ANTI AGING WITH HEY GORGEOUS SKINCARE: WHEN IS THE RIGHT AGE TO START USING ANTI AGING PRODUCTS?

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Have I already reached THAT stage of my life? The one where the word “wrinkle” is now a part of my vocabulary?

It’s every girls’ dream to not have those little squiggles come up to say “hiiiii” on our faces. Those little lines we call wrinkles are totally unwelcome in many of our books, but unfortunately, after years of hibernation, they surface. And when they do, I’m sure many of us have experienced the same thing – an outbreak of mass panic hysteria!

Yes, to many, wrinkles are a big deal! In the land of youth, comes a time where crow’s feet and frown lines retreat from vacation, and have a permanent stay on our lovely little facial canvases.

My thoughts? Why not try and make those little buggas venture out our lives and save them for a rainy day.

I got in touch with the lovely Hey Gorgeous founder, Phoebe,  and asked:

When is the right age to start using anti-aging products for the eyes? 

Now, I’m asking this because when I asked my dermatologist about this, he didn’t really answer my question which left me feeling a little confused, but also silly for asking this at a “young age”. I mean, wrinkles are for old people, right? WRONG!

Hey Gorgeous answered:

“If I knew then what I know now, I definitely would’ve started my anti-ageing regime earlier. Prevention being better than cure is certainly true when it comes to skin care. After the age of 20, one percent less collagen is produced in the dermis each year. Collagen and elastin fibers become thicker, looser resulting in inelastic and brittle skin and eventually wrinkles and sagging. In our 20’s the skins exfoliation process decreases by 28% (this ageing malarkey is so not for sissies). And all of this is not helped by environmental factors. So, when you are in your 20’s it’s a good time so start a preventive routine”.

Hey Gorgeous suggests:

“An eye cream is an excellent start. (The skin is very thin and delicate and is usually the first place to show signs of ageing). Adding Vitamin C typically is also recommended. Vitamin C plays a vital role in the synthesis of collagen production and for the regeneration of fresh strong healthy skin cells. The recommended products to introduce into your beauty routine are: Revitalizing eye cream. Vitamin C Serum and Moisturizer”.

Well, there you have it ladies, right from the experts at Hey Gorgeous! It seems early 20’s it is! Being 24, I would definitely have started my wrinkle prevention stage at 20. For now, though, I have been stuck into my routine of my anti-aging products which I have been using for the last year.

I am currently using the Vitamin C Age Defying Serum. This product has been my holy grail of all things anti-wrinkle. I use this at night before bed, to give it a really good chance to soak into my skin and fight off those wrinkles bravely, all night. This serum is highly concentrated and helps boost collagen, and I love that it has a very subtle scent and no funky ingredients that I can’t pronounce, as you find with many serums these days.

The other part of my anti-aging routine is the Hey Gorgeous Happily Ever After Anti-Ageing Moisturiser– sounds dreamy. I apply this in the mornings. I LOVE that this moisturiser is oil free and doesn’t leave my skin over moisturized and greasy! My favourite scent in this is the grapeseed, and the fact that a SMALL dollop goes a very long way!

I’m so happy to have found this range, having struggled with acne for most of my life. I love that all these products are made with natural ingredients and no chemicals. The fact that you need to use these products within 12 weeks speaks for itself.

P.S I’ve noticed a reduction in the wrinkles that were starting to form around my eyes! My skin feels fresh, smells fabulous and is happy, most importantly.

Although Hey Gorgeous is a proudly South African company, they have since launched in the UK, which makes my heart and skin SUPER happy. Click here to view all the different cruelty free goodies that they have to offer.

Until next time,

Mycaila-Jade

xxx

A LETTER TO MY DAUGHTER …

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To my gorgeous baby girl,

You have touched our lives with so much happiness, so much laughter, countless memories and irreplaceable moments over the last 7 months.

When you were born, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew that we already had a connection because I guessed that you were going to be a girl – and I was right (mummy’s always right). You have been the best thing that has happened to me. You are my reason. My reason for everything. For every smile. Every laugh. For every night of interrupted sleep. For every burst of love. For every goal that I want to achieve. For why I want to be successful.

You, my gorgeous girl, are my motivation. My devotion. My dedication.

At the moment, your favourite thing to do is pull my hair, get sick on me, wake up countless times during the night, and keep mummy and daddy on our toes. You fart continuously, burp in my face, throw your toys everywhere and you love your morning cuddles. You’re my biggest challenge, but my favourite reward, over and over again.

My favourite part of every day is waking up to your infectious gummy smile and to hear you gurgle and try talk throughout the day.

I love watching you grow. I love the way you never give up on what you want. Whether it be a bottle, a toy that you’re trying to reach, or your dummy that you so lovingly throw across the room. I love being able to get you dressed every day, watching you chew your big toe and listening to your endless conversations with yourself.

I wake up, looking forward to what each day might bring with you.

Best friends!

I will be there every time you need a best friend and whenever you are feeling down. I will be there for every smile. For every laugh. For every moment. I will always support you, tell you when you are out of line and watch out for you. I will always lend a helping hand when you need it. I will always be there to catch you. I will always try my best to make you feel better. To comfort you. To guide you. I will always want the best for you, and always try my best to give you just that. I will never give you less than you deserve, and I will always make sure that you are loved like no other.

I will always treasure every cuddle together, every time someone compliments you to tell me just how gorgeous you are. I always treasure whenever you need me to help you fall asleep or when you need a hand on your chest for reassurance. I treasure every smile you share my way. I treasure all the love that I see in your eyes, and I will always treasure the unbreakable bond that we have.

You have shown me what it’s like to have a love like no other and to feel unconditional compassion, patience and indescribable amounts of pride for such a tiny human being. You might be the smallest thing around, but you certainly do control an awful lot of everything.

You are already such a gorgeous, kind hearted being. You are gentle. You are loving, and you are extremely clever. You don’t fear anything. You trust absolutely everyone and you are already so determined. This, I wish for you to carry with you throughout your life as you grow up and flourish into a strong but delicate little girl. Someone who is so colourful, but has the presence of an angel.

I want you to never settle. I want you to always compare every boy that you meet to Daddy. I want you to never settle for anything less than how daddy treats you – like a princess. A worthy, beautiful little darling. A gift. A blessing. An absolute angel!

You are exquisite.

You are loved.

You are the definition of joy.

You are my biggest achievement.

You are special.

You are the brightest colour in my life.

And you always come first. Everytime.

I love you unconditionally. I love you forever.

Love Mummy xxx

Happiness is being with you!

WHAT’S IN OUR BABY BAG?

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Have you ever wondered how and why the tiniest little human takes up the most luggage and space? In the car, in the house, everywhere!

Seriously, sometimes it feels like you need an entire task force just to get baby, and all the things that they need into the car. And believe it or not, that’s JUST to get to the shops, never mind a day out around Town, or a holiday away.

Our amazing Naty baby bag – so spacious, heavy duty renewable material and SO user friendly! Love the quality about this delicious bag!

Here are our ESSENTIALS:

  • A change of clothes and a warm jersey– you never know when you might need them.
  • Bottles, bottles and MORE bottles. Trust me when I say that it’s always best to take spare bottles. Our car randomly broke down, and boy am I glad that we had bottles with water! Phew – happy baby means happy parents! We are currently using Dr Brown’s bottles.
  • Pre-measured formula – we use our formula stacker. Parenting hack 101!
  • A burping towel – what a lovely little friend this is!
  • A spare dummy – no explanations needed with this one.
  • Teething gel (Harper is teething at the moment. We are using a natural non-medicated gel at the moment from Pure Beginnings – marshmallow and liquorice flavour. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t stolen some before!
  • Nappies – We have gone green, using Naty Nappies which are super friendly and bio based.
  • Wet wipes – I could not highlight this more. Nappy changes, dirty faces, dirty paws, messy tables – you name it, and it can probably be wiped clean. We are using Naty unscented sensitive wipes. They’re amazing and are kind to our planet.
  • Nappy bags – Yes, at first I hated using these as majority of them are made out of plastic and to be honest, I kind of gave this a skip until we discovered Naty biodegradable and compostable nappy sacks. These have saved so many situations where there haven’t been any bins in the bathroom.
  • Nappy cream – Yes, yes and YES again. There’s no better feeling than knowing your baby has a fresh, clean bottom. There’s nothing worse than nappy rash too, and for this, we use the Naty Rash Cream which is all natural, forms a thick barrier and of course is the green choice for a happy planet.
  • Toys – I can’t decide which is more of an essential – nappies or toys. These two saves lives! Spare toys always help anti-tantrums out in public.
  • Baby change mat – Oh, but of course. It’s always great to have your own changing mat, knowing that only your baby’s bum has been on the mat.
  • A spare blanket – There’s nothing better than being the warmest and cuddliest little thing around. You never know when you might need it.
  • Nasal spray – We always keep this in Harpers bag. Different places that we might go could have different air, which has sometimes left our little girl congested. We use Sterimar Nasal Spray – it works instantly!

The Naty biodegradable compostable nappy bags

And that’s it. Such a little human but so many things.

P.S I totally sneak my own things in bubi’s bag. My purse, lipstick, concealer and phone fit comfortably in our Naty baby bag! We love how spacious and user friendly it is.

Happy traveling with your little one and all their things in the BIGGEST bag in the car!

Until next time,

Mycaila – Jade

xxx

FITNESS UPDATE: MY POSTPARTUM WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY FEBRUARY 2018

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This month’s journey has been an interesting few weeks of trial and error, making space for room to grow (well not literally – we’re trying to shrink in size LOL).

I’ve been on this journey for EIGHT short WEEKS!  When I realised how long I have been on this journey, I couldn’t help but feel a little sad, thinking that I should have lost at least a minimum of 8kg this far. I had a pity party moment, sulked, might’ve eaten a Cadbury’s crème Egg (or I might not have), and read back over my progress chart to try and figure out where I have gone wrong.

And besides for the Cadbury’s Crème Egg, I realised that I hadn’t really gone wrong anywhere! I’m not going to pretend as though I’m a Positive Percy 25/7 (25 (not 24/7) because wannabe over achiever).

Thank heavens for the progress chart, because that ended my pity party very quickly. Although I have had a month of crazy toy – toying with my weight on the scale, my measurements have really fly kicked through what I thought were feelings of disappointment of thinking that I could do better. Only losing 1.6kg this month can send one into a state of such thought, especially after losing almost 5kg the month before.

January 4th 2018 to the left and March 4th 2018 to the right.

So, what’s going on? Why is the scale playing with my feelings like this?

First things first, anyone who is on a weight loss journey should know that the scale is NOT a true reflection of how your body has changed for MANY reasons – especially if you’re a lady, but more of that for another day.

I have always used the scale to measure my “success”, but have also let the number that reflects back at me control how I feel when it’s not what I want to see. For this reason, I have made a big decision going forward, which is to DITCH THE SCALE and my weekly weigh in and only go by measurements.

I’m doing this because for the last month of hopping on and off the scale every week, with minimal results and fluctuations more disastrous than the stock market, I have been second guessing my progress, feeling somewhat demotivated. I will be doing a casual weigh in once a month to keep myself in check and relying mostly on the progress of my monthly measurements results.

THIS MONTHS UPDATE

Although I have only lost 1.6kg, I have also lost a total of 13cm – which backs my decision even more to ditch the scale.

This brings my total weight loss over the last 8 weeks to 5.8kg with a total of 29.5cm lost all over. My measurements have gone done the most around my “mum pouch”. I have lost 11cm around that area so far, which makes my little heart very happy as this is a VERY difficult area to lose from and a total of 6.5cm around my waist.

January 4th 2018 to the left and March 4th 2018 to the right.

Throughout this month, I have also tried to put my fear aside of exercising my abdominals after my C section – and I have managed to do an abs session at least twice a week now. I can feel that this area is getting stronger, slowly but surely. Abs have always been one of my favourite exercises to do, which is now becoming more of a reality again since having Harps – and I AM SO FRIKKEN EXCITED!

January 4th 2018 to the left and March 4th 2018 to the right – Not the best look, but small victories count!

So, if you are on this journey too, and you feel like you are taking one step forward, and … you guessed it – 2 steps back, then try and find the denominator as to why this is. Mine was the scale which was tugging at my heart strings ever so viciously, but I’m hoping that this new strategy going forward will help change the mind-set to get where I (you) want to be.

Until next time,

Mycaila – Jade

xxx

 

5 WAYS TO RESET YOUR WEIGHT LOSS MINDSET

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Trying to get yourself in the right mind frame when losing weight can be more exhausting than squeezing your bottom into lycra gym pants on a hot day. Losing weight is more than just wanting to see the number change on the scale (not that the scale is always the best option for this process). It’s a person seeking a happier outlook on themselves and what they see in the mirror.

While on this journey myself, I thought I’d share my top 5 tips that help my outlook on the entire process, lycra gym pants and all. These changes have helped shift my energy to a more positive way of looking at things, and to allow myself to not be as harsh on myself as I have once been before.

Sometimes it’s best to remember that weight loss is a JOURNEY and not a race. Slow progress is better than no progress.

SET REALISTIC GOALS

I cannot underline, emphasise, and shout this point out loud enough to all the fellow bottoms trying to lose weight. Setting unrealistic goals for yourself is welcoming failure with open arms, and with a glass of champers on arrival!

It’s simple, if you set unrealistic goals, you have a higher chance of not reaching them. Not reaching that goal will set you back into an even bigger level of annoyance and demotivation, which will only result in wanting to double achieve the first unrealistic goal. This then becomes even MORE unachievable. This is such a quick way to get yourself down. We want happy spirits during this process, not demotivated ones.

Losing weight should be the result of your small goals. Shift your attention to your short-term goals, rather than just focusing on losing weight. Rather set few smaller goals which will help you reach your end result.

Pace yourself!

RETHINK YOUR REWARDS

Often when we lose weight, our first way to reward ourselves is with food, or a “cheat meal”. Rather than highlighting this meal(s) as a reward, rather work it into your eating plan or weekend as if it’s the norm, and not as something forsaken and only allowed on special occasions. Build a healthy love relationship with food.

Try rewarding yourself with something like a few items of clothing for every 3kg that you lose, or a new item of make-up for every goal that you reach.

Treat yoself, girl!

 GRAVITATE TOWARDS POSITIVITY

What’s a successful day without your Positive Pants on? It’s time to purge all the negativity surrounding yourself, whether it be the dead plant living in your kitchen, a messy house, or a bad routine that leaves you feeling more drained than anything else. A simple clean out while purging of the negative things surrounding us can work wonders!

Get yourself up in the morning with a clean, tidy house. It’s time to get those curtains open, feel the sun through the windows and get every day on this journey off to a positive start!

Coffee is classed as positivity, right?

CONSISTENCY

Being consistent never came easy! This is a vital step to making a big change to a happier you. Without consistency, we don’t have any structural routine. Consistency builds this part of our journey. Follow through every day when it comes to eating healthy and sticking to your workout routines. Skipping one day could have a domino effect for the rest of the week, month, year(s).

Get it done!

 PATIENCE

As with many things, be patient with your body. This is one of my most difficult tips to practice because as like everyone else, I WANT RESULTS. And I want them NOW.

Eating 2 salads and going for a run around the block is not going to get you where you want to be. It might nudge you in the right direction, but don’t expect to have your end result after eating well and exercising for a week. Patience, my friend. This is the biggest key to success.

Let’s all practice these tips together. Uplift yourself and other people who you know might be on this journey too. Empower yourself and others. Reach your goals. Put in the effort. Don’t do this half-heartedly, and wear your lycra gym tights with sass!

Until next time,

Mycaila-Jade

Xxx

ECO-FRIENDLY WET WIPES BY NATY

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And just like that, we are wiping away another month of 2018, a squeaky-clean wipe to be exact, one with a choice of lightly scented, unscented, or an Aloe Vera swipe of pure hygiene. If you’re struggling to choose, let me take you down the road of eco-friendly baby wipes and explain just how happy they could make your baby’s bottom, along with a few other uses for your everyday family wipe.

Our family have been using these wipes for a couple of months, and so far, our daughter has come out with a squeaky clean, irritant free beeeehind, while being super kind to mother nature and her planet.

Below is the range that Eco by Naty have to offer. They’re all sensitive towards our little ones skin and are both unscented and lightly scented. These wipes smell fresh, are gentle and have the softest texture!

Naty baby wipes are fully biodegradable, which leaves us mums with a happy heart and our children with happy bums! They don’t contain any harmful chemicals, are 98.5% water, totally chlorine free and perfume free (besides the lightly scented wipes, which has a SLIGHT but almost minimal fragrance) and are “OK Biobased“. An added bonus besides being made from 100% natural and renewable material is that these wipes are also cruelty free! Always a winner in my books!

I have found that these wipes are quite a bit thicker than the other brands that we have tried in the past. I much rather prefer the thickness because they almost seem more absorbent and the actual wipe folds out into quite a big size. That may sound silly, but when you’re changing an explosive situation, you might find yourself counting your lucky stars because you have a bigger wipe to work with.

Being a young mum, it has become a motherly desire to lesson our environmental footprint by using greener products to better our daughters future. We go through nappies and wet wipes like it’s nobody’s business, which is why we decided to switch to eco friendlier products.

I have also found a few other great uses for these wipes, which you can try too. Besides for our daughter, these wipes also come in handy with removing make up which is super gentle on the skin and doesn’t burn, cleaning around the house, cleaning Harpers toys, cleaning our kitchen bin, food waste bucket and the inside of our recycling bin pod, and can also be used as a toilet paper substitute because Naty have FLUSHABLE wipes too! How exciting and convenient for all the potty training mums out there – we’re not at that stage just yet! These flushable wipes also come in handy if you find yourself sitting on the bog with an empty toilet roll staring at you in your face (thanks, kids AND husband!). Always keep a spare pack of these in the bathroom to spare yourself havoc and potential family fueds!

Thanks so much Naty, for being kind to our planets, our baby and from saving us from embarrassing bog experiences!

P.S You can find Naty wipes on the shelves of Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose for around £1.80 for 56 wipes, or online at Amazon and plenty of others.

Until next time and happy wiping,

Mycaila Jade and baby

xxx

5 THINGS THAT I HAVE LEARNED SINCE BECOMING A MUM

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What? I’m a mum?

YES! This still doesn’t feel real. I have a TINY human. A little baby. My own darling angel.

Before becoming a mum, I had my own idea of what I thought motherhood would possibly be like. In reality, my ideas were not far off. Not far off from 5 cups of coffee a day, explosive nappies and the appreciative ogre burps in my face after a bottle that has been gobbled.

In the short 6 months that I have been a mum, I already feel like I have learned so much. At my baby shower, I received so many presents which resulted in constant babble of “what’s this for?”, “How do you use this?”, “Where does this go?

Along with that went the thought pattern of “Am I actually about to birth an offspring?”

It seems I’ve come a long way since then. My daughter is 6 months old and going strong. Mummy is also going strong, thanks to Nespresso in the mornings and wine at night! (just kidding – I’m still trying to lose the baby weight!)

Motherhood is an adjustment. More of an adjustment than my jean size since giving birth, but hey, that’s one of life’s curve balls – literally.

Here is what I’ve learned since becoming a mum:

Multitasking

Becoming a multitasking queen should be a skilled point on your CV after becoming a mum. Bottle in one hand, coffee in the other. Coffee because we have to keep ourselves going. Bottle because screaming hungry baby. Either way, I’d consider this an almost win-win sitch.

Patience

If ever you considered becoming a meditating Buda, now is the time. Without patience, you aren’t getting anywhere, pal. Those screams and cries of not knowing what our kid wants can be enough to drive us up the wall. Especially when we have tried every method to calm the poor buggas. It’s a total moment of “OMG, am I a bad mum? Does this little human even like me? All it does is cry. What do I do with it?”

 Motherhood comes with chores

If you thought your chores were over since being a teen, you’re wrong. I’m talking about sterilising bottles, measuring formula portions, nappies, packing baby’s bag, the copious amounts of extra baggage required to pack and unpack in the car when going out – the list is never ending. We have a whole extra human to look after besides ourselves. It’s funny how a baby requires more than an adult to just pop down to the shops. Thank heavens for dads and other helping hands us mums have.

 Sky rocketing stress level

Those moments featuring your screaming child in the back of the car on the highway, like is she going to die or explode from screaming that loudly? Because my head sure is! My favourite is when feral moments like these happen on highways, and you can do NOTHING about it!

You can never take enough photos – of the same thing.

Buying extra cloud storage is a must with our offspring. Don’t you find it weird how we all take photos of the SAME THING. We want to capture every moment, every second, every memory. It’s human nature. It’s also human nature to have a complete wobbly when deleting “the same” pictures to free up some space.

Realising that there’s no instruction manual when it comes to parenting is a scary revelation. But at the same time, it’s not. It means you can parent however you want. I definitely have so much more to learn through motherhood. These are only a few highlights that have stuck out to me.

The best thing, amongst all of these is the rewards of smiles, gurgles, cuddles and affection we get from our little ones. All the joy in the world is reflected through those little gummy smiles from our babies.

To all the mums reading this, you’re doing a frikkin fabulous job!

Until next time,

Mycaila Jade

xxx

LEARNING TO LOVE YOUR CHANGING BODY THROUGH PREGNANCY

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Pregnancy can be tough at times. Every experience is different, which is what makes your journey so unique. If it were all the same, our experiences wouldn’t be our own. As with many things, pregnancy comes with plenty of ups and downs, and well sometimes, they can get the better of us. Other times, we just have to keep our head held high and keep on cruising.

Pregnancy is not the time to be harsh on yourself with your change of appearance. Your newly found shape is something that speaks so much more than what any handful of words could ever amount to. Your new shape is the reality of what your body is capable of doing.

There’s a teeny – tiny bump there!

Sometimes, it’s not just your tummy that grows. Sometimes it’s everything else in between that you might find escalating in size too. I sure am experiencing this. Yes, there are the odd few women who are lucky enough to hardly gain much more than what they should, and this is okay, they are beautiful too, but for the majority of us, we can end up gaining a lot more than what we bargained for. Is there anything wrong with this? No. Should we be ashamed? No.

Pregnancy is a time when we are supposed to feel more beautiful than ever, and so we should! It’s a time during which we are meant to GLOW! We are meant to shine bright and radiate nothing but happiness and new life.

Don’t sacrifice your pregnancy experience by worrying about what you look like. Don’t wish your pregnancy away because you want to be back to your pre preggy weight. Weight is just a number. Embrace your new shape. Show it off. Make people wish that they could be as confident as you are, belly and all. You’re glowing for not one, but two humans. Let your stretch marks appear, and your butt get bigger. Enjoy your feet being swollen and your cheeks looking chubbier. It’s all part of the experience.

Loving the bump unconditionally!

Don’t upset yourself because your stretchy leggings no longer fit. It’s okay, we’ve all been there. Some of us are still going through it, some of us might only be starting it, but at the end of the day, our bodies are OUR bodies. They respond to how WE treat them. If you look after your body and treat her properly, in turn, she will look after you. She will grow and nurture your sprouting bean.

Fill your body up with appreciation and love. Respect your body. Don’t think of your body as ugly, or too fat. You are growing another human. That is a gift. Some people aren’t able to even experience what your body is capable of doing. It’s some peoples biggest wish and dream to be able to nurture and grow their own baby. Appreciate what your body can do.

As women, our bodies are capable of absolute magic. Your tummy grows to make space for your beautiful bundle. We feed, protect and are able to GROW an actual human being over 9 months – in our TUMMIES of all places. We then give birth and bring our little humans into the world, only for our bodies to heal all by themselves and to do it all over again, if you choose. Don’t let something as small as your weight define your comfort around people while you’re pregnant. Something so miniscule in comparison to what our bodies are doing is not worth the emotions of being upset about something like our physical appearance.

 

The smallest 15 week bump!

Having a positive body image while you’re pregnant is important. We are, after all, the creators of nurturing new life, and our bodies are possibly one of the most incredible creations to walk the planet. Not to mention the cute little baby you have growing bigger day by day.

Give yourself a break. Show yourself some love. And enjoy your own personal experience.

Until next time,

Mycaila – Jade & baby

xxx

NATY NAPPIES – THE ECO FRIENDLY WAY!

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Changing nappies is already a feral situation itself, stinky ones, wet ones… you name it! As much as we wish they’d change themselves, somebody’s got to do it, and it has to be done. The first time my husband changed a nappy was in the hospital room, after Harper was born. He had doctors’ gloves on and was practically pegging his nose with an overload of scrunched up facial expressions that even I didn’t know he could make. Fast forward 6 months, and he has come a long way since then. Now he changes nappies with a smile on his face, no gloves, and talks Harper though what he is doing.What a champ! Mums – who else’s hubbies have excelled in the nappy changing department?

Our beautiful girl looking out the window in her Naty nappy! As happy as a daisy!

As parents, myself and Robbie have decided to really give recycling and eco-friendly living a go! Not to the point of being complete hippies (FYI there’s nothing wrong with hippies), but to the point of living as eco-friendly and waste friendly as possible for our planet. I suppose these things are highlighted a bit more when you have a little one and think about all the plastic waste for their future.

Besides our own recycling methods at home, using our own cotton shopping bags and trying to find package free food (which is super difficult), we’ve chosen to go the eco-friendly route when it comes to Harpers nappies. Being friendly to our baby’s bottom while showing our planet care and love seem to go hand in hand with our new discovery of Naty nappies.

Naty nappies have a super comfy fit, with 2 stretchy clasps. There’s a fair amount of “give” with being stretchy enough to get around little fat rolls!

These eco-friendly nappies are made from corn based film– YES, CORN! They don’t have any harmful chemicals, chlorine or plastics in the materials used, and are of course naturally breathable.

When we first used Naty, I was a little hesitant to see just how absorbent the nappies were. Using a nappy with a vegetable based film really did sound like a long shot at first, but we were really surprised, relieved and impressed all at the same time. They have proven to be super absorbent even during a full night’s sleep, through wood pulp being their main absorbent material. YES, wood pulp! I did a bit more research and found that they also use compost tissue and sugarcane material. Could this nappy get any better?


With the number of nappies that all of our little ones go through in one day, it only makes sense to try and be as eco-friendly as possible. These daily numbers add up over the months and years. Knowing that these nappies aren’t fragranced or bleached like many of the other brands also leaves us as parents with a happier heart, knowing that our baby girls skin is getting the best care through one less harmful product. P.S this could be your heart too!

Something else that really stood out for me is that these nappies help prevent nappy rash, by being naturally breathable through the natural corn starch film, unlike the plastic in most other nappies. Naty nappies are also biodegradable and 100% GMO free. They have the CUTEST little pattern of an outline of a flower on a white background and are impressively soft – almost as soft as Harpers bum!

Such a beautiful, delicate design!

These nappies are more expensive than your average brand, but I believe that there is no price worse than what our planet will pay down the line, if we as individuals don’t try and practice the smallest daily changes where possible.

Below are the registered certifications that Naty has:

  

The packaging and aesthetics of this brand is crisp clean and FRESH! I am so happy that we discovered these nappies! These really are helping us as a family take one step in the right direction with living an eco friendly and less waste lifestyle as best we can!

Until next time,

Mycaila – Jade and Harper,

XXX

FITNESS UPDATE: MY POSTPARTUM WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY JANUARY 2018

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It’s been an entire month since kicking my bottom into gear and getting stuck into my postpartum weight loss journey. I have started this journey at the heaviest that I have EVER been and feeling like a rather large sack of potatoes, weighing in at 107.8kg after Harper was born in August 2017. Yikes!

With all the fluid retention, baby, and everything else that goes along with pregnancy gone, my weight dropped down to 99.8kg, leaving me feeling very frumpy and wobbly with a bit of extra cushioning.

I’m a girl who used to frolic about in crop tops and high wasted jeans, but I’ve since traded that for leggings and baggy cover ups, which I keep reminding myself is only TEMPORARY, until I get to where I want to be.

At the start of this journey, I reminded myself that I have done this before. I have been in this exact place of wanting to lose 30kg, and that I will get myself to where I want to be AGAIN, but this time with a bit more patience.

I was completely aware that I had put on weight while I was pregnant, but at the same time, I was also in denial because I didn’t want to ACCEPT what needed to be done to get myself to where I WANT TO BE. The thought of being super healthy and exercising all the time for the next year just seemed exhausting and difficult to do with a baby. Talk about an EXCUSE of note!

This, my friends was an example of my demotivated attitude, BEFORE I had even tried to get myself going. This is also an example of previously setting myself goals and unrealistic expectations to reach before I was pregnant which I failed at a few times. Setting these unrealistic goals and failing at them created a dark space towards my attitude for what I wanted to achieve because I associated my weight loss aspirations with failure and not being able to achieve this. Not the healthies mind-set, now was it?

I try and add my 10kg sandbag to one of my cardio sessions a week.

So, I decided to take a different approach. I started looking back at pictures of when I was in my best shape, and compared it to where I was at my heaviest. Comparing pictures of MYSELF and not someone else’s body really got me motivated, knowing that I have once been in the shape that I want to be in, with my OWN BODY, and not looking for inspiration from a fitness icons body, who might have a completely different figure to my body shape.

With my motivation now back in a place where it was about 3 years ago, I decided to give my postpartum journey a go – because I was ready!

I have started this journey with a positive outlook. Having a baby is a HUGE thing! Especially to our bodies, which REALISTICLLY isn’t going to leave you at your pre-baby weight a month after giving birth. My approach has become a lot gentler and balanced compared to my pre-baby fitness regime and so far, I am loving it!

How have I managed to keep myself going on this journey for the last month, you might wonder?

Well, I have allowed myself a little more room to breathe, and I have traded strictness for balance. Not only does it allow flexibility, but not having that huge target over my head of wanting to reach an unrealistic goal doesn’t put as much pressure on myself. Yay to realistic goals!

As for exercise, I am not diving into a hectic fitness schedule. Not because I don’t want to, but because I LITERALLY have no core strength after my C section. Boohoo! For the last month, I have focused on uphill cardio 4 times a week to try and strengthen my core. I normally try and get between 20 – 40 minutes of cardio in 4 times a week. This is normally broken up into 2 sessions a day as Harps can sometimes get restless watching me walk on a treadmill – I mean, I don’t blame her!

I was able to add weights to my arm exercises for the first time after 3 weeks of upper body strength straining! these are 5kg weights.

Combined with that, I am doing 2 to 3 sessions of bodyweight training a week of 30/40 min. These are basic and simple movements, nothing fancy. I am not doing any direct core exercises yet. I am still trying to figure out where to begin with that. My legs were killing me after my first few sessions, which made me realise how unfit I am. These simple exercises which are my best achievements now, were once my warm up. This motivates me to get myself back to where I once was.

Being a newbie in the land of mumming, I’m learning that patience is key to wanting to achieve my weight loss goal and that I don’t have the freedom that I once had to exercise whenever my heart desires. My exercising schedule has to fit in with Harpers, which can sometimes be a little tricky. I am grateful to be able to exercise at home, and to be able to just put harps on her play mat or bouncy chair in front of me while I get all sweaty.

I was also able to add 5kg weights to one of my leg workouts last month!

 

JANUARY’S WEIGHT LOSS TOTAL

 I weigh myself every Saturday morning in order to eliminate the temptation of wanting to eat take out on a Friday (because let’s face it, that’s what we love weekends for). I know that there are so many pros and cons to weighing yourself, but I will be doing this until I have dropped around 20kg. After that, when I start looking into rebuilding my muscle mass, I’ll be going by measurements only.

This month, I have lost a total of 4.85kg, and I am super proud of myself. It’s been difficult, but I have been consistent. I have had bad days, but those put together with the good ones have got me this far.

I took measurements at the beginning of January and again in Feb to compare my results. I was in for quite a surprise when I realised just how many cm I’d lost in total.

Left – 02 January 2018 Right – 06 February 2018 A very SMALL difference in progress, which I am happy with!

The main difference was my postpartum pouch that hangs under my belly button -lovely visual, I know. This pouch has gone down -7 cm in a month, -3cm on my butt, and -5.5cm on my waist.

Left – 02 January 2018 Right – 06 February 2018 A very SMALL difference in progress, which I am happy with!

The purpose of this monthly weight loss blog series is not to be sassy with a “Look at me, I lost weight. I’m so fabulous” attitude, but it is to hopefully motivate some of you to also hop on this goal reaching wavelength and join me with pushing through workouts that you thought you couldn’t do, to feel yourself get stronger with each workout, to control your meals and learn how to indulge in smaller portions and to just smash one goal at a time.

I am super excited to compare my results at the end of Feb and to see where I’ll be.

Here’s to reaching our goals one day at a time!

Stay tuned for monthly weight loss updates at the end of each month.

Until next time,

Mycaila-Jade

XXX