• About
  • Pregnancy + Parenting
  • Work, ‘Success’ + Being a Boss
  • Life etc
  • Follow Me on Instagram
  • Contact

CAN WE PLEASE STOP OVER-SERVICING IN WORK + IN LIFE?

I Want To Be The One To Walk In The Sun (Notes on Fun)

When Bad Holidays Happen to Good People: A Survival Guide

A Seth Godin Crush + Focusing On ‘Your People’

IS HOME WHERE THE HEART IS? THOUGHTS ON THE BEST PLACE TO BRING UP KIDS

When Bad Holidays Happen to Good People: A Survival Guide

02/08/19

Ted’s Birth Story + The ‘Problem’ With Hypnobirthing

(Note: I first wrote this post about 18 months ago, calling it ‘the problem with hypnobirthing’, because I hadn’t intended for it to be a birth story – more a look at how hypnobirthing has limitations within the NHS maternity system. I didn’t put it live sooner because I think I felt there was more to say on the matter of birth and choices and…

Read More

0 comments so far.
Share:
09/07/19

Life Update – July 2019

There’s a chance this will be the last monthly update I write before Baby 2 makes his or her appearance. Flippin’ heck. Although I’m probably being…optimistic? Ted was of course very ‘late’, and I’m assuming we’ll have a similar wait for Baby 2. I think I’ve written before about the pressure I felt last time at hitting 40 weeks…and 41 weeks….and 42 weeks. It’s bloomin’…

Read More

0 comments so far.
Share:
08/07/19

Breastfeeding + Me (some thoughts + advice)

Almost every post I write about parenting mentions how crazily underprepared I felt for Ted’s arrival. So apologies for the repetition, but it’s true, and the matter of breastfeeding was just one area that made me feel like the most incompetent person on Earth; that everything I’d ever known or learned or done before that point was insignificant. Never mind that I’d moved to the…

Read More

0 comments so far.
Share:
27/06/19

A Tour of Ted’s Room (and thoughts on being underprepared for baby 2)

If I let myself, I could probably feel a lot of mum guilt over the lack of planning and preparation we’ve so far undertaken ahead of Baby 2’s arrival. I’ve harped on previously about how underprepared I was, in many respects, for Ted. But I suppose (hope?) all new parents feel that way; you CAN’T be prepared for parenthood. Not really. I did try though,…

Read More

0 comments so far.
Share:
18/06/19

I Want To Be The One To Walk In The Sun (notes on fun)

The other Friday night, I was cleaning up after making Ted’s tea. ROCK ‘N’ ROLL. On the kitchen radio (Radio 2, obviously) was Sara Cox’s Friday request show. Have you heard it? Sara and the majority of the callers are always very excited for the weekend ahead, and the callers tell Sara about their plans, which often involve camping and drinking prosecco. I half-enjoy listening…

Read More

0 comments so far.
Share:
03/06/19

Life Update – June 2019

Flaming June. Isn’t that the saying? I can currently only hear Alf Stewart from Home and Away and his ‘flaming galahs’ in my head, but I think June is meant to flame as much as Alf’s birds. At the moment I flit between wanting a summer as glorious as last year’s, and very much not. Extreme heat and late pregnancy are not a match made…

Read More

0 comments so far.
Share:
03/06/19

My Pregnancy Style Essentials (Keeping Mat-Wear to a Minimum)

When I was about eight months pregnant with Ted, I received a lovely compliment from a lady I was working with, who told me it was great that I’d managed to keep my own style during pregnancy. At least, I think it was a compliment, assuming she didn’t think my dress sense was totally horrendous. (“I always thought you looked like you got dressed in…

Read More

0 comments so far.
Share:
28/05/19

Is Home Where The Heart Is? Thoughts On The Best Place To Bring Up Kids

It’s been almost seven years since I moved from Australia back home to England, and I probably think about Sydney daily, even though I lived there for less than three years. Isn’t it meant to take half the length of time to recover from a relationship after it ends? In other words: get a grip, lady. I shouldn’t STILL be pining for my lost Aussie…

Read More

0 comments so far.
Share:
14/05/19

When Bad Holidays Happen To Good People: A Survival Guide

Holidays. We put so much expectation on them, don’t we? And it’s understandable: often, we’ve saved up and looked forward to our little getaway for one heck of a long time. And then the day arrives for us to pack the car up / jump in a taxi to the airport (wahoooo, best feeling!) / board a train etc, and then….our end destination doesn’t quite…

Read More

0 comments so far.
Share:
06/05/19

Life Update – May 2019

I can’t help getting…maudlin? sentimental?….when writing these life updates. They are a monthly reminder of how quickly time passes, of how quickly life passes – not that I really need a reminder. The changes in Ted from month to month, week to week, day to day mean that it is right there in front of me, constantly; it’s a joy and a massive, bittersweet privilege…

Read More

0 comments so far.
Share:
27/04/19

Can We Please Stop ‘Over-Servicing’ In Work & In Life?

This post was originally going to be called ‘Lessons Learned From Being Fired By A Client After Having Ted’. (I’ve got a real knack for snappy titles, I know.) I was fired by the aforementioned client about this time last year, something I was reminded of the other day when writing an article for another website – all about trying to keep a business going…

Read More

0 comments so far.
Share:
19/04/19

Ted’s Food Diary & A Ridiculously Easy Rice Bake Recipe

bowl of oats

Ted has always been a pretty good, unfussy eater. Until recently. At the start, we mainly did baby-led weaning, and he’d devour broccoli like I devour pizza (and biscuits, and frozen yoghurt, and cheese & onion Walkers….). I was quite smug. Ted certainly wouldn’t eat everything; I remember faffing about making various BLW recipes I found on t’internet, including one that involved blending chicken mince…

Read More

0 comments so far.
Share:
14/04/19

2019: A First Quarter Review

So, here we are, more than a quarter of the way through 2019 already. Blimey. At the risk of this post being ever-so-slightly self-indulgent, I’m revisiting something I wrote at the end of last year, which was all about what I’d learned, work-wise, in the previous 12 months and what I hoped to take from those learnings into 2019. No-one gives you appraisals or reviews…

Read More

0 comments so far.
Share:
OLDER POSTS

Subscribe to Monday Mail! Never miss a blog post + get resources for success, your way

Welcome!

Welcome!

Hello, I'm Laura. I write about parenting, life, style, building a business and finding success on your own terms.

You'll find plenty here to get your teeth into. (Useless pun very much intended...) X

LET’S CONNECT

  • E-mail
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Search the site

follow me on Instagram

thelauraod

Instagram post 2182712277270370623_6951707719 The divine Ms M. Brightening up photos of wheelie bins since summer 2019 😍
⁣
(Hello! It’s been a while, again... most days our achievements consist of getting dressed and... sometimes not much else, and there’s never time left for faffing about on social media. We’re also navigating our old pal sleep deprivation and then there was a horrible episode a fortnight ago, when poor little Martha was hospitalised with bronchiolitis. She’s much better now. 🙏🙏🙏 So bloody grateful for the wonderful nurses who looked after us and that we could leave after 4 nights...I don’t know how parents of very poorly babies get through it. Heroes.💔💔💔💪😘❤️❤️ I’m full of Friday love today... might even stay up past 8pm tonight, wahoo, watch an episode of First Dates and get large cheesy chips with my takeaway, sod it. Living the dream.)⁣
⁣
#mumlife #cheesycheesychipsmmmmm #savethenhs #putyourwheeliebinsawayyouslovensyoureruiningmypic #ig_motherhood #our_everyday_moments #heybloggers #ukparentblogger #writersofig #mumblogger #parentbloggeruk
Instagram post 2134378965909350953_6951707719 Me and my gal ❤️⁣
⁣
⁣
#babylove #motherhoodunplugged #getintheframemama #motherhoodinspired #feelgoodmotherhood #momentsofmine #documentyourdays #motherhood_squares #heybloggers #ukparentblogger #writersofig #pbloggersuk #mumbloggersuk #mumlife⁣
Instagram post 2130537988903839421_6951707719 Hello! Haven’t been on here in a while, I’m sure you’ve noticed 🤣. Partly because I’ve just been stationed on my non-Instagram-worthy settee feeding Martha and plying Ted with chocolate and satsumas (balance!😇). And partly because my brain is a sleep-deprived husk these days - it manages to follow the plots on Line of Duty (finally watching it! so good!) but there’s nowt left for getting nice pictures and writing ‘witty’ social media captions anymore.(Anymore???!!!)⁣
⁣
But anyway. A month or so ago, I wrote an article for @_underpinned magazine about ‘the class divide’ and whether it has an impact on self-employed folk as well as those in traditional work roles. Please go and have a read if it’s a topic that interests you - link on my profile. It features the fabulous Kerry from the wonderful @paperjoyuk, among others ❤️. ⁣
⁣
Is ‘class’ and your background ever something you think about when it comes to your life and where you are now??? Or have you never given it a second thought? ⁣
⁣
(Totally unrelated caption for the pic, obviously; this cliched Insta shot features some lovely blooms from my dad’s garden 💐 🌷 🌹 but you can scroll along for a little taster of the article.)⁣
⁣
#freelancemum #smallbusinessowner #smallbusinesses #selfemployedlife #selfemployed #freelance #femaleentrepreneurs #womenentrepreneurs #workfromhome #womeninbiz #freelancing #mumpreneur #cornersofmyhome #interiordetails #interiors123 #flowerstagram #mumbloggersuk #ukparentblogger #pbloggeruk #mumbloggeruk #heybloggers #pbloggersuk #ukparentingblogger #mumbloggers #writersofig #discoverunder1k #mummybloggeruk
Instagram post 2114081446931441566_6951707719 Day 1 of the three of us, done! ✅ ⁣
And yes, every minute was as idyllic as this cheesefest pic would have you believe*⁣
⁣
*possibly not 100% true⁣
⁣
⁣
#help #newbornandtoddler #toddlerlife #siblings #newborn #mumlife #honestparenting #ig_motherhood #our_everyday_moments #mumbloggersuk #parentbloggeruk #pbloggeruk #mumbloggeruk #yorkshirebloggers #heybloggers #pbloggersuk #ukparentingblogger #mumblog #mumbloggers #writersofig #30plusbloggers #discoverunder1k #mummybloggeruk #mummyblogger #mummybloggers #motherhoodthroughinstagram
Instagram post 2109003805152888979_6951707719 ⁣Hard to believe we’ve had Martha for a whole week already. She’s a dream, and I am the irritating epitome of hashtagblessed. It’s Ted though who’s been the star of this last week. He seems to be adjusting well to Martha’s arrival - even when he is trying to pat her ‘gently’ and I start to worry how robust babies’ skulls really are.🤔⁣
⁣
I get ridiculously emotional when I think about him no longer being my ‘baby’. But he’ll always be that, right? 😭😭😭⁣
⁣
(I’m cuddling Ted in this pic, not trying to throw him in the sea, btw)⁣
⁣
⁣
#getagripwoman #embarrassingmum #babyblues #shouldwegetheracrashhelmet⁣
⁣
#mumlife #honestparenting #toddlerlife #yorkshirebeaches #hornsea #littlestoriesofmylife #ig_motherhood #lifewellcaptured #treasured_childhood #our_everyday_moments #mumbloggersuk #parentbloggeruk #pbloggeruk #mumbloggeruk #heybloggers #pbloggersuk #ukparentingblogger #mumblog #mumbloggers #writersofig #discoverunder1k #mummybloggeruk #mummyblogger #mummybloggers #motherhoodthroughinstagram ⁣
Instagram post 2105394042326265619_6951707719 Here she is! Martha ❤️ Born 05.08.19 at 7.30am. 9lb 2oz. ⁣
⁣
Her arrival was a big, beautiful relief in more ways than one: a (relatively!) quick and straightforward birth after a stressful couple of weeks, when I’d been made to feel like I was putting her at risk for not agreeing to unnecessary intervention. Agh. ⁣
⁣
But anyway, this is a happy post not a rant! (Long live the NHS.)Ted’s warming to his baby sis - slowly - and I’m currently feeling far too lucky 🍀 Anyone want me to buy ‘em a scratchcard? ⁣
⁣
(My tune might change once the sleep deprivation really kicks in, and I can’t promise I won’t soon be launching Gray out of the nearest window - for not having boobs + other offences. ⁣
⁣
But for now life is 👌)⁣
⁣
#marthamydear #notasheepdogthough #babylove #hypnobirthing #hypnobirth #newbornlife #newborn #ig_motherhood #mumlife #chattycaptioncommunity #our_everyday_moments #mumbloggersuk #ukparentblogger #pbloggeruk #mumbloggeruk #yorkshirebloggers #heybloggers #pbloggersuk #ukparentingblogger #mumblog #mumbloggers #writersofig #30plusbloggers #discoverunder1k #mummybloggeruk #mummyblogger #mummybloggers #motherhoodthroughinstagram #littlestoriesofmylife #motherhoodslens
Load More…

Only Teethin

copyright © Only Teethin | BLOG DESIGN BY KOTRYNA BASS DESIGN