Since we launched Tiny Happy People back in July 2020, we鈥檝e enjoyed nothing more than hearing parenting stories from across the UK.
As we reach our first birthday, we caught up with a few mums whose baby, like Tiny Happy People, was born last July.
How has that first year been? What have they learnt about themselves? What magical moments have there been? And how have we been able to help them on their parenting journey so far?
Alex
Alex鈥檚 daughter Ada was born 17 July 2020. She鈥檚 been following Tiny Happy People since August 2020.
My parenting journey hasn鈥檛 been as I imagined it at all! We鈥檝e been incredibly restricted as to what we could do this past year and there have been little to no baby groups to go to. It鈥檚 not how I expected my maternity leave to be.
I started working from home in March 2020 and basically shielded for the second half of my pregnancy. I found seeing people when my daughter was first born really tricky but we鈥檙e slowly starting to get out and see more people.
I鈥檝e found myself to be a lot more protective of her than I ever thought I would be. I鈥檝e also discovered that a lot of the cliches such as 鈥榯hey grow up so fast鈥 that I鈥檇 previously roll my eyes at are actually true. Not that I鈥檇 ever say them to anyone else!
It鈥檚 so tricky to pick just one memory from the past year. The first time Ada had a proper giggle fit is probably one of my favourites though. She was in the bath and just wouldn鈥檛 stop laughing! Such a happy moment.
I really enjoy the weekly quiz on the Tiny Happy People Instagram. It鈥檚 always nice to learn something new and also very satisfying when you get all the answers right. I鈥檝e also got the saved and refer to it at least once a week! It鈥檚 been really helpful.
Sarah
Sarah鈥檚 son Ralph was born on 13th July 2020. She鈥檚 a recent follower of Tiny Happy People, having discovered us in the last month via Instagram.
I鈥檝e tried to focus on the positives over the last year. We鈥檝e enjoyed spending lots of time together at home and going for lots of walks in the beautiful countryside nearby. Walking has been a great opportunity to meet up with other mums and babies and meet new people through a local walking group too. Our daily walks have given the days a nice structure.
I鈥檝e been guilty in the past of taking on too much, but without the usual baby classes to attend I think it鈥檚 been an opportunity to focus on the more simple things and just enjoy the time together as much as possible. I鈥檝e found I鈥檓 much more easy-going than I thought I was, enjoying being a bit more spontaneous about what we do each day and spending loads of time together outside. The pandemic has also meant that Ralph鈥檚 dad is working from home. It鈥檚 given him the chance to see so much more of Ralph鈥檚 first year and share all the milestones with us, which has been a huge positive. There have definitely been lots of ups and downs, but I鈥檓 so glad I was able to take a year off work to enjoy bonding with our baby!
I liked the recent Instagram post on babies鈥 laughter and the weird ways to make your baby laugh. There were a few we鈥檇 discovered already, but plenty of new ones that we enjoyed trying. Ralph鈥檚 favourite is watching someone do squats, he finds it hilarious!
There have been some great ideas for simple activities to try together too. I鈥檝e loved the balance of content on Instagram, from activity ideas, to real life stories, to useful and interesting information.
Grace
Grace is mum to Wren, born 15 July 2020. She鈥檚 been following Tiny Happy People for around 10 months.
My parenting journey has been the hardest but best year of my life!
My daughter Wren arrived 11 weeks before her due date and was in hospital for 7 weeks before she came home. She came home on oxygen, which presented a lot of challenges I鈥檇 never expected to face as a new parent. It was difficult to get out and about. However, lockdown meant we weren鈥檛 missing out on much! We also moved house two months after making it home with her, so the first 6 months were a particularly tough time.
In the past few months, as restrictions have eased and Wren鈥檚 health has improved, we鈥檝e enjoyed getting out and about a bit more and joined some baby classes.
The things I expected to be hard about having a baby have seemed like a breeze compared to her early arrival and the pandemic, so it鈥檚 definitely a case of swings and roundabouts. I feel very lucky and proud of my pandemic preemie.
There have been so many magical moments in the past year 鈥 Wren鈥檚 first smile and first giggle were amazing.
But if I had to choose a favourite it would be the first time we put her to bed without being attached to any oxygen tubes or machines, which came at 7 months and 3 days old.
It鈥檚 such a simple thing that many parents might take for granted but it made a real difference to us and felt like a huge step in the right direction!
I think I found Tiny Happy People in the middle of the night when searching online for things I could do to help my daughter鈥檚 early development. Having seen that Kate Middleton was involved with the initiative, I decided to find out a bit more.
The useful thing about Tiny Happy People is that all the activity suggestions are really simple and don鈥檛 require any special equipment or additional purchases. I love this as it means that the activities are accessible to everyone and really easy to do. It鈥檚 also given me the confidence to know that a lot of what I do day-to-day, such as singing songs and chatting with Wren, is helping her development.
I鈥檝e particularly enjoyed the activity schedules with daily suggestions for different age groups and I鈥檝e tried to incorporate these activities into our week whenever I鈥檝e seen them posted on Instagram.
Get involved
If your baby also shares a birthday with Tiny Happy People, we鈥檇 love to hear about your year and how we鈥檝e been able to help you out along the way.
You can send us a message on our or pages.
