Hi, I am Natalie a.k.a The Spoonie Mummy. I am a 31 year old Mummy to two boys. I have an amazing boyfriend and I am step mummy to his little girl too. I write about everyday, family life and also about my chronic illnesses.
I started blogging in February 2017. My main aims are to support other young people going through diagnosis, treatment and trying to manage their lives with chronic illnesses like me. I also wanted to inspire other chronically ill parents. Just because we are poorly does not make us bad parents, and with the right planning and passion there is absolutely no reason why our children have anything other than a fantastic childhood.
I was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis aged 15 months, iritis aged 7 and my bowels started causing problems around the age of 8/9. Unfortunately my Crohns wasn’t diagnosed until I was 26. I had a hip replacement aged 23 and my knee is now heading the same way, although me and the doctor want to hold off for as long as we can due to my age! I had a right hemicolectomy to remove around 7 inches of my small intestine and the beginning of my large intestine and an ileostomy placed in April 2016. It certainly wasn’t the Gucci bag I expected to be getting for my 30th birthday! I have recently been diagnosed with high blood pressure and also take anti-depressants for depression and anxiety.
I like to think I am not all about my illnesses too. I enjoy reading, cooking, watching movies and am a girlie girl so blog about these aspects of my life too. I enjoy reviewing my new beauty finds, letting you know about the latest movie I have seen at the cinema or the latest book I have read and post recipes which are child friendly, easy to make and ostomy friendly! I love to spend time with my family and friends and anyone who knows me will know my world revolves around my children.
Since I started blogging I have been offered some amazing opportunities. One of those was to appear in a new, weekly, live show on YouTube. It is called The IBD & Ostomy Support Show and we are live for an hour every Thursday from 8pm GMT. We discuss all things IBD and ostomy related and the response to it has been amazing.
I feel extremely lucky to be able to share my thoughts, feelings and experiences with people that helps support them. Every post like, comment and message on my blog and throughout my social media accounts just means the world to me and to know people find my ramblings inspiring, informative and supportive is great. My inbox is always open for those with questions, who want more information or just need someone in a similar situation to talk to.
Thankyou for visiting my blog and I hope you enjoy reading,
Natalie x
