MUMHOOD X BOBBI BROWN EVENT

Last Thursday 3rd, I had my first trip back to London after giving birth! It always feels soooo good going back to the City as I have so many memories from when I used to live there, it feels like my second home! I was heading up there for an event with the awesome MumHood and Bobbi Brown to celebrate the launch of their new Instant Full Cover Concealer #betterthansleep. 

Up bright and early, feeling a bit like a zombie.. My mum, Maddison and I set off at 6:30am in the morning to drive down to London. We left super early as peak time commuter traffic to London can be a total nightmare, and the last thing I wanted to do was to get caught in a traffic jam with a newborn in the car that could need feeding or do a poo explosion at any moment!! Having said that (as many mums know and swear by), the car is just amazing for sending little ones off to sleep, 5 minutes into the journey Maddison was sound asleep and stayed that way till the last 10 minutes leading up to Kings Cross. Win! So coffee in hand we set off.. god what would I do without caffeine?! I swear it's the fuel to survive motherhood!!

MumHood was set up by Pip Black & Joan Murphy, the founders of the awesome fitness studios Frame, and the event was being held at their Kings Cross branch. I absolutely LOVE and admire MumHood's classes and programmes (and I've followed them on social media for a while now,) showing mums and mums-to-be that you that you can still work out safely and effectively! (CLICK HERE TO GO TO THEIR SITE). The first part of the event was a workout class lead by Pip, suitable for pre and postnatal ladies! It was just the right amount for me to do being my first proper exercise class back since having Maddison, and you can tell it was perfectly catered for mums keeping in mind the changes that our bodies go through, especially good for me due to my split abdominals! There were no abdominal crunches needed to work your core! Boy did I feel myself working hard! And I got a good sweat on without having to jump around like a maniac doing burpees!! We worked mainly with just our bodies adding in a few resistance band exercises to really get our muscles burning and finished with a light stretch. I could feel my arms quivering and my legs felt like jelly - it had definitely been a long time since I'd had that sensation!! I remember thinking to myself when Pip said we were going to do a few Plies "oh good I can do plies!" having done sooooo many in my life for ballet.. but halfway through pulsing low in second position, my legs were killing and my thoughts soon changed to "oh shit, I can't do Plies anymore, this hurts!" haha!! I have to remind myself that having not done ANY exercise for probably the past 4 months it's going to take a few sessions to get going again!!

After the class we refuelled with some fruit, smoothies and granola snacks! Then it was time to get rid of our sweaty faces and try out Bobbi Brown's new concealer!! I am a typical girly girl and love makeup, but I'm not a beauty expert and if a professional were to look at my make up skills they'd probably tell me I'm doing everything wrong haha! I usually just stick to the same old day-to-day products and rarely venture out of the box (which is something I NEED to work on).. so it was great for me to get to try something new and learn a few tips from the Bobbi Brown girls who are all so lovely!! The new Instant Full Coverage Concealer is something I normally wouldn't go for as it's quite creamy and I usually stay away from creamy products as I just have this "thing" about looking greasy and shiny! But the girls have converted me! It definitely doesn't make you look shiny or greasy! The concealer feels lovey and light on your skin and you don't need a massive thick layer to have complete coverage EVEN on those sleepy mum eye bags!! This concealer is now in my daily essentials and I have used it everyday since!! I would highly recommend this product (and already have done to friends and family), it is perfect for us mummys that don't get much sleep with our little ones, it definitely does the job to hide that fact! It is #betterthansleep!!

I had such an amazing morning and it was great meeting so many other lovely and inspiring mummy bloggers and vloggers! There is just such an amazing motherhood community and everyone is so supportive of one another, I feel blessed to be part of it! After getting freshened and glammed up, I regrouped back up with Maddison and my mum (who had very kindly been on Grandmama duties looking after her while I was sweating it out!) and we went out to late lunch with my youngest sister, auntie and cousin! My auntie and cousin were yet to meet Maddison, so luckily we were able to coordinate and meet up in London that day! it's always so lovely getting family together!

Come 4pm we were all very much knackered! So we got back into the car and headed off home!! (and because we wanted to avoid the rush hour traffic home!) It was my second long and full on venture out with Maddison to a different city and I have to say it is getting easier! Also there is the benefit of if I were to run out of nappies, there are plenty of shops around to save the day, especially in London!! I can't wait till she's a little older and we can have more day trips out to London, and I can show her where mummy used to go to dance everyday and some of my favourite cafes and restaurants! Maybe even treat her to a bit of shopping, because lets be honest, it's hard to come to London and not shop when you've got every store imaginable around you! Plus, I do love to treat my little girl! Maybe next time I go to London we could experience getting the train for the first time with a pram? Will definitely have to have Josh with me for that one for all the lifting!

Safe to say my body felt it the next day! I felt like I'd been hit by a train, totally exhausted and my legs were so sore it hurt to even sit down on the loo! anyone else every had that feeling before?! You forget how tiring a long day out can be, especially as a mummy when you're running on less sleep then normal!! Despite being sore, I did feel good for the workout and it gave me a boost/reminder of how much I used to love training! I have felt I've lost my connection with working out after being sick with glandular fever and then pregnant.. it's been a while since I've physically felt 100% myself! It's given me more drive to keep up with my Physio exercises to help my abdominal split, but also MumHood reminded me that there ARE exercises I can do at home, that are totally safe postnatal while I'm still getting my strength back and that won't worsen my abdominals! I've just got to stick with it!

Any other mamas find they lost their mojo a little after giving birth? Any tips on finding it again? How do you cope with big and long days out with a newborn? Oh and.. GO try Bobbi Browns new concealer! You won't regret it! Love x