Although these last few weeks feel like they are dragging, this pregnancy has seemed to go by in a flash! 

Thank you for reading...

As always thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed hearing all about my second trimester. Please feel free to comment below any experiences you are having or have had with your pregnancies, are they similar to mine? Lets start a conversation. Hope to update you all again soon on the rest of my pregnancy as well as posts on how Ella-Grace is doing and more. So much to write but this pregnant mama also needs her rest so please bare with me. Thank you all again for following my blog and I will speak to you all soon. 

Stay Happy Everyone! :) 

Potty Training Under 2

Writing about potty training already... 

How did this come about so fast? Feels like yesterday I changed Ella-Grace's first nappy (or more accurately watched a nurse change her as I could not get out of bed due to being numb from c-section) and now here I am, 28 weeks pregnant with baby number 2 watching her run around in 'big girl pants' and saying "Potty mama". Time goes way too fast, she is such a big girl now! 

Before I even get into the topic of potty training and everything that has come with our experience so far I would like to say a few things. First of all, I am no expert when it comes to potty training (I don't think anyone is?) this is simply a post explaining how potty training is going with Ella-Grace and advice as far as what is working for us- this is not to say what we do works for every child as every child is different. I do not think children HAVE to be potty trained at a certain age or anything like that, you as a parent decide when you think is the best time. Once again all children are unique, all learn at different paces in different ways and please in no way take this as me telling you what you should be doing because that is not what I am doing- half the time I don't even know what I am doing. We are all winging it at the end of the day. I have found reading other parents experiences very helpful and comforting in times I have struggled during this potty training process so I thought I would ask you all if I should share my experience and an overwhelming amount of you said yes so here it is. Also you all know I use this blog as a personal diary to get out my inner thoughts, I just choose to share these thoughts with the internet, that is all this is. Also apologies it has took me so long to get this posted, between pregnancy insomnia and my laptop crashing (losing my work SEVERAL times), it has been tricky to get it done but here I am!

Now that long (probably unneeded) explanation is out the way let us get on with the blog post...

(Side note: There will be no images of Ella-Grace on the toilet or in her pants etc. I personally am not comfortable with that)  

Past experience in potty training and thoughts going into it...

Like most first time parents- I would assume- I had no experience potty training and was quite apprehensive about approaching the whole thing. As someone with anxiety I control this with routine and schedule and being in a routine (in this case I am talking about nappies) it really stressed me out the thought of messing with that and now having to start a fresh, teaching Ella-Grace a whole new way of life pretty much. She has spent her whole life doing her 'business' in nappies and I have spent her whole life changing them, it is a big change for both of us. I also get very anxious about tasks that do not have instructions which of course potty training does not, mothering in general does not come with a handbook or 'wikihow' page you can just look up so whenever I enter a new experience in Motherhood I get a little (or a lot) stressed out. So needless to say, potty training was not something I was in a rush to do nor excited about doing. 

When Ella-Grace was 18 months old however (literally I think medically this is the earliest a child will be able to be potty trained due to physical development that needs to happen) she started showing signs of being ready for potty training. She hated her nappy and would always try to pull it off, she would hide to do a number 2 and she became very interested in the bathroom- specifically me going to the bathroom. So reluctantly I thought I would buy a toilet seat insert and see how she liked it. She sat on it no problem and seemed to want to be on it. As proud as I was, I was also in shock, I was not thinking about potty training her until she was 2 or 3 years old but she was telling me she wanted to sit on the toilet. It was at this point I went out and bought her some pants and set a few days aside to try this potty training thing (no idea what I was doing). This was my first ever experience trying to potty train and it did not go well. Although she did go to the toilet a few times and was interested in it, she was just not ready to understand the concept of 'I need to tell Mummy I need to go to the bathroom'. So after a day or two of accidents everywhere we decided she was just not ready. This was a very stressful two days with the change of routine and as you probably guessed there were many tears from me. After this we did keep the toilet seat out and if she asked to go on it then we would let her but we were not actively potty training her. So that was that for a few months. 

Trying again and signs of potty readiness...

Honeymoon past and Christmas came and went, it was now January- at this point life had gotten so busy that the potty seat was put away in the cupboard. This is when we decided to try again (Ella-Grace now being 21 almost 22 months old). We decided this for a number of reasons: 

1. Ella-Grace showing more signs of readiness 

Of course the most important thing to consider when thinking about potty training is, is my child ready? And once again, Ella-Grace started showing signs of readiness even more than before. As well as the signs I have already mentioned Ella-Grace also started to show the signs such as going number 2 at a certain time of day, telling me when she needed her nappy changed, understanding simple instructions, understanding words and what they mean (such as potty, pee pee etc), mimicking behaviour and waking up dry from her nap. All these were signs that she was ready and armed with this knowledge I had to consider other aspects of life to see if it was the right time for us as a family as well as for Ella-Grace and that nothing else would get in the way. 

2. Baby number 2 due in June 

This was more of a perk than a reason to potty train because of course if Ella-Grace had not been ready I would of never even considered starting potty training for this reason, but due to Ella-Grace showing signs this was something that popped into my head. As most if not all of you know I am due to have another baby in June and what a treat it would be to have to change half the amount of nappies. No nappy changes for my toddler only for the new born. Of course I would still be assisting Ella-Grace in the bathroom but not having to change her nappy along with baby two would be nice. 

3. No big changes or events for a while

As I said Christmas and New Year had just passed and now we were into January which for us is quite a slow month as I am sure it is for many families. Ella-Grace's second birthday was in March and baby was due in June which meant for a little while now we had no big plans, changes or events. Potty training too close to or during a big event or change can make the process more difficult and stressful for everyone involved so the fact that we had nothing really happening for a while made me think that it could be a good time. 

4. Second trimester and feeling good 

As I said, you have to make sure your child is ready for potty training and that there is nothing happening at the same time that will stress out your child during this transition but as well as this you as a parent MUST be ready for this process as it takes a lot of energy out of you, it takes up a lot of your time and as for the attention you already pay to your child, you need to triple that. The constant monitoring, the constant reminding, the constant watching them and more. It is a lot for a parent and a huge task you have to make sure you are at your best to be able to help your child through this transition. For me around this time I was into my second trimester, finally out of the sickness of the first 12 weeks and I felt myself getting a burst of energy. Although pregnancy can be a difficult time if you are going to do anything like this, the second trimester (at least for me) is the sweet spot and exactly when you want to do it. The start of pregnancy I would never have been able to do it as I was far too tired and sick, the third trimester I would definitely be too tired and forget about when I have a new born baby. I am not saying you cannot do it during these times but I am saying that for me, my mental health would not handle it and physically I feel I would struggle but the second trimester? Yeah lets do this!  

Researching and our chosen method...

Everything is lining up... Ella-Grace is ready, I am ready and now what? Time to do some research. Looking back on the first time we attempted to potty train I decided I did not do enough research. I looked at one method and thought, there I will try that, but there are so many different methods and opinions when it comes to potty training that I wanted to view more and fill myself with information. I looked at 3 day potty training methods, some that did day and night potty training at the same time, some methods that taught going number 1 and number 2 at different times, elimination communication potty training, potty training using pull ups, naked potty training, and so on and so forth. There are SO many different forms of information out there about all different types of potty training and from all this information I put together my own method combining the aspects I thought was important to my child's progress and what she needed. The main guidelines I used when potty training (which I pulled from all the different methods I looked at) were: 

1. Have a staying in period 

Although potty training does also have to be done out of the house it was important for us to establish it first at home before tackling public areas. Going to the bathroom is a vulnerable and private time and so we were prepared to get through the first part of the process at home. 

2. No more nappies 

Some methods use pull ups or potty train using nappies but for us the best way we could see to do it was to go 'cold turkey' as they say on the nappies (with the exception of nap time/bed time). 

3. Potty every half an hour 

Most methods say to remind your child often to go potty but it is up to you how often. We decided to put her on potty every half hour, quickly going to every hour. We probably asked her every 15 mins or so if she wanted to go.  

4. Nappy free time followed by pants 

The first day we let Ella-Grace run around bare and after this we introduced pants. 

5. Teaching words 

Teaching key words such as 'potty', 'pee pee' and 'poo poo'. This was very helpful when it came to understanding the process of potty training. Later she also caught onto words such as 'tissue', 'flush' and 'wash hands'. Once your child understands these words/phrases communication and teaching is so much easier. 

6. Praise and reward 

With it being just after Christmas we had so much left over chocolate/gifted chocolate so we used this as a reward if she went potty. As she got better as it though we just used praise which is all they really need. 

7. No punishments 

We knew we would be teaching her this way before I even researched anything. We did not want her to feel as if she had done something wrong when she had an accident as this would likely stress her out and we did not want to teach her that doing her business was bad because it is not. We simply acknowledged any accidents and patiently explained to her where to go next time. 

8. Teach privacy

Reece and I think teaching privacy is very important and this also includes when it comes to going to the bathroom. So we were not comfortable having anyone over during the times when she was running around in just pants, we wanted to teach her going to the bathroom was something private and she can have Mummy or Daddy helping her or have some alone time. We did not want her doing her buisness on a potty in a public area in front of others, we wanted to teach her to go to where it is private just as we would never change her nappy anywhere but nappy changing areas because this was private. A very important lesson I think to teach from the start. 

9. Tackle Day Time First 

As I said, we decided to tackle through the day first and nap time/evening time later. We found this to be best for Ella-Grace and according to what I have read as well as observed with Ella-Grace so far, night time readiness is very different and almost naturally occurs.

10. Only 5 - 15 minutes sitting on potty 

I read that letting your child sit on the toilet/potty for too long can affect their veins etc in that area and can be strenous for them so the recommended cut off time was 15 mins. After about 15 mins as well Ella-Grace would be more than ready to get off. 

Supplies..

1. Pants 

2. Toddler insert for toilet and/or small potty (we ended up needing both)

3.' Bambino' Potty training pants (NOT pull ups, the kind we got were cloth so more like pants so Ella-Grace did not get confuse it with a nappy)  

4. Nappies for bedtime and naptime

5. Cleaning products 

6. Wipes

7. Moisturiser (Ella-Grace's hands got really dry from the constant washing hands so moisturiser was important) 

8. Rewards (optional, praise can work just as well) 

9. Timer (I just used my phone) 

Staying in Period...

And so it begins. 10th January 2019 was Ella-Grace's first day at a new toddler group so of course we did not want to miss this. We had sort of introduced potty training a day or two prior to this and so we took her to the group in pants not wanting to confuse her by putting her back in a nappy (there were many accidents as it was just the beginning stage- I wish we had the potty training pants at this point haha). It was after this day though that we 'officially' started potty training and decided to stay at home for a good week and so this is where I will start the potty training story for you all. 

So treating the first day of the staying in period as the first full day potty training I decided to let Ella-Grace do this day pants and nappy free- so nothing on her bottom half. This was part of a few methods I read. By doing this I wanted to see just how many times a day she would go pee and hopefully see how well she regulated her bladder. It was less about trying to get her to use the potty- which of course I did- but more the last check to see if she was truly ready for potty training, From what I had read if a toddler urinates constantly their bladder is not mature enough for them to regulate it but if they are going every hour or so this is a sign they are regulating their bladder making potty training possible. I am not a medical professional but this was what I read and so we tested this theory. Ella-Grace often woke up from naps dry or we noticed she was staying dry in her nappy for longer periods of time and so it was not a shock to me that after the first day of potty training we came to the conclusion she was regulating her bladder and we were confident in our decision to potty train. She had many accidents on the floor (and one on the sofa, I think I counted about 8 accidents on the first day but this was expected and like I said not the big aim of the day. The aim was so see if she was ready and it did seem she was. We were not using the small potty at this point but rather we introduced the toilet seat insert as this is what we were putting her on as this is what she shown interest in, the big toilet that Mummy and Daddy use. We were putting her on every half hour to an hour on that first day, constantly reminding her/asking her if she needed to pee. The first few times this was exciting but then she got a bit bored of going on and so bubbles, her wash off nail polish, stories, we brought out a few things to keep her entertained during her time on the potty. We would sit her on the potty between 5 and 10 minutes each time, restarting the 30 min timer each time she would get off. If she at all seemed distressed about going on/being on the potty we would take her off- we wanted to avoid stressing her out or making her scared of the potty at all costs. We were very much trying to let her lead us. She may have peed once on the potty on that first day but the rest were accidents. So as the first day goes it went as expected, the constant reminding her to go to the toilet, every half an hour putting her on the toilet, cleaning up accidents and trying to teach her the key potty training words- fair to say both Ella-Grace and myself were shattered at the end of the first day and I still knew we had a long way to go. 

Progress followed by UTI...

The staying in period continued and on the second day we introduced pants. I explained to her what her pants were and how she was not to wear nappies now just pants. I told her that she should try to keep her pants dry and tell Mummy or Daddy if she needed the toilet. Then again our potty training method began (Reminding her about the toilet, putting her on potty for 5/10 mins every 30 mins, trying to teach her the potty words, if she did anything on the toilet she would get a little dairy free chocolate treat and of course constant hand washing). This was pretty much how the staying in period went, day in and day out we would do this routine. There were stressful times for both of us, many accidents and a lot of washing (I advise you buy a lot of pants and maybe keep them in just t-shirts or dresses) but we got through it. 

By day 3 Ella-Grace had gone from eight accidents to just on or two accidents, peeing on the toilet almost every time (going number 2 was still quite daunting for her and although she did go a once or twice in the toilet most of the time she would go in her nappy during nap time as this was the time she had regulated her body to go anyway). Now she was getting better at going to the toilet we had changed the method slightly. Instead of every half an hour we set the timer for every hour and this is where it stuck until she learnt to tell us herself. I was very proud of the progress she was making and thought to myself the hard part was over she is almost accident free... and then a UTI hit her. Very common during early potty training with girls according to our dr and although it is not a sign of not being ready to be potty trained (which is what I was worried about) it is something that needs treated with antibiotics. 

I used to get regular urine tract infections when I was younger and so I knew as soon as Ella-Grace said 'ow' when she peed that she had an infection. Thankfully with her being so good at peeing in the toilet now we were able to get a urine sample from her quickly meaning she got antibiotics very quickly and recovered within days. Surprisingly this did not hold her back as I thought it would and once the infection cleared up she had her first dry day!!

First dry day...

This had now been a full week of staying in and potty training. It had been difficult, it had been messy but it had been so worth it. I actually read one Mother's story about how she potty trained her child and one thing she said really stuck (I am going to try and find the exact post and credit it at the end of this post), she said 'wait for the first dry day' this is what I told myself in times where I was finding the potty training difficult as I knew the first dry day would be amazing and it was. Looking in the washing basket and only seeing the one pair of underwear she had worn that day to go in the wash and seeing how proud she was to have dry underwear, it was so precious. We were still putting her on every hour so it was very much her being on a schedule than us leaving her to it and her being able to tell us but still this was progress and from 8 accidents on the first day to none in just over a week! That was amazing. Very proud of our little girl and also proud of us for helping her get there. Now time to get out the house! 

First full day out...

Now, accomplishing potty training in your house is one thing but potty training outside the home, outside of your child's comfort zone, that is a whole different kettle of fish as they say. 

We had been on small outings before; doctors appointments, my 20 week scan, trips to ASDA, but 1. These were short trips and 2. We used the potty training pants and although they were always dry and she would go to the toilet when we were out, it was like a security blanket because we knew if she did have an accident that the cloth potty training pants would hold some amount of urine before any clothing etc got wet. It was time to take that security blanket away. Ella-Grace was ready and so were we. What better place to test this theory than a birthday party at a soft play haha no point starting small right? 

Dress on, hair done and pants on out the house for the first time, I was petrified and desperately did not want her to have an accident. Not because there would of been anything wrong in that, totally normal in fact but I knew Ella-Grace would get upset (by this point she was very aware that she wanted her pants to be dry) and did not want her to feel embarrassed. The party lasted 2 hours and Reece and I were on our game tracking how much she drank and how often we were putting her on the toilet (still every hour) and so with two successful trips to the toilet that was our first big outing with dry underwear NOT in training pants. Another milestone had been hit and we were ecstatic. This was the 26th of January so about 2 weeks after we started potty training. 

Introducing small potty...

So we have no accidents through the day at home, we can now go out of the house with pants on also, what was left? To trust in Ella-Grace. By now she knew the word 'pee pee', 'potty' and 'poo poo' and she had a good understanding of what they meant but yet she was rarely telling us she needed to go and rather waiting for us to put her on the potty. She was clearly regulating her bladder as every time we would put her on the potty she would pee, she knew every hour we would take her to the toilet. But we wanted to stop the schedule and let her lead us, it was now time for her to let us know when she needed to go and so to help with this we introduced a small potty in the living room. The reason for this being the big toilet she could not get on herself and so the small potty encouraged independence as she could sit on it herself. We taught her how to pull up and down her pants and trousers and explained when she needed to go 'pee pee' or 'poo poo' to let Mummy and Daddy know and to go on her potty. Still reminding her but now not putting her on every hour and once again (thankfully) she picked this up rather quickly. Sometimes by telling us and sometimes she needed the question of 'do you need to go potty?' to prompt her but she quickly got used to telling us when she needed to go. I think we had one or two accidents during this time of teaching her to tell us but over all she got it fairly quickly. Following this we moved the small potty into the bathroom as we still wanted to encourage privacy and that the bathroom is where she goes to do her business and we no longer timed how often she went to the bathroom, no more timer. Which brings us to right now. 

Where we are now...

So, as of now (March 2019) I can confidently say Ella-Grace is fully potty trained through the day. If she does go longer than 2 hours without peeing I will prompt her to go to the potty which she always does but majority of the time she lets us know when she needs to go. She does still wear a nappy at nap and bed time but we put her on the potty before she sleeps and so she often wakes up dry. Going number 2 on the potty is still somewhat of a task as she would usually do this during nap time (so in her nappy) as this is the time of day she seems to of regulated her body to do so but if she does need when she is awake she does tell us and with some prompting will go on the potty. Not as confidently as she does when she goes pee but she will still tell us and she knows where number 2 goes. We are working on making her more confident at this however. Ella-Grace has full understanding  now that her waste goes into the potty. She understands the whole process from knowing when she needs to go to the bathroom to washing her hands after. She gets up every morning as tells us it is time take off her nappy, go potty and put her pants on. She is proud when her pants are dry and likes to announce to everyone after she has gone 'pee pee' haha exclaiming yay every time! Still small progress to go and potty training through the night to tackle but so far so good and we are very proud of how she is doing.  

Method in a nutshell..

That may have sounded a bit all over the place so I am going to bullet point it for anyone that just wants the steps:

• Stay in period 1 week 
• First day- no pants or nappy, look for waste regulation and cues that child needs to go potty (holding private area, running around, hiding). Learning these cues will help you catch when they need to go potty and help them learn their own cues. Potty every 30 mins. 
• Second day- explain underwear. Potty every 30 mins, use knowledge of cues from day before. Teach key words. 
• Continue this for the remainder of the week. If child is having less accidents and seems to be doing well try potty every 1 hour. Teach key words. 
• Attempt an outing (no timeline just whenever you feel ready)
• When child is going to potty every hour and understanding key words try encouraging them to tell you when they need to go/go by themselves. 

Top tips...

1. Don't pressure your child

BIG no in my opinion is putting pressure on your child to be potty trained. Of course encourage and explain to them why an accident is an accident but never embarrass, never shame, never punish and never force. Changing from nappies to potty is a HUGE lifestyle change for any child no matter the age you start and during this time your child needs support, praise and compassion. You do not want to scare them away. 

2. Mother knows best 

I spent the whole time I was potty training (even now) questioning myself and if I was right for potty training Ella-Grace now. Was she truly ready? Can I do this? What should and shouldn't I be doing? I googled this until I was at my wits end and the only answer I could come up with was that nobody knows. Each parent does what they think is best for their child and although I could read other peoples experiences and opinions, I had to find my own and trust myself as a Mother that I know my child, what they are capable of and what is best for them. I believed that Ella-Grace was ready and I believed this was the right time to start potty training and so that is what I did. No one knows your child like you do, you have to trust yourself to make the right call. 

3. Ignore haters 

This kind of goes hand in hand with the last tip. I had some people telling me Ella-Grace was 'too young' and that I was 'forcing her', these did get me down for a bit and had me questioning myself but to be 100% honest, these people are not there to help you. Unless you ask for their opinion they have no right to tell you what to do and not do with your child, they have not seen the signs and they have not been the one raising them from the ground up. A stranger will see your child have one accident and suddenly proclaim that your child is 'not ready' to be potty trained but yet they did not see the 3 other times that day that your child successfully went to the potty. Although I know it is hard not to overthink what others opinions are as you yourself are not an expert please remember, like I said, you know what is best for your child and it is up to you to make the decision. Ignore any negative energy. 

4. Take it day by day

Just like most things in life you are going to experience good days and bad days, it is the same with potty training. One day your child will seem to be making immense progress and then the next they will have a few accidents, that's just how it is at the start, it is an adjustment for them and potty training definitely does not happen over night. So whether it takes days, weeks or months, just take it day by day. Your child has a day with little or no accidents then amazing, if they have a day where the potty has not been used then try again tomorrow. It is easier said than done but try not to stress, you will potty train your child eventually and then you will be sad that this is another experience checked off your list. Just take it day by day and you will get there. Remember accidents happen, it is part of potty training. 

5. Enjoy the small victories

Again linking to the last tip- enjoy the small victories. The potty training process is messy, tedious and frustrating for both you and your child, so when there are little victories really focus on them and celebrate them. Don't feel like you are doing a bad job because your child had 3 accidents, feel proud because you helped them make it to the potty at least once that day. Your child poop on the floor? That sucks! But you taught them what the word 'potty' meant today and that is progress. Little victories mean a lot and celebrating/praising these is what will encourage both you and your child to keep going. 

6. Don't focus on how long it is taking 

This was a hard one for me. Like I said, I am a person of schedule, routine and organisation (or at least I try to be as this keeps me sane) so I tried to have a time line in my head as to how long potty training would take. Lucky for me Ella-Grace has seemed to catch on relatively quickly for the most part but what I have come to realise is that potty training is a long process. When I was researching different potty training methods there were so many 'clickbait' titles I would say such as 'potty train in 3 days' or 'how I potty trained my child in 1 week'. Not to say that these parents did not manage to do this but it just pre-set a feeling in my head that the potty training process must have a time line. Once researching even more though and gaining some more experience myself I realised that it is really a continuous process for months or even longer sometimes. Yes, Ella-Grace caught on quickly and after I would say about 2 weeks I could say yes she is potty trained through the day so 'technically' that was my time line but the potty training does not stop there. She may have an accident some time in the future when she is excited, upset or just forgets to tell me she needs to go. She may have accidents when in a new sitiuation or one she is not used to- for example she had not had an accident in a long time but then she went to stay with my Mum for one night and she had one accident the next day because it was someone else putting her on the potty. She may have accidents once the new baby is here, it is often that children regress in a big life change but she may not. Of course we still have the night training to come so that is a factor too. Or none of these things will happen and she will have no accidents again, who knows. Potty training is a process that goes on for a long time, it is a life change and they take a while to get a hang of so my best advice would be just to make it part of your lifestyle and your routine. Going on the potty is a routine for us, we have accepted it as part of our day and whatever this means for Ella-Grace and what she needs as support for potty training is what we will continue to do- no timeline. 

7. You will find your own method 

My BIGGEST tip by far is do not focus or try to follow to the T someone else's potty training method. Of course be as informed as you can if that helps you and through researching potty training methods you can try to follow one but be prepared to find your own method. No children are the same and they will all learn and grow in their own unique ways, so following another parents method that worked for their child may not work for yours. The way we potty trained Ella-Grace was not a magical method I found on any website, blog, book or you tube video, it was all different methods and what I liked from those methods all mashed together to make the perfect potty training method for my little one. You may go through lots of methods before finding the rhythm that works for you and most importantly your child, it just takes patience and time. Just remember you will only potty train your child once (even if it does take a long time) and they will get there! You are going to blink and they will be living their own adult life so try and enjoy this experience as much as it will drain you. Also for those parents who feel pressured to start potty training- please don't, you will know when your child is ready and when you are ready to take this leap. It is not a race and there is no right time to do it.

Thank you for reading...

Wow that was a long post! I don't know if that all made sense- like I said I am no expert or childcare professional- but I hope it helped someone out there who is embarking on the potty training journey with their child or thinking about it. I am so proud of how Ella-Grace has dealt with the big change that is potty training and although there has been hard times it has gone relatively smoothly (we still have to tackle the evening potty training however). This massive fear that I had of potty training was in the end irrational and as well as being proud of my wonderful daughter, I am also proud of myself as a mother who battles with anxiety for not having a total relapse/breakdown- a few mini breakdowns sure but overall my mental health has stayed afloat. I have Reece to thank for supporting me through that and of course playing his part in  the potty training experience. If you feel I have missed anything or you have any questions about my experience in potty training please feel free to message me or comment below and I will reply asap! As always thank you for reading and you will hear from me again very soon with a more blog posts. 

Stay Happy Everyone! :) <3

My Favourite Soup: Carrot and Coriander Soup Recipe (Vegan)

Carrot And Coriander Soup (Vegan)

Ingredients 

4 Carrots (Peeled and Chopped) 

2 Large Potatoes (Peeled and Chopped) 

1 stick of celery (Chopped) 

1/2 Large White Onion 

500ml of Veg stock 

Knob of Dairy free Butter 

1/2 cup of Oatly Barista Edition (or any other plant based milk) 

2 tsp Garlic granules (add more to taste)

2 tsp Coriander leaves (add more to taste)

Salt and Pepper (to taste) 

Method 

• Wash all vegetables and prepare as stated 
• Heat knob of butter in large soup pan and saute the veg (Do not allow to burn)
• Add salt, pepper, garlic and coriander (I do not add salt and pepper when cooking for Ella-Grace but otherwise I would add) 
• Add plant milk and veg stock 
• Bring to boil then leave to simmer until veg is soft 
• Blend until smooth 
• Taste, add more seasoning if required 
• Enjoy! 

Quick, simple and SO yummy! Perfect for a cold day (which we have a lot of in Scotland!) 

Let me know if you try this soup and what you think of it. Comment below your favourite soup. 

Stay Happy Everyone!