I’m Nicola, 37, from County Durham. I’m a recovering travelling fanatic (mostly Asia), 90s indie music fan, and owner of about 75% Orla Kiely’s back catalogue.

Mum to two boys: RLT who was born in June 2016 and EET who was born in September 2018. My journey to get here wasn’t easy. My first pregnancy in 2015 ended in miscarriage and this is something I continue to struggle with. I was not offered any support at the time and simply focussed on having a baby in my arms to avoid dealing with the loss, but grief doesn’t quite work like that, does it? 

I’m also a cat guardian to a sassy Russian Blue, named Orla Kitty. This blog is an online journal; Something that I can look back on as a reminder of the boys’ childhoods scattered with the odd review, which kept my mind active during maternity leave.

Parenting has so far been the best thing I have ever done in my life, but also the hardest. There is no book that tells me how to deal with a toddler who is experiencing speech delay, navigating the constant worry of ‘is he going to get there in the end’, or are we dealing with something bigger? Needless to say, this has caused a lot of anxiety as does having another toddler who sees everything has something to conquer – he has admirable skills in being able to tackle anything head on – quite literally sometimes!