Catch up, ketchup

It's been a while...so this is a mix-match, hotch-potch, jumble-tumble of catch up thoughts.

MB had a bad month in March including 2 visits to A&E and a brief stay in the Children's ward. We were amazed at the level of care given to us by all the hospital staff which helped to make a horrible time a bit more comfortable for all of us.

April saw the very exciting arrival of the newest member of the Beeker household...Trunki!!!! A big hit with MB, although I have yet to be convinced of it's luggage capability!

I also invested in a double buggy, primarily to be used for MB and his cousin. After many hours of research, I chose the BabyJogger City Mini. I am impressed so far, mainly by the lightweight handling, large sunshades and the overall look.

Other good finds...Philip Kingsley scalp tonic seems to really work (I got a small size from Marks and Spencer to try). And I'm extremely impressed with the Porefect Skin hot cloth wash from All About Betty, which is produced for Tesco. 

What products do you favour for yourself and/or your little ones?

All present and correct

BB's Bestie has sprouted the 2nd glorious infant! Now the easy bit has been done (!), it's time for the serious work of finding the right present.

It's very easy to find wonderful baby clothes, but how often will Junior Bestie wear one of many clothing gifts over the next few months? And then will it get splatted with some unmentionable output?

I want to find something that's different. Unusual. Quirky. But also something that will last, and be enjoyed for a long time, but able to be used fairly soon.

I often opt for books as gifts as MB loves them and I like the idea of giving a gift that we have enjoyed....not that we recycle gifts, I mean buying a replica!

What would you buy an VIB? Do you buy baby products and gifts online or in shops? Did you receive a special gift for your newborn?

Are you sitting comfortably?

Then I'll begin.

MB's cousin has just made the exciting transition to a stage 1 car seat, which has only one drawback; it's now not as easy to all go out together without swapping seats from one car to the other! I'm now thinking of consulting the crystal ball to see if it would be worth buying a second car seat for joint outings.

The problem is, you don't want to buy a 'cheap' car seat...cheap t shirt, yes, cheap car seat, no.
And they're not exactly slimline objects to have around the place while not in use!

In the future, will cars come fitted with internal car seats as extras?!

What car seat did you get as the main one? Do you transfer it often to other cars?

Waiter, waiter...there's something that's new on my plate

A fly in the soup and I could understand not wanting to eat. But MB seems to have taken objection to most things, apart from cheese, ham, cream crackers and marmite. Very frustrating after taking a lot of time to read recipes and try new things. Yesterday was chicken, leek, potato and cheese bake and it was very nice...this I know because I ate more of it than he did!

I understand that this is normal but it doesn't stop it being annoying. I don't want one those children who only eats yogurts. Eating is meant to be enjoyable not a blood pressure test!

I wonder whether it's worth giving in to it, letting him eat what he fancies and risk never being able to go back?

Answers and ideas welcome!

BB.

'Ello 'ello 'ello, what's APPening 'ere then?

Times they are a'changin', as someone once sang. With the vast array of technologies available to us, perhaps it's not surprising that most pre-schoolers are more IT proficient than me. Am wondering whether MB will be using a tablet computer at primary school rather than the good old Berol red handwriting pens?

On a slightly different note, I was told yesterday by a Clarks shoe shop employee that they have many 13/14 year olds visit the shop who cannot tie shoe laces. Worrying? I think so.

Anyway...with the most recent addition to our family being an ipad, it seemed only fair that MB caught up with the current trend so we found some apps to try.

So far we have tried Goodnight Safari and Happy Babies:-

Goodnight Safari has beautiful graphics but it's not that obvious as to what you have to do in order to get the animals to move/climb etc. MB likes the pics and sounds but is not overwhelmed by it. If you upgrade (£1.49) then you can also access games so we've just done that and will see what it brings.

Happy Babies is much more in yer face, with super bright, bold colours and simple yet effective sounds. We already have a Happy Babies book which is great, and MB has had a renewed interest in this since he's been using the app. It's quite a simple game that involves tapping the screen to get the animals' babies to appear (if only human labour was so simple, I hear you cry) but it's a lovely way of getting to know animal names and also learning big/small.

Looking forward to testing some new apps soon.

BB.

(Baby) Bags of fun

BB's Bestie is about to sprout her 2nd infant so we've been chatting about the basics...no, not THAT kind of basic. 

What do you really need to take into hospital? 

Thinking back on my own experience of 5 days in hospital trying to coax MB out of hiding, I offered the following:-

For the star of the show (last time it will be you for about 20 years):-
Pillow - hospital ones have those crunchy wrappers, eek
Pants (does anyone ever use paper pants? Bestie says she did, so let's keep them on...geddit?!)
Water spray - it seemed positively tropical in hospital
Food/snacks - flapjack, biscuits, whatever you fancy...no, not for you men!
Chewing gum/mints - always good to be fresh
Bottles/cartons of drink - take advantage of that catheter time!
Bendy straws - you may need a drink and be unable to move from bed, laying down
Tissues - nice to have handy packs nearby
Nightwear - that quickly becomes daywear
Going home outfit - sadly but realistically, this will be maternity wear
Music and headphones - something to focus on, or block out the sound
Magazines/books/puzzles - it could be a long wait
Face wipes - could be hard to get to the sink
Lip balm - moisturise, moisturise, moisturise
Socks - weirdly feet can get cold even if you're boiling in general
Flip flops - public showers, say no more
Large bath towel - hard to get dry using hospital sized hand towels


For the birth partner:-
Phone & charger
Camera
Coins - for vending machines and car park ticket machines

For the new arrival:-
Sleepsuits - maybe a few different sizes
Jacket/cardigan - babies can't regulate their body temp
Nappies, wipes and cream - enough for a few days
Muslins - your faithful friend...can be turned into all manner of useful things

What things did you wish you had? Apart from a magic wand...

BB.

The not so hungry caterpillar

So today we had a minor breakfast victory; the first tasting of peanut butter (smooth) on wholemeal toast went very well. My paranoid side was on standyby for an allergic reaction to peanuts having not tested this before. Perhaps a heavy snow day was not the best time to have put this to the test! All clear though, phew.

But lunch was a different story. The pasta with creamy white sauce and ham was rejected again, although tasted. Same for chicken and chickpea stew, but again, it was tasted which is my general rule.

I know, already I offered a choice which is not great discipline.

But we ended up with rice cakes and chicken spread, with satsuma for pudding so not exactly fine dining, which was kind of the point.

So, do you stick to the one option rule or give in because you want them to eat?!?!

P.S. I write this as MB is asleep...at least he kept to his routine, which I doubt would have happened if he went to bed hungry.

P.P.S.  Who knew rice cakes could look so exciting? This was from last week...trying to introduce carrots and pepper...again!

BB.