If you're reading this, welcome! You have found your way to my little corner of the internet. For anyone who doesn't know me, I'm Ashleigh, 24 from Glasgow in Scotland where I live with my Fiancé Fraser & our Shar Pei dog, Lola. We have a little girl Ella who is 18 months & are expecting a baby boy in February.
I started an Instagram account over a year ago now when Ella was around 3 months old. It began pretty organically, I set the account up initially because contrary to my initial plans I'd become 'one of those mums' who constantly posted pictures of their baby on social media. For me, that's not a problem at all, the more the merrier I say! But I couldn't help feeling like I was bombarding everyone with photos of Ella.
In a bid to have all of her photos in a timeline format, I decided to sign up to a brand new Instagram account where I could document her development in on a 'guilt-free' platform. Don't get me wrong, despite doing this I couldn't help but still share photos on my personal accounts but the volume was significantly less!
From there it grew into something of a baby fashion account where I would post outfit of the day style photos like those you would see from fashion bloggers. It was all a bit of fun and I started to chat to other mums who were doing similar things, the sense of community was so lovely. I was often asked where many of Ella's clothing items were from so I started to tag the relevant stores in the photos. Before long I was offered brand representative positions for Ella with a number of online stores. We were delighted! A little hobby that was simply a mummy & daughter playing dress up was turning into something that was paying a little dividend too. It was a win-win situation & so long as Ella was happy to have her photo taken, I was happy to continue.
After such a long time on Instagram, I wanted to branch into other platforms like a blog and YouTube channel. I love watching vlogs, hauls, reviews & tutorials on YouTube so I took inspiration from there and decided to take the plunge! Admittedly, I was expecting it to be one of the most nerve wracking things I'd done, but I think once you become a parent you seem to adopt this care-free attitude and the opinions of other people no longer become your self-validation. So with this in mind I filmed by first video. The only way I can describe the whole experience was 'odd'. I felt so strange speaking to a camera lens, well, that would have been the case if I could stop getting so distracted by the viewfinder since I pretty much watched myself the entire 1st video. Fourth video in and I think I can see a steady improvement already!
Throughout the time I've have reviewed many products, clothing companies and much more. We are just your average young family, making mistakes & learning as we go ... because let's be honest - it's probably the best way! My intention is to recommend products that I can't live without and be honest enough to say things I'd steer clear of 2nd time around. Particularly when you're shopping for your first baby, it's so easy to get sucked into all of the gimmicks and added extras that you just don't need!
My first year of motherhood has taught me many things. The biggest lesson of all is how much time I used to waste! Long gone are the days of hour long showers and taking until lunchtime to perfect my make-up. Trips to the toilet is often with the company of tiny toes & no morsel of food makes its way to my mouth without a little voice exclaiming 'please, thank you!..' followed by a presumptuous open hand as she patiently waits for you to practice what you preach and share.
I'm looking forward to sharing the next chapter in this crazy journey that is parenthood. Having 'two under two' is going to make for some comedic viewing I can tell! I can't say I'm going to be an expert. I'm not the 'eco-mum' or the 'routine-mum' or the 'everything-organic-mum' but I'm going to try and be the best mum I can be to these two little monsters (well, one & the other is half baked) and hopefully I can keep my sanity along the way...
I started an Instagram account over a year ago now when Ella was around 3 months old. It began pretty organically, I set the account up initially because contrary to my initial plans I'd become 'one of those mums' who constantly posted pictures of their baby on social media. For me, that's not a problem at all, the more the merrier I say! But I couldn't help feeling like I was bombarding everyone with photos of Ella.
From there it grew into something of a baby fashion account where I would post outfit of the day style photos like those you would see from fashion bloggers. It was all a bit of fun and I started to chat to other mums who were doing similar things, the sense of community was so lovely. I was often asked where many of Ella's clothing items were from so I started to tag the relevant stores in the photos. Before long I was offered brand representative positions for Ella with a number of online stores. We were delighted! A little hobby that was simply a mummy & daughter playing dress up was turning into something that was paying a little dividend too. It was a win-win situation & so long as Ella was happy to have her photo taken, I was happy to continue.
After such a long time on Instagram, I wanted to branch into other platforms like a blog and YouTube channel. I love watching vlogs, hauls, reviews & tutorials on YouTube so I took inspiration from there and decided to take the plunge! Admittedly, I was expecting it to be one of the most nerve wracking things I'd done, but I think once you become a parent you seem to adopt this care-free attitude and the opinions of other people no longer become your self-validation. So with this in mind I filmed by first video. The only way I can describe the whole experience was 'odd'. I felt so strange speaking to a camera lens, well, that would have been the case if I could stop getting so distracted by the viewfinder since I pretty much watched myself the entire 1st video. Fourth video in and I think I can see a steady improvement already!
Throughout the time I've have reviewed many products, clothing companies and much more. We are just your average young family, making mistakes & learning as we go ... because let's be honest - it's probably the best way! My intention is to recommend products that I can't live without and be honest enough to say things I'd steer clear of 2nd time around. Particularly when you're shopping for your first baby, it's so easy to get sucked into all of the gimmicks and added extras that you just don't need!
My first year of motherhood has taught me many things. The biggest lesson of all is how much time I used to waste! Long gone are the days of hour long showers and taking until lunchtime to perfect my make-up. Trips to the toilet is often with the company of tiny toes & no morsel of food makes its way to my mouth without a little voice exclaiming 'please, thank you!..' followed by a presumptuous open hand as she patiently waits for you to practice what you preach and share.
I'm looking forward to sharing the next chapter in this crazy journey that is parenthood. Having 'two under two' is going to make for some comedic viewing I can tell! I can't say I'm going to be an expert. I'm not the 'eco-mum' or the 'routine-mum' or the 'everything-organic-mum' but I'm going to try and be the best mum I can be to these two little monsters (well, one & the other is half baked) and hopefully I can keep my sanity along the way...
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