Advent Calendar – 22 December

As the countdown to Christmas reaches fever pitch, I’m inviting you to pause for a moment, grab a cuppa, and reflect on something we don’t celebrate enough: Mummy Milestones.

Now, I’m not talking about the baby milestones (we’ve got photos, cards, and WhatsApp chats buzzing for those). No, I mean the little wins we achieve as parents — those personal victories that make us feel almost like our old selves again, or perhaps even better.

The Challenge

Today, I want you to join me in celebrating a milestone of your own. It can be something recent or a moment that’s stuck with you. Here’s how to get involved:

• Think of a mummy milestone you’re proud of. It could be the first time you left the house without baby in tow, had a date night, made it to the hairdressers, took a bath alone, read a book, or even just sat down and ate a meal while it was still warm.
• Share it! Pop it in the comments, tell your partner, or message a fellow mum—someone who’ll totally get it.
• Reward yourself. Yes, I mean it. Milestones deserve celebrations. Whether it’s a festive biscuit dunked in your tea, an uninterrupted loo break (we can dream), or simply smiling at how far you’ve come.

My most memorable milestones? For me, a lot of the early milestone were small moments amongst the chaos, which helped me remember I was still in there somewhere, even if “being a mum” seemed to have taken over my body and daily life. For example, when I put my jewellry back on after coming home from hospital. Or the day I finally squeezed back into my pre-pregnancy jeans. It wasn’t about the jeans bracelets themselves; it was the moment I felt a little bit like the “me” I’d almost forgotten. I wrote about it back then too — have a read here.

Why It Matters

The way I see it, Mummy milestones aren’t just about giving ourselves a pat on the back (although, let’s be honest, we deserve that too). They’re about reminding all of us that we’re still us.

Even now I’m out of the newborn phase, it’s so easy to lose sight of myself when I’m juggling everything. You know what I mean; parenthood, work, or just trying to remember where we put the Christmas cards. These are things that remind us that we’re not just parents — we’re still the same brilliant people underneath it all, evolving with each new challenge.

And in my experience, when we take a moment to celebrate these little victories, we’re not just filling our own cups; we’re lifting each other up too. Every time one of us shares a win, no matter how big or small, it sparks a sense of solidarity—because we all know how much those moments mean.

So today, let’s celebrate together. Let’s laugh, reflect, and cheer each other on. Because when we lift each other up, we’re all stronger for it.