Brand New Show Coming to Cbeebies - Get Well Soon

A couple of weeks ago Isla and I went to a preview screening of a new kids TV programme for Cbeebies called 'Get Well Soon'. It was an early start (particularly as I'd had a bit of a night out with my NCT girls the night before!), but I love a little trip into town with Isla and it felt really good seeing something before everyone else does. So what's it all about then?

Get Well Soon is a fun and informative series, which aims to enlighten CBeebies’ young audience about health and medical issues. Presented by real-life paediatrician Dr Ranj Singh, the series will help children to understand their bodies and to recognise that, while being ill can often be unpleasant, a visit to the doctor can help explain your symptoms and is the first step to getting better. The series tackles this through music, laughter, games and five childlike puppet characters.

 

In each episode, Dr Ranj will open up his surgery to a different child puppet: Deep, who is shy and bashful; the inquisitive Riz; Kiwa with her charming confidence; boisterous Jobi; and finally sweet Petal. Each of the puppets will display different symptoms, allowing Dr Ranj, with the help of real-life nurse Morag Calder, to explore and explain 30 of the most common childhood illnesses, injuries and general ailments from asthma to chickenpox, food allergies to hiccups.

On the day we got to see the lovely Dr Ranj and he seemed like such a great guy and given that he is a real life Paediatrician I'm sure that after this programme is aired kids aren't going to mind being treated by an all singing/ dancing Doctor! The people behind the idea of this programme spoke before we saw the trailer and one of the episodes and they were so passionate about the programme and it felt like something really new and different for the channel. I enjoyed the episode that we got to watch as it dealt with nose picking!!! Isla has been known to love a good rummage and even Noah is sticking his finger up his hooter already, so I was so pleased so hear Isla tell me that we shouldn't pick our nose because we could make it bleed - Hurrah, the message might have hit home!

We had a lovely morning, I desperately tried to get Isla to have her photo taken with Dr Ranj, but she was too shy! I also saw a couple of my childhood heroes - Trevor and Simon! I used to love them on Saturday morning TV (remember catch phrases, Swing Your Pants?/ We don't do duvets? Ummm, no? Ok just me then!) and it turns out that they are part of the writing team on the show which now I know that it makes sense as although this is a show for children, I laughed quite a bit too, it's the kind of humour that appeals to adults too. I would have loved to have got a photo with them, but like my daughter, I was also a bit star struck and couldn't pluck up the courage. Silly eh!

All in all we're looking forward to Get Well Soon on Cbeebies, it takes a factual but non scary approach to health matters that all children may encounter in their early years. Look out for it!

Jubilee Weekend!

Another fun weekend has just passed and boy was it a lovely long one!! We had the most fun. Housework still suffering but I reckon the Queen would excuse me for wanting to enjoy the extended bank holiday!

Firstly we went to a lovely friend's for a BBQ on Saturday. The weather forecast predicted dire weather but that held off till the evening and we had a lovely sunny afternoon - the kids playing together and the adults enjoying leisure time. It was wonderful and so nice to get together with old friends.

On Sunday we chilled out at home all together, watched the Flotilla on the TV and then the OH took the kids round to his mums for a couple of hours to give me a chance to relax a bit. Again, another great day.

And then I think I can safely say that Monday was my favourite day of the weekend. What the Diamond Jubilee is ALL ABOUT! A STREET PARTY! Unfortunately not our street, but my sister's, the second weekend in a row where we're we've spent quality time with her and her partner and my niece. Isla LOVES playing with Cousin M. We arrived about 3pm and it was obvious that that street really had come together to make an occasion of things. There were marquees in the street with tables laden with food and cakes. Bunting hung from every lamppost and house - one poor man had all his shirts cut up by his wife to provide this red/ white and blue spectacular! Another lady spent 7 hours baking and decorating delicious cakes. Music played from one of the residents houses and for the kids there was a crown competition! There were two winners and everyone got a Jubilee certificate. Such lovely touches. My sister did face painting for the kids too. Then in the evening the BBQ's were fired up. It was a brilliant afternoon.

Yesterday I took Isla to see The Tiger Who Came to Tea with my NCT friends and their kids. It was excellent. Isla loved it and so did I actually. It's not a particularly long book so it was great the way there were songs in it. Audience participation was encouraged and the kids were all shouting out. Anyone looking for a first theatre trip for their little ones I'd recommend.

Thank you Ma'am and keep the good weekends rolling that's what I say!

This week I had a wobble

After having a really wonderful weekend that included Cybher (me time!) and Godstone farm (family & friend time), I felt like I'd got my life balance bang on! I was all happy that I'd had time for me, hanging out with blogging buddies and learning stuff to improve my blog and time with the people I love and being a mum.

Then Monday came and I woke up with a full on cold, head pounding, sinuses screaming and work to get to. My feeling that I'd got my life sorted and equal time for all things went out the window and I posted this on Facebook:

"Someone let me into this secret on how to be a good mum of 2, good wife, good employee, good housekeeper, just generally good at anything as at the moment I'm pretty shit at all the above!!!"

I'm lucky that I'm friends with lots of lovely mums who in times of need will either come up with practical solutions (get a cleaner) or just a bit of moral support - virtual hugs are always welcomed by me. Everyone reminded me that I have a wonderful family and that I'm probably putting too much pressure on myself to 'have it all'. Lower my expectations was the best advice. And I think I did do that in the early days when we'd just had Noah, but now I'm back at work there's a change in me that I don't like. I feel like I'm constantly having to prove myself. Take this week for example - instead of staying home and trying to get over the bad cold I've had, I've made myself go into work because I don't want to look bad, like I'm a slacker. When actually I'm far from it.

I know that there will be weeks when the overwhelming feeling is "I can't do this" and this is just one of them. But when you're feeling ill too the feeling magnifies by 100% and I really do question how us women do it. I like working I really do but it's putting an awful lot of pressure on me and my family. There is hardly a spare minute and everything feels like a juggling act and for someone who is used to being in control (I'm a project manager by occupation) my life feels like it's in a bit of a mess.

So my question is how do you do it? What tips do you have to keep yourself sane and feel like a good mum, wife, employee, housekeeper...there are so many roles these days that I wonder is it possible to be good at them all?

And as an extra note to this post, a really wonderful thing happened this morning that I will never forget. My lovely NCT friends sent me the most beautiful flowers (and chocolates!) and the card read:

"Just a little something to say you're fab and to make you smile"

I cannot thank them enough. It is the support of my friends and family that really helps me. I'm in no way 'suffering' in real terms but it's just so nice to have people look out for you and make gestures like this when you're feeling a bit low. Us mums should always look out for each other and spot when someone might just be needing a little boost or an ear to listen, it's tough sometimes in this parenting jungle!

MAD Academy

Isla and I have recently started a new activity on Saturday’s and we both really love it! It’s called MAD Academy (Music and Dance) and it’s a 45 minute class of physical and mental stimulation. We also go with a couple of my NCT friends and their toddlers, so it’s a great opportunity for us to catch up.

The session starts with everyone saying hello, going round in a circle, and over the weeks, the little ones become familiar with the welcome song and learn the actions (nodding head, clapping hands and waving). Next up is the warm up to music (a bit of Katrina and the Waves - 'Walking on Sunshine', first thing on a Saturday morning does wonders for the soul!) where we all stamp our feet, jump up and down and tear up and down the hall, Isla always loves this bit and laughs loads. What’s important to mention at this stage is that the leader of the class, Debbie, always makes it clear that if your child is doing something different to everyone else/ doing their own thing, then that is absolutely fine, it’s a free spirited approach and no one is made to feel bad if their child isn’t joining in.

From there we do activities that encourage the kids to learn colours and shapes and also listen to sounds and identify what they are. Isla has really got better at colours and shapes since doing these exercises. Another thing that I like about these classes is that after each activity, the children are encouraged to collect up the apparatus/ bits and pieces they have been playing with – they seem to love tidying up – shame this doesn’t translate when we get home!!

There are lots of other things that we have done in the classes, as they take a different shape most weeks but what I love most about them is that Isla is absolutely tuckered out afterwards – it is a proper work out for her and we both generally go home happy (well, that’s if she hasn’t had a tantrum about wanting a biscuit when I’m trying to get her in the car to go home!), and a lunchtime nap is generally guaranteed and being heavily pregnant now I need the rest too!

MAD Academy is in lots of different areas now, so check out their site and see if there is one near to you - click here MAD Academy

This is not a sponsored post - it's an activity that Isla and I thoroughly enjoy and I want to recommend to other parents!

Still At the hospital and Jaundice...Part 3 of my birth story

Following on from Part 1 and Part 2 of my birth story..

So Isla was taken off to be weighed and I was being expertly stitched up! I was in a daze, on reflection now I know that I didn't have that rush of love that I see going through the faces of most of the women on 'One Born Every Minute' - I think I just felt like that was my ordeal over and apart from the guy between my legs sorting out my under carriage, everyone else was surrounding the baby, including OH obviously and I was just left with my legs akimbo! I was so tired after no sleep for nearly 3 days and all I could think of was myself!

Isla (she wasn't Isla just yet - she was nearly Iris) was doing a bit of grunting apparently and there was talk of her being taken away for a bit for oxygen, anyway, this calmed down and we were eventually taken down to our own room. I'd been cleaned up (sort of) and had my tea and toast. I still had a catheter in and this was really horrible having the bag in the bed with me. I don't remember a lot of the day apart from my mum, dad, sister, her partner and my MIL coming to visit. I looked like sh1t and I felt like I'd been knocked down by a bus. I was on the same pain killers as the Caesarean ladies because I think it was felt that I'd been through just as much as them! I had my Catheter removed and so could move about a bit more freely which was nice.

Once it got to 8pm, it was time for the OH to go home and then I was scared. He was under strict instructions to get his arse back up to the hospital the minute the doors opened in the morning! I got through the night, must have slept a bit. However I couldn't go to the toilet, it was like having cystitis, knowing i needed to go, only doing a trickle, trying to force it but it wouldn't happen. This went on all day until at night it was agreed I needed the catheter again - a whole litre came out straight away!!





The morning of Day 3 and I had the catheter removed and thankfully I could wee! Now I felt like I was sorted out I could focus my attentions better on my baby but this was the day that it was raised that Isla looked jaundiced. She had been gradually developing this lovely deep St Tropez tan and so on this day steps were taken to wipe out the jaundice. This involved her being under fluorescent lights, naked with a blindfold. This wouldn't seem very kind to me and I guess to a newborn baby this is the scariest thing ever. Isla certainly made her feelings known about it and screamed the place down. I could only take her out to feed her and clean her up (she was without a nappy) she was just lying on a pad that would absorb the wee but the meconium poo was another matter! She'd do a poo and then her legs would kick it everywhere, her feet would mix it around and make it into some kind of weird black artwork! That night was hideous, she screamed solid from about 1am to 4am. I was calling OH on and off and waking him up. I was crying to the midwives (who were all too busy for this!). Everything felt so bloody awful in the middle of the night.

The morning of Day 4 and Isla was tested to see if her jaundice levels had come down and they hadn't, so a second light was introduced. I was so upset as the day before they'd seemed so sure that 24 hours of this treatment would produce the desired results but they hadn't. I also knew this would mean another night of hell. My mum came to visit me that day, and as my Dad was still pretty poorly from his Cancer she couldn't really come for long and I really missed having her support. I was feeling really low and the breastfeeding wasn't going very well and one of the things with jaundice is that it's really important to get the fluids in the baby as this helps a lot. But my boobs were letting me down, where was the milk!? It got to 8pm and I had a mini breakdown as I knew that they would be sending my OH home and I'd have another night of a distressed baby on my own. They were very sweet and said that he could stay but wouldn't be able to leave the room - well that wasn't going to work at all, so I pulled myself together and let him go home. It was decided that Isla would need to take on some formula until I could get my milk flowing. I felt really disappointed in myself about this, but knew it was for the best and I'd keep trying to feed her.

Day 5 and Isla was tested again and things were going in the right direction, jaundice levels were coming down and also my milk came in! It was still not a great day though and I was so fed up of being in the hospital. I wasn't mentally prepared for more than 2 nights in hospital with my baby (the possibility of this had never come up in my NCT classes). I wanted to be home, receiving all our baby's visitors, showing her off and also sleeping in my own bed. I was hopeful that we could go home that night but it wasn't to be. I realise now looking back that I didn't leave that ward for the whole 6 days I was there, I'd become institutionalised! I didn't even choose my own food until the last day I was there. I'd send the OH out to choose for me, it was all a bit weird. She came out from under the lights at midnight which was great as it meant she could wear a nappy, wear clothes, not be blindfolded, the lights didn't keep me awake and the room wasn't 500 degrees (it was July and the windows had to be closed while she was under the lights!).

Day 6, was all looking promising for going home. She was still tanned looking but her blood showed the levels were dropping. However it takes the hospital ages to discharge and we didn't leave until 6.30pm, and that was under the proviso that we had to come back at 9.30am the next day to have Isla tested again. They tried to persuade me to stay but at that point I was  gathering our things, I had to GET OUT!! Isla was strapped into her car seat and I was running hobbling as fast as I could out the doors to the car. I was so happy and I couldn't wait to get back to our house and begin family life. We got home and we put Isla in the moses basket, I ran around doing some chores (nutter!), I enjoyed my surroundings. She slept well that night, we set our alarm to wake us up in the night to feed her as we were so paranoid about the jaundice and ensuring that the test in the morning would be OK.

Day 7 - Returned to the hospital and got the official go ahead to go home and enjoy our baby - she was on the mend and family life started here!

I realise that this post mostly deals with my feelings and it doesn't really go into how much I loved my baby - of course I did but I think the long labour prior to her birth and then the 6 days in hospital really challenged me mentally as it all hadn't gone as well as I'd hoped it would during pregnancy. I'd had such a smooth pregnancy that it hit me like a sledgehammer when I had Isla. I don't do well in situations that are out of my control and it just wasn't the dreamy ending that I'd hoped for when thinking about welcoming our new life into the world.

Sure Start Children's Centres

This is another one of my recommendations for a place to go with your little one to get out of the house and socialise with other mums. However just as I decided to write about it I read on Netmums about how local councils will be closing some of these centres down in a bid to cut money.

This doesn't surprise me really, as another one of my topics in recent weeks was about local libraries and the excellent Bookstart scheme (see blog post here). This is now being scrapped and so gradually one by one family resources are being cut to help council budgets that have been cut by the Government to help with the deficit.

Anyhow, I don't want to get too bogged down in political stuff here, while the Sure Start centres do exist I would wholeheartedly recommend new mums to visit their local one and check it out (and if you like it perhaps campaign to keep them open!). In the early days of having Isla, my NCT friends and I all attended a free 6 week baby massage course. The fact that this was free was fantastic to me as it was 45 minutes spent with my friends in a friendly environment with a qualified baby masseur. Our babies all enjoyed it in varying degrees (there was a fair amount of crying!) but we enjoyed having somewhere to go and have a catch up and increase our confidence with our newborn.

Since then a centre has opened just 5 minutes walk from me and lady luck smiled on me when they scheduled a Stay and Play session for Wednesday mornings, my day off! When Isla and I don't have other plans we only have to throw our coats on and walk round the corner for a new selection of toys, some messy play and in the summer a reasonably sized outdoor area to play in. All the kids play, the mums can have a chat and then at the end of the session everyone helps to tidy up and then there's a singing session to wind it up.

I really hope that my local centre isn't closed and local authorities realise that it isn't an option to cut these valuable resources from our communities. Sure Start Centres are useful for all sorts of reasons, amongst them:

- Helping young/ first time mums make contact with other mums
- Running courses and groups to help with parenting skills and increase confidence in new parents
- Free Toy Libraries

What are your thoughts on this? Will you be affected if there are closures?

The Library

Once you've been home from hospital for a couple of weeks with your new baby and your partner has finished paternity leave, the best thing you can do is to get yourself and baby out and about. I realised this after about 3 weeks and found that the days where i had no plans were the ones where i got the most stressed and fed up. It's hard when you're a new mum and it's not always the 24 hour 'love-in' with your baby that you think it will be, sometimes you can really feel isolated and wonder where your own identity has gone.

In the early days with Isla I would spend lots of time with my best friend and her little boy and also my new NCT friends who were really good at setting up weekly get togethers. Some mornings after a rough night of no sleep I'd really not feel up to leaving the house but I knew that once I'd closed the front door behind me and started my trip out I would feel better. I'd also have the fear of her crying when we were out. I think this is a common fear, we're worried about how other people see us dealing with our new baby.

Once I was a bit more confident with Isla I started looking into places to take her for play and stimulation (and a chinwag and cuppa for me!), as I realised we needed to do a bit more than just take a weekly walk to the see the health visitor! One of the things I loved doing was going Rhyme Time at the local library. It's basically a half hour nursery rhyme sing song. The first time we went she was only about 8 weeks old and spent the entire 30 mins snoozing, while I probably looked like a zombie singing The Wheels on the Bus. As the weeks went by though, she usually stayed awake for it and loved looking at all the slightly older babies and children and defintely loved the songs involving being lifted up in the air and swung around. A trip to the coffee shop would usually follow whereby the smallest coffee shop in my town would house up to 20 mums, babies and buggies, all huddling over 1 cup of coffee each and all asking for our bottles to be warmed up! It was so nice to be out of the house, looking at the four walls could really get me down, especially as the housework had taken a nosedive and our house was a sh1thole!!

The other good thing about the library is it's where you can collect your baby's 'Bookstart' bag. Bookstart is a national programme that encourages parents to enjoy books with their children from an early age. The best thing about the bag is it contains 2 board books. We love reading to Isla and she's always had bedtime stories since we started a bedtime routine at 3 months. She now knows when we're asking her to fetch particular books and can point out things within the books and name them. Her books of choice are 'Spot', 'In The Night Garden' and 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'. 

We try to go to the library at least once a month now, either for Rhyme Time, where she interacts a bit more these days and imitates us singing the songs (Row, Row, Row and Baa Baa being her favourites) or just to let her roam around and look at the books. I know not all local libraries are that warm and welcoming but it's worth checking out if yours has mummy and baby sessions as it can be a really great way of meeting other people and sharing fun times with your little one!

GYMBOREE!

Once Isla was 8 weeks old I decided that we needed to start doing an organised activity together and on the recommendation of one of my best friends I took Isla for a trial at Gymboree for a Baby Play class. Gymboree is designed to introduce your baby to new sights, sounds and sensory experiences. It's all bright colours, fun music, puppets and best of all as far as most of the babies were concerned lots of BUBBLES!

The one I went to is in Croydon and run by the lovely Emma. She adores all the babies that come her way and she was always able to give you the benefit of her opinion re anything kid related as at the time I joined she had 2 under 3's herself (mad, lovely woman!). The sessions are once a week and last 45 minutes. There is generally always a theme, so I think one week was disco and we all had to dance with our babies, it was really fun and when I came away it gave me ideas for when I was at home with Isla.

One of our best moments at Gymboree, and this is going to sound incredibly mummish (I know this isn't a word!), was when Isla had only just learned to roll over and she did it in front of the whole class and everyone cheered. I couldn't imagine being so excited over such things when I was pre-family but once you've had children, every milestone they reach feels like such an achievement.

I soon persuaded my NCT friends to join Gymboree, which was great as I got £5 per head referral fee and we used this as the start of our kitty for a mum's night out! It was brilliant getting together with my mummy friends on a weekly basis at Gymbo, as apart from the babies playing we all got to have a catch up too.

Gymboree is a brilliant way to have fun with your baby and also to make new friends. The web address is below, hopefully you will be able to find one somewhere near you!

http://www.gymboree-uk.com/baby_play.html

The importance of NCT!

When I first realised I was pregnant I was lucky in that I already had friends with babies or friends that were pregnant but a bit further down the line to me. However I knew that I also wanted to make new friends and through word of mouth I'd heard that joining the NCT (National Childbirth Trust) was the perfect way to do this!

I signed up for a 6 week ante-natal course that took place 1 evening a week in the run up to my due date. Apart from providing me with a clutch of new friends, the main aim of the classes is to give parents to be information about labour and birth. The classes are run by one NCT trained teacher and have up to 8 couples within the teaching group. Our particular class had 7 couples and all babies were due in July.

It was a bit nerve wracking on the first night but the teacher was brilliant at putting us all at ease. At times we were split into smaller groups, other times we all talked as one big group, but whichever way we worked it became clear that we all had a fairly good sense of humour and we realised this is what we would need to get through the childbirth challenge ahead......

One particular funny memory I have is when we were asked to write down all the pro's and con's of having our baby in hospital and one of the men (who shall remain nameless!) added 'has a Burger King' to the list of pro's on the flipchart!

As the weeks went by we all got to know one another and on the one week where there was no Tuesday evening class we all met at the pub instead - obviously no drinks for us ladies! When the 6 weeks was over I think the reality hit that we were all in the home straight now and that it was countdown to the first baby, so we met again in the pub on a Tuesday night and then us ladies had a few lunches until the inevitable happened and babies started being born and people were missing from the lunches.....

From that point on I have remained friends with my NCT friends. We have supported one another and compared notes on everything from breast feeding to consistency of baby poo (yuk!) to losing baby weight. The fact that we all had babies that were born within one month of each other has really been a help to us all as we're all going through the same things at the same times. My girls really have been my salvation and I hope that we remain friends for a long time to come!

For anyone considering NCT classes I would wholeheartedly suggest they do it! I found all the details I needed to know at http://www.nctpregnancyandbabycare.com/