Me, The Man & The Baby: August 2010

Friday, 27 August 2010

Nutella At Legoland

Whilst growing up I used to have Nutella for breakfast most mornings and even when I grew up and moved out I remember having jars of it in the cupboard , there were many mornings where me and my housemates were found spoon feeding ourselves straight out of the jar! (It's on every students must do list!) So to me it feels normal to offer it to Oliver as a everyday spread for his breakfast in the mornings.

I see nutella as a family friendly brand, and I'm guessing it can be found on most of your breakfast tables too?! When I got invited along with some other Mummy Bloggers to a Nutella event at Legoland I went along to find exactly how family friendly Nutella really is.

We were greeted with a wonderful breakfast spread which of course involved lots of Nutella. This was no ordinary breakfast though , we had some lovely company in the form of Ferrero UK's Marketing Director, Mauro de Felip , Psychologist Karen Pine , Nutritionist and Chef Alan Coxon.

We discussed in detail how much breakfast plays a big role in day to day meals and how nutritional certain breakfasts are.

Some of the things I learnt...

Per serving Nutella has less sugar then jam.
Children have a stomach the size of their clenched fist
Because Nutella is packed full of Hazelnuts it realeases energy slowly. It is a low GI food.
A parent will have to give a new food 10 to 15 times before it's accepted (So I wont be giving up on trying to get Oli to eat cabbage just yet!)
Children eat food by example
Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day! I know I already knew this but it reminded me that it was something I need to get across to Oli now and in years to come.
There is no need to use butter when spreading Nutella on your toast.
Nutella contains no artificial colours , preservatives or hydrogenated fat.
Alax Coxon is the King of food knowledge , check out his to be entertained.

For different views on the breakfast discussion and Nutella as a healthy option you can pop over to any of the following blogs : Amy at Cooking , Cakes & Children , Liz at Violet Posy ,Lulu at Family Affairs , Pippa at A Mother's Ramblings , Mary at Mary Poppins , Claire at Being A Mummy , Kat at Diary Of A (Not So) Single Mum , Vic at Glowstars , Emily at More Then Just A Mother and Kelly at A Place Of My Own.

For all that time I was eating Nutella I was convinced that it was chocolate spread. How wrong I was! The cocoa content for it is around 7% which is barely anything if you compare it to other spreads. The two hazelnuts which are included in every 15g makes Nutella a hazelnut spread , and all that time I just thoughts the nuts were on it to make it look pretty!

For me this breakfast event only made me more confident in my choice to give Nutella as a breakfast spread to Oli , I see it as part of a essential balance diet which both him & me can benefit from. I see it being a part of our breakfast table for years to come.

Head over to the Wake Up To Nutella website where you can try out one of many Nutella recipes listed.

BIG Thank Yous to Scott , Tim & The rest of the team at Cohn & Wolfe who are a fantastic PR company to work with, The lovely childminders who were on hand to look after the kid whilst we had breakfast and Legoland for letting us come & play.

Tuesday, 24 August 2010

AXA Respect On The Road

I am a very nervous passenger when it comes to being in the car with someone else driving but I cant really be blamed when I think of all the friends that I have lost have all been lost to tragic road accidents , and all at such young ages.

This is why I'm more then happy to back a campaign which AXA have created called 'Respect On The Road'. It's no secret that a lot of drivers out there suffer from road rage and sometimes this road rage can be the cause of some of the accidents that happen out there. AXA have created this campaign to try and bring courtesy and manners back to the roads. Why should we forget our manners the moment we get in the car when we should be taking them everywhere with us.

They've created a video which is acted out by 5 year olds who are acting out driving behavior copied from there parents.

I have to remind the other half often that Oli is in the back of the car and even though he cant speak yet, he's still picking up on any words or actions he may use. Kids do pick up things easily so we have to be careful with our behaviors especially in the car , after all these are the children of the future and it wont be long before they have there own cars on the road.

AXA have also hit the streets of London in a black taxi and have grabbed the opinions of the public in a series of videos called .

They've also set up a facebook fan page called which I've already popped over to 'like' and to check it out. They have all the 'Cab Cam' videos posted and ready to watch.

So next time you're out and about on the road how about some respect?

This was a Sponsored Post

Monday, 23 August 2010

The Positive Side To Mummy Blogging

Blogging to me is a fun outlet , the perfect way to express myself and get those everyday issues off my chest and no matter what anyone says no one will take that away from me and if that means simply cutting out any negativity in the form of a block button so be it. I've experienced enough bullying to last a lifetime. So in the light of all all this recent 'negativity' I just wanted to share the positives and shine the light on all that is good about parent blogging.

We are friends with something in common - we all have children. This is why most of us blog hence the tittle parent blogger. We all have friendships outside twitter/blogging but then we all have this major friendship going on via our keyboards. I know I'm not the only one who shares more with her blogging friends then some of those real life friends. Yes there will be little spats, it's unavoidable! It happens in the real world so of course its going to happen in the cyberworld. Instead of taking sides lets help each other work out what the problem is.
We can have fun especially via the fun bloggy events that are often put on for us such as Millets Farm , The nutella event at legoland and the first toylogists meet-up. I get excited every time a PR offers to send me on a day out/sponsored trip because not only does it mean I get to have fun it means I get to actually meet the people behind all those fantastic blogs I read. If you read tweets/posts about bloggers attending such things then please please don't get jealous or upset , your time will come - trust me!
We can do good and a example of this is - Josie , Eva & Sian are flying out in 8 days to Bangladesh all of which and why is explained in there recent blog posts. And how about the bloggers for Haiti that went on early this year - So far amongst us we've raised £4,356.50 (you can still donate!) we did this as a team and by working together , we blogged and tweeted in our hundreds. Surely this makes blogging alone worth while?
Opportunities .. gosh I don't even like writing (let that be our little secret!) and yet I've had opportunities such as guest posting on some amazing blogs/websites. I'm even going to be part of a new blogging community/forum for babybornfree which has all come from just pouring words into this little corner of cyberspace. Think about the opportunities blogging has given you and what the future will bring opportunity wise.
We are supportive of each other. We share good/bad news and we receive appropriate support in the form of a few comforting words. I know when I have a problem/issue the first place I turn to is either twitter/to blog. This doesn't make me sad , I just know where to go for the right support. We read each other's posts , we comment and we discuss them , it cant get more supportive then that. We help each other through hard times , There's times where I'm not sure my sanity would still be intact today if it wasn't for you guys.
Freebies/Money is something some of us do get along side our usual blogging. I wasn't sure whether to use this as a example of positives because this isn't what blogging is about and I know this is what some of the negativity has been about. The freebies are not exactly freebies , they are from a partnership we enter into with a PR and in exchange for a item they get a honest review and some advertising for it via our blogs. Both the PR & us get something out of that. In terms of money this is mostly from sponsored posts , this is a post a blogger writes in which he/she gets paid for it. Most of us bloggers are in fact stay at home mums living off one income and I can tell you from personal experience that this is a struggle so if we do get offered the odd £50 here and there for some writing then of course we're going to say yes. If reviews/sponsored posts are something you're interested in then don't sit there quietly to yourself wishing you could do that , ask the blogger where you read these kind of things how they got into it.
We're getting noticed! I cant be the only one that was excited to read about the rise and rise of the 'mummy bloggers' over on the BBC website this morning. It was like I had won sports day all over again , I was beaming with pride! That's us that the BBC are talking about , our community.

Surely all this is something to be proud of?

And with regards to the negatives? To me there isn't any.. These positives are way to good to even consider there being any negative sides to it. If you do find it getting you down or getting too much then there's always the power off button.

Friday, 20 August 2010

Quality Or Quantity

How often do you blog?

Do you do it daily or are you like me and make it a 'if & when' task. It was only this morning I looked at my blog to see when I last posted which was Tuesday. So not that bad.. only a couple of days ago. I then felt slightly naughty for not doing one on Wednesday or even having one scheduled to post for yesterday when I wasn't around.

I shouldn't feel naughty though as it is my blog and I admit to having the 'I will will write whatever I want , whenever I want' attitude, I think this is a great one to adopt. I'm not a writer with deadlines who has to write like a expert, my blog posts are often full of grammar/spelling mistakes (I bet even this one if full of them!) which makes me think about the quality over the quantity when it comes to blogging. Isn't it better to have a post on your blog which you're happy about and is a interesting read for both you and the reader, not something which was put together in a few minutes just for the sake of blogging everyday. But then does that make me a bad blogger for not having something to blog about everyday?

I do have draft posts wrote up , random post ideas that just come to me and I note them down and write about it. I could use those on days I suppose where I'm not sure what to publish on my blog that day but then timing just doesn't seem right for them to be posted on that day. Does that make sense? I would rather leave my blog empty for one day and have 0 traffic then put something out there purely for the basis of daily blogging.

Blogging for me is a hobby , I have shared many time that the reason I started it was as a diary to keep track of all those firsts. I found it enjoyable to read other mother's blogs about children and then that's when people started to read mine. I eventually found British Mummy Bloggers and then realised I was a Mummy Blogger , I hadn't signed myself up to some exclusive club by becoming a Mummy blogger (though it helps if you are a Mother with a child!) it was just something I fell into. I fit it around me -I do try to do the full lump of it when Oli naps which means I usually have a post out about midday. The same goes with twitter , I'm often found yapping away around midday for coffee chat , the gossip and the blog posts which get promoted (who needs google reader when you have twitter?!) .

What do you think.. do you think quality should come before quantity or do you think it should be the other way round?

Tuesday, 17 August 2010

Homebirths

I read a article in the Guardian yesterday which was about a survey claims over home birth being more of a risk then a hospital birth. Apparently a home birth carries three times the risk that the baby will die then if you were to have the baby in hospital. I do not believe this to be true , I believe that both have just the same risks. Which the Royal College of Midwives has confirmed.

It got me thinking about my own thoughts on home birth. I never really knew my options when I was pregnant with Oli , I think even with the choice of a home birth I would of still gone to hospital through those first labour fears and because I just didn't know what to expect , I always assumed something like giving birth to a child should be handled in a hospital around medical equipment/doctors.

After giving birth it was only then I started to find out more about different birth options and actually hear real life stories about mothers giving birth in the comfort of there own home and surrounded by there family. Luschka's homebirth story bought tears of joy and happiness to me, It sounded just simply beautiful the way she had total control and power over what was happening. Reading about Amy's preparation for her planned home birth got me excited and made me think of home birth as a safe option to choose. She even shared what she got in her homebirth bag.

I've decided that I want a home birth with the next one (when the time is right!) for many different reasons. I wouldn't fault at all the treatment I was given when I gave birth to Oli in hospital. The midwife was there with me from the moment I arrived to the moment I gave birth, this is one reason why I think a home birth may be for me next time - I had a straightforward simple & quick (don't hate me!) labour which was done with one woman in the room.

It went downhill after I had given birth and was put down on the ward. I had no support with me not being able to breastfeed and even though I was in shock , they kicked the other half out. This still upsets me to this day. He should of spent that first night with his son like I did. I didn't want to be away from him. I wasn't allowed to discharge myself because of the set hours you have after given birth and the fact there wasn't a pediatrician handy to do some checks.
That was a horrible experience and like I said still upsets me today , I felt alone in a strange place once everyone had left me. I don't like overnight stays in hospital so why do it if I have other choices available to me.

I will look into my options come the next birth and I will be the one in control , after all it is my body and I am the one giving birth.

Monday, 16 August 2010

A Confession Of A Milkaholic

I have a confession , I'm addicted to milk. Yes that smooth white stuff which Mummy informs me comes from a cow. I just cant get enough of it. On a bad day I must get through at least 5 bottles and a good day around 3 but I'm still clutching to that fridge in the desperate hope that Mummy will pour me one.

Why does she expect me to lower my intake now? She spent months increasing it when I was born, and now she's trying to decrease it? Crazy Lady!
Ok she might still be slightly miffed that I never wanted her milk when I was born but she gave me some formula which gave me all the goodness I needed until it came to weaning me onto the cows milk. Mummy did that just before I turned one , she said the formula was costing her a fortune especially with how much I was drinking each day. She's disovered that I refuse to go to sleep without a bottle in my hand.

I know my addiction has got out of hand because I wake up in tears and screaming for another bottle in the middle of the night. Mummy of course beings me that bottle as she know it's what I want and as soon as I receive it , I snuggle back up under my duvet and fall asleep with it. I just need that midnight fix to get me through the night. Of course I wake up and the first thing I want is that bottle of milk , maybe it's just the baby inside of me still?

Mummy has no worries about me drinking this much milk , the doctor said it's perfectly ok. I know she's worried about the effect the teat will have on my teeth but what does she expect? She took my dummy off me so of course I found comfort in sucking my teat constantly.. Hopefully she wont catch on!

Oliver

Age 1 + 4 months

Thursday, 12 August 2010

Go Camping With The Kids This Summer

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I came across some info yesterday that I just wanted to share with you guys. We as a family have been giving camping a thought, so have been looking at hints/tips on how to make it a sucessful camping trip with a toddler. Carolyn Budding from the UK’s leading children’s outdoor gear company Little Terra has some great tips which may be of use to you guys as well as us.
“Camping can be a wonderful adventure. Just think of all the things the kids will see right outside the tent - birds and animals, plants and trees, streams and ponds, insects, wildflowers and lots of other kids their own age to play with. By planning successful, enjoyable camping trips when your children are young, you will set them on the path to a lifetime of outdoor adventures.”
Here is the little Terra Top Ten Tips to camping with kids for the first time. Have fun!

1. Get the kids interested in the trip by getting them involved. Build their excitement and anticipation and plan the camping trip together. Get them to help out by looking for places to go on the internet and then build their map reading skills by asking them to look them up on the map. If they enjoy shopping get them to choose their own equipment like a child sleeping bag - just the right size for them.

2. Ask the children what they would like to do or learn when they are away. Depending on their ages get them to write a list and plan certain things you can all do each day of your trip.

3. If your children are not that used to the outdoors, dip a toe in the water before you go by trying a few outdoor activities with your kids. Get them familiar with the outdoor life in order to eliminate their fears. Take a walk in your local woods, visit a nature reserve or go fishing at a nearby pond or stream.

4. Buy some new books on camping or borrow them from your library – you can get them for all ages and even if they can’t read they will love looking at the pictures and imagining it’s them.

5. Try a campout in your garden before you go for the first time. This will
o Teach the kids how to set up a tent
o Try their hand at some outdoor cooking
o Experience a night outdoors in sleeping bags
o Show them how to use some camping equipment like children’s torches.
o Get them accustomed to the many, and often eerie, night sounds

6. Take the necessary gear and supplies – although you may find you’ll need a bigger car! You’ll need:-
o Warm children’s clothing - it may get chilly especially in the evening so take plenty of layers
o Lots of extra clothes, raincoats, wellies and spare pairs of shoes
o Insect repellent
o Sunscreen - they'll be outside all day in the promised sunshine!
o First aid kit - for those little accidents
o Toys, games, activities
o Familiar bedtime items - pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, dolls etc
o Flashlight/glow sticks or children’s torches in fun designs like Little Terra’s ladybird torch- just in case they get afraid of the dark.
o Lots of snacks and drinks
o Don’t forget hand sanitiser, a toilet roll and plastic bags.

7. Make your travel fun
o Don't travel a great distance for your first camping trip and make it quite short – perhaps only two or three nights
o Take toys and activities to keep them busy
o Play car games such as spot the license plates, singing etc
o Take plenty of snacks

8. Try to make camp chores fun for kids. They will love helping Daddy put up the tent, collecting firewood, filling water containers, hammering in tent pegs and cooking sausages on the camp fire. You can even make the camp chores extra fun with contests for gathering the most kindling, best meal of the trip, most organised gear, fastest clean-up and so on.

9. Create memories – if they have their own camera make sure they take it with them, if they don’t give them their own disposable camera each, remembering to take extra films and batteries. If your children are old enough encourage them to keep a daily journal, capturing their thoughts and feelings about the trip and the activities you did, include drawings, bark rubbings, pressed flowers and photos.

10. This is England after all so always plan for wet weather days and alternative activities. It won’t hurt to do something inside once in a while. Just don’t forget to pack the childrens waterproof clothing http.

Whether buying for your first camping trip or replacing your existing accessories, choosing your camping equipment can be quite daunting. Fortunately, Little Terra knows how difficult it can be choosing the right items, especially when taking small children.

Little Terra has a range of special kids camping equipment including childrens sleeping bags, and fun little essentials like a wind up torch. For more information visit www.littleterra.co.uk. PS This wasnt a sponsored post in any form , I emailed Carolyn and she kindly gave me permission to share these tips with you guys :)

Wednesday, 11 August 2010

The Wrong Order

Do you ever think you've had your children in the wrong order?

There's times where I think Oli should of been born as a second child , you see he gets on much better with older children then he does younger children. This has always been the case , I'm not sure if he sees those younger then him as some kind of threat. He cries if anyone younger then him makes any kinda sound , he gets genuinely upset. I'm starting to fear being around anyone younger then Oli in fear of tears and the endless comforting. He's too young to understand the expression 'man up' just yet.

This was proven all of last week when we stayed at friends who had both a 7month old (Mr A) and a 5 year old (TB). Every noise that Mr A would make would set Oli off , we had car journeys where Mr A would do a little gurgle and then it would cause him to break out in tears.
But when it came to TB he would happily listen and play with him! Maybe he just understands grown up noises more then baby noises. Hopefully it will be just a phrase which he'll grow out of soon enough (I hope!).

I'll never know if Oli was much better suited to being the second child just like I'll never know what he will be like as a older brother when the time comes to have another.

Those with 2 or more children , do you ever wish you could change the order of which one came out first/last?

Tuesday, 10 August 2010

Nuby

Nuby sent us some products from there forever growing range of weaning & feeding products. We've not tried Nuby before so jumped at the chance to try out this funky coloured feeding equipment.

Nibbler

The nibbler is the perfect item for any weaning baby, you can put anything from fruit & veggies to frozen stuff (great idea for a teething baby!) into the net. It has a squeeze & lock system which prevents the child from opening it. Replacement nibbler nets are available if you need them. As well as yellow/orange it also comes in pink/purple and blue/green.

I wanted one of these when Oli was at the weaning/younger stage but I just couldnt find anywhere that sold them. My excitement at finding out that Nuby sold them was enough to make me want another one. I'm pretty sure he has gone past the stage of a nibbler being much use to him now he knows how to hold things , I would of used it as a teether ( we went through alot of frozen banana which got very messy! ) but his are nearly all through so we bought it to a friends house where we've been staying all week.

Meet Mr A , 7 months and belongs to Glowstars . The perfect example of how the nibbler can be of great use. Mr A only started weaning recently and his parents have chosen to go down the BLW route. We squashed some banana into the net and attached it to the handle and then passed it to Mr A, he got on perfectly fine with it. The banana easily came out at the right speed and the right amount. The only mess that was made was from holding the net part but he'll soon learn to use the grip. £3.99 is a fantastic price for this genius product that will save you time and mess!

Silicone Squeeze Feeder

Something else we got Mr A to try out for us. The silicone squeeze feeder is from Nuby's natural touch range. I'm going to let the video show you how it works :

The feeder is just as genius as the nibbler. You simply pure the food into the squeezer end, pop the spoon part back on and then to control the amount of food that comes on to the spoon just give the squeezer bit a squeeze! It's ideal to use when you're out and about as there's no fusssing around with spoons (or forgotten spoons in my case!) and there's a slip on cover for the spoon part so no searching around for baby wipes to wipe it.

Convert-A-Cup

The convert-a-cup has 4 different stages which will see you from first cup to a open cup without any handles or spout. The spout has touch flo technology which which activates as soon as the child puts the silicone spout in his or hers mouth.
It's easy to transform into each different stage as well as easy to clean. It has a a one piece no spill spout & lid which means no messing around with fiddly parts.

The handle is clever enough to support through all stages and can even be taken off to allow it to be a freestanding upright normal cup. It contains 8oz.
Oli used it as a cup with handles but give it sometime and I'm sure those handles and spout will soon be off.

Super Sipper Flexi Straw

This is the perfect straw training beaker , I've been trying to get Oli used to straws over the last few months but have not had much success, so I wasnt sure how this would work with him. I was surprised to see him get to grip with it quickly & easily.

Along with many of the other Nuby products , the super sipper flexi straw comes in a variety of colours.

Flip It Beaker

One for the older children (suitable for 18mths+) I did get it out of the packet and did try to introduce it to Oli but he was more intrested in his flexi straw. So have put it aside ready for a couple of months time when he's ready to have another go at trying it. Good value at £3.99!

I am totally impressed with the quality of nuby products , They have everything you need to see you through the first few years of your childs life.

Monday, 9 August 2010

Are Parents That Smoke Child Abusers?

Before I turned off the TV this morning , I caught a question from a breakfast show that really did get me thinking. I turned the TV off and didn't continue to listen to what was said. But I sat down to think about the question Are parents that smoke child abusers?

I have both the answer of yes and no to that question. I would or course say yes if a parent was to smoke within distance of a child which allows the child to breathe in the smoke or even get a whiff of it.

Breathing in other people's secondhand smoke can damage almost every organ in the human body. Breathing secondhand smoke increases a non-smoker's risk of lung cancer by 24% and heart disease by 25%.
Breathing in secondhand smoke makes the blood more sticky, meaning there is an increased risk of blood clots forming. A blood clot can block an artery and cause heart attacks, strokes, angina, or even complete heart failure. Taken from NHS Smoke Free.

I'm surprised that I'm not already hooked up to a gas tank or that my lungs are damaged due to my parents. From the moment I can remember I was constantly around smoke, they smoked a hell of a lot and it wouldn't surprise me if they did it around me when I was a baby. I was forever breathing it in, had no choice to when you sat on a sofa next to them or holding hands through town whilst your mother lights up. I will never be able to tell if they've damaged me until I die. I did have times of needing a inhaler whilst growing up due to stints of not being able to breathe easily, I do put this down to the 13 or so years I had of inhaling second hand smoke.

But I would say no though if a smoker was to do it nowhere near a baby/child and was to do it outside (smoke can linger for up to two and a half hours inside) . I know you have you rights to smoke as much as we have our rights to protect our health as well as our children's.

It is harsh words to say that parents to smoke are called child abusers , I know myself that those are harsh words to say to any parent. But anyone who freely lets there children breathe in there smoke are harming there child. Surely there isn't anyone silly enough to do that?

I know both non-smokers & smokers will have different opinions on this. How about is someone your close to smokes? Does that change what your answer would be? You can see I said yes because I grew up with that second hand smoke and looking back on those days now as a adult I see my parents as abusing my right to a smoke free living. What do you think?

These are just my personal opinions. Both positive/negative comments are welcome but I will not tolerate nasty language or personal attacks. After all this is MY blog.

Wednesday, 4 August 2010

Playtime

This week's gallery prompt is 'playtime' and I know what playtime means to every parent out there. It means having a sea of toys scattered across your living room , it means trips to the park, garden activities and so much more. Playtime usually is associated with children. I was going to post some photos of mine & the mans playtime like our outdoor fun and those rare nights out (just to be different!) but playtime to me is mainly about Oli so it was only right to share photos of our playtimes.

Playtime is one of my favourite times with Oli , as much as I love having joint playtime with Daddy I like it even more when it's just me & Oli. It's important bonding time for us , I know we spend alot of time together as I am the stay at home parent but playtime shows him that Mummy isn't all 'Don't do that' or 'No Oli' , it shows him that Mummy is fun and likes to play.