The animals went in 2x2...

We're at that stage now where we go out without the pram, walks to the park or the shop is only a short distance so easy enough for Oli to walk to them. Being the terrible toddler he is at times, he likes to do his own thing and this includes walking off or screaming because he doesn't want to hold our hands.

LittleLife sent us one of their new toddler daysacks to try out. They've added a giraffe daysack and clown fish daysack to the daysack collection, we choose the dinosuar daysack one which has just been added to the new range.

I was a little worried at how Oli would react to having the bag put on him, one of the reasons we ditched his last reins was that he didn't like having them put over his head anymore and really put up a fight with them. We had no problem with persuading him to put the bag on his back and strapping it around the front. It was easy to adjust to the right size, even over his think winter coat. The reins part just attaches to a little handle and is a decent size for us to be close enough but still give us both enough space to walk. The actual bag itself is a great design, very cute with that dinosaur tail which runs down his back and it certainly got lots of attention at the park. Especially as Oli refused to take it off, which was ok as the reins easily come off allowing it to be just a bag. He more then enough room to carry a couple of drinks and snacks.

Hidden in a little compartment at the top of the daysack is a little waterproof hood which opened out is actually a dinosaur hood. Extremely cool, makes this bag even more exciting and practical as maybe this is one hood he'll actually keep up when it's raining.

The day I took photos of him wearing the bag on the way to the park, his cousin joined him with some reins of his own. These reins were wrist reins which went around his wrist, we compared the both and we all admitted that the dinosaur daysack was a much better choice. The reins on the dinosaur daysack were much less intrusive and were comfortable for Oli to wear. He had full use of his hands and he got his independence whilst we had our control over him. The dinosaur daysack and reins has help to sort out our little walking problem.

You can purchase the LittleLife Toddler Dinosaur Daysack from the LittleLife shop, JoJo Maman Bebe, Little Trekkers or Kiddicare.

After over 2 years of using a baby bottle it's time for us to say goodbye, well Oli decided it was time to say goodbye. The way I much prefer things to happen, it's ok for us to say no more but for him to say it shows how much he is growing up. We've had such a routine going that it just hasn't been a thought in our minds to change it, I say bedtime and he grabs blanket and his cuddly toys and walks up the stairs to his cot (next week it's a toddler bed! Eek!) where he's put in and then passed his bottle of milk which he curls up with. This was just the way bedtime went for us.

The other night when being offered his bottle we received a scream, he went for some and then gave us this disgusted look and went to bed unhappy. The next morning we found the bottle with the milk still in, the next night he refused it completely. Part of me is really pleased and I know now is the time he should be well away from the baby bottle but it seemed to be the only way I could get milk into him.

My son refuses pointblank to drink milk from any other cup/container or even have it with any cereal in the morning. We knew he liked milk as he drank it at bedtimes but now he wont drink it at all. I got given a look of disgust yesterday morning when trying to really encourage him by showing him that mummy has milk in her tea, in her porridge and that she even drinks it by itself. But nothing, I even showed him the wonders of adding nesquik to it to make it chocolate milk but he still wouldn't touch it.

It makes me wonder if he got too used to the bottle and now he can only associate that with milk and now that he doesn't want the bottle, he doesn't want the milk. He happily drinks squash from his other cups. Any suggestions with what we can try?

It's the one thing you always get asked when pregnant 'will you be finding out the sex' and then even occasionally you'll get asked 'so what would you prefer? Boy or Girl?'. Typically as I already have a boy I've been getting lots of 'so bet you would like a girl now then?'. Actually, Yes.

I'm bored now of saying the answer most people want to hear 'Oh I don't mind, as long as baby is healthy'. Of course I want a healthy baby, I want a healthy baby more then anything else. But why is this always the cop out answer I give? It's like I'm ashamed of admitting out loud to people that I would very much like it if the next baby was a girl, it's like I would feel judged and I could most probably be judged as well for saying that I would like for it to be a girl.

This doesn't effect my thoughts on having another boy at all, I would be more then happy for another little boy. We're all set up for a baby boy as I kept everything for the last couple years which I used with Oli. The man has actually stated he would like another boy and that he actually thinks it's already a boy as the scan photo looked rather manly, yeah I laughed at that too. I myself am thinking girl because of my hormones, I would love to be able to pin it on the fact I'm carrying a female and that together our hormones are just explosives material.

The thought of buying little dresses and being able to use the colour pink makes me go all gooey, I cant help but to be drawn to all the the little girls stuff when entering a clothes shop. Though I suppose that cant be helped when you see how much girls stuff there is compared to boys stuff.

Is it wrong that I would openly admit that I would like for it to be a girl? Is it some kind of secret that I should just keep to myself. At the end of the day I know that smile on my face is going to be one big Cheshire cat grin no matter if it's a boy or a girl.

As a blogger I often get sent press releases but when I got this one I thought it was more then relevant to me as well as any pregnant readers I have. I've never tried yoga before but after looking more into it, it actually seems like quite a relaxing exercise to undertake whilst pregnant. Here follows some further information and some videos in case you wanted to try out pregnancy yoga for yourself.


Pregnancy yoga is increasingly popular but time and money may prevent some mums-to-be from enjoying the benefits it has to offer.

Pregnant women who practice yoga often enjoy the way that it helps to build a deep connection and bond with the unborn child: because the babies are doing yoga too. They enjoy the calming breaths and rhythmic movement, and can really sense the fact that their mum is taking time simply to send a loving and nourishing energy to them in the womb.

And as an added bonus, regular practice of yoga throughout pregnancy can be of great benefit during labour, partly because the postures can help the baby to move into an optimal position for an easier birth, and partly because all those breathing practices and relaxation techniques truly come into their own as the body prepares to give birth.


There's no need for any special clothes or equipment, just space enough to get down on the floor with a carpet or mat beneath, and an old T shirt and a pair of leggings is perfect. Yoga is best done in bare feet.










The class is run by pregnancy yoga guru, Uma Dinsmore-Tuli, who was first introduced to yoga at the age of four, and has been teaching yoga and meditation since 1986. Together with her husband, Nirlipta, she founded Sitaram Partnership in 1998 to provide an authentic experience of appropriate yoga practice for the whole family from unborn children, to their parents, siblings and grandparents. Uma has a PhD in Communications from London University, a diploma in Yoga Therapy from the Yoga Biomedical Trust and is a recognised teacher of the British Wheel of Yoga. Uma has produced several pregnancy and family yoga CDs and, most recently, the widely acclaimed book Mothers Breath, a definitive guide to yoga breathing, sound and awareness practices during pregnancy, birth and postnatal recovery.

I wrote a post yesterday morning before going for a job interview whilst pregnant asking if I should tell them or not that I am pregnant. Sorry to those who left a comment that I didn't reply during the day, I was out of the house but used the wonder of iphone mail to see what you had to say. Most of you said yes tell them, but over the day I became set that I wasn't going to tell them and see if I got the job and then deal with it. After all it's not like I was going to break any laws or rules.

Though I did know if I was to get the job that I could risk the chance of pissing my employers off by then telling them I'm pregnant. I changed my mind pretty much the moment I walked through the doors and was greeted with a cold coke and really friendly staff, even the cleaner came up to me to see if I was ok and if I was being seen too, as I sat and waited to be called in.

The guy interviewing me was lovely, I'm pretty sure it's safe to say I wowed him with my dazzle factor. Loved the fact he kept mentioning my bubbly personality and how he could see what a fab job I would do just by chatting and getting to know me. Nothing like a job interview to boost your self esteem. I just couldn't not tell him when it came to 'so have you got any questions for me', told him I didn't really have a question but more of a announcement from me. Had to giggle at his face, he really wasn't expecting that. Like I said to him, I just wanted to stand out from all the others they were interviewing. Not likely to forget me in a hurry. Must of done something right as I've been invited back for a second interview. Yay!

Later on today I have a job interview, not really nervous or anything. Quite looking forward to it actually and hoping I get the job. Will be nice to be out of the house bringing in some extra pennies. Something is different though this time to any other time I've previously gone for a job interview, this time I'm 16 weeks pregnant.

I have a really tough decision to make between now and the time I go for the interview, do I tell them or do I not tell them I'm pregnant? I know that they cant discriminate me and not hire me simply because I'm pregnant but behind closed doors when it's just a couple of them chatting about who to hire, you can just see them going for someone who isn't pregnant. Though of course I could be completely wrong and they wouldn't see me being pregnant as a issue, the job after all is a temporary job which is what I'm after for the Christmas season.

What I don't want to do is not tell them I'm pregnant and actually get the job and then have to tell, I don't want to start off a job that way. But on the other hand, why should I tell them I'm pregnant? It's not a illness (though it can make you quite ill!) and it's not a disability of any kind. I'm quite fit and healthy now and perfectly capable of taken on work, the job I've got this interview for is not a job which involves any kind of lifting or any work which could cause baby any harm. I've actually worked for the company before so know what I'm getting myself into and this is one of the reasons I think I got offered the interview. I'm hoping I'll get judge on my experience and what I can bring to the table then what I'm carrying around with me in my tummy.

So what would you do? Would you tell them you're pregnant or would you not tell them?

So we're back riding the potty training train again, again it wasn't intended but was done on the off chance. I was giving him some nappy free time yesterday and then thought it a good idea to bring one of his potty's downstairs just in case. He screamed when he saw it and created some fuss, I ignored him and just left the potty on the floor. We both went our separate ways (him towards his toys, me towards the pile of cakes waiting for me).

Walking past the potty a while later I noticed a golden puddle (too much info? Well tough,it's my blog!) in it staring back at me. Was rather delighted, my hormones may of took it too far and shed some tears whilst hugging the boy in glee and telling how that a really good thing which he did. I guess maybe I need to find a different reward system to show him how good it is, that he's actually weeing in the potty.

When asked if he wanted a wee a hour later he happily went and sat on it and did another one, though did kinda miss a little which I guess is the issue with having a boy with a pee-pee. So now the potty has a mat under it. We put him to bed with a nappy on which was taken off this morning when he woke up with hope he'd use the potty again. He did, but used the upstairs potty whilst I was in the bathroom. This was good because then I gave him some toilet roll and then got him to wash his hands.

One issue we've come across though is pooing on the potty, he wont do this. I feel like we're playing a game of Russian roulette with not wanting to put a nappy on him but trying to persuade him to do it in the potty. Anyway of making him feel comfortable enough to do that or is just a case of waiting for him to want to do it? I don't want to pressure him in anyway, I feel like we've done amazing so far with just letting him do it off his own back.

It feels like it's taken forever to get past the first trimister and into the last couple of weeks. Anyone following my blog can see what I've had to deal with since becoming pregnant. I can happily say that now after several doctors visits and 5 hospital visits and numerous pills popped that I'm now pill- less and actually healthy. Like I'm actually waking up and forgetting that I'm pregnant until I look down and see this bump which came out of nowhere. My hyperemesis gravidarum has settled and I'm only getting the odd occasion where I'm still being sick but this is usually just a rare occasion in the morning or when the smell of something that baby obviously doesn't like unsettles my stomach.

The movements have already started and I can feel them as well even see them at times, I knew you could feel them much earlier the second time round but I didn't know it would be this early. When did you start feeling movements? I've already said this whole pregnancy is different to my first, it applies to the cravings and the food's I can eat. With Oli I had two cravings, at the beginning was Hubba Bubba but only the cola flavoured, and I couldn't get enough of the stuff! Was constantly chewing it. Then further on in the pregnancy where I couldn't stop eating curry I had the urge to add cookies into it. Yeah cookies and curry together, it's strange but I would still quite happily eat it now.

Oli made me go off mash potato, something which I still cant eat now. This time around it's chips but then anything which is cooked/has anything to do with oil is avoided at the moment. I hope I get that urge back to eat chips once I've popped! My cravings have consisted of smells, it's strange but I could be suddenly sitting there with nothing around me but then suddenly I would start smelling something! Normally in the form of sweets! So far I've had to have weathers originals because I started to smell butter sweets, then lemon sherbets and just recently chocolate orange so I may have to hunt myself out a terry's. It's just a want either it's like a need. You should seen how I begged the man to turn the car around to go to the supermarket to get those butter sweets for me.

We've had our scan and baby looks nothing but perfect and a picture of health. Everything is all normal. He/she has everything already formed this was a couple of weeks ago at 13 weeks, we saw arms, legs and even it's nose which from the shape of the scan already looks like it's daddy's nose. The same day I was booked in for another scan where I was having all my organs scanned, once finished the sonographer spent some time looking at baby again and this time baby was quite jumpy, was amazing to see his/her legs jumping up and down and moving around my tummy.

I'm so happy that I can actually now start enjoying the rest of my pregnancy, I really am taken with my bump and after seeing what I'm actually carrying on screen I'm head over heels in love with him/her. Going to enjoy this bonding time with my baby before he/she makes appearance in this world.

We've been asked for help by a leading detergent manufacturer with feedback on a new online site which is based around sharing tips and ideas to make raising happy, active and healthy children easier.

What they would like your help on is choosing a name for this new site out of the following six.



Feel free to add in the comments section below which names you like and don't and why and you can even say what reactions the names trigger. I look forward to helping reveal the new site along with its new name and exactly which leading detergent manufacturer it is sometime in the near future. So keep your eyes peeled and see if the name we like becomes the new name of this online site.

Right here on Me, The Man & Baby we have some exclusive news for you straight from the guys over at Regis Hair Salons. It's exclusive and special because we're one of the first to announce this news, you see Regis have a new face and you can find out who right here in this video from this celebrity.




To celebrate Emma Willis becoming the the Face of Regis Salons there will be a competition to find the UK's most convetable hairstyles, LOCKS ROCK & LOAD, which will be run through the . The overall winner will receive a whole year's worth of hair services and a Canon 550D digital camera - with 10 runners up each receiving a cut and colour up to the value of £100.

Keep a eye on @RegisUK too for a RT and follow competition to promote the , big fan of competitions right here on our blog so we'll be entering. And talking about blogs, Emma will be writing a monthly blog for Regis with everything related to the campaign. We look forward to checking it out.