Now we have a one-year old

   

So it's official, we no longer have a newborn baby. I can no longer count my daughter's age in weeks or months (well, I can try months for a bit longer but will likely just get that weird look as friends put their mental arithmetic to the test and attempt to make sense of what I have said) and can now say I have a one-year old. And wow what a year it has been. 

Timehop shows me pictures of my post-birth self cradling my tiny sleeping daughter on this day last year. Oh how far we have come since that newborn haze,  surrounded by muslins and pillows! 

Today I have an explorer on my hands. Crawling round our new home (yes, we finally moved!), unpacking bags, climbing the stairs with already too much ease (supervised!) and reaching higher and higher for things she should not have. A is already very observant, and today for the first time, I saw her pretending to have a conversation on her baby phone full of laughs and 'no, no,no!' Now might be the time to start watching we say in front of the B-A-B-Y...

This milestone has me thinking about the past year and what I advice I would give myself or indeed anyone with a newborn now.  A couple of tips spring to mind:

• get comfortable: whether it's the sofa, rocking chair or your bed, settle in for lots of cuddles with your little one and get to know them. 
• eat and drink plenty: you need to keep your energy up! But don't go overboard on cake, your body really needs the good stuff right now.
• take lots of pictures and videos: capture as many moments as you can.
•  forget dieting and trying to lose weight: give yourself a break, you've just had a baby! It took nine months to make your little one, why wouldn't it take at least nine months for your body to get back to normal?
• try not to do too much too, too soon: this can be particularly challenging if you've only recently started maternity leave and are still adjusting to life without meetings and spreadsheets. Take each day at a time as you learn to live with your baby and handle all the practicalities. 
• cherish every moment: even when it feels like you will never sleep or shower again. You will.

Now, what does life with a toddler look like? *Gulp*

6 Top Apps for New Parents

Our mobile phones are becoming increasingly integral to our day-to-day lives and also (scarily) part of our parenting. How often do you look something up on your phone? Dr Google is definitely an acquaintance of mine...How many times has your little one  reached for your phone or tablet? How often do you pass your phone with an app that you know will keep your little one quiet and entertained for a couple of minutes at least? Maybe you don't do this. Certainly before I was a parent I ruled out tablet use for my unborn child. But I have changed my mind in these past few months and I see how happy A is to play on a phone and experience the colours and sounds (right before she tries to put it in her mouth).  So I've given in and think that a bit of supervised use on child friendly apps is probably the way to go ( I may, however, be writing another post soon about the destruction of my phone by a nine-month old... watch this space).

There are a whole host of mobile apps out there aimed at parents and children and in these past nine months I've been surprised at how many I have used. I wanted to share with you my six top apps that we have found both useful and entertaining. I hope you find it helpful :)

1. Safe Dreams

I confess we downloaded this the first night we brought A home. We'd read somewhere that newborns feel comforted by white noise because its a familiar sound after hearing mum's heartbeat for the last few months. Safe Dreams is a free app that plays white noise sounds like jet cabin and womb sounds. You can set the time on it too so that it plays long enough to help soothe your baby. Ideal for those first few weeks.

2. Baby Centre

Often when you are looking on-line for information about babies, Baby Centre ranks quite high in the search results. The Baby Centre app is really useful as it provides daily updates about your baby and what's happening to them at different stages. There's a chat forum which can be helpful if you are looking to connect with other parents with babies of the same age and you can use the app as a picture diary of your baby too.

3. The Wonder Weeks

The Wonder Weeks app has been created to support The Wonder Weeks book. It breaks the book down into short, summarised chunks that are easy to read when you have a spare five minutes. The book is based on 35 years of research about the development of babies in their first couple of years and the milestones that they reach. I personally find all this very interesting and it has been a great resource to use when trying to understand A's behaviour and development. It has also helped to explain a few cranky phases!

4. Go Baby

Go Baby is a great app for London parents. From your location it can pinpoint the closest child-friendly venues and it details if they have baby change, high-chairs and lift access. This is a fairly new app so listings are being added all the time but its particularly well set up for central London travel.

5. Koi Pond

OK, so this is my new favourite app. So simple and is perfect for babies as they learn about cause and effect. The app is simply an interactive Koi Carp pond. The pond is full of fish and creatures and every time you touch the screen you interact with the pond i.e. scaring the fish away, splashing the water, creating ripples etc. It works really well on a tablet and I think I may be enjoying it just as much as my daughter!

6. Rhymes

Nursery Rhymes have been brought to life and into the twenty-first century with a dose of animation and bright colours in a mobile app. The old favourites have been animated into interactive videos for your little one's amusement. In Old Macdonald, the cows parachute, the pigs play the trumpet and the farmer dances (who knew!?!). Rhymes is an essential mobile app to keep handy when you need a break from singing!

8 signs you might be having an off week

1. Your normally sound sleeping child stops sleeping through and decides that 3am is the new time to wake up. (the winter lurgies are currently paying our house a visit so poor A is all congested and just wants cuddles at night. I'm more than happy to do this but am praying we all get some more sleep soon...)

2. The woman in the bakery points out that you have done your three tog coat up all wrong. Fashion fail.

3. When trying to make a healthy smoothie the milk pours out the bottom of your blender and covers your kitchen floor. 

4. You forget the online shop and end up popping to the supermarket four times in one week not knowing what to buy when you get there. You only know there is not enough food in the fridge and you have run out of Ella's pouches and finger foods and milk and oh, anything you want for lunch.

5. You end up buying lots of chocolate.

6. After planning a nice meal out for your wedding anniversary months in advance,  lining up babysitters, getting your nails done and planning an outfit - you have to cancel due to sheer exhaustion and the knowledge you won't enjoy it as you will likely fall asleep in your starter. Plus you end up awake at 2am anyway so it was probably a good thing you didn't splash out on some champers.  Maybe next year...

7. You eat more chocolate.

8. You don't get to write any blog posts or articles as you don't have the time or energy. This equals a super crabby mummy.

So now it's the beginning of a new week, and indeed a new month, so here's hoping the germs will leave our home and we can start to get into the festive spirit. And that I can do my coat up properly upon leaving the house...

Nearly New Bargains

So last Saturday we went to not one but two local nearly new sales. Reassuringly, we weren't the only ones because I spotted a couple of familiar faces also filling their cars up.  As I mentioned in Swapping High Street for Nearly New, since having A we have become big fans of nearly new sales as they help us to kit out our little one for a reasonable price (particularly useful as we currently have to update her wardrobe every three months as she grows!).

This time, for £30 all in all  we picked up around fifteen items of clothes and a few toys. I thought I'd share with you a couple of our favourite finds!

If you fancy visiting a sale near you keep an eye on these websites:

NCT

Mum2Mum 

Happy Halloween!

So we've embraced Halloween and gone for a cat outfit! At seven and a half months old, A hasn't protested but I wonder what she'll be saying in years to come...

Sleep training

I am currently writing this with Masterchef Australia on in the background (a programme I am slightly addicted to), OH on the sofa and our darling daughter lying on the floor (on a pillow) making strange purring noises. She won't go to sleep. We've completed our night time ritual:  bath - change (in a dimly lit room) - milk - burp- put down. Then the crying began so after leaving her to settle herself for a few minutes we caved and gave her more milk. No luck. We think she's teething, the red cheeks and jagged gums would certainly suggest this,  but the small dose of Calpol and application of Bonjela has not sent her to sleep. She's fairly chipper mind you, happy to be her with mummy and daddy babbling away. So I can't complain really. I just have the nagging super-nanny voice in my head saying I should be sleep training and we should be upstairs in a quiet dark room gently rocking her to sleep. That the TV is over-stimulating and we are creating bad habits. But the reality is... I don't have it in me to battle tonight.  I'm tired, it's the end of the day and I just want to chill out. I want to have the energy to write a blog post (something sadly I haven't had the time or energy for recently), I want to know who wins the immunity pin and I want to enjoy these moments with my little one; when she's giggling and happy and grinning at me. 

You never know she may fall asleep on her own... or Masterchef Australia may just become her new favourite programme!

Travelling into London with a baby? 5 tips to help plan your trip.

Abigail taking in the sights of the train...

Taking your baby into London can be a daunting experience. I certainly felt apprehensive when I planned to take Abigail there a few weeks ago to meet some friends. I planned the trip with military precision, packed my changing bag for all eventualities and headed off to face London with a buggy!

My trip was a success in the end (no outfit changes for mummy or baby required this time!) and I learnt a few tips to share with other mums planning on taking their little ones into the capital soon...

1. Plan your route. Work out your route from your front door to your destination and back again. I recommend using the app Citymapper. It's a nifty little app that shows you the different options you have, how long they take, when the next bus is, how much a taxi would cost etc. Plus it's free!

2. Consider your baby carrying options. For me it was a toss up between the buggy or the baby carrier. Each have their own advantages; the buggy will hold more stuff and you won't need to hold your baby for the duration of the trip  whereas the carrier means you only have to move yourself around and baby gets a good view of things. Your decision will depend on the type of trip you are planning and how you think your baby will respond. I went for the buggy this time as we had lunch plans.

3. Travel outside rush hour. One of the benefits of being on maternity leave is that you can plan your days to fit in with the needs of you and your baby. So capitalise on the emptier trains and travel off peak. The travel card is cheaper too!

4. Avoid tubes and use a bus instead.  Unfortunately London tubes aren't very buggy friendly. The stations with lifts are few and far between and unless you are lucky, you will end up having to battle with a buggy and some stairs. London buses are actually pretty good. They are regular, have room for buggies and are a great way to see London. But remember your Oyster card as buses will be cashless from the beginning of July.

5. Ask for help. Sometimes you just need a helping hand to get in out of places or up onto a train, particularly if you are on your own with your little one. Most people are happy to oblige and usually just a glimpse of your baby is enough incentive for anyone.!

Do you have any other tips? Send them through!

Happy travelling!

Baby Massage

So, in addition to feeding, cleaning, burping, dressing and generally meeting all my little one’s needs, I now have a new skill to add to the list… massage. After all it’s a tough life being a baby! We have recently been taking part in a baby massage class at our local children’s centre. A five-week course that teaches you how to massage your baby from head to toe. It has been a great opportunity to get out of the house, meet other mums and do something different with Abigail. And it’s free! The course has taught me a few tricks to help relax Abigail before bed time, and also help with ailments such as trapped wind (always useful!). 

All the talk of massage has made me wistful for the days when I would go for one myself and has inspired me to book in for one pronto!

 http://www.iaim.org.uk/

https://www.gov.uk/find-sure-start-childrens-centre

#Nevermissastylist

After spending six years working in the city, I was slightly worried about the adjustment of staying local with my baby. I was concerned about my social life changing, it’s not so easy to pop out for a drink in the evenings now, and about missing the general hustle and bustle of London life. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how easy it has been to meet other new mums and how many baby-friendly activities there are around. My diary (and Abigail’s) is filling up quick these days!

I do confess however, that I am missing certain aspects of city life. My daily Nero coffee, being so close to Covent Garden and my weekly fix of Stylist. I’ve missed the insightful articles, a weekly slice of popular culture and the great travel and beauty recommendations. So I was thrilled to discover that Stylist  have just released an app where I can download each week’s issue onto my iPad.

I can now catch up on Stylist  from the comfort of my own home whether it’s on the 4am night feed or while Abigail has her morning nap. An easy way to stay updated with the world and keep baby brain at bay!

http://www.stylist.co.uk/

Tiny Hands

A lovely little keepsake we had made when Abigail was seven weeks old. Our local pottery shop, Get Fired in Purley, makes these and many other beautiful pottery items. I wasn't sure how successful we would be at taking Abigail’s hand-print (she prefers to keep her fists clenched). But we found with a sleeping baby and a piece of acetate we could capture her hand-print first time!

http://www.getfired.co.uk/

Swapping High Street for Nearly New

Nearly new sales are essentially second hand sales where you can pick up a lot of the items from your list for your little one. From what I've seen everything on sale is in pretty good condition and items range from used to brand new. I confess I have never been one for second hand car boot sales or vintage shopping but after assessing the cost of kitting out our new addition, and realising mummy will need some spending money for herself too, we popped along to give it a try. Now, three sales later I am hooked and am marking out the next one on in my calendar. These sales are a great way to pick up products like clothes, shoes, books, toys and other accessories and pay just a fraction of the high street price. I've always loved a bargain and was particularly thrilled when I picked up a pair of baby UGG boots that have never been worn for just £10! On our first trip we spent just £20 and came away with enough baby towels, baby grows and muslin cloths to set our little one up for her first couple of weeks. Sorted.

I'm not promising that all sales have amazing bargains and there is an element of hit and miss on some stalls but here are a few tips on how to bag yourself a bargain:

1. Arrive early- turn up at the beginning of the sale rather than at the end. be one of the first to look around rather than looking at what's left at the end.

2. Go with an open mind- forget lists just go and have a look. You can't guess what will be there and having a list of specific items that you can't find will make you frustrated.

3. Get chatting- say hello to the people selling. It's a great way to socialise and get tips from people who have recently been where you are. Plus they may be able to direct you to something on their stall you haven't spotted!

4. Set a budget- it can be easy to go a bit crazy if you find lots of bargains. your little one will only wear so many clothes so try and limit how many items you buy. Remember you will want some new clothes too at some point!

5. Go with your partner or friends/family- it's always good to get someone else's perspective on what's value for money (and what's not!) and its a nice way to bond over the new addition to the family. They will also be able to remind you what you already have at home!

Check your local NCT website for details of sales near you.
http://www.nct.org.uk/