I’m really excited to bring you the full list of incredible contributors to the first issue of 2023. This issue is the Magic Edition, focusing on self care, creativity, wellbeing and motherhood.

What an incredible five years it has been - full of so many ups and downs. Thankfully more ups than downs and I’m so grateful to still be here doing this five years later! 

I’m really excited to bring you the full list of incredible contributors to yet another incredible issue in 2022. This issue is the Winter Edition, focusing on self care, creativity, wellbeing and motherhood.

Shopping small and independent is something that is hugely important to me, and there’s no better time to shop small than Christmas. I am so excited to share the Isabella and Us. Christmas Gift Guide for 2022 featuring an incredible range of small businesses and wonderful Gift Ideas. Happy shopping small!

Happy Shopping!

Let it Shine

“Even in my Home, I’m Gonna Let it Shine”.

This Little Light of Mine , Song by Sam Cooke Sam Cooke, and his singing, has got into my bones recently. Alexa will be putting in for a holiday as I’ve been asking her to play this song on repeat the past few weeks. This Little Light of Mine is a well known song, particularly if you went to Sunday School as a child.

Navigating Postpartum Insomnia

Becoming a mother in the midst of a global pandemic

When I imagined becoming a Mum, it never crossed my mind it would be during one of the most unprecedented times in history. Not one, but both of my daughters were born during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sloane's birth (February 2020) was relatively straightforward and despite being during a time of such widespread uncertainty, there was something quite nice about being in our own little bubble, at home and safe.

Beautiful Gifts of Mother Nature

My name is Neda. I am a natural living mama and an Essential Oils Guide. I love to share my passion and love for supporting women's (mostly mum's) wellbeing - body and mind - naturally.

3 tips to help you prepare for returning to the workplace after maternity leave

Returning to the workplace after maternity leave is a big deal for any mum, whether you are looking forward to it, dreading it or are feeling somewhere in between.

Remember deep down, nothing can break the bond

This is what I tell myself on a daily basis. I know my daughter loves me, appreciates me and takes comfort in me - even if she doesn't always show it.

A little self-compassion goes a LONG way

It is SO much easier to show compassion to other people than to ourselves, right?

When our friends miss out on a new job, we comfort them and boost their spirits.

When we spot a child having a meltdown in the park, we give their Mum a reassuring smile and tell them it happens to us all.

When you can't do it all

In our mixed-up society, there’s so much pressure on mums to be perfect at everything they do. We have to be mum, wife, cook, cleaner, friend, daughter, colleague, taxi driver, and a million more things and do all of them perfectly all the time. We wake up, after being up twenty times in the night with the baby, switch on our phones to be bombarded with pictures of ‘perfect lives’ – those IG feeds that are gorgeous – no piles of laundry, dirty dishes, kids messes or tantrums in sight.

The Online Poetry Renaissance

If I ask you to think of a poet, what is the first name that comes into your head? Is it Wordsworth or Keats or Shakespeare – or another from a long list of “worthy” or “classic” authors who are mainly dead white men? And how about if I ask you what you think of poetry and what it means to you?

The New You

When you are told that becoming a parent changes you, you immediately think of the obvious, followed by the logistical day to day changes. You try to imagine the love, unlike any other. You try to envisage how your husband will look in fatherhood. You think about how you will manage less space in your car, how you will cope with the lack of sleep or whether you will want to return to work.

What a Mum could Learn by Learning

Four years ago I was at my desk, at the university where I work, thinking up excuses not to sign up to Russian classes. I’d studied Russian years before, and now I had another opportunity through a work scheme but couldn’t convince myself to take the plunge… Just then my colleague bounced in having signed up to German lessons and virtually pushed me out of the office to the Languages Department. And, though I was literally shaking when I knocked on that door, I am truly grateful she did.

It’s time to put you first

Rewind 8 years, I was a new mum determined to do the best job possible raising my son whilst having a successful career, being a good partner, friend, daughter, etc…sound familiar?

Circles of Sisterhood

On the new moon in the depths of rural Oxfordshire a group of women gather in circle. We talk, we rest, we release, we laugh. These women are my sisters. After the isolation of lockdown my dear friend and I put out the call and the whispers rippled through the village, “come women come mothers gather together you are not alone, and you never have been.” The response was beyond what we had hoped, the women came with gusto, relief, joy, nervousness, they came and took their seat in this circle, the seat made just for them.

Lying down has become sacred to me since becoming a mother.

Actually, I think my desperate desire to just lie down began when I was pregnant. The act of relaxing during pregnancy was performed by positioning myself in officially-sanctioned positions, propped by sensible cushions, which could offer the sensible support required by someone sensible enough to become a mother. The idea of just lying down seemed suddenly rebellious.

Lucy Wylde, The Birth Recovery Coach shares a piece on Birth.

Micah Klassen shares her poem The Reckoning - A Haiku stack