July 2015 - lots of tummy time

Well here we are 3 months down the line and about time I get back to blogging. I stopped as busy wedding planning and with 2 young children life does get manic.

Ella is now 9 months, sitting up completely unaided and rolling front to back. Until a few weeks ago she refused any tummy time. I was getting frustrated that babies around her age were starting to show signs of crawling but she was unhappy that she could only sit.  So after reading up online on how to encourage crawling, I read the best way was to try and preserve with her on her tummy even if she cried a little bit. Charlie was exactly the same at this age and never did crawl, he always seem to sit crying with frustration as couldn't get around to get toys and explore.

So that made me determined with Ella to help her out and make her stronger. So the first week every now and again I would put her on her tummy. She would last a few mins and would kick and struggle and I would flip her back over. She did this for about a week. The second week I put her on her front and she would lift her head to look around and go to grab toys, which was brilliant, she was no longer finding it hard. Then finally by the end of the week she learnt to flip over!!!

This was great, means I can put her on her tummy and walk away and leave her, she doesn't  moan or cry as she can get back onto her back. (but now she thinks its a game, that as soon as mummy does tummy time, she can back flip over as quick as she can!)


Today I could place her on her tummy and she could support herself with her arms, so very nearly in the crawling position. So I feel like we are getting somewhere an building her strength up. I really do wish I did more tummy time as a younger baby and maybe she would already be crawling like her little friends.

But we will get there! I am pretty lucky that she is still a happy baby, loves growing through her basket of toys and loves her brother to bits.

Do you have any tips or tricks for helping babies to crawl? Would love to hear from you!

Claire

Sitting up nice and strong - my little baby is growing up

Ellas Kitchen

Ellas kitchen are a well known household name producing baby and toddler food.  All products are natural, 100% organic and are suitable from 4 months till over a year old! Ranges include first tastes, baby rice, baby porridge, finger food and toddler snacks and meals.

When I weaned Charlie, being my first I wanted to make sure I was doing everything correct and by the book, I made sure I spent hours preparing, boiling, steaming and then blending food, putting it into little pots in the freezer with little hand made labels! Took me most of nap times but I knew exactly what was in the food.

A few months after the novelty wore off and I discovered Ellas kitchen. And after discovering the full range I was amazed by the ingredient list. Every ingredient is organic and exactly how you would cook it at home, but without the fuss and hassle and all in a pouch ready to use. With Charlie we went straight to the 7 month plus range which includes meals such as big smiles cheesy pie, fish pie, lamb roast dinner and our favorite lip smacking spag bol. Every single one of these I tried myself as I always do before giving it to my little ones and they really are yummy!

So this time with Ella I dont have time for the cut, boil and blend method and decided to go straight for pouches. I prefer the pouches over jars, as you can feed straight from the pouch without re dipping the spoon into a jar or bowl. You can also stand them in a bowl of hot water to heat through. Great when you are out and about!

Ellas kitchen kindly sent me two new flavors to try from the first taste range, both suitable from 4 months

- Peas Peas Peas

And

- The Orange One

The first one we cracked open was 'The Orange One' now this smelt just like a smoothie. A very runny consistency, so brilliant for first tastes and get little ones used to different textures. Ella wasn't very keen, think it was a little bit too sweet for her, especially as she has only had baby rice and porridge.

So next we tried Peas, Peas, Peas and you guessed it, its just peas!! Amazing. I heated this one through a little bit by putting some in a bowl in the microwave for a second or two. This was a little bit thicker than the orange and tasted just like mussy peas. And Ella loved it!!!!! And this made me realised maybe she has more of a savory tooth than a sweet one.

So we are now about 3 weeks into weaning and she is doing really well, I panicked a bit weeks one or two as she wasnt a bit interested but after finding she prefers savory tastes, its been going down well.


I cant wait till she can have the proper 7 months plus meals and I know how yummy they are and they are like eating home cooked meals.


Ellas kitchen products are available to order direct from their website here or available from most supermarkets.

Gumi Gem - Teething Necklace and competition

Now Ella is coming up to 6 months we now have the next big step! Teething!!

She has just got over her 3rd set of immunisations and happy again, and then I am sure in the next couple of weeks the dribbling, crying, red cheeks and discomfort will start.

Ella has also just started to show an interest in toys and grabbing things. And so when I heard about the Gumigem jewellery I was interested to find out more

Gumigem is a UK family run business who create award winning jewellery designed to look amazing but for baby in mind.

I was kindly send a  heart shape necklace and its so gorgeous I plan to wear it most of the time when around Ella. You wouldn't really know it was baby related just a piece of outfit jewellery.

The necklace is made out of silicon, completely chewable and washable. It is BPA and PVC free like you would find a dummy teat or baby spoon.

Now babies always love to pull on hair and necklaces so this is perfect, she can play with it and also have a little chomp which will hopefully relieve the discomfort on those poor little gums. As I can always wear it I know I wont be without it even when we will be out and about.

So overall I love this product, something so simple will cause so much relieve for months to come!

              Here she had a play with it, but would never leave her with it due to the cord


There are plenty of designs to choose from check the out on the GumiGem website HERE  or check out their Facebook page



I would now like to give you the opportunity to win a Gumigem necklace worth £12.95



Win a GumiGem Necklace rrp £12.95

The Tiny Timbers Update

So my little family includes my two gorgeous children, Charlie who is 3 and Ella who is nearly 6 months.


Charlie was born 6 weeks premature back in 2011, which was an emotional rollercoaster for us all. He made a surprise appearance, and spent 2 weeks in Bath hospital NICU. He is generally happy, doesn't have much patience, but a very well mannered and loving little boy. He currently goes to pre school 2 days a week which gives mummy the time to spend with Ella.

Ella Threatened to come early, at 31 weeks, but her birth was delayed and finally she entered the world in 2014 at 37 weeks. She is completely different to Charlie, much more happier, content but doesnt sleep! We have just started weaning as she is constantly hungry.

I cant wait to update my blog on watching my children grow! Perfect Memories!

Moby Wrap

Baby Wearing, is a term frequently used and is now a popular trend when it comes to carrying a newborn or young baby.

There are plenty of benefits which include reduces crying, increased learning and promotes a strong attachment.

With my first I was hardly confident carrying my little boy in my arms let lone tie him to my front and just let him sleep. He was never a contented baby and ended up sitting with him for hours trying to soothe him.

Ella on the other hand is much easier, she can be put down, she plays a bit, smiles and gurgles away until she falls asleep again. Easy I thought! Well until 2 weeks ago and my poor little girly had her 3rd lot of injections.

She has since required me to carry her around 24/7. Shes very unsettled and wont sleep anywhere.

Charlie my 3 year old has been getting frustrated as I cant spend quality time with him playing let lone clean the house!

So after speaking to a few friends they suggested I try a sling, and a lovely friend let me borrow her Moby wrap to try.

The Moby wrap is a very large piece of material, which takes a few attempts to tie correctly. But the wrap comes with a great instruction book and a dvd.

Once the wrap is on, you can leave it on most of the day and just pop baby in and out. First time I popped Ella in she wasnt high enough, you must make sure you can kiss your babies forehead so they are not in a position to restrict their breathing. But after trying the wrap again and tying tighter it was perfect.

She snuggled down and I was able to carry on with everything I needed to do, as the weight is evenly distributed between both shoulders it felt very comfy and hardly any weight at all. she is currently only 14lbs and she felt as light as a feather.

After a few minutes of being carried around she fell asleep!! Ahh bliss. It was perfect that if I wanted to (and the weather was better) we could have gone for a lovely walk and not even disturbed her and the worry of pushing a pushchair.

The wrap is suited for babies up to 35lbs so we will have lots of use out of it yet, especially in the summer. I do wish I tried the wrap right from the minute she was born as I can imagine its amazing still carrying your new baby next to you like a fourth trimester.

I will post some more photos when we are out and about.

Have you tried baby wearing? Would love to hear from you.


 

Competition - Win Chillipeeps Spout and Teat

Would you like to be in with a chance to win your very own ChilliPeeps spout and teat. RRP £13

Competition ends 1st April 2015

Check out my review here!

Win 1 x Chillipeeps Spout & 1 x Chillipeeps Teat

ChilliPeeps 3 in 1 teats and spouts

The Weekend just gone me and my partner went to The Baby Show, Excel, London. This was the second time we have been and we loved it!

We are always on the look out for new and exciting things to try for Charlie and Ella.


Walking around the show we came across, a small stand, with only two ladies and a small display of products call ChilliPeeps. A few people were gathered around and we popped over for a nose!

After a few minutes one of the ladies asked us if we would like a demonstration, and out came a small gadget to make feeding out and about a lot easier.
The gadget has a teat (or spout depending one age) on one end and then different attachments which unscrew on the other.

The attachments on the end can then be added to ready made formula cartons/bottles or bottles of water.

Now I have always been told that babies cannot drink water which has not been pre boiled, but I have since learnt that the 3 main bottle water suppliers - Volvic, highland spring and Evian are perfectly safe. Which is great to know.


Normally when out and about I would buy a formula carton and pour it into a sterile bottle, which is a lot of fussing and a right nuisance if you have run out of bottles, but with ChilliPeeps I can just let Ella drink straight out the bottle or carton. How easy is that!


We purchased these at a special offer of 2 for £10 at the show and bought one spout and one teat for Ella when she is older. But retail at £6.50 on the website which is still a bargain!!

Check out the ChilliPeeps website here

I have yet to try the product out but when I do I will let you know how we got on! I cant believe how much easier this is going to make our time when we are out and about for the whole day!




Claire