Easter Gifts for kids – No Chocolate!

25/03/201922/01/2024 Lisa 12 Comments

Easter Gifts for kids – No Chocolate!

Easter Gifts for kids – No Chocolate! Easter is all about the chocolate for us. It’s the only other day apart from Christmas that it’s totally acceptable to eat chocolate for breakfast, but as Freddie will only be ten months and not yet eating chocolate we need to look for some alternatives.

So here are some lovely alternatives to chocolate Easter Gifts for babies and children that we’ve found.

A Baby Romper suit and matching headband in a pink floral print

Pink Floral Romper from the House of Bilimoria

Clothes are a good option and look at this beautiful Pink Floral Romper from the House of Bilimoria! This one is £45 but is handmade from vintage, secondhand or end of line fabric. Go and have a look for yourself at their lovely range of rompers, dresses and shorts (not just for kids).

A picture of a turquoise wood and silicone baby teether

Rabbit Teething Ring from Lilith Loves Henry

As we’re Brand Ambassadors for the Lilith Loves Henry range I couldn’t resist a mention of their Rabbit Teething ring. As teethers go, Freddie’s Grey Bear is his go to teether when he really needs to chomp down so it’s never far away. The rabbits are £12.50 and are highly recommended.

An image of a set of six Hatchimals toys

Hatchimals CollEGGtibles Season 5 – Mermals

The new Season 5 Hatchimals Mermals would make a lovely gift since they are Egg themed and any surprise gift is always a winner in our house. We’ve been unboxing and having a play with these for the past couple of weeks and they are definitely a bit hit. This set comes with 6 eggs for £12.99

Easter Gifts for Kids - Easter usually means chocolate in abundance so here are a few suggestions of alternative Easter Gifts for kids

An Egg and Soldiers Personalised Board

What’s Easter without an egg of some sort. Maybe having a lovely dippy egg on one of these amazing Egg and Soldiers boards from Hugo’s Workshop would be the perfect start to Easter Sunday. Each board can be personalised with your children’s name and you can choose to have either one or two egg holes. Both of my kids only have one egg but I always have two! Be quick though if you want one in time for Easter since the last day for ordering is 31st March before they take a well deserved Easter break.

An image of a children's farmyard friends jigsaw

A Farmyard Friends jigsaw puzzle from Ravensburger – £9.99.

This Farmyard Friends Jigsaw puzzle is aimed at 18 months + and contains nine two piece puzzles (three pieces if you include the frames). Each puzzle piece is quite big and sturdy which is perfect for little toddler hands and fingers. The Farmyard characters are really bright and fun to look at and can be made into a bit of a game by singing the Old MacDonald song whilst looking for the pieces.

A New Toothbrush

It’s inevitable that the kids will get so much chocolate that we’ll obviously have to help them eat it. What better time to get them a new toothbrush or start a brushing routine if they’re little like Freddie. The Brush Baby range have a great range including dental wipes which can be used before teeth even arrive. My eldest loves a new toothbrush so she would be quite happy to get a new toothbrush so an electric toothbrush with stickers would be an ideal present for her. Pop to Brush Baby to checkout their extensive range of tooth and gum care for kids.

Scruff-a-luvs Blossom Bunny

A Scruff-a-luvs Blossom Bunny. We did a recent review of these and they are genuinely a lovely gift that’s a bit of an activity once you open the box, reveal the bunny and then turn them from a matted ball to a lovely soft fluffy Bunny. You can read our review of these here.

So there you have a few to get you started, and what I’ll do is add to it when I see something that grabs my eye. I would also say that an activity or tickets to an event rather than an actual present would also make a lovely alternative to chocolate.

What do you buy your kids for Easter?

Lisa x

*this post contains some affiliate links

Lets go fly a kite – Kitedrone Kites

20/03/201929/01/2024 Lisa 10 Comments

Lets go fly a kite – Kitedrone Kites

Lets go fly a kite up where the air is bright! Did you know that the 8th February marks National Kite Flying Day where kite flying enthusiasts head outside and hope for some fantastic wind.

Kitedrone is the ultimate range of high performance kites all set to transform the skies into a colourful spectacle this Spring! The impressive range of kites are supplied in their own transport tube and are available in both Aircraft and Twinstar styles and are all super-easy to assemble and launch up to 300 feet in the air.

Kitedrone offer a fab range of brightly coloured easy to assemble kites that can achieve amazing heights.

Did you know that kites date back to China in 470 B.C. and the history of the origins relate to the way the wind affects the leaves on the trees, te shelters the people lived in and the blowing of the sails on their ship and the hats they wore upon their heads.

Everybody can enjoy a kite from keen enthusiasts to a fun free family activity.

Kitedrone Kites

Kitedrone is the ultimate range of high performance kites all set to transform the skies into a colourful spectacle this Spring! The impressive range of kites are supplied in their own transport tube and are available in both Aircraft and Twinstar styles and are all super-easy to assemble and launch up to 300 feet in the air.

Kitedrone offer two shapes of kite, the traditional Box Style kite which is ready to go with a quick one step assembly and can be hooked up to a Go-pro to record your flights.

The Aircraft style kite requires no assembly and has an impressive 5ft wingspan. Air pockets in the body inflate the fuselage and engine pods to increase flying performance giving the ultimate flying experience.

Both kites comes in a transport tube which makes it perfect for putting in and out of the car and storing. Kitedrone kites are just £29.99 and can be used time and again.

We were gifted a Kitedrone Buster Fusionwing in Camo print to see what we thought.

We headed to the site of the Exmouth Kite Festival which we went to last year. Its a large open space right next to the estuary which is the perfect spot for flying. we weren’t the only ones with the same idea as we saw families and groups unloading kites, windsurfing gear and surfing gear.

We were thoroughly impressed when we took the kite out of the tube and apart from attaching the spool it was ready to go. It was a lot bigger than I expected, but was a cool shape and we were excited to give it a go. It looked well made even with our inexpert eyes.

It was hilarious watching Isabelle and Chris getting the kite in the air. Watching Isabelle being pulled along as the wind took the kite was so funny, but she soon got the hand of letting out the string and it went really high looping and soaring.

We all had a turn and I was quite surprised at how strong the pull was when I had a go. Freddie observed from the comfort of his pram and was happy sat watching.

I would say that we spent a good couple of hours flying the kite before everybody got a bit hungry and cold.

Our Thoughts on the Kitedrone Kite

We really enjoyed ourselves. The kite itself was well made and easy to use straight out of the tube. We spent a good couple of hours running around flying, taking it in turns which was a lot of fun.

I would definitely recommend the Kitedrone kites for a fun and free activity (aside the initial cost) which gets the family outside and running about.

Next time were going to make it a bit of a family thing and go with some of the cousins which will be a fun day for Isabelle.

Lisa x

*we were gifted a Kitedrone Kite for the purpose of this review. This post contains affiliate links.

9 Month Baby Update

18/03/201929/01/2024 Lisa

9 Month Baby Update

9 Month Baby Update – Nine months of this yummy little boy whose personality is developing into the cheeky chappy to match his cheeky face.

Every month that goes by he’s becoming more fun even though I’d love him to slow down so that we can soak up every bit of him as he changes.

New stuff

Pulling himself up to standing on everything
Saying ‘Ta’ I wasn’t sure that I’d heard him right, but he says ta when he wants something and will say it when he wants to keep the thing that you’re trying to take off him like a random bit of fluff or something else he shouldn’t have
Crawling – there’s no stopping him now.
Clapping
Splashing in the bath
Another three teeth so eight now. Four top and four bottom
Copying – Isabelle has an awful cough and he mimics her cough and claps to himself
Nappy struggle

Loves:

Eating things he shouldn’t like his bath sponge, random bits of floor fluff or anything else that he shouldn’t have.

Strings – ties on trousers and tops. He likes to twiddle them and put them in his mouth.

Being outside – I think he’s definitely happier if we’ve been out and about than just staying at home.

Fruit – we have another fruit bat. His favourite is pear at the moment.

Climbing – he’s not for sitting still now that he can move. He prefers to be up on his feet so he uses us as human climbing frames. Hair makes for a great rope!

Hates:

Getting his nappy changed. Already he’s trying to flip onto his back, refuses to put his legs up or down and generally squirming away. We’re using a changing table at the moment, but I think we’re going to have to start using a mat on the floor now that he’s so wriggly.

Getting dressed or undressed – it’s a total battle to get him dressed now, especially putting his arms in things.

Sitting still – he wants to be up and about and is as fast as lightening when you’re not looking so we’ve had a few bumps when we haven’t been quick enough.

Teething

I think he’s coping quite well with teething. We know the signs when he’s teething now. He refuses most foods by putting his hand over his mouth, his nappies change and he gets really red cheeks. He’s pretty good at using his teethers to chomp down on, and we just know that he’s gearing up for a couple of grumpy days and rubbish sleep. He has eight teeth now, and although we have a rough couple of nights it’s not as strung out as when Isabelle was teething which seemed endless.

We dose him up on Calpol and use teething granules as well as making sure that he has access to teethers at all times and lots of cuddles.

Play

Freddie loves to play. We set him up on his mat with a variety of toys and get down to play with him. He loves stacking bricks to knock down and loves the basket of shakers and bells that we had for Isabelle when she was little. He will play for a little while before wanting to just climb all over you.

Growth

I had Freddie weighed and he now weighs 19lb 9oz which at first I was a bit worried about as he’s only put on about 1.5lb in about two months, but he’s so active and is eating as he should. They don’t seem to measure babies in the clinic I go to and trying to do it myself would be like trying to wrestle a chimpanzee.

Weaning

Freddie loves his food. He’s up for new flavours and will try everything he’s given. We do give him the odd purée which he’s not so great at eating because he doesn’t really like opening his mouth for a spoon. He’s tried such a wide variety of foods already and it’s fun seeing his reactions to different flavours.

He does seem to store his food in his cheeks though, so the other day I removed a piece of orange that he’d been given two hours before, so we now know to look out for things he’s got stored in his hamster cheeks!

Feeding

Feeding during the day is good. We have a good routine which times in well with his eating and the school run.

Night time is just a nightmare. Freddie feeds every hour and a half, sometimes less. It’s starting to take its toll now and it’s hard because nobody can help me with this. I’m being advised to ‘just give home a bottle’ BUT he’s breastfed so we won’t be taking this unhelpful advice!

Sleeping

we’re still co-sleeping and it’s fine since I don’t have to get out of bed for the multiple night feeds.

Even if we wanted him in his own bed, he currently doesn’t have one as he’s too big for his crib and we’ve yet to put his cot up. I’m happy with the sleeping situation and it’s not going to be forever.

It’s scary to think that we’ve started to think about what we’re going to do for his first birthday.

What did you do for your little ones first birthday?

Lisa x

Scruff-a-luv Blossom Bunny Reveal & Review

12/03/201920/02/2021 Lisa 11 Comments

Scruff-a-Luv Blossom Bunny Reveal and Review

We were asked to do a Scruff-a-luvs Blossom Bunny reveal which Isabelle jumped at the chance of since surprise toys are totally ‘her thing’.

What is a Scruff-a-luv?

The limited edition Blossom Bunnies come into your life as a sorry looking matted ball of fur. Give them a wash to reveal their true cuteness and then dry them and brush them to transform them into the cute FFF (Furry Friend Forever).

The Scruff-a-luv Blossom Bunnies are limited edition. Which one will you get? Lemon Drizzle or Peppermint (each sold separately).

Each Scruff-a-luv comes with their own brush and accessory as well as your adoption certificate. Only by saving a Scruff-a-luv will you find out. In return they will be your FFF (Furry Friend Forever).

Scruff-a-luvs retail at £19.99 and are suitable from age 3.

The Reveal!

Watch our reveal video and see how Isabelle transforms the bunny from Scruffy to Adorable.

Our thoughts

Isabelle really enjoyed the whole unboxing and was really pleased that she got Peppermint. She would like a pet of her own and a rabbit would be her first choice.

She enjoyed the whole process of washing her, drying and then brushing her to look like the cute bunny that she now is.

It was a lovely thing to do together, and the amount of time it took to dry was the only thing that I could fault. It took a long time to dry with a hairdryer.

These would make a fab alternative to chocolate Easter present and a fun thing to do on a rainy day.

Do you have a Scruff-a-luv? Which one do you have?

Lisa x

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Breastfeeding at 9 months – An Update

09/03/201920/02/2021 Lisa 15 Comments

Breastfeeding at 9 months- An Update

Breastfeeding at 9 months – Firstly I want to give myself a massive pat on the back for getting so far into our breastfeeding journey. Given our initial struggles with stopping and having to go through the relactation process I had no expectations for how long breastfeeding was going to last.

I’m so happy to report that we’re still going strong. Aside from Freddie starting weaning onto solids at six months, he is otherwise exclusively breastfed.

We also have a routine going on which looks a bit like this:

05.30 – Feed

06.30 – Feed or time to get up

07.00 – Breakfast

08.30 – Feed

11.30 – Feed and a nap (could be 10 minutes or an hour)

12.30 – Lunch

14.00 – Feed and nap until 14.45 when it’s time for the school run

16.30 – Feed (bit of a nightmare as trying to get dinner sorted and he quite often falls asleep)

19.00 – Feed and sleep

21.30 – Feed and bedtime with Mummy (yes we co-sleep)

AND then everything goes downhill from there. Freddie feeds every 1 – 1 1/2 hours throughout the night!

He’s been feeding st night like this since around six months and I have no idea how to stop it.

He doesn’t scream (unless teething) and is very easily settled back down on the boob, but it’s the amount of times during the night that this happens. I’ve tried to settle him without feeding but it only lasts for about ten minutes before he wakes up, clearly realising that he’s been fobbed off in search of milk.

It’s with this in mind that I feel a slight panic about having to go back to work in May.

How am I going to function on so little sleep?

Am I going to be able to get myself out of bed in the mornings?

Is Freddie going to cope without me there feeding him?

It’s likely that he’ll miss out on four feeds which he will have a bottle of expressed milk. Will he prefer the bottle over breastfeeding? Will he even take a bottle now?

And then there’s the whole nightmare of having to express whilst at work. I have no worries about having a comfortable place to do it, and also store my milk. I worry more about the practicalities of having to pump in the middle of my working day and how many times as well as the worry of leaking.

When will you stop breastfeeding?

I get asked this all the time. I’m not sure why it matters to anybody else, but it seems that everybody wants or needs to know.

The answer to this is that I really don’t know. I have no plans to stop at the moment, and going back to work isn’t going to stop me. I worry that he might prefer the bottle and will self wean from the breast. If this happens I’ll be really sad but hopefully he’ll adjust to our new normal.

I probably should point out at this point that I’m only hoping to go back to work for two days a week, pending approval so hopefully it won’t be too much of an upheaval for him.

Breastfeeding a 9 month old

I’m not going to lie that this breastfeeding malarkey has been filled with ups and downs from the beginning. Everything from Sepsis to a bad latch we’ve had it.

Every time I feel like things are getting better something has happened. The damn sleep regressions and teeth have been really tough, and it’s only been the last month that I haven’t been sore during and after most feeds.

When he got his first teeth and bit me for the first time I really wasn’t sure if I could carry on. If you’ve had your nips bitten by a newly cut tooth you’ll know how razor sharp they are. There were tears from both of us.

He didn’t bite down for a good few weeks after the first time, but he started grazing my nipples with his teeth throughout every feed which really sets your teeth on edge and quite frankly is pretty unpleasant.

He still does bite every now and again, but I can tell when he’s about to do it most times and can stop him.

Freddie is pretty easy to read. He only cries when he’s hungry, tired or teething so if he’s crying it’s because he wants something.

His latch is much better as he seems to know the best position for getting the most milk out.

He has started to pull my hair, pinch and smack me in the face during feeding, all of which makes it super fun. He likes to twiddle so I either wear my teething necklace or give him the end of my dressing gown cord which he likes.

The positives of breastfeeding

Reading this back there doesn’t seem to be a lot to feel positive about but in general I feel really good about feeding Freddie.

Although he wakes a lot during the night, I don’t have to go downstairs to make up bottles, no sterilising and we can leave the house quicker than if I had to grab bottles and formula.

The bond I have with Freddie is so strong, knowing that I’m his biggest source of comfort to him is enough to keep me going.

The money we must have saved on formula. I’d love to know how much money we’ve saved by not buying formula, new bottles and teats.

Breastfeeding also forces you to rest. As new mums we all rush around trying to fit so much in. Having to sit down and physically rest during feeding I think keeps me going. I’ve never watched so much TV or You Tube, it it’s lovely having the time to cuddle Freddie during feeding.

Most importantly is that Freddie wanted this. When we stopped when I became ill, I thought that was it but Freddie had other ideas and persistently searched for the breast and struggled against the bottle.

Well he got his way and we’re not looking back.

Are you breastfeeding and going back to work? I’d love to know how it’s going.

Lisa x

Lollipets Interactive Pets Review

01/03/201926/05/2020 Lisa 11 Comments

Lollipets Interactive Pets Review

Lollipets Interactive Pets Review – Have you seen the latest interactive pets from Spinmaster. With 20 characters to collect including mice, elephants and rabbits.

Isabelle was asked to review a selection of the Lollipets which she was very excited about. We received:

Hazel the dog from Cake Pop Coast, Smushy the Mouse from Marshmallow Meadows and Echo the Elephant from Cake Pop Coast.

The single packs retail at £7.99 and the double packs at £14.99 which I thought was a reasonable price.

What are Lollipets?

Lollipets are the latest collectible interactive toys from Spinmaster. Each pet comes with its own lollipop which is used to control the pet:

Holding the lollipop in front of the pet will make them chase it.

Hover the lollipop above the pet to see them hop.

Chase them with the lollipop from behind.

Make them dodge the lollipop by holding it to their side.

They also interact with other pets by giving them a kiss.

You can switch the pets on and off by a switch underneath, and they can be paired to their lollipop which sticks magnetically when you put them away.

The pets are small enough that you can take them with you to keep the kids entertained.

Our Thoughts

Isabelle loves the Lollipets and was very pleased in particular to receive the elephant which she’d hoped to get.

Freddie took a keen interest in these and now that he’s crawling there’s no stopping him from chasing them.

Isabelle played with these a lot over the half-term and when her friend came to stay they each chose one to look after. They now live in her princess castle when she’s not playing with them.

From a parents point of view I thought these were a great toy and something you could stash away in the birthday box for upcoming birthday parties. They’re reasonable priced as well.

What collectibles are your kids covering at the moment?

Lisa

*we were sent a selection of Lollipets for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

Off the Hook Dolls Review

28/02/201911/01/2024 Lisa

Off the Hook Dolls Review

Off the Hook Dolls Review – when we were asked to review a selection of Off the Hook Dolls by Spinmaster, Isabelle screamed with delight. She’d seen them advertised on TV and had already made us aware that she would like some of these for her birthday ( September) and Christmas!

Off the Hook Dolls are interchangeable dolls that you can take apart to create your own stylish looks just by pulling them apart and clicking into place, including the hair.

The individual Off the Hook doll sets (RRP £7.99) come with a doll and two surprise blind bag style packages which can include fun accessories such as hats, sunglasses, shoes and bags.

We were sent the Off the Hook Style Studio (RRP £19.99) which comes with a doll, six outfit options and six accessories, four of which come as a surprise ‘blind bag’ style.

This gives you the option to mix and match over 100 combinations. The Style Studio wardrobe has hanging space for both tops and bottoms as well as spaces to places shoes and accessories.

There are six Off The Hook girls to collect – Jenni, Vivian, Alexis, Naia, Mila and Brooklyn.

There’s also a checklist so that you can keep track of all the outfits and accessories that you have.

Isabelle has had a lot of fun creating lots of different style combinations. Of course all of the dolls have been given American accents. She’s really into making fake You Tube videos and these are the perfect toy for this.

Our Thoughts

From my point if view as a mum I can’t fault this collection. They’re affordable, have lots of appeal for my daughters age range of eight and are affordable to buy for your own children or to give as gifts.

Of course my opinion means nothing unless its followed by a big thumbs up from Isabelle which the Off the Hook Dolls whole heartedly get! She loved setting up the wardrobe, the dolls and all the accessories. They’re also small enough that she took her entire collection to Nanny and Papa’s to play with when we went for dinner, and her friends have also taken a keen interest. The blind bags that came with the sets with additional accessories were the icing on the cake for Isabelle who is obsessed with surprise gifts.

*We were sent a selection of Off the Hook dolls for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

Lilith Loves Henry Teether Review

24/02/201926/05/2020 Lisa 12 Comments

Lilith Loves Henry Teether Review

Lilith Loves Henry Teether Review – Having Freddie we knew that we would have the inevitable trials and tribulations that come with teething. All babies react differently to teething pain, and of course they develop and cut their teeth at very different rates.

Ryan dealt with teething quite well and I was surprised when he got his first tooth through at four months old. He would go off his food, get a temperature and would be a bit unsettled and grumpy.

Isabelle teethed for a long time before she cut a tooth and it was a tough time for all of us as it disrupted her sleep, made her quite poorly and she cried a LOT but once they started coming through they came through quite quickly.

Freddie is a bit of a mix up of both. He gets a temperature and has a couple of off days and is unsettled at night, and then out another one pops.

Teething is something that you have to prepare for and give your baby the opportunity to soothe their gums as much as possible. I’ve written about ways to help with teething previously which you can read here, but essentially you need to be armed with some or all of the following:

Teething Gels/ Powders – These are a great quick way to help sooth gums. Freddie prefers the powders which I will give him before bed and when he wakes up during the night. I also keep some of the sachets in my changing bag, but just watch out if you’re giving them when you’re outside as we had an incident where the powder blew into Freddies face!

Amber Teething Necklaces – Although I’m not onto my third baby, I still haven’t used an Amber Teething Necklace or anklet but a lot of parents swear by these.

Teething Rings and Toys – By the bucket load. A lot of new baby toys have teething parts to them which is great for your baby to have constant access to them to chew and suck. We were recently chosen to be Brand Ambassadors for the Lilith Loves Henry range which is pretty awesome. The range includes teething toys, teething necklaces, dummy clips, jewellery and amber teething jewellery. The whole range is not only very stylish but each piece has lots of nobbles and textures to ease teething pain.

We were sent a bear teething ring which is the perfect size for little hands and is a combination of silicone and wood. We take this one everywhere with us in the changing bag so that Freddie has access to it whenever he needs it.

Dummies – Whilst none of my children have had a dummy, there’s no denying that for some babies a dummy can be a good source of comfort when they most need it.

Teething Biscuits – We’ve given these a try again and Freddie seems to quite like them. We use Bickiepegs but I have also seen recipes on Pinterest to make your own.

Food – Freddie always goes off food for a couple of days when he has a tooth coming through apart from cold cucumber and carrots straight from the fridge. He loves cucumber anyway, but it’s the only thing that he will take when the tooth is just under the gum.

Frozen Food – If your baby is off there food, you could try them with a frozen yoghurt or a breast milk lolly. I’ve also made these Blueberry Yoghurt Bites (halved blueberries) which are a treat for them.

Teething Jewellery – This is Jewellery that you wear which your baby can play with during breastfeeding and chew on to help with teething pain. These are generally made with silicone or wooden beads and are quite attractive to babies like usual jewellery is.

Our thoughts

We were also given a Lilith Loves Henry Teething Necklace which Freddie really likes. He loves to chew on it which can be helpful when I need him to sit still for a few moments on my lap, but he also likes to twiddle the beads whilst he’s feeding. He has tried to feed and stuff the necklace in his mouth which doesn’t really work.

I love the Grey Bear Teether that we have. It’s a lovely size and I’m all about grey at the moment so it was a good choice for us. The teether goes everywhere with us in the changing bag and is the go to teether when Freddies a bit grumpy or just needs something to hold.

The necklace which I tend to wear daily gives him constant access to a teether and the bonus of the necklace is that there’s no chance of him being able to throw this on the floor which is a fun game that he likes to play now. I would definitely recommend the Lilith Loves Henry range as a lovely new baby present, they’re all so gorgeous.

If you have any more teething tips leave me a comment below AND if you like the look of our Lilith Loves Henry Teether or Necklace then you can pop over and buy one for your own baby which are very affordable and so appealing to babies.

Lisa x

*As part of our Brand Ambassador role we have received a teether and a teething necklace in exchange for our review and online promotion.

8 Month Baby Update

05/02/201911/01/2024 Lisa

8 Month baby update

8 Month Baby Update – It was scary when Freddie hit six months and now we’re hurtling forward and he’s now the grand age of eight months.

His personality is really coming through now. He’s a happy, smiley little boy who only cries if he has a genuine need. He’s very inquisitive and is at his happiest in the centre of what everybody else is doing. I’m loving that he’s a Mummy’s boy but this could just be because I’m his Mobile milk bar!

This past month has been totally tainted by the following sentence “When are you going back to work?” With the accompanied head tilt to the side. It’s driving me nuts. I know I have to go back to work but I just want to enjoy the time that I have before that happens. I’m enjoying being with him every single day. I’m also enjoying being able to pick Isabelle up from school as well as being available for all the school events and after school play dates.

New stuff:

Pulling himself up on his toy box

Rocking backwards and forwards on his hands and knees before launching himself forward
Making kissing noises
Shouting
Yeah! – shouting this (think Tom Jones)
Saying Be-be – as in Belle-Belle (sister)
Five teeth. He has two top teeth and three on the bottom.

Loves:

People. He loves when he’s surrounded by people and other babies.
Peek-a-Boo – it’s his absolute favourite thing to do.
His Daddy – Chris works long hours so when he’s home Freddie can’t get enough of him and grins from ear to ear.
Food or more specifically putting so much in his mouth so he looks like a hamster and then spitting it out.

A bath – we went through a rocky patch where he would scream when he had a bath, and it was just a case of get him in, wash him and get him back out again. These days he loves it and enjoys having his bath toys to play with.
Drinking bath water – he gets the sponge and sucks all of the water out of it. Yum!

Hates:

Having his face wiped
Putting sleeves on – oh the drama!
Broccoli

Teething:

He now has five teeth which explains the last couple of days where he’s been chewing and dribbling like crazy. He has two top teeth and three on the bottom.

We have teethers all over the place, and I’ve been wearing a teething necklace which he seems to like, and it also gives him something to twiddle whilst he feeds instead of pulling my hair.

He’s chomped down hard on toys a couple of times which has really hurt him. He tends to go off solid food when his gums are sore and will only accept cold fruit and cucumber.

Play:

Freddie’s a lot more fun now and loves to play with his toys. He sits up without support but we still put a cushion behind him just in case he gives up and flops back.

He likes to take toys out of his basket himself and always makes a beeline for certain toys. He likes his squeaky eggs, ring stacker and a little wooden toy where the little coloured people pop out of the top when you press them down. He likes it when you build up his bricks so that he can knock them down and his musical instruments which were Isabelle’s when she was a baby.

He finds things amusing and will join in laughing when other people are laughing at stuff.

Growth:

I had Freddie weighed a couple of weeks ago and he’s currently 18lb 4oz. He’s wearing a mixture of 3 – 6 months and 6 – 9 months clothes and this very much depends on the clothing brand.

Weaning:

We’re well underway with weaning with lots of different flavours and textures. We do mostly Baby Led Weaning with the odd purée and Freddie much was refers being able to feed himself.

He’s such a messy eater and has worked out that if he chucks it on the floor, the dog comes flying over to gobble it up which he finds quite amusing.

I think that he probably throws more food on the floor than he’s actually eating, but I’m happy with the amount that he is getting.

I totally forgot how much mess a weaning baby makes so we’ve had quite a few times when he’s gone straight from the Highchair to the bath!

So far the fruits are winning but root vegetables come a very close second. He also really likes hummus!

Feeding:

Freddie is still breastfeeding but seems to have his days and nights muddled up. He doesn’t feed that much during the day, but at night he’s feeding like a newborn, every 1 -2 hours some nights.

I’m finding this really hard and exhausting. Chris wants to try giving him a bottle at night (formula) but it’s been so hard to get to this point that I would hate to add formula back into the mix. I know that he’s only thinking that it might help with Freddie’s sleeping but I really don’t want to go back there.

Sleeping:

well as you’ve just read that he’s feeding like a newborn you’ll have guessed that we’re not getting a lot of sleep and the sleep we are getting is very broken sleep.

Freddie is co-sleeping with us and this is working for the little sleep that I am getting. I would like to start putting him in his cot for the beginning part of the evening instead of having to go to bed with him each night so that I could have a bit of an evening to myself so am going to persevere with this.

Next month I’m guessing he’ll be mobile and it will all be about stairgates and having eyes in the back of my head.

Family Bucket List 2019

15/01/201925/01/2024 Lisa

Family Bucket List 2019

Family Bucket List 2019 – it’s a while since I wrote a Bucket List since the one that I wrote previously had quite big things on it which made it a bit unrealistic in terms of timing and budget. I’m going smaller, but small doesn’t always mean less quality. Chris works long hours so we need to make the most of our time off.

Here goes:

Have a BBQ on the beach
Crabbing
A picnic at the park
Ice skating
Take Isabelle dry skiing
Afternoon tea
Go to a Blogging conference
A family holiday abroad
A weekend family getaway
Declutter the house
A living room picnic
Go to a theme park
Get over my fear and get my front tooth fixed
Wear bright colours (I always wear black)
Visit a National Trust property
Start a yoga class
Have a Mummy Daughter day out
Have a Daddy Daughter day out
Be more sociable
Have some family pictures taken
Get Freddie’s bedroom sorted
Go dancing
Visit a Christmas market
A beach day
Visit somewhere new
A spa day
Learn to drive
Read a new book per month
Spend an evening binge watching a box set
Movie night
Date night
Cook something new
Make the garden more child friendly
Plant flowers/plants and hope the dog doesn’t eat them
Set up a You Tube channel for Isabelle
Vlog – even just once!
Make a photo book
Take more photo’s (more with me in)
Go to a zoo
Take the kids swimming
Learn something new
Do something out of my comfort zone
Take part in a charity event
Do a craft project
Go camping

Camp out in Isabelle’s room

Sign Isabelle up for a class

Have my nails done
Start to meal plan
Have some screen free days

So that’s our list. It’s not anything too big except maybe the dental work which is a massive deal for me.

I hope that we manage to get everything or most of the things listed and will blog about each one as they’re ticked off.

What do you have planned for 2019?

Lisa x