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

Cool Candy by Coleen baby walker review

Alfie loves being on his feet but it tires us out having to hold him up all the time so we decided we would get a door bouncer but he didn't like it. He moaned in it and just didn't seem to enjoy himself so we decided we needed to get something else for him instead. We decided on a baby walker and he adores it!

They're are loads of walkers to choose from so it took us a while to find one we really liked and then I came across the Cool Candy stars baby walker

I fell in love with it straight away, it looks stylish in the bold red, the navy bottom and the white stars on navy seat. 

The play tray plays songs and has little toys that make noises to keep your little one occupied. 

It is very easy to assemble, it doesn't take long to do at all. It has 3height settings so however small or tall your baby is it is perfect for them. 

There is a PINK one too for girls, the rest of the range includes a baby swing, highchair, pushchair, and more. All at affordable prices. 

Nappykind- Review

If you know Alfie& I you will know that Alfie is starting to try and crawl. He is getting on all four to go but falls when starting to move. He rolls all over the floor so what a perfect way to protect his little knees by trying out the NappyKind leg warmers. 

On first impressions, I was very impressed. The leg warmers and leggings are very thick so perfect for crawling babies! They are made very well and they come in so many different colours that they go with ANYTHING! 

Alfie loves them as they don't restrict his movement. He can roll over, try to crawl to his heart content. Where as jeans& chinos restrict movement. 

The leg warmers are so thick and warm that they will keep your babies legs warm and toasty under there clothes these freezing winter months.

Alfie is so wiggley when I'm changing his nappy now because he wants to be on the move all the time so the leg warmers are perfect for quick Nappy changes.

Absolutely brilliant product, recommend to anyone who has little ones. 

*i bought these NappyKind products at a discounted price for the purpose of this review

Alfie -baby ootd.

Alfie& I are having a lazy day so our first ever outfit of the day ain't anything too exciting. 

Today I've put him in his star all in one from H&M, i did have a look on the website for the link but it seems to have disappeared. 

I love putting him in his little onesies when we are at home chilling out. He has a grey onesie from matalan too. 

This onesie is very warm and snuggly. 

I've only just discovered H&M baby clothes, I have my eye on a few things so watch this space.  

NaBloPoMo| #1

Pinch punch first day of the month!

 

Can you actually believe its November?! Where has this year gone?? I have no idea personally. My son is 6Months now and it seems like last week that I was leaving the hospital with my bundle of joy. I think its right what they say as soon as you have kids the time goes so quick.

 

I should introduce myself really for those of you who are new to my blog, I'm Emma and welcome to my mummy blog. As my blog name indicates I write all about me and my son, Alfie. Im not very interesting so I wont bore you, I'm 22 and from Lincoln. I am a hairdresser and worked in retail while pregnant. That's about as interesting as it gets! 

 

A few facts about myself;

1- I do not have any tattoos or piercings, I had my ears, belly and hand pierced once upon a time but my body rejects everything so I couldn't have them anymore.

2-I have Alevels in English lang& lit and health& social care. Many people find this odd as I ended up a hairdresser (people say us hairdressers are thick, I beg to differ). 

3-I am obsessed with WWE, yep you read it right. I love it! I only started to watch it when i got with my boyfriend (3years ago). my favourite wrestler is Dwayne Johnson, can he get any sexier??!!!

4-Ive never smoked or being really drunk- some say I haven't lived but I don't need a drink to have a good time. 

 

I decided to participate in NaBloPoMo (more info go to Vonnies BLOG) as my blog is fairly new and would give me some new things to talk about. Hopefully, ill meet some more people through this too! so if you are new to emmaandalfiesworld then 'hello!'

I wonder how well I am going to get on doing a blog post a day- i'll give it a good go :-) 

 

I look forward to communicating with you all and reading everyone elses post for NaBloPoMo so be sure to send me your blog links!

 

If you are interested in reading mummy blogs, I have some posts that you might like;

Finding Out I Was Pregnant..

AlfiesBirthStory

 

Thank you for reading my blog, if you would like to have a chin wag with me- my twitter is emmaandalfie_91 so be sure to pop by and say Hello.