OUR MOST USED BABY PRODUCTS FROM THE FIRST YEAR

My little Orla bear is officially 15 months...I still can’t work out where an entire year and some has gone..but I’ll save all of that for another day. I don’t think it matters if it is your first our fifth baby, as expectant parents you are always looking for what is going to work best for you and your baby. There are so many products to choose from these days, even more so than when I had my son Leo nearly four and a half years ago now. The choice is amazing but it can be a little doubting as well. I thought it was about time I shared our most used baby items and why I loved them.

Let’s kick it off with the one we have all heard about, the Sleepyhead. I wasn’t convinced at first, I thought why would I pay that amount to essentially have my baby sleep in a pillow? It turned out to be so much more than that. My son Leo was not a particularly good sleeper as a newborn so finding anyway to help orla sleep better was at the for front of my mind while pregnant. It ended up being a life saver, she slept so well in those first six months. I remember people asking me oh how is it with two kids and my answer was always “so much easier than I had anticipated.” Don’t get me wrong, there was tough moments in those first six months but when isn’t there tough moments mixed in with those millions of rewarding ones in parenting. I think I found the newborn days as a new mum to two little humans a lot easier than I had expected because I was getting an adequate amount of sleep

most nights. Orla self settled in the sleepyhead, she seemed comfortable snug and safe in there. I could easily feed her in our bed in the sleepyhead and then transfer her in to her cot.

Next up is something I knew I loved but didn’t think I would get as much use out of as I have. Swaddle blankets, particularly these beautiful ones form little blue nest baby. I’ve been raving about these since the day I bought the first two. I came across the brand on Instagram while pregnant with orla and instantly fell in love with the beautifully hand drawn images. They are huge, soft and so incredibly lovely. They have been orlas blanket, a breastfeeding cover, a picnic blanket and her bedtime comfort. They are probably our most used baby item a apart from our pram.

You guessed it, the next most used item is of course our Pram. We have a bugaboo chameleon three and let me tell you..it came with a hefty price tag. One I had to poke and prod my husband to be to buy. I think he gave in, in the end because he was tired of the nagging! We had a bugaboo gecko with my son leo that we had bought off some friends unaware of how good and reliable the brand is. We used that thing every single day for three years and prior to that it was used by friends for a year so by the end it was on its last legs. We (..more like I) decided to invest in another buggy from the same brand for Orla because I was so happy with the previous one and knew it would with stand being used every day with two children attached to it this time. And it has, they are pretty, practical, do everything you could want and need them to do and as I said earlier..reliable. Which is exactly what you need in baby items that shlep everything you own around on most days.

Another item I was not completely convinced by until orla arrived and I was able to try it out was this baby bath support. When I had my first we purchased a basic baby bath and I was absolutely petrified to bath him alone in those newborn days. With this bath support I felt confident from the beginning and orla seemed to love it! I can safely bath the kids together and have a hand free to wash both of them.

Another essential item is a baby carrier. I used the same one for Orla as I had previously used for Leo. My mum gifted the Ergo Baby Carrier to us when I was pregnant with Leo. It is comfortable to wear,, easy to put on and most importantly comfortable for baby. I have loved having both of them close when needed while still being able to stow away the carrier easily under the buggy if needed. Four and a half years later, two kiddos warn in it and ours is still going strong. Their new ones are awfully pretty too!

Lastly..and this may seem like a strange one but I was unaware of its existence until a friend of mine brought me one to a play date and since then i keep on buying them. It is a sanitising spray. I am not sure how i lived with out it for so long. how many times have you been on the tube and your childs dropped that damn sophie the giraffe for the 50th time, you've picked it up wiping it with a wet wipe while and reluctantly handed it back to your teething babe wondering how many germs you just handed over. well, i have at least. anyways, this spray you can spray directly on whatever has dropped and you can hand it straight back to your baby with out any worry. It takes two seconds to spray and those worries and awkward side glances while you attempt to clean off things are gone. wow i sound like a sales woman but again i promise i am not!

I really love all of these items and I don't know how I would have gone on with out them.

FOR MY LITTLE LEO

Time is moving so quickly and you are growing up too fast, I want to remember as much of these precious little moments and memories of you as my little one before I blink my eyes and you are a stinky teenage boy locked in your bedroom. You are going to be three soon and oh, what a fun yet challenging age this is has been! You amaze me every single day with the new things you have learned, sentences you have come up with, ideas and interests you have. 

You absolutely love trains, and I’m sure I will never forget that. The second we arrive home from a train journey you run straight over to your train set and recite all the stations we went through and announcements that were made. Your daddy and I love watching you on the train, concentrating so hard on all the details. You are terrified yet fascinated by certain things. The man we saw dressed up as a tree at Kew Gardens (aka tree man), the lion in your favourite bed time book, and the rescue robots on your favourite show. You constantly reassure me that they do not live in our house and they will not get to your breakfast before you do every morning, hesitating before heading out of your bedroom to make sure I agree.

Your second favourite book at the moment is the one about the baby in mummy’s tummy. Before we got the book you exclaimed “mummy you ate the baby and now it’s in your belly and Leo ate lunch and now its in my belly! That’s silly!” (You talk about yourself in the third person quite a bit these days..) I knew it was time to bring the baby books out. I’m not sure if we’ve shaken the idea that I ate the baby but you have a new appreciation for what is to come, happily announcing that it will be mummy, daddy, Leo and the baby. Always double checking that the baby isn’t just going to come out to play and then go back in mummy's tummy.

You are a valiant little thing. You run and jump off everything, never stopping to rest. You stood up to two much older kids a couple of weeks ago when one of them stole your little buddies bucket at the paddling pool. You didn’t even back away as one of them, about 4 times your size, stormed towards you demanding for it back. As most do, you have a few fears though and you recently overcame one of them. Usually I cannot get you anywhere near anything but the sea and a paddling pool but the other week we went swimming! You were very hesitant at first and clung on to me for dear life but after 10 minutes you were jumping in from the sides getting everyone to take turns catching you, calling out which train stop you were approaching while in the air.

One of the things that catches my heart every time is how loving you can be. For such a boisterous little boy you can be the sweetest little thing on this planet. You will run up to me and crash straight into my leg wrapping your arms around me and looking up with a big grin announcing “I love you too!” before I have said a word. You ask mummy and daddy for “lots and lots of kisses” and check in on us when we might be looking a bit glum or tired “are you haaaappy?”. When we get in from a nice drama free play date and I check in to see how you enjoyed yourself you always name whomever we joined that day and say that you were happy and they were happy. I hope you never forget that being kind can go a long way. I absolutely adore you, you changed my life in a way I could have never imagined and I am so proud to be your mummy..toddler tantrums and all. 

TIME TO EXPLORE

On a hot sticky morning my mum and her partner, along with Leo and I, set off in search of the beautiful Kew Gardens. A tremendously magical open space, perfect for a boisterous toddler! Once through the line we were met face to face with what appeared to be Treebeard, from Lord of the Rings. While everyone else was excited to have their photo taken with him, my usually fearless toddler was not. We had a glorious morning filled with many memorable moments but I am sure that catching a glimpse of the “Treeman” will be the moment that stays in Leo’s memory the longest. I didn’t even get a second to snap a quick photo as Leo took one look at the man and started shouting “Nooooo I don’t like it!” while scrambling madly to return to the safety of his pram. It took a lot of coaxing and reassuring that the Treeman had gone home and didn’t have keys to get back in. Eventually Leo was ready to set out on foot to explore his magnificent surroundings.

Once paths had been sufficiently strutted down, flower beds had been gazed at and we had ran in and out of the Waterlily House a few dozen times, Leo was ready to rest by the duck pond. My little man is a delightful little chatter box, exclaiming every time a duck came by, and reminding all of us that we were not allowed to join them in there for a swim. Feeling a little bit peckish and worn out from the heat, we went off to hunt down the prefect shady spot to snack in.

Toddlers tend not to sit long and mine is no different, as soon as his food was devoured, Leo persuaded us into a game of hide and seek. How can I say no to that cheeky little face?!

We arrived at the tree top walkway, something I was quite happy to use my toddler as excuse not to climb up the 18 metre high structure. However, Leo had other plans. He headed straight for the staircase exclaiming “I too excited to wait!”. My 2.5-year-old climbed up like a champ not even blinking an eye that we were in fact higher than the monstrous trees that surrounded us, whilst I trembled inside and gripped on with dear life to the railing.  

 One of Leo’s favourite parts of Kew Gardens is exploring the forest. He loves strolling amongst the “big big heavy trees!”, collecting pine cones as he goes along and finding mini Leo sized trees, announcing that they belong to him. We came across a little miniature castle called Toad Hall, perfect for running around and around, and pretending tigers live inside!

After all that running and exploring, someone was tuckered out and ready for a shoulder ride back through the many trees and gardens, towards the gate. Not before checking that the treeman was nowhere in sight and would not be joining us on the train ride home.

A LITTLE BIT GREENER

Like many other mummy’s and daddy’s who are woken up at the crack of dawn by their little ones, I have a slight…well, major coffee addiction. Even though my son is two and a half, I am still woken up many nights by Leo yelling “my moooooouuuuussseeeee” or “Mummy!! My sunglasses!”. I always throw myself out of bed and across the hall so fast that I give myself an instant head ache. I feel groggy and zombie like in the morning’s until I have had my morning cup of coffee. Once I have rushed Leo and I out the door in the morning and we have spent three hours at a play group running wild, singing and jumping around and of course fighting with other strong willed toddlers for one out of a million identical cars…we are both exceptionally exhausted.

We have quite a few coffee shops on our way back from most play groups or nursery and I tend to feel overly drawn towards the smell of coffee as I walk past. I have just gotta have ooooooone more cup. This little to go cup is heaven. It looks lovely and a little dainty compared to most “travel mugs”, with the cork detailing so you don’t scorch your hand, it is the perfect size for a small coffee and better yet it lessens the guilt I feel about having my second coffee of the day.

The Problem with to-go Coffee’s is that Coffee cups are not recyclable, no matter which bin you put them in due to the polyethylene plastic which keeps the paper cup intact. This is true for every company selling to-go Coffees unless specifically stated compostable on their to-go cups. Compostable products are available, but they do come with ecological costs of their own. Coffee shops should take responsibility and offer a to-go option which is less harmful to the earth, but it is not up to them alone. You can go one step further by buying your own reusable coffee cup and carrying it with you wherever you go.

Keep Cup’s new glass coffee cup is by far the prettiest and most useful I have found. She has been dropped twice and I have yet to break her (*knocks on wood*) To-go coffee cups tend to spill everywhere especially if I am trying to push my surprisingly heavy pram, one handed whilst attempting to casually take a sip of coffee. I have had far less embarrassing and awkward coffee dribble moments since being gifted this lovely cup by my much greener, Eco- friendly sister.

It’s not enough to prepare our children for the future. We have to prepare the future for our children.

There are going to be so many changes in the world while our children grow up, I'm sure many of them will completely shock us, just like the changes which have occured since my birth shocked my parents. We will be left feeling older than our years, reminiscing on the times that we had to carry countless heavy text books to and from school and of poured over books in libraries.

As much as some of the advances that will occur in my son's lifetime, the worry and sadness I feel about those does not even compare to how I feel about our planet decomposing in front of my child's eyes. I want Leo to have the most vibrant and joyful life a person could ever have, but the world still needs to be intact for him to do that. I am going to start doing my part where I can, starting with this cup to home my coffee in.

You can find one of these cups for yourself on Keep Cup's Website here: http://www.keepcup.com/

JUST GO WITH THE FLOW

I am one of those people who struggles with spontaneity and even more so since having my little boy. I like things to be in order, planned out and in the know of everything that will or may be happening throughout any sort of trip. As last minute plans were being made to take the train down to Brighton during half term I was secretly freaking out inside. My fiancé and I had just started potty training Leo, something I had put a lot of stressful over thinking into before starting. I was only able to focus on everything that might go wrong. Leo unleashing his bodily functions on the passengers of the hour long train was a big worry.

As we made our way to the train station, sweating like nobody’s business, carrying a heaving bag of emergency clothes for Leo on my back. With his potty hooked to the pram, I couldn’t help but think what an awful idea it was. These negative thoughts were quickly erased once we arrived. We had survived the over packed train journey without an accident in the pram! The breeze as we stepped off the train was incredibly refreshing, being able to see the sea as we strolled down to our hotel calmed all the worries I had before setting off.

We spent the majority of our time on the beach. We eagerly tip toed down to the water, attempting not to fall over while sinking into the millions of multi coloured rocks. Leo loves sticking his toes in the sea, no matter how freezing cold the water is. Squeals filled the air as the waves crashed in to his little legs, just missing his trousers that I was not able to roll up any further because of my obsession with dressing him in skinny jeans.

Leo collected rocks, crouching down to get the exact one that was worthy of being lugged back to the sea in his little bucket. Calling out “mummy, cayou!” when he realised the bucket was far too heavy for him to carry all the way back, I swung him on my hip and we proceeded to launch the rocks back into the sea, giggling as they hit the water.

After a quick accident avoiding pee (Leo, not me) in a little dug out hole on the beach we then set off on the pier to hunt down some treats in the form of  mini donuts. My sister-in -law and I opened our umbrellas to block ourselves from the extremely confident seagulls who were patiently waiting for someone to expose their food enough for them to swoop down and grab it. The last couple of times I have been to Brighton I have been their victim. First they flew in and snatched my food out of my hands, nipping my finger and giving me a fright. The second time one landed on my head and I shrieked at the top of my lungs causing everyone to turn and stare, much to my embarrassment.

There was a lot of jumping around yelling "yaaaaaaay" from Leo while in Brighton so we left feeling calm and full filled. I felt like I learned a very valuable lesson. Sometimes going with the flow instead of focusing in on all the little details is the best recipe for the perfect little trip.

FIT FOR A LITTLE LION

It is no secret that I love dressing Leo. Half the time I’ll head out for an emergency jean pick up for myself because I’ve ripped a hole in my trousers once again. I realise this is a fashion now and I do actually own a couple pairs of pre-ripped jeans but I just don’t find them practical anymore. I am constantly aiding the rips in the jeans to get bigger by having to go on one knee and sort Leo's shoe out, or sit cross legged while we sing kiddo songs at play groups.  The majority of the time I will end up on oxford street with an hour to pick up some essentials but instead I return home with a new outfit for Leo that I am far too excited about. This can be rationalised as he does go through clothes SO quickly these days. His clothes get massive grass stains and rips in them so easily from him rough and tumbling around playfully with his little buddies in the park. To add to the short life span of his wardrobe he is growing like a weed, I constantly look down at him and think, did he just grow again?!

I tend to favour the same five kids clothing shops, although I am constantly on the look out for new ones. I find that it can be slim pickings for boys clothes but you can turn around in the same shop and see so many cute clothes for girls. I can pretty much always find a couple of things for Leo in Zara, H&M, Next, Mothercare and Gap Kids All of which are decently priced and you can usually find some little bargains if you look in the right places. I prefer to go into the shops, sans Leo when I get the chance. He is certainly not a fan of schmoozing around clothing shops and waiting while I hm and ha about whether I should get the grey or blue jeans for him.

I know that one day Leo will turn to me and say “Mummy, I want to wear my spider Man outfit to the park” or something along those lines and I’ll have to reluctantly give in. He has already started to refuse to wear braces half the time I attempt to sneak them on him. This used to be my go to for a “dressier Leo outfit”. I find trousers incredibly difficult to find for Leo. He seems to have skinny little legs, a big old toddler bum (I'm sure the fact that he is still emptying his bodily functions into his nappy rather than a potty..something I save for another day..is helping the size of that little bum) and a skinny little waist just under his baby Buddha belly. We end up with the teenage low trousers, pants showing look, one I am not really a fan of and neither is Leo. Having to stop mid run around the park to yank your trousers up is not much fun for a two-and-a-half year old energetic toddler!

The weather in London at the moment is feeling a bit like the world is about to end. One week a clear blue sky is chucking down snow, the next it is time to put those not so summer ready bods and pale thighs into some shorts and the next day I am having to stuff numerous layers in the bottom of the pram because that one dark cloud is making me nervous. When living in an unpredictable weathered city (this is why British people bring out the weather chat so often!) with a toddler means having all sorts of varied outfits at the ready. Here are some of my current favourites to dress Leo in.

    

                                                 Hat - Gap    Top - Zara     Shorts - H&M      Shoes - Schuh

                                              
                                                                          

                          Dungarees - Zara     Top - Zara    Shoes - Next

                                                         

J                                                                                          Jumper - Zara    Jeans -  H&M    Boots - Next

LETTING GO

I have been a full time stay at home mum to my little man, Leo, for nearly two and a half years. We have spent most of our days going to play groups, marching around town for his afternoon nap (Leo decided he must have fresh air on his face and wind through his hair while he naps from age one onwards) and scooting around the park in the afternoons.

I now have to come to terms that this little way of life is about to change. My tiny terror is growing up and part of growing up is going off to nursery.

I know everyone says it, but excuse me while I say this cliché phrase once again..because it is so incredibly true..having a baby is a life changing experience. Having Leo has been the best thing that has happened to me (meeting his dad being a close second..of course) and every milestone he has gone through makes me so excited for what will come next, so proud of him but also so sad because he is growing up far too quickly and there is nothing I can do to stop it!

My fiancé and I decided it would be best to ease Leo in to nursery with him going just a two mornings a week at first and building up from there. The nursery we would like him to attend in the fall allows us a minimum of five mornings, when I realised this my first thought was "What on earth am I going to do with myself?!"

I have always loved writing. Since I was a little girl I always said I wanted to be "a dancer who writes books". So here I am in my life, with a potential free 15 hours in my week, mourning the fact that I have to give up some of my time with Leo but looking forward to starting something new. That something new is blogging. This way I get to stay connected with my little love while living out the majority of my life long childhood dream (not joking here) of being a writer of sorts and a mummy.