REVIEW - Baby Bjorn Carrier Original

There are so many different types of carriers on the market these days so it took us a couple of days of research to decide what one we really wanted. I wanted one that was safe and secure but one that my partner could wear without it looking feminine or girly. I didn't really fancy one of the slings cause, honestly I think they look a bit silly and wouldn't really suit me or our needs. So in the end I plumped for the one I liked first. The baby bjorn carrier.

It's suitable from 3.5kg - 11kg, allowing the baby to face forwards and inwards. It was developed with paediatricians for proper support for baby's head, back and hips. It's machine washable which is really useful when baby decides to sook the life out of the edges... And has padded and adjustable shoulder straps so it's really easy to get it at a comfy position once it's on.

The carrier is really easy to use. It slips over your shoulders like a backpack and you do all the fastening up at the front. I worried at first that it was going to be really difficult to get Logan into the carrier if I was on my own, but after a few practices it was pretty easy. Although when he doesn't comply and keep his leg straight I need to practice the one handed baby jiggle to get him in.

It's relatively comfortable. Or as comfortable as I think it can be with a 13lb baby hanging from your front. If I have Logan in it for longer than 30 minutes my shoulders start to get a bit tight but that could be down to my weak frame more than anything else.

One thing we've found the carrier perfect for is getting Logan to sleep. He's not one for napping during the day, even when he's tired so sometimes if we know he really needs a sleep, we pop him in the harness and have a wee walk round the living room and within 10 minutes he's usually asleep.

We've only just started facing him outwards which he really seems to love. He loves being able to see where he's going and watch the world go buy.

We've not used it outside as much as I thought we might, we use it more round the house. However it's really useful when Logan doesn't want to sit on his own and I've got things to do. Pop him in and I've still got the use of my hands again. Though bending down is a bit precarious it's easy enough to have a run found with the Hoover or fold some laundry while he's strapped in. 

Overall a great product for our needs, one I'd definitely recommend. 

Kirsty x

Is breastfeeding aimed at the wealthy?

While in the shower this morning (it's where I do all my best thinking) a thought came to me: Is breastfeeding aimed at the wealthy?

As the nicer summer weather comes I've become bored of my wardrobe (as I do every year) More so this summer because last summers clothes don't really fit as my body's totally changed after having a baby and all my winter basics, like tshirts and tops don't fit as I was pregnant all through winter. So I find my self with very little to wear. 

Being a breast feeding mum it's not as easy as a little shopping spree to sort out my wardrobe. My needs are very specific, all my tops need to be booby accessible and this is wear my problem lies. The range and availability of breastfeeding tops/t-shirts/dresses is appalling. If I discard H&M from the mix all the clothing stores I usually shop in don't do a nursing range. I can kind of understand this as it's a very specific market. Not every woman needs quick but discreet access to her boobs at any given moment. So I begin to search further afield. I search online for nursing tops and I am greeted with a slightly better choice. I say slightly because even though there are is a better selection most of it is terribly old fashioned and doesn't resemble anything that I would willingly/normally wear.

However the one thing that strikes me is the price. Again taking my faithfull H&M out the equation because their range, although not very extensive, is quite reasonably priced. I think everything else is extortionate. Because it has an extra flap of fabric and a slit in the side that warrants a plain white t-shirts to cost £25. I wouldn't mind paying that if it was a top or a blouse that was great quality and a bit more interesting than a plain white t-shirt. I could pick up something similar in Primark for £2.50! More than anything it's the dresses that I find ridiculous. Most nursing dresses range from £50 - £100! I saw one online yesterday for £96!!! A relatively plain, red dress for £96! 

Now I completely understand that quality and brands come into it and that's fine. I wouldn't complain about a plain red dress costing £96 if I could find anything else. But it doesn't exist! As a breastfeeding woman I am really struggling to find fashionable, affordable nursing wear. I can't afford to spend £75 on one dress and most mums I know can't afford that either. 

Am I the only one? Is there a hidden secret club of women who know of fashionable affordable nursing wear that I'm not a member of? If so please may I join so I can get out of these vests and I to some sexy new clothes! 

Kirsty x

REVIEW - Palmers Tummy Butter

I think some women can be really lucky through pregnancy and not get a lot of stretch marks. I was not one of these lucky women.

Stretch marks occur when the skin is stretched over a short period of time. The stretching causes the middle layer of skin to break in places, allowing the deeper skin layers to show through. Before I became pregnant I was lucky and never had a problem with stretch marks but I developed a big bump in quite a short space of time so my skin stretched a lot, so I developed quite a lot of stretch marks over my tummy. I developed the usual ones over my boobs but probably the ones I hate the most (because they are the hardest to hide) are the ones that appeared on my upper arms. Visibly the worst ones are the ones on my tummy. They cover nearly all of the upper half of my tummy. I know I didn't take good enough care of my skin during my pregnancy which is why they have developed so bad so now I am left with the battle on my hands to try and get rid of them. 

I have tried Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula Lotion before and as it's specifically for the tummy area I thought this one would be worth a go.

The first thing I noticed when I opened it was the consistency, I'm used to butter's being more runny, but this is much more solid, even more harder than Vaseline which makes getting it out pretty difficult. You've got to work at it quite hard to soften it to get much out. When it's specifically designed for the tummy I need a fair amount to cover my large expanse of tummy I find it quite annoying that it's so difficult to get a decent amount out. 

However once I got enough on I found it's quite a decent product. The cocoa smell, as with a lot of the Palmers products, is delicious. It's nice and strong but not over powering so leaves you smelling great once it's on. 

It works relatively well. My stretch marks haven't magically vanished unfortunately but they are definitely lighter and less visible than they were 4 weeks ago. I don't use the product religiously. Being a new mum there is always something that comes before taking care of my skin. Usually sleep or a crying baby. It's worked best on the ones on my arms probably because they are the lightest and the less severe ones. I think if I continue to use it regularly on my tummy I will see a great improvement.

Do you have any stretch mark secrets? I'd love to hear from you if you've had any other products that have worked really well for you.

Kirsty x

My breastfeeding story

I had always thought breastfeeding was something I wanted to try. From a very early stage I had read and heard how difficult it would be. I had read the horror stories of babies not latching on, sore and cracked nipples, engorgement and mastitis (some people love to tell a good horror story) so I had fully prepared myself for a hard time. However I had convinced myself that I would try. Even if it was only for the first 6 weeks, I would give it a go and if it worked for us: great! And if it didn't then at least we had tried.

The NHS, as every mother-to-be will find out, is very big on breastfeeding. Even as someone who chose to breastfeed I found them very pressuring. I had admitted to my midwife that I wanted to try breastfeeding, and I stress the word try because I was fully prepared for it not to work. However she clearly heard what she wanted to hear and never gave me any advice or even once spoke about what I would do if I couldn't breastfeed. The amount of books, leaflets and DVD's you receive on breastfeeding is overwhelming. I often wonder what I would have recieved had I decided to bottle feed. Probably nothing.

Anyway I had done my research and was fully prepared for a treacherous time with breastfeeding and from the moment Logan was born... It never came. An hour after Logan was born, as we lay in the recovery ward, the midwife asked if I wanted to try feeding him. Thankfully we were the only ones in the ward at the time because reading about it and watching DVD's about it are very different from doing it. After a lot of shuffling about (as much shuffling as you can do when you have no feeling from the waist down) and a lot of help from my partner I managed to get into a semi-comfy position and got Logan latched on.

And from then we have never looked back. I've even breastfeeding now for 15 weeks and I've yet to have any horror symptoms that come along with breastfeeding. Don't get me wrong I believe that we've been very lucky that it's happened so naturally for us. I had some slightly painful times in the beginning but it was mild pain that lasted less than 30 seconds when he would first latch on which is perfectly normal. I don't want to paint an unrealistic picture and pretend that it's all plain sailing and problem free for everyone, when I know that's not the case. However when I first looked into it I thought EVERYONE had problems with breastfeeding and I've realised it doesn't always have to be that way. So far it's coming naturally to us, and for as long as it does I will continue breastfeeding. 

Kirsty x

Sometimes it's okay...

... Not to be okay.

I've never had many problems keeping my hormones in check (though Gavin might say otherwise) All through my pregnancy I'd say I kept quite a level head. Well as much as usual. Of course I had my good days and bad days, happy days and not so happy days but there weren't many more sad days than usual. Even once Logan was born I'd say it's been a pretty happy experience. Pre/Post-Natal depression hasn't been a problem for me. Depression never has. However yesterday I found myself in a bad mood. A very bad mood. For no apparent reason. I was picking fights with Gavin for no reason. I was getting angry at everything he was doing, even though it wasn't any more irritating than usual. Then he began the 'why are you so angry? What's wrong?' thing. All the while I kept telling him there was nothing wrong. Then I began thinking to myself am I not allowed to be angry. Just be angry for the sake of it. Just be angry cause that's the emotion I feel today. And today I have woken up and decided yes. I was allowed to be angry for no reason. Having a baby is a pretty big deal, we can all agree. It's a pretty stressful, life-changing ordeal, that comes with a lot of emotions. One of which for me yesterday was anger. Today that emotion, surprisingly at 5am, is gratitude. Tomorrow it may be empowered, it might be proud, it might be anxious, it might just be contented. Whatever it is, I've realised it's okay to be angry once in a while. It's okay to have a down day, a sad day. Motherhood isn't all  about 'rainbows and butterflies, it's compromise that moves us along'

Kirsty x

Update.

I've been AWOL the last few days with the flu. It's bad at the best of times, imagine having the flu with a 3 month old baby. I was out of the game, in bed for 3 full days. I had a runny nose, sore head, a temperature, my body ached and I was exhausted, all the while my baby needed constant attention. That's where super dad came in. Luckily Gavin was off work for 4 days and without him I would have been lost. I did nothing for 3 full days other than feed my son. 

However it's been a week of firsts for Logan. He rolled over for the first time! To be honest we haven't done a lot of tummy time. He never seemed to enjoy it. I'd but him on his play mat or on our bed on his tummy and he'd just moan or cry. He's always had great neck control so I never forced the issue when he didn't enjoy it. But it seems when mummy's not around he loves it. Gavin had him on his play mat when I was in bed on Sunday and the smarty pants managed to roll over! Luckily for me Gavin came through to tell me after the first time and he preceded to do it again, and again and again. Needless to say every time we put him down on our bed now he's trying to roll over! 

We've also had lots more laughs. He is definitely finding his voice and he loves using it. Even when he cries he's learning to be louder! 

After his 3 month jags he stopped sleeping through the night for a few days. A few times he was waking up every 2 hours. On top of having the flu this nearly destroyed me. But being the trooper that I am I soldiered through (and the fact that I didn't have another choice) but luckily it didn't last. We're now back to sleeping from 10 till 6.

As always the great outweighs the bad! How has your week been? 

3 Month Update

I thought I would start an update as Logan is now 3 months. Not sure how often I'll do this but here goes...

Health: *touch wood* we've had no problems so far. You have your 3 month vaccinations on Wednesday so I think we'll have a grumpy baby for the next few days after but we had no temperatures or problems with the last set so fingers crossed were as lucky this time.

Routine: We're not in a set routine as such just yet. Within the the next 4-6 weeks were hoping to settle you into a more steady routine but so far our days are pretty predictable. We wake up between 6 and 7 depending on when we went to sleep. We have a feed and then you go back to sleep for usually 2 hours at the most then you're up at 9 to start your day. You're still feeding every 2 hours which doesn't leave a lot of time for much else! Between feeds we fit in as much play time on your mat and with your toys as possible. Daddy gives you 1 bottle of formula a day at 9pm which is always your second last feed of the night. Last feed with mummy at 10/half past 10 then sleep for 7 or 8 hours then it's back up to start the day again!

Sleep: You're sleeping really well at night. You drift off once you've finished nursing then we transfer you into your own bed. You started sleeping in your cot in your own room about 2 weeks ago and you're loving it! Napping through the day seems to elude you. Daddy sometimes manages to get you off for a nap if he puts you in your sling, but when daddy's at work and mummy tries it you usually just want to feed instead. No matter how much we try you still can't fall asleep on your own yet.

Social: not a lot to report on this front. You usually have plenty of visitors from friends and family but I've yet to look for a baby group I can take you to. Hopefully we will start taking you swimming soon

Diet: milk! You get one bottle of formula at night from daddy to give mummy a break and to give daddy a chance to feed you. You had a week where you refused to take your bottle and daddy didn't enjoy that at all, but after changing to the Dr Browns bottles we're back to you feeding really well. 

Clothes: You have just started wearing your 3-6 month stuff. The trousers are still to big for your little waist. We will need to fatten you up a bit!

Likes: sometimes it feels like nothing! You have days where you just seem like milk is the only thing that makes you happy. Then other days you love tickles with Daddy, playing on your mat and cuddling/chewing your bears, especially Arnold!

Dislikes: napping during the day!

Milestones: You laughed! On the 5th July you full on laughed and it was the greatest sound I've ever heard in my whole life. Daddy was lying on the bed lifting you up and down off his chest and we got a real laugh from you. It was so magical I cried and ruined all the make-up I'd just put on. You're holding your head up perfectly during tummy time. You're holding your legs up too when you're not trying your hardest to push yourself along with your legs. You're smiling a lot at mummy and daddy too, it melts our heart.

Love from, Mummy xx 

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The Mummy Tag

Although I haven't been tagged to do this I thought it would be a good way for you to get to know me!

1. Stay at home mum or working mum.

Stay at home mum until my maternity leave ends in January, then it will be back to work for me :(

2. Would you have it any other way?

Yes, I would love to continue to be a stay at home mum, devoting more time to my little guy, but we need the money!

3. Do you co-sleep?

Only when I'm exhausted and accidentally fall asleep at the end of a feed. Though that hasn't happened in a while.

4. What is your must have item for your baby?

Baby Bjorn carrier. Logan loves to be up high and close to me so loves to be carried everywhere. Which becomes a problem when I need to use my hands so this has been a god-send.

5. How many kids do you plan on having?

I think I'd like 2 but who knows. I'm only 24 so there's plenty of time to change my mind!

6. Date night, how many per month?

Logan's 3 months old and we've only been out once so far. I don't think that's too bad though for the hardest 3 months

7. Your childs fav show?

He's still a little young for the TV

8. Name one thing you bought before having your baby but never used.

Nothing really. We didn't buy much that wasn't really 'essential' I researched a lot and went off the advice of family, friends and blogs so everything so far has been pretty useful!

9. Your child fav food?

The Boob?

10. How many cars do your family have?

Two.

11. Weight gain, before, during and after pregnancy.

I don't really know what I was pre-pregnancy. I was 104kg three days before I had my cesearan. Now I am 92kg but haven't really focused much on weight loss. That will become my focus now that were into more of a routine.

12. Dream holiday with your kids?

Anyone that doesn't answer this with Disneyland Florida is lying. Won't be for another few years but it's definitely on the cards!

13. Dream holiday without your kids?

Mykanos. Somewhere warm with beautiful beaches and beautiful surroundings.

14. How has your life changed since your baby was born.

You lose your freedom. No longer can you nip out with friends at the last minute. Everything (well for us) has to be planned out meticulously before we can leave the house. However I wouldn't change it for the world. My little family brings me more happiness than I ever thought possible. 

15. Finish the sentence... It makes my heart melt when...

I get those cheeky smiles. 

16. Where do you shop for your kids?

Debenhams is currently my go to place. But I also love Matalan, Asda, Tesco, Boots and H&M.

17. Favourite make-up and skincare products?

Make-up? What's that! Favourite make-up range would have to be Rimmel, basic but it does the job perfectly. 

18. Huggies or Pampers?

We've only used Pampers so far. It's what we stocked up on at first and have never needed to change them!

19. Have you always wanted kids?

Yes always. Having a family is what I was put on this planet to do. 

20. Best part of being a mum?

Everything. Even the worst bits: constant feeding, crying for no reason, the sleep deprivation, never getting to sit down and enjoy a warm cup of tea anymore is better than a life without my baby.