Month 11

What we've been up to this month...

Hello Straw Baby Club!

Hope everyone is well and enjoying this balmy September so far, lets hope this beautiful weather continues :)

As you probably all know by now, I have broken my ankle and quite frankly I’m in a terrible mood about it. It has put a stop to almost everything. Our business has had to temporary close so there is a lot of stress there, I’m frustrated because all of my plans have been scuppered and just getting off the bed is agony but most of all I am heart broken because I am just not able to parent in the same way as pre accident (I’ll talk more about this another day). So all in all I’m pretty miserable about it but wanted this week’s newsletter to be a little bit jollier so we will just gloss over my current situation.

So for this week I thought I’d share with you some of our current favourites of month 11 in the hope to share an insight into our life and maybe offer some suggestions if you are entering month 11 yourselves.

Month 11

What have we been watching?

We try to limit screen time as much as possible but sometimes it’s a very nice thing to do. Cosmo’s current favourite is Mr Benn, a blast from my past but I love watching them with him. There are a few available on YouTube.

I recently binged (without Cosmo) ‘Pop Star Academy - Katseye’ on Netflix. Made me vow to get my body moving a lot after my recovery. It blows my mind that people can move like those girls!

What have we be reading?

We recently joined our local library & signed Cosmo up to a summer reading challenge. The challenge is to borrow 6 books over the summer, not lose them! aim to read them to him, return them and get a medal. We managed 2 books before my accident so now the burden has passed over to Hugo.

Ashamedly, I haven’t read a book since Cosmo was born, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

What have we been eating?

During Month 10 Cosmo really lost his appetite, we put it mostly down to teething but it was frustrating after he had been such a good eater. I’m really not the best cook but do make the effort for our little boy. We recently discovered he loves a white sauce concoction. I sweat some leeks & onion, create a white sauce & throw in loads of veg. He loves it but is going through a stage of disliking his high chair and would much prefer to eat from the spoon whilst crawling around on the floor like a little doggy or pony.

For me, at this point, it’s anything Hugo brings upstairs for me. He is determined to help heal my bones with food so I’ve had a lot of Sardines, Rocket, Seeds & Watercress.

and snacking on?

Cosmo LOVES pickles, he would eat them all day if he were allowed, even throughout teething…

… and I recently discovered chocolate dipped almonds which I would also eat all day if I were allowed.

Favourite toy this month?

This month Cosmo has (finally) learnt to appreciate his soft toys, he now grabs his toys and blankets, pulls them to his face and giggles, it’s incredibly sweet! He also loves to put things in things and then take them straight out, he’s discovered the mixing bowls in the kitchen and likes to fill them with his wooden blocks.

Where have we been?

We took a very quick trip to Dorset for a few days to catch up with family, 6 hours in the car was not a good idea!

Biggest change we’ve noticed?

Actually so many changes this month! His crawling is so fast! Bouncing his legs when he pulls himself up to stand and drinking so much water. My favourite change by far though is the clapping. I had started to worry, I was seeing so many younger babies clapping and its really important to Hugo that Cosmo has rhythm. We were practicing but he would just stare at me and then just like that, we were watching the Artistic Swimming catch up of the Olympics and he just started clapping…and now he doesn’t stop!

What have we been listening to?

Cosmo & I have spent a lot of time listening to The Tale of Peter Rabbit. He is still far too young to understand that he is listening to a story but it’s nice to have on whilst we are playing.

Favourite outfit?

Cosmo has played his role as chief fit model for Straw Baby very well so he has mostly been living in samples this month but aside from those it is definitely his little Breton tops. The weather has been so mixed and I like to keep him in long sleeves as much as possible (he looks so grown up in short sleeves! as you can see from the image above).

Toy we are most coveting?

We are really considering a toy kitchen! They are expensive and take up a lot of space but I think he will get so much enjoyment from it. When visiting my mum, Cosmo discovered the grill door in her ovem and loved opening and closing it repeatedly. I also think it’s something we can build on over time, those pretend shopping bags and groceries are so adorable and I have very fond memories of them from my childhood. The one above is by Flexa.

Item of clothing we are most coveting (for Cosmo)?

Petit Sezanne launched yesterday and their baby cardigans are beautiful!

Item of clothing we are most coveting (for Emily)?

Needs must right now and I think i’ll be living in easy to pull over dresses for the time being. I’m not sure if its becoming a mum but the floral dresses I used to love are now making me feel quite old and I’m looking for a bit of a change up. I’m hoping to interview someone AMAZING about this shortly and I know her guidance will be invaluable.

Sleeping?

Amazingly, yes! Still Co-Sleeping (theres no chance of me getting him in and out of his cot on one leg whilst holding crutches) but thats fine by me for now.

Now I have a bit more time in one place I’m going to put a proper structure in place for this newsletter (someone please hold me accountable!) so I look forward to hopefully getting to know you all much better.

Which brings me onto the concept of pledges for this newsletter. Whilst writing this I was absolutely stopped in my tracks when an email from Substack came through to say that someone had subscribed and pledged to pay for a subscription should I turn on a payment feature. I have never been confident in my writing or in what I have to say so had never dreamt of charging for it. It was also very important to me to keep Straw Baby Club free because I started this as a way to build a community and am fully aware of how financially difficult motherhood can be! With that said, in the matter of seconds last week, I lost my ability to make money and am now slightly in panic mode. I’ve now turned on a paid subscription option to this newsletters but I promise never to withhold any content or discount codes from brands I work with or anything else that might make parenting just that little bit easier. The only difference for paid subscribers is that as a thank you for supporting me I will be offering frequent discounts to both Straw London and Straw Baby & Child products and first looks at launches.

This leads me to a project I am desperately trying to keep moving in a positive direction whilst bed bound. A little while ago I mentioned I was looking for some baby fit models for our Straw Baby sampling, the project has been a little less smoother than planned and I didn’t get a chance to get back to everyone who kindly volunteered. The collection is due to launch this week! You can follow it on instagram under @strawbabyandchild and I cannot wait to hear what you think of it. Our debut photoshoot did not go quite as I planned (blame the ankle cast) and we are currently working out how to organise and execute another one with my limited movements. We are however looking for some lovely little models to help us showcase our collections and we would love to invite Straw Baby Club babies first! Please do get in touch with babies age & a picture if you think they would be right for this project :)

Lots of love,

Emily x

Straw Baby Club