BritMums – what I’m planning next

You’ll probably know that I along with a few hundred other bloggers attended Brit Mums Live, a blogging conference (not just for mums though) in London. I’m not going to whittle on too much about the conference itself as there are probably a hundred other posts that will do that but instead I’m going to write about what changes I plan to make as a result of my experience.

Firstly I need to stop hiding my blog and be proud of it. Very few people ‘in real life’ know about my blog. I don’t mention it unless someone else brings it up, my parents don’t know about it, I don’t have it linked on facebook. I think I originally kept it on the down low because I didn’t want anyone from work to find out, the idea of all the people who worked for me at the hotel knowing the ins and outs of my life, what I was feeling, what I wore at the weekend and so on made me shudder. But now the idea doesn’t make me cringe so much, after all they could have stumbled across my blog searching for something Brighton related anyway! I put a hell of a lot of work into my blog, I should be proud of it! When people ask what my hobby is I shouldn’t just mumble ‘oh, erm… I read a lot of books’ I should say, oh, I have a blog! Here’s where to find me!

In fact saying that my blog is a hobby is degrading it a little bit! Blogging for me has become so much more than just a hobby over the years, it is a major part of my life, and therefore my families life too. Sam will ask if an experience is ‘blog fodder’ or if I need to instagram dinner before we eat. Athena and Arlo have a lot more toys and books than they would if the blog didn’t exist and we’ve had some great experiences too. But I still feel like I don’t record enough of our family life here for prosperity. Sometimes though I like to keep a little something back, just for us to remember and I think that’s okay. I think that’s sensible and special.

That brings me onto my second focus, blog about what I want to. There was a lot of talk about ‘niches’ at BritMums but I have never fitted neatly into a pigeon hole in real life or online and don’t plan to anytime soon. With that in mind to enable me to share things I enjoy and am interested in I’m going to start a couple of new features on Belle du Brighton. One is for me but if it inspires others to join in then all the better, and the other might be a linky or might be a guest post type thing. I’ll work on these more in my head and share further details. I am going to get #WhatMyKidDid up and running going forwards though because the first two months have had people join in with very limited promotion from me, so I need to get my tushy in gear and get that going and then rope in a co host each month I think!

Thirdly I want to talk more about gentle parenting. It’s something that I am lucky to be attempting with the full support of my husband and I think we should share how we go about things and the challenges online in the hopes that we can help others, and maybe find support too. I’m not just some crunchy mama, but I do firmly believe that how we bring up our children shapes their futures and the future of their children too so it is hugely important.

Of course, I could talk about all the amazing bloggers I met in person after months and sometimes years of online chat, breaking a world record attempt or the brands that I met but I wouldn’t want to bore you… or forget to mention someone that I met! But I am truly thankful for every conversation, every smile or nod of the head in a ‘I think I know you!’ sort of way, and for every wonderful person who held Arlo for me so I could pee/drink/eat!

My business cards were provided for me by InstantPrint, and I was sponsored to attend the event by Cheeky Rascals, who sell all sorts of brilliant baby products! Find out more about them here. I was so happy to get the chance to introduce some of my fellow BritMums attendees to the website, and have a few more reviews coming up soon too!