February 2016

Its been so long since I did a post! I  never used to think life could be so busy but speaking now as a mum of two I don't know where the time goes. Somehow we are already in February. Hopefully though you've been seeing my Facebook and Twitter updates, so you know that things around here have been pretty hectic. It hasn't been a deliberate break as such but with so much going on something had to give.

Currently we are just starting Baby A on food other than milk ... He has grown out of his Moses basket and has been in a crib for the past few weeks ... We are today swapping the carrycot to the pushchair seat and I feel a bit sad that my baby boy is no longer a tiny dinky dot. J is excelling at school with reading and problem solving - we have just had a brilliant weekend at my parents house where he was on top form and really enjoyed himself.

We had a busy but enjoyable Christmas with lots of gifts from our very generous family & friends for the boys (and a shiny new exhaust for me - or rather, for my car - but thats another story!) We'll be exploring and writing about lots of brilliant babies and kids products, including My Puppy Scout from Leapfrog and Follow Me Fiona from TinyLove. As Baby A moves into the seat unit from the carrycot of his Mura Plus 3 travel system I'll be telling you all about that, too.

As Baby A moves onto solids we're in the market for a highchair, so send me your recommendations! I need something wipe clean and that folds easy for storage - it will be used in my already squashed front room so being able to put it out of the way easily after use is essential.

We've had an uppy-downy time recently but we're focusing on the positive for 2016 and starting from 1st Feb I'll be doing #threegoodthings where I select a photo of the day and write three good things that happened that day. It helps to focus on the positives in life and I'm all for that.

"Every day may not be special,
But there is something special in every day"

Peace & Love

Mummy P

Tiny Love “Tiny Hug” Baby Carrier

When I was pregnant with J, I was really keen to get a carrier for him. It never happened, because I couldn’t find one that I liked enough, one that held baby in a good position with plenty of support (I hate ‘crotch danglers’); one that fitted me as well as Daddy P; one that wasn’t difficult or fiddly to adjust and put on and one that would offer longevity of use.

When I was pregnant with A, I was introduced to the Tiny Love range. Included in this collection is a baby carrier called Tiny Hug. I was immediately smitten.

Suitable from 3.5kg-18kg (7lbs 7 ounces up to 40lbs) this carrier is available in black or natural, and is lined with a soft touch fabric. For small babies (up to 5kg / 11lbs) there are additional straps to keep babies legs in optimum position. With babies up to four months old you should always carry them on your front, facing in to your chest. The part of the carrier that is against the babies back is lovely and firm and feels like it is really holding them well and supporting their back properly. Their legs are tucked up and into the fabric at the bottom of the carrier against your tummy in a natural position (Baby A automatically got his legs into the right position without me having to adjust him in any way) There is a chest strap to go over the front of baby to ensure they are securely held in the carrier with no chance of them wriggling too low. The chest strap and the strap which does up on the adult is easy to adjust for your size with sliders to find the best position to suit you and your baby. You can continue using the Tiny Hug carrier with baby on your front facing in until they reach 12 months old – as they get taller the fabric can be folded out of the way to free their legs, first in frog position then in legs around waist position, while still providing fantastic support under their bottom and on their thighs, no ‘crotch dangling’ going on here.

If you prefer, from four months, you can use the carrier on your back. Personally I would use it on my front for as long as possible so I can see baby, but that’s my personal preference; it’s nice to know you have plenty of options with this carrier depending on what you’re doing. When you’re using the carrier on your back there is even a little mirror on the shoulder strap for you to be able to unhook it from the little hidey-hole and check on your child whenever you wish to without having to stop and take off the carrier.

The carrier is fitted to the adult with two straps like you would get on a back-pack. Added security to ensure the straps don’t slide off your shoulders comes from an additional horizontal strap which goes between the two back-pack straps. When using the carrier on your front, this strap is on your back. Initially I found this really awkward to do alone – then I realised that I hadn’t got it adjusted properly and it was too high up, putting too much pressure on the base of my neck, so once I adjusted it I found it much easier to do (like a bra strap, except instead of a hook and eye fixing it’s a nice solid plastic clip which clicks reassuringly when you’ve done it up properly)

In the instruction manual it shows putting baby into the carrier before putting the carrier on yourself – I thought this would be really awkward, but it’s so much easier to do than I imagined. I place the carrier on the bed or sofa and lie the baby into it, do up the straps and then lift the carrier onto myself. Once it’s done up it feels secure and comfortable, and baby is at a good level in front of me – he isn’t stuffed down too far making me feel like I am going to suffocate him, but he is contained enough within the carrier for me to feel comfortable that his neck is well supported.

So far I’ve used the Tiny Hug for the school run and for doing housework. Baby A is a much more cuddly baby than J ever was – while J was the sort of baby who wanted to be put into his Moses basket and left when he was ready to sleep, A is the kind of baby who much prefers constant contact. It can be more practical for the school run than the pram – especially if I’m pushed for time, as it’s faster to get in and out of the house with him in the carrier as well as over the barrier between our cul-de-sac and the main road heading toward J’s school (with the pram I have to walk the opposite direction the length of our road to where the barrier ends, and join the main road there to walk back on ourselves the other side of the barrier, which isn’t much but adds another five minutes to our walk); When I’m trying to do some housework and A is crying every time I try to put him down anywhere, then I put the carrier on and he’s happy – and normally falls asleep – while I carry on.

The downside is that I can’t get him in or out of it without him waking up, which is a shame, since he does normally fall asleep in it, but then it’s not a huge downside and to be honest I don’t think there is a carrier which would allow me to put him in / take him out without him waking up. To begin with I wasn’t sure about how it would affect my back by carrying him, but it distributes the weight better across my shoulders than carrying him normally so it’s probably not doing as much damage in that respect. The clip is quite fiddly to do up when you’re carrying baby on your front, particularly if (like me) your hair is at a length where it can get caught up (ouch!) but it’s something you get used to quickly and once you have the knack it really isn’t too bad at all. 

He stays nice and warm despite the chilly morning school run wearing a sleepsuit, thin jacket and a hat (with a vest underneath obviously) as he is well wrapped in the fabric and cuddled against my chest. At this stage his legs are completely contained in the fabric, as he gets older and they stick out I’ll probably need to dress him properly, but for the time being it’s easy to put him in there first thing without worrying about that. I put it on before I put on my coat, so that if necessary I can wrap my coat around the carrier and contain him within that, though it hasn’t been needed so far as the colder days creep in that might be something I do.

I also got Daddy P to have a go wearing it the other day and though he didn’t take it for a test run he found it easy to adjust and he seemed quite impressed.

I do rate this product and for anyone seeking a baby carrier I would recommend they add this one to their shortlist. As always I recommend try before you buy, but I am very happy with this item and can see it being well used. It's sold for around £75 which is a fair size price tag, but you do get a very high quality, weatherproof baby carrier (the outer fabric is water resistant) which can be used until baby is around 36 months old.

Click the link for the Tiny Love website and Tiny Love Facebook page. You can also view product videos on YouTube.

“A Bump Called Bob”

The morning of my 20 week scan, I was still in two minds about finding out whether bump was a girl or a boy. We never found out with J, and I still remember the moment clearly when Daddy P saw (after he was born) and said to me, “You were right” – and I don’t remember clearly a whole lot else about that time. It was exhilarating and exciting to wait to find out, and part of me wanted to do that again this time round.

However, on the other hand, part of me wanted to find out. If bump was a girl, I would get rid of all (most) of the bits I’d held onto from J and get a new-born wardrobe tailored toward her. Being able to tell J about his baby brother, or baby sister, whichever way round it was, would make it easier to discuss things with him and get him more used to the idea before baby arrived. He would be able to help me choose things specifically for baby.

Right up until the moment the lady started the scan I hadn’t made my mind up but then I thought to hell with it, I’m not going to do this again and I didn’t find out last time so let’s do it differently this time round and I said to her if it’s possible to tell me I’d like to find out.

Bump had different ideas. The 20 week scan, as you know, is an anomaly scan, so the sonographer needed to find certain things and tick certain boxes to confirm all was OK. Bump wasn’t in the right position for her to find and check all she needed to, nor was bump in the mood to let us in on the secret of whether J was going to have a baby brother or a baby sister. After 45 minutes of scan, the sonographer gave up and booked me in for another scan at 22 weeks. I left feeling pleased all was OK so far as she could tell, a little nervous that she hadn’t been able to confirm what she needed to, and a little disappointed that I still didn’t know bump’s secret.

The next appointment was on a date when J was on holiday from school. Daddy P and I made the decision to take him with us, to include him in the pregnancy as much as we could, to let him see baby and understand a little more. Unfortunately we were delayed getting into the scan to start with, so J had become bored and difficult at the wait, despite the fact I’d deliberately taken a little back pack for him with cars, little books to read and sticker books. We got into the room, and it was the same lady, so she started off and we were laughing and chatting and the atmosphere was relaxed.

To begin with, it held J’s attention, but once again bump was in an awkward position and the sonographer still couldn’t see what she needed to. She asked me again whether I wanted to know the secret, and I said yes, if it was possible. She smiled and had a check.

At that point J became bored of the scan as it had been going on for a little while and he wasn’t as interested as I had hoped he would be. He got off Daddy P’s lap and wandered off past the end of the couch I was lying on and where the sonographer was sitting and he went straight to the computer on the desk in the corner. Once he realised that at that end of the room was quite interesting he didn’t want to go back to Daddy P and the situation escalated quickly with J and Daddy P having a stand off about J doing what he was asked. In amongst it all, the sonographer looked at me and said, “I’m not sure, because the cord is between the legs, but I think, most probably, boy,” And despite the fuss of the two boys I already had bickering in the background I felt my heart burst.

The sonographer still hadn’t been able to check all she needed to, so the scan continued. J continued making a fuss, so Daddy P ended up having to take him out of the room. The room was nice and peaceful and she looked carefully and managed to see everything she needed to as bump shifted around. She checked again and said to me, “Yes, that’s a better view, I’d definitely say boy,”

While J’s meltdown only escalated, that’s a whole other story I won’t go into here, but for the rest of the day all I could think of was this second precious son I carried and all the overwhelmed feelings of how would I cope with two sons, and how wonderful two sons is, and how brilliant that my boys would have almost exactly five years between them, and how scary to go back now to the new-born days when J is an independent child now who likes to do as much as possible for himself. When I put him to bed that night, I asked him what he thought about the news that he was going to have a baby brother.

He threw his arms round me and told me he was very pleased about that, because he wanted a boy baby. We spoke about it for a little while and then, since Daddy P and I had already discussed names, and the fact that we couldn’t agree on a boys name, Daddy P asked J what he thought would be a good name for his brother.

J scrunched up his face and thought for a moment, then replied, “Bob.”

And so the nickname for this bump was born. This is Baby Bob.