We stand together....

What have I done?

 

As a new mum, I feel like I have to ask myself the question above. I have brought an innocent child into a world, in which evil runs free and hides in plain sight.

 

I sat and cried this morning; I read the news and felt myself break inside. Those poor children, the families in attendance have been victim to a cowardly attack by someone who has nothing but hate in his heart!

 

I sat and spoke with my partner this morning as we tried to digest the reports flooding in about the poor souls lost to a terror attack at Manchester Arena. My BF actually said, I am scared to take her anywhere or do anything with her. My response to his fears, was, “That is what these terrorists want”, and I truly believe that. They want fear, disorder and chaos… they thrive on it. Terror is how these extremist’s get a stronghold, they use it to their benefit. Retaliations against one side, then fuel the beliefs of the other, the way things are going right now it will never end! It is a vicious cycle. It’s just unfortunate that nowadays with technology, this enemy is finding it way too easy to hide in plain sight and use social media to its advantage.

 

How do you cope with the crippling fear that something will happen to your child?  I mean I am 100% worse than most as with part of my diagnosis of Anxiety is that I Catastrophise. I always think of the worst case scenario, which is why I avoid large crowds of people etc. But at the same time – I don’t want to pass these irrational (I know that they are irrational at least) fears onto my daughter. I want her to grow up confident and sure of herself, independent and also caring; but will this just lead to problems…? Here I go again with the worrying…

 

Due to last nights atrocity we likely have a whole generation of children that are going to be afraid of going to concerts. Just this morning I heard a radio presenter stating that his daughter asked him if anything would happen at the Olly Murs concert she was going to… it’s heart-breaking that this coward attacked in the first place, but that he actually targeted an event with a large audience of children… its despicable, and there is no rationalising that.

 

My theory is that if we allow ourselves to become shut ins and we allow the fear to stop us doing what we do, then the terrorists are winning. So all we can do is Keep Calm and Carry On. They want to cause divide in communities – so stand together. We need to at this point. It is also worth pointing out that Muslim’s are not responsible for this attack; the extremists are. It is highly likely that some of the emergency services and first responders/ doctors/nurses etc that helped the wounded last night were muslim… So targeting innocent people for their religion will not resolve anything, it will only divide us more.

 

I just hope that our children and our children’s children find a way to make this world a better place, to work together to look after their neighbour and to try and come up with solutions to all of these problems.

Discount Code for Babies R Us - until 14/5/17

Just spotted this,

£10 of £50 spend or £20 off £100 Spend until Sunday 14th May!!!

Visit the website HERE

Pampers Club

So, I have had a little problem with Pampers Club and the other Proctor and Gamble Coupon sites, as they have some sort of protection enabled so that people can't take advantage and download vouchers over and over again.

www.pampers.co.uk/pampers-club/rewards

The app is available on iOS and on Android and allows you to photograph your receipts to get points back on purchases of nappies etc.

The website allows you to print money off coupons to use on various pampers branded nappies (active fit, premium protection, baby dry etc).

So in my excitement I tried to print the coupons and realised I had selected the wrong printer, and when I tried to change it, it showed them as already printed and wouldn't allow me to re print them. The thing with this site is you must have everything set up correctly in order to print them - before you try to, once you try to print them it is too late if it has a printing error.

So I contacted Pampers using the contact us option and explained my problem and how cheesed off I was at being unable to have the vouchers, and as a good will gesture I received this in the mail yesterday.

 

This is one very happy mummy right now as that's almost enough to buy me another giga pack in the Baby Event at Asda.

A poorly baby girl

 

This last week we have had a very poorly little lady. It is the first time in 8 and a half months that I have been truly worried and taken her to the Dr's.

Last Sunday/Monday she started with a cold, she was a bit snotty and sneezy which isn't such a huge concern, but on the Monday when I got home from work, she just wanted to sleep! I tried to  feed her and she would latch but couldn't breathe and feed so kept coughing and was just generally off colour.

By the following morning she had latched a few times during the night with the same result, she wasn't feeding, I think she managed a maximum of about 15 minutes all night (we bedshare at the moment when she wakes during the night). She was so unsettled, we had been using the Snuffle babe Saline Spray to try and clear her airways and also baby olbas oil on a muslin next to her cot, but she just kept on choking every time she latched - so we took her to see our GP.

My concern was that I know in infants not feeding (when milk is the main source of hydration) can have a dramatic affect really quickly, she was pale, grouchy, but very sleepy which is why the alarm bells rang for me.

Luckily the Dr said that as she had no temperature, and she seemed happy enough in herself he was happy for us to continue doing what we were doing. He would only prescribe Saline Nasal Drop's and as we were already using them then we were doing the best and to persevere. So we did.

I managed to get her to latch that evening after work and got into a routine of using a nasal aspirator, then spraying her nostrils and then feeding to give her the best chance of taking some food in, we invested in some refills for our Calpol Plug In (which has been a godsend)! And finally after a week she is showing signs of improvement. She is feeding much better and we haven't had to use the nasal spray now for a few days.  

I have found a voucher for money off a calpol plug-in here Sign up to the caring everyday website and basically choose which vouchers you'd like to use. The only problem is, make sure your printer is set up and ready to go, as if it fails you will lose the vouchers as they only print once. At the moment the Plug In Unit and refill pads are £6 from Asda and you get a 75p off voucher. Though I am sure I paid less than £5 for mine from Home Bargains if you have one nearby.

Baby Wipes - Tried and Tested

Like Nappies - I guess every mum or dad will have their favourites in Baby Wipes too. We get loads of free samples etc, but it isn't until you actually have to wipe a sticky poo covered bum and back that your wipe preference comes into play.

For me from baby wipes you need these things...

• They need to be sensitive, there is no point wiping a bum with a floral fragranced perfume covered baby wipe, unless you want to see an angry red rash or irritation.
• They need to be useable, with one hand, i.e you don't want to pull for one wipe and extract a mile long strip of every wipe ever created and then have to try and separate them while holding a wriggling foot, while trying to save the bedding and clothes!
• They need to be moist, not wet! If they are too wet the offending poop just drops off the wipe onto said clothing, bedding or child....
• You don't want to push your finger through as your wiping your childs bum, or have the wipe tear into a million pieces as you try and pull one out of the tangle inside the packet (Huggies Wipes literally disintegrated on me).

More importantly though they need to be affordable! £10 for 10 packs of wipes is a lot of money... especially when you go through 2 boxes a month.

For me the winner is and always has been (since birth)

Johnson and Johnson Extra Sensitive Baby Wipes. They come in a box of 12 for £10 usually, but you can normally find them cheaper during baby events (This box of 12 is currently £6.50 in Asda's baby event.

My close second that I really really liked but I can't find anymore, where the Asda Extra Protection Baby Wipes. I loved these - they did two versions Extra Protection (with added barrier protection) and extra sensitive. The wipes were thick and durable and a lot better than the original little angels.

Avoid (unless they improve the quality)

• Pampers - pulls out every wipe in the packet when you try to dispense 1).
• Huggies - literally rip and fall apart in your hands).
• Waterwipes - I know this is a premium brand and you pay a lot more for them, but they literally drip with water ( I accidentally left one on the bed and it soaked through the duvet).

Nappies - Tried and Tested

So the ultimate mum problem. Nappies.

Which ones leak, which ones have caused nappy rash, which ones are more comfortable or easy to put on... here are my thoughts.

Working in Healthcare I was given absolutely loads of nappies for when my Daughter was born. We must have had around 50 of the Pampers Premium Protection Size 1 Nappies - easily. They were fab. No one told me that the little yellow stripe turned blue when baby had done a wee! So I had no idea what it meant, or how the midwife instinctively knew my baby needed changing, I literally looked at her as though she were the devil.

Pampers Premium Protection.

I really like these nappies - they are soft and easy to put on (if baby doesn't wiggle too much). They have a yellow stripe through the nappy which changes blue when baby needs changing. I would say in the early days we did have a few leaks in these, but this was more than likely down to being first time parents and not putting them on properly.

Pampers Baby Dry

These are also a favourite of mine, they don't have the wetness indicator like the Premium Protection do, but they do hold a lot more wetness. I had a few freebies from Pampers and fell in love with them based on that. I tend to buy Giga Packs (Asda are selling 112 nappies for £10 at the moment) so fabulous value and they will last the month I hope :) We have had a few nappies that have broken, the tabs have pulled off or the Velcro hasn't been sticky. But all in all these are my main go to nappy.

Pampers Baby Dry - Active Fit Nappy Pants

I bought these as my daughter is pretty close to crawling, the first day she wore one, she did a huge poo, it went all up her back and once id torn the nappy to take it off it gave little protection so she ended up having to have a change of clothes and her blanket needed changing too. They seem to be okay, but are a little awkward to get on, and they seem very tight fitting. My daughter developed nappy rash for the first time in 8 months, it could have been this or the Asda Nappies that did it, though she is also teething at the moment. We haven't used any more of these and the rash hasn't returned.

Asda Little Angels

I bought some of these nappies on sale as Asda was changing the packaging, we have used less than 20 nappies and I am throwing them away as I believe that it is these nappies that caused her nappy rash. She hadn't had nappy rash since being born and the day after we started using these nappies it came up, we persisted thinking it was teething and it got worse, to the point we had to start using medicated cream and as soon as we changed back to pampers it went away. They also don't seem to hold as much, they are rather tough to touch in comparison. Ironically my best friend swears by them and uses them with no issues for her daughter. I wouldn't use Little Angels again though.

Aldi Mamia

These were our go to nappies to begin with, like the premium protection pampers they have a wetness indicator line on them, they always seemed to fit well and we didn't have any faulty nappies. We did seem to have more explosions/leaks with these, but it could have been coincidence. I would 100% use these again.

Bednest Side Sleeper Cot

When I brought my daughter home from hospital there was literally not one place other than me she would fall asleep. The first few nights we tried everything to get her into her Moses Basket or the Travel Cot we had bought, but nothing worked. I almost caved in and bought a Chicco Next to Me Crib, but as my bed is really high and we have a 30cm deep mattress it was a no go. It just wouldn’t fit. So back to the drawing board.

 

 

I spoke to a friend who had used a Bednest Side Sleeper with her daughter and said it was the only side sleeper she had found that was high enough to fit her bed, so we borrowed it.

My friend informed me of a change to the manufacturers guidance, in which the cot was never to be used with the side half down. It either had to be all the way up or all the way down, and when I researched why, it was because of an accidental death of a tiny little baby girl. It is such a sad story, but I guess it wasn’t anticipated that it could happen until it did, so the manufacturer changed their guidance. I would like to point out at this point, I do not agree with the way the manufacturer dealt with this horrific accident, but they have changed their literature and now issue kits to make it impossible for the side to be left halfway folded.

This being said, it was easy to assemble, the base pulls up and locks in place in one movement, then you strap it to the bed, ours was wrapped around the locks that hold the divan base together, and then the cot was placed on top of the base, done! It took less than 5 minutes to assemble.

The beauty was that my precious little lady was at the exact same height as me, no messing around to get out of bed to put her down to sleep, I could just lift her, which limited the amount she woke. During the night I could just reach over and touch her, see her breathing etc. It was perfect. It just devastated me that she had to come out of it because she is just too big now.

The website offers these cots to rent or buy, I would 100% use it again and would pay to rent or buy if I couldn’t use my friends again. It was perfect!

Also on the website there’s a lot of bits and pieces you can buy for it, sheets, replacement sides, replacement matresses. I bought a kit which came with fresh sides and a fresh mattress and two sheets for around £60. It was well worth the money and I have no regrets in using it.

Bednest to buy £299

Bednest to rent (as long as you need it) £89      
Check it out here...      

Graco Contour Electra Travel Cot - Posie

Graco Contour Electra Travel Cot – Posie      £79.99 (£99.99 full price)

 

I bought this travel cot from Toys r Us about a month before my daughter came along. I liked how girly it was and how small it folded, yet it seemed quite big and sturdy, so she would have plenty of room to grow.

I put it together myself at 35 weeks pregnant with SPD… so that tells you how easy it was. Though I found the instructions very poor I have to admit. Most of it was google and guess work. For the Travel Cot itself, the sides wouldn’t lock into place until the bottom of the cot was flat and in place, it took me about 30 mins to figure this out and I got increasingly frustrated, eventually watching a you tube video to help.

Then to set up the changing table; You basically just get pictures of what it “should” look like and you follow the pictures through, but the pictures are awful and it was difficult for me to follow. The changing table I originally put together upside down, so I was putting my daughter on the bottom of it. I eventually realised and went to correct my mistake and I couldn’t get the bars out which resulted in me ripping the fabric. Once it was on the correct way, I could no longer use the changing table as the rip caused my daughter to roll, the tension wasn’t there to hold her in the correct position.

We didn’t use the travel cot to begin with as my daughter wouldn’t settle in it so she slept in a side cot. I ended up going to Smyths and buying a proper Graco Travel Cot Mattress (£16.99) as I figured that after sleeping on a proper mattress in the side sleeper, she wouldn’t settle in the Travel Cot because the mattress supplied was very thin and plasticy. We now use it permanently as she sleeps well at the moment. I can’t find the bar for the activity bar. God knows what I have done with it, but it’s gone! We are currently still using the bassinet part which hold the baby half way up the cot rather than her being in the bottom, however we are literally weeks away from crawling so I am going to have to take the bassinet out sooner rather than later, this will cause problems with laying baby down to sleep as she will be much lower, and I will have to bend much further, so I have to admit I am not looking forward to it.

Overall this is a good Travel Cot. It has enough room for her to move around, but is secure. It has a console which plays music/vibrates and has a nightlight which we love, and it folds down easily for storage or travel. The only downsides are that the supplied mattress wasn’t very comfortable, so we ended up having to buy a more permanent solution. Also the instructions were terrible, which resulted in me breaking part of the cot.

The only reason I didn’t return it to get a replacement Changing Table was that they had stopped supplying this particular colour and wouldn’t give me a replacement part for it. So the changing part was never used.

I would definitely buy it again. I love it, its very pretty, however I would know this time around more about fixing it together.

 

Joie i-Anchor Advance with Isofix Base

Can I just say how much I absolutely adore this car seat.

I originally wanted to buy the Joie Stages or the Graco Milestone, but unfortunately the seatbelts in my car were not long enough to wrap around the seat and plug in, so I had to buy a seat with an isofix base to fit to the anchor points in my car.

I spent a lot of time looking at reviews but the only seat that I liked the look of was the Joie I-Anchor advance. I paid £175 for it and it came with the base free (that was around £150 on its own). So it is definitely worth shopping around for the best deals. Don't forget Toys 'R Us do a price match too, it just needs to be in stock on the website you're quoting from.

To install the base, I just had to pull the supporting leg down, then push the two buttons on the side to release the anchor points, then once I had pushed the anchor points in and it was fastened in place all of the indicators turned green, to show it is secured correctly.

The seat reclines, but I intend to use it rear facing for as long as possible - (this seat does rear facing for up to 4 years) so in the rear facing position it doesn't recline, you use it on the furthest reclined setting anyway. On fitting it for the first time, I found it almost impossible to get my 4 month old seated, she literally didn't fit into the seat between the padding. However we removed some of the newborn inserts and extra padding and she sits comfortably now.

The straps are adjustable with just one hand, and it seems very comfortable for baby as she regularly falls sound asleep in it.

The Drawbacks:

•  It doesn't recline further in rear facing mode, sometimes babies head can lean forward which used to scare me a lot more than it does now. I find that making sure she isn't sat to high up when putting her in the seat works to address this, and making sure that the straps are the right height. 
• No handle - It is impossible to carry this car seat around with baby asleep in it. Our old Group 0 seat - whenever she fell asleep we could bring her into the house asleep and settle her. With this one, when she is asleep, we have to remove the baby and carry her in.

I find these two issues a small price to pay for piece of mind. I tend to stop and check my daughter if she slumps forward to much and re position her, but I am safe in the knowledge that she is secured in place with a 5 point harness and should we have an accident it has side impact protection and she is facing rearwards.

The first 9 months

My little lady is going to be 9 months old soon, she will officially been outside for longer than she was inside!! This is a scary thought.

The first 9 months have been hard. There have been times when I have wanted to punch my other half in the face! There have been times I have wanted to lock myself away from the world. But we are still moving forward and our beautiful little girl is not so little anymore. She is weaning, has two teeth, she's had her first cold and I have now returned to work full time...

We have a whole bundle of items to review that we have adored. So I am just going to start working through them one by one and adding my reviews.

Is there anything you would like me to review? Is there anything you'd like me to discuss, how have I done certain things or managed to overcome obstacles.....