Pregnancy - and especially your first pregnancy - can be a daunting experience. As a self-certified hypochondriac, even the smallest ailment is enough to to send my worry-levels into overdrive, so as you can imagine, when 'with bump' this was a million times worse.
A lot of people keep mentioning 'success' to me lately, some kindly comment that they feel I'm successful- and while that's flattering, it's made me question how I personally deem and measure success.
It's time for the latest Wonderful Women interview, which is one of my favourite features on this blog - celebrating all the incredibly inspiring and kick-ass women out there!
I literally can't believe my baby boy, Xander turned 3 on Sunday, my charming, loveable, second born son is simply growing up too quickly and I'd like it to stop, STOP I tell you- I want him to remain my baby always, and I suppose he always will be just that, my littlest, youngest love.
I'm so incredibly proud and besotted with my boys Oliver, 5 and Alexander, 2, so this post is first and foremost for them: my darling sons, so they can one day reflect on the blog and know how loved they are and how much they enrich mine and my husband's lives.
Gillene Butterfield is an Opera Singer, who works full time for Opera North. She became a Mum in September 2014 and lives in Leeds with her husband Nick, who is also a singer.
Gillene returned to work in March this year after her maternity leave, to take on the lead role of Julie Jordan in the revival of Carousel (13-23rd May) at the Grand Theatre Leeds and on tour.
OK so let me explain, ever since I was a teenager, or a tween even (isn't that word odd?!)-when I was a tween and that term hadn't been invented (thankfully), I realised I had a bit of a lovely bond with kids, I connected with children and adored playing with them. I did play with dolls pretty late so I suppose they were an extension of that!
In 2012, Amber Vodegel and her husband John Miles founded Health & Parenting Ltd, which creates apps for pregnant women and parents with young children.
Their ambition was to set up a modern app business, which they could manage from home with a remote global team of experts.
It's a real honour to appear in a film for Kensington Mums' online Motherhood Exhibition, a place to celebrate and share honestly what motherhood means to many is key support for us all. It means we don't feel isolated and we can find voices we can relate to in this crazy world of parenting.
Simone Lanham is a mum, wife and former TV journalist. A New Zealander living in London, she owns entertainment company Incognito Artists . When elder daughter was diagnosed with autism, Simone and her husband set up the Sewell Foundation in NZ to offer information and assistance regarding biomedical and early intervention to families and practitioners treating autism.
So this morning we took the cute pictures of my toddler Alexander, just 2, in his nursery uniform, the same nursery that his older brother Oliver attended (and pre-school) and loved dearly- and we all smiled sweetly as my nerves were building...another day, another huge milestone for us all (after Oliver started school only last week)!