I remember the endless nights when Freddie was a baby, the constant feeding and with that scrolling through my Instagram, Facebook and Twitter feeds. In hindsight this probably wasn’t the best thing to do, comparing my life to a perfect representation of what I thought parenting should be.

Forgetting that on the whole, people only post what they want you to see, hindsight is a wonderful thing and sleep deprivation really does mess with your mind.


Now a few years on, I have decluttered my feeds and unfollowed those that were not healthy for my mind and with that I came across a number of amazing parenting bloggers who show the true reality of parenthood. They aren’t Instagram filtered but instead, real and emotional and that was okay and wonderful in its own way. I recently put a poll out to my Facebook and Instagram friends asking for who inspires them but also who they can really relate too... this is the list they came up with:


The Unmumsy Mum
@theunmumsymum

Celeste Barber
I: @celestebarber * F: @officialcelestebarber * T: @celestebarber_

Hurrah for Gin
@hurrahforgin

The Learner Parent
I: @thelearnerparent * F: @samaverylearnerparent * T: @learner_parent

Selfish Mother
@selfishmother

Mum of boys and Mabel
I: @mumofboysandmabel * F: @mumboysandmabel * T: @mumofboysmabel

Man vs Baby
I & F: @manversusbaby * T: @mattcoyney

Giovanna Fletcher
@MrsGiFletcher

Stacey Solomon
@staceysolomon


Who is your favourite? Do you have anyone else you follow? We’d love to hear your
recommendations!

One of the top tips in a recent article by the NCT for taking care of yourself after having a baby is to get a breath of fresh air. This just doesn’t apply for those who have just had their baby but also for those with young children or who are pregnant too. Their advice was to go out for a short walk every day as being outdoors can help lift your mood, and it doesn’t have to be for long,

Mind also say that even five minutes in a green space can have a positive impact on someone’s mental health. We are really lucky to live in such a lovely part of the UK, with access to parks, walks and countryside just moments away. Mind’s recent article 'how can nature benefit my mental health?’ talks about these benefits of being outside:

• Help you take time out and feel more relaxed – having ‘you’ time is so important, you can get swept away with the day to day of having a newborn, working through your pregnancy or even balancing the two.
• Improve your mood, physical health, confidence and self-esteem and reduce feelings of stress or anger – there are many studies which have shown that doing physical activity can improve mental health. According to Mind , it can help with:

We’d love to see your photos of you enjoying the outdoors and hear stories about how being outside has benefited your mental health. Please email us or post on our social platforms.

The recent Time For You event was a resounding sucess! Thanks to all of your wonderful contributions we raised just under £600, all of which will go towards our free counselling service for pregnant women and new mothers in the Frome area.

Would you like to help Frome Birth Talk raise some more money for our free counselling service? Fancy organising a fundraising coffee morning? Perhaps you're feeling sporty or adventurous and feel up to running a marathon or doing a skydive??

We're always open to ideas about how to raise more funds so that we can help more mothers. Please feel free to get in touch with your suggestions.

The wonderful Suzy recently organised a coffee morning for Frome Birth Talk and raised an amazing total of £85. Look at these lovely buns donated by Brendan from The Great British Bakeoff!

We are very excited to announce that we have received funding which will allow us to plan for the future! Many thanks go to the Esmée Fairbarn Foundation, The Big Lottery Fund and Frome Town Council for their support.