J's 1st Christmas present from Not on the High Street

During my pregnancy J got referred to as Baby Hanno & Pickle. I managed to find a lovely T-shirt from Bob and Blossom with Pickle on it

Over the weeks since J birth he make these dino sounds so I now call Pickleosaurus. 


After visiting a friends and her showing me a baby grow she'd ordered for her son I knew I had to order something similar for J for christmas. I'd heard of Not On The High Street before but I hadn't actually ever used them until last week. 

Check out the website at http://www.notonthehighstreet.com

It's a great website to find those birthday or Christmas presents when you don't know where to start as they stock different unusual things from various suppliers in one place.  I think the only thing that lets the site down slightly is the fact if you order various things from different suppliers they all charge you postage, this actually caught me out.

The website is very easy and quick to navigate through, within a few click not only had I found the baby grow but had also found it as a t-shirt. It was easy to place the order. 

http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/sgtsmith/product/personalised-baby-stegosaurus-playsuit

Within a couple of minutes I'd had an email confirmation of my order and then during the week I had further emails updating me on how my order was doing. I'd placed the order on a wednesday and the t-shirt came the following Tuesday.

It had come wrapped in tissues paper so I would have been happy to have sent it directly to someone as a gift.

I think the sizing is on the large size, I'd ordered the 6-12 mths size but I think J will probably have to be about 9mths before he can wear it, though he is on the small size just like is mother.  

Overall I am impressed by the website and the item and would definitely be ordering from them again.

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Cheeky Wipes

I was first introduced to cheeky wipes back in 2011 when my friends little boy was born, she used them  for her little ones hands and face. When I found out I was expecting I knew I wanted them for our house too. 

Visiting the baby show back in February I meet some of the lovely team from the company. After a chat about what I was going to use them for they lovely lady convinced me to try them on the bum too, so I brought a All in one kits ready for our new arrival.

The £39.99 kit contains:  25 - wipes, Fresh Baby Wipes container, Mucky Baby Wipes container - with mesh bag insert, Fresh waterproof out and about travel bag, Mucky waterproof out and about travel bag - with mesh bag insert, a bottle of Lavender & Chamomile Essential Oil Blend for the fresh box and a bottle of Tea Tree & Tea Tree Lemon Wipes Essential Oil Blend for the mucky box.

Within 3 days of being home with J we got the kit set up and straight away we loved it.

So how does it work? Well you fill the fresh wipe container with water upto the line then drop in a couple of drops of the lavender & Chamomile essential oil, place in your clean wipes. You then fill the mucky box up with water too and add a few drops of the Tea Tree oil and then place the mesh bag in. The mess bag makes it much easier to put the dirty wipes in the washing machine. Then you are ready to go. 

What I love are the boxes and oils are colour coded so you never mix them up.

When your out and about you have the out and about travel bags which are clearly labeled too. The dirty one has a detachable mess bag in so again makes it easy to pop into the washing machine. The bags both fit neatly into my changing bag. 

Ok so I know you want to know about the poo! Well you know when you have a poo explosion you use about 1/2 a pack of baby wipes well with the cheeky wipes the most I have ever used is 2 wipes! What I prefer is it doesn't leave that sticky residue that some baby wipes can leave, also I have to say that J has hardly ever had nappy rash either and his sore bum has only been due to teething. 

I brought the terry wipes as I am able to use them for everything, now I have started weaning J I use them to wipe his hands and face. 

So what about washing them? Well what I tend to do is just pop the dirty wipes in with either my white wash or the towel wash, I always wash them at 40 as I find this cleans the wipes better. On the odd occasion one is slightly stained a hour in the sun soon bleaches it out.

They have now also produced a range of double wetbags which means I only have to carry around 1 bag. It's also big enough that I can put any other wet items of clothes in it 

Overall I love the cheeky wipes and must say it's the one product I tell everyone about and it's a must for all mums!

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The Baby Show Olympia

After visiting the Baby show at the Excel In February while I was pregnant, when I saw it was coming to London again I decided that I had to go to see what items they had for J. This time I went with my my mum and J, though he did get a little bored, it was handy having his buggy to put the shopping under

For us it was easier to drive and therefore we had pre-booked the parking, which for this venue I  definitely recommend unless you arrive super early. Once inside the show we headed straight for the coffee shop for a caffeine boost and to feed little man. Then we headed straight for the Baby Changing area set up by Asda. This was great there was loads of changing stations around the edges and free nappies and wipes to try. On our way out we were offered a free pack of nappies to try. I have had the little Angels nappies before when J was 1st born but I just prefer the Aldi ones. J was in the Little Angels all day and it kept him dry.

The other great area at the baby show was the tommee tippee feeding area. They had about 6 microwaves and bottle warmers to help to heat up your little ones feeds and if you forgot to bring some food they had Plum pouches available along with tommee tipee feeding spoons and the disposable bibs. 

After the pit stops we headed towards Babies R Us and Mothercare as I wanted to have a look around while it wasn't too busy. Last time we left them until last and they were both manic.  

Although there are 2 Mothercare near us, I still wanted to have a look what clothes and toys they had brought to the show. They definitly had bits I'd not seen before and were offering 10% off everything. I could resist the little Baby K items I found. I also found a perfect Christmas outfit but they didn't have it in J's size so they were able to order it for me into my local store for free and still give me the 10% discount.

One thing I love about the baby show is finding all those new brands or the brands that aren't on the high street and are online. I must prefer looking at things close up.

One such brands I came across was Flippers Clothing. These are amazing items that are reversible which is great idea for children. The colours are so vibrant too which makes them really stand out. We brought a couple of items for J. The boys items we choose are a little more suited to summer or holiday wearing and therefore we choose to buy size 9-12mths. I certainly can't wait till J can wear them and I promise an update on them. The items are also very reasonably priced with no item over £15. I think it's definitely a brand to watch and will be excited to see what Amy comes up with next. 

The other brand I was excited to see what they had was Funky Giraffe. They mostly sell funky bibs, which are perfect for when babies are teething, but they also now sell clothing. They had some great offers on, I managed to get 2 t-shirts for just £5, they normally retail at £9 each. The bibs were slightly cheaper than online, I picked 5 for £10 

As you may have seen if you follow me on twitter I've started weaning J so one thing I wanted to have a look at as what weaning bits they had. One product I was glad to come across was Bibisili bibs. They come in various funky designs and have a little pocket at the bottom perfect for catching food that dribbles out of little ones mouth. They are easy to wash and even state they can go into the dishwasher and can easily be rolled up to fit into your changing bag.

In February I had brought the Annabel Karmel top 100 baby puree book at the last baby show so I was excited about visiting their stand. I'd been looking for something to put into the freezer to store excess purees so was glad when I found the food cube tray. I can't wait to get started with it. They also had samples of of their baby puree's, J tried some of the Apple, blueberry & vanilla one which he seemed to quite like. What I love about these are they are made from 100% fruit so taste very yummy even if I do say so my self. One thing I feel is that if I don't like the taste of a baby food why should my son like it, so I would never give him anything I haven't tried myself. I look forward to letting him try these again in a few weeks time.

A visit to the baby show wouldn't have been complete without stopping by the Mam &  Cheeky wipes stands. As I love their products so much I will do a review on both separately. 

Other brands I visited were of course Momymoo changing bags, I have the Maia one which I love and goes perfectly with my buggy system. I also went to the grobag stand but unfortunately they didn't have any 6-18mths grobags left, but they did give me a a 20% off voucher code 20SS13. I love their sleeping bags especially the travel ones, I don't use it that often but when I do it's so handy. It meant that after the baby show I went to my mum and Dad's for dinner, J's bed time is 6pm so I got him ready for bed including putting him into his travel sleeping bag, fed him then put him in the cot my mum & dad have. When I was ready to go home it just meant transferring him into the car seat then once home from the car seat straight into his own bed without having to worry about waking him while I put him into his sleeping bag. The Travel ones have the extra feature of a two way front zip and a back vent so it can easily be used with a 5 point harness in car seats or pushchairs.

Once again I had another great visit to the baby show, I highly recommend it to any parent to be or new parent.

Thanks for reading

Mission Yummy Mummy

So the mission yummy mummy is fully back on track ideally I'd love to be back at goal by the time I return to work in April. Wether that will happen or not is another question but I certainly want to be somewhere near it.

So I've been back at Weight Watchers 16 weeks now not sure where that's gone though I wasn't really focused until a couple of weeks ago. Since coming back from our Holiday in Devon something's finally clicked and the weight has started coming off again, I've managed to loss 9lbs in those 3 weeks.

Ok so you may ask what have I done. Well firstly and most importantly I've gone back to basics and started weighting and measuring everything. I never leave lunch to chance what with being out with my little man quite a bit. I've been very strict on my self and been saying no to all the tempting yummy cakes. Been more wisely choosing what I eat but I've also joined a 'gym' I say that lossely as although there is a gym where I go I don't use it. I go to aqua aerobics and body conditioning (yoga mets tai chi) once a week.

Oh and I nearly forgot for the whole of Octover I've been doing Ocsober which has meant no alcohol has passed my lips! 

I also have sent myself small goals 1st one being to get back into the 10 stone bracket by Christmas which I achieved this morning so my next goal is to achieve my stone loss which I'm 4lbs away from.

So here are my stats

Start weight 11:9

Goal weight 8:11

Lbs to loss achieve : 40

Current weight 10:13

Weight loss this week 2.5lbs

Lbs to go 30

Just over 2 stone 

So are you a fellow weight watcher? How's it going for you? You have any top tips for staying on track?

Fredricks Hotel & Spa

So recently I enjoyed a spa day at Fredrick's hotel in Maidenhead.

After having a baby I decided that I needed a well earned day out with my girlie besties.

So the search began and we found Fredrick's in Maidenhead. They offered us a spa day for £95 which included tea & pastries on arrival, full use of the spa for the day, 2 course lunch with a glass of fizz and then either an hour massage or a facial.

The spa is located at the bottom of the hotel by the gardens and is open for hotel guests and spa visitors

On arrival we had to fill out the obligatory guest form that asked various questions , we were then brought 2 lovely little danishes and a pot of tea each. Once we had chosen our lunch we were then shown to the changing room where we each had our own locker with our names on.

Now Fredrick's is no niveana so the changing room was tiny was just about ok for the 4 of us to get changed in. We then made our way through to the pool room. This had about 12 loungers around where some people were sat. For the 1st 1/2 we did some lounger swapping until we got 4 together. I think if the spa had been busier it could have been a problem trying to get somewhere to sit.

The pool had a little inside area with 2 submerged seat in it and a glass door that opened up to a bigger warmer pool outside.

After a swim and a gossip it was then time to go for lunch. This was served just by the entrance to the spa, we were the only ones having lunch. We were served some lovely little rolls while we waited for the starters to come. The lunch it's self is cooked by the chefs in the main hotel resturant which has 2 AA rosettes. I forgot to say that we had full choice from the menu on offer which can be quiet unusual for a day spa pass, when I've been to other places it's limited or a buffet. The starters looked delicious, for main I had the crab and avocado salad which was lovely and light and then the honeycombs parfait. ( my naughty Sunday treat). The other mains looked just as tasty.

After lunch we went back for more girlie gossip (well that's what spa days are all about) then at 3:15 it was time for the 1st 2 to go for their treatments. While they were off me and my friend took the opportunity to go for another swim in the outdoor pool and it was lovely as it was raining, after that we went and tried out the various showers they had and the steam & sauna rooms before then it was nearly time for our treatments.

I'd opted for the full body massage. Stupidly I'd not thought about my outfit and was still wearing my swimsuit, so I was given a nice pair of paper knickers to wear (which actually were 100 times better than the nasty ones I brought for hospital) the massage was lovely and relaxing and probably one of the better ones I've had at somewhere like this.

After our treatments we were told to go back to the poolside were we were served a fruit medly and a iced fruit tea. Then it was time to get changed ready to go home.

Overall although it's a tiny spa and doesn't compair to some I have been to like Ragdale, Penny Hill and Nivana I still had a lovely time and differently would go back.

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A year ago today I found out I was pregnant

I can't believe that it was a year ago today that I found out I was pregnant with Baby Hanno.

I think as long as I live I will never forget that day and I bet most mothers will say the same.

I actually tested a day before I was meant to, but I'd got to the point where I knew if I did a test would pick it up as I'd been sent this link http://www.nyufertilitycenter.org/ivf/embryo_transfer

Although the clinic had given me a test I actually had one already in the cupboard so I used that. I had woken stupidly early like 5:30 am on that morning took the plunge and did the test, I sat in the bathroom waiting for the results and when the 2nd line appeared I was in complete shock! I was so prepared for the IVF not to have worked. Still shocked I returned to the bedroom to hubby and said nothing I think about about 10 minutes later he asked me 'so what was the result' my response was just I don't know go and look. I remember him returning looking shocked too and we laid in bed and had a little cry still not believing it. 

Of course being me and not quite believing it I made a swift trip to boots to buy another test and again those 2 lines appeared! For once in my life I kept my mouth very shut, even later that day when I met a friend for coffee I didn't tell her a thing, it was mine and hubby's little secret for the day!

The next morning again woke early and did the official test and to prove the point I ended up buying a clear blue just so I could see those words 'Pregnant' In all I did 4 test! 

Then it was time to tell the world! I would to loved to have told my mum in person but she was away which meant a phone call to spain! I made my little confession on twitter as all the girls had known that the 12th was my official test day. 

So 1 year on I now have my beautiful son James. Perfect in every way!

Handcasting at Dartington Crystal

Back in 2006 on a visit to North Devon Hubby and I took a visit to Dartington Crystal in Torrington, while there we were there we had our hand cast in glass.

After J was born we both decided that we wanted to get J's done this way. So when we knew we were going to North Devon with J we knew Dartington had to be on our visit list.

They've change the process now at Dartington and you must make sure you book a slot for hand casting. This can be done by phoning or visiting the visitor centre. The hand casting is also only done during the week when the factory is open. To start with they make a box of sand which is what you put the imprint into. We decided that we only wanted J's handcast done to match our but we could have chosen to have his foot done too. 

After several attempts we evenly got an impression that we were all happy with alone with a slightly sandy little boy. They then pour the melted glass onto the sand. 

You then have to wait 2 days until you can collect it or alternatively for £7 you can have it posted, we opted for this and actually the parcel bet us home. Dartington charge £16 a print for under 6's which I think is very reasonable. Then there is an additional £2 for engraving and you can have what ever you like engraved. We went for J's name and the date it was done just like we did for our impressions.

We arrived home to the box from Dartington and were very pleased with the finished result.

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J's 1st Holibobs

We have just returned from J's 1st family holibobs in North Devon.

Hubby and I had spoken ages ago about taking J away somewhere in September, we had hoped it might have been to the villa in Spain but this was not to happen so the next best place was Devon as Hubby and I love it so much. After conversations with my folks it was decided that we'd all go together and hire a cottage.

After a long search my dad finally found Old Maids Cottage in a little village called Lee just about 3 miles outside of Ilfracombe (unless on aTuesday afternoon you get lost then it feels like 10 miles). 

Old Maids Cottage dates back to 1765 and was renovated in 2012 with the addition of a long galley Kitchen and a master bedroom with patio. It's gorgeous and looks like it had just come off a chocolate box.  The cottage was a good size and slept 6 people with 3 double bedrooms all with their own bathrooms though there was only one proper shower.  It was well equiped and had everything we needed for a weeks holiday including providing us with a travel cot for J. There was a lovely welcome basket on our arrive which contained some milk, local eggs, cereal and a jar of blackcurrant Jam.  

One of my favourite things we did while away was took the coastal walk from Lee to Ilfracombe which was about 3 miles away. Due to the path we decided that we wouldn't take the buggy, instead we used a Baby Bjorn that we had borrowed off a friend. It took us about 1.5hrs to complete the walk to Ilfracombe. We stopped for a nice pub lunch before starting the walk back. Though the walk back was my least favourite part of the holiday due to getting lost and ending up cutting through a random farm, thankfully we got recused on the road back to Lee by the parents. Have to say that night we stayed in as we were a bit tired! 

Another lovely day was the day we went to Woolacombe and took J on the beech for the 1st time. Though I did get a bit wet when I took J to the sea to have look and maybe dip his feet. I have learnt never turn your back on the sea and the waves! The other thing I learnt was buggies and the sand don't mix!

 

On our last day we went to my favourite village in North Devon - Lynmouth, though the weather wasn't great we still had a nice morning there.

In the afternoon we returned to Illfracombe for a lovely cream tea in the Great British Tea Shop. 

Overall we had a lovely time. I packed and eat far too much, but thats a holiday for you. 

Must do's:

• Diner at Combe Cottage Ilfracombe
• Eat at At One in Braugton
• Walk alone Woolacombe Beech
• Visit Lynmouth 

I think we took everything but the kitchen sink! I would recommend the cottage and the area to any family.