My dear Cara, It’s your birthday, you are 5, Cara – that’s half a decade! You are no longer the tiny baby that came in a hurry at home. Now, you’re a big brave girl venturing out into the world without me. It is both exhilarating and heartbreaking! And what a year you’ve had! Since you stepped out in to the world, we’ve learned so much about you. I feel like our bond has strengthened so much over the last 12 months. We both healed from the weaning process and you’ve become my little bestie again. How to describe you? Capable. Tactile. Fun. Loving. You’re a girly girl who loves dresses, fun hairstyles, dolls etc, but you’re not flouncy. You love rough and tumble, Alexa farts, stories, slime, and things falling off cliffs. You get super enthusiastic about the things you love. It’s very infectious! You’ve been so helpful since…

Dear Cara, Every time I write your birthday letter, I’m never lost for words. You are so full of personality and life. You are unashamedly strong, brave, and bold. It’s your 4th birthday, Cara, and we’re so happy to celebrate with you! This year, I’m remembering how we made the most of every moment in our new garden over summer – we shot water bombs, giggled and splashed in our paddling pool, and gazed at the clouds from the trampoline, exhausted from bouncing. When we’re not at home, the beach is your favourite place to be, and you’re always wearing shorts. In fact, you’re still wearing them in November! You have a real eye for choosing your own clothes and rarely let me choose your clothes or dress you. You totally own it! Sometimes we end up with some unique style choices, but they’re all your own. You still love…

Welcome back my friend. Cara is 3, and I hope you enjoy my letter to her on her third birthday. Dear Cara My sweet Little Miss Cara, how has it been only 3 years since you came into our lives? It’s gone by in a flash! You are strong, feisty, determined – you love strongly and give your absolute all to everything that you try. In the last year, we’ve seen your personality grow and your likes and dislikes become very clear. Of our 3 children, you’re definitely the strongest and most vocal! Each year I write to you with a recap of your year – the big things, and the little things too. I hope you’ll look back on my letters and smile. Maybe you’ll remember some of the things I write about now you are almost 3? Cara the brave As an introvert mum, sometimes your behaviour challenges…

Dear Cara Just like that, my baby girl is turning 2! I wrote your birth story, your 1st birthday letter, and here I am writing again as you are about to turn 2 years old. It’s my hope that you will treasure these letters when you are older. I certainly will, since it’s so easy to forget the little day to day things that bring a smile. It’s strange to think that a quarter of your life has been spent living with the threat of coronavirus looming over us, but we try to keep life as normal as we can and not scare you with talk of germs. It makes me so sad to keep you away from other children, but it would be worse to see you with coronavirus, or pass it on to your grandma. Your generation will be the best hand washers, users of sanitisers, and will…

To Cara Grace Oh Cara, how amazing your first year has been! You were born at home in a complete hurry, protesting very loudly. Your birth was one of the best moments of my life. We wished for a girl and I’d convinced myself you were a boy. I checked twice when I held you in my arms for the first time! You’re confident, gregarious, sweet, loving, and smart. Your first year has flown by and I can’t believe we’re saying goodbye to your babyhood. And you’ll be our last baby too, which makes it all the more poignant. Your little life is so precious. I love that you share songs and games with us. You always look to mummy and daddy for a game of peekaboo or clap hands. You can be quite studious, and you like to examine new things in great detail. Your favourite game at the…

I’m so excited to finally have time to share Cara’s birth story here on my blog. Her birth was a truly amazing experience, I still can’t quite believe it. I’m so proud of her, myself, and my husband for staying calm. It was a normal Wednesday and although I’d previously guessed Cara would arrive on the 14th, I woke up feeling like my baby was staying put for a while longer yet. Jonah and I went to his usual gymnastics class, had lunch, and spent the afternoon indoors playing with his wooden railway and watching TV. Around 4pm, I felt cramping that was more intense than Braxton Hicks. I was surprised at the intensity of the contractions so soon, but I remembered one of my favourite hypnobirthing affirmations. Each surge of my body brings my baby closer to me. Husband called, I lit my hypnobirthing candle and kept breathing through cooking Jonah’s…