Berkshire


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Hannah-Love.jpeg" alt="Berkshire baby sleep and Parenting expert Hannah Love" class="wp-image-61868" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Hannah-Love.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Hannah-Love-800x534.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Hannah-Love-400x267.jpeg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Hannah-Love-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-wakes-you-up-in-the-morning-and-when">What wakes you up in the morning and when?</h3>



<p>This varies massively from day to day. I am not typically a ‘morning’ person but as we came out of lockdown I learned to love morning dog walks with my close girl friends. This is something we continue to this day and at least a couple of mornings a week I get up before 7am to join them on a walk before the school run. On the other week days I can usually be found in bed, answering SOS calls from parents who have had a bad night on my phone, with a coffee in hand while I ‘manage’ the kids shower schedule lying in bed. Weekends, I love a lie in.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-the-first-thing-you-do-when-you-wake-up">What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?</h3>



<p>Have a coffee, let the dog out, the cat in, feed the animals and kids, and check my phone for messages from the parents I am supporting with their baby’s sleep.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-you-bounce-out-of-bed-or-do-you-need-to-be-dragged-from-it-still-clutching-your-duvet">Do you bounce out of bed, or do you need to be dragged from it, still clutching your duvet?</h3>



<p>My husband would definitely argue the latter, but I think I am one of two extremes. Sometimes I can be found at 4am on my laptop writing another chapter of my book or social media posts, some days I love getting out before sunrise with the girls for a dog walk, Body Balance or a swim. But on the days I don’t have these motivations, I will definitely be found clinging to my bed covers and being dragged out of bed. I have to admit I sometimes ‘work from bed’ when I am on my own. My bed is one of my favourite places to be!</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-the-first-thing-you-eat-and-drink">What’s the first thing you eat and drink?</h3>



<p>I love a coffee first thing, and a glass of water. I often fast in the morning but if I’m not fasting I love a protein bagel thin with bacon and avocado, or a ‘Spanish’ breakfast of tomatoes, Parma ham, olive oil and bread with garlic. I&#8217;m not a stiffler for traditional breakfast, and will happily eat curry, leftover lasagne or anything else from the fridge if it’s available. I think this can be traced back to my months of travelling in Thailand where I would have chicken and cashew nuts, a curry or papaya salad for breakfast most days.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Hannah-love-2.jpeg" alt="Berkshire baby sleep and Parenting expert Hannah Love" class="wp-image-61867" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Hannah-love-2.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Hannah-love-2-800x534.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Hannah-love-2-400x267.jpeg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Hannah-love-2-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-do-you-set-the-mood-for-the-day">How do you set the mood for the day?</h3>



<p>I would love to say that I go into the garden and dip into a cold tub, or practice yoga or meditation (all of which I&#8217;ve tried but these morning rituals never stick). One thing I do love is a bed snuggle with my children (or animals) and often call them in. Ella is now great at making coffee so I often get a coffee brought to me in bed which I love. Honestly though one of the first habits is looking at my phone. For 15 years I was on 24-hour call with the parents I was supporting 1:1 and often had early morning emergency messages so this is something that has stuck.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-who-else-shares-your-morning-space-and-how-does-that-shape-your-routine">Who else shares your morning space and how does that shape your routine?</h3>



<p>My husband Daryl and our 3 children. Daryl is very much a morning person, you know the annoying kind that jumps out of bed at 7am no matter what day it is and thinks a 9am lie in on the weekend is ‘lazy’! Because of this Daryl tends to get up and sort the kids while I work answering the overnight questions I have, or get the dog out for a walk. We work together now, and have just moved the house around so we can share an office. I try and get on with work while he asks me questions all morning!</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-keeps-you-motivated">What keeps you motivated?</h3>



<p>Usually Daryl, for all of my adult life I have worked on my own as a single director of a LTD company. I have been my own boss, set my own hours, worked around the children and done pretty much what I wanted. This changed recently as my husband gave up his corporate job at Xbox to work with me at Sleep Well with Hannah. Now my working day is shared, we have actual meetings and I have deadlines to get to him. That and our new Smeg coffee machine, with coffee on tap!</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-do-you-choose-what-to-wear-each-morning">How do you choose what to wear each morning?</h3>



<p>If I have lives or not. If I do then I’ll usually pop on a dress (with leggings or something comfortable on the bottom half!). If not then it’s usually gym stuff.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-do-you-start-work-tell-me-a-bit-about-what-you-do">When do you start work? Tell me a bit about what you do?</h3>



<p>My working day can start as early as 4am, or as late as midday. I run my own business called Sleep Well with Hannah. I am a baby sleep and parenting expert and have been helping parents, and babies sleep well for over 20 years. My background is in Paediatric Nursing and I am also a Nutritional therapist. I have a community of 30,000 parents and I help them daily. Three times a year (January, May and September) I run a free Sleep Workshop and this had been accessed by nearly 50,000 families worldwide.</p>



<p>I also have a Parenting Club membership with 100 members, 10 parenting courses &#8211; ranging from potty training, hot to transition from breast to bottle, toddler behaviour to dummy removal and weaning. As well as my signature C.A.L.M approach to sleep &#8211; Baby and Toddler sleep courses and a new parent preparation course. I&#8217;ve recently released my first book The C.A.L.M (Consistent, Achievable, Loving and Manageable) Approach to Baby Sleep too.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1500" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Hannah-Love-1.jpeg" alt="Berkshire baby sleep and Parenting expert Hannah Love" class="wp-image-61866" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Hannah-Love-1.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Hannah-Love-1-533x800.jpeg 533w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Hannah-Love-1-667x1000.jpeg 667w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Hannah-Love-1-267x400.jpeg 267w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/Hannah-Love-1-768x1152.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-your-top-tips-for-parents">What are your top tips for parents?</h3>



<p>Ask for help. This is the most important thing, and know there is a kind and gentle C.A.L.M solution if you are struggling. My advice and approach are the same: be Consistent (the C) with what you are doing &#8211; avoid falling in the ‘try everything’ approach as it never works. Ensure the steps are Achievable (A) for you and your family. If you are feeding to sleep then trying to cot settle will rarely be achievable. Take a small step such as rocking to sleep, then you can move forward again. I always ensure the process is Loving (the L). I never want you to feel compromised when going through the sleep training with me, and then it will be Manageable for you and your family (the M).</p>



<p>Sleep training can be a supportive, loving and bonding experience. There is never any need to leave a baby to cry it out and no one should shy away from asking for help because they are worried about the process.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-your-beauty-and-skincare-routine-anything-you-swear-by">What’s your beauty and skincare routine? Anything you swear by?</h3>



<p>Very minimal. In fact, my 12 year old daughter has more of a skincare routine than me. I use coconut oil to cleanse and moisturise in one go, morning and night and apart from that very little else. I do however absolutely LOVE essential oils and swear by them. I make up mixes which I do use on myself and my children, and would much rather opt for something natural than creams and potions with chemicals.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-your-grabbing-brekky-out-where-s-your-favourite-place-to-go-in-berkshire">Your grabbing brekky out – where’s your favourite place to go in Berkshire?</h3>



<p>It has to be Fennygrove Farm in Warfield. Great food, great coffee, beautiful views, good dog walks, and the cakes are amazing. There is also a great farm shop there. If I am completely honest though, if there was a Thai restaurant that opened for breakfast that would be my first choice.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2021/10/South-Hill-Park-aerial.png" alt="South Hill Park aerial" class="wp-image-38031" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2021/10/South-Hill-Park-aerial.png 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2021/10/South-Hill-Park-aerial-300x200.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2021/10/South-Hill-Park-aerial-720x480.png 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2021/10/South-Hill-Park-aerial-150x100.png 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2021/10/South-Hill-Park-aerial-768x511.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/berkshire/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2021/10/South-Hill-Park-aerial-788x525.png 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-s-the-perfect-local-day-out">Where’s the perfect local day out?</h3>



<p>A festival. Any kind of event in a field, with music and friends. We LOVE Wilderness &#8211; which is pretty close in Oxford, and Elderflower Fields in Sussex. I really don’t think you can beat listening to music, watching acts, having a quick dip in the river to cool off and choosing world foods from different stalls. More locally we have South Hill Park which often put on food and music festival days in the summer. Even when there isn’t anything on it’s a beautiful manor house, with a restaurant, café and south facing fields and lakes with play parks for the kids.I have lived in Berkshire all my life and have a big group of friends, and we often get together here or in another pub garden locally.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-where-do-you-get-your-retail-therapy-fix">Where do you get your retail therapy fix?</h3>



<p>Online! I really have to be in the mood for shopping &#8211; or there has to be no pressure to find something. I hate going shopping with a purpose, I never find anything I like and end up stressed and spending money for the sake of it. The perfect ‘shopping’ day would probably be with my sister, and would start with lunch and wine, then a few shops and finish with cocktails.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-if-you-could-wake-up-anywhere-where-would-it-be">If you could wake up anywhere where would it be?</h3>



<p>We have just got back form a holiday in Vietnam and spent 2 weeks in an amazing hotel in Phu Quoc. We had a bungalow on the beach, and it was like it was in the middle of the rainforest. Every morning I would wake up and quietly make myself a coffee, go and sit on the veranda while the sun rose over the ocean. If I could wake up anywhere it would be there, followed by a day in the sunshine full of Vietnamese foods, snorkelling, teaching the kids to dive and a few cocktails. Absolute paradise.</p>



<p><em><strong>Hannah is a baby sleep and parenting expert from Bracknell who has been helping parents and babies sleep well for over 25 years. Find out more about her business <a href="https://sleepwellwithhannah.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sleep Well with Hannah</a> here.</strong></em></p>


Morning routines of happy women: Parenting expert Hannah Love

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