Top ten tips to look after yourself as a new mum

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This article is sponsored by Belly Bands

I remember feeling so incredibly happy when my daughter was born. Being a new mum was incredibly overwhelming and my relationship with my partner was suffering, but I was in this beautiful love bubble with my new baby, and I’d never felt happier.

My pregnancy had been an emotional roller coaster with my partner and I breaking up, getting back together, breaking up, getting back together, and I felt like a wreck. I was also living 3,000 km away from my family and friends, and I felt incredibly alone. In fact, if it hadn’t been for one particular work colleague, who is still a very special friend to me today, I’m not sure how I would have got through it.Continue Reading →

The daily schedule of a working and homeschooling single mum in quarantine

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The daily schedule of a working and homeschooling single mum in quarantine.

Spending two weeks in quarantine as a single mum whilst also working, plus homeschooling, plus recovering from heartbreak was truly one of the most challenging times I have faced as a single parent.

One of the main things that got me through each day was having a routine. Don’t get me wrong, the whole experience still just about broke me, but I do think having that structure was one thing that helped me get through that period.

Here’s what I did during our quarantine period:Continue Reading →

Single Mum Solo Vacay – Koh Lipe

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In December I celebrated my first Christmas without my daughter. Okay, celebrated is the wrong word. For a carol singing, Santa hat-wearing, Christmas LOOOOOVING gal, “survived” is probably a more accurate description.

I always knew that after almost seven years as a single mum, and six Christmases with my six-year-old daughter, I would find it tough. So I decided that if I couldn’t celebrate with my daughter, the next best thing would be to take myself on a little rejuvenating vacay.

And so I did some googling and some price comparing and found the perfect spot… Koh Lipe.

Since posting about it on Instagram, and chatting about it a little on my podcast, I have been asked many questions about Koh Lipe and my solo trip there, and in this blog post, I answer the most frequent ones so that if you too are thinking of going to Koh Lipe, hopefully, it helps.Continue Reading →

How to make relaxing on holidays with kids easy

How to help your kids get the best start in life

How to make relaxing on holidays with kids easy

This blog post is sponsored by ABC Reading Eggs.

We’ve just returned from a holiday in Port Douglas which was absolutely lovely. Gosh, we are lucky to live in such a beautiful country. We saw some amazing sights – the Daintree and Cape Tribulation were particular standouts. We also swam, ate, had adventures and just had an overall sensational time. But we also really enjoyed some downtime by the pool. We both really needed it.

Sometimes as a single parent, getting downtime is not easy. There’s no other parent to take over from you when you need it, and add into the mix (in my case anyway) a child who is a ball of energy and wants you in the pool with them at all times (whenever you go with the intention of sitting down next to it with a good book). And I don’t know about you, but my child loves a chat. Loves it. And as much as I love that she loves a chat, sometimes I just need a bit of stillness and silence. Time to read, time to think. Time to myself. And that is where ABC Reading Eggs comes in. It’s a perfect win-win solution for us.Continue Reading →

My Invisalign Treatment Begins

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(This is a partnership between Single Mother Survival Guide, Invisalign, and Bright Smile Dental).

When I was about 13 years old, an orthodontic surgeon told me that I would need an operation to bring my jaw forward. He told me I had a disfigured face. The operation would involve entering through my mouth, peeling my face up, breaking my jaw, moving it forward, and then sewing my face back down.

Continue Reading →