Useful Things

I was thinking last night about things I could write about, and thought about a few items I've / we've found incredibly useful over the past 2 months. This is by no means a list of things you need, but definitely things that have helped us out a little :). Infact, I might split the list up and make it a regular thing! If you have any suggestions / advice just let me know :)

- Hotsling

(I got mine second hand for £5, but new about £40)

Alice pretty much wants to be carried all the time - she wants to be able to see what's happening and what everyone's

doing, and be close enough to me that she can pull on my top to remind me that tea time is happening!

The link is to the adjustable one and mine isn't, but the ease of it is amazing - it's literally just a pouch of material that I c

an put her in to carry her round. It's comfy, easy to use, and takes up no space at all in my nappy bag. I just chuck it in and it saves my arms carrying her round if she wants cuddles when we're out and about.

It's a lifesaver at home too, I can do the washing up, peg clothes out, tidy up etc. She has a nice l

ittle doze and I don't feel guilty about not getting anything done - winner!

Plus mine has a lovely pattern on (as pictured) and I get lots of compliments, that must mean I need another one right ;). I must stress how much I prefer the Hotsling to the Babasling - I find

that faffy and uncomfortable!

- Rear View Car Mirror

(£5.97)

By no means a necessity, but I find being able to see her in the back seat when we're driving really reassuring. I can easily see what she's up to, and if she's awake or sleeping - often a key factor in the decision making of where we're going and what we're doing!

And this is super cheap and easy to fit - it just attaches to the back head rest. One thing I did forget to check is if we had read head rests though, and turns out we didn't. However Mitch did a quick switcheroo for me! Problem solved. Would definitely recommend. It also has the added effect of distorting her head slightly which makes me giggle.

- BumGenius V3 Nappies

(I paid £5 each for these I think on an offer, but normally around £14.99 new)

I could write pages and pages about how fantastic we've found the cloth nappies and how happy we are with the decision to use cloth, but I just particularly want to focus on the type of nappy, and I'll maybe do a longer cloth post later.

The V3 are the old version, but just as good as the V4s. I also want to mention the BumGenius All In One Nappies which are sized, and we had 6 small ones of these for the first few weeks - they do from 8lb to 15lb so we're still using these but they take longer to dry.

The V3 nappies are classed as Birth to Potty nappies, so fit from about 8lb to hopefully when she potty trains - because they have various poppers to adjust the size and fit for the age she is (better explanation here).

We love them for many reasons, but a few include: Saving money - obviously a big reason, and a very important reason. Although the inital outlay was more, we should hopefully save a significant amount in the long term, and obviously these can be reused again and again. Reducing landfill, this is really important to me / us. Comfort, they look so super comfy! And I'm trying to avoid using chemicals on Alice wherever possible.

We've found the BumGenius the best so far for fit, ease of use, speed of drying, and absorbency.

I might sound like some crazy hippy, but that's fine. I have no confidence in most of my decisions, but I've been really happy with this choice so far.

Okay, little one is crying so I'm off for now. Will do some more of these soon, but please leave any comments with questions or suggestions :)

With love and light xo

Injections

I'm working on a few longer blog posts, but just while I had 5 minutes I thought I'd do a little update.

On Thursday we went for her first set of injections, and the newborn check up at the doctors. I'd not really been looking forward to it, but I know it had to be done. The check up was fine, Alice was all okay, and we actually had a really lovely doctor do it. Then we had to wait a little while for the nurse, so of course Alice fell asleep in my arms.

So we were called through to the other room, and I held her while the nurse prepared the jabs. I wish I'd woken her up first, but she was woken by her first jab. Then I had to quickly switch sides for the second. It was awful, she screamed. Literally screamed - not cried. She held her breath for about 30 seconds before turning red and just shouting in pain! I hated every second of it, especially knowing she's got to go back in 4 weeks for another set. But it's better than her getting ill I suppose!

Other than that we're both well - she's awake much more in the day time now so I get less time, but we have lots of fun and cuddles so that's all that matters! She is now over 8 weeks old, which is just incredible. Where has the time gone?

We've had a wander into town today and picked up 4 packs of vests in various sizes in the Mothercare sale to hopefully see us through till the end of the year. I don't think it will be much longer before she's out of the 0 - 3 clothes!

I'll post more over the next few days, but here's a quick snap of her little smile :)

With love and light xo

16 - Distracted!

I'm a little distracted today - I'm at work, but can't quite seem to focus - my brain seems to have been completely taken over by baby fever! This includes (but is not limited to) prams, nappies, clothes, names, nurseries, breastfeeding, furniture, sleeping, annnnnd just general babies! And this distraction has also completely taken over dreams :)

I think a lot of this has been brought on by my first proper baby shop yesterday. I've looked at bits and pieces before, but yesterday I went shopping to Meadowhall and just looked at so many adorable baby things. Zara had some gorgeous baby clothes that I just wanted to buy all of!

Looked in Mothercare at some prams too, which was really interesting. I've been looking a little bit online to get an idea of what's available / what I want / don't want, and I've been kind of "pram perving" to see what everyone else has, but yesterday was the first time I saw a pram I loved. It was the Quinny Buzz 3 wheeler, and it was just lovely - especially with the carry cot to make it into a lovely little pushchair! Just seemed so much lighter and nicer than a lot of the others, the material was really lush, the folding mechanism seems fantastic, and it would last through to toddlerhood. Been reading reviews and generally looking at in online - looks lush.

Feeling well in myself - sickness seems to have mostly gone apart from odd bits in the morning. Was sick on Monday but only because I forcefed myself cereal! Lesson learned - only eat what I want to eat. Tiredness is slipping away thankfully, although still shattered but putting that more down to work. Took advantage of the free dentist this morning - apparently I have amazing teeth!

Final thing really - going to look at the nursery this afternoon. I have no idea what to ask or look for really, so I've gathered some advice from Kate and BabyCentre! A little nervous actually, just seems so far away, and feels a little like I'm wishing time away! However I need to be organised, and I want to use this nursery so that's what I'm doing. I'll update with how it goes I guess?

Will take / post belly photos soon - has definitely developed into a little bump!

With love and light xo

13+3 - Bump Photo

Got my SLR back last night so thought I'd take some pictures of cupcake! I've had a couple of people comment on my "bump" this week but I honestly think I'm just a little tubby! However having compared it to the other picture I can see a bit of a change...

Had a bit of a panic this morning after a little bleeding, but called the emergency midwife who just told me to take it easy. Seems to all be okay now so fingers crossed cupcake was just being silly!

Felt generally okay this week, it's been great to not be feeling sick all the time! I've even managed to eat every day. Hopefully I'm out of the sickness for a little while.

Went baby shopping yesterday and I was very happy to show restraint and not buy anything! Got a bit more of an idea of things that were available etc., but some things just seem so ridiculously expensive! I wouldn't spent £150 on bedding for myself, so how could I do that for a baby?! Been reading a few design blogs for inspiration and I may attempt to make a few bits and pieces. I'd quite like to make a little quilt but my sewing skills may let me down! Also fell in love with the cute nursery decals (like wall sticker things) on etsy.com. We will see!

Looked at prams a little but they were all so confusing! What do you get in the price? What do you pay extra for? What kind? What do we need?! Argh! Will look after Christmas I think...

All in all, we're doing quite well here :). Going to make the blog public soon so trying not to be too boring, but looking forward to reading this back one day!

With love and light xo