Yumbox, making weaning easier.

So Sophia is now 10 months old. We are still breastfeeding but she eats solid food also. We started baby led weaning at 5.5 months but she would gag and it would put me off so we went onto purees. She would never eat more than a couple of mouthfuls of purree and it always felt forced. Then at 7 months old she had a couple of teeth so we went back to baby led weaning and she was like a different baby. She loves eating finger food and hardly ever gags. I think it made all the difference waiting until she was ready and had teeth.

So I have several baby cookbooks and I love making her different foods it's just not easy making sure that she has a balanced meal. Me and my husband eat processed fatty food such as burgers, pizza and curry etc and I don't want Sophia to eat anything bad. Especially whilst she is so young that she doesn't have a choice what she eats so we make sure that she eats a healthy balanced meal. The Yumbox makes this easier as it has several different trays all labelled with what to put in, protein, dairy etc. So when we go out I make Sophia a little healthy packed lunch and she loves it.

The tray is removable and it is dish washer safe. It is also air tight when closed so you can put yoghurt in one of the compartments and it won't leak. I love how it even has a small round compartment suitable for a dip.

I also love how it fits into her Pink Lining mini rucksack perfectly so I can still use my small mum on the run bag whilst I put her lunch in her own bag. She is too young to carry it yet but I hang it off the pram handle.
There are cheaper lunch boxes out there but they aren't as cute as this! I bought the older version as it was on sale the only difference is that the new updated trays won't fit in. I'm hoping that it will last a good few years and see her into nursery. Overall I would recommend the Yumbox as it's a great idea to keep a busy mum focused on feeding her child something healthy.

You can buy this box here

Primark summer mini shoe haul

So we have had a tiny amount of sunshine and that's enough to make me dream of a new summer wardrobe. What new pieces I want to get this year to go with older stuff etc. Basically if I could have one of everything in Zara I would be happy haha.

Anyway I have been thinking about some new summer sandals and my first stop was Primark as they usually have loads to choose from. Last year I bought some from New Look for about £15 but in Primark they are basically the same for half the price.

I picked up these 2 beauties. One is a aztec printed sandal £6 and the other is a black open sandal £8. They both fit nice and are really comfy. I am sure both will walk many miles over the summer.
Also I couldn't leave my daughter out so I picked her up some super cute open toe sandals with velcro £3.50, so hopefully they will stay on her feet.

Jodie x

Spring shoe round up

It might finally be time to put my over the knee boots away and start to wear some open shoes.
Here are my favourites

* Zara leather buckle ankle boots, special price £19.99
* New Look basic ballet pump white £9.99
* Dorothy Perkins scallop edge ballet pump aqua, sale £9.60
* Dorothy Perkins asymmetric pointed ballet pump, sale £12.60

I feel that with this selection I could team these with anything and get numerous casual or party looks.
What will you be wearing this spring?

What's in my bag? Zara zipped bucket bag

So since I became a mummy 8 months ago I have been using various Pink Lining changing bags. I love these as they are pretty and practical but as a handbag lover I have been craving something else.

So bucket bags are back in fashion big time and they are nice and roomy so perfect for mummy essentials. I got this Zara one for my recent birthday but it is no longer available in store. They are available on eBay which is where I got mine from. Zara is always great quality and I'm in love with it.

You can hold it numerous ways as you have it dangling at your waist on the long strap or you can pull it so you have 2 straps to wear over your shoulder. Mine fits nicely around my two pram handles.

In my bag I have:
- changing mat (put of one of my Pink Lining bags).
- Pink Lining purse
- 2 or 3 nappies.
- a small pack of baby wipes
- nappy bags
- talcum powder (in a small contact lense case).
- anbesol, for teething pain
- tissues
- sunglasses (Red or Dead cat eye)
- glasses cleaner and cloth
- paracetamol
- Bobbi Brown corrector
- Nars matte Dolce Vita lip pencil
- Maybelline colour whisper in pin up peach.

There is also plenty of room for other baby essentials and snacks if I am going out for the day.

Charlotte Tilbury So Marilyn Lipstick

I'm a huge fan of red lipstick and so far YSL or Rimmel have been my favourites but now this Charlotte Tilbury one takes the top spot.
The formula is so smooth and it goes on like a dream. My YSL one feels abit thick and like it will slip around but this stays put.
I wore a Rimmel red lip liner underneath and I didn't feel that I needed to watch it like a hawk like other high maintenance reds. I only reapplied once on my evening out.
I wore this red lip to go and watch Slipknot with my husband which was a great night. It was our first evening away from our 6 month old baby girl which was scary.
Overall I would recommend this Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G lipstick.

Jodie x

My Baby Awards! 10 products that we have found to be better than all the rest

All the products that i have mentioned is in comparison to other brands that I have tried and tested. Some things that I love won't be included as I've not tried anything else so I don't have anything to compare it to.

Here are the products that I have found to be the best of the best in my own opinion:

1. Boots Soft Cloth Baby Wipes, these are just amazing! They are fragrance free and so soft and gentle and just work really well. My main positive is that there is no dragging on the skin at all. Just soft and gentle. I have found Pampers, Huggies, Sainsburys and Johnsons to all drag on the skin but not these. Also they are cheaper than all of the above.
2. Next clothing especially babygrows the quality of these just blow the other brands out of the water. They last well and stay soft not to mention they have the cutest designs going! I could be biased as we have about 6 with cats on <3 but the quality is just A1. They are a little more pricey than other brands but I guess you get what you pay for with these. I feel like I owe a special mention to Tu Sainsburys as these are also amazing quality and have cute designs.
3. Pampers Baby Dry Nappies I didn't want to be a Pampers snob but I now totally am oops. The baby dry are so soft, thin and comfortable looking compared to other bulky ones out there and these hold much more and as they say keep my baby dry. I can be confident that I can put one on before bed and she will be dry in the morning even after having at least 2 wees. I have tried other stores own brands and been disappointed and also I'm disappointed with the others from the Pampers range such as the New Baby as these leak and won't hold much wee. You just need to make sure not to go up a size too soon as I made that mistake with the baby dry and woke up in a puddle, so that was my fault. These are so nice and slim and have cute designs compared to Sainsburys Little Ones and Asda Angels which don't keep her dry.
4. Asda Little Angels Baby Powder this is great quality and I prefer it to Johnsons which is fragranced urgh.
5. Anbesol liquid, for teething. You put it on her gum and it numbs it for a little while giving short term relief. Cons, it is pricey compared to others and you can only use it every 3 hours but I would recommend it over other.
6. Calpol is the best for pain, fever and general unwellness. I find she takes it off the spoon well. Special mention to Nurofen for babies this is more or less the same but has quite a wide pipette so is not as easy to give her.
7. Simple Baby All in One Wash I really like this and feel that I can use it if we share a bath. The fragrance is really gentle and it bubbles up well. Special mention to Asda Angels which she likes and is gentle on her skin.
8. Nuby teething toys are great for her to chew on and light for her to hold. They are pretty cheap as well so that's a plus. Special mention to Lamaze toys which she also loves but they aren't as easy to get the certain ones that you want and they cost more.
9. Snufflebabe have the best products for when she has had a cold with their chest run and saline nose drops.
10. Bepanthem nappy cream does what it needs to do and I find it easier to apply than the thicker Sudocrem and also more hygienic because it's in a tube not a tub.

Other Special mentions:
- Big Bugs Band TV show
- Pink Lining Yummy Mummy Changing Bag
- Cosatto Easi Peasi Changer and Bath

Tip of the day: don't get a pram that has inner tubes in the tyres. I work in a bike shop and see people coming in all the time with punctures. The shop doesn't always have time to fix it there and then. If so it can be costly and it may mean waking your baby to get it out of the pram whilst it's done. Overall it's a complete nightmare so don't do it!

Co-Sleeping, my story. The reality behind the controversy

Co-sleeping was something briefly mentioned at parenting class which was frowned upon and has lots of controversy surrounding it. I sat there and thought oh I'll never do that! 

Fast forward to a 2 week old baby who will only fall asleep in my arms. As soon as I gently transfer her to her moses basket and tip toe into bed BOOM she is awake. It was so cruel on my sanity, she would be asleep and I would stand there for 5 minutes staring over her thinking can I actually sleep? And just when you let yourself believe that you might get some sleep and settle into bed. It feels good and pull the duvet up she would wake up. It would be so depressing, I felt desperate. I spent the first couple of weeks breastfeeding her on the couch and holding her in my arms whilst she slept I unfortunately didn't.
She would fall asleep in her electric swing but no where else and you are not allowed to leave them to sleep in swings or car seats as it is bad for their posture.

When my husband went to work after 2 weeks I found myself resided to the couch when she woke so it didn't wake him up, as before I would sit up in bed and feed her but I felt like I couldn't. I was exhausted and found myself nodding off with her in my arms on the couch which is very dangerous and often how babies get suffocated. One night my husband suggested bringing her to bed. I think he meant for me to get her to sleep in bed and then put her in her basket next to the bed but I knew she when she did fall asleep so did I. The midwife at the hospital showed me the correct position for feeding my her whilst lied down in bed. On your side with your baby under your arm and one leg over the other so you physically cannot roll over onto your baby. My arm around her protects her from my husband if he came too close or if one of my cats jumped on the bed.
This night I slept and it was wonderful! The first night in a long time where I got a decent amount of uninterrupted sleep. I felt like a new person and it was definitely a turning point!

Yes me and my husband were scared that we would hurt her in some way but I am a light sleeper and would wake up at any sudden movement from my husband or cats. I made sure that the bed cover was only up to her chest which meant that the majority of my upper body was without cover and I am cold so I wait for her to finish feeding and then try to carefully lower myself under the cover.
Part of this is my fault and I was warned by my health visitor as she uses me as comfort. She doesn't have a dummy (and would spit it out when we tried) she doesn't always feed from me but suckles for comfort which is how she always falls asleep. At first I didn't mind as anything for peace and happiness, but now she is approaching 6 months old and we want to get her into her cot in her own room I will pay the price.
Co-Sleeping is so convenient as she can feed whenever she wants and we never get up in the night anymore. Also due to this she never wakes up as much as if I would put the light on and get up etc as that would make her wide awake and take a long time to settle. So now she might feed or suckle in the dark and more or less goes back to sleep straight away with no fuss.

I'm the news it is classed as dangerous but when you look at the figures the babies who sadly were smothered by parents it was due to them not following the correct guidelines and procedures they had drank alcohol, smoked or took medication before bed which is a no no. Co-Sleeping can be done safely but it was a last resort for me and my sanity as I did try her in her moses basket. I never wanted to cosleep. 

Co-sleeping does have positives and negatives like everything, here are my main ones:
Negatives:
*No husband cuddles
*I get a dead arm and mostly have to lie in a uncomfortable position.
* my sleep quality isn't very good as I'm so cautious.
* I've had a very bad back since having her and I blame this partly as it's uncomfortable and my back is cold.
* Now that she is bigger she takes up all the room as she likes to lie on her back with her arms spread out. She always loved this and would wake up in her basket as she touched the sides. Also she didn't like being swaddled and would wriggle her arms free.

Positives:
* I actually get some sleep even if it's not the best quality it is sleep!
* It's so easy to feed her and I don't have to get up in the night.
* I feel secure with her next to me as I know that she is settled, happy and safe. I love to gaze at her and listen to her breathing (sometimes snoring hehe).
* She settles quicker as babies are used to mums smell, warmth, heartbeat and breathing noises when they are growing inside you and she gets this comfort when she is cuddled next to me.
* If she does wake we both go back to sleep fairly quickly due to the hormones in breastfeeding.

If you look at other mammals they all sleep with their young, there is only us who doesn't so like breastfeeding it is the most natural thing to do.

If we do have another child I would not want to do it again but I would if I had to. You can buy a Co-Sleeping pod bed things which I would look into. It is a crib that adjusts in height that fixes to the side of my bed. It is very safe and the baby can feel like it's Co-sleeping and I would have the feeding convenience and them hopefully put them in there little bed pod, yet still have my own bed room. It's a great idea but they are expensive.

So Co-Sleeping goes hand in hand with breastfeeding and if you are thinking about it I would read the NICE guidelines. It is not for everyone but it can be done safely and happily.

Jodie x