Motherhood… You have my deepest respect! Before giving birth to Clara, I was honestly a bit tired of parents telling me, that I needed to rest a lot, because I wouldn’t get any rest the next 18 years! Obviously they were joking – but there was some truth in it! Because… in spite of this amazing and overwhelming love, that I have for my daughter, it is actually pretty hard being a new mum! I can’t count the amount of times, I have said to Frenchie “Thank God, that we didn’t have twins! I don’t know how twin-parents do it!” 

Clara is now 6-7 weeks – and she has grown so much already!  I can’t believe how time flies in good company! 

There are many do’s and don’ts in “Newborn-land” – and as rookie parents it can be quite overwhelming listening to all the advice out there. We have chosen to let Clara sleep on her tummy from time to time, because she suffers from colic – and she loves lying like this. I do however recommend to keep a strict eye on baby, when she sleeps in this position! (It’s not hard to see, who Clara looks like, is it?)

The best cure for tiredness (besides sleeping) is taking a walk in the beautiful surroundings of Kensington

So what else is new in our little home?  Well, I sometimes find it quite hard to sleep, when Clara sleeps (and not when I need it).  At the beginning this resulted in me looking and feeling like a zombie! “A baby doesn’t come with a manual”, my mother wisely said to me – and boy, she was right! Every time Clara has a “quiet” night, Frenchie and I agree, that her days with colic must be over.. but no! Luckily I have support from family and friends – and I am not afraid to ask for help! At first I felt slightly inadequate as a mum asking for a life-line, but I have realised, that it is completely normal not to be 100% super-mum all of the time!  You can only be a super-mum if you have the energy – and sometimes us mums simply need to recharge. So lets recharge and go for a walk in sunny Kensington and forget about the dirty laundry…

This is Holland Park – The Royal Borough’s largest park with 22.5 hectares of gardens, children’s play facilities, sports areas, a cafeteria and lots of woodland with wildlife. Clara´s pram is a Silver Cross Wayfarer. We chose this model because it is the smart choice, when you live in the city – I love the compact pram and pushchair system! 

If you ever visit Holland Park it is a must to stop by the beautiful Kyoto Garden – a Japanese garden donated by the Chamber of Commerce of Kyoto in 1991 (If you are lucky you might meet some of the friendly(ish) peacocks living here. They are so amazing to look at, but very, very noisy!) 

My mini-carrier from Babybjörn has certainly made my life easier! Sometimes you simply NEED to use your hands and give your poor arms a break from carrying an ever-growing baby! (We have both carriers from Babybjörn, but the very popular Carrier One is a bit too big for Clara for the time being)

Another precious moment with Clara all snuggled up on my chest! The mini-carrier is perfect for the first months when your baby needs lots of closeness around the clock. I was a bit worried, that it would be difficult to get her “in and out” of it, but it is SO easy! With just a few clicks the entire front section is unfastened and ready for me to lift out my sleeping baby

Clara is slowly getting to know South Kensington. This is Redcliffe Garden Square. A lovely square for relaxation and a small playground. At the background you can catch a glimpse of St Luke’s Church 

Brompton Cemetery is very close to where we live. Before moving to London, I was never a big fan of “running” around in cemeteries, but this place has become a favourite place of mine to take little walks with Clara (I am still healing from my C-section, so I like hanging out, where it is not too busy! Here it is mostly me, Clara, a few ghosts – and the many squirrels)

Clara seems to like being here too!

Brompton Cemetery is one of London’s Magnificent Seven garden cemeteries. It combines monuments, trees and wildlife, together with 35,000 gravestones, stoned arcades, catacombs and a chapel. The cemetery is the resting place of a number of well-known people. Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, eighteenth-century gentleman boxer John Jackson, and cricket champion John Wisden are all buried here. (Bonus-info: If you find some of the names on the gravestones familiar, it might be because local children’s writer, Beatrix Potter, was inspired with names for some of her characters at this place)

Beautiful… Isn’t it? 

When I am not feeling too tired, I like to take Clara for a longer stroll at King’s Road in Chelsea. There are SO many great shops in this area – and lovely cafes and restaurants! Here I am at Duke of York Square, home to one of London’s best artisan food markets, and the iconic Saatchi Gallery 

Daddy and Clara having a rest in front of Saatchi Gallery. This photo is taken a few weeks ago… I can’t believe how tiny she looks! They grow so fast, don’t they?

To mention just a few some of my favourite stores here: Taschen: Super trendy store with amazing art, architecture, design, travel and photography books. Joseph: I am a big fan of the classic design and soft cashmere blouses. Trotters: Stylish and high quality children’s wear. (You can also have your little one’s hair cut in here. The child is seated in front of our beautiful aquarium full of tropical fish while a hairdresser specialised in cutting children’s hair, will use all her skills and techniques to make it a fun experience – I love it! For the food-lovers I recommend Parisian all-day cafe Colbert and sophisticated The Ivy for celebrity spotting. There are also plenty of pubs and more down-to-earth places to enjoy a drink and a bite to eat

I hope you have enjoyed the snapshots taken around in Kensington. We have SO many more places to visit, but as my doctor has advised me to take it slowly after my C-section, our trips remain nice and short for now 

Reminder to myself! Don’t forget that recharging is also about taking cosy breaks at home… I particularly love the heart to heart baby-hugs! Words can not describe, how I feel holding Clara close to me. She truly fills a place in my heart, that I never really knew was empty (My beautiful ring is a “push”-present from Clara and Frenchie)

Coming up within the next couple of months: Exciting trips with Frenchie and Clara around in Europe, delicious foodie adventures (how I miss them), a big announcement regarding the UK Blog Awards 2019 – and of course more fun babystuff

Have a lovely, sunny Sunday!

X Louise