Sunday, 25 March 2012
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
The Gallery - Colour
I'm loving Instagram at the moment with all the different filters. Obviously I have used a filter on this photo but the reason I took it was that as I was sitting there, it struck me how colourful Noah looked and also all his surroundings too! I love dressing him in bright colours. This was at Baby Sensory, a class that we only started about 8 weeks ago and sadly we'll only have another 2 weeks left as I'm back to work soon. Noah absolutely loves it and so do I. It's special time that we share together and every week has a theme. My favourite so far has to be the Valentine week. We danced together with a disco ball spinning in the background. It's actually making my cry thinking of this. I know I could do this on my own in my own living room but I love that Baby Sensory gives me ideas of things to do with Noah and it has such lovely songs. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and at the end of it all the babies are usually ready for a big lunchtime nap because they've had such fun! So that's my entry in The Gallery this week. If you want to enjoy any of the other posts then click the badge below.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Noah at 8 Months; Separation Anxiety, A Tooth & Crawling!
A lot has happened in the last week....
We've had a lot of crying. Separation anxiety is at it's height! And lucky old me, it's only me that he wants. I blogged last year about Isla being a Daddy's girl and my OH reminded me recently that I did say that I wanted a Mummy's boy. Well, I'm not saying that I'd like to retract that but let's just say it's getting a bit too much. I can't even step more than a foot away from the boy without howls of distress. It's like a siren and it gets louder and louder. I'm pretty sure that Isla did a little bit of this, but definitely not to this extent.
We did an experiment a couple of times, just to check if there was actually anything wrong with him. It went like this. I'm in the room, right next to him, Noah is all calm and collected. I move away from him. Howling commences. I must add that he can still see me, I haven't gone anywhere far! The OH picks him up, this is still not good enough. He is sobbing, uncontrollably, snot pouring from his nostrils. I come back into the acceptable distance I'm allowed away from him (an inch) and he visibly calms a bit, but still howls. I take him from the OH and all crying ends and almost a jubilant look can be detected as he snuggles up to me as if to say, 'YES! I got what I wanted in the end!'.
It's draining and has gone on my pro's list for going back to work (another post in progress to address that!). I hope he stops it soon and I get my happy contented boy back, however I also think it is linked to the appearance of a tooth. At last. I really hoped that we'd have a few teeth done and dusted by now, so that on my return to work I only had about another 12 teeth to arrive and sleepless nights would be fewer. But no, he's decided to follow in his sister's footsteps and get his first one at 8 months like her. I don't have to worry about him needing them for eating though. He's storming through solids, with even the nursery admitting to me last week that they forgot to puree his food and he was eating rather large sized pieces of pasta for lunch! Go Noah!
Another milestone we ticked off the list this week is crawling. Now this is a double edged sword. Brilliant because it's a step towards me not having to carry around a 25lb baby everywhere I go (yes, he really is that heavy!) but not brilliant because he'll be getting into EVERYTHING! Ashamedly, this another one of my pro's for going back to work....someone else will deal with this while I'm at the office! Seriously though I do love it. I love seeing him grow and it does feel that between 6 months and 8 months a lot has happened. He's no longer a sicky baby, we don't have to change our clothes (mine too!) a million times due to reflux. He's also full of personality now. I love the interaction between him and Isla (well not all of it), he's always watching her and checking out what she's doing and she has become more interested in him too. However I do think I need to get Isla's hair cut a bit shorter as he is forever making a grab for it which results in lots of tears. The funny thing is that while she is crying her eyes out, he is laughing like Nan (you know the Catherine Tate character?), really cackling.
He is the hungriest baby ever still. I am slightly worried by the fact that most nights he has a late feed and then will still quite often wake in the night for milk too. I wondered if this was a habit but to be honest I don't think I could persuade him not to have milk if I tried as he goes completely mad until he gets it. I pity the neighbours, because he ROARS, although they swear that they never hear him. I know all babies are different and there can't possibly be a hard fast rule on how much food they should eat at each meal, but I do find it hard to judge how much I should be serving up to him when weaning and the very fact he wakes in the night for milk could mean I'm not giving him enough solids I guess? Any feedback on that welcome!
As I mentioned before I'm due back to work soon and the closer it gets the more it actually breaks my heart, he's really made this family complete and I couldn't imagine life without him. So on that note I'll sign off. More on my big baby's progress soon.
Sunday, 18 March 2012
Friday, 16 March 2012
Cadbury Easter Egg Trails at a National Trust Property Near You!
Last Spring we went with friends for our first National Trust Easter Egg trail at Polesdon Lacey. The events are sponsored by Cadbury and they really are such a great family fun day out! Last year I was pregnant with Noah, and Isla was just about old enough to appreciate the trail, and she was definitely old enough to appreciate CHOCOLATE! Our friends brought their little boy Samuel along and they were also expecting their second baby. Isla and Samuel are good buddies and they had a lot of fun that day. We went on the Easter Egg Trail which involved going on a walk through the beautiful grounds of Polesdon and following clues, answering questions and completing challenges to earn a delicious Cadbury's Easter Egg! The weather that day was beautiful and lots of families were also enjoying the day surrounded by the gorgeous Surrey countryside and many made a base for themselves in the grounds and spent the day there picnikking and relaxing.
So this year when I was invited to a warm up event for the Easter Egg trails at Morden Hall Park I had to go as I knew that it would be good fun and so I invited my friend and Samuel along too. When we got there we got to have some lovely food and delicious cakes from Hummingbird Bakery - YUM! Once we'd had lunch we went out and let the kids loose on the Easter games and on a chocolate egg trail - Isla was like a sniffer dog for chocolate! There were 'egg-shies' - coconut shies but with eggs, giant snakes and ladders, space hoppers, hoopla and football.
The kids had great fun, Samuel loved scoring goals and Isla clung on to her basket of chocolate eggs for dear life. We came away from the event absolutely certain that we definitely want to go on the Easter Egg trail again this year as we could see that the kids would be even more into all the entertainment that is put on for them.
Cadbury Easter Egg Trails run over Easter weekend (6th - 9th April) at 245 National Trust places throughout England, Wales & Northern Ireland. To join in the fun, simply visit www.Eastereggtrails.com where you can find your nearest Cadbury and National Trust Easter Egg trail event and details of how to participate, along with how to make the most of the Easter weekend at home.
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Ella's Kitchen & Terracycle
Last year I blogged about Johnson's Baby Wipes teaming up with Terracyle to upcycle their packaging and Wipe Out Waste. As soon as I found out about it I started doing it immediately as I like to try and do my bit for the environment. I noticed at the time that Ella's Kitchen also recycled their packaging with Terracycle but as I didn't have a baby at that point it wasn't relevant to me. However now we've begun weaning Noah we've started collecting the Ella's Kitchen pouches to send to Terracycle. Apart from reusing the packaging (to make into bibs, pencil cases for example), for every packet you send to Terracyle they will donate 2p to a charity of your choice.
It really is so easy to do:
- Sign up to the Ella's Kitchen Brigade
- Enter the charity you would like Terracycle to credit
- You will get sent a pre-paid postage label to use to send off your empty packs of Baby Food Pouches.
It's also worth noting that they will accept any baby food pouches, not just Ella's Kitchen. I was lucky enough to be sent one of these great lunch tote bags when I signed up to be an Ella's Kitchen Friend
Lovely isn't it! This is such a great initiative, so don't waste your waste, send it to Terracycle!
Treat yourself this Mother’s Day with a little help from Boots Parenting Club
If you’re a mum to a newborn or toddler, it may be a little while before your child gives you handmade cards, flowers or chocolates on Mother’s Day. However, if you’ve been clocking up points on your Boots Advantage Card by buying baby essentials you could have enough to treat yourself – after all, you’ve earned it!
The Boots Parenting Club members can benefit from 10 Boots Advantage Card points for every £1 spent on baby products and these can soon add up, for example:
By the time your toddler starts potty training you are likely to have changed their nappies over 5000 times.This means you’re likely to have spent over £650 on nappies alone before they’re fully potty trained. That money spent on essentials can translate into some wonderful me-time treats such as a gorgeous new perfume, a fabulous face cream or some indulgent bathing goodies.
Why not try Sanctuary Pampering Vanity Case, £6.00 you will love this stylish bag packed full of Sanctuary Spa favourites, to cleanse, exfoliate and moisturise. The Sanctuary Pampering Vanity Case includes:Foaming Bath Soak, Body Wash, Body Lotion and Body Scrub.
This No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Body Serum, 200ml, £27.00 is the ultimate luxury and will help you achieve softer and brighter skin in an instant. It’s even independently proven to reveal younger looking, firmer, smoother and more radiant skin in just 4 weeks!
About Boots Parenting Club
Being a parent is quite an adventure and Boots Parenting Club is here to support you every step of the way, from the moment you get that positive result on your pregnancy test to your baby’s second birthday.
Benefits you receive as a Parenting Club member:
· 10 points for every £1 spent on baby products within the baby area at Boots*
· Receive regular glossy magazines if you continue to regularly buy baby products at Boots
· 24/7 access to information online including a parenting community
· A chance to receive fabulous free gifts if you continue to regularly buy baby products at Boots
· Handy email updates with information and advice tailored to your stage of pregnancy or baby’s age plus the latest Boots news and special offers
Whatever your plans are this Mothers Day, remember Boots can help you to treat yourself or Baby, after all you’ve deserved it.
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