Dribble dribble welcome!

The idea for this blog first came to me when I was asked, at 29 weeks pregnant, if I thought that having a baby would change my lifestyle at all. This got me thinking as to what my ‘lifestyle’ entails and if, indeed, I would need to make any alterations. The one thing that I thought would need a bit of contortion was where I frequent for eating and/or drinking, be it a weekday lunch or a weekend evening meal. Subconsciously, I figured I’d been looking at my regular haunts with new eyes from quite early on in my pregnancy; assessing various factors such as pushchair accessibility, changing facilities, attitude to breastfeeding, child-friendly menus (for later on) and general acceptance levels of babies and/or young children. I’ll also be posting about those places which I’ve found to be great go-tos whilst pregnant as, let’s face it, not many places consider ‘pregnant’ as a genuine dietary requirement. The so-called advice about what to, and mainly what not to, eat (if you choose to follow it) can be very restricting so finding somewhere where most of the menu ticks the right boxes, can be a huge relief.

Here’s a bit of background about me… I’m Jess, 30 years old, expecting my first baby, married to a wonderful man and living in the leafy suburbs of East Molesey, Surrey.   I’ve been working for a company supplying fresh produce to London restaurants for four and a half years and love every minute. My knowledge about, and passion for, food has grown extensively over the years and I’ve been very lucky to eat in a lot of top restaurants (all in the name of research of course…) and sample some of the most exquisite cuisine from some exceptionally talented chefs.

Now, however, my focus is well and truly on the next stage of my life in which I will be privileged enough to be accommodating a little person when out and about.  As well as making mental notes as to suitable establishments, I started to do some research online about my local area, as well as further afield, in order to hopefully have a readymade list when the time comes in which I feel confident enough to brave eating out with the little one. I couldn’t find anything definitive, thought I couldn’t be the only one wanting to know this sort of information, so decided to do it myself.

I don’t think the blog will be all about food. Mostly, but not all. I may fancy throwing a few baby-related  ‘I couldn’t do without…’ and ‘How does one cope with….’ posts in to the mix, but we’ll see. It’s a work in progress and may help to keep me sane through the nursing and sleepless nights!

Hope you enjoy it and if you have any thoughts, questions or recommendations, I’d love to hear them.

Jess x