E at 8 Weeks

The past eight weeks have flown by and I can't believe that E has been with us for that long! 

I've mentioned quite a lot about her reflux. We finally got a prescription for carobel and started her on it last night. Today, she is like a completely different baby and is a lot more settled. I can't believe it! She will now happily sit and interact with us by smiling, cooing or trying to giggle instead of just constantly crying.

Not much has changed in any other aspect. She still takes 6oz every 4 hours (which the GP says is impressive for her age) and is still wearing 0-3 month clothing. 

Today was her first ever Halloween and we dressed her up as a little witch. Isn't she adorable? Her big bro C was dressed as Mr Tumble!

She got a letter saying that she has to go for her first immunisations on Tuesday afternoon. I cried with every one of C's and no doubt I'll be the same with her. Wish us luck! 

Halloween Colouring Pages

(Source: mommygaga.com)

Just a quick post from me today, I'm busy making C's Halloween costume! (All shall be revealed in Friday's post).

I don't know about your toddler but C absolutely loves to draw. If he finds a pen, pencil, crayon, any writing implement he will find a piece of paper to scribble over and it will keep him occupied for hours.

With Halloween coming up, I thought he'd like to colour in some seasonal images rather than just scribbling away on a blank page so I scoured Pinterest and found some lovely printables and thought I'd share them with you! 

Quite a lot of them are Disney related as C loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! You can find them all at my Halloween Colouring Pages Pinterest board.

Baker Ross Christmas Crafts

Back in August, I posted that we had become Baker Ross bloggers and C loved the box of crafts and toys that he was sent. 

Last month, we received a second box. It took us a while to actually get round to using them. Having a newborn baby with colic & reflux didn't give us a lot of crafting time but we've finally given them a go!

This box included:

Christmas Character Sequin Decoration Kits (£3.99 per pack of 3)

Glitter Porcelain & Glass Paint Pens (£9.99 per pack of 5)

Owl Ceramic Trinket Boxes (£4.48 per pack of 4)

Christmas Hand Puppet Sewing Kits (£3.75 per pack of 3)

Felt Star Stickers (£2.99 per pack of 144)

Christmas Pudding Felt Stickers (£2.99 per pack of 96)

Christmas Foam Card Kits (£2.97 per pack of 3)

Reindeer Card Blanks (£2.88 per pack of 8)

I did feel as though most of these crafts were a bit too old for his age but Chris as I secretly (not so secret anymore!) enjoyed using them! 

C loved the star and Christmas pudding stickers because he was able to use them by himself, with my help removing the backs of course. 

We also let him have a go with the ceramic owls and glitter pens. The pens are easy to use. There is no ink in the nib  to begin with but you just need to shake the pen vigorously for 1-2 mins then press the nib down on a piece of paper until the ink starts to come through. C had lots of fun decorating his owl and so did Chris!

I had a go with the Christmas sewing kits and they were a lot of fun. The holes are ready to thread your needles through and the needles itself is plastic so perfect for a young child who is just learning to sew. You can stick parts like Santa's beard and Rudolphs nose on to complete the image. C obviously had trouble sewing but he liked sticking the stickers on and enjoyed me making the hand puppets "speak" to him. 

The blank reindeer cards are really fun and simple. The body and head of the reindeer are ready to pop out, colour and glue together. I did a fun reindeer face and hooves on mine but C did quite "get" it, haha! These will be fab as handmade cards to send to family as they come with envelopes too!

The sequin decoration kits were even a bit tough for me if I'm honest! It was easy enough to stick the foam bits down but putting the sequins in stumped me at first. You need to put the plastic pins in the hole of the sequin and push them really hard into the polystyrene. I got a bit lost with the design but I don't think it ended up too badly! Can't wait to hang them on our tree this year. 

I love, love, LOVE the foam card kits. I did have to show C where to stick all the bits (okay, I did most of it!) but they are so simple for children to copy the pictures on the instructions and I think they look really fancy and pretty!

C loves to craft and draw so he really enjoyed all of the bits in this box (as did I). I feel that they would be great for kids maybe 3+.

You can find out more about Baker Ross at their website, Facebook & Twitter.

(Disclaimer: We received these items free of charge in exchange for and open and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Primark, H&M & Mothercare Haul

I really begrudge spending money on myself, especially when I have the kids to think of. After giving birth to E and being at that weird in-between weight/shape I desperately needed some new items for my wardrobe so thought I'd treat myself. Of course, the kids got bought a few little things too so I thought I'd share my purchases in case anyone else likes them and fancies buying them themselves!

H&M

Jumper £14.99 / Black & Spotted Superstretch Treggings £12.99 each

Everyone needs a thick jumper for winter! I saw this online last night and had to buy it today. It's also available in brown, pink, red and white.

I love the treggings, so much so that I needed two pairs. They can be worn all year round which is a huge bonus. They are also available in light denim blue, denim blue, petrol, mustard yellow and red.

Primark

Fairisle double duvet cover £16 / Knickers £2.50 each / Lace t-shirt bra £3 / Batman t-shirt £6

How cute is that duvet cover!? I'm so excited for Christmas coming that I want to put it on now. It's not too early, right? They have matching throws and cushions too. I may have to pop back!

I hardly ever buy myself underwear but I spotted these gorgeous Batman, Wonder Woman and Mickey Mouse ones at only £2.50 each and couldn't pass them up!

I've gone up a bra size since having E - hurrah - so I purchased this beautiful lace one to add to my new collection. Red is always a winner!

I am a huge fan of my superheroes so of course the Batman t-shirt would end up in my basket! They sell a big fluffy Batman jumper for £16 too. Might go back for it!

Mothercare

Thomas the Tank Engine fleece lined mac £16 / Batman wellies £12 / Check woven pyjamas £12 / Daddy's Little Pudding set £7 / My First Christmas stocking £6

C really needed a waterproof coat and wellies with the colder weather coming in and being in Northern Ireland it will probably rain every day! This way I can take him to splash in the puddles.

The pjs are from their Christmas range and they are quite thin. People probably want thicker pyjamas to keep their kids warm in the colder nights but C sweats a lot in his sleep so I thought that these would do him perfectly.

How adorable is the Daddy's Little Pudding set for E!? I have 4 outfits for her to wear over Christmas already. Everything is just so cute!

Lastly, I had to get her something for her first ever Christmas so I thought a stocking would be lovely. C had a first Christmas stocking too so it was only right! Mothercare sell so many First Christmas gifts so it's worth popping in if you have a baby!

Shnuggle Baby Bath - Review

With us expecting baby #2 and the fact that we had gotten rid of all of C's old baby things, one of the things we needed was a baby bath.

Shnuggle sent us out one of their baths and I'll start this review by saying one thing; there aren't enough words in the English language to describe how much I love this bath. 

As soon as I opened it out of its box, I was a bit surprised that it was foam. I'd never seen a foam baby bath before and I was curious to see how it would hold water. The foam is actually super-strong polypropylene foam which means that it's lightweight (only 0.4kg!) durable and it's about 1000 times stronger than other foams. The foam makes it constantly feel warm (well, room temperature) as opposed to cold plastic baths. It's kind to your baby's skin too. 

It has a clever Bum-Bump (my favourite feature of the bath!) and sloping back so that your baby feels safe and secure. We had a regular plastic bath with C and I always had to have Chris here to help me bath him as I could never hold and wash him at the same time. The Bum-Bump makes washing your baby so easy. I don't even have to hold E at all now that she can hold her head.

The Shnuggle bath has been one of those items that I never knew I needed until I had it. There is no way I would ever use a regular baby bath now. It's a lot more compact too at 58 x 37 x 35cm.

The water shocked her!

The Shnuggle bath retails at £30.00 at Shnuggle's online shop. Seriously, at that price, go buy one. You won't regret it! It does your baby from birth to 6 months and I'm already crying inside. What am I gonna do when E is too big!? They also sell the most adorable Moses Baskets too so if you're expecting a baby, definitely pop over.

You can find out more about Shnuggle at their website, Facebook and Twitter.

(Disclaimer: We received this item free of charge in exchange for an open and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

C's 2 Year & E's 6-9 Week Checks

Today, we had the Health Visitor call out along with a student. They did both the kids development checks and I am so proud of both of them.

Firstly, C's 2 year check. I've made no secret about the fact that I was worried about his speech for a while then about 3/4 months ago, he suddenly picked up on loads at once. The student health visitor had a box of toys and began to play with C. She had stacking cups; which he was able to use correctly, a book in which he was able to identify some objects in the pictures, a puzzle which he was able to do easily, a teddy and a toy hairbrush. C thought it was a toothbrush and pretended to brush his teeth haha! He chattered away too and kept getting his own toys and telling her what they were. She had no problems at all with his speech and development. He refused to get on the scales to get weighed and he was too tall for her height chart!

Now for E's 6-9 week check. The HV listened to my concerns about reflux and agreed that it does sound like that's what she has. I've been advised to go to my GP and ask for a prescription for Carobel. C was on Carobel too for his reflux and it worked well so hopefully it will settle E too. Her height was measured and she is 57cm (she was 49cm at birth) and now weighs 11lbs 2oz, exactly 4lbs heavier than her birth weight! She is on the 75th centime for her height, weight and head circumference. 

So proud of both my babies!

6 Week Postpartum Check

Today, I had my 6 week check with my GP. I can't remember going for one with C, knowing me I probably never made an appointment for one, so I wasn't sure of what it would entail.

She asked me how I felt and if I had enough support around me, if I was sleeping and eating well and generally how my mood was. I told that everything was fine and she commented that I seemed quite chirpy. I am genuinely happy and don't feel that I am at risk of PND. Sometimes I do have days where looking after 2 children by myself is tough but it passes. 

She had a feel of my uterus and it has completely gone back down. I was asked if I was wanting my stitches checked and although I was quite embarrassed, I sad yes. I still feel quite tender so I wanted to make sure that there was no infection. The stitches are dissolved completely but I am still red, swollen and inflamed. She said it looks completely normal but I just need to ride it out. It takes some people longer than others to heal. 

My blood pressure is back to normal (yay!) and I am 10st. One more to lose until pre-pregnancy weight and one more til my ideal weight. She did say that I didn't look like I'd just had a baby which was a huge compliment. I was also advised to get my iron levels checked with a nurse next week to see if they have risen, especially as I still have postpartum bleeding.

We spoke about contraception and was told that I couldn't have a coil fitted until 3 months after birth, I didn't really like the idea of the implant so my final option was the pill. I was on Cilest when I was a teenager but because it's not recommended if you've had previous blood pressure problems, that was ruled out. We decided on Cerelle. She said that I take it every single day, not like Cilest where you skip a week and that I will either have normal periods, bleed all the time or have no periods. I'm really hoping that it's the latter!

Worlds Apart Thomas the Tank Engine Go Glow Night Bright - Review

With the clocks due to go back this Sunday (26th October) and nights getting darker, Go Glow conducted a survey asking why children under five years old were afraid of the dark. Out of 1,000 participants, 67% cited monsters being the main reason.

7 in 10 parents said that they walk around their child's bedroom with them at bedtime to prove that there are no monsters hiding. Three quarters of children also get out of bed to seek reassurance from their parents. The survey also found that nightlights were the most reassuring solution that helped stop scary shadows.

Worlds Apart sent C one of their Go Glow Night Brights so he could banish monsters. If it is set down it glows as a nightlight then if it is lifted, it works as a bright torch.

C received a Thomas the Tank Engine design. It also comes in Barbapapa, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Peppa Pig, Fireman Sam, In The Night Garden and My Little Pony. The familiar characters will put your child at ease then if they 'hear a monster' they can easily lift their torch by themselves and check. It's so simple for children to use by themselves as there are no fiddling buttons, you just need to push it down to activate the nightlight and the torch works automatically when lifted.

The battery is rechargeable which I think is a great idea as I can charge it up during the day, meaning I won't need to have dangerous leads hanging out in C's bedroom while he is unattended.

C seems to really like his new nightlight and the torch is a completely new concept to him so he's very excited with it. I like it because the design is so sleek and not unsightly.

The Go Glow Night Brights retail at £22.99 and is suitable for children 12 months+. You can find out more about Worlds Apart on their website, Facebook and Twitter.

(Disclaimer: We received this item free of charge in exchange for an open and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

C at 25 months

These months fly by so quickly and I'm so sure that I'm forgetting to jot down new things that C has done - there are so many!

Firstly, the biggies. We are (kind of) dummy free! He went a full day a few days ago without it so I thought "brilliant! Easy self-weaning". The following night he woke up in the night crying and he was totalling inconsolable so I gave in and after he got his dummy, he drifted off to sleep. Now, he doesn't get it at all unless he wakes up in the night. We'll get there soon!

For the past 4 days, he hasn't napped during the day! I was sure he'd still need his nap for ages to come but no, he just decided that he didn't need them anymore!

He is still hilarious. His new "things" are pretending to sneeze whenever we clean his face. No idea why! Also, when I'm telling him off, he throws himself on the floor and tells me that he's stuck. Nice try, kid!

He is picking up so many new words that I can't even keep up with them. He's communicating with us a lot more and I think we're so close to proper sentences. He loves watching Disney's The Three Musketeers and he will say most of the words as they are said.

TOMY TFV600 Video Baby Monitor - Review

When C was born, my anxiety started to creep in. I was constantly checking on him to see if he was still breathing and for the first few weeks of his life I didn't sleep very much. My anxiety continued but in different ways as he got older and I knew that as soon as E was born, I'd be exactly the same with her. I use Google a lot and reading articles about SIDS and meningitis made it sky-rocket. 

For E's arrival, TOMY sent us one of their video baby monitors to try out. 

Obviously, your monitor comes in two parts; the camera and parent unit. It's really easy to set up. The camera operates using a mains charger and the parent unit is battery powered so that it can be carried around the house with you. The average battery life is around 4-5 hours but it also comes with a mains charger. The camera only has two buttons; and on/off button and a nightlight button. I love the fact that it has a nightlight. I believe every baby/infant needs a nightlight in their bedroom so this just kills two birds with one stone. You can change the brightness of the light by holding in the nightlight button and releasing it when you have reached the brightness level that you are comfortable with. The power button on the camera can be used to locate your parent unit if you have misplaced it. This is a godsend for me because I'd lose my head if it wasn't screwed on. This works by pushed the on/off button quickly three times then the parent unit will emit an alarm for 60 seconds. 

On first glance, the parent unit has a scary amount of buttons but it's easy enough to get used to. On the left hand side you have a talkback option so you can speak to and soothe your child without having to go to their room and two volume buttons. The right hand side you have two zoom buttons, a menu button and arrows to navigate your way around the menu. The screen displays your signal strength, sound activation, lullabies, nightlight, battery level, volume display and the room temperature.

Your main menu is comprised of six options: remote nightlight (so you can switch the nightlight on and off through the parent unit), remote lullabies (so you can play a lullaby through to settle your child; there are three to choose from), sound activation (the camera will automatically display the image on the parent unit if there is a sound made, this switches that option on and off), screen brightness, and as you are able to connect up multiple cameras to the same parent unit, a camera management option and a camera select button.

This video monitor has been a great help with us. I've only been using it was C as I'm still a little worried about putting E to sleep upstairs while we're downstairs but as C has recently moved into his 'big boy bed' it's nice to keep an eye on him to make sure he hasn't fallen out. My favourite features of the monitor have to be the nightlight, the room temperature display and the fact that I can soothe him without having to go into his room. 

It is easy enough rotate the camera into position but I would maybe like it to be a bit more flexible. I would maybe also like the display to be a bit more focused but it doesn't effect how the camera works as I can still see C clearly through it. 

I'd prefer a video monitor over a regular monitor any day as it means that any time I hear a sound I'm not running upstairs to see what it was, I just have to glance over. I'd definitely recommend it to any new mum or even mums of toddlers. 

The TOMY TFV600 video monitor retails at £99.99. You can find out more about TOMY at their website, Facebook and Twitter. 

(Disclaimer: We received this monitor free of charge in exchange for an open and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

What We're Reading: Disney's My First Picture Dictionary

B&M is one of my favourite shops to browse in as sometimes I find lovely home decor items and cheap books to add to C's ever-growing collection.

During our last visit I picked up the fab Disney My First Picture Dictionary for C. It is his favourite book at the moment and with 144 pages filled with 900 words, it's really helping him learn new words.

I love that the words are ones that your child will hear around them on a regular basis and they aren't just nouns, we have adjectives like 'empty' and 'in' so I hope C will start putting them together and speak in fuller sentences soon.

Each word is accompanied with an image including a Disney character which is sure to capture your childs attention.

This book is published by Parragon Book and retails at £9.99 in hardback but I picked mine up in B&M for only £2.99! I think it's really great for helping toddlers with their vocabulary by using familar faces.

World's Apart Thomas the Tank Engine My First ReadyBed - Review

The night that I gave birth to E was the first night that C had ever spent the night away from me and his daddy. He stayed at Chris's mums house and both he and his nanny loved it. She has since expressed an interest in having him stay over more often. 

Worlds Apart very kindly sent C one of their My First Readybeds in a Thomas the Tank Engine design. 

 

Using the ReadyBed couldn't be easier. There is a pump included to inflate the mattress which takes around 2-3 minutes. You are advised not to inflate it where it feels hard as it won't make for a comfortable sleep.

C has really enjoyed his ReadyBed. As soon as he spotted the Thomas design he kept repeating "choo choo!" excitedly.

I love that the bed has an inflatable guard around it so I don't have to worry about him falling out (although if he did, I doubt it would hurt as its so close to the floor!).

The cover zips off easily and it is machine washable.

Apologies for a blurry photo - someone did not want to co-operate with mummy!

He also decided he wanted to lie at the opposite end. Kids, eh!? 

E had to have a little go too ;)

There is a little pocket on one side which is great for fitting a nighttime story in or in C's case, a toy car!

Putting it away and carrying it around proves to be easy too. Under the bed there is a flap then underneath is your plug. Pull the black part out for quick deflation then pull the aforementioned flap over the top. The 'flap' is really a storage bag. You can then fold the bed up into the bag and there's even room for the pump to slot in too. 

Perfect for camping or visiting and staying with relatives!

The My First ReadyBed is suitable for children 18 months+, it retails at £29.99 and is also available in Barbapapa, Sofia the First, Peppa Pig and Doc McStuffins designs.

You can find out more about Worlds Apart (and ReadyBeds) at their website, Facebook and Twitter.

(Disclaimer: We received this item free of charge in exchange for an open and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)