Funning Up My Life

I have moved!

2018-02-17T08:16:00.004+00:00

I am over at http://www.funningupmylife.co.uk/

Valentines! MAM Soother Giveaway!!*

2018-02-12T09:19:00.003+00:00

Last Valentines day, was a good one for me. I was a new mum, I had this new found love for my husband after he cared for us exclusively for the first few weeks of Luke's life.

I went back through the years, and dug up my last post about Valentines Day (you can find it here). Pizza and beer has been mine and Greg's tradition since day dot. This will be our 7th Valentines together (wow..) and I can't see the tradition breaking now!

Well.. Apart from now we both won't be drinking nearly as much as we will be looking after Luke.. And I am sure we will share the pizza with him, too!

Valentines is definitely the season of giving.. And as you all know, myself and Luke are a little obsessed with MAM UK products.. SO, I have teamed up with MAM UK to do another soother giveaway! We are giving away an exclusive MAM Style Soother with Valentines in mind!

All you have to do is head over to my Instagram page (here) for how to win!

GOOD LUCK!

In the mean time, check out the gorgeous Valentine inspired Style Soothers on their website and receive 20% off with the code "LOVE20"!

Check out their website here.

The fine print: The giveaway is for UK residents only and will be drawn at random on the 16th February 2018.

Travelling to Cyprus.. With a Baby!

2018-01-21T21:29:00.000+00:00

In April 2017, we travelled to Cyprus to visit family and have a little holiday.

When I was pregnant, my husband and I decided we wouldn't take Luke abroad for the first year of his life because it would be too difficult and stressful.

When my cousin contacted me to say she was having her son Christened in Cyprus and would love for us to come, I made an exception! We were incredibly anxious, but I really wanted to see my family. We love Cyprus and I really want it to be a huge part of Luke's life!

I am half Greek Cypriot, making Luke a quarter. I only went to Cyprus for the first time at 18 years old with my family and since then, we try to go as often as possible. I have family that still live over there and it is lovely to be able to see them and I would love for Luke to learn about where his family were from, and if he picks up some Greek, then bonus!

So, we decided to travel with a 15 week old baby.. How were we going to do this?! Planning, that's how!

First of all, we decided to stay at a hotel local to the airport the night before the flight. This way, we only had 10 minutes to get from A to B. It was so much better than worrying about parking a car!

Luke was able to play and we were able to relax and get ready without worrying about time.

Next - the plane. Originally, we were going to have Luke seated on one of our laps. It is a four/five hour flight and we were nervous that he wouldn't want to be held for so long. Although he was little, he was so independent already! We decided to get him a seat, and we took his car seat on the plane. This way, we didn't have to worry that the car seat could be damaged in transit, and Luke had somewhere to sleep.

He loved it. We were so nervous about his ears popping for takeoff and landing, but making sure we had a bottle and dummy at the ready solved that problem.

He didn't make a sound! Apart from happy ones. We were so proud. The flight attendants loved him and he loved them.

The next predicament? Sleeping arrangements. When I was pregnant, I bought a Koo-Di pop up travel cot. The intention was to use this when we were at other peoples houses because it is so compact, we could fit it in the footwell of our pushchair.

We brought it along, and it was perfect. We took it everywhere with us - it was like having a moses basket wherever we went. It was brilliant!

The best part? It has a fly proof zip up screen that went all around him. It meant he could sleep outside and he was protected from the sun and bugs.

You can buy it here:

Hats were an essential - even though he pulled them off. Sun cream just doesn't rub into a baby's head very well unless they are completely bald!

Taking lots of sun cream obviously goes without saying. And my top tip? Do a patch test on your baby before you go! The worst thing that could happen is you buy all this expensive cream, or you buy a cream abroad and you find out your child as an allergy to it! Luckily, we tested Luke's skin first and he got on well with the sun cream we bought. My brand of choice is Boot's Soltan or Nivea.

I personally liked the ones that tie under the chin.

For my cousins christening, we got him a little suit. HOW CUTE does he look?! We decided on the waist coat as it wouldn't be too warm.

We took a little play mat for Luke - this one was fab. It is perfect for tummy time and came with a little cushion to help.

It was padded, so was perfect for the hard floors. It wrapped up so small, we could actually fit it in his changing bag!

Luke loved the beach - he scrunched his toes in the sand. We took this on the day he turned 4 months old. What a little cutie!!!

As I had stopped breastfeeding by this point, we were really worried about bottles and soothers, and how we were going to sterilise them. I have posted before about my love for them - but we hugely relied on MAM for this!!

As soon as we decided to go, a microwave was the only essential where we were staying. You can sterilise MAM bottles and Soothers in the microwave with no steriliser! PERFECT! You can even sterilise the soothers in the cases they come in, or you can place one in a bottle when you're sterilising it. They are fab and they always have the most adorable designs.

I took our own formula too. In Cyprus, they did sell the same brand that Luke has, but it was slightly different, so we brought our own.

Learning to make formula whilst out and about was a challenge as we couldn't take too many ready made bottles due to the weight! I am aware that the advice changes from country to country on how to make a bottle of formula, but it absolutely blew my mind.

At home, I use a Tommee Tippee Prep Machine and I absolutely swear by it. When we leave the house, I always used the ready prepared UHT formula. The current guidelines are that you make formula with boiled water to sterilise the formula itself. I was freaking out about how to do this out and about! Basically without going into it too much further, it involved cooled pre-boiled water and a flask of boiling water over 70 degrees C to sterilise the powder.

One thing we did find was the nappies and wipes in Cyprus were very, very expensive in comparison to the UK. We took a large pack with us with the intention of buying more out there, but we didn't actually need to in the end. Phew.

On reflection, the one thing we didn't bring that I was worried about needing was a baby carrier. I wish we had brought one for the airport. Taking him through security would have been so much easier with a carrier! It was way too hot in Cyprus to use it there though.

The baby carrier I had at home would have been perfect. When it is not in use, it folds away into a bum bag! I should have brought it with me! I keep it in the boot of my car normally, so I have no idea why I didn't take it.

Overall, we had a brilliant and relatively stress free trip! I cannot wait to do the next one, but now Luke is a walking whirlwind, I am a little nervous for different reasons..!

My Essentials Checklist for Luke

Bibs

We brought dribble bibs and enough for one per day. Luckily for us, Luke wasn't too dribbly at the time!

Clothes

We brought enough for three changes of clothes per day - this was too many. Bring enough for two changes per day, and an extra set for the change bag.

Bottles and Soothers

At the time, Luke was having between 5-7 bottles per day, so we took 8 in total. We took 6 soothers - baby's manage to lose these a lot!

Muslin Swaddle Blankets and a Baby Sleeping Bag

The muslin swaddles were a brilliant blanket for the hot evenings. The sleep bag was a life saver for the air conditioned evenings!

Hats x2

Suncream

Formula and Flask

We took a full tub of powder and 12 small bottles of ready made. I also took the flask to prepare the formula out and about.

Nappies, Wipes and Cream

One large pack of 60ish nappies worked out to be the perfect amount. Two packs of wipes was more than enough. We saved up some samples of Sudocrem and took them.

Toys and Mat

We took toys that were easy to clean and pack. We ended up buying a few out there, too.

Travel Cot

The Koo-Di fit perfectly in our luggage and didn't weigh anything.

Baby Wash, Towel and Sponge

I took the biggest hooded towel we had, a sponge I didn't mind leaving there and a travel size baby wash and shampoo. Childs farm do a brilliant 2 in 1.

Car Seat

Even if we didn't get a seat for Luke on the plane, we would have taken our own car seat. Lots of people I know have got to the other side and the only car seat available for hire is forward facing, no matter what age your child is. Not worth the risk, in my opinion!

Stroller

We took our travel system bracket that fit our car seat into it. On reflection, I wish we brought our stroller so Luke wasn't so cooped up in his car seat all the time.

Video Monitor

I know - random one! Our room was a the very top of the villa and we wouldn't hear Luke if he stirred. I picked up a cheap video monitor from Amazon for about £25 and it worked a treat!

Have you taken your little one abroad? What were your essentials??

Small print: I have included affiliate links to these products on Amazon. I love these products and want to make them available to you all!

Baby Breakfast Bars

2018-01-13T16:51:00.000+00:00

Here is another brilliant recipe that I have come up with for Luke.

Baby breakfast bars can be extortionate! These were really easy and cheap to do, and last 3 days in a sealed tub.

Ingredients

1 cup of Oats

2 Carrots

1 Banana

1 Apple

1 Box of Raisins

1 Carton/200ml of fruit juice (my favourite is Cawston Press!)

1 tsp Cinnamon

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 220°c/425°f/Gas Mark 7

2. Grate the apple and carrots, then mix all of the ingredients together.

It doesn't have to be thorough! But make sure the oats are covered.

3. Line a baking tray with grease proof paper and press the mix into it.

I used the pegs to keep the paper in place - if you do this, make sure you take them off before baking!!

4. Bake for about 20 minutes or so. They should still be soft, but starting to firm up.

Bon appetit! Luke adores these, and I hope your little one will, too!

MAM Baby Diary

2018-01-11T11:56:00.002+00:00

Baby apps. Finding one that you get on with is really important. When I was pregnant, there were so many! But none that really did anything for me. When Luke was born, a lot of those apps became redundant and I went on the search for one that would meet my needs. Then I found the MAM Baby Diary! This app has managed to help me every step of the way with Luke. Whether it is advice or the diary function, this app is a must have.

There is a section of the app for advice through pregnancy, and each stage of your baby's development. I downloaded this app towards the end of my pregnancy, and I fell in love straight away!

The MAM Baby Diary is fantastic. The diary function of the app allows you to log any milestones. Such as walking, crawling, etc. This was incredibly handy as my memory is not what it used to be (baby brain, anyone?!)! I don't know about you, but I have people ask "how old was Luke when he did (insert milestone here)?" and I pause.. then I refer to my MAM Baby Diary. Phew.

When Luke was younger, I used it to track his feeds. As I was combination feeding, I used it to track both breast and bottle, and it worked so well. With the breast feeding tracker, you can track which breast and for how long. I would normally add in the comments if I thought it was just a comfort feed, rather than a proper feed.

You can track nappy changes, too. I generally have only use this when Luke has been unwell, and it has given me great peace of mind! Recently (and over his birthday, poor thing!) Luke had a tummy bug. He was having lots of nappies, but not many wet ones at all. This gave us a chance to monitor him.

There have been two occasions where I have forgotten Luke's red book when we have gone to get him weighed. This app might as well be his red book, to be honest! You can log all measurements on the app. I have a lot of mum friends with babies the same age, and it is really handy to have the measurements to hand when we are comparing our little ones.

You can track anything, just see above! The own recording is super - I have been tracking his vaccines there.

You can even add more than one child!

I personally have tried many other apps with similar features, but none like this one. This app is by far my favourite and I would recommend it to any pregnant person, or those with a little one. Try it out!

Download the app here.

MAM asked me to review this app, but I did however already have this app and use it. All opinions are my own.

Birth Story..! Essay Ahead..

2017-12-29T16:05:00.000+00:00

As it has been over a year, I think it is finally time to post my birth story!

Birth... Different for everyone! For me, it was definitely not what I imagined at all - but I did get an amazing baby at the end of it, so I can live with it!

When my midwife asked me to complete a birth plan, I politely declined. What is the point in a birth plan when there is no guarantee it will go to plan? If I had a plan that I couldn't fulfil, I would be left disappointed and upset, so I didn't bother. I planned to take any drugs I felt I needed and go with the flow. The one thing I felt fairly passionate about was that I did not want a cesarean as I am terrified of needles and the thought of an operation whilst awake made me feel sick. I obviously did accept the fact that sometimes, these need to happen and obviously, I would never object to anything that would keep myself and my baby alive!

37 weeks! I was hoping this would be my last pregnant picture..

From 37 weeks pregnant, I was ready! My hospital bag was packed, the baby's bag was packed and my husbands bag was (almost) packed. I felt ridiculous having so much stuff (little did I know, it wouldn't be anywhere near enough!), but I felt prepared! I packed and re-packed each bag about 30 times, just to make sure I had enough of everything. My due date was the 12th December and my last day at work was the 2nd December (I know, on reflection, I was mad cutting it so fine!) and I was soooo ready to have this baby. I was huge and my hips were agony. Although I had the dream pregnancy (no sickness, yay!), I was well and truly over it and wanted to meet my baby!

I started trying every trick in the book to bring on labour.. Nothing worked!

At 40 weeks, my midwife gave me a stretch and sweep (not the most pleasant thing in the world..) and it didn't get me anywhere. Not even a twinge!

40 weeks..

At 41 weeks, another midwife gave me another sweep. Nothing. She booked me for induction on Christmas Eve. From the moment I had that induction date, I just knew that I wouldn't go into labour naturally. I felt a little disappointed, but I was so desperate to meet my baby!

On the 23rd December, we tidied the house, I packed and re-packed my bags (just to make sure!), got the baby's co-sleeper set up, we ate and we tried to get a lot of rest, ready for our 9am start the next day. We decided to not open our Christmas presents until we got back from the hospital. That way, we could have Christmas as a family of three! Little did I know that we would be opening them closer to New Year than Christmas!

Induction
We got to the hospital nice and early on Christmas Eve, so that we could grab a coffee and be as relaxed as possible. At 9am, we went onto the ward and were greeted by a lovely midwife. She had even folded my towel into a heart!

She hooked me up to some machines to check me and the baby, and then examined me. 2cm - not enough to break my waters, so she inserted a gel to soften things up. She would then leave us for 6 hours and check me again. We walked, watched Absolutely Fabulous, got more coffee.. Nothing. About an hour before she came back, another midwife hooked me up to the same machine as before to see if I was having contractions and to monitor the baby's heart rate. Still nothing. I did however start to feel something. It was dull and came and went, but no pain. Not how I imagined contractions at all, so I dismissed it.

When the 6 hours was up, my midwife was on her break, so a different midwife came in to examine me. She was heavy handed and not as nice! She said I hadn't progressed any further and needed another gel. That meant another 6 hours!! I was less than amused, Greg was definitely less than amused, too! She said she could do it, or I could wait for my original midwife. I asked to wait. A doctor came in and looked at the machine and agreed that I needed it. I did mention that I was having some pains and she didn't acknowledge it at all as it wasn't showing on the machine.

My lovely original midwife came back, with the gel. She was very apologetic about having to do the second gel. I said how disappointed I was as I had started having tightenings and I thought this was it! She was very concerned that I was having tightenings and that the doctor wanted to give me a second gel, as the gel can cause you to over contract. She held her hand on my tummy and agreed that I was in fact having contractions but the machine wasn't picking them up! YAY! She examined me again and agreed that she could probably break my waters. She agreed to send me up to the delivery suit and get this show on the road!!

Labour
Another midwife came and met us and showed us to our room. From there, things got heavy, quick! She tried to break my waters but didn't have much luck because the baby was so low. She left the room to get me some water and when she came back, I was lugging the gas and air as my contractions had gone into turbo and I was in agony. By now, it was 6pm on Christmas Eve.

By 10pm, they agreed that I could get in the pool and relax - my contractions were giving me no break at all, so I wanted to try anything. I really didn't want the pethidine (mainly because no matter what pain I was in, I was still a little too scared of the needle!).

I got in the pool for about half an hour and although it did really calm me down, I was still in agony and would not let go of the gas and air. The midwife at this point suggested I get out of the pool, and had an epidural. I was in so much pain, I agreed extremely willingly. I was about 4cm dilated at this point.

They attempted to put IV's in for a hormone drip but they kept missing. I was not impressed but still in agony. They eventually got it in but it kept popping out. It was horrid! We waited for the anaesthetist and he didn't arrive for ages. When the epidural eventually went in, it was 12.10am on Christmas Morning.

From then on, I got some sleep (despite being woken up every 30 minutes for them to check my blood pressure!). Poor Greg however was on the worlds most uncomfortable chair and got very little sleep!

Christmas morning was finally here - and the whole ward entered my room, dressed in nativity atire - and sang me "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". I wasn't sure if it was real or if it was the drugs if I'm honest! I was very numb from the chest down and I was dopey.

After 7 hours, I hadn't dilated. I was still 4cm's and the midwife was concerned. After the singing stopped, Joseph (who was actually a surgeon) stepped forward and said he was really concerned that I hadn't progressed and wanted to do an emergency cesarean. I was terrified. Greg was excited!

After the word cesarean was mentioned, it was about 15 minutes before we were in the operating theatre and on the way to meeting our baby. I was so scared, but the staff were all amazing.

As I was about to meet Luke, the surgeon warned me that his head had been stuck for a while, so he would look a little coned. I don't actually remember this, but I don't think I cared!

Then, he appeared! I don't really remember, but he cried and I saw him. Then I went all sleepy and the rest is a bit of a blur (not because anything bad happened! Just because the drugs were awesome!).

10.37am on the 25th December 2016 - there he was!
8lbs 6oz of perfection

Luke James Britton

This is Greg cutting the cord. Luke's poor head! It went down after a few hours.

The story didn't end there.. I was in hospital for an additional 4 days due to a suspected infection and mystery pain (trapped air from the surgery).

But I was so happy!

Greg was Luke's primary care giver for a while as I couldn't change, lift or feed him for a few days. It meant that Greg and Luke got the best initial bonding experience ever! We were extremely lucky to have Luke at a hospital that allowed the fathers to stay with the mothers and babies.

Once we got home, my bonding with Luke started and Greg was fantastic and helped me every step of the way.

A year on, I am trying to persuade Greg to do it again! I was so adamant that I would never have another child, but now I am ready. Just one more.. Watch this space!

A little update on life..

2017-12-08T20:10:00.000+00:00

LUKE IS WALKING!

I was not ready for this! When Luke turned 10 months old, he started walking.. He is way too small, right?!

Look at those tiny legs. Not ready for this milestone, but I am sooo proud of him. He will be one so soon!! He had an early joint birthday party with his best mate, Ava. She was born the day after him, so it was perfect!

Matching jumpers, hell yes!

The party was a whole 16 and 17 days before their birthdays, but when is the best time to have a birthday party for someone born on Christmas and Boxing Day?! We had such a great time with our friends and family, but I am still in denial that my baby is soon to be a year old..

My mother-in-law made them a cake (see below - isn't it amazing!?) and our dear friend Emma, made them the most gorgeous smash cakes! Luke didn't get to sleep until 3am - maybe it was all the sugar!!!

When Luke was a few weeks old, Ava's mum (Jemma, who I met at an NCT class when we were pregnant!) and I decided to attend a parenting class. Although we met up a lot and had each other, we thought it would be a good excuse to meet some local mums and babies that were a similar age to ours - how right were we?!

Including us, there were seven mums and seven babies and we are all still great friends now and try to meet as often as possible. The picture above was the first we took of the babies together. The one below is the most recent.

A few weeks ago, the first baby of the group turned one, and now the whole group are catching up! I cannot get over it how fast they are all growing. They are all incredible kids and I have grown so fond of them and their mums!

He has learned to pose for the camera - every time I hold my phone up, he pulls the above face. SOOO cute.

We met Father Christmas... Luke was not a fan...

SO in conclusion, life has been busy..!

I decided to go back to work-work in October and very quickly found a job doing what I love in a lovely Hotel not too far from me. It has been fab and I'm really enjoying it. Spending time away from Luke has been tough, but his grandparents are enjoying the time with him, and he loves them!

Greg is still my total rock - I literally don't know how I would function without him. He is just amazing and such a fantastic dad.

I still adore blogging, and I am doing my best to find more time to do more posts. I have a few in the pipeline, so keep an eye out!

One thing I have found really difficult since being a mum is prioritising my time. The second Luke naps (which isn't often anymore) or he is eating his lunch in his highchair, all I want to do is relax. As a result, my house is not where I want it to be and my blog has been neglected. I have been putting a lot of work into it recently - you will see it all soon!

Thank you for still sticking around and reading my posts.

I love you all

Baby Breakfast Muffins!

2017-11-11T20:00:00.000+00:00

Luke is going through a phase of only wanting to feed himself which is fab! Getting him to eat is a long process however, and if it is green, he doesn't want it. NIGHTMARE!

I've had to get back into the kitchen and figure out how to cook Luke the healthiest foods that he can feed himself. For some, that may sound super easy. For me, I have become so lazy and cooking was definitely not my strong point anymore. But for Luke, it will be a strong point again!

Breakfast for me was a real struggle. I need something that is healthy and that he can feed himself. Now I have gone back to work 3 days per week, I always aim for minimal mess in the mornings.. Challenge accepted..

I didn't mean to match his top to the highchair..

I searched the internet for some assistance and breakfast muffins kept appearing! They seemed simple enough, so I created my own recipe. They were so simple and it made so many!

Ingredients

1 Cup of Flour
1 Cup of Oats
1/4 Cup of Milk
1 Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Large Egg
2 Pouches of Ella's Kitchen "The Green One"
1 Avocado
1 Banana

Method
1. Pre heat the oven to 220°c/425°f/Gas Mark 7.
Mash the banana and avocado together, then add the milk, the pouches and egg

2. In another bowl, mix the dry ingredients

3. Fold the mix together, ensuring the dry mix is completely covered - this doesn't need to be too thorough

4. Scoop a generous amount into a muffin tray - you can use liners, but I just used a silicone tray and some spray coconut oil

5. Pop in the oven for 20 mins.
Ensure when the time is done that they are cooked through
(I use a knife to poke through the centre. If the knife comes out clean, they are done! If not, put them back in for another few minutes)

6. Ta-daaaa!
Cool them on a cooling tray.
These can be frozen (which saves my life!) and defrosted as needed.
I pop them in the microwave for 30 second bursts until they are warm through!

Perfect every time!

MAM Oral Care Week! *

2017-10-16T08:19:00.000+01:00

This week is MAM Oral Care Week! YAY! MAM have some fantastic products to help look after your little one's mouth.

~~Go to the store here and enter "ORALCARE25" for 25% off oral care and teethers! (excluding MAM Friends)~~

For your chance to win a teether of choice, keep reading!

Oral care is so important for your little one. I always thought that it was simple when you had a baby. They don't have any teeth, so why do I need to worry about their oral care?? Ohh Rowan, how wrong can you be?

When Luke's first tooth came through, I was so excited. I had the toothbrush at the ready! Luke had other plans. He would not let me brush his tooth. In fact, if the toothbrush went near him, he would gag and clamp his jaw shut. Even when he started to accept the toothbrush (just holding it though..) he would scream if it went near his mouth. Oh man.

His first tooth came through on the 1st August, followed by the second on the 12th August. Two adorable bottom teeth to take care of - but no way of him allowing me! So I tried to make it fun. I let him basically just have one toothbrush at all times, and showed him throughout the day, every day, how to brush his teeth. Eventually, it worked! Now, if I hand him his brush, he brushes his teeth (and then I step in and make sure they are sparkling!).

Growing up, my baby teeth were a real problem. I had an addiction to fruit juice in a bottle and would not let my parents brush my teeth. The result? Painful tooth extractions and adult teeth growing where they shouldn't. This really motivated me to make sure that Luke would never have this problem. But where to start..

MAM have some incredible products to ensure your baby has the best oral care from day one. I honestly could not recommend them more.

The MAM Oral Care Rabbit

This product can be used from BIRTH! Yes, birth! It is so important to keep gums clean.

This is a product I am so glad I had before Luke's teeth came through. I was a bit late to the party though, and got it when he was about 4-5 months old. It helped him get used to having his gums brushed. And when he refused the toothbrush at first, this helped keep his brand new little tooth clean!

You simply put the ears over your fingers and gently rub over the baby gums!

I do let Luke just hold and chew this too. He loves it.

MAM Bite and Relax (Phase 2)
Hands up if your baby started teething ridiculously early, but no teeth appeared for a while?!

Luke started teething at about 7-8 weeks. It was hell! He would chew everything, mainly blankets, and cry all the time. He was too young for pain relief and only just old enough for a tiny dose of teething powder which didn't work for long.

I bought a couple of teethers to relieve him, but the issue I had was sterilising them. I threw them in the steriliser and then... Well and then what?! How was I supposed to take them with me and keep them clean? I actually resorted to putting them in a sterilised bottle, which meant more to carry.

These teethers come with a sterilisble case - YES! YOU READ THAT RIGHT!! Just like the MAM Soothers, you can sterilise this teether in the microwave in the case, and take it with you. The case keeps them sterile for 48 hours.

Luke chews on every part of this teether. I attach it to one of our soother clips and he favours it over his soother!

MAM also sell the Bite and Relax Phase 1 from 2+ months - it also comes in a sterilisable case and you can find it here.

MAM Friends
Meet Bob and Lucy. They are Luke's MAM Friends.

They are made of 100% natural rubber, making them 100% baby safe.

These guys are brilliant. Luke actually talks to them - not too sure what he is saying, but he looks right at their little eyes and talks! After he has had a nice long chat with them, he tries to eat them. Just as well they are perfect for this!

Both can be secured onto a dummy clip so Luke can take them everywhere with him (and I don't have to worry about them getting lost!). Luke points and pokes the little bumps and patterns and found them incredibly easy to pick up from very early on. They are extremely squidgy with no squeek - that means I don't have to worry about stepping on one when Luke is in bed - result!

These can't be sterilised, but I personally just give them a quick once over with the bottle brush and some antibacterial washing up liquid and dry them thoroughly.

Lucy is suitable from 2+ months and can be found here.
Max is suitable from 4+ months and can be found here.
Ellie is suitable from 4+ months and can be found here.
Bob is suitable from 5+ months and can be found here.

MAM Massaging Brush
The MAM Massaging Brush is a life saver. When Luke's gums are causing him pain, the last thing he wants me to do is brush his teeth. The MAM Massaging Brush not only cleans his existing teeth and gums, it brings a great deal of comfort to those sore gums!

One thing I adore about the MAM Massaging Brush is that it is long - long enough for Luke to hold, and still room for me to help!

MAM Learn to Brush Set
This brush set does exactly what it says on the tin. It helped Luke learn to brush his own teeth, and hugely helped my piece of mind at the same time!

Like the other one, the MAM Learn to Brush Set comes with a long brush. Luke can hold this and I can help him! The smaller brush is perfect for little hands.

The reason this brush saved my piece of mind is that little round plastic piece that comes with the brushes. This clips around the neck of the brush to stop Luke from shoving the whole brush down his throat! It is such a fab idea and it really works. Luke cannot take it off which is even better! He uses it as a handle, too.

The Giveaway is now closed!!

~~MAM have kindly offered a fantastic prize of a choice of teether from their website! The range can be found here.~~

~~Giveaway closes on 20th October 2017 (winner selected and announced on the 21st).~~

~~All you have to do is enter below!~~

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~~Good Luck!!~~

The fine print: MAM have sent me this product for the purpose of review. All views are my own.
The giveaway is for UK residents only and will be drawn at random on the 21st October2017

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Homemade Granola!

2017-10-03T15:00:00.000+01:00

Breakfast in my house is a bit hit and miss. With a baby to feed, I often end up eating what he doesn't and soggy toast is not my favourite thing..

I had been searching Pinterest for quick and easy breakfasts that I could make ahead of time and I pinned a lot! But one thing that stood out for me was granola. A few weeks back, a friend of mine said that she had been making her own granola for the week and it was really easy, so I thought I would give it a try! After reading a few recipes, it was easy enough to create my own.

You will need:

And if you like it sweet, add a grated apple into the mix!

Method:

First steps, pre heat the oven at 175°c/350°f/Gas Mark 4. While the oven is heating up, mix all dry ingredients together and put in an oven proof dish. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes. You don't need to be religious with the 3 minute stir, I just like filling my house with the smell!

Mix the wet ingredients together (including the apple if you have decided on a sweeter granola!). When the 15 minutes is up, take the dry ingredients out of the oven. They should smell incredible right about now! Add the wet ingredients and stir thoroughly. Everything should be covered equally.

Once everything is combined, you will want to thinly layer a baking tray with your mix. It is fairly important that it is a thin layer as you want it to bake evenly.

Put back in the oven for a further 15 minutes. It should start to go golden and smell even better!! Once the time is up, turn the oven off, but leave the granola inside for a further 5 minutes.

Remove the granola from the oven and allow to completely cool. Once cooled, you can store in an air tight jar for around 3 days.

Personally, I have this with yogurt or even by itself as a snack. You can add raisins, chocolate chips, etc to make it perfect for your own taste. This recipe is a great base!

ENJOY!

Let me know how it turns out for you!

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Coffee Shops Aren’t The Only Place For Great Coffee*

2017-09-29T09:51:00.000+01:00

For many people, coffee is the fuel that keeps them going – it wakes you up on a morning, gives you a boost during that pre-lunch lull in energy and ensures you remain alert late into the afternoon. But the concept of great quality coffee has also become tied up with the idea of the coffee shop – after all, you can’t get really good coffee at home or at the office, right?

Coffee Shop Culture

We have almost become spoiled in terms of coffee due to the quality of products easily available at our many local coffee shops. Not only that but the whole coffee shop culture has gained a place in our work lives. Many freelancers and flexible location workers often turn to the coffee shop as a great place to work and also to enjoy their favourite coffee. With free Wi-Fi, charging spots for the smartphone and even the odd free refill, the coffee shop is an ideal place for solo workers to have a change of scene.

This has also led to the desire for better quality coffee both at home and at work. For most people, gone are the days of coffee that looked and tasted like used petrol. In fact, some 40% of employees say they are willing to leave the office to buy quality coffee on the high street. So, what can be done to make quality coffee available everywhere?

Importance of Quality Coffee

There are lots of ways to get the very highest quality coffee in your home or at the office and that’s why many businesses are now investing money in ensuring that their staff get only the best. In fact, as the awareness of the benefits of coffee for staff has grown, so has the investment that businesses are willing to make in their coffee facilities, and there are a growing number of specialist commercial coffee companies like Honest Coffees (www.HonestCoffees.com) providing the latest machines and the highest quality coffee to offices and workplaces.

In fact, studies have shown that coffee has lots of positive connections for the workplace that will also apply to anyone working from home. Good coffee:

· Helps keep you alert – caffeine is a stimulant and boosts the central nervous system, helping with all-day productivity

· Good reasons for a break – short breaks have shown to be beneficial for long-term productivity and also help employees spend a little time with colleagues, chatting and sharing experiences, which has a positive effect on overall performance

· Makes people get up from their desk – spending too long in one position isn’t good for the body so the need to get up and make some coffee is a good incentive to take a break and move around

· Relieves stress from lack of sleep – we’ve all had those spells where you don’t sleep well and feel like a zombie but a good cup of quality coffee can help boost the body and overcome the stress of sleeplessness

Selecting a Coffee Machine

Whether you are considering a coffee machine for home, the home office or the work office, there is now a host of machines to choose from, all offering different benefits. So how do you select the right one?

There are four main types of coffee machine to consider:

A manual espresso machine is the type similar to those found in coffee shops and allows you to create the largest range of drinks. This is ideal if you’re a fan of cappuccinos, lattes and hot chocolates or want to offer a wide range of options to your staff.

If you want something a little simpler but also want to use great quality beans, then a bean-to-cup machine is the way to go. This involves grinding and pouring the coffee automatically, so this option offers really high-quality products with less time involved in the making.

Capsule machines can be an ideal option for homes, home offices or small offices as each coffee is made from a pod. They tend to be a little more expensive than other systems but offer a very reliable result and take very little cleaning.

If you just want lots of good, strong coffee constantly available then a filter coffee machine will be the answer. This is the simplest type of coffee machine and offers plain, hot coffee that you can then add milk, cream, sugar or anything else to. All you need to do is insert a single filter paper to the brew basket and pour the contents of the filter grind coffee sachet into the basket. The basket is slid into the machine and then left for 4-5 minutes before being ready to pour and drink.

Enjoy the Benefits

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Even a simple filter coffee machine in the workplace stocked with a good quality coffee can quickly bring the benefits for employees and therefore for the business. You can work with a coffee machine expert to see what is the best type of machine for both office tastes and office sizes to ensure everyone gets the coffee they need, when they need it.

Disclamer: I was paid for this post, however all opinions are my own

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Nine months old!

2017-09-28T09:54:00.000+01:00

WAIT, WHAT?!
My tiny baby boy is NINE MONTHS OLD! When did this happen?!

He is so close to walking, he climbs the stairs, climbs everything he possibly can and despite the constant movement, he doesn't like napping! Changing his nappy is a HUGE challenge as he wants to roll, backflip and do anything but stay still..

Never for a second, did I think that I would have such a strong willed baby, but I love it! I cannot turn my back for a millisecond.. (goodbye peeing in peace!)!

He absolutely loves toys and teddies - his sensitive side has definitely come out. He is obsessed with all animals - he waves at Rex (our pet tortoise) every time we walk passed him! He squeals with excitement. It is the cutest thing ever!

His legs just kill me. He stands on the wrong side of his toes and as cute as it is, it does make me worry!! Or maybe, he will just be the most fantastic ballet dancer, ever?!

He loves trolleys - he sees them as an adventure! I just haven't quite learned how to stop him sucking the straps or bars.. Cringe..

Just look at his cheeky face.

I never understood how much you can love someone until I became a mother! I know, every mum says that, but seriously, it's true! I love my husband more, I love my parents more, it is crazy!

Every time I put him to bed, I realise that in the morning, he will have grown that little bit more. One more step towards not needing his mum anymore! So as much as I love the grown up time I get when bed time comes, I also feel a tiny twinge of sadness, but also excitement - I cannot wait to see the amazing man he will grow into! But for now, slow down baby boy.

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MAM Soothers! *

2017-09-20T11:58:00.000+01:00

A few posts ago, you would have seen that one of my essentials for every baby are MAM bottles - we love them! Since that post, MAM have got in touch and sent me some soothers for Luke to review, and asked us to hold a giveaway! Here is the verdict, and giveaway details below..

MAM Crystal Soothers

The characters on these are totally adorable - a Rhino and a Lion! Luke loves animals and I have always bought vibrant soothers with animals or characters on them.

The MAM Crystal Soothers are my favourites because they are so bright and cheerful. Every single pattern I have seen has been fun and I love the shiny finish!

Luke has a habit of scraping his two (and only) bottom teeth along the patterns of these soothers - and the patterns have not shifted! I am more than impressed. I expected the finish to at least wear, but it hasn't!

You can check out more in the range here.

MAM Nature Soothers

As Luke was born on Christmas Day, I adore the winter patterns on these. I LOVE them! Luke is currently obsessed with dogs - not overly sure why as we don't have one! But he has pointed to the fox on the blue soother and waved a few times, just like he does with dogs. It is incredibly sweet!

I have grown a strange attachment to these soothers. Part of me only wants to take these ones with us when we leave the house, but the other part of me doesn't want to risk loosing them!

Again - the finish on these is fab and hasn't worn at all, despite Luke trying to eat them.

You can check out more in the range here.

Why we love these soothers..!

The shape of these soothers are the best. Other brands have a different shape to them and from very early on, Luke just didn't get them. The MAM Soothers, he just took to immediately.

This is probably because the teats are incredibly soft and the soothers fit so perfectly in his mouth. With other soothers, he seems to really struggle to keep a hold of it in his mouth - he even pulls them out and looks at them with a really puzzled look on his face.

Luke has never been that good at putting his soother back in his own mouth until these - I think it is because the back is perfect size for Luke to hold. He always holds one in his hand.

We always keep a stash around the house, the car, the changing bag.. The fact that they come in a box that you can throw in the microwave and sterilise them in, seals the deal for me!

The Giveaway is now closed!

~~MAM have kindly offered a fantastic prize of a choice of soother from their website! The range can be found here.~~

~~Giveaway closes on 28th September 2017 (winner selected and announced on the 29th).~~

~~All you have to do is enter below!~~

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~~Good luck!~~

The fine print: MAM have sent me this product for the purpose of review. All views are my own.
The giveaway is for UK residents only and will be drawn at random on the 29th September 2017

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Baby Essentials

2017-08-27T09:55:00.001+01:00

When you're expecting your first baby, everything looks appealing. I must admit, myself and my husband bought an awful lot of things with no idea if they would be useful or not and we ended up with a lot of samples to try out!

Here is what I couldn't live without!

The Bednest

The current NHS guidelines are that your baby should sleep in your room for the first six months of their lives. I wanted to do this safely, so I did my research. I wanted my baby close to me, so I looked into co-sleepers that attached to the side of your bed. Nice and close, but they would still be in their own space. My husband and I sleep so deeply, I would never trust the baby to be in the bed with us!

A friend of mine on Facebook liked the Bednest page - so I had a look. I had checked out all the co-sleepers you could buy in the shops and although they looked great, I was not too keen on the idea of spending £200 on something my baby would be in for 4-6 months, and then I would have to store it. I know, I could re-use it for baby number two, but I would also have to store it after that and we really don't have anywhere but the loft - and no, I didn't want to put it up there!

The day before we went to be induced!

The Bednest is hired for as long as you need it, but it is recommended until your baby is six months (and not rolling/crawling/etc). All the fabric is new, so the only re-used part is the wood. It is amazing! It attaches to the side of the bed by the base, and the crib itself can come off. The sides collapse so you can have the baby almost in the bed with you, but in their own space.

This was when we realised he needed to go into his big cot!

We brought it downstairs in the day for Luke to sleep in, instead of buying an additional moses basket. We loved it! I ordered it at the end of October and returned it at the end of June. I honestly couldn't recommend this cot enough.

Koo-Di Pop Up Basinet

4 weeks old

I bought the Koo-Di when I was pregnant with the intention of using it when we were at friends/families houses. We actually ended up using it a lot! We used it when we went away on three family get-aways by the time he was 4 months old. It was such a brilliant purchase!

It was perfect because it folds up so small and has a built in mosquito net. When we were in Cyprus, we could have him sleep outside whilst we were pool side and we didn't have to worry about the bugs!

17 weeks old

This lasted Luke until he was 4 months old as he started to roll and crawl!

There are so many cute colours and patterns in the range, I would definitely buy another if/when I had another baby!

Cosatto Travel System
A travel system is an essential when it comes to a baby, and without a doubt, my favourite is the Cosatto Giggle 2! We got ours from Mothercare for a total steal! I love all the patterns they do, and Luke adored the pattern from an early age. He would look at the pattern and smile. It melted my heart!

When I was recovering from my caesarean, I could really lean on the pushchair whilst pushing Luke to help me walk. It really helped me get out of the house!

Everywhere I go, someone stops me to ask me about the pushchair/car seat. That definitely does wonders for the ego!

As Luke got bigger, the pushchair grew with him!

We will be able to use this for a fair while yet and I love it!

BabyMoov Swing Chair
This chair was absolutely fantastic from newborn until about 5 months (when Luke became a little too mobile for it!). It rocks, it plays music and it has a mobile. It can either be powered by batteries or you can plug it in.

From a couple of days old, he sat in this with the music going, being rocked. It would soothe him so fast, it really helped us out!

As you can see from the picture, he has changed so much! He went from not even noticing the mobile, to eating it! Even now, if I play the music from the chair, he smiles excitedly! It is the sweetest thing.

Now Luke has outgrown it, I have folded it up and put it away in his room. As it folds almost flat, it doesn't get in the way at all and will be kept for baby number 2!

This also comes with a lifetime warranty which is just brilliant!

Swaddle Blankets
One of the best gifts I was given for Luke were these swaddle blankets. I received a pack of four and I loved them so much, I bought an additional 4! Did I ever swaddle Luke? Not really - I was terrible at it. Why were they the best gift? Because they are amazing!

I have used them to line cots in hotels, in his car seat and pushchair, in his cot, they made great burp cloths when he was small, and loads more!

They make the best blankets as they are so incredibly soft and they wash and dry incredibly well. I am yet to find another type of blanket that washes so well! They also fold up incredibly small and can be kept in your changing bag.

Out of the brands that I have, my favourite by far is Swaddle Designs!

Car Seat Blanket
When we brought Luke home from the hospital, it was -2°c outside. I had read never to put a baby in a coat/jacket whilst in their car seat, so I bought a car seat blanket. It threads into the car seat and wraps around the baby to keep them warm.

We only really used this to and from the car as we heated the car once we were in it and didn't want him to over heat! Once he is in the car, we unwrap him - he wasn't too amused by this!

This was an absolute God send for the first two months. After that, Luke managed to wiggle his way out of it so we stopped using it for the car seat. It is so soft and cute though, that we still use it from time to time. Realistically, we could use it on his pushchair, too!

MAM Bottles
Every mum that plans to give their baby formula has to pick a bottle for their baby. I originally started out with Tommee Tippee and as brilliant as they were, Luke had colic and was sick a fair amount, so we decided to try MAM. I had received a free one in the post so I tried it and within a few days, Luke's colic was noticeably better.

I had heard about MAM bottles as they were supposed to make your life so much easier because you DON'T NEED A STERILISER!!

Yes, you read that correctly. They self sterilise in the microwave with a drop of water!!!

These were a dream when it came to going abroad with Luke when he was 4 months old, as we didn't have to worry about how we would sterilise his bottles. We just needed the microwave!

Their soothers are also fab and come in a microwaveable sterilising case. These have saved my life!

IKEA Highchair
Calling all bargain hunters! This highchair cost me £15, BRAND NEW, from IKEA!

This highchair is simply the best thing ever. I have tried Luke in other highchairs and none of them can contain him like this one can. It is easy to clean (you can even put the tray in the dishwasher!) and you can buy an additional inflatable insert with a washable cover.

Pop Up Play Pen
This has literally saved my life and my sanity. Luke started crawling fairly early and I lost the ability to do anything without him destroying my house! Well, I was more worried about him hurting himself on my incredibly un-child-proofed house!

I searched for play pens and was worried that I was going to have to sacrifice all the space that I had left in my living room - but then I found this! It is stable enough for him to pull himself up on and he can peek through it.

It can go outside, and folds to the size of a travel cot. Luke adores it. He sleeps in it, plays in it and watches TV through it!

What could you not live without? What was totally not needed?!

Disclosure: all opinions stated in this post are my own. I only post reviews about products that I am passionate about and think you should all know about! There are some affiliate links in the post. Thank you for reading :)

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Weaning and Baby Food Favourites! **

2017-08-06T12:00:00.002+01:00

From the time I was pregnant, I was on the look out for the best food for my baby, ready for when the time to wean him came. I signed up to all of the baby clubs I could find, signed up to the newsletters and collected vouchers.

We decided to start weaning Luke at 21 weeks old. He was showing all the signs that he was ready to wean, so we decided to go for it! By that time, I was ready too.

We decided to combine baby led weaning with purées, and we also decided to buy ready made meals and make our own. We started off by giving him lunch and dinner, and three or four spoonfuls each meal. For the first month, we just gave him single vegetable tastes. By the six month mark, we moved him up to breakfast, lunch and dinner, and I mixed vegetables. We also introduced fruit and snacks.

Luke's first finger food was Watermelon, followed the next day by some cucumber sticks - we gave him a lump to play with and chew on. He was pretty confused, but loved it!

For finger foods now, we offer him pitta breads, toast, steamed vegetables, eggs (boiled, scrambled, omelette), avocado, peppers, pasta and much more!

He also adores Kiddylicious wafers and Ella's Kitchen melty puffs! They are not only a favourite of his, but of mine..

His first purée was peas and although he loved it, he did go on to develop a pea intolerance! You have no idea how many things have peas in them..

Here are a few of the baby food brands that we have tried and how we felt about them!

Ella's Kitchen

Luke's first purée was an Ella's Kitchen pouch. In fact, his first few purées were! I was drawn to them originally because I "Became a Friend" (signed up to their mailing list) and received some fantastic goodies through the post. It came with two wall charts and stickers, which I put straight on the wall! It also came with a voucher for a free pouch - yay! The app is also brilliant.

They do a variety of single vegetable pouches which saved my life to start with.

The first purée we tried Luke with was peas. As you can see below, he also loved it in his hair and up his nose.. Ella's Kitchen also have these amazing spoons that screw straight onto the end of a pouch. Perfect for out and about!!

Luke's second flavour was Parsnips. At first, he really didn't enjoy it. Now, he cannot get enough of them!

Now he is 7 months old, the older pouches are still a firm favourite in our house. He loves them!

Babease

Babease was a brand I first saw on Instagram. I had never heard of them before and I was intrigued! I commented on one of their pictures and they offered me a voucher if I sent them a message. I did, and along with the voucher, I received this in the post!

This fruit pouch (Pear and Mixed Berries with Coconut Water, Brown Rice and Quinoa), Luke had for pudding and it was one of the first pouches he managed to suck himself!! Normally I would only give him half of a pouch like this for pudding, but he scoffed the lot! He cried when it was finished, so I would say this was a huge success!!

I really like this brand as they are "vegetable led". So many brands over do it with the fruit for first tastes, but Babease have got it right!

Kiddylicious
Now Luke has always loved their wafers, and I love their veg and cheese straws, so when I saw on their Facebook page that they were realising baby food, I got very excited! In one of the wafer packs that I purchased, their was a voucher for one of their new Little Bistro pouches, so I jumped at the chance for Luke try them!

Our first experience of the Little Bistro range would have been so much better if I had read the ingredients a little more closely! I missed the peas.. Luckily, after Luke's third spoonful and my 10th, I tasted it! Luke was very, very disappointed when I didn't let him finish it, there was a minor meltdown! But I however really enjoyed it!

It tasted fresh and full of flavour and (with some bread and butter) I had this for my dinner instead! I will definitely be buying this brand again.

My First Savsé *
Pronounced sav-say!
I first caught a glimpse of these on Facebook and was really interested in getting my hands on some! I contacted the lovely people of Savsé to see where I could get some and they very kindly sent me some for Luke to try!

Savsé are the first brand to cold press baby food rather than use heat pasturisation and wow, you can really taste the difference. This interested me straight away! These pouches need to be stored in the fridge which made me think they wouldn't last too long, but they do have a date of around two months, which is fab!

The first pouch I tried Luke with was Lentils, Sweet Potato, Carrot and Apple. Well, I couldn't shovel it in quick enough!! He loved it.

I've been really looking forward to Autumn recently (although definitely not wishing the summer away!) so this pouch made me happy! Carrot, Pumpkin, Apple and Beetroot! Luke adored it, he even snatched the pouch out of my hand and took over.

Piccolo
My first experience of Piccolo was after a music class I took with Luke when he was very small. We were given a sample and I put it away in the cupboard, ready for when he started weaning.

Luke adored his first taste of Piccolo. It was Mango, Pear and Kale (with a dash of yoghurt!). I think he loved the creamy texture, as it was his first taste of yoghurt. The Raspberry and Apple (with soaked oats) is a breakfast favourite for both Luke and I. I always make sure I have a few in the cupboard.

At a class I do with Luke, called BuggyFit, we got another freebie! YAY!

Piccolo is definitely a firm favourite of ours and I couldn't recommend them enough!

Organix
I have always liked the sound of this brand, so I picked up a few of their snacks and fruit pots for Luke to try.

Luke absolutely devours the fruit pots for breakfast and pudding, he loves them! The second he sees them, his legs and arms start to go. It is so cute!

They are particularly good - and I have them for my breakfast too, with some yoghurt!

Since teething has become a thing with Luke, these biscuits are fantastic. He loves them - my carpet doesn't..!

Cow and Gate

I normally prefer pouches, but when it comes to C&G, I will make an exception.

I first was introduced to C&G when browsing the internet for weaning advice. Cow and Gate have a FANTASTIC weaning plan they send out to you in the post. It was a lovely book that came with vouchers, tips and recipes that we both adore.

Luke's absolute favourite is the Spaghetti Bolognese. He will eat an entire jar in one sitting and still want more! Due to the speed of consumption, this is the only picture I have of him consuming his Spag Bol - and he is still reaching out for more!

What is your little ones favourite food? Do you have a favourite brand?

Disclosure: all opinions stated in this post are my own. I was sent some pouches for the purpose of reviewing - these are marked with a "*". I only post reviews about products that I am passionate about and think you should all know about! Thank you for reading :)

Six months old!

2017-07-14T11:35:00.003+01:00

Hello friends!

I have been MIA - because I have been raising the cutest baby known to man. He is six months old already and I have loved every second. I have decided to dedicate a bit more time to the blog again - I have missed it and I have so much more to blog about now!

Firstly - a little about Luke :)

He rolls, he crawls, he stands, he eats!
And he is only 6 months old. How is this possible??!

I cannot believe my baby is so big. He now weighs over 18lbs - over double his birth weight!

His smile and laugh gets me every time.

His dad is just incredible - they gang up on me already! But I wouldn't have it any other way (I'm sure I won't be saying that soon!).

The only real negative I have come across so far on my parenting journey (that doesn't include dirty nappies..)?

Luke has developed an intolerance to peas! Of all things, peas. Can you believe it? Apparently, it is more common than you'd think and he will hopefully grow out of it. We discovered it with the glorious projectile vomit he produced each time he has had them. The last time was an accident and confirmed that his tummy is not a fan of peas.. Yay..

Meanwhile..

A little update on life!

I am fully recovered from my cesarean - yay! And I have started to include a little exercise here and there to try and get some sort of body back (and then I'm sure as soon as I am almost happy, I'll get pregnant again..)! I would be dieting but quite frankly, I love food too much! Now Luke is eating, I do try to not eat badly, especially in front of him. I don't want him to pick up bad habits from his mum! Also, junk food can wait until he is in bed..

My house looks like a toy shop/bomb site. I would love nothing more than a day to tidy - but the second I get any time to myself (when Luke is napping or hanging out with his grandparents), I just sit and do nothing - and I love it! The tidying will happen at some point - for now, I am just dealing with it!

When I was pregnant, I got made redundant - that was not so fun..! We have made the decision that I will not be returning to work for a little while, so that means that I have some brilliant one on one time with my boy! It also means that I have be thrifty. I have some posts coming up about money saving and being thrifty. I have become quite the bargain hunter!

Having a baby has made me realise that I have the best friends and family ever. Some say that having a baby makes you realise who your real friends are. Well I really do have some amazing friends! If anything, having a baby has strengthened my friendships. There is nothing better than seeing the friends you love, love your baby.

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Special Announcement...!

2017-01-19T12:47:00.000+00:00

So for the last nine months, I have been keeping a secret from social media and the internet!

In April, I found out that, in my tummy, was the most amazing thing I could ever imagine - a baby!

Although this was planned, we were not expecting this to happen as quickly as it did - so finding out after a huge shopping spree was definitely worrying! But we were so happy.

The first time we saw our baby was 6th June and everything about this little person was perfect! Look at the thumb sucking! We had our due date confirmed as the 12th December.

The next time we saw our baby was 29th July for the anomaly scan. Still sucking the thumb!

We asked the sonographer to write down the gender so we could give it to a friend to make us an announcement cake for a gender reveal party! I said to my husband that he was more than welcome to peek in the envelope, but I had every intention of waiting until the party - little did I know that my husband was so bad at keeping the secret, I would find out in an hour! And I'm so glad I did - I would have burst!!!

The party was the next day and we had an amazing time and announced to all of our nearest and dearest that we were expecting.... a beautiful baby.... BOY!

Call it mothers intuition, but I knew from the second that test was positive that I was having a boy - and I was so happy to have it confirmed! A son!

The next time we saw him was at a private scan. I say a scan.. He wouldn't cooperate, so we had four in total! And he got cuter and cuter each time (when he showed his face)!

When I was 34 weeks, we had to have another scan to check that everything was where it should be and that I didn't need a scheduled c-section. It was confirmed that all was safe and we got to see that he was definitely a boy (definitely a show off!) and he was looking perfectly healthy and measuring right on track!

On the 13th November, my wonderful friends and family threw me a surprise baby shower. I was so surprised! It was amazing. Our baby was so spoiled. It was amazing to see how loved he is already!!

My due date came and went.. From 37 weeks pregnant, we were 100% ready for him to make his appearance, but he was in absolutely no rush at all!

On Christmas Eve, I started the induction process, and eventually I went into labour naturally! Our little man was born at 10.37am on Christmas Day via emergency c-section (I will post my birth story another time - it is fairly long!). He was absolutely perfect.

Luke James Britton - 8lbs6oz

Watch this space..!

2016-06-13T15:09:00.001+01:00

Hello my darlings!

Apologies for pulling a disappearing act on you all.. I will be back with some exciting news towards Christmas.

See you soon,

Rowan xox

Amsterdam

2016-04-01T17:42:00.001+01:00

For Greg's birthday, we went to the Netherlands - and wow. I loved it! I have started to learn Dutch via the app "Duolingo" - seriously, check it out, it is the only app I have ever found that is half decent for languages.

On a serious note, all I have learned to say so far is "The boy eats bread" and believe it or not, I didn't have to use it...

We had a short but sweet break in a lovely little hotel in the centre of Amsterdam.

My gorgeous hubby at the airport :) and breakfast - what a way to start the day!

Ohhh the shopping...!

This is officially the best drink in the whole world. I LOVED the lychee flavour - I am so gutted they don't do these in the UK :(

It has little pieces of coconut jelly in it - YUM!

Cocktails at the Hard Rock in a cafetiere! It was loveeeeely!

I think these were handprints of the athletes that had come from the Netherlands - I maaaay be wrong as my Dutch isn't amazing..

Everywhere in Amsterdam, there is hot food vending machines - how do I not have one of these outside my house?! They were awesome!!

Hamburger and bacon from a vending machine - and it was bloody lovely!

I would definitely recommend Amsterdam for a get away - the shopping was amazing - the sites are incredible!

If you are tempted to go to Amsterdam to indulge in the cannabis scene, please, please, PLEASE remember that it is only legal to buy in the coffee shops, where alcohol is not also on sale. People have been selling false cannabis and people have been dying because of it.

The only other thing I would flag is the red light district and the prostitutes...

We accidentally stumbled down the red light district twice (I'm not going to lie, curiosity would have got the better of me and I would have had to have had a look anyway!). Honestly, we didn't have any trouble - we did walk passed the women that were stood in the windows, trying to get customers - however, it made me feel very uncomfortable.

If I genuinely thought the women had chosen this path because it is what they wanted to do, I wouldn't have an issue with it - (it's your life, live it your way) but there were a lot of men outside, trying to get people in. It just made me feel very uncomfortable and it made me worried for the young (18 year old) male tourists.

If you go to Amsterdam, you will have an amazing time. Be safe and enjoy!

Monthly Tea Favourites!

2016-03-22T13:51:00.003+00:00

This months favourites...

Brewhaha not only have the cutest name ever, but they have the nicest rose tea ever! My mum has

always loved rose tea and that has brushed off onto me. I love this tea so much because it reminds me of hanging out with my mum :)

Jasmine tea is so yummy - I think it is almost chemical tasting - but in a good way.. Yeah I am odd... My favourite so far is the PG tips - however, this cannot be brewed for longer than a minute because it is just not nice after..!

Now this one, even if it didn't taste amazing - I would make myself love it. Mainly because it is so bloody cute! Luckily for me, I love it - there isn't a flavour I have tried yet that I don't love. My friend got me a variety of these teas for Christmas and they had the cutest packaging ever - this was my favourite. So delicate and yum.

Three Things...

2016-03-22T13:18:00.001+00:00

OKAY!

For some reason, you are stranded on a desert island! OH NO!

You have endless safe water and various things to eat (phew..).

What three things would you want there with you? And why?

Personally, I would choose a notebook with a LOT of pages, a pen with a lot of ink in it and a gallon of factor 30 sun cream!

Why? Because I love to write everything down. I could write lists of what is around me and what I was going to do when I was rescued.. The sun cream? I don't want to be red!

What about you?

A-Z

2016-03-08T22:50:00.000+00:00

About a year ago - I did an A-Z. I thought it was about time that I did another, and I found a completely different one!

Feel free to pinch this for your own blog :)

A: Age: 25

B: Biggest Fear: Injections (needles in general) and spiders. YUCK!

C: Current Time: 22:35

D: Drink you last had: Banananana and strawberry smoothie

E: Easiest Person To Talk to: My Greggy

F: Favourite song: Good question.. I have a few.. At the moment, Mr and Mrs Fletcher - Love is on the Radio

G: Ghosts, are they real?: I don't think so

H: Hometown: Basingstoke

I: In love with: My lovely husband

J: Jealous Of: I try not to be jealous.. Probably mostly of people that are amazing at cooking!

K: Killed Someone?: Definitely not!

L: Last time you cried?: Shed a tear when I watched a documentary on a 26 year old that was executed in Texas. Life is life!

M: Middle Name: Christina

N: Number of Siblings: One brother. What a wally

O: One Wish: To have a happy and healthy family

P: Person who you last called: Greg

Q: Question you're always asked: "Are you okay?" I must have one of those faces..

R: Reason to smile: I have a pretty great life

S: Song last sang: All Time Low - Remembering Sunday

T: Time you woke up: 08.00

U: Underwear Colour: Black and white

V: Vacation Destination: Next up is Poland! Woooo

W: Worst Habit: I crack my knuckles all the time

X: X-Rays you've had: Ankle, foot and wrist

Y: Your favourite food: I am not sure to be honest! I love Japanese food

Z: Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Monthly Tea Favourites!

2016-02-22T13:21:00.000+00:00

This months favourites...

My gorgeous cousins got me this awesome tea for Christmas - it is everything I love about lemon tea! Confessions.. I love lemsip - so when I can drink it and not be ill at the same time, I am happy! Thank you darlings <3 p="">

Next up is this gorgeous green tea my mum brought me back from the states. Oh wow it is so great - I don't want to drink it all because I don't want to run out! But I am enjoying it too much to hold back. Yum!

Seriously - if any of my UK followers know where I can try more of this tea, let me know! Or if any of my USA followers want to do a trade, let me know!

Last up for this month, Tesco's Vanilla Chai - always been my favourite, but seriously, yum! It is so good. I love this with a dash of milk, and lots and lots of biscuits. This is my everyday tea.

Favourite Songs

2016-02-18T21:28:00.000+00:00

There are some songs that I just cannot get enough of. It doesn't matter how many times I hear them, I get that lush feeling.

Some of these songs, I remember listening to as a young teenager, relating to every single word - like the song was written for me. Others, I just love to sing along to in the privacy of my own car - to and from work.

Each of these songs, I have a memory or a feeling. One of these songs meant so much to my husband and I, that I walked down the aisle to it!

I thought I would share them with you.. What is your favourite song?

First Aid Kit - Stay Gold
Dispatch - The General

InMe - Faster the Chase

Hell is for Heroes - I Can Climb Mountains

Mr and Mrs Fletcher - Love is on the Radio

Taproot - Poem

Paramore - The Only Exception

Tracy Chapman - Fast Car

Hanson - Penny and Me

The Postal Service - Such Great Heights

All Time Low - Guts
All Time Low - Somewhere in Neverland
All Time Low - Time-Bomb
(Honestly? I could listen to anything by All Time Low - all day, everyday!)

Get Fit At Work!

2016-02-12T11:35:00.000+00:00

Hands up! Who has an office job? Or a job that involves a LOT of sitting?

ME! PICK ME!

I really need to pull my finger out and do more exercise, what better time to start than right NOW? Now, my job does have a gym on site - I am so lucky. But I do still need to work for 7.5 hours per day - why not make this time work out time?!

Posture
Posture is everything - keep that posture lookin' goooooood! Make sure your feet, ankles and knees are all at 90 degree angles to the floor and keep that core engaged!

Butt Squeezing!
When sat down, squeeeeeeeeeeeeze that bum! Hold it for 10 seconds, and relax. Do this whenever you think about it. You won't regret it!

Wall Sitting
This is something that can be done if you are on a long call. Stand up straight - against the wall and slide down into a squat. Try and hold it for 30 seconds (but if 30 seconds is easy, double it!).

Leg Raises
Under the desk, raise one leg, for 10 seconds, then swap. When this starts becoming easier, do both legs, at the same time. Try holding your stomach in whilst doing this for the extra work out!

Take the Stairs
When I say "take the stairs" I don't just mean to your office or your desk. I mean, take the stairs when you get up from your desk for a break. Climb them two at a time for the perfect booty, jump them two at a time if that gets easy (obviously, be conscious of your work colleagues! They may stumble across you and think you need a holiday..)!

Standing
One of my colleagues recently purchased a laptop stand, so he can work whilst standing. This is a great way to burn those extra calories. Anyone that owns an Apple Watch will be nagged every hour on the hour to stand for a minute. Weekly, I need to have face to face meetings with various colleagues that last 30 minutes - I am going to try to rope them into standing meetings!

Walking
Walking is not overrated. When my eyes have been on the screen for too long, I take a stroll to talk to fellow colleagues about what I am working on currently or to pick their brains. Whilst walking to their desk, I try to take a detour and stretch my legs and arms as much as possible on the way. Walking is good!