Win Tickets to The Baby Show at Olympia 18-20 October 2019

We’ve had so much fun speaking and talking to parents at past Baby Shows but this year we’ve got a special mission, to shop for Amy’s growing bump – due Feb 2018. We’ve got three pairs of tickets to giveaway.

How Enter

Amy and Sarah are really looking forward to looking at the exhibitors at The Baby Show; over the years we’ve discovered some wonderful new businesses there as well as trusted family brands.

To win tickets follow @amyibeeson and @sarah.beeson.mbe on Facebook, @amyibeeson and @sarah.beeson.mbe on Instagram or @amyibeeson and @newarrivalbook on Twitter and tag who’d you take to @TheBabyShow and tell us what’s at the top of your baby shopping list.

Lots of Luck

Sarah and Amy x

The Baby Show – Baby and Parenting Event, Olympia, London

Whether you’re expecting your first child, you’re already an experienced parent with a growing family or even a grandchild on the way, The Baby Show Olympia with MadeForMums helps you prepare for this exciting chapter in your life. The Baby Show Olympia is a three-day event taking place from 18 – 20 October 2019 at Olympia, London. It’s the UK’s largest Baby Show where parents-to-be, new parents, and grandparents.

Winners will be selected in a draw and this competition is not associated with Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Winners will be notified by DM and will have two days to reply or the tickets will be offered to next person drawn. Good luck.

Why We Love BabyCup and Your Chance to Win One

Join Sarah Beeson MBE and Amy Beeson as they answer mums and mums-to-be baby questions and chat about weaning on Facebook Live at 8pm on Tuesday 29 August.

Enter To Win

When you ask a question in the comments section on Facebook you’ll be entered to win a pack from BabyCup and a copy of Happy Baby, Happy Family. (UK entrants only).

About BabyCup

BabyCup is a mini open cup for healthy sipping from weaning onwards – no lids, spouts or seals. It’s translucent so children can see inside; easy to clean and can go in your steriliser and dishwasher. It’s good for tiny teeth too – with no spout to chew on.

Sarah’s Tips For Using BabyCup

BabyCup is suitable for babies to use from 4+ months – follow your baby’s lead. Giving them an open smaller cup that fits into the palm of their hand gently gives your baby the opportunity to handle a cup at mealtimes when you start weaning.

Start by getting your baby to cup their hand first and let them explore this new object and get the feel of it – this is a new experience for them. Put a BabyCup intp your hand too and let them copy you.

Pop the BabyCup onto your baby’s high chair tray or place it into your baby’s hand. Don’t comment too much or go over the top if they start using it; calmly wait and see what happens. If they pay no attention to the cup at all, leave it a week or so before introducing it again. You might want to put down a plastic sheet to catch any spills!

Gentle praise is all that’s needed, don’t force it – your baby will get there in their own time. Keep putting the BabyCup on their tray but be patient and let them find it. It’s good to give your baby some decision-making power. They’ll have a preference but you’re giving them the opportunity to choose for themselves without pressure or expectations.

Fill the cup a quarter full with some cooled boiled water (if your baby is under six months). You might want to drink some water yourself from a matching BabyCup and let your baby observe and copy you – cheers!

Your baby will still need their breast milk or formula, so it’s great to use the BabyCup at meal and snack times to compliment their milk feeds in the early days of weaning.

About Happy Baby, Happy Family

“There isn’t one perfect way of parenting; every single baby and family is unique. Feeling confident, authentic and positive about your role as a parent is key to building a loving relationship with your child,” says author and former health visitor Sarah Beeson MBE.

“This is the best generation of parents I have ever seen. I’ve never known more mums and dads who are putting their children’s needs first. I want a world filled with happy babies and for mums and dads to see what a fantastic start in life they are giving their children by putting them at the centre of their lives and meeting their emotional needs as well as their practical ones.”

Discover Sarah’s top three secrets of breastfeeding and what the signs are your baby is getting enough milk. How all parents can use feeding time to bond with their baby and instant calming methods to soothe and help your Little One sleep. Weaning your way and an A-Z of solutions to common problems from colic to teething.

Take care of the whole family by understanding the emotional needs of your baby. Discover what life as a new parent is like from your partner’s perspective with advice on sex and relationships from both a woman’s and a man’s point of view.

Nurturing, practical and refreshingly honest that one-size doesn’t fit all and no-one is a perfect parent, Sarah Beeson’s advice is the perfect companion to parenthood. Get your copy now.

Join us on Facebook Live at 8pm on Tuesday 29 August and enter to win BabyCup and Happy Baby, Happy Family.

Who are you today, mummy?

Author and mum Amy Beeson shares her experiences of looking after a child over the summer holidays whilst launching a new book with workingmums.

After publishing three books with HarperCollins, running my own business and doing the school run I’ve learnt that women maybe multitaskers but focusing on what you want to achieve most of all each day and feeling fulfilled by small achievements is what success looks like for me. Book sales and client wins are fantastic but they’re intangible and can sometimes leave you feeling a bit flat. Focusing on putting on a great book event one day and then making pancakes with my daughter the next morning feels more real than striving for an end goal since I left the corporate world.

The corporate world is playing catch up; they talk about flexible working but we’re actually doing it.

I did find pregnancy and the return to work challenging because becoming a mum changed me. It changed my relationship with work. I love my job but I’ve got at least three full time jobs (I’m a mum, an author and business owner) but I can’t be all three at the same time, not in the way I want to. I ask myself who am I right now? Over the holidays I was a mum all of the time and an author most of the time, because our new book Our Country Nurse was published and my daughter was off school. There wasn’t much space for client work but that’s OK because most of my clients were away.

For me the biggest challenge is still trying to be present in what I’m doing. Not letting mummy guilt creep in whilst I’m writing and not thinking about emails when I’m with my daughter. And it never gets any easier, it’s never going to not be busy. What I’ve discovered over the last few years is that I need to take responsibility for feeling in control.

I’ve learnt so much by connecting with other mums about what works for them and I’ve discovered that being great at your job doesn’t mean you have to work all the time. I work best in bursts of about two hours – I can get a lot done in those two hours! Then it makes complete sense to go for quick walk, eat something nice, or do some yoga – that’s not slacking; it’s giving my mind and body some sustenance so when I come back to do another two hour burst of writing or client consultations I’m at my optimum.

When you’re in an corporate environment most of the time you have to follow someone else’s rules whether they work for you or not. I get to take a fresh look at each day and ask myself what I need to achieve and how best to set myself up to succeed. Flexible working enables you to pick the time and place that means you always do your best work.

My mum is probably the kindest colleague I’ll ever have. Whoever you work with be a kind boss to yourself.

Once my daughter’s in bed if I’m working towards something big I’ll do another few hours on the laptop but I don’t do that all the time because it’s not healthy. During the run up to Our Country Nurse coming out I was working till midnight and we’ve had lots of book events and PR to do.

My mum said to me, ‘Let’s enjoy this. Let’s not miss out the pleasure of seeing our book come out by letting all the thoughts of what we need to do spoilt it.’ Sarah is always the first person to tell me to not do too much. Sometimes that’s hard to hear because nothing just falls into your lap; it takes hard work, but you have to ask yourself would you expect the same of someone else? I might expect a colleague to do long hours when it was necessary but not very often, so I try not to expect more of myself than I would of others.

When I do have to work long hours I make a deal with myself that I can do this for a week but next week I’ll need to change things because otherwise I’ll burn out. Part of the joy of working for yourself is doing what fulfils you and that changes day by day. Most of all I want to feel happy, to me nowadays that is what success feels like.

Amy Beeson runs Wordsby Communications and has a successful writing partnership with her mum Sarah Beeson MBE. Their new book Our Country Nurse is set in a country village in 1975 and is bursting with stories of mums journeys during pregnancy and motherhood.

Can parents have great conversations?

By Amy Beeson

Quite a few of my friends and associates from different background are also Coaches. Although they’re incredibly supportive and insightful to talk to, they also don’t pull their punches from pointing out if the person who is holding me back from something is actually me.

When Mumsnet Babyfest connected us with Barefoot Coaching and suggested we check out their Coaching Cards for New Parents I messaged Coaching Friends to ask if they’d come across them. The resounding answer was “Yes, they’re amazing. I trained with them.” And I’m not a girl who asks for professionals opinions and then ignores them.

kindred spirits

Kim Morgan and Sarah Beeson

My mum and writing partner (Sarah Beeson MBE) and I were invited to a getting to know you breakfast with Kim Morgan the writer of Coaching Cards for New Parents and one the UK’s most esteemed business and personal coaches and her daughter Saira Aspinall who is the Marketing Director of Barefoot Coaching. When we met it was like we were old friends within minutes because we had so much in common on parenting, being working mums and mother and daughter teams. There was a lot of nodding, animated conversation and women’s laughter in the middle of the dining room of a central London hotel that morning.

Saira and I both have a background in marketing and publishing and are trying to balance the whole being good at my job and at being a good mum thing, and confessed that both of our mums’ (Sarah & Kim) were our 24/7 hotline to letting go of mummy guilt.

Kim and Sarah discovered they’d both been greatly influenced by Dr Mia Kellmer Pringle’s work on the emotional needs of children which shaped Sarah’s research for our parenting book Happy Baby, Happy Family. Kellmer Pringle is also a character in Our Country Nurse.

We left with an advanced pack of Barefoot Coaching Cards For New Parents to take home and play with and couldn’t wait to see what each of the 50 cards within the pack suggested. Saira and Kim were invited to our launch party for our new book Our Country Nurse and it was great to spend more time with them there.

sarah beeson gives thumbs up for new parents coaching cards

Sarah and I looked at every card and picked out the top ten cards that resonated with us the most. We came to the conclusion that opportunities for romance may be few and far between with a new baby but trying to be kind to each other and not loosing sight that you’re a partnership as well as parents benefits everyone.

Parents could use Kim Morgan’s Coaching Cards to give themselves time and space to talk about their lives and share all the lovely moments being a new parent has brought so far. They could also be a tool to start a discussion on any issues you’re experiencing such as feelings of guilt and self-criticism or feeling under valued by your partner. You might pre-select a card or pick one at random and see where the conversation takes you.

Picking a calm moment and card or two to have an open and kind conversation about your thoughts and feelings since you’ve becoming parents and actively listening to your partner will help you to appreciate how much you’ve already grown as a family.

Sarah’s favourite coaching card in the pack said, ‘What messages did you receive about yourself as a child? To what extent have these messages stuck with you or become true?’ It’s definitely a theme that runs through our parenting advice and novels. We gave away one of these cards to every reader who came to our book launches for Our Country Nurse and they agreed whoever you are, this question opens up discussion about your past, present and future.

ASK YOUR PARTNER TO PICK A card

One evening I got our the pack of Coaching Cards and my husband Takbir and I took turns to pick one each at random. It did give me a opporutnity to talk about some issues I’d been bottling up but also it was good to listen to him. To consider how our very different childhoods are influencing our behaviour as parents and how our greatest strength is working together as a team.

It being the school holidays our daughter Ava had less strict bedtimes and soon wandered into our conversation. She took a turn to pick a card too and asked us questions and answered them herself about her own experiences. As a family it was a lovely way to spend some time together and I noticed we were all very present in the moment. All the devices were turned off and it was nice to have an open discussion about our lives and share in our happiest memories.

great gift for new parents

Kim asked Sarah if she’d endorse the coaching cards which she did gladly. If you pick up a pack this is the quote you’ll see on the back.

“Using these cards to talk about the highs and lows of parenthood will be good for you and your family.”
Sarah Beeson MBE, author of Happy Baby, Happy Family

Coaching Cards are designed to make honest, open conversation between new parents easier. They can be dipped into time and again, the cards can be used throughout the first year of parenthood and beyond into the toddler years. Easy to pick up and use, they make a great new baby gift if you’re shopping for a present for new parents or mums to be.

ABOUT BAREFOOT COACHING CARDS FOR NEW PARENTS

Coaching Cards for New Parents by Kim Morgan are available to Buy on Amazon. You can get more information on Barefoot’s Coaching Cards range at Barefootcoachingcards.co.uk and follow them on Twitter and Instagram @barefootcoachingcards.

A heartfelt blog post from a mumpreneur on the realities of their child starting school

Have you been worried about your LO’s first day at school? I have, it’s been the subject of many heartfelt conversations with my mum (Sarah Beeson MBE author and baby expert), mum friends and teacher friends.

LO decided to recreate this photo of her with her teddy bears this week. For me and her dad Takbir, it was a reminder of though she’s still our baby, she’s not a baby anymore (though she loves to play babies). Super cute?

Developing self-help skills for reception class

For organised little old me, I have to prepare. I can’t not – I’m a planner. We started gently checking off the self-help skills Sarah recommended in April when the schools admissions came through.

Gradually increasing the opportunities LO had to:

Get dressed and undressed on her own
Take her coat on and off and hang it up
Go to the toilet on her own and wash her hands
Put her shoes and socks on
Find a tissue and blow her nose
Pack up and take out her apple and books from school bag

School admissions stress

I never said this at the time, but we had weeks and weeks of worry following the School Admissions in April as LO didn’t get into any of the six choices of school we made and had no school place. My friends with older kids told me to hang in there; there’s lots of “horse trading” one seasoned school mum told me. And low and behold in June we moved up the waiting list and LO got into a great school.

Joy! I bought her school uniform almost immediately but put off labelling the 20+ items.

Do you hate ironing and sewing too?

I flipping do! It takes me ten minutes to sew on a button and I never iron, I just put things on a hanger straight out the washing machine to dry. There are so many labelling products out there I just didn’t know what to choose.

I turned to social media and asked my friends what they use. Nicola, a mum of two and primary school teacher recommended Stamptastic. I instantly started looking at their site and reading parenting blogger reviews from mums in the know. They all rated the product highly as hassel free and long lasting.

Stamptastic was set up by three mums, and as a mumpreneur myself, I always prefer to support another woman in business. I was really chuffed when Emma sent me the stamp with LO’s name on and the ink pad which costs £22. They also do a PTA scheme where you get great discounts if you get your school to sign up.

On the August Bank Holiday Monday I got out my stamp and bam…Over 20 pieces of school uniform labelled in ten minutes!

I really recommend Stampastic. It’s easy peasy, affordable and effective. That’s me sorted for labelling her stuf until she goes to university. I stamped her uniform, bags even her water bottle. It’s permanent ink and doesn’t come off in the wash.

Do you use books to explore new experiences?

I often turn to books to help LO prepare for a new experience. Whether, it’s ballet class, potty training, or having a day with grandma while mummy’s at work.

As one of LO’s favourite books is ‘The Jolly Postman’ we’ve been reading ‘Starting School’ by Janet and Allan Ahlberg quite regularly these last couple of weeks before our current bedtime book ‘Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland’. It’s helped remind me a few things about reception class that I’ve long forgotten.

The first day of school

I’ve been having a big declutter as part of my preparation for LO starting school. I’ve been mulling over how to do the school run, meet clients for my brand and campaign business Wordsby, write and promote our books Happy Baby, Happy Family and The New Arrival and our next book She’s Arrived!, exercise and have healthier lunches then be on time to pick up LO from school. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, mums have to be so organised we could plan military operations.

Finding the perfect school run to work bag

I’ve been asking and asking social media friends what is best bag to carry on the 0.9 mile walk to school, that will fit in my gym gear, laptop, notebooks, sketch pads, diary, pencil-case, purse, water and a snack. While keeping hold of LO’s hand.

Kiran Chung (who was at Pink Lining now at Mumsnet) recommended the Pink Lining rucksack. I do love Pink Lining, they’re stylish and practical and Creative Director Charlotte is fellow mumpreneur. Ever since they’d given us beautiful bags like this little mini rucksack at our rooftop mum and baby party for the launch of Happy Baby, Happy Family I’ve been browsing their website and trying to think of an excuse to get one (since LO is long out of nappies).

I decided I’d been faffing around long enough and hit the PayPal button and bought myself the mummy version of this gorgeous Pink Lining bows rucksack which is a great work bag. It’s perfect; comfortable, practical and other mums’ have been eyeing it up too as I’ve had to write down the website address for where they can buy one quite a few times already.

Do you like my yummy mummy school to work run backpack?

Is going school is harder on the mums and dads?

I’ve been a bit tearful over LO starting school the last few weeks. It’s been amazing just how supportive other parents have been in my everyday life and on social media. So, a big, big thank you.

But when the first day of school came it was a really happy one (no tears at all from any of us). We were happy, excited and enjoyed our time together as family and new experiences we’ve had when we’re apart. My mum said to me, ‘She’s happy, so your happy.’ Which seems kind of obvious now.

I know there’ll be bumps and tough days but I’m going to be positive and embrace this new phase of our lives and remember how lucky we are that as a freelance writer and communications consultant I have the flexibility to drop off and pick up LO from school (something my working mother never had).

For me, being prepared helps us to enjoy new experiences. I was a terrible Girl Guide but I do follow Sarah Beeson’s advice on the school pick up.

Those three tips so far have led to happy chats after school as LO has a snack and drink and little by little starts telling me about her day.

Is your LO starting school? How’s your week been?

Making Mother-and-Daughter Paper Dolls for some Christmas Magic

We’ve booked to go to Poppy England Pop-Up Shop in Shoreditch this week (19-22 November) to try on some matching mother and daughter dresses. Before I had children that’s something I swore I’d never do, but LO just loves wearing the same colours, necklaces – whatever Mummy does, she wants to do too.

Sarah Beeson MBE author and baby expert (and my Mum) wrote a piece for Tesco Living this month on Christmas Shopping with Little Ones. She suggested getting a bit crafty by cutting pictures from the packet foods you regularly buy and creating a list of items your children will be responsible for finding when you’re there.

So that got me thinking…For LO and I to get the most out of the Poppy Christmas Party, why not choose the dresses we like ahead of time and make some paper dolls of ourselves. LO is a bit under the weather, so this morning seemed like a good time to get making things with paper, scissors, crayons and glue. And this is the result…

Our own Mother-and-Daughter Poppy England Paper Dolls – Tah-dah!

LO was a little tired so I tucked her up in bed. I was so surprised she started acting out going shopping with her mummy to try on dresses.

Imaginary Play

Then she asked me to write out the beginning of the story on her blackboard.

Story-time

Discovering new brands

When I’m not writing with my mum (The New Arrival and Your New Arrival:learning to trust yourself and enjoy your baby) I’m working one-to-one with SMEs on passing on my communications know-how in branding and campaigns at Wordsby.

When I first saw the Poppy brand I was really struck with their creative flair. Storytelling through illustration, photography and dress-making is a niche I’m curious about. Clicking on their website and seeing this photo instantly converted me to wanting a dress to match my little girl’s

It’s brand magic when people you know tell you about the bands they love

Since we published The New Arrival and went straight into the Amazon Charts, I’m always talking about the power of social media. I’d never heard of Poppy England until I saw Pippa from Story of Mum tweet this…

@StoryofMum “Another beach party, another excuse to wear our matching @poppyengland dresses!! I have no shame ;)”

If it wasn’t for LO I don’t think I’d do much craft but sometimes it’s really lovely to get creative. That’s why I’ll be joining the mums for #SoMum tonight on Twitter (19/11/2014 8.30-10pm) @StoryOfMum. Connecting, sharing and taking some time to be creative and think about ourselves.

About Amy Beeson

Amy Beeson co-wrote The New Arrival with her mum Sarah Beeson MBE and runs Wordsby Communications. She works one-to-one with clients to share her creative know-how. Contact Amy to find out more about booking a FREE 1 Hour Consultation.