I’ve been meaning to write down my thoughts and experiences both as a record for myself but also for Imogen since I first found out I was pregnant, not least so I could show it to her when she is a teenager rebelling against her parents but so she can see what we went through & how well we meant!

I have never managed to get round to it though, and so when the Ovaltine team asked me to keep a record of life with a new baby, I leapt at the chance and it’s my New Years resolution to make time to do this – I just hope I keep it longer than the one to eat less cakes / biscuits / crisps / chocolate – anything I kept kidding myself I could get away with when pregnant and regretting now with the realisation that I need to do something to at least get back to my pre-pregnancy weight!

Imogen is nearly 12 weeks old now and the learning curve to becoming a parent is starting to even out slightly now we’re passed the initial steep incline – although still on the increase, just a slightly gentler slope! I have to keep reminding myself when we have a bad day or night how much harder it used to be and how much things have changed – it’s so easy to forget and focus on the current issues but we have made massive progress.

The greatest worry or hang up is about being a good parent – one that I guess is always there, it just manifests itself in different ways and on different topics! Leigh & I have had, and continue to have, endless discussions about what is the right way to get her to bed on time, how to encourage sleeping through the night, to breast feed or use formula, how long to let her cry for – the list goes on and I’m sure will evolve to new topics as she gets older!

The books are great for some of the basic details and top tips, but I’ve learnt to listen to all advice and then we make up our own minds! At the end of the day Imogen is her own person and we together are our own family, so we need to do what works best for all of us. When well-meaning people are telling me how I should be doing it I try to keep reminding myself of that!

Anyway, hopefully getting this all down will help me make decisions and also I would love some feedback and ideas from others on how they have dealt with the numerous challenges and issues faced every day!