Tag: baby

Hail to McDonald’s!

£145 for Wet wipes !?!?!?!?

This goes out as a WARNING TO ALL PARENTS.

Romantic Bath

I need to rewind a bit, on Saturday night, I was having a bath, you know all romantic candles etc, who am I kidding, I was surrounded by plastic bath toys.  Anyhow, when I drained the bath I heard an unfamiliar gurgling sound.

I really didn’t take much notice, but it quickly became apparent that both our loos were blocked.  We tried the usual caustic soda and plunger but to no avail.  We called Dynorod, but luckily for us no one was free on the weekend, as this would have cost us a fortune.  So we waited until Monday.

The problem gets worse

In the meantime, we thought it was isolated to the loos.  I had to pop out to a Birthday on Sunday, Soft Play Hell and as I left, I popped the washing machine one, you know, perpetually multitasking.  I received a distressed phone call from hubby who was ankle deep in waste.  I did laugh.  Apparently the block went beyond the loos.

It’s amazing how reliant we become on convenience.  We could no longer use the loos, shower or use the washing machine.  Luckily we have a McDonald’s around the corner for a McWee and a McSh*t.  I’ve traveled the world and they will always have a clean loo!

mackypoo

However, for a 5 year old it’s not as easy.  I won’t go into graphic detail but it did require looking for a kitchen utensil that you could throw away and a bit of fishing!

Help arrives!

My knight in shining Armour arrived late afternoon on Monday, after a covert trip to McD’s.

Dyno-Rod

This is when we realised that, being mid terrace, we had no access to the pipes.  At one point we had a discussion about lifting the tiles and cutting a hole in the floor.  Pound signs flashed before my eyes.  Luckily for us, the lovely chap, who could have walked away and come back after we had a plumber in to reveal the pipes, went beyond the call of duty.  We had to remove the toilet, which is beyond their remit and he used what I’d call a toilet ‘snake’ which was about 30 ft long, it ‘just’ reached the blockage.

Sneaky Bugger!

I knew damn well before he even told me, who the culprit was.  I was going to hide the packages before he arrived, but he said there was no point, as he would have worked it out.  He said when he sees a blockage straight away, if the water doesn’t recede, it’s baby wipes.  Apparently, they make a rather impressive seal.  Paper will break down, baby wipes will not and they hold onto the pipes for dear life!

I can’t believe it was our beloved baby wipes; I’d never bought them before having kids but would never live without them now!  They take off everything from mascara to permanent ink to crayon to scuffs on your shoes.  They are a wonder to be hold, but DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT ever put them down the loo!  But if you do it may cost you £145!

 

 

 

 

 

Buying Shoes for Your Baby or Toddler

The baby and toddler shoe market can often be overwhelming and confusing for a new parent.  Tiny baby shoes are often given as gifts to newborns, yet parents are advised not to put shoes on children until they are walking.  Conflicting advice and advertising can make it hard to decide what is right for a child.

It is generally agreed that newborns will only need a foot covering for warmth.  Newborns are always lying down, being carried or being held.  Their feet do not touch the floor for the first few months and their legs and feet are not yet strong enough to bear their full weight.

 

Once children are crawling, they very often learn to stand at around the same time.  Pulling themselves up and moving from table to sofa whilst supporting themselves (known as cruising) usually follows quickly after crawling.

 

At this stage, parents may consider protecting the developing feet of their child with pre- walker baby shoes.  These usually have a soft sole, soft sides and back and often resemble a leather slipper rather than a rigid shoe.  These shoes are ideal to protect your baby’s foot on indoor surfaces, and even outside on gentle or yielding surfaces such as grass or sand.  Very often these baby shoes are made to fit a child from birth to ten months.  Some parents choose not to buy their children shoes at all until they are fully walking, but this is often a personal preference rather than a medical matter. Vertbaudet the online children’s specialist has a range of shoes for newborns and toddlers that are comfy, practical yet stylish to sure you little one’s feet are taken care of.  Pre-walking infant shoes are often lace-ups or a full shoe to cover the complete foot.  This ensures they stay on the foot.

Once children are fully weight bearing, that is able to stand fully on their own, they will not be far from talking their first steps.  First step shoes are an in-between shoe.  Firmer than soft crawling shoes, they are not as rigid as shoes for the busy walker.  Soft trainer-style shoes are the usual way forward, with firmer soles that can be worn outside on any surface and yet do not feel too hard against a child’s growing soft feet.  Laces are frequently used as a way of keeping the shoe on the foot.  A walking child just out of the crawling stage may still be spending time in a pushchair or even a sling, and so First Step baby shoes do not need to be as heavy duty as a shoe for a child who walks for the majority of the time.  However, it is still important to buy the right size and measuring is important.

Measuring service in stores

Many high street shoe shops offer a thorough measuring service and it is useful to remember that width is as important as length.  There is no obligation to buy in the store that measures your child’s foot if a better fitting pair can be found elsewhere.

Once a child is walking longer distances and spending less time in a pushchair, it is time to graduate to a walking shoe.  It is at this stage that measuring and re-measuring becomes essential.  Shoes for the walking child are more rigid and supportive both at the sides and at the back.  A child who is just walking is also still growing, so it is best to be prepared to buy new shoes with regularity when first starting out.  Feet should be measured every six to eight weeks.

Children’s shoes often need replacing frequently as their feet grow, but this does slow down in time.  From baby shoes to walking shoes, what could be more important than giving a child the best start in life as their adventures begin?

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Baby Names

Sometimes, I have second thoughts about the name we chose for my daughter and we do get very strange looks from people.  On one occasion when boarding a plane, a slightly scary drunk woman from Belfast said ‘that’s not a name that’s a sir name!’  My father in-law point blank refused to use her name for the first few months and always opted for her middle name, which wound me up incessantly.

However, he also never forgave me for not changing my name when I got married, and every year on my birthday, would send me a cheque with the wrong name on it.  But luckily, my best friend coincidentally shares the same initial as me and has the same last name as my husband so I still managed to cash the cheques.

Just like most expecting parents, we started to troll the internet for baby names and too be honest we spent the majority of time looking at baby boy names as we were hoping for a boy.   We wanted something Celtic that also had a link with Canada. However, when we had the 20 week scan we were told we were having a girl so we had to start looking all over again.   It really was difficult and resembled a game of tennis.  I would suggest baby girl names; he would say no, he would suggest a name I would say no.   This went on for days possibly weeks.

Then out of nowhere it came to me, I blurted it out and he immediately said yes.  It ticked all the boxes being Celtic and Canadian.  So, there you have it. But in the end, my daughter really suits her name, it’s unique and slightly boyish…..just like her!

Any guesses?

Babies & pregnancy at Bounty.com

A new man in town!

Can everyone please give Sabina from @mummymatters a warm welcome as she is guest posting for me while I’m away.  It’s a great topic that I know many of you have experience with.  Don’t forget to pop over and visit her blog as well http://mummymatters.wordpress.com/.  Thanks again Sabina.

Image: Itp.nyu.edu

In around two months time, there will be a new man in our house – our baby boy is due at the end of September and we are all getting very excited to meet him. But the closer that D-day comes, the more I wonder how things are going to change in our household. There will, of course, be the obvious things like sleepless nights, stacks of smelly nappies (not that I keep them in a stack you understand) and piles of washing and ironing to rival Ben Nevis but I’m talking more about how the dynamics of our family will change.

Being a stay-at-home Mum I’ve been able to fully indulge myself into my relationship with Little Bean, and whilst I’m sad that we lost two babies last year, I can’t help feeling that there was good reasoning behind it. My relationship with Little Bean has grown and grown in the past year and I still get excited at the thought of spending the day with her when I wake up each morning. I also look forward to bath and bedtime for her at the end of each day mind you!! But I do wonder how our relationship will change, will she be jealous of her new baby brother or will she become the little mother hen that I’m imagining her to be?

Since my bump has become noticeably huge, she seems to have taken great interest in it and is more than happy to tell people that Mummy has a baby in her tummy. She kisses and cuddles bump every day and shrieks with laughter when she feels him kicking. Sometimes I wonder if she really understands what is happening but then I think she is a bright little button. She gets so excited when she sees a baby, telling me “it’s tiny” or “so cute” before patting my tummy and saying “baby”.

Image: bumpsandbabiesonline.com

She currently plays pretty much solely with her dollies, she cuddles them, says they have pooped and changes their “pretend” nappies, she bathes them, dresses them and feeds them bottles of milk which she warms in her toy microwave (always being careful to check that they are not too hot for baby).

I have been told that when the new baby arrives I should encourage her to help me as much as possible, which of course I will do but I am a little anxious that she may try picking him up by his head or pulling him about by his arm when my back is turned.

And then there’s Curly! Now things are slightly different for him because he has already been through the baby stage with us once with Little Bean and he sailed through it all. He couldn’t have been a more proud big brother if he’d tried but my fear for him is that now with two siblings at our house he will feel like an outsider when he is only here on a part-time basis? He is extremely excited about the prospect of having a baby brother, which is what he said he wanted right from the start but we have tried to explain to him that it will be some time before he can play football and do play fighting with his little brother. There will be a 9 year age gap between him and the baby so I wonder what sort of relationship they will have. When he visits us now he is already reaching the stages of not really wanting to be with us but outside playing with his friends.

Image: Dreamstime.com

We tried very hard when Little Bean was born to make sure that Curly was as involved as possible (though we couldn’t get him to change a nappy for love nor money!), once breastfeeding had finished he would have a go at giving her a bottle or spoon feeding her. He loved all the faces she pulled at him and the way that her eyes would follow him wherever he went, but inevitably there were times when we couldn’t fulfil his needs because baby needed seeing to first. I hope that with two tiny tots around the house he won’t feel like a spare part. I know that it is down to me and Hubby to make sure this doesn’t happen but sometimes you get so wrapped up in your new baby, the rest of the world pales into insignificance.

How did you manage when Baby number 2, 3, 4 arrived on the scene? Did you have any older step-children around and how did they take to the next new arrival?