I'm bored..

Said no Mummy, ever!


Before I had Noah I never understood why parents said they never had time to themselves. I used to think well babies sleep and babies nap so why can't they? I used to think here they go again, bring out the worlds smallest violin...

Now that I am Mummy I shake my head and think "Jenna, Jenna, Jenna.." If only I knew. It was pretty nieve of me but I don't think people realise these things until they are parents themselves. 

It isn't as simple as; put baby in cot, baby sleeps, have a break. Nope! There a dozen jobs that need to be done and the second you sit down with a cuppa your bambino wakes up. Writing this post is a little down time for me and to prove my point entirely Noah just projectile vomited a bucket load of sick all over himself in his sleep! It's now 1am and I have just settled him back down. 

Babies are hard work but the most rewarding, fulfilling and enjoyable work of all. As much as I miss being to do whatever I like whenever I want I wouldn't change it for the world. Ever since Noah entered my life 9 months ago, there's never been a dull moment. I don't think I will ever be bored again, I simply don't have the time! 

What do you like to do to unwind? 

The Ordinary Moments - Musical afternoons


As my maternity leave draws to an end I find myself really savoring every moment I share with Noah during the day. I will be sat with him and suddenly remember that I will be leaving him to go back to work soon and I feel nauseous. I feel like I am appreciating these lazy days with him so much more at the moment and I am really trying to remember every little detail. Usual ordinary moments in our daily routine's are now transformed into extraordinary moments because every moment with my son is anything but ordinary.

At the moment Noah absolutely adore's music and musical instruments. Noah's Daddy is always playing the guitar to him and Noah will get all excited, bob up and down dancing and clap his hands. We bought him some little toy instruments this week and it's so adorable watching him sit and discover how to make noises with the instruments. His favourite other than the guitar has got to be his little tambourine. My little music man.







The Essential One - Behind the scene's



Noah recently modelled for The Essential One which I blogged about here. We had a fabulous experience and to our delight the entire day was documented on video.

The behind the scene's video has just been released and it's simply beautiful. They captured some absoloutely precious moments between Noah and I. Not only that but the range looks fantastic and all the babies look darling too. I thought I would share some screenshots of the film and the video itself.

It moved me to tears when I watched it and I can honestly say I'm going to treasure it forever.

Thank you The Essential One.









The Essential One - Noah the baby model


A few weeks ago I saw that one of my favourite baby brands The Essential One were on the look out for baby models for their new Autumn range. My heart literally leaped out of my chest because I thought this was perfect for us. For one like I just said I simply adore the brand and if you follow me on Twitter or Instagram you will always find me singing their praises. I think they make the best quality baby clothes and their customer service is quality too. Secondly I've had numerous people say to me that Noah should be a baby model (I think people say that to all babies!) and I have to admit I really want him to model too. Thirdly the photoshoot was local so we didn't need to travel far. With all these pro's and no con's I emailed The Essential One right away.

A few days later and that anxiously awaited email came through. I opened it and I almost choked on my cup of tea! To my delight Noah had been selected and I couldn't of been happier or more proud!

A week later and the morning of the photoshoot arrived. We were to be at the studio for 9am which meant us up a little earlier than usual. We quickly grabbed some breakfast and jumped in the car as it was rush hour traffic. We had a good hour to get there but we are usually always late or the sat nav takes us somewhere random so we thought the earlier the better. I had hoped Noah would nap on the way there as it was such an early start and I didn't think he would nap at the studio. We all know what babies are like though and he fought sleep like a trooper but he did manage to squeeze in a quick 15 minute power nap as we were pulling up outside the building.

Once we arrived at Studio 488 we were welcomed in by a lovely bubbly member of staff. We were then shown around and felt completely at ease and at home. Secretly I was a little worried at the back of my mind because Noah had been suffering from stranger anxiety for a few months and I was scared he would get upset and have a meltdown. I shouldn't of worried though because he was absolutely fine and I think that was mainly down to the calm and friendly environment that the team had created. So thank you so much for that.

We settled down on the couches for a moment before the shoot began. I was handed a piece of clothing from the Autumn range to dress Noah in and then I took him over to the set where the photographers would take over. When they got enough shots we would go back to the sofa's, undress the baby and give him a drink while we waited for the next item.

I was able to stand right next to the photographers as they snapped away while Noah performed for the cameras. There was shots of him sitting up or led down and there was also group shots with the beautiful twins Brandon and Arthur (who's Mummy blogs too!) As I watched from the sidelines I felt insanely proud of my little baby. He was doing so well. Overcoming that mean stranger axiety in such a strange environment with a big group of (lovely) strangers. He sat there smiling and clapping in front of everyone and I felt daft for ever worrying.

Noah modelled a dozen different pieces from snow suits to body suits and did very being changed and undressed so many times considering that he usually hates it! He even powered on through his nap and actually fell asleep on set. The photographers loved it and carried on snapping away. I hope they use some of these photo's cause I would love to see them.

We had a fabulous day and it's a day I will remember fondly.









Review: Routes to Reading


For as long as I can remember I have always loved to read. From being a young child, curled up in bed reading "Spot the dog" til now squeezing in a quick ten minutes read of "Game of Thrones" on my iPad while Noah naps. I always knew I wanted to pass that passion on to my future children as it's a invaluable interest which not only keeps you entertained but keeps your mind sharp too.

Throughout my pregnancy I was picking up baby books here and there and built up quite the library for his arrival. I even found my childhood favourite "Spot the dog" and the memories came flooding back. I bought it for Noah and I have to say it's one of my favourite book to read to him even if he does try to rip off all the flaps!

Baring all this in mind you can understand my excitement when Routes to Reading contacted me asking if Noah would like to sign up to their baby book club! I jumped at the chance and was so excited for our first month installment.

By subscribing to Routes to Reading your baby will receive hand picked books every month and the subscription is perfect for babies and toddlers up to the age of three. You can subscribe for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months or 12 months which is great if you wanted to try it out for a month or two before subscribing for any longer. Not only is Routes to Reading a great gift for your baby but it would also be a lovely gift to another child or even an expectant Mother.

Our first months subscription arrived last week and I was so excited to see what books we had been sent. We received two books called "Fur" and "Mealtime", both are wooden books and ideal for Noah's age.

"Mealtime" is a sensory, touch and feel book. Each page displays different food and drink with different textured areas. Noah loves to flip though this book whilst looking at and touching all the brightly coloured pictures. It's a great book for the age that he is now but will be just as good when he is a little older and is learning the words to the different food and drink on the pages.

"Fur" is a sligtly larger wooden book, all about cats and kittens. This book was ideal for us as I am a self confessed crazy cat lady and Noah is already becoming such a huge animal lover. We both loved it. The story is short and sweet and the illustrations are gorgeous. Noah must enjoy "Fur" just as much as I do because every time we read this book he smothers the cats in kisses, which is insanely cute!

I have reviewed a dozen subscription services in the past and I have to say that Routes to Reading is one of my favourites, if not favourite! As an avid book lover and believer of the importance of reading to your children (whatever the age!) I can't rate Routes to Reading any higher!





- I was sent these books for the purpose of this review. However all opinions are my own.

Good night, sweet Rossi


On Thursday afternoon we lost a member of our family, a best friend, and an annoying little brother; our dog Rossi. It hasn't sunk in yet and my mother in law's house doesn't feel the same anymore because someone dear is missing.

Rossi was my mother in law's dog and a big part of our family. Noah absolutely adored him. If you asked im where Rossi was he would look for him, he would chase him about in his walker and would get excited and laugh when he barked. It was endearing to watch my son bonding with him and it's so sad that he won't have that connection anymore.

We were all following our daily routines, it was an ordinary day (we are still living with the inlaws whilst our house is being renovated) and Jackie was just about to take Rossi out on his daily walk whilst I stayed in feeding Noah his lunch. Rossi gobbled up some food from beneath Noah's high chair before he bounded out into the garden for his walk. I wished Jackie "good luck" as they were leaving because it had been raining earlier but seemed okay for the moment. Little did I know that that was the last time we were going to see him.

Their daily walk is directly behind the house on quiet and rural paths. They were just about to head back home when the accident occurred. A car began driving down the road but stopped as they had spotted the dog. Rossi seemed to off run past the car so she continued to drive but he appeared out of nowhere and ran right in front the back wheel. There was nothing anyone could of done and no one was to blame. My poor mother in law had to witness her beloved Rossi be run down right in front of her very eyes. She rang the vet to bring an ambulance and she waited for thirty minutes with him before it arrived. He was then taken to the vets for xrays and pain relief. Then we waited.

I honestly thought he would be okay. That poor poor dog has been through so much in the 9 years of his life and always seemed to pull through. He was a pedigree Cavalier King Charles and was a wedding present for Jackie from her partner Gary. Rossi was born with so many different conditions due to bad and irresponsible breeding. The main being a condition called Syringomyelia which is simply horrendous. He needed numerous operations through out his life and needed lots of medication on a daily basis. For dog's with health conditions, it's a must to have a good vet to take them to for checkups, and even better if you have insurance for them. Whatever obstacle seemed to get in his way he seemed to always overcome it. But not this time.

The vet asked for Jackie and Gary to come to the vets to see him and to decide what they were going to do. Jackie's sons (my partner Nick and his brother Jamie) also went with them for support. As they walked in to see him he wagged his tail.... but there was nothing they could do. His injuries were so bad that there was no other option. He was put to sleep surrounded by his favourite people. Not his owners, his family.

Later that night I asked Noah "Where's Rossi?" by mistake and out of habit. I began to cry while was looking around the room for him. When he looked at me with his big blue eyes I started to cry more. I know he doesn't understand what has happened but there was a lot of crying in the house that day and I am sure he felt the sadness.

After all that Rossi went through in his life he deserved to die old and grey, asleep in the comfort of his own home. Not like this. It's heartbreaking that he isn't with us and although it pains me greatly I can't comprehend what Jackie is going through. Rossi was more than just a dog to the whole family but to her he was even more than that was her soul mate.


Review: Gumi Gem Bubba Bag


Although Noah has no teeth at the moment he has been teething on and off for months. On a whole he is teething well and we don't really get any complaints from him. But as no teeth or cutting through I can't really judge it, maybe we will have trouble once he gets to that stage. He is always drooling and gnawing on something or other so when I was asked to review something from the Gumi Gem website it couldn't of come at a better time.

After having a browse on the website I decided to pick the Bubba Bag. The Bubba Bag from Gumi Gem is a little purple bag made out of soft neoprene. It contains toy keys, purse, mobile phone and credit card. They are not just toys though they are made from a bendy, soft, non toxic, washable silicone which are ideal for babies gums. Each toy is designed differently for different areas of your babies gums and all stages of teething.


The car keys are perfect for reaching those pesky molars. The little purse has raised dots to soothe and massage sore gums. The mobile phone is super cute and ideal for your babies imagination as well as their gums. And the credit card has raised numbers which babies not only love to bite but touch and feel too. Not forgetting the bag itself as it is a great toy on it's own as babies and toddlers will love to put things in and take them out.



I couldn't wait for the Bubba Bag to be delivered as I knew that Noah would love it and I wasn't wrong. As soon as he set eye's on it he reached and took it from me with a cheeky smile on his face. As soon as he had his mitts on the bag his hands dived right in and he began pulling out all the toys to have a good look at them. Each toy went into his mouth one after an other and he sat there for a good five minutes having a right good chew! The car keys are his firm favourite. He likes to wave them about in the air and zoom around in his walker with them in his hand, well that's when they aren't in his mouth. I can see Noah having countless hours of fun with the Bubba Bag and will get a lot of relief from it too when his teeth do decide to make an appearance. 

We were already fans of Gumi Gem and their range of teething jewellery but now even more so with their new range of teething toys. I cannot tell you how much of a fantastic idea the Bubba Bag is! All babies and toddlers love to riffle through their Mothers handbags and changing bags, pulling out, playing with and chewing things you would much rather they didn't. So to come up with a bag of toys that isn't just fun but to relieve symptoms of teething too, well that's simply genius. 

- I was sent this product for the purpose of this review. However all opinions are my own.

Baby Diary: 9 Months Old

How has another month passed us Noah? It seems like I am always writing these monthly updates. These months feel more like weeks. Can time not slow down just a little?


Character
Still the cheeky boy we know and love. I don't know how it's possible but this month you have become even more cheeky! You have learnt how to show off and make us laugh. When you do you smile so much and are so proud of yourself. You are so excitable too and literally bounce off my knee when you find something exciting. Which is usually the dog, the vac or the hair dryer! 



Size
You now weigh 18lb 9oz and are on the 25th percentile. 50th percentile for height and 75th perentile for your head circumference. So you are long, skinny and with a big head! You are still wearing 6-9m clothes with a fair bit of room to grow into. Some babygrows are getting a little short in the feet department but everything else fits well. You are now in size 4 nappies. 



Health
We took you to A&E this month. While you were having a nap one morning I was watching you sleeping and I could see you taking quick and shallow breaths. Your stomach was working hard to get the oxygen in and I could hear a rattle in your chest. It sounded different from when you had a chest infection and I ended up thinking was maybe it was asthma? We didn't wait long in A&E and all the doctors and nurses were great. You ended up having your throat, eyes, ears looked at and blood pressure, oxygen levels and heart rate checked not once but three times. We were moved into three different rooms to different doctors and nurses and each time they checked again. Although your oxygen levels were fine your body was working hard to get them and they said we had done the right thing bringing you in. You was given a little inhaler to open up your airways and it did help for a while. After numerous questions and examinations they came back to say it was a viral infection. They told me to continue using the inhaler for a couple of days and to see how you got on. If you got worse I was to take you back straight away. Thankfully by the second day you were fine and no longer needing the inhaler! Other than that you have been great. Teething on and off but no teeth as of yet! 


Feeding
Still a foodie, no change there! You still have three meals a day but you have more at each sitting. With eating bigger portions you now drink slightly less milk, between 15oz a day. You usually have a bottle at 6am, go back to sleep, have breakfast, then lunch, a bottle, dinner, then a bedtime bottle. You love to feed yourself and really enjoy eating. We are still trying to find a food that you don't like. You have tried beetroot and a tiny bit of anchovy this month and you liked both, believe it or not! 




Sleep
Most of this month you have been struggling with sleeping at night which I put down to the big leap you were going through. It was the worst leap to date! As soon as it ended you went back to sleeping how you usually do which is 8pm-8am. You do wake up sometimes at 6am for a bottle and if you do you end up sleeping in till 9am. Nap wise it's still hit and miss. You have two naps a day, an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. If I'm lucky!

Milestones

- Speech. You have always been a vocal baby and have been making noises we could class as words for a while now but this month it's different. It's intended when you say the words and you repeat the words we say. You can now say mama, mam, dada, dad, hiya. We have classed hiya as your first word.

- Sitting. You are 100% when sitting now. Unless you try to reach for something that's a little too far away and you lose your bearings.

- Crawling. No progress with crawling as such. You can hold your weight on your arms in the crawling positions and rock to and fro but you haven't tried to set off. Last week you also got yourself from the sitting position into the crawling position. 

- Movement. Although you aren't crawling if we lay you on your back or front you are able to wiggle about a bit and seem to be able to do so easier each day.

- Feeding. Although you have been able to hold your own bottle for a while now you are doing it a lot more frequently now. You are still to master drinking sitting up though.


- Waving, You can now wave hello and bye bye! You have just started doing this in the last few days! So now you can wave, clap and dance. 


- Kisses and cuddles. You gave me my first ever Noah kiss and cuddle last week and it was one of the most memorable moments. You don't give them freely as of yet and only when you are feeling extra nice but you certainly know what the words mean. If I say kiss kiss you will kiss me, yourself in the mirror or today for example you kissed a cat in your book! For cuddle I say "give me a love."


- Standing. You still love your walker and zoom around the 
conservatory. We have been practicing standing a lot this month and you are getting a lot better at holding your own weight. 

- Understanding words. You now understand the words; light, trees, rossi (the dog), milk, juice, love, kiss, cuddle, hiya, sky, dodo, dance, clap, wave. For example if I ask where Rossi is you will look for him and then smile when you see him. You are my clever sausage.


Things you like

- SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS. You are still loving good old Spongebob but The Simpsons are a close second! 

- The Guitar. You love it when Daddy plays you his guitar and sit there clapping and dancing. You are a little guitarist in the making baby! 

- Showing off. When you have hold of something you shouldn't have you get all excited and wave it about smiling, laughing and screaming! 

- The walker. You love your walker so much and I think because you aren't mobile yet you like the freedom it gives you. You zoom around like a pro! 

- FOOD! 

- Books. I was buying books before you were even born. These are all packed away waiting in the new house but this week I dug a few out and you've been loving being read to and having a look through the book yourself.

- Animals. You have a fascination with animals and will beam from ear to ear when you see one. 

- Electronics. Anything electronic, you love it. At the minute you are loving the vac and the hairdryer and get very excited when they are on. You will bounce up and down waving your arms about like you are about to take off! 


Things you don't like

- Getting crammed. If you don't nap or nap earlier I sure know about it. 

- Jumperoo. You are now bored of your jumperoo and won't sit in it longer than 2 minutes.


- Getting changed and having your face wiped.


- Waiting for food.


- The car. I am sure babies are supposed to love being in cars but you don't. You usually whine and get bored very quickly. 

Review: Nature's Purest Cuddle Robe and Comforter

Nature's Purest is one of the best when it comes to baby brands and is a brand I know and love. It's probably up there in my top three and I wouldn't hesitate in recommending them to any parent out there. The company specialise in making natural items for our little one's that are sensitive and kind to their skin. It's good to know that all their baby products are made to the highest quality and safety standards. From moses baskets through to babygrows when buying from Nature's Purest you are buying pure quality and simply the best for your baby. Noah was kindly sent the Sleepy Sheep Cuddle Robe and Spots & Stripes Comforter from their new ranges to review. 


On opening the cuddle robe I was instantly impressed with the quality. It is made from 100% super soft cotton and you can really tell. We have a few cuddle robes and this is by far superior when it comes to quality and softness. Like all towels it needed a good few washes before it was absorbent enough to use and after those washes the quality remained, the sign of a good towel! It's a large luxurious robe which feature's a cute sheep motif on the hood and has a lovely striped trim along the edges. The Sleepy Sheep Cuddle Robe would be perfect from newborn through to a year old. Noah was 8 months when reviewing and it fit but just lost that oversized coverage but works just as well. It would be a welcomed gift to any expectant mother especially with the beautiful gift box it arrives in. 


Noah is a comforter hoarder and lover and has half a dozen of them. He is becoming quite the comforter snob! His two favourite comforters are two large fluffy teddy bear ones which we nickname his "kiki's." He loves those scruffy things so the Spots & Stripes Comforter had a lot to live up to. With the collection of comforters Noah has amassed I was wondering "is this just going to be another?" but it's wasn't. Again the softness and quality of this product is next to none and I absolutely adore the signature Nature's Purest (natural) colours. Noah snuggles up with it regularly and is smitten with "Mr Snail" as we fondly refer to him as. He kisses and chews on him and will smile when he see's him! 






























We adored both items we were sent and true to form Nature's Purest have done it again, they continue to impress Mother and Baby alike! 

- I was sent these products to review. However all opinions are my own. 

Noah's 8 month development check



On Monday a health visitor paid us a visit for Noah's 8 month development check. How is he 8 month old I hear you say? My thoughts exactly! I was a little apprehensive about her arrival as I didn't know what she would be looking for but I needn't of worried. 

As soon as she arrived and began speaking to Noah he opened the floodgates. He still isn't comfortable around strangers and for some reason it seems to be worse when strangers come into an environment that he knows. He is more relaxed with strangers when he is out and about. She told me not to worry about him crying and that it's very common for his age for him to be going through stranger anxiety (I didn't tell her he's been going through this for at least the past 5 months!) She had brought a long some gifts for him too a book bag, 2 wooden books, a toothbrush and some toothpaste which I thought was a lovely surprise. 

He sat there playing with his toys on the floor while she discussed the basics with me and ask questions about his feeding, sleeping, health and so on. She was happy with the fact that he is on 3 meals a day and is able to feed himself. She did tell me that he should be having less milk (he has 3x 5oz) and should only be having milk at night time now. I don't know how she can pass this "advice" as all babies are different, they feed less or more, they could be going through a growth spurt and so on. She also said that I should be stopping the bottle now at 8 months old and offering a sippy cup of milk instead. For Noah I don't agree with these two pieces of "advice". He is not ready for just one bottle of milk a day and I am not comfortable in taking his bottle away just yet. 

Next up was the developmental checks which I shouldn't of worried about. All she checked for was that he was able to sit up unaided, was able to pass an object from hand to hand, put a object in his mouth and that he was able to use his pincer grip. All of which he was able to do, thankfully.  

Then it was time for Noah's stats! He weighed 18lb 9oz and is on the 25th percentile. He was following the 50th percentile line but she said it wasn't a worry cause he's now more active and will be burning more calories. Although he isn't crawling yet he is always moving if that makes any sense. Whether he's zooming around in his baby walker, jumping his jumperoo, rolling about and kicking on the floor or bouncing and dancing while he's playing, he's always moving. He was 50th percentile for his height and 75th percentile for his head. 

I was very happy with how everything went with the visit. Although I knew there was nothing to be concerned about it was good to speak to someone who confirmed that he is doing everything he should be. It's scary to think the next time I see a health visitor it will be when Noah is 2 years old! 

Babies and their milestones


As a Mum you are always worried about something or other when it comes to your baby. Noah is almost 9 months old now and is not really showing an interest in crawling. He will hold himself in the crawl position and sometimes rock but that is as far as we are. I see babies younger than him crawling and some even cruising and in the back of my mind I can't help but think shouldn't he be doing this by now? That being said I know babies do things in their own time and there isn't a "right time" for them to achieve their milestones. He is happy enough to sit their playing and I don't have to worry chase him about just yet!

While he is a little slower when it comes to mobility he sure makes up for it mentally, he is so quick! He seems to be learning something new everyday and he can now; clap, wave, dance, kiss and cuddle. Which he will do if you show him or even ask him to. He can say mama, mam, dada, dad and hiya. He knows what the words; juice, milk, bottle, mama, dada, dodo, light, trees, sky, dog mean and will look directly at them if you ask where they are. He's a clever cookie. 

I've read that babies tend to focus on one area to learn first before they move onto the other and that is the case with Noah. I think we will be a while until we are crawling but I think when he does learn then that will be it and cruising won't be soon after!

At what age did your baby sit, crawl, cruise and walk? At what age did they say their first word? 

Our home: Bathroom update

As I said in my previous post I still cannot believe we are still waiting to get into our house. It's been a slow process but we are getting there slowly but surely. It's been two months since I last updated you on our progress in the bathroom so it's time to post where we are with it now.

I'm so happy with how the bathroom has turned out, the transformation is incredible. From the outdated, rundown green space to a neutral, on-trend one. We have a four-piece bathroom with a tower radiator. We have some glass cabinets that are yet to go up too. We are also having a cupboard built around the boiler which won't just hide the boiler but there will be shelves in there too for storage. As mentioned on Boiler Brain, there are boilers designed specifically to fit in small spaces such as kitchen cupboards, so that's also always an option. It's just odd bits of jobs here and there that need to be done such as grouting, tiling in the bath, a bit of paint here and there! It's all about those loose ends now but soon there will be 3 rooms that are fully completed! So exciting!