Maternity – A Look Back on A Great Year

As my days of maternity are drawing to an end, (I start work again on 4th March), I’m beginning to look back and reminisce.

I read an article in Stylist a while back titled Power Maternity, which is all about people re-inventing themselves while on maternity.

Read the Stylist Power Maternity Article

While I may not have launched a new lucrative career this year, I have had a really special 11 months. Aside from the obvious, giving birth to a healthy, happy beautiful little boy, it’s been a time to be me again.

Ok, it’s not all been glowingly positive, there’s definitely been the lows – cleaning sweetcorn poo off the floor (sorry too much information), sobbing with pain while breastfeeding, trying to bounce a baby off to sleep on an exercise ball for hours at a time, but in addition here’s what I’ve gotten up to:

Maternity Checklist

• Launched a new blog: Foodie Mom In London

• Launched a second new blog (for baby pics): 52 Stanley Thursdays

• Started writing for the local NCT Tower Hamlets magazine

• Joined a local am dram group – I’m Jessica in the Merchant of Venice and we’re performing in March.

• Met lots of new mothers and babies at The Idea Store’s Story Time, the Museum of Docklands soft play, through my lovely antenatal NCT group and Water Babies gang

• Still kept up with freelancing for www.hot-dinners.com, www.thelondonword.com and www.julib.com

• Spent time making home-cooked food

Maternity Leave - A Time To Be Me

I have always loved meeting new people but what’s been extra special about this year is I’ve been able to meet people on my own terms, just being me. No work formalities, no one to impress or be nice to unless I want to. It’s been refreshing and I already know I’ll look back on this time with great, warm memories.

If you’re reading this and you’re just about to start maternity, I hope you have a great year. My advice is get out and about as much as possible and make the most of your time.

Now, maybe it is time to start planning baby number two after all ; )

Dishoom Shoreditch

This week I took grandma and baby to Dishoom in Shoreditch for lunch. Actually grandma took us. She paid.

Dishoom Shoreditch: What’s It Like?

Compared to the original Dishoom in Covent Garden, this is like its older, sexier big sister. The two-floored restaurant is colossal. Booth seating runs all the way alongside one wall with windows out on to Shoreditch high street, there’s more tables down by the bar as well as a downstairs and a large outdoor area which will no doubt come alive in summer.

I like this site better than the original. The fun interiors – mahogany wood lattice dividers, old Indian photos on the wall (the owners’ real family pics), burning incense and retro lamps - all take their part in conjuring up a romantic, imaginary India, that makes for a great fun setting for dinner.

Dishoom Shoreditch: Dahl & More

Although Dishoom is modelled on the Bombay cafes of yesteryear, this is obviously a more glamorous, expensive London version. I’ve been to Mumbai and I’m pretty sure the locals wouldn’t stretch to paying £4.90 for a bowl of dahl. But hey, we’re not in India, we’re in London and if you’re going to spend a fiver on a bowl of dahl, I’m pretty sure you’ll be pushed to find some better than this. It’s bloody delicious. The rich and amazingly creamy black dahl is a house speciality that’s simmered for over 24 hours. This together with a Dishoom roti is worth visiting for alone.

With this we had some tasty okra fries which were particularly good dipped in the spicy array of lime pickle condiments; a very colourful Dishoom slaw with pomegranate seeds (likey) and slices of red pepper (not so likey); and a Keema Frankie – marinated minced lamb with radish and ginger. I thought the lamb got lost a bit along with all the bread and pickled radish. Perhaps it needed spicing up a bit more or just more lamb inside?

Dishoom Shoreditch: Totally Baby Friendly

This was a great place to take Stan. We visited in the day and it was not too busy which was great. Stanley sat in a cloth, attachable baby seat on the end of the booth. It’s the first time he’d been in one of those and he had a wail of a time arching his back to look at the guys opposite upside-down, munching on slices of red pepper that I had discarded from my slaw and high fiving the baby-friendly waiter who had four kids of his own.

Damn Good Dahl

Anyone have any tips on where you can eat great dahl in London? Let me know. I’d be interested to find out where.

Visit the Dishoom website

02 52 Stanley Thursdays

Happy Thursday everybody.

Today Stanley's been causing havoc in the library:http://52stanleythursdays.tumblr.com/