Alfie 8month update.

The time is going way to quick, I know I say this everytime I do an update but seriously how on earth has 8months flown by since I gave birth to my son?! It certainly doesn't feel like nearly 8months ago and I suppose I'm in shock really. Alfie seems to learn something new everyday! 

Physically, his development is very well for his age. He crawls, very fast! I seem to be chasing after him all day and don't really get 5mins to sit down as he is on he move all the time! He follows me everywhere now, i'll turn round and he'll be sat at my feet. He pulls himself up on the furniture from a crawling position onto his knees and starting to stand up with the furniture too now. He will walk if we hold his hands, very slow but he is taking steps. He can go from a crawling position to sitting up very easily. 

He lives in his walker at the moment, he loves standing and moving around the room. He does try and follow us in it but he gets stuck at the door. 

He shouts mama and dada constantly, and it seems to get louder when we are out anywhere. He points at things but can only say mama and dada so everything is called that! He gives us kisses if we ask and sometimes screams if we ask too! He's such a boy already. 

He's always been a mummy and daddys boy and wouldn't go to anyone else and would scream. The last couple of months he is more trusting with others and crawls up to them and will smile. We were out for tea yesterday and he kept turning round in his highchair to look at an old couple having there tea! He is quite a nosey boy like his mummy! 

He is just about to go into 6-9clothes now, he's already in his 6-9 Jeans but still 3-6tops. He has a small torso and longer legs. 

We are weaning, he has solids at teatime and we often try at dinner. He is never really bothered about dinner, he just seems to want a bottle but he does have a yogurt for breakfast. 

I'm sure he is getting another tooth coming through, lots of dribble and moaning. He doesn't seem to sleep that well at the moment and has ended up in bed with me a few nights past few weeks. 

I'm very much looking forward to Christmas with my gorgeous boy! 

A- Z of me!

I was tagged by Jo- NotAFrumpyMum to do this tag so here goes; 

A - Alfie, my beautiful boy. He was a surprise but an amazing one. Can't imagine my life without him! 

B - Barbie, this was my nickname when I first started hairdressing. I was a typical hairdresser- bright white hair, extensions and fake tan! Gosh, how times change eyy! I also had a boyfriend called Kennie at this point too, we were known as Barbie and Ken!

C- Coffee, I used to drink so much of this before I was pregnant and completely went off. I still can't stand the smell 8months after having Alfie and now only drink tea. 

D- Dad, he is the most amazing person I know. He bought me and my two sisters up as a single dad. Couldn't ask for anyone better. 

E - Emma, is my name obvs! 

F - Family, I love my family and my new little family. I never take them for granted as after having Alfie my only good friends are through a computer screen! 

G - Gardening- bloody hate doing it! FACT

H - Hairdressing, my profession. I have been a hairdresser since I was 17, so nearly 6years. And I love it. 

I - Ice cream,  I love the stuff. I can eat it if it's hot or cold. Obsessed with the stuff! 

J - Jewels, there was a time I would wear a necklace, bracelet and rings but now I just stick with my pandora bracelet. I love it and never take it off!

K - Kisses, Alfie has learnt how to give kisses, it's so sweet! 

L - Love, I love my family! 

M - Mum, I'm a mum and I love it. I want more babies, just need to convince the boyfriend!! 

N - Nicole, my sister. She is a year& 3months younger than me. She's always been there and we get on so well (now we don't live together!) 

O - onion, I love it! I would have it with everything (savoury) if I could! 

P - Pictures, I am so obsessed with pictures- it's abit ridiculous really. Our house is covered in pictures but I love looking at them so that's where they will stay! 

Q - Quilt- I love my bed and my quilt is so soft and snugly.. Ooh I want to go to bed now just thinking about it! 

R - Reception class, my first ever memory is being in the first ever class at primary school. I used to love the quiet corner and fell asleep in it on many occasions! 

S - silly, I can be abit silly sometimes. Alfie has this really funny face when I do something silly asif to say 'what are you doing mum' 

T - Tea, I drink so much it's ridiculous. I drink it all day! 

U - Uni, I dream of going to uni and doing midwifey. I WILL be a midwife one day, even if I'm old! 

V - Vodka- urgh, I hate alcohol! It's minging, and tastes vile.

W - Winter- my fave time of the year. I love snuggling in front of the fire, candles lit under a blanket. 

X - X? .. What word even begins with X? No idea.. 

Y - Yolk- I love the yolk of eggs, my dad used to just give me the yolks of his eggs and he would have my whites haha!! 

Z - Zach, my boyfriend. Love this guy lots! 

That's me!! 

I tag anybody who wants to do this!! Make sure you let me know when you've done it, I would love a nosey! 

Christmas Tag

My lovely friend Gemma did this tag and thought i would tag myself as I love Christmas. 

What is your favourite thing about Christmas?

I love the fact my family get together and have a whole day together! This year will be slightly different as I now have my own family but even more exciting :-) 

When you were a kid, what did you leave for Santa on Christmas Eve?

A mince pie and a glass of coke (my dad drinks lots of coca-cola) 

Do you and/or your family have any Christmas traditions?

We do have a few, during Decemeber we always go to a little garden centre and buy a few new baubles for the Christmas tree. 

We all get new pjs and slippers and get changed and stay in our Jim jams all Christmas day! 

We watch the snowman all together while having a buffet type tea. 

When decorating, do you go all out or just do a small amount of decorating?

This is my first Christmas in my own home, and we just have a tree. I'm not to over the top. However, my dad goes all out!! This Christmas is very different as I'm used to feeling like living in santas grotto. He has 4christmas trees and everything is covered in tinsel! 

What is your favourite Christmas dinner food?

I love the roast dinner, it just feels different on Christmas Day! 

What is your favourite Christmas movie?

Jingle all the way is one of the ones I have watched every Christmas for years now, I had it recorded off the tele onto a video and then bought the DVD a couple of years ago. I love all Christmas films though! 

What is your favourite Christmas song?

Merry Christmas everyone by shakin Stevens& Elvis- Blue christmas.. my dad used to put these on constantly at Christmas as he loves his 60s music. 

What was your favourite gift you've ever received?

I have too many favourites, I love everything I get :)

What is your favourite memory?

Just all sitting round the tree playing with everything we got for Christmas in our jarmas, with hot choc and Christmas music in the background.

Does it snow where you live?

It does, but not at Christmas! I was pregnant last year when it snowed so I could only watch all the fun from the window! 

Do you own an "ugly holiday sweater"?

noo! 

Hot chocolate or eggnog? 

Hot chocolate but I can never make it that nice at home. Costa do the best ones!! 

Have you ever been kissed under a mistletoe?

nope! 

I tag the following ladies to do this too, tag yourself too :-) 

APinchOfShaz

Teacher2Mummy

TiasMum12

ChicGeekDiary

DancingWithDirtyFeet

Beebies Wishlist

When I first came across beebies on twitter I was so impressed, they stock lots of different brands and lots of gorgeous bits for mummy and baby. 

Ami who runs beebies is also lovely, and she's there if you need to ask about products and just to have a general chat with!

Ami has given us all the chance to win our beebies wishlist up to the value of £100, how nice is that? Just in time for Christmas too! 

It's been quite hard to pick products up to the value of £100 because they're so many lovely bits but I've found the perfect present for Alfie from beebies. I know Alfie will love it.

It is this little beauty- the Nattou Cappucino Rocker. It is expensive but you can see why, it's gorgeous sorry my phone is abit rubbish and I couldn't get the picture clearer! 

I love the colours and it's so sweet. I have fell in love with it!! 

I've been wanting a rocker for a while for Alfie now, all the ones I've come across are either to expensive or not worth the money that they are selling for. 

The colour of this rocker are the colours I've chosen for Alfie's nursery so he would take pride of place in the nursery and fit in perfectly with everything we have already bought!

Thank you to Ami for this fab chance to win our wishlist. 

Have #averybeebieschristmas everyone :-) 

-xx-

NappyKind Leggings Giveaway

Who has heard of NappyKind? For those of you who haven't, they are a online shop that sells baby leggings, leg warmers, bibs and more!! Alfie has a few bits from them and they are fantastic quality. 

I did a review on our leggings here, if you would like a read. 

NappyKind are giving me the opportunity to give one of my readers the chance to win a pair of their fantastic quirky leggings. 

All you need to do is enter the giveaway via the rafflecopter below, all entires will be checked but please be honest :-) 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway\ }

Mum& Me- REVIEW

When the mum& me team gave me the opportunity to review a few of the products I jumped at the chance. I love there range and used the 'bump' products through all of my pregnancy. I used the stretch mark cream religiously, I still got stretch marks but it kept my bump moisturised and kept it in good condition during it's job of growing my baby. 

I got sent two products from the 'new mum' range, the firming body butter and the firming boob serum. My body seems to be all loose and rubbish condition so these will be amazing for that. I can't really tell you if they work yet as I would like to use them for a month or so and then report the results back to you. They smell amazing, when I first put the firming body butter on it reminded me of being pregnant. It's a lovely smell and made my tummy very soft. And I did instantly feel lifted so I'm very excited to report the results back to you, I know they will be good! 

If you still need some ideas for little presents for any mum or mums to be. The mum and me range are a great idea! They do products for bump, baby and mum! So a great selection! These two products would make great stocking fillers for a new mum. As you know we all need a bit of pampering after birth and our bodies need that extra love. So these would be a perfect and thoughtful gift for a new mum. There are loads of lotions, potions and creams for this type of thing but this one is specialised for new mums so I would say it is worth the money as they are a little more expensive than some others but I would say perfect gift for a mummy! 

I also got sent two products to use on Alfie, the little explorer range.. 

They smell fresh, and the bubble bath produces lots of bubbles so great for baby bathtime. It leaves you feeling clean and the bubbles are light so lots of bubbles during splashing and playing. The hair and body wash is so easy and rinses off easily. Perfect for any little explorer and again perfect size for a stocking filler if you want some ideas for little presents! 

*i was sent these products free of charge, for the purpose of this review but all views are my own* 

Guest post- Weaning

Hello! My name is Alex.  I usually blog as Medicated Follower of Fashion.  My blog is a parenting and style blog with a big dash of family life thrown in!  The lovely Emma is letting me take a little of your time today!

When I weaned my first son, Ethan, I just went straight for the baby rice.  I didn't have any friends who had older children, only friends with babies who were exactly the same age, and we were all told the same thing by our Health Visitors.  Start plain and start with purée.  So, that's what we all did!!  Ethan didn't take to solids for a long time.  In fact, after a dreadful stressful 5 days filled with screaming and tears from both of us and me feeling like some sort of force feeding food Nazi, we postponed weaning again for a few weeks.  Even when we started again when he was somewhere between 6-7 months old it still took a long time for him to get into food and for a long time I felt like I was force feeding him.  It was horrible.  

A couple of years later I made a friend who's son was a younger than Ethan and she told me all about Baby Led Weaning.  I couldn't believe I hadn't heard of it before.  It all seemed so logical.  The idea is simple really.  Wait until baby is 6 months old.  At that point they can pretty much eat anything.  You have to be a bit careful if you have a history of allergies in the family, as we do, so things with nuts in aren't allowed for quite a while (whole nuts should never be given to baby's anyway).  I don't believe whole nuts should be given until children are very confident eaters, some say not even until 7 years of age.  Until they are over 12 months old, the following should be avoided:

Honey

Salt

Shark, swordfish or marlin (high mercury content)

Goats & Sheeps milk

Mould ripened soft cheese

It's a bit like when you're pregnant really!!  It's also a good idea to be cautious with apple - it's a really common thing to choke on.  I'm offering it stewed at the moment.  Another good idea is to be aware of what to do in a real choking situation.  There are courses you can take (speak to your Health Visitor - they often offer them).  Don't forget that they will gag on things but babies have a fantastic gag reflex, which, whilst a little gross, is very effective!

So - I had heard about Baby Led Weaning and I stored the idea away at the back of my brain, ready to pull out if and when we had another child...  Of course, Felix came along and suddenly, here we are.  The little monkey is already 6 months old!

I had a feeling Felix was ready for solids for a while.  He had been staring at us when we were eating for a few weeks and trying to grab things from our hands.  In fact, a couple of weeks ago he had successfully relieved Pete of some bread and sucked on it!!  I decided to just go for it a few days shy of his 6 month "birthday" (yesterday) and so we started!

His first "meal" was a banana and some toast.  He really loved the toast.  Gave it a real good suck!  He had some difficulty holding the banana, it kept slipping from his grasp which was annoying him.  I ended up mashing it up and offering him some on a spoon which worked better.  He held the spoon and popped it in his mouth himself.  Hardcore Baby Led Weaners believe that spoons should not be used at all, but I'm of the "whatever works for you" school of thinking.  If he really wants the food and is getting cross because he can't get it in, I'm going to do something that helps him!  If that means handing him a spoon, so be it.  I have even fed him from the spoon a few times myself.  I hold it in front of his mouth until he opens it and gently pop it in.  At this point he often steals the spoon anyway.  For this reason, I usually have two or three spoons on the go.  It's like a rotation system!!

We are 5 days in now, and in all honestly, apart from banana,pineapple and some toast, I think most food has been sucked and dropped back out.  I don't think that is at all unusual at this stage though.  It is hard in a way because I do want him to actually get some into his tummy, but I have to let him do it on his schedule.  It is his body after all!  I'm very impressed by how much he has "tried" at this stage, even if he hasn't swallowed it.  So far, he has tried:

Toast

Bread

Breadsticks

Rice cakes

Carrot

Broccoli

Sweetcorn

Blueberries

Pineapple

Stewed apple

Banana

Marmite sandwich

Porridge

Cheerios

Shreddies

I think that's pretty impressive!! Five days in with Ethan, everyone was tearing their hair out and he'd just slobbered at some baby rice!

Obviously. we're at the very beginning of Felix's journey with solids and I'm sure that some issues will arise in the future, but for now, I'm happy with him tasting new foods, improving his pincer grip, sitting more confidently and exploring.  I may well help him by offering spoons, and even on some occasions, feed him myself, but I will never force feed him and if he shows signs of wanting to stop, we will stop.  The difference for me this time is that it is on his terms.  Something I know from experience is that solids does not signal the end of night feeds.  It didn't with Ethan and it doesn't seem to be with Felix either.  That seems to be unrelated!

What approach do you follow to weaning?  I love hearing what others do!

-- 

Stella & Dot Stylist I.D. 145279 

Style & Parent blogger

Twitter: @MedicatedFollower

Instagram: Medicated_Follower

My Christmas Wishlist

It's been quite a hard task for me to think about what I want this Christmas, I spend all my money on Alfie and I have got used to not buying anything for myself so I feel quilty asking for things but I've been told that I have to think of something. 

I've managed to come up with a few things that I would love to see under my Christmas tree this year..

Not so plain jane- pink lining change bag:

At the moment my changing bag is an oversized tote bag, it was fabulous to start with. It looks expensive but it's not practical! It has no compartments so I lose everything! I can never find my keys or my phone as they fall to the bottom and Alfie nappies always get screwed up in the bottom of the bag and I've finally had enough. Before blogging I didn't know about pink lining changing bags! So now I'm desperate for one, they look amazing and very strong and sturdy which is essential now Alfie is getting older and I have to take everything out with me!! I'm not so keen on the 'yummy mummy and cupcake' motif so I've opted for the plain jane! It's more me! 

Pandora charms: 

I love my pandora so much, I've worn it every since I got bought it 3years ago at Christmas and it very rarely comes off! I even wore it giving birth. Every Christmas I get a charm or two and this year won't be any different. I love all of the charms so it's quite hard for me to narrow it down to a few but I'm manage to chose a couple! The ones I've chosen are new for Christmas, I chose a candy cane one and a mittens one. Perfect to remember my special Christmas with my baby boy. 

Camera:

I love taking pictures of my baby boy (if you follow me on Instagram you will know this) and I would love a good camera to do so! I use my iPhone which is good for everyday use but I would love to have a better camera so I can take more 'professional' photos. My sister has one as she did GCSE photography at school, I used to always borrow it to go to the park and take pictures. I find it very therapeutic especially in autumn and winter. The good ones are expensive so I don't know if I will end up getting one anytime soon but a girl can dream! 

What do you all have on your Christmas lists? Do you want anything that I have said? 

Giveaway

Seeing as though it's Christmas I thought it would be a nice idea to give the opportunity for one of you lucky lot to win a £10 Next gift card on me! I have made lots of friends through blogging and would love to get you all one but money doesn't grow on trees! Unfortunatly! 

All you need to do is enter via the rafflecopter below. 

I will check all entries so please be honest, I trust you :-)

Good luck everyone :-) 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway\ }

Christmas mini haul

Yesterday Alfie& I nipped to next and asda, I wanted to get Alfie some Christmassy bits as it's nearly Christmas! Yay!! I'm a big kid when it comes to Christmas. 

Reindeer Long Sleeved top- Next- £7

Santa long sleeved top with hat- Next- £11

Christmas dribble bibs- Asda- £3-50

Reindeer booties- Asda- £3-50

Both of the tops are from next, as you know I love next clothes for Alfie. They are lovely, the Santa top does come with a Santa hat but Alfie's head is too big for it so he won't be wearing it! 

The bibs and the little booties are from asda, I was quite surprised to see such lovely things. I don't usually like anything from there but they have some lovely little Christmassy bits in there so I know I'll be popping in when I get paid! 

Weaning Update

As you know Alfie has started weaning, he didn't seem too bothered when we first started but he's really got into it now. 

We started a couple of weeks ago and we started off using Ellas Kitchen pouches and he just had one at teatime.

These past couple of days he has been having yogurts in the morning and an Ella's kitchen pouch at tea time. I tried him with a banana so he could experience baby led weaning but he didn't quite understand what to do with it. I also tried him with pasta the other day for dinner, he got used to putting it in his mouth after I showed him how. He has been having a rusk as a snack in the morning. It was messy but he loved it. 

I am really enjoying weaning, more than I thought I would! 

Are any of you weaning your little ones? How's it going? 

And he's off!

Alfie is crawling!

He started crawling yesterday, he was a little unsteady but he was doing it. He has been trying for a couple of weeks but falling into a heap when trying to move forward. Today, there has been no stopping him! He has been zooming round the room, leaving a path of destruction. How can such a little person make a mess, I know it's going to get worse haha! 

I can't believe my little boy is growing up so quick! 

Baby OOTD

Alfie and I haven't done much the last few days, it's been freezing cold so we've only been out if we really need to! 

So this outfit of the day is again, a bit more of a comfy outfit for Alfie just to chill out and watch Christmas films (yep, they are out guys and we have been watching them!) 

Today's outfit is a onesie from gap, I did try to find the onesie on the gap website for the link for you but I couldn't find it anywhere. I only bought this a few days ago so it is in the shops. It was meant to be a Christmas present but I can't keep anything a secret and I got it out the bag! Can't help myself. 

The grey onesie is quite thick so perfect for the chilly days, and the material is so soft inside against babies skin. The theme is a bear so as you can see there is a bear face on the bum and little ears on the hood. The inside of the hood is white and grey striped. 

I love this outfit on Alfie, he looks the sweetest. 

As Christmas is fast approaching, we will be having Christmassy OOTD on the blog soon so watch this space. 

Little bird told me- REVIEW.

LittleBirdToldMe sells toys, rocking animals and much more.

When I was given the opportunity to review a soft toy from their range, I jumped at the chance. The toys look so cute and something that Alfie would love. 

Alfie loves discovering new sounds and textures at the moment, so we chose burble bee musical activity toy and I must say it is absolutely brilliant. There is lots of different sounds and textures to keep Alfie entertained and he absolutely loves it. As soon as he saw it, his face lit up. It's colourful which caught Alfie's eye and he went straight for the little bee on the front, when you pull him, it plays a musical tune. The wings crinkle and have mirrors on them, he loves anything that crinkles; baby wipe packets especially. He soon started chewing on them and then saw himself in the mirrors, he makes faces at himself in mirrors and then starts laughing so they kept him entertained for quite a while. One of the ears rattles and one has a squeaker in it, he was in fits of laughter when he bite down on the squeaker and it squeaked at him. There is also a rattle in his hand which is brilliant for Alfie now he is teething too.

It's big but not too big that he can't hold it, he manages to throw it round the room and pick it up to bite poor burble bees face!! 

There are a few things I have my eye on from little bird told me; I'm thinking about getting a ride on rocker for Alfie for Christmas and little bird told me do some amazing colourful ones that I know Alfie will love to have from Santa this Christmas.

They also have some gorgeous rocking horses on the website too if you have a child that is abit older and some lovely colourful playmats if you have a little baby. They look very comfy and fun.

I've already wrote a list of what I want next for Alfie from little bird told me haha! I can't help myself I've fallen in love with everything on the website!

I would really recommend their toys to anyone with a young child. The toys are of great quality and I know Alfie will never grow old of this toy. Pop over to the website and have a look, you won't be disappointed.

And..

By the look of this big smile, the burble bee musical activity toy is a hit with Alfie! 

*i was sent this toy free of charge for the purpose of this review*

Open letter to Alfie.

To Alfie, 

Your 6months now, that's half a year old. Another 6months and you will be one year! Time is going way to fast, but I do love watching you grow and develop into the lovely baby boy you are. You have a lovely personality, cheeky and funny. Your so good, well you always have been anyway. You do like to squeal and shout about now that you've found out your mouth makes noises. No words have yet been said but I know it's only a matter of time.

You are teething but you don't seem to be too bothered by it. Your first tooth cut through a couple of weeks ago and now you have a second making it's appearance slowly right next to your other one. We use teething gel every now and again but like I said it doesn't seem to bother you but I don't really want you in pain! You just like to nibble on everything. You have a rusk at dinner time now, which is very messy but you seem to enjoy it. You prefer the banana flavoured ones, the original ones were abit plain for you. 

As far as the weaning is concerned your still not too bothered, we give you a pouch at tea time when me and daddy have our tea. You do prefer the fruit ones though, we tried you with a chicken and vegetable one and you didn't like it at all. We will try putting food in front of you soon and see how that goes. You always want to grab food off mummy and daddys plates at tea time so I think you'll soon get the hang of it. 

Your starting to move around a lot more now. You get into the crawling position but when you go to move you fall in a heap. You'll get there very soon, your so determined. You did manage to wiggle away from daddy to find me in the bathroom when I was having a bath yesterday which was abit of a surprise when I turned round and you was looking at me from the living room door. Your such a funny boy and you know how to make mummy and daddy laugh. You still love being on your feet so you now have a baby walker which you love and keeps you occupied for ages! 

You love your baths, you love them even more now, I only fill it up a little bit and you get to lay there kicking your legs and splashing. The bathroom floor gets very wet after this but you really enjoy yourself. 

Mummy took you to get weighed this week and you are now 18lb7oz! Your wearing 3-6month clothes now, you still wear the odd 0-3 in some bits of clothing. Your legs are long but your skinny so it's hard to find things to fit perfectly. You are starting to fill out now though so your clothes won't look like they drown you soon. 

It is Christmas soon little man, your first Christmas. Mummy has given Santa a few present ideas, I can't wait to spend my first Christmas with you. I know your going to love all the lights and decorations. 

Love you lots baby boy 

From Mummy xx