Rub a Dub Baby Massage

Rub a Dub Baby Massage For parents who are looking at spending some relaxing time with their baby, I offer 1:1, group and dads only baby massage sessions in your own home.

My name is Natasha and I am a qualified Baby Massage & Yoga Instructor. I am based in Trowbridge, Wiltshire and have two young children, Alexander and Sofia. Both of my children have experienced baby massage from an early age and it has been very beneficial. Family is very important to me and when my husband and I started a family we wanted to make massage a part of our lives and we really enjoyed

attending Baby Massage classes. I realised that this was an area I really wanted to become involved in, so in 2014 I decided to train as a Baby Massage & Yoga Instructor and thus Rub a Dub Baby Massage was born! I completed my training with Blossom & Berry, who are experts in their field and courses are recognised by Westminster Indemnity Insurance. All courses are also accredited by Blossom & Berry. I also have a full CRB enhanced disclosure (police check) and have attended first aid courses. I approach baby massage with an open mind and a sense of humour and really believe that the love between a parent and baby is the foundation of a child’s life. Touch has an enormous power to ease discomfort, relax the body and calm the mind. Being a parent is the most important job in the world, and isn’t always easy. Baby Massage can help support you through this time of change by offering some uninterrupted time of getting to know your baby and letting your baby get to know you.

It's a really hot one everyone, just a little guide for dressing baby in this weather that may help 🌿
18/07/2021

It's a really hot one everyone, just a little guide for dressing baby in this weather that may help 🌿

17/07/2021

Very interesting x

I have recently come across these amazing poems and reflections of early motherhood written by Karen McMillan () Her boo...
24/03/2021

I have recently come across these amazing poems and reflections of early motherhood written by Karen McMillan () Her books are available to purchase at https://linktr.ee/mother_truths

✨
I used to wonder what happened to mums when they had a child. Where did they go?

Almost symbolically, they seemed to gradually disappear from their own profile pictures and be replaced instead by baby photos. I don't know why but it used to irk me a bit. I would wonder; how was it possible to get so completely lost in motherhood?

NOW I GET IT.

There IS a loss of identity when you become a mum. Well, there certainly was for me. You become consumed with all these things that never crossed your mind before; milk intake, nappy output, nap timings, meal plans, teething remedies. And somewhere along the way, you lose yourself a bit. You forget how to talk about things outside the realm of mothering. You lose touch of the things that used to make you tick. Your repertoire becomes limited, and let's be honest, a little bit dull. Thankfully you find other mums; people you maybe wouldn't have got on that well with before, but you're all rattling around in this lost property box together.

I know deep down that I have gone awol since becoming a mum. I have almost forgotten that there is a world out there, distinct from motherhood, that I can also subscribe to. And share with Casey. I'm sure he too would like to know the person beyond mum. And so I am slowly trying to reclaim my Kazzy-ness. I'm finding when I do, he actually enjoys it more. It feels more authentic. Just little things like we'll have a dance around to the music that I love rather than the wiggles 🙈 or taking the time to look half-human in the morning and repainting my old face on again.

It can be a balancing act, trying to help this little person develop their identity, whilst not forgetting your own.

Words: Karen McMillan ()
Image:

I have recently come across these amazing poems and reflections of early motherhood written by Karen McMillan () Her boo...
17/03/2021

I have recently come across these amazing poems and reflections of early motherhood written by Karen McMillan () Her books are available to purchase at https://linktr.ee/mother_truths

✨
You arch your back and cry
At this world unknown to you
All fingers and thumbs
I bring you slowly to my b**b

Maybe you're hungry?
Maybe this will do?
It's awkward and I'm clumsy
I'm still getting used to you

You wake each hour at night
Something's really bothering you
Then you break out with big smiles
As you start the day anew

I trudge tiredly to the kitchen
And lament the sleep I knew
I'm not yet loving this
But I'm really trying to

You writhe and groan in pain
At every tooth that's pushing through
I rock and feed and ache
In my attempts to comfort you
It's a game of trial and error
That I'm learning too

You really take some tumbles
When grasping something new
You try
And fail
And try again
I could learn a lot from you

You kick and scream and shout
As you hit the tender twos
I forget what I'm about
And raise my voice at you
Sometimes I get it wrong
Because I'm growing too

Words: Karen McMillan ()
Image:

I have recently come across these amazing poems and reflections of early motherhood written by Karen McMillan () Her boo...
10/03/2021

I have recently come across these amazing poems and reflections of early motherhood written by Karen McMillan () Her books are available to purchase at https://linktr.ee/mother_truths

✨
These apron strings
From which you spring
This cord
It tugs both ways

It stretches and strains
Until one day
It crosses the road
Bends round the lane

To a classroom of twenty
Containing my One

Who is now
Somehow
Three
And finding his feet

Can't get used to you
Not being around
Still locking the stairgate
Still listening out

It's weird not to know
Every detail of your day
I ask
And ask
But still, you don't say

So I seek out clues
Like the sand in your shoes

I'm just finding it hard
Because this feeling is new

This, being me
Without you

I've forgotten how to walk
Without your tiny hand in mine

I've forgotten how it feels
To have a bit of time

A taste of respite
With you out of sight
The two of us
Not bound so tight

A string
Come undone
Apart
But together

A mum
And her son
Tethered
Forever

Words: Karen McMillan ()
Illustration: The Art of C.Adro

I have recently come across these amazing poems and reflections of early motherhood written by Karen McMillan () Her boo...
03/03/2021

I have recently come across these amazing poems and reflections of early motherhood written by Karen McMillan () Her books are available to purchase at https://linktr.ee/mother_truths

✨
That little gift for parents
Our child's daytime sleep
A tiny slice of heaven
Where I can lay down in a heap
Or stare blankly at the wall
Just being me

A brief pause
From the day's chores
And mishaps
I've cried over missed naps
No, really
I have

There was a time when
He would only nap on me
Then something changed
And I was suddenly hands-free

Oh, but what to do?
Should I get all the things done?
This could be my only chance
To finally get my snack on

Tea, toast, biscuits
That staple mum diet
I'll maybe make a sandwich
Really have a riot

Quick, close the curtains
Keep the world at bay
Telly on
Feet up
Kick the toys out the way

But there's always that niggling feeling
That you'll wake up any minute
I guess that's what makes it sacred
There's a sort of thrill in it

It's been at least an hour now
I'm almost feeling sane
Oh no, I hear you stirring
Here we go again...

Words: Karen McMillan ()
Illustration: The Art of C.Adro

I have recently come across these amazing poems and reflections of early motherhood written by Karen McMillan () Her boo...
24/02/2021

I have recently come across these amazing poems and reflections of early motherhood written by Karen McMillan () Her books are available to purchase at https://linktr.ee/mother_truths

✨
And just like that, after 2.5 years, our breastfeeding journey is over.

Something that came to define my motherhood so much (for better and for worse), is no more.

His comfort. My comfort. Often the only trick in my bag of tricks. It saw us through many illnesses, a full set of gnashers, fingers jammed in doors.

Giver of sleep. Taker of sleep. The source of many insecurities on my part. I blamed it for a lot of things; lack of sleep, lack of freedom, his lack of appetite, all the so-called bad habits.

I should have cut it more slack. I should have enjoyed the feeding to sleep, instead of feeling guilty that he would never sleep any other way.

We were down to just overnight feeds and I night weaned this week. Something I had put off and dreaded for so long.

But I needn't have worried. All those fears, all the imagined distraught tears, all the deep breaths and self pep talks were unnecessary, as my sweet boy immediately allayed them. A wee favour to his mum.

Sometimes, it's the things we exhaust ourselves worrying about the most, that never really come to fruition in the way that we fear.

I have wasted so much time thinking about how I would ever stop breastfeeding, that I forgot to enjoy it. And I didn't take nearly enough photos.

The lessons are coming thick and fast.

Words: Karen McMillan ()
Image:

I have recently come across these amazing poems and reflections of early motherhood written by Karen McMillan () Her boo...
17/02/2021

I have recently come across these amazing poems and reflections of early motherhood written by Karen McMillan () Her books are available to purchase at https://linktr.ee/mother_truths

✨
I'm scared that I'm starting to forget. All the earlier incarnations of you that I thought I never could.

The crawling you. The cruising you. The obsessed with pots and pans, you. The you where every other word is perfectly mispronounced.

Is motherhood just a state of constant nostalgia? Of looking back, whilst moving forward. Or do we get to stay still, for a bit, at some point?

I see a photo from just a few months earlier and am floored by how much you've changed. How much we both have.

How is it possible to have lived through so many different and distinct epochs in just three years.

So I write them all down. In an attempt to stop that old thief called time. And hope that the words on a page are enough to capture and retain the feeling. To do it justice without romanticising.

Because there's plenty I'd like to forget too.

I guess the important things...stay.

Words: Karen McMillan ()
Image: O Trocatintas

This weeks positive affirmation:By stating positive affirmations every day, you empower your mindset.You shift your thin...
15/02/2021

This weeks positive affirmation:
By stating positive affirmations every day, you empower your mindset.

You shift your thinking from a defeated mindset to a successful mindset and that’s what keeps you putting one foot forward every day.

THE MORE POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS YOU STATE, THE BETTER YOUR MENTAL STATE WILL BE DURING THIS PANDEMIC.
Here's how to use these positive affirmations to strengthen your mindset:

1.Take three deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling to a count of 10.

2. Stand in front of a mirror and look yourself in the eyes.

3. Say your affirmation (or list of positive affirmations) slowly and clearly.

4. Repeat the affirmations 3-5 times, really focusing on the meaning of each word.

5. Take another three deep breaths, allowing your body to absorb the positive feeling of the them.

Function throughout the day with confidence and full belief that you can overcome any limiting beliefs and obstacles with what you have, right where you are.

I have recently come across these amazing poems and reflections of early motherhood written by Karen McMillan () Her boo...
10/02/2021

I have recently come across these amazing poems and reflections of early motherhood written by Karen McMillan () Her books are available to purchase at https://linktr.ee/mother_truths

✨
Has anybody seen
The girl I used to be?
We gained a little life
And in the process
We lost me

And it's only really me
Who can truly really see
How motherhood left its mark
Irrevocably

Call off the search
Her bridges have been burned
She just popped out for milk one day
And never returned

She’s been replaced by
This knock-off stepford wife
Whose going through the motions
Living this new version of her life

She almost looks the same
A similar sort of height
But something’s different about her smile
Something’s missing from her eyes

She’s lost the sense of silly
That favours the carefree
Bogged down now
With responsibility
Takes every little thing
So seriously

Maybe it’s in her makeup
The way that she’s wired
She’d report a malfunction
If she wasn’t so bloody tired

I wonder where the old one is
I hope that she’s alright
Had I known she’d up and leave us
Then I might have said 'goodbye'

Words: Karen McMillan ()
Image:

I have recently come across these amazing poems and reflections of early motherhood written by Karen McMillan () Her boo...
03/02/2021

I have recently come across these amazing poems and reflections of early motherhood written by Karen McMillan () Her books are available to purchase at https://linktr.ee/mother_truths

✨
I thought I was afraid of creating a clingy child. Someone who relied on me too heavily, at times suffocatingly, for everything.

I thought freedom was what I coveted. An independent child. A strange, impossible concept when you really think about it.

And I worried that I hadn't socialised you enough. Painfully aware that three moves in three years had left us depleted of village and all those regular outside influences that can so benefit a child.

But slowly that number crept upon us. Three.

And so I called the nursery. Arranged a viewing. I felt suddenly ill-prepared, scared that I hadn't done enough. But in you walked, like you owned the joint; confident, oblivious, hugging the other children, playing happily and not once glancing back in my direction.

Just as I finally found my feet, so did you.

And I was proud. But also afraid. Because therein lies the real fear. The very thing I thought we had been striving towards all this time; independence.

Because at that moment, I realised that although you were born mine, there will be no keeping you.

Words: Karen McMillan ()
Image: O Trocatintas

Address

West Ashton Road
Trowbridge
BA147BJ

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