tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8872983732616099952024-03-14T12:44:51.468+00:00The Mummy DiariesThe mad ramblings of one very average woman finding my way through the jungle of parenthood accompanied by The Hubby, The Boy and our Hairy Hounds of Hell!Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-71683392570495749932012-06-26T21:15:00.001+01:002012-06-26T21:15:36.147+01:00SnuggleBundl<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">My only experience of</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> labour</span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> was a rather different to ‘normal’ one. Everything seemed to be going very well, then we hit a stumbling block and things went from being lovely and calm and straightforward to being rushed into theatres for a spinal block and forceps delivery, a team of medical staff hurrying around, concern for the health of baby and myself, and the result was that although baby was delivered safely and was absolutely fine, my lady bits were in a mess and I needed a vast amount of stitches afterwards.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Anyone who has ever experienced stitches will understand what I mean when I say that for a long time afterwards, things just didn’t feel right. The simple act of walking upstairs was agony – getting in and out of an armchair or sofa was a tedious task requiring careful planning and something to hold onto at all times – getting in and out of bed was even more difficult. My bundle of joy was such that I managed to smile despite the pain – but one thing that really, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i> upset me was that I couldn’t use the rocking chair.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Ever since I was a little girl and I saw some film (It may have been <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lady and the Tramp</i> come to think of it) with the Mama in a rocking chair soothing her little one to sleep, I wanted a rocking chair in the nursery for my baby when the time came. When I became pregnant, I looked everywhere for one, but sadly as beautiful as they were, they were out of my price range. My pregnancy progressed, and we decorated the nursery just as I imagined it would be – but there was no rocking chair. Instead as the pregnancy reached the final stages, I wondered what we would do instead, to sit and feed our tiny newborn in the wee small hours of the morning, to rock and hum soothing lullabies to get them back to sleep. I wasn’t happy with any of the other solutions (a regular chair just didn’t cut it as far as I was concerned) so I resigned myself to the fact that my beautiful dream of sitting there inhaling the scent of baby talc and shampoo on my little bundle just wasn’t going to be done in a rocking chair as I had dreamed of for so long.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Literally a couple of weeks before I gave birth my mum was walking past a charity shop near to where she works, and she noticed the lady bringing a rocking chair out the front of the shop. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">It was a little worse for wear, looking a bit sorry for itself, but mum asked the lady how much they were selling it for. </span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The lady looked surprised. “We’ve had it here for months,” She said, “I was just taking it out the front for the</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> binmen</span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> to pick up. If you want it, take it!” Mum couldn’t just take something from a charity shop without paying for it despite the kindness of the offer, so she made a donation and took the rocking chair home. She sat and made a cushion for the seat bottom, and one to go on the headrest part, to make it comfortable, and she covered the cushions in the same fabric we’d used throughout the nursery. She added ties onto them so that they would stay in place and once finished, she brought the chair and the cushions to our house. The Hubby gave the chair a thorough clean, sorted it out so it was once again sturdy and squeak-free, and it was installed into the nursery about four days before my due date. I sat in it, hugging the teddy bears that had been brought in anticipation of our baby arriving, and gazed around the room, rocking in the chair. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Now</i>, it was ready, I thought. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Now</i>, it is perfect.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">After the delivery from hell, when I returned home three days post</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">-labour</span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">, we had the Moses basket in our room, next to the bed, so actually I didn’t really <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">need</i> the rocking chair ready in there, because The Boy wasn’t actually sleeping in there. But one afternoon, a couple of days after we first went home, he wouldn’t settle, so I was wondering what I could do to help soothe him. It suddenly struck me – the rocking chair – so I went into the nursery with him and gazed at it. Then reality dawned; the seat was a lot lower than a regular chair, and regular chairs were hard enough to get into and out of at that point in time. Plus, I needed to hands to help myself in and out of a regular chair, but I also needed to keep hold of The Boy as I sat in the rocking chair if there was going to be any point to me getting in it. As he cried in my arms, I almost cried myself as the reality dawned on me that I was simply in too much pain to get to that level and rock with him, as I’d dreamed of doing for so very long.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">It wasn’t just the whole rocking chair situation, obviously. Initially, at the hospital, I couldn't get him in and out of the cot without assistance, which was quite upsetting - if he cried and I had no visitors, he had to cry til a member of staff responded to my pressing the call button and they'd have to lift him from the cot to me. I couldn't change his nappy - I was reliant on the staff for that, too, unless I had a visitor there. Back home, there was lifting him in and out of the Moses basket – in and out of the pram – I could set the</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> carseat</span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> down somewhere high enough that I could get him in and out of that easily enough, but I couldn’t carry it and remain pain-free, and while I was getting it ready he had to be somewhere, so I’d put him in the cot in the nursery and lifting him in and out of that was pretty awful, too. A friend suggested putting a blanket down, lying him on that, and then lifting it – I tried this trick a few times and when it worked it was great, but a couple of times the blanket slipped in my grip and though I never dropped The Boy or anything like that, it was such a near thing it meant I didn’t use the trick often.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">As time went on, the stitches healed, things became less painful and I eventually could do all the lifting and putting down, getting up and getting down that I wanted to without wincing in pain every time I did so. I almost forgot how bad it was – almost, but not quite. What I wanted to have for next time, I thought, was some way of being able to do all that lifting and putting down of the baby safely, without the blanket trick and risk it slipping out of my grip.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">In March 2012, another Mummy</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> Blogger</span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> and very good friend of mine asked me along to The Baby Show at the</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> ExCel</span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> centre in </span><city><place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">London</span></place></city><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> – she’d been given tickets from a company she’d</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> blogged</span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> about, and off we went. <a href="http://bigmilkthing.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Mummy, Not Big Milk Thing</a> has a</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> SnuggleBundl</span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> herself, and through e-mails and phone calls is quite friendly with a couple of the</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> SnuggleBundl</span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> team, so she wanted to find them and say hi.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">We found them, and while she chatted, I perused the goods. I admired the funky fabrics, the soft comfort of the materials used, and the basic simplicity of a genius design.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> SnuggleBundl</span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> founder David</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> Solomons</span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> had found the same issue of lifting his baby daughter as a newborn due to his bad back, and his</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> wife’s</span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> difficult</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> labour</span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">, in much the same way I’d struggled, they had. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Here’s what <a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_850172790"></span>SnuggleBundl<span id="goog_850172791"></span></a> have to say about the product:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The SnuggleBundl blanket has many different uses, as you can see here:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The Boy is now too old for me to benefit from and use a SnuggleBundl blanket – but if you’re pregnant or have a newborn, or if you know someone who is, then I honestly believe one of these blankets would make a huge amount of difference. I am definitely aiming at getting one for when Baby #2 is on the way. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">SnuggleBundl have provided a fantastic offer to any fans of Summer Mama. If you simply use the code SUMMERMAMAsentme at the checkout for your SnuggleBundl order, you will receive a 15% discount on your order. What are you waiting for? Now you know all about the SnuggleBundl, the only choice you have is which one (or two, or three …) you want to order!</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Please note I have not received payment for promotion of this item – all views are my own except where specified as SnuggleBundl’s own product points. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please visit <u><span style="color: purple;"><a href="http://www.snugglebundl.co.uk/" target="_blank">SnuggleBundl</a></span></u> for further information / queries or comments about the product.</span></i></div>
</div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-2553314479807549102012-05-31T15:54:00.000+01:002012-05-31T15:54:48.468+01:00It's All So Quiet<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It's been a while since I last posted and I feel really bad about that, because I never intended to be a blogger who left large gaps between posts.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia;">However, sometimes things don't go to plan!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia;">First off, there was a period of time where it seemed that if I wasn't unwell, The Boy was. We must have had about six colds each - every time we both managed to shake it, we'd go and catch another! So during that time I was busy feeling sorry for myself and looking after my snotty little monkey. After that, I decided to commit to writing some blog posts, but my PC chose that point in time to have a serious technological error, and for a while it was touch and go whether or not it would ever be back up and running again. Fortunately The Hubby is very tech savvy in that way, and managed to get it working after a couple of weeks of hard effort finally paid off! When I was finally able to sit down again to write, I was struck by the dreaded writers block ... Not because I had nothing to say at all, simply because I had no products that I'd been reviewing that I had to write and tell you all about.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia;">Moving forward though, I've got a few things up my sleeve ... Coming shortly will be a piece about stair gates and toddler-proofing your house now that The Boy is into everything we've had to totally re-think our home, and there's more to it than you first think! Also we've purchased his first 'big boy' bedding - a cotbed duvet and pillow, since he's almost 2 and I was fed up of the tangle of sheets and blankets I figured it was time. Additional to that I'm working on a piece about our travel cot which we definitely got our moneys worth out of, and also branching out more broadly there's a piece about the death of our freezer and the purchase of the replacement - not something that is exclusive to me having a child, but something that every family uses, so I hope it will prove to be more useful information.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia;">I've also been speaking to the lovely people at Leapfrog and there will be a competition coming soon on the Facebook page which I'm very excited about, and a further blog piece on My Pal Scout which was sent to The Boy to review from Leapfrog a few months back, just so you can see how he's doing now and whether My Pal Scout has lasting value with fickle children whose tastes change overnight!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia;">Ah well, better get writing then! Lots to do, I'm going to take advantage of The Boy having a nap!</span><br />
<br />Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-12844870348986357272012-05-01T17:16:00.001+01:002012-05-01T17:16:14.783+01:00Our Weekend At The Hallmark Hotel, Croydon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Recently, The Hubby, The Boy and I attended a family wedding. It was held down South, near where we used to live, and to make life easier and so we didn’t have to attempt four hours of driving plus leaving the reception early in order to get home at a reasonable hour, we decided to book ourselves into The Hallmark Hotel, Purley Way, Croydon, where the wedding reception was being held. We found a good online site where we got a good deal on two nights at the hotel, and we requested a cot in the room for The Boy.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">We left home later than planned on the Friday evening, and the journey took longer than anticipated, but The Boy slept in his carseat quite contentedly and we arrived at the hotel shortly before </span><time hour="22" minute="0"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">10pm</span></time><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">. We received a lovely welcome from the lady on reception who was polite, friendly and professional, and we were impressed by the hotel which has recently been refurbished. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The lady on reception confirmed that a cot was ready for use in our room, and asked us if we needed any assistance with our luggage which I wasn’t expecting! The Hubby declined as he was quite happy to sort out the luggage himself, and we headed up to the room. Though still fairly early on a Friday night the bar area was quiet, nobody was in the restaurant, and upstairs the corridors were empty and quiet. The lift took us upstairs, and we found our room was at the end of the corridor closest to where the lift was, which was handy given the fact that we would be up and down throughout the weekend to the room with The Boy for nappy changes etc – which was another reason we chose to stay in this particular hotel, as we knew it would make life easier for practical things like nappy changes, clothes changes, naps and providing us with somewhere quiet we could go to if it all became too much for The Boy.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Our room was small but nicely decorated and clean. Not only had a travel cot been set up, including bedding, but a fold-out single bed had been put up and made up at the foot of our double bed. I’m not sure whether the hotel weren’t sure whether the travel cot would be big enough for a 20 month old, or whether they misunderstood the booking and when we’d stated we would have a child with us as well as requesting the cot, I’m not sure whether they thought we meant we’d have a child and a toddler with us and therefore would need a cot and a single bed. Anyway, the presence of the single bed really limited space in the room so once The Hubby had brought up the luggage from the car we folded up the single bed and put it out of the way as it wouldn’t be needed, and it gave us a bit more floor space in the room.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">My first concern about the safety of The Boy in the room was the door. While it had a lock on the inside you could use, this would only prevent someone else accessing the room from outside with a room key – it didn’t stop you opening the door from the inside, and the handle was just the right height for The Boy to reach. Due to this, we had to use the chain on the door when we were in there to ensure The Boy didn’t make a run for it! The TV had Freeview, which was great as first thing in the morning we put on CBeebies to keep The Boy entertained as we got ready.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The bathroom was a good size with sink, toilet and bath, with a shower over the bath, and after the long drive I decided to have a nice bath before going to bed. I discovered when getting in that it was a small size bath, and despite the fact I’m not a particularly tall person it felt a bit cramped and sitting upright my knees were still bent, so it wasn’t the type of bath you could really relax in! As every mum knows, you don’t get any privacy even when you’re in the bathroom, so I had The Boy running in and out (he was far too interested in his new surroundings to go straight to bed) and The Hubby running about after him. The plug wasn’t attached to the chain, so once I’d finished in the bath and tried to remove the plug I soon found that was a problem and it took a while to do! We soon noticed that the sink wasn’t particularly toddler-friendly – it’s a bowl style coming out from the wall, without a pedestal underneath it, and a small silver bin stood in the corner, so The Boy kept leaning down to look at the bin (he’s a real neat freak, and forever finding bits of fluff and carefully placing them in the bins at home, so he was doing the same in the hotel room straight away – he found the empty coffee, sugar and milk packets after our first drink and wanted to put them in the bin for us) So there he was, putting things in the bin, but then he’d stand straight up and into the bottom of the sink! Needless to say this caused lots of tears several times over, as he kept forgetting, and while we did move the bin so he really had no reason to stand under the sink he continued to go to that corner and stand up into the sink, and that became quite annoying very quickly! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">There weren’t a great deal of plug sockets in the room – just enough for what you needed – and they were all positioned fairly high up – a couple over the dressing table, a couple more in the built in wardrobe section and a couple by the kettle, so they were all well out of reach of little fingers, which was great. There was a free standing lamp on the dressing table but it was wired into a switch rather than a plug so that was fine, and the lights either side of the bed were also on switches rather than being plugged in, so while he could reach the switches and spent a lot of time merrily turning them on and off, there was no way he could pull the plug out or anything so it was quite safe. He did pull the drawers out of the bedside tables, and he thought the cubby hole at the bottom of the wardrobe was specially for him to climb in so we couldn’t use it to put anything in as he kept turfing it out for his own purposes,</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">When the light was on in the small entrance hall of the room, The Boy was thoroughly amused by the full length mirror on the back of the door and kept walking up to it and pulling faces at himself, laughing and running away. However when we decided that we wanted to calm things down and get ready to settle down for bed, we turned this light off – and almost immediately The Boy forgot that there was a mirror on a door there, and went belting across the room and the entrance hall at full speed, running headlong into the mirror. Again, more tears (and a big bump on his head) it’s a wonder he didn’t crack the mirror he hit it so hard. Despite the grippy bumps on his sleepsuit feet, he slipped over quite frequently on the laminate floor of the entrance hall and on the tiled floor in the bathroom; more tears, more bumps, and both me and The Hubby worrying that for the wedding photographs The Boy would be black and blue! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The following morning I went for a shower before getting ready, and this was a bit confusing as the shower tap was fitted the wrong way round; when you set it to be hot, it came out freezing cold, and vice versa, so it took me a couple of minutes to get the temperature right before I hopped in the shower and once in there I noticed there were quite a few cracked tiles around the bath and shower too. I’m not saying I expected five star luxury, but I was a bit disappointed about these minor things as it isn’t what you expect when you book a hotel room in a place that has just been refurbished and looks as good as The Hallmark does look on their website.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Once we were ready we headed off to church for the ceremony, which was at </span><time hour="14" minute="0"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">2pm</span></time><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">. We’d tried to get The Boy to eat plenty during the morning but he wasn’t interested, so by the time we got to the church he was fussing for something to eat. Luckily my mum was on hand with a packet of breakfast biscuits for him to munch on, and the groom assured me that the hotel had been made aware of the provisions required for all the young children present – a high chair had been arranged for The Boy to use, and the children would be served their meal first, as the waiters brought the starters out to the rest of us.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Back at the hotel, we spent a long time mingling in the reception area with the other guests as the photographer took some more photos in an area in the suite where the reception was held that had been set up specifically for photographs. We got back to the hotel around four, and had taken The Boy straight upstairs for a nappy change, but by five he was creating a fuss as he’d refused breakfast and only had a packet of breakfast biscuits and some fruit as his lunch, and the staff assured me that dinner would be served soon and confirmed the children would be served their meals first.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">When we did go into the Amy Johnson suite for the reception I knew where our table was positioned in relation to the top table, and straight away noticed the high chair in place for The Boy. I was pleased about that as it meant I didn’t have to fuss about asking someone for a high chair, then setting it up etc, but I was disappointed to find that it was stained on the tray from previous occupants and that the harness was broken so I couldn’t harness him in properly. Anyone with a toddler knows that you can’t risk not harnessing them in, as they’ll do their best to escape, so we used our own walking reins to put on the boy and secure him into the highchair – so it’s just as well we had them with us.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Waiters started emerging from the kitchen with the starters. The Boy started flapping with excitement as he realised food was coming – but then nobody came over with his meal. More and more waiters came out and served the adults with their starters, but still the children’s meals were nowhere to be seen and The Boy became increasingly frustrated that everyone else had started eating and he hadn’t got anything. The Hubby and I tried to get him to try our starters, but he wasn’t interested so he continued moaning, crying and banging on the tray of the highchair. The head waiter kept checking everyone was OK and that the food was OK and I asked him if we could hurry up with serving the kids meals as it was very difficult to keep The Boy calm and entertained as he was hungry and annoyed that everyone else was eating before him, and he rushed off to the kitchen so I thought within a couple of moments the children’s meals would be served. Instead it was another full ten minutes later that chicken nuggets, chips and beans were served for the children; by which point The Boy was creating a hell of a fuss, and I was becoming very annoyed as the staff seemed oblivious to the fact that if only they’d sort out his food he’d be happy, and they continued to serve starters, water and wine as if they had all the time in the world. When the food did emerge for the children the waiter put the plate on the table which was great, but then it was obviously just out of the oven as it was boiling hot and no way could we give any of it to The Boy straight away. Of course this frustrated him more; he could now <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">see</i> his food and as far as he was concerned we were just being mean by not allowing him to have it straight away. More bashing of the highchair tray, stamping of his feet, screaming and crying ensued as we desperately tried to cool the food down quickly so that he could eat. The plates from the adults starters were removed and there was a very long gap between this and the main course being brought out, during which we tried to give The Boy some food and keep him happy but by this point he was pissed off and over tired (he usually naps between three and five, and he hadn’t done, so he was very grumpy and the delay over dinner really hadn’t helped matters either) By the time the main course was served, The Boy’d had enough of his meal, though he hadn’t had much he’d lost interest, so then we faced the issue of trying to keep him entertained while everyone ate their main course. We had Scout with us to play with but he was being a real grump and wasn’t in the mood for that, and we had a small wooden train with us that kept him amused for a while, but then he started throwing pieces around as he decided it was more entertaining to watch us scrabble on the floor collecting up small wooden train carriages and animals.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Dessert wasn’t served until almost </span><time hour="6" minute="30"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">six thirty</span></time><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">, again a long delay between the main course being cleared away and the dessert coming out. For the kids, there was ice cream, which The Boy was pretty pleased about and ate a fair bit of it, but by this point he’d been in the highchair for ages and he was annoyed about that and wanted to be free. People finished their dessert and started getting up and sitting at other tables to mingle for a while, and we got him out of the highchair but kept him on the reins in order to keep a close hand on him; in a room full of strangers, a door constantly opening and shutting into the hotel kitchen and another door standing open that lead out to the suite bar area and a million places The Boy could hide in, we decided this was the safest option. Throughout the speeches I was loitering around the back of the suite with The Boy on his reins and the other children playing, which meant I pretty much missed all of the speeches but I just wanted to ensure The Boy wouldn’t kick up a fuss and start screaming and crying right next to the guy videoing the event!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">After cutting the cake and more photographs, the DJ started up with the first song, throughout which I kept The Boy on his reins much to his disgust, after that I decided to take the reins off and let him run about. This meant The Hubby and I were running around like mad things after him, and soon my mum joined in, as well as my cousin and the best man, all trying to keep The Boy safe and entertained. Every time the door was left open to the area behind the bar, The Boy was running in there and trying to touch bottles of alcohol, the fridges, the glasses etc, and the staff running about behind the bar almost falling over him, it was dangerous and I kept closing the door to stop him getting in there, but the staff kept opening it to come in and go out and leaving it open, so a few minutes later the same thing would happen again.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">By eight thirty The Hubby and I were exhausted by running round after The Boy, so I suggested that The Hubby went to our room with him to see if he would settle down to sleep – since he hadn’t had a nap all day and it had been such an exciting day I was hoping he’d go to sleep easily and sleep well throughout the night – especially adding on top of that the fact that he’d not settled on the Friday night until almost 2am on Saturday morning! So The Hubby disappeared upstairs with him, and I could finally relax a bit!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I went upstairs a couple of hours later, and found The Boy asleep – still in his clothes, but that didn’t matter, he’d climbed onto the bed to lie with his daddy and have his milk and fallen asleep there, so The Hubby had just put him into the travel cot and not worried about getting him into his sleepsuit. We took the rest of the night in turns; one of us staying in the room with The Boy while the other enjoyed some time at the reception party which was in full swing downstairs.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">So it happened that I was in the hotel room watching TV when The Boy woke up. So much for sleeping through! Wide awake, he was jumping up and down in the travel cot and creating a fuss, so I let him out and we had a naughty late night snack since he was so interested in the little packets of biscuits the hotel supplied to go with the tea and coffee. The Hubby returned to us around twelve thirty, by which point he said everyone had gone home and the party had finished, so we gave The Boy a while to run around in the room before getting his nappy changed and putting him into his sleepsuit and giving him some milk. That seemed like the magic answer, and by </span><time hour="1" minute="30"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">one thirty</span></time><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> he was sound asleep in the cot and The Hubby and I crashed out ourselves. It had been a long and exhausting day and we were desperate for sleep, but unfortunately once again didn’t sleep particularly well; The Hubby was up at eight in the morning, dressed and reading by the time room service arrived just before nine with our breakfast tray. When they arrived, The Boy woke up, so the three of us sat on the double bed and ate our fill of cooked breakfast, toast, fruit, yoghurt and cereal, all of which was superb and just what I needed to start me off for the day.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Another shower later, I found The Hubby had done most of the packing by the time I emerged from the bathroom. After I dressed we took it in turns to go downstairs for a cigarette, bumping into the bride and groom eating their breakfast downstairs. We were packed and ready to go by </span><time hour="10" minute="40"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">ten forty</span></time><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">, which was great as the room had to be vacated by eleven, but then in the reception area we had a problem keeping The Boy happy as we queued behind others to check out. In the car park I was thoroughly annoyed to find some idiot had parked their car at an angle with the back end right up next to the door we needed to open in order to get The Boy into his carseat. I had to pull the car out of the space in order for The Hubby to have enough room to open the door and get The Boy in. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">All in all it wasn’t a relaxing weekend but it was a thoroughly enjoyable one, and The Hallmark Hotel didn’t do a bad job, but I would have liked to see some more effort made toward the children that attended the wedding (The Boy was the youngest of about ten children there) Getting the kids dinner out quickly and ensuring doors were shut would have made things a lot easier for everyone. I appreciate The Hallmark isn’t particularly geared toward being a ‘family’ hotel, but at the same time they made excellent provisions in as much as the travel cot being ready in our room, and though the highchair wasn’t in very good condition at least they were able to supply one, as some places may not have done. Also a couple of parking spaces marked out for people with children to prevent cars parking ridiculously close so we couldn’t get our child into the carseat would be beneficial, though again this probably won’t happen as it isn’t a concern for the majority of guests at this hotel.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I’d give the hotel three out of five, because the staff were friendly and an effort had been made, but to my mind more of an effort could be made and the basic issues like the shower controls being the wrong way round was just a simple thing that should have been noted and rectified long before now.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuI5vVEbj1rZwEm25SFYFp15cmhYK4Fj6m8ljm0M45jNjdT6GUSbVIeSeyNjI3o6y-7kFG0QiJKt1CR8xxvpUU3jZdrvGiZI5rxZVsRHQ65T7z_coTYJfDmjjgDeAz77SKpXpCZeSC05s/s1600/three-out-of-five-stars.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="65" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuI5vVEbj1rZwEm25SFYFp15cmhYK4Fj6m8ljm0M45jNjdT6GUSbVIeSeyNjI3o6y-7kFG0QiJKt1CR8xxvpUU3jZdrvGiZI5rxZVsRHQ65T7z_coTYJfDmjjgDeAz77SKpXpCZeSC05s/s320/three-out-of-five-stars.gif" width="320" /></a></div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-10056100839341811622012-04-04T15:59:00.000+01:002012-04-04T15:59:54.334+01:00My Pal Scout - More Than Just a Cuddly Toy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95IKYG5MJ35gilrHjdJHbczoLxRcESQmOEiB3TWSqvJYAmRjN15RURxXf-LTqPxCdvhUAfrjRUGdCCvgirF9BK9y5c-L181_IRXUZJKmH3XLKWpY1pf6MloQCULNW5eHMWeP0L2E8TPs/s1600/LeapFrogLogo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95IKYG5MJ35gilrHjdJHbczoLxRcESQmOEiB3TWSqvJYAmRjN15RURxXf-LTqPxCdvhUAfrjRUGdCCvgirF9BK9y5c-L181_IRXUZJKmH3XLKWpY1pf6MloQCULNW5eHMWeP0L2E8TPs/s1600/LeapFrogLogo.JPG" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Before The Boy was born, all throughout my pregnancy, I was adamant that he wouldn’t be one of those children whose bedrooms were swamped with a variety of cuddly toys or whose cot was overfilled with stuffed animals. I purchased him four cuddly toys from Sainsburys because they went well with the colours in the nursery, he had the tag blanket and the teddy bear that went with the “Please Look After Me” nursery range from Mothercare that we used in the nursery and my work colleagues brought me the mobile to match the range, which had dangling teddy bears on it. As far as I was concerned, that was enough. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">In the last couple of weeks before his birth, suddenly we received an abundance of gifts from people, most of which were cuddly toys. We ended up with a giant Rupert Bear and an equal size black bear with red ribbon from a friend at work: An enormous Eeyore that is about the same size as our Boy Dog from my MIL: a variety of knitted things from MIL and more teddies and cuddly toys then arrived after his birth in a variety of shades from baby blue right through to navy, all of which had been lovingly picked out by people but none of which I particularly wanted to give space to!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">However, by that point I was willing to admit that the reason most children end up with such an abundance of cuddly toys was not because their parents had been obsessively buying everything they could find, but due to the kind nature of family and friends who see these cute things and buy them with your baby in mind – and to be fair, you can’t moan at them for that, can you. So I smiled graciously with every new addition and they were all arranged in and around the cot/bed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">It wasn’t an issue when he was really tiny – he slept in the Moses basket in our room, so it didn’t matter that the cot was practically full up of soft toys. When he did transfer into the cot he was almost four months old so the excessive amount of toys didn’t hinder the amount of space he had, as he didn’t need a lot and he wasn’t moving about much so it wasn’t a concern. As time went on though, he moved about and needed more space, and the toys had virtually taken over. I’d go into his room when he awoke and find the toys littered over the floor where he’d thrown them out – or else he’d be hidden under a pile of them, which worried me, as I was concerned if that happened while he was asleep he could suffocate. So I purchase a big plastic toy box and shoved the cuddly toys into it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">A few remained in the cot – his favourites. This way he has something to snuggle into, because since he could move around the cot he’s been very fond of using a cuddly toy to snuggle with, normally the softest, plushest one he could find, and he’d fall asleep sucking his thumb, the other arm wrapped tightly around the toy keeping it pinned to his cheek and his fingers rubbing the soft fur. I was happy to leave a couple in the cot, and after a while packed some of the bigger ones away in the spare bedroom wardrobe (they just took up too much room, and he’s never been interested in playing with them).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">With the lullaby function available on My Pal Scout, I decided immediately to try it, which meant putting it in the cot with The Boy, and I wasn’t sure how he’d feel about that – other toys I thought he’d like in there that he didn’t he quickly throws over the sides, and some I didn’t think he liked that much and packed into the toy box he rescues the next time he is able to and throws them into the cot, so the first day we had Scout and The Boy went for a nap, I put Scout in the cot with his lullaby setting on for 10 minutes, and waited to see what would happen. After waking from his nap and crying for me, I went into his room and found The Boy still cuddling Scout and having pressed the buttons was merrily chatting away to the plush green puppy. Within a few hours of being in the household, Scout had already been promoted to a cot toy, an acclaimed position that not all get to! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">That night at bedtime I did the same thing, and the following morning rather than The Boy crying when he woke up and waking me up, I was awoken to the much nicer noise of The Boy giggling. When I checked the monitor I saw that while he was awake, he was quite content, cuddled up with Scout pressing buttons and chatting away. He stayed like that for a good ten or fifteen minutes, giving me time to wake up properly before launching out of bed, as is the usual start to my day.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Since then, Scout has been with The Boy at all times, and I do mean all times; he’ll dash out of a room, then come to a halt, spin around and run back, grab Scout and then continue to where he was originally headed. Scout has been sitting at the highchair with The Boy for mealtimes, and for each mouthful The Boy has, Scout gets one, too, as well as a drink, and when we’re changing The Boy’s nappy we put Scout at the end of the changing table and play the daytime songs that I sing along to. He’s also been introduced to all the other cuddly toys, and when it was time to pack away The Boy was very careful to put Scout in the rocking chair while he put the others back in the toy box!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The Boy has always been very keen on music – when I was pregnant and listening to music he’d be wriggling about, and after his birth was no different; from a young age he has been the sort of child to listen to the start of a song very carefully to decide if he thinks he’ll like it or not, and if not he shakes his head and if he does he’ll dance. He loves ‘Show Me, Show Me’ on CBeebies when they practise their groovy moves and dance to music, and he’ll always join in – the same applies to the opening music of certain programs, and he’ll always dance if I put music on the radio or a music show on TV. In the car once he’s in the carseat and the radio comes on he’ll clap his hands, waggle his feet and wiggle about in the carseat like he’s dancing. Having music on Scout only serves to encourage his dancing, and he’ll start as soon as the music does, laughing and clapping as he’s doing so, which is a joy to see.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I think it says a lot for Scout that he has already been chosen by The Boy as one of the clear favourite toys … He will be joining us for our epic weekend away this weekend, though I’ll have to keep a very close eye on him I’m hoping that as he serves to entertain The Boy so well and The Boy is so keen on him that the two of them should be side by side on a constant basis, but just in case I am going to put his name on Scout’s label! We learned the hard way with the loss of his favourite <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ever</i> cuddly toy a few months ago – he went out with it attached to a Toy Tie on the pushchair, and when he returned it was gone. The Hubby and I searched the town for two solid hours for it to no avail, I even made up ‘Missing’ posters and put them through shop letterboxes and handed them out to people with my contact details on it, and we heard nothing. Luckily for us on that occasion my good friend <a href="http://bigmilkthing.wordpress.com/">Mummy, Not Big Milk Thing</a> found an identical cuddly toy on E-Bay that was delivered within a couple of days which averted what could otherwise have been a major disaster! But for that reason I will keep a very close eye on Scout while we’re away this weekend.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The Hubby had a look at Scout for the first time properly last night and came to the conclusion that “it’s pretty good really” – trust him to be understated! I will be recommending Scout and Violet to all my friends with suitable age children as I can see how attached The Boy has got so quickly and I think that shows a good toy that has been well produced with kids’ interests in mind. The Boy and Scout really have become best pals just like Scout’s song says!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-41038588698946324182012-04-03T16:52:00.000+01:002012-04-03T16:52:13.604+01:00Product Review: My Pal Scout - First Impressions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95IKYG5MJ35gilrHjdJHbczoLxRcESQmOEiB3TWSqvJYAmRjN15RURxXf-LTqPxCdvhUAfrjRUGdCCvgirF9BK9y5c-L181_IRXUZJKmH3XLKWpY1pf6MloQCULNW5eHMWeP0L2E8TPs/s1600/LeapFrogLogo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh95IKYG5MJ35gilrHjdJHbczoLxRcESQmOEiB3TWSqvJYAmRjN15RURxXf-LTqPxCdvhUAfrjRUGdCCvgirF9BK9y5c-L181_IRXUZJKmH3XLKWpY1pf6MloQCULNW5eHMWeP0L2E8TPs/s200/LeapFrogLogo.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I was very excited to finally receive my parcel from <a href="http://www.leapfrog.com/en_gb/new_home.html">Leapfrog</a> yesterday morning. The courier arrived shortly before eleven, and I hurried to rip open the paper and confirm that <a href="http://www.leapfrog.com/en_gb/families/scout_/my_pals/my_pal_scout.html">My Pal Scout</a> had safely arrived with us. I make it a rule not to open parcels in front of The Boy on the off chance that something is wrong and I have to send it back – I learned from the mistake of a good friend who brought her son a scooter at The Baby Show, when we got back to her house she told her three year old that she’d got him a scooter, showed him the box, he was thoroughly excited and then when the box was opened it was a pink scooter instead of the green one she’d thought she’d purchased! Of course by then her son was far too excited to not play with the scooter, so the pink one got used and then she couldn’t send it back for an exchange. Remembering this tale of woe, I stayed in the kitchen to unwrap Scout.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">My Pal Scout is a plush green puppy (<a href="http://www.leapfrog.com/en_gb/families/scout_/my_pals/my_pal_violet.html">My Pal Violet</a> is the purple version) To begin with, I like that Leapfrog have chosen green and purple as the colours, rather than the standard blue and pink options. Scout is suitable from six months to three years, with an RRP of £19.99. Scout comes with his own USB lead to plug him into your computer and personalise him specifically for your child, and the information you use is then used in Scout’s songs and in what he says to the child.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHVTZauAflEtB_ioVvMXVObe2Rgapw-IvtNIzniRxm5V0mdO7s_oQQgi998ux50aqu3uBDYdW-Idjlbu5Y1yPLPofRJ0RGJqX3g40n9yC3b0frW3bRtVBJ8M0RHSxMJ25CiP1oWHIc_To/s1600/scoutandviolet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHVTZauAflEtB_ioVvMXVObe2Rgapw-IvtNIzniRxm5V0mdO7s_oQQgi998ux50aqu3uBDYdW-Idjlbu5Y1yPLPofRJ0RGJqX3g40n9yC3b0frW3bRtVBJ8M0RHSxMJ25CiP1oWHIc_To/s1600/scoutandviolet.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Immediately on arrival, Scout (and Violet) requires plugging into the computer for this, so if you get this as a gift I highly recommend taking it out of the packaging and doing this before the child sees it. Unfortunately where my computer is positioned The Boy can clearly see it from the front room, so as soon as I had Scout out of the box and was getting ready to plug him in, The Boy laid eyes on it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Well, I wish I’d had the camera in my hand at that moment! The Boy’s eyes literally lit up, he gasped and smiled, stamped his feet and held both hands out reaching for Scout! He’s seen one before, a friend of his has one, and he’s always been fascinated by it whenever we’ve been to their house, so he knew the idea of Scout and couldn’t wait to get his hands on it! He had to wait, though, and that was quite difficult!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">To begin with, you have to download the Leapfrog Connect Application if you’ve not already got any Leapfrog toys that require it. Depending on your system and your internet speed, downloading and applying this software varies in the time it takes to do, unfortunately for me it took a long time – half an hour of downloading software later I then faced a further forty minutes to install and begin running the software. By that point The Boy had thrown a fit about not being allowed to have Scout right away and lost interest, having wandered off to play with something else.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Once it was ready to go, I plugged in the USB cable to my PC and the other end into the box on Scout, and it registered the connection and asked for the name of the child that owns this product. Once you’ve done that you go ahead and set up the rest of the personalisation. The first screen brings up a range of names that closest match what you’ve typed in, and you go through these to get the correct pronunciation of your child’s name. Then you enter the birth month and year, and the developmental stage of the child. After that, you have to really start thinking, because it asks for the child’s favourite food, favourite animal, and favourite colour! A lot of thought has obviously gone into this part as there was a huge variety of things to choose from. I decided on cake being the favourite food as The Boy is very partial to a bit of cake (just like The Hubby!) and dog as his favourite animal purely based on how much he adores our Hairy Hounds of Hell and how excited he gets when we’re out if he sees a dog. For his favourite colour, I was stumped; he’s never shown preference to a particular colour before, how on earth should I pick? In the end I randomly selected blue! Finally you choose five daytime songs and five lullaby songs – again, this is from a very long list, so make sure you’ve got some time to sit and go through this properly! I chose daytime songs that were bouncy, funky and familiar – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ABC, Babaloo, Down In </i></span><country-region><place><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Jamaica</span></i></place></country-region><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">, She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain </span></i><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Treasure.</i> For the lullabies I chose calming, peaceful tunes - Beethoven<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Pastoral, Brahms Lullaby, Gentle, Peace </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. </i>Once I’d done that and all the changes had been saved to Scout, we were ready to go …</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmy56ygLrgK9aMDE6qhvjKGBvgylvrcK7Bm9WwuwJTjKmLRrNKuqHnibZVOvAwpOq5QV4WNPcVr-yKwhQvS3x5odfOmx9RZqZK3P46wVo4Wrjfe5BToEq5E-S2_WlFk24_EgBDvHqilWc/s1600/My+Pal+Scout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmy56ygLrgK9aMDE6qhvjKGBvgylvrcK7Bm9WwuwJTjKmLRrNKuqHnibZVOvAwpOq5QV4WNPcVr-yKwhQvS3x5odfOmx9RZqZK3P46wVo4Wrjfe5BToEq5E-S2_WlFk24_EgBDvHqilWc/s1600/My+Pal+Scout.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Scout has a patch on each of his four paws. There is a pink bouncing ball patch to mark the ‘activities’ paw; a green music note for the ‘daytime songs’ paw; a blue moon and stars for the lullabies paw and a red on/off paw. Scout’s songs include a song about the child, where Scout spells the child’s name; a song about the favourite things you’ve selected (so we end up singing a song about wanting a blue dog that eats cake!) There’s a lovely song ‘Me And My Pal (child’s name)’ which never fails to bring a smile to The Boy. The voice of Scout is perfect in my opinion – clear, English speaking, gentle and childlike, it sounds friendly and encourages the child to think about responding by asking questions of the child, such as “My favourite colour is *colour* - Is that your favourite colour, too?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Scout is a friendly puppy who likes to ask for cuddles, which The Boy is very obliging about and more than happy to provide! Scout is so brightly coloured, soft and well made that it is a gorgeous addition to any child’s toy collection, with the added bonus of being so interactive. One thing I absolutely love is that Scout’s lullaby button can be pressed once for two minutes of songs, twice for five minutes, or three times for ten minutes of lullabies. This feature is fantastic, and when he went for a nap yesterday and today and when he went to sleep last night, I set Scout to play lullabies for ten minutes and each time The Boy has cuddled up with his new friend and been asleep by the end of the ten minutes.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I will continue to write more about Scout as time goes on, but my first impressions of this product are very good and I wish I’d got a Scout for The Boy months ago. As it is advertised as suitable from six months, by the time The Boy was a year old I worried that Scout would be a bit babyish – after all, some of the stuff he has is meant to be from 6-36 months and he wasn’t interested by the time he was a year old, so I was a bit dubious, but you get out of Scout what you put in, and as the developmental stage can be changed Scout grows with your child, preventing it from being too babyish too quickly. He is already very taken with Scout, and since it arrived and I finished personalising it The Boy has had Scout by his side. I highly recommend this product for anyone with a young child not only for educational but also for entertainment, I can see Scout coming on a lot of adventures with us in the future!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Pros:</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Suitable from 6-36 months – Can change developmental stage as child learns and keep track of their learning with the Leapfrog Learning Path (online)</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Can be used alongside a variety of other Leapfrog products to continue encouraging your child to learn</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Brightly coloured, well made plush toy – so much more than just a cuddly toy, but still nice for little people to cuddle</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Very good value for money. USB lead included and nice clear instructions on how to set up.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Cons:</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Took a while for me to download software and install</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">USB lead very short – my computer tower is floor level so this means poor Scout has to sit on the floor while he’s plugged in, so I had to put him in a plastic bag to stop him getting hairy and stop the Hairy Hounds running off with him!</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The box that contains the information is a very tight squeeze to get into Scout once you've finished personalising it and want to give it to the child - it took me a while to wedge it in the gap and do up the velcro over it.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Not sure how easy it would be to personalise it for a six month old baby!</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Every time Scout says The Boy’s name he smiles and claps and is utterly delighted; he seems captivated by this perky puppy, and the fact that it combines some of his favourite things together (technology, a dog, and a blue light flashing in the ‘Scout’ name tag) makes him like it even more. I think we have a new favourite toy in our household! Yay for Leapfrog and yay for Scout!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjSHWbaAfBMdR2hM2l2qxe6SWXJQXtwMlHXidt7tOdHm3k2efXnDPw7kY98Yp6fcDbk30SWhdARUugrCsqBp_hjtllPto0FH49vguBGAe9NAY072fo6L2PkfKQfxnlUqdgf7vF47c2ZQ/s1600/fourandahalfstars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjSHWbaAfBMdR2hM2l2qxe6SWXJQXtwMlHXidt7tOdHm3k2efXnDPw7kY98Yp6fcDbk30SWhdARUugrCsqBp_hjtllPto0FH49vguBGAe9NAY072fo6L2PkfKQfxnlUqdgf7vF47c2ZQ/s320/fourandahalfstars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-51959206087808025862012-03-31T19:00:00.000+01:002012-03-31T19:00:12.890+01:00Product Review: Quinny Bag<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzuqLIwxkg2M_Jqx226F5AzFYD9IYnpsPT-g-UF7LBGu80Xj-rAY4WjuHoiqbZf0QtA0_90ftMs2R0R7U6PppUKdwKJK5FGlxrA7779Z-5pOwRLNl9mC5JFzMCS17ebhihBMk_xVOF7s/s1600/QUINNY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzuqLIwxkg2M_Jqx226F5AzFYD9IYnpsPT-g-UF7LBGu80Xj-rAY4WjuHoiqbZf0QtA0_90ftMs2R0R7U6PppUKdwKJK5FGlxrA7779Z-5pOwRLNl9mC5JFzMCS17ebhihBMk_xVOF7s/s320/QUINNY.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I am not the type of woman who has an excessively large number of bags or shoes; I’m not a particular fan of shopping for things like that, I don’t actively seek out particular brand labels or desire the latest celebrity craze. I’m happy with practical and functional, and for this reason for some time I have used a £15 rucksack from </span><city><place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Argos</span></place></city><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> as the nappy bag for The Boy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">When I purchased the <a href="http://summermama2010.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/i-love-my-maxi-cosi-mura-3.html">travel system</a> prior to his birth, I opted to have the Maxi Cosi bag that was available at the time to ‘match’ the <a href="http://www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/products/strollers/strollers/mura.aspx">Mura</a>. (This has now been replaced by the <a href="http://www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/products/accessories/flexi-bag.aspx">Flexi-Bag</a> to go with all the Maxi Cosi range). Unfortunately despite it seeming quite promising – it comes with a changing mat, it has insulated pockets at either end, a pocket in the back with a tag for your keys to be attached to and a pocket inside – I never found it was quite big enough.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The bag itself is made of tough canvas fabric, and while practical this offers no ‘give’ so when trying to cram in a change of clothes, nappies and nappy changing necessities, bottle of milk and beaker of water, etc etc etc, I simply found there wasn’t enough space. When I attempted to streamline my nappy bag by removing the change of clothes, I always found I needed them and a day out was cut short by a nappy leakage drama, wet clothes, and us returning home quickly to change The Boy; Likewise if I ever dared step out the house with only one spare nappy, The Boy would require two changes within the first hour out of the house, and we’d be forced to return home or buy more nappies while out. The pockets were so tight on space that my house keys (three house keys and one keyring) wouldn’t fit in the gap and I certainly couldn’t get my purse in there along with the stuff for The Boy, which meant carrying about a handbag for myself as well as the nappy bag for The Boy, which doesn’t suit me at all! I’m by far a ‘less is more’ person!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">During my pregnancy, a friend had got me a Bebe Confort changing bag – she is a huge fan after having the Loola travel system for her first born, and she’d got it with the bag and found the bag invaluable. It has a more rounded appearance, with a removable insulated bottle cover, a changing mat, handy pockets and even an additional space you can unzip to make the bag deeper in appearance, which is another little separate space ideal for storing snacks if you’re out. However, while I got along well with the removable insulated bottle cover, which I used constantly and still do even now, I found the bag itself still not quite satisfying my needs. Add to this neither bag sat particularly well on the Mura pushchair itself (especially when using with the carrycot or the seat unit in parent facing position) I looked around for alternatives.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Staring me in the face was the perfect practical solution – a rucksack. Plain black, it was designed with a net pocket on one side (perfect for holding a beaker of water or a bottle of milk in the insulated pocket from the Bebe Confort bag) a mobile phone pocket on one strap (so that it would be against your chest if you were wearing the bag, but as I hung it over the handlebar of the Mura this pocket was by my hand as I held the handlebar) The front pocket provided ample storage space for all changing necessities, including little elasticated pockets meant for pens that I used to store water free hand sanitiser and sun cream – a separate plastic front zipper section in this front pocket was perfect for storing wet wipes and Bepanthen wipes (invaluable if your small person ever suffers nappy rash, so much easier to deal with when you’re out than the cream itself) The main part of the rucksack was separated into two parts – the back section I used for a change of clothes for The Boy, sun hat, fleece, blanket and sun glasses, the front section I used for my purse, camera and his lunch bag as we never go anywhere without a selection of snacks!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">For months, I have got along fine with this arrangement. However a little while ago I noticed the changing bags launched by Quinny …</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUj3MQ-rCtoIOLcJB_C-ocg5f8RI84P1WBWi8UkTy9Grog4fu3_zzk2mU86nOwcnhOfqMG9Pnq6_jtUL7J3Y5JVBsSl1xcimJguTySKbQd8zDfSSkN8gHedRQNnpDpPT2LI_GtsKgP4E/s1600/quinnybags.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVUj3MQ-rCtoIOLcJB_C-ocg5f8RI84P1WBWi8UkTy9Grog4fu3_zzk2mU86nOwcnhOfqMG9Pnq6_jtUL7J3Y5JVBsSl1xcimJguTySKbQd8zDfSSkN8gHedRQNnpDpPT2LI_GtsKgP4E/s320/quinnybags.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">L-R - Light Sand, Shadow Grey, Round Black and Square Black</span></em></td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Hailed as luxurious, beautiful, practical and functional, I adored them from the first time I saw them. The special added touches really appealed to me – the lining of the bag is the purple Quinny logo on silky feel fabric, the zippers are chunky trendy O shapes with the Quinny ‘Walk Your Way’ slogan printed around them and I liked that they were suitable to use as a combination handbag and nappy bag, since this is something I feel comfortable with. Here’s what Quinny themselves have to say about the bags …</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidxVWOev-B-5_csXaJ8jmHOelSWgkHvx15n363g9aO2VOcbKhdlcm41_BiqddHj88i-Qc3-xQ_myIitfzRnqNLVS-9qWmR01rluzPDiu2NDcQRD_e9jmZ02JfGpuyRe_6XhddvAJe9CWY/s1600/quinnybagfeaturestrendyfinish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidxVWOev-B-5_csXaJ8jmHOelSWgkHvx15n363g9aO2VOcbKhdlcm41_BiqddHj88i-Qc3-xQ_myIitfzRnqNLVS-9qWmR01rluzPDiu2NDcQRD_e9jmZ02JfGpuyRe_6XhddvAJe9CWY/s400/quinnybagfeaturestrendyfinish.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">After working myself into a salivating frenzy over these utterly gorgeous bags I then had to stop myself clicking ‘Buy Now’ when I realised the RRP - £80. Gulp. These bags are not for the end of the account balance that I tend to play in! I continued to covet but carried on with my rucksack, not entirely convinced my life would be complete without a Quinny bag but not able to do much about it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Mother’s Day on March 19<sup>th</sup> this year I received a Number 1 Mum keyring from The Boy and a handmade card. I was happy, he was happy (or should that be oblivious?) I thought no more of it until I got home the other night and The Hubby was looking rather pleased. He announced my Mother’s Day present had finally arrived, and when I was flummoxed he explained that he’d ordered it before Mother’s Day but it had been out of stock til a couple of days later. It had arrived while he’d been at home, and he proudly presented it to me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Inside the package was a gorgeous Quinny Square Bag …</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8m03quk2T4opRp7w1i9TWTpIvUdvPD55HdnMk_9fgKQmICzlLdvic6Qw-iODzNqh5Xl7I-kJ6tZE_HZrGVXffNW6nblXPumC1vH5By_G_zM9Q0OQ21d67axQG0CUHRV08zXQ4UULLsOo/s1600/quinny-square-changing-bag-black.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8m03quk2T4opRp7w1i9TWTpIvUdvPD55HdnMk_9fgKQmICzlLdvic6Qw-iODzNqh5Xl7I-kJ6tZE_HZrGVXffNW6nblXPumC1vH5By_G_zM9Q0OQ21d67axQG0CUHRV08zXQ4UULLsOo/s320/quinny-square-changing-bag-black.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">It has a pocket inside each end which is insulated for storing bottles or drinks: There are plenty of spacious pockets inside, even a removable pacifier pocket has been included, and the bag feels well made and durable – it looks and feels like a proper quality product. I loaded it up with all the nappy bag items – and there is plenty of room for everything! (Including my purse, camera, keys and mobile phone!) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">There are even poppers on the adjustable shoulder strap …</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOscej2MBfjxYELE95RqVDfYl7-aN8SGVVhdbh9FN-8dm6XQVAP_RvXKjHSzl8CUzk3VMLPBZmMHTNqbhep101SYQJOs20cyNfXvElF_L8WjXoxecEMNGCnmH0uL2a1-XS0UaqfDSMqOI/s1600/100_8949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOscej2MBfjxYELE95RqVDfYl7-aN8SGVVhdbh9FN-8dm6XQVAP_RvXKjHSzl8CUzk3VMLPBZmMHTNqbhep101SYQJOs20cyNfXvElF_L8WjXoxecEMNGCnmH0uL2a1-XS0UaqfDSMqOI/s320/100_8949.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">So that you can attach the bag to your pushchair chassis by making a loop using the poppers …</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2fy5qgIYQVTK5XSy4-yrnzcdDhM12zbOBS45a2M1zUcUu0cUF5hvd0SsPkomLeylLliEHdUxkl3CTuk7vgzeCSdC_v97AAozgBgLTyI8L72zF2J1iDwmR3z3GFmXOH8sJAOph47FrpYs/s1600/100_8950.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2fy5qgIYQVTK5XSy4-yrnzcdDhM12zbOBS45a2M1zUcUu0cUF5hvd0SsPkomLeylLliEHdUxkl3CTuk7vgzeCSdC_v97AAozgBgLTyI8L72zF2J1iDwmR3z3GFmXOH8sJAOph47FrpYs/s320/100_8950.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Now the official line is that Quinny don’t recommend you hang anything from the handlebar of the chassis – fear of tipping, etc etc – but they obviously know every mum does hang stuff from the handlebars and nine times out of ten it is the nappy bag. What I’ve found great is that this simple way of attaching it onto a Quinny chassis means that I can fit it nicely onto my Mura chassis and it slides into position directly behind the seat unit (Now The Boy is world facing it isn’t a problem – in parent facing mode this would mean the bag is in his lap!) The weight of the bag in this position is directly above the large back wheels, so the chassis isn’t being weighted in an unfamiliar or unstable way, and it remains perfectly stable at all times with the bag attached. The bag is at the right level for me to not hit my knees as I’m walking, to reach it without stooping down too low and reach it easily enough that I’m not scrabbling about for ages in a shop trying to get my purse out.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I love my new bag, and it’s so beautiful I will be able to take it to the wedding and it won’t look awful next to our posh wedding clothes!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zeJuSBCHVCbzgtp0XLNsOkViWPjeVQ7vRD6VzJG76WmBSbapT7KZGDVIJjRVdRc6cwyJIZ1ScdsUgVi99CTfrXR-u2NbEgJE-NWDkYUhsrDIZ8hd4fG5xQR4wazhaM5TKwU0gnUa6xw/s1600/prod_000000_qbag_squareblack_zoom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zeJuSBCHVCbzgtp0XLNsOkViWPjeVQ7vRD6VzJG76WmBSbapT7KZGDVIJjRVdRc6cwyJIZ1ScdsUgVi99CTfrXR-u2NbEgJE-NWDkYUhsrDIZ8hd4fG5xQR4wazhaM5TKwU0gnUa6xw/s320/prod_000000_qbag_squareblack_zoom.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I have discovered two down-sides to this bag though. The first one is that the poppers don’t seem to click together if you’re trying to do it quickly or not quite the right way – you have to be very exact and they click together – otherwise they pop undone and the nappy bag falls like it did twice to me the first day I took it out! The second down-side is that the circular shapes on the zipper to hold the funky Quinny keyring zip-tag in place doesn’t seem to have been closed very well – the one from the main part of my bag has already come off and been lost while we were out on our travels, and the one from the pocket came off when I undid the pocket the other day, so I put that one back on and have a keyring to use for the other zip but as you can imagine I am quite disappointed that I’ve already lost one of them! It’s my own fault though I noticed that it looked like it probably would come off and I didn’t do anything about it before the maiden voyage and when we got home it had gone!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">These bags are definitely a luxury item and not a necessity – but if you’re going to go for a good nappy bag with plenty of space but that looks good on you as it is practical, I definitely think these bags tick the boxes. Available in four different colours/styles, the Quinny bag is a gorgeous treat for any mum!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-16028047469279014472012-03-28T17:12:00.000+01:002012-03-28T17:12:32.365+01:00Maxi Cosi Opal Goes Forward Facing!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bsEP4i_pMB61df5NYHIJ72pEHfm54IHFnoyb8Y9riF7l9sV8v4psUWWhhGeOgMLZ8PsWiQYCo3fXHMJ7hREfr22T3CrQqMPwL9wIDdsLoSVlaZjTkNJhA6ic6XVfZFQBuwTpgeX0wts/s1600/opal.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bsEP4i_pMB61df5NYHIJ72pEHfm54IHFnoyb8Y9riF7l9sV8v4psUWWhhGeOgMLZ8PsWiQYCo3fXHMJ7hREfr22T3CrQqMPwL9wIDdsLoSVlaZjTkNJhA6ic6XVfZFQBuwTpgeX0wts/s1600/opal.bmp" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">When The Boy was nine months old he became too tall to safely continue using the Maxi Cosi CabrioFix carseat. They recommend the harness is no more than an inch below the height of the shoulders, and after a growth spurt one day it was definitely more than an inch for The Boy. I was faced with a dilemma – at nine months old, and not even 10kg, I didn’t want to even consider a Group 1 carseat; He was far too young for that. However, I also knew that any other Group 0+ carseat would suffer the same problem as we’d found with the CabrioFix – it simply wouldn’t be long enough to accommodate him safely. I did some research and discovered that Maxi Cosi had launched a combination carseat Group 0+ and Group 1 called the <a href="http://www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/products/car-seats/infant/opal.aspx">Opal</a> (<a href="http://summermama2010.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/product-review-maxi-cosi-opal-group-0.html">Review Here</a>). This meant the seat was suitable to use from newborn right up until the child reached a maximum weight of 18kg and required a Group 2/3 High Back Booster seat instead of a carseat with an integral harness. The combination of groups meant that the Opal answered my needs; the seat was designed to be suitable for a child of up to 18kg, which is around three and a half years old, so it is a fair size seat, chunky and tall so the child can easily see out the windows. As it is also designed to be used from newborn, though, you have an adjuster on the front of the seat, allowing you to widen and narrow the wings down the sides of the seat, enabling you to ensure the seat fits snugly against your child for optimum protection. The Opal can be used as a rear facing carseat from birth to maximum weight of 13kg, and then used as a forward facing carseat from 13 to 18kg. This combination of the size of seat and the crossover of Group allowed me to keep The Boy rear facing in the Opal until he reached 13kg – which considering he was too long for the CabrioFix by nine months old I am very proud to say he continued to travel in the car rear facing until he reached eighteen months old.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I am a fan of ERF, by the way – I think it’s far safer to keep children rear facing for as long as possible. Unfortunately my car is not suitable for a standard Group 1 ERF seat – I have had every one physically fitted (by members of staff and by myself, as I am carseat fitter trained) and not one ERF seat is suitable for use in my car that is currently available for sale in the </span><country-region><place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">UK</span></place></country-region><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">. I kept The Boy rear facing for as long as I possibly could in my car, and I’m proud of how old he was before we made the switch to forward facing. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">You have to remove the Opal carseat and change it from rear to forward facing and re-fit it, so it seemed like a bit of a momentous moment when it happened. The Hubby took advantage of our removing the carseat and cleaned the car inside and out. He commented about the marks on the rear seat and the seatbelt from the carseats, but it isn’t something that concerns me; I would rather ensure my child is as safe as possible in a carseat fitted as tightly as it can be with a three point seatbelt than worry about marks being left. A car is a car and my child’s life is far more important! Anyway once he’d cleaned it and hovered it all the marks on the seat were hardly visible. I took the opportunity to wash the carseat fabrics and was again amazed at how well they come out of the machine (handwash cycle, 30 degrees, Fairy Non Bio, they’re the Intense Red colour and they come out as good as new) the fabrics dry really quickly too – they remain in a carseat shape which is odd, so I stand them up on an airer in front of a radiator and within a couple of hours they’re good to go again. I left them overnight to ensure they were properly dry, then put them back on the seat. I set up the seat in the forward facing option and went out to the car.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">As I hadn’t fitted the seat forward facing since my training I thought it would be awkward to do but it’s very easy and bearing in mind how fussy I am it was so quick to fit the first time I did it that I couldn’t believe I’d done it properly, so I took it all out and started over again! I still love how you can hide the seatbelt under the fabric popper section on the back and it feels good and sturdy when it’s in place properly. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Now forward facing, there are recline options available. As I know it’s safer for The Boy to be as reclined as possible in the event of an impact now he’s sitting facing forwards to protect his neck and back as much as possible, I have kept the seat in the furthest reclined position – it doesn’t look that reclined, until you sit it upright and you realise it is quite reclined. The Boy looks chilled out, laid back and relaxed in this position. I did notice though that despite it being reclined, when he falls asleep his head does roll forward and he ends up with his chin on his chest. I know he’d wake up if he was immediately in pain or having difficulties breathing, but my concern is if we go on a long journey and he sleeps like that for a long time, it’ll be sore when he wakes up and that’s not going to be fun, so I have brought him a Safety 1<sup>st</sup> Nap & Go carseat pillow which was recommended by a friend.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">In addition to this, I find it much more difficult to get him in and out of the seat now it is forward facing. It’s too high to allow him to climb in himself – he simply can’t reach that far – but at the same time the ‘wings’ at the side are very deep, and that makes it very difficult to get him in now because you have to try and reach around the wings and slot him into the seat. Maybe it’s because I still use it on the narrowest setting, as he is so tall and slender, and if it was on a wider setting this could be less of a problem as the wings wouldn’t be so upright. Between the height of the door opening on my car, the plastic hanging/grip bar above the door and the angle I have to try and get him into the carseat it’s a bit awkward. There's also the fact that now he is forward facing he slides down the fabric slightly as we're getting him in, which leads to the fabric rucking around his lower lumbar region, which he fusses with and moans about unless you deal with it right away, which is a pain!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">On the up-side, now forward facing it is much easier to get the harness properly tightened up first try. I don’t know whether it was just the wrong angle when rear facing, but it seemed to stick every now and then and would take two or three goes to get it properly tensioned and tight enough. Now I do it once, it slides through smoothly and it’s properly tensioned and we’re ready to go. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I still wouldn’t recommend this seat for someone to use with a newborn baby simply for how awkward it would be to get a newborn baby into any seat already fixed into the car – that’s the whole point of infant carrier carseats! I loved this carseat for keeping The Boy rear facing from nine to eighteen months old, but I must admit now we’re using it forward facing I am loosing a little bit of love for it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">A good friend of mine has the <a href="http://www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/products/car-seats/toddler/axiss.aspx">Axiss</a> and absolutely loves it; my sister in law has already purchased an Axiss for when her son requires a Group 1 carseat; I was in Sainsburys supermarket the other day and the lady parked in the parent and child bay directly in front of me came out of the store, popped her toddler son into the Axiss and had him ready to go in no time. It’s a brilliant idea, because it must be so much easier to get them into a seat facing you directly than trying to slot them in at a sideways angle; having them facing you to get them into the seat also means you can be confident the harness is done properly as you haven’t got to feel around the side that you can’t see like you do with a regular carseat at a sideways angle to how you’re standing beside the car. I really like the Axiss, but I’m determined to see whether I can overcome my problems with the Opal first, as I really do like the look of this carseat and the quality feel of it. It’s a chunky seat, heavyweight and it sits firmly in position, whereas the Axiss appears taller and slimmer (though potentially that would make it more suitable for The Boy). I will continue with the Opal for now, but I am already thinking of donating it to my mother in law as it’s a combination seat it would be useful for her as it would mean she can use for The Boy as well as The Nephew, and the number of times she is likely to use it means that it doesn’t have to be the easiest or quickest thing in the world to do because it would also be one of the rarest! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">On the whole I think the Opal covers a very good market – I would have had to put The Boy in a Group 1 carseat at just nine months old without a crossover Group 0+ and Group 1 carseat like this to fill the gap. However, as a forward facing carseat I don’t feel it meets the standards set by the others available. It was brilliant to be able to keep The Boy rear facing for as long as I did, but I don’t think my Opal love affair will continue as long as it should. This carseat is suitable until The Boy reaches 18kg (approx 3.5yrs old) I’m not convinced I can live with it for that long!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-34198208484474114582012-03-28T16:55:00.000+01:002012-03-28T16:55:15.255+01:00Product Review - Maxi Cosi FamilyFix base, Pebble (Group 0+) and Pearl (Group 1)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_tLVZpdiEayZPFeguoMKBbUnWPmNCHGa75SJEaxSXRmiJLSTiGh8Qt9blxNKWIFvjUzRSP0106modnYveoLTEA1gxAZ1_K7hi3pHxjPDbbaxWHUO_NAliVEwtDiFCjo_Ad5ZtQ9lBWM/s1600/maxicosifamilyfixcollection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_tLVZpdiEayZPFeguoMKBbUnWPmNCHGa75SJEaxSXRmiJLSTiGh8Qt9blxNKWIFvjUzRSP0106modnYveoLTEA1gxAZ1_K7hi3pHxjPDbbaxWHUO_NAliVEwtDiFCjo_Ad5ZtQ9lBWM/s400/maxicosifamilyfixcollection.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Both my parents have newer cars than I do. They both have IsoFix points, three point seatbelts in the centre seat, top anchor tethers and approval pretty much across the board for any type of IsoFix fitted carseat to be used in any of the three rear seats – and that’s in both their cars.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">When I discovered I was pregnant, their idea was simple – to purchase a good quality carseat system suitable to use in either car and made to last for a long time. It’s reasonable to expect that another child may join the family within the recommended five year life expectancy of the carseat so they wanted something that would be useable as long as it was looked after.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">After <a href="http://www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/service/car-fitting.aspx">checking both their vehicles on the website</a> and confirming suitability with a physical fitting from a trained member of staff, they purchased the <a href="http://www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/products/car-seats/familyfix-collection/familyfix-base.aspx">Maxi Cosi FamilyFix base</a> along with a <a href="http://www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/products/car-seats/infant/pebble.aspx">Pebble</a> and </span><place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/products/car-seats/familyfix-collection/pearl.aspx">Pearl</a></span></place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> carseat in Jet Black. The Mother was won over by how comfortable and cosy the carseats looked, she saw a baby in the store in a Pebble when they went to buy it and she melted at how the baby looked all snug and safe and that was it for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Father was impressed by the pretty lights and chirpy sounds.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The FamilyFix base is fitted with IsoFix points only – unlike its predecessor, the EasyFix (which can be fitted with IsoFix points or the three point seatbelt). The first green light comes on and the ‘yes’ beep sounds when you connect the base to the IsoFix points and they are both correctly connected. The second is once the support leg has been adjusted and is in the correct position, and the third is when the seat is placed onto the base and locked in successfully.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The FamilyFix base can be used with the <a href="http://www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/products/car-seats/infant/cabriofix.aspx">Maxi Cosi CabrioFix</a> or Maxi Cosi Pebble (both Group 0+ carseats, from birth to 13kg) and the same base can be used with the Maxi Cosi Pebble carseat (Group 1, from 9-18kg) While both the CabrioFix and the Pebble can also be fitted without a base, using the three point seatbelt in a vehicle, the Pearl can only be fitted with the FamilyFix base.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">When The Boy was little we went out a few times in either of my parents cars, and to be honest I normally used our own CabrioFix in the FamilyFix base instead of using their Pebble. This was only for the fact that the CabrioFix was in our house, so we’d put him in the carseat to get him out to the car and then lock the carseat into the base. The times we did use the Pebble, it proved a very good little carseat.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"><br />
The Pebble is an updated version of the CabrioFix – you can see the similarities in the styles, but instead of the CabrioFix headhugger which is an upside down U shape which is also attached to the lumbar support cushion fabric, the Pebble headhugger reminds me of a polo mint. Much more easily adjustable and capable of hugging much smaller heads than the CabrioFix, the headhugger contrasts with the colour of the Pebble harness pads and carseat fabrics for a modern, contrasting style. The Pebble harness is a ‘easy out’ harness, which means that it is spring loaded at the shoulders so when you click that red button to release the harness it opens up and effectively out of your way. This helps to stop the baby from getting their arms caught in the harness, which I didn’t find a problem with The Boy in the CabrioFix when he was very young but as he got older and started flapping more when he was excited about arriving somewhere, then I understood the appeal of a harness that got out of your way! The Pebble is also very easy to adjust the harness height – you unlock the headrest by depressing the button on the back, and you can move the headrest up and down, so adjusting the harness height in one easy movement. This makes it very easy to ensure the harness is no more than an inch above or below the height of the child's shoulders (where a correctly adjusted harness should be).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When used with the FamilyFix base, it can gradually sit more upright, providing an extended lifestyle of the carseat by continuing to provide ample leg room as baby gets older, enabling you to keep baby rear facing for longer (max weight 13kg in this particular carseat – my son didn’t reach 13kg til he was 19 months old) Like the CabrioFix, the Pebble can be fitted onto most Maxi Cosi or Quinny chassis to form a travel system. (Check the specification of the particular chassis you have for confirmation)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The only Group 1 carseat currently suitable for use with the FamilyFix base is the Maxi Cosi Pearl. The Pearl can only be fitted with the FamilyFix base, so if you have a car without IsoFix that is regularly used for transporting your child, this option is not for you, as you would need an entirely different carseat fitted with the three point seatbelt, which the Pearl does not have the option of doing. The </span><city><place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Pearl</span></place></city><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> is a forward facing Group 1 carseat, suitable from 9-18kg. The Boy first used the Pearl when he was a year old, because at that point he was too long for the Pebble (even making use of the FamilyFix recline positions) and I didn’t want the fuss of moving my Opal from my car into my dads when he had the FamilyFix base and Pearl ready and waiting. I was nervous at The Boys first forward facing journey, but I kept him reclined and he was excited about the different view.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Again, the </span><city><place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Pearl</span></place></city><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> offers a modern appearance and has the same ‘easy out’ harness and can be purchased in a range of colours to match the Pebble, so if you have two children of different ages they can use matching colour carseats. My parents went for the Jet Black as it was gender neutral, and went well with the interiors of both cars (one featuring black leather, one with the standard Vauxhall grey) but there is a wide range of colours available in the Pebble and Pearl range, though the collection colours do vary year to year so there is no guarantee that the colour you choose now will still be available next year. The </span><city><place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Pearl</span></place></city><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> with FamilyFix base offers a range of recline positions and the same easy way of adjusting the harness height as the Pebble.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I find the whole system very easy to use and customer friendly – it gives a visual as well as audible indication that fitting is correct which provides plenty of confidence. The only thing I do find is that when going around corners in my dads car the support leg indicator goes off and on again as it struggles to keep a footing – but I think this says more about my dads driving than it does about the base. The harnesses on the Pebble and the </span><city><place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Pearl</span></place></city><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> are very smooth running and easy to tighten correctly, though my mum still needs additional encouragement to do it up properly (Remember, if you can fit more than one finger between the child’s chest and the harness then it is too loose!) The times we have used either carseat, The Boy has always been comfortable and secure, and I am pleased with this system on the whole.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Verdict: Though expensive, worth the extra money if you can afford it for ease of use and for the fact that you can be confident you’ve fitted the seat properly. However if, like me, you’ve got an older model car without IsoFix points this system isn’t for you. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-23815976273312202032012-03-28T16:43:00.000+01:002012-03-28T16:43:43.358+01:00Maxi Cosi Mura - The Sun Canopy Saga!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Regular readers will know how much I love my <a href="http://www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/products/strollers/strollers/mura.aspx">Maxi Cosi Mura</a>. I have a 2010 Tango Red model which has done many miles off road travelling down muddy pathways, through dense forests, as well as trekking round the shops and negotiating small spaces with ease that is at odds with the sheer size of it. I used it with the Mura carrycot when The Boy was first born, then when he was six months old I packed up the carrycot and he started using the seat unit. The footmuff was brilliant from the time he was six months old right up until he was seventeen months old (and he’s tall) so it is a worthwhile investment if you’re going to be using the pushchair a lot in colder weather – we do a lot of walking regardless of the weather, so it was important to me that the pushchair I chose was going to be good in all weather, which brings me onto the issue I have right now with my beloved Mura.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">It has a lovely big sun canopy, and a third panel which counts as the additional sun visor brings the canopy on the Mura right over the top of the child to the point where they can’t see directly ahead if they’re sitting upright. I find the additional sun visor helpful when The Boy is asleep, as it means I can completely shade him over and he sleeps well, but the problem with the sun visor is that because it blocks his view, if he’s awake, The Boy fiddles with it, and pushes it back out of the way. The sun canopy itself is clipped into place on either side of the Mura seat unit with two plastic brackets, and just above each bracket is a curve of plastic coming out of the Mura sun canopy fabric. On the 2010 model Mura, you have to ‘open’ both these locking mechanisms by pushing them out, away from the seat unit, and at the same time bring the sun canopy forward, because as soon as you let go of either latch it reverts into the ‘locked’ position. It’s a tricky process and there’s definitely a knack to doing it! But when the seat unit was in the parent facing position, it was just a little niggle and not something major.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">One day The Hubby took The Boy out while I was at work, and when I returned that evening he said to me he’d had some trouble with the hood of the pushchair. The lock on one side of the sun canopy had got stuck, the canopy open, when they were out and he was trying to fold the canopy back to the closed position so that he could get The Boy out of the pushchair. He’d fiddled for ages with it trying to get it to work, until finally it popped off the side of the seat unit. He tried to get it back on, and couldn’t – upon closer inspection we found the bracket had bent out of shape, so it no longer would clamp into position where it should. It was also still in the locked out position on one side, and wouldn’t unlock.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Fortunately for us, we were still under warranty (12 month fabric warranty) at this point so a replacement was ordered. In the meantime, I did manage to bend the bracket back into a make-do that worked while we waited. When the replacement arrived, I checked it over and it was all OK, but as I’d managed to get the original back to something that did the job I decided not to put the replacement on immediately. After all, if it had happened once it could happen again!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Three months later, it happened again, and the original sun canopy popped off the seat unit again, the bracket once more bent out of shape. This time both sides got stuck, and both brackets were damaged, so we threw that sun canopy and put the replacement one on.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I had The Boy in the Mura parent facing up until very recently, because when we go walking I can get caught up in my surroundings and forget that someone else is there with me if I’m not looking at him, and I was conscious that if he was world facing it would be harder for him to hear me, he couldn’t see my facial expressions and be able to communicate back, and I wouldn’t be able to see if he fell asleep (or was ready to). Eventually I had to bite the bullet, as the footrest on the Mura is fixed to the chassis at the front, rather than being attached to the seat unit like it is for many other models. As The Boy got older, he had nowhere to rest his feet, so he’d hook them up and over the chassis handlebar sides or else he’d put them on the back wheels, causing us to come to a very abrupt standstill! I put the seat world facing a while ago and he seems happy with it – he hasn’t fallen asleep world facing yet, though he was becoming less likely to fall asleep while in the pushchair anyway – he’s just too nosy right now!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The immediate problem I found was that as soon as the seat was world facing, the locking mechanism to open and close the sun canopy was in line with the chassis handlebar sides. It was physically impossible for me to fit my hands in the gap, unlock the sun canopy mechanism and open or close it. Instead, I have to recline the seat back, to ‘reveal’ the locking mechanism, sort out the sun canopy and then put the seat back into the position The Boy wants to be in – normally as upright as possible! But because of how low the sun canopy comes, and the fact that it locks in position, you can’t do that and then get The Boy into the seat – you have to get him in the seat first – so then you recline it back and he’s fussing and flapping and worrying that you’re going to try and walk around with him lying back, which he really isn’t keen on doing anymore. Then once you’ve fussed with the hood and you put the seat unit back up again, you realise that the top of the hood is actually resting on The Boy’s head.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">He is a tall child for his age – he’s around 88cm I think, but he won’t stand still long enough at the moment for anyone to check, I’m going by clothes sizes! However, he is still only nineteen months old, and the Mura is advertised as suitable for up to around three and a half years old (15kg) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">We went out yesterday on a fantastic walk – we left the house by noon and we walked for four hours in gorgeous sunshine (both of us coated in sun cream, him with hat, both of us with sunglasses and the sun canopy was up/out on the pushchair. We had a marvellous time and when we got home, I went to close the sun canopy and found the left side locking mechanism was sticking. I reclined the seat to access it, causing The Boy to become quite annoyed and start to flap around, but despite my efforts I couldn’t unlock it properly on the left side and it eventually popped the bracket off the seat unit fixing. Both brackets were bent out of shape, and there was no way of getting it back onto the seat unit as damaged as it was.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Fortunately for me, loads of other people have encountered this problem with the 2010 model as well, so a new design was brought out in 2011, then a further new design for 2012. I now have a 2012 style sun canopy which fits onto the rounded part of the seat unit (near the top) with plastic clamps, the fabric is ‘pinned down’ the side using elastic loops. It has a much better mechanism where you don’t have to mess about unlocking things to move the sun canopy, it’s just a standard push and pull to open and shut style sun canopy! As this design sits higher on the seat unit, it provides The Boy with much more head room so once again the Mura looks like it will be able to contain The Boy for much longer yet (it was starting to look silly because his head touched the inside of the old sun canopy). The section at the back now has a plastic catch to hook it in place and hold it there so you can’t over-pull the sun canopy and have it pop off the back of the seat unit, like it used to with the old one. It’s made such a difference to me, as silly as it sounds, because I no longer have to fuss about opening and closing the sun canopy every time we go in and out of shops, its much easier to live with than the old one and I’m happy that The Boy is more comfortable too because he has that extra bit of head room! It hasn’t compromised coverage at all, though I do find that if you recline the seat the hood stops protecting much, so I would definitely recommend a parasol for naps on sunny days, or a carrycot attachment for younger babies to keep them cool and shaded.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">If you have a 2010 Maxi Cosi Mura and your sun canopy is broken due to the lock/unlock gets stuck and the brackets bend, I recommend you return to your retailer with proof of purchase and the damaged sun canopy so they can contact Maxi Cosi for a replacement sun canopy. I couldn’t get the 2012 style in Tango Red (the colour of my Mura) but I got it in Total Black instead and it looks fine (the Intense Red colour is too bright against the Tango Red seat fabric) My situation was resolved promptly and without fuss, and The Boy and I are thrilled to be able to report that we went for a lovely long walk this morning and thoroughly tested the sun canopy and found it performed very well!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-77682236518752119272012-03-22T10:45:00.000+00:002012-03-22T10:45:11.286+00:00Day 15 - Tearless Teething Hazelwood Necklace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2e5ZYqO8xNg5XoIYCdatFnSn08skPZwg17R1mkbyP9527EYB9MjgLyQUopSYIThmgJ9JMPBl9unedkz4MFctRqqHT8378X1WgHbxry5B4zyvPe7kNNapxww61diBcE87Yr8Cxg-pkIJ8/s1600/tearlessteething.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="65" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2e5ZYqO8xNg5XoIYCdatFnSn08skPZwg17R1mkbyP9527EYB9MjgLyQUopSYIThmgJ9JMPBl9unedkz4MFctRqqHT8378X1WgHbxry5B4zyvPe7kNNapxww61diBcE87Yr8Cxg-pkIJ8/s320/tearlessteething.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The Boy has been wearing the <a href="http://www.tearlessteething.com/">Tearless Teething Hazelwood necklace</a> for 15 days now, so I thought I’d post a quick update to let you know how we’ve been getting on.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Since the two instances early-on in wearing the necklace, it hasn’t come off at all. Whether those instances were both The Boy pulling at the necklace or whether I hadn’t done it up tightly enough I’m not sure. We were fortunate enough that both times when it came off it was still close by, so we didn’t loose the necklace, and since those times it has remained in place securely throughout his everyday, normal activities. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The Boy hasn’t complained as he normally does about teething pain – he rubs his face, holds his ears, sits there working his jaw as though he is chewing – he hasn’t done any of that, but whether it’s because he’s not in pain because of the necklace and he is teething, or whether it’s because he’s not currently cutting any teeth, I’m not sure. At 19 months old he has a pretty full set of teeth already, all the front ones are in and that means I can’t safely see clearly all the way round the back so I’m not sure how many haven’t cut through yet! Recently he has been dribbling quite a lot and looking quite red-cheeked, which is usually a sign of him teething, but he hasn’t been concerned by it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">His nappy rash has completely cleared up – it is completely gone, not a mark on him, if you didn’t know you’d never guess how bad it was a couple of weeks ago with the bleeding spots, the lumpy, bright red skin – and as it doesn’t hurt anymore when you’re cleaning him up if he has had a dirty nappy, he’s perfectly happy just to lie back and let me get on with it – most of the time. I have to say that he now seems to be totally fine when it’s just me and him – he lets me get on with changing him, dressing him, whatever, without too much fuss at all, and he wanders off quite happily afterwards to play. It seems to now be when his daddy gets home from work he’ll then act up and throw a tantrum – either to me, because daddy is there now and he wants daddy’s attention and not mine; or a strop at daddy, simply because he’s not been there all day and The Boy maybe feels he should have been! When we were at my in-laws house last weekend, The Boy was wearing dungarees and the poppers on the legs kept popping open because he was running about and climbing on and off the sofa so much, and between trying to do those poppers up and changing his nappy, he threw a huge tantrum every time. I’m thinking now these tantrums are less to do with being in pain, or being uncomfortable, and more to do with knowing where his limits are with me but wanting to test other people a bit more!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">We even had a break-through the other day when I was playing with him in the front room, up until now all he’s done is shaken his head ‘no’ for whatever question you ask him, but I paused playing and said, “Have you done a poo?” and he went to shake his head ‘no’ then thought about it for a second, nodded slowly ‘yes’ and pointed to his bottom! He then walked upstairs and into his room, was calm and co-operative the whole way through changing his nappy and it was done quickly and easily. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">His eczema has been another matter. In the fortnight running up to him starting to wear the Hazelwood necklace, it had flared up really badly again – he mostly gets it on his back, concentrated around the lumbar region, but when it’s bad it also affects his legs, particularly the backs of his knees, and his arms, particularly the inside of his elbows – classic eczema! Prior to him starting to wear the necklace he’d had a week course of steroid cream to try and calm it down as it had flared up so badly, the steroid cream did the trick very quickly and after the week course the eczema was practically gone. We returned to using normal Oilatum lotion, and then when he started wearing the necklace I was hoping it would help get rid of any signs of eczema at all. While his eczema is a hell of a lot better than it was, it hasn’t cleared up totally, some days it just feels a bit bumpy and rough on his back, other days he’s scratching at it and it’s become red, lumpy and sore. It hasn’t flared up again to the point of him being covered, it is just the bit on his back that is always the worst patch – there’s a line which is just under the waistband of his nappy which seems to get quite sore, and his left shoulder too. These two patches are still evident, and I’m using Oilatum cream daily in an effort to make them less itchy to discourage him from scratching at it. I honestly couldn’t say whether the Hazelwood necklace is preventing it from getting worse again, or if it’s just because I’m being vigilant with it because it got so bad last time and I don’t want a repeat performance.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I think ultimately this is my issue with the Hazelwood necklace – I can’t prove for sure one way or another whether or not it is helping. For all I know he could be screaming in pain with teething, have awful nappy rash and really bad eczema without the necklace – or, it could be a case of he isn’t currently cutting a tooth, his nappy rash could have cleared up anyway as his nappies aren’t so messy now, and his eczema could have been going into a phase of not being so bad. My plan at the moment is for him to continue wearing the necklace until we reach the end of three months – this is how long they advise that a Hazelwood necklace is ‘good’ for. If, at the end of three months, the nappy rash flares up, the eczema becomes worse and he complains about his teeth again then I would be persuaded to think that the Hazelwood necklace has helped.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Our journey continues!</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKF0alI6Umh1ljsluzokLhkw7RjftRUEo1IZLrbOELjxzXkK6nAr_UVXNnqgzBtIhza94v3Z_VwZqXKwecTEFvYGbynbVI34GC_wD8MCG4w5_5MAiYKUYj7gtDKaOKHy537R275tjY_bA/s1600/tearless-teething-blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="59" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKF0alI6Umh1ljsluzokLhkw7RjftRUEo1IZLrbOELjxzXkK6nAr_UVXNnqgzBtIhza94v3Z_VwZqXKwecTEFvYGbynbVI34GC_wD8MCG4w5_5MAiYKUYj7gtDKaOKHy537R275tjY_bA/s320/tearless-teething-blue.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-17394698319641859902012-03-13T15:58:00.000+00:002012-03-13T15:58:56.715+00:00Days Six + Seven - Tearless Teething Hazelwood Necklace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2e5ZYqO8xNg5XoIYCdatFnSn08skPZwg17R1mkbyP9527EYB9MjgLyQUopSYIThmgJ9JMPBl9unedkz4MFctRqqHT8378X1WgHbxry5B4zyvPe7kNNapxww61diBcE87Yr8Cxg-pkIJ8/s1600/tearlessteething.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="65" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2e5ZYqO8xNg5XoIYCdatFnSn08skPZwg17R1mkbyP9527EYB9MjgLyQUopSYIThmgJ9JMPBl9unedkz4MFctRqqHT8378X1WgHbxry5B4zyvPe7kNNapxww61diBcE87Yr8Cxg-pkIJ8/s320/tearlessteething.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Days Six & Seven haven’t been what I think of as ‘normal’ days, so I’m not sure whether this hinders being able to tell if the <a href="http://www.tearlessteething.com/">Tearless Teething Hazelwood necklace</a> is doing something, or actually enhances the idea that it is doing something.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I say not ‘normal’ days as The Boy has been unwell. Not another cold, no vomiting or diarrhoea, but a raging temperature, shivering, and obviously not feeling himself as he cuddled up both days on the sofa watching TV with his Daddy and not really doing much else at all! Usually he’s such a busy child, always rushing about doing something, to see him so uncharacteristically quiet, despite the fact it was nice to see him cuddled up with The Hubby, it did concern me how ill he was. He wasn’t interested in eating anything, even refusing chocolate cake and biscuits when offered, a sure sign he was under the weather even without the temperature, and he was quiet in general, not chattering away nineteen to the dozen like he normally does (not actual words at the moment, just his own jibber-jabber like kids do) Both days he slept a lot, and both nights he was difficult to settle, moaning in his sleep around midnight and waking very early in the morning. (Though he was settling again afterwards and going to sleep again)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Usually when The Boy is unwell, his eczema or his nappy rash gets worse, or they both do. Technically speaking I’ve always blamed the nappy rash side of it on the fact that when he’s unwell he tends to have more messy nappies, and a side effect of that is going to probably be nappy rash, no matter how careful you are to clean them up quickly, when it’s happening four or five times a day they get sore! And with the eczema, well I know myself that if I’m run down or tired or unwell, my eczema gets worse, so it seems natural to presume that his will be the same. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">On this occasion, however, despite being unwell The Boy doesn’t have a trace of eczema or nappy rash. To be fair, he hasn’t had many messy nappies as he hasn’t eaten much, so this could account for the lack of nappy rash, but then the eczema is also so much better that last night after his bath, we didn’t put any Oilatum lotion on him – it wasn’t needed. I’m reluctant to continually coat him with creams and lotions for his eczema so if it isn’t needed I don’t use it, and at the moment it isn’t needed. I’m pleasantly surprised by this; when he is unwell is usually the worst time for his eczema to flare up again due to the added discomfort of the itching, but this time he hasn’t been bothered by it at all.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I’d like to think that the Hazelwood necklace has taken affect now as we reach the end of the first week of him wearing it, but honestly I think only time will tell for sure. I’ll keep you updated! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKF0alI6Umh1ljsluzokLhkw7RjftRUEo1IZLrbOELjxzXkK6nAr_UVXNnqgzBtIhza94v3Z_VwZqXKwecTEFvYGbynbVI34GC_wD8MCG4w5_5MAiYKUYj7gtDKaOKHy537R275tjY_bA/s1600/tearless-teething-blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="59" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKF0alI6Umh1ljsluzokLhkw7RjftRUEo1IZLrbOELjxzXkK6nAr_UVXNnqgzBtIhza94v3Z_VwZqXKwecTEFvYGbynbVI34GC_wD8MCG4w5_5MAiYKUYj7gtDKaOKHy537R275tjY_bA/s320/tearless-teething-blue.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-56740050375896125722012-03-10T21:25:00.000+00:002012-03-10T21:25:21.053+00:00Day Five - Tearless Teething Hazelwood Necklace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2e5ZYqO8xNg5XoIYCdatFnSn08skPZwg17R1mkbyP9527EYB9MjgLyQUopSYIThmgJ9JMPBl9unedkz4MFctRqqHT8378X1WgHbxry5B4zyvPe7kNNapxww61diBcE87Yr8Cxg-pkIJ8/s1600/tearlessteething.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="65" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2e5ZYqO8xNg5XoIYCdatFnSn08skPZwg17R1mkbyP9527EYB9MjgLyQUopSYIThmgJ9JMPBl9unedkz4MFctRqqHT8378X1WgHbxry5B4zyvPe7kNNapxww61diBcE87Yr8Cxg-pkIJ8/s320/tearlessteething.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Day Five of The Boy wearing his <a href="http://www.tearlessteething.com/">Tearless Teething Hazelwood necklace</a> was a fairly lazy day. While we were up quite early we lounged in our PJ’s on the sofa – me with the laptop going, him playing with a selection of vehicles with wheels! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">His first nappy change of the day had been wet but not dirty – his necklace was still in place when I went into him and he had woken chirpy and chatty. He nattered away contentedly while I worked, and we took a break for a late breakfast at about half ten. I decided to change him for good measure, but the nappy was only wet and not dirty. Since he hadn’t had a dirty nappy all day yesterday, I was beginning to get concerned that he’d gone too far the other way and was now constipated, so for breakfast he had whole-wheat hoops, and a handful of sultanas and apple. After eating as much as he fancied, The Boy tipped the bowl of whole-wheat hoops over himself (comedy moment – The Boy giggling away as milk drips from the end of his nose and I notice absent mindedly that he has a whole-wheat hoop in his ear) He was attempting to drink the milk from the bowl – but the cereal wasn’t finished yet and he didn’t touch the bowl to his lips – he’d just brought it closer to himself and tipped it. As a result once I extracted him from the highchair and brushed off the stray whole-wheat hoops I realised he needed a change of clothes. Upstairs, his nappy wasn’t even wet, so I dressed him and we returned downstairs.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">At this point, I’d like to say that first thing in the morning this morning his eczema was almost non existent on his back – normally the worst affected area – he had small patches, about the size of penny pieces, that were slightly dry and scaly to the touch, but it was a huge improvement over this time last week and a massive improvement in comparison to the day before he was prescribed steroid cream for a week. His nappy rash first thing on Day Five was still slightly pink, but the raised bumps had disappeared and so had the bleeding spots. He was compliant and content each time I changed him and the whole ‘nappy changing’ experience has gone back to the stress free routine of old, rather than the screaming fits we’ve been having more recently. Still, eczema and nappy rash is present, so I am continuing to use his Oilatum cream and nappy rash cream. Should either or both the conditions clear up completely, I will stop using the appropriate cream and see whether we have any issues, but at the moment I don’t feel it is fair on him to cease using the lotions, as it clearly makes it more comfortable for him once they’ve been applied.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Anyway, the day wore on and we lounged around, mid-afternoon I took him upstairs for a nappy change because I thought I could smell a dirty nappy. Any fears of him being constipated flew out of the window as I discovered the nappy was pretty gruesome – he was definitely not constipated. However while he wasn’t exactly happy to have me cleaning him up, it wasn’t a screaming battle of wills with him kicking me and trying to grab at the contents of his nappy with his hands; he simply moaned a bit but on the whole he laid there and allowed me to do what needed doing. The nappy rash was slightly more obvious again after the clean-up, but still wasn’t bright red, or bumpy, or bleeding. I applied more cream, a fresh nappy, and he went down for a nap.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">After his nap his nappy was wet, so I changed it, and the nappy rash had gone back again to a paler pink. One fresh nappy later we were downstairs playing; eventually play time turned into dinner time, and after dinner we went upstairs to play before bathtime. On the way upstairs I thought the bottom of his jeans felt wet, but then when I felt it again I couldn’t find it, so I thought I’d been mistaken – half an hour of playing later, The Boy began to wiggle about and pat at his bottom as if he was uncomfortable. By that point I was running the bath, so waited until I was ready then went to change him. For the second time today his nappy was awful – the bottom of his jeans had been damp as I suspected, unfortunately. The cuffs around the leg holes of his vest were marked and the nappy had obviously had a hard job containing everything (no disrespect to the nappy – I’m not sure many others would have done as good a job under the circumstances!)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Cleaning him up was difficult, as he kicked about a lot more than he had done all day and made more of a fuss about it, but initially I didn’t think the damage was too bad – again it was pinker than it had been, but no raised bumps. Unfortunately a moment later I noticed a spot of blood swelling from the skin – so he hadn’t escaped completely unscathed, and another moment later there were a couple more blood spots I could see. After his bath, I applied Oilatum cream to his torso as his lumbar region and left shoulder appeared worse than they had done earlier in the day. I put nappy cream on his nappy rash as that also had become worse again. Having said that, the nappy rash isn’t anywhere near as bad as I was thinking it would be when I first saw that nappy!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Once in his PJ’s and cuddled up in the glow of the night light, The Boy seemed perfectly content to drink his milk and slowly drift off to sleep. His nappy rash is vastly improved and so is his eczema, though at this point I don’t feel I can conclude it’s because of the necklace particularly – while it seems co-incidental that this improvement has occurred this week, perhaps it would have happened this week anyway, following our rigorous past four weeks of applying the Oilatum cream on a twice-daily basis. We’ll have to see what happens!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKF0alI6Umh1ljsluzokLhkw7RjftRUEo1IZLrbOELjxzXkK6nAr_UVXNnqgzBtIhza94v3Z_VwZqXKwecTEFvYGbynbVI34GC_wD8MCG4w5_5MAiYKUYj7gtDKaOKHy537R275tjY_bA/s1600/tearless-teething-blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="59" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKF0alI6Umh1ljsluzokLhkw7RjftRUEo1IZLrbOELjxzXkK6nAr_UVXNnqgzBtIhza94v3Z_VwZqXKwecTEFvYGbynbVI34GC_wD8MCG4w5_5MAiYKUYj7gtDKaOKHy537R275tjY_bA/s320/tearless-teething-blue.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-89368655869720402982012-03-10T13:13:00.000+00:002012-03-10T13:13:39.394+00:00Tearless Teething - Hazelwood Necklace - Day Four<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2e5ZYqO8xNg5XoIYCdatFnSn08skPZwg17R1mkbyP9527EYB9MjgLyQUopSYIThmgJ9JMPBl9unedkz4MFctRqqHT8378X1WgHbxry5B4zyvPe7kNNapxww61diBcE87Yr8Cxg-pkIJ8/s1600/tearlessteething.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="65" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2e5ZYqO8xNg5XoIYCdatFnSn08skPZwg17R1mkbyP9527EYB9MjgLyQUopSYIThmgJ9JMPBl9unedkz4MFctRqqHT8378X1WgHbxry5B4zyvPe7kNNapxww61diBcE87Yr8Cxg-pkIJ8/s320/tearlessteething.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Day Four of The Boy wearing his <a href="http://www.tearlessteething.com/">Tearless Teething Hazelwood necklace</a> was a fairly busy day. He woke shortly after 7.30 and when I went into him he was immediately pointing at the floor and saying “Gone” (or at least, he made a noise that sounded like that). I saw the necklace lying on the floor beside the cot, coiled snake-like where it had fallen. Picking it up, I examined it, but it didn’t appear damaged – again it appeared the clasp had opened and it had come off, whether this was due to The Boy pulling at it until it came off and then dropping it over the side of the cot I’m not sure!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">As I was examining it, I noticed that there was some hair caught around the clasp. The Boy has quite long hair, and it looks like I’d inadvertently caught a single hair when I did up the necklace after it came off at Wednesday club. I don’t know whether that’s why the necklace was annoying The Boy and he pulled at it, or whether he decided to remove it for another reason, but anyway I removed the hair from the clasp and after checking it all appeared to be undamaged I put it back around his neck. The Boy has got very used to this now, and he will drop his head forward while I do up the clasp at the nape of his neck. I took care to make sure there was no hair caught in it this time!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">His nappy was wet but not dirty, his sore bottom was loads better than it had been but there was still some nappy rash there, and likewise on his back while the eczema didn’t look bad at all, I still applied the Oilatum cream as normal.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">That morning, my mum came round and took him to Friday club. It’s a group of children up to five years old, and while The Boy is one of the youngest there he loves to run around and play with the bigger kids, so it can get a bit hectic at times and sometimes a bit rough. Anyway this time was no different, and he was running about playing with the others for the best part of two hours before they left. Since The Boy is now very keen on walking, mum pushed the pushchair into town and then let him get out and have a walk around with her and they fed the ducks and had a picnic lunch. When they got home, The Boy was exhausted and went straight to bed for a nap. After that, he woke up and spent some time playing with my mum before The Hubby was back from work and I started dinner, mum left, and we got on with our evening as normal. At bathtime I noticed that both nappy rash and eczema were improved further, though the eczema was bothering The Boy last night and it hasn’t done for a while, he was actually scratching at it again and rubbing his back on the doorframe! Again I applied the usual creams, and he went to bed. Throughout the day, despite a lot of activity, the necklace didn’t come off again so I think previously when it has done it has been because of The Boy pulling at it. I discourage him from touching it too much but I don’t want him to think he’s not allowed to touch it – it’s on his neck after all! At the same time I’m conscious that I don’t want him constantly fiddling with it, because it makes it more likely to come off and the more that happens the weaker the clasp must slowly become.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">His nappy rash and eczema is almost completely cleared up now. We’re still having occasional tantrums over nappy changes, but its no longer the huge battle it was before, and his skin overall appears to be smoother – he’s had a dry patch on his cheek since he was tiny that sometimes just feels a little rougher than the other cheek, but in the last few days that seems to have gone and I haven’t been remembering to apply Oilatum cream there as regularly as I do on his back (Mainly because if he isn’t feeling co-operative I’m scared I’ll get it in his eyes while he’s twisting about and shaking his head!) Is it coincidence or is it the Hazelwood necklace? I’m still not sure!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKF0alI6Umh1ljsluzokLhkw7RjftRUEo1IZLrbOELjxzXkK6nAr_UVXNnqgzBtIhza94v3Z_VwZqXKwecTEFvYGbynbVI34GC_wD8MCG4w5_5MAiYKUYj7gtDKaOKHy537R275tjY_bA/s1600/tearless-teething-blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="59" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKF0alI6Umh1ljsluzokLhkw7RjftRUEo1IZLrbOELjxzXkK6nAr_UVXNnqgzBtIhza94v3Z_VwZqXKwecTEFvYGbynbVI34GC_wD8MCG4w5_5MAiYKUYj7gtDKaOKHy537R275tjY_bA/s320/tearless-teething-blue.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-44794319587944525582012-03-08T21:55:00.000+00:002012-03-08T21:55:49.763+00:00Tearless Teething - Hazelwood necklace - Day 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKF0alI6Umh1ljsluzokLhkw7RjftRUEo1IZLrbOELjxzXkK6nAr_UVXNnqgzBtIhza94v3Z_VwZqXKwecTEFvYGbynbVI34GC_wD8MCG4w5_5MAiYKUYj7gtDKaOKHy537R275tjY_bA/s1600/tearless-teething-blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="59" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKF0alI6Umh1ljsluzokLhkw7RjftRUEo1IZLrbOELjxzXkK6nAr_UVXNnqgzBtIhza94v3Z_VwZqXKwecTEFvYGbynbVI34GC_wD8MCG4w5_5MAiYKUYj7gtDKaOKHy537R275tjY_bA/s320/tearless-teething-blue.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Day Three of The Boy wearing the <a href="http://www.tearlessteething.com/">Tearless Teething Hazelwood necklace</a> was a lazy day for us in as much as we didn’t go out. Though the weather was gorgeous and I would have loved to have gone out and made the most of it with a walk through town and feeding the ducks, unfortunately I had to work, so on the whole while we were up and dressed and started our day relatively early, we didn’t really do much physical activity!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Our day started at 8 and while The Boy had a very wet nappy it wasn’t soiled. His nappy rash at this point was very sore still but I applied another layer of nappy cream and noted that it was much better than it had been for almost a week. The spots that had bled yesterday were now very red but no longer bleeding; what had been very red yesterday had calmed down a touch. On his back, <a href="http://summermama2010.blogspot.com/2012/02/sensitive-subject.html">his eczema</a> seemed to have improved since bedtime last night – it was still there, and I still applied Oilatum lotion as usual before getting him dressed, but it seemed to me that it was also better than it had been.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The Boy mostly watched TV and played while I sat at my laptop and did the work thing. We took a break at 11 for a late breakfast – I took him upstairs to change him first and he’d soiled the nappy but it wasn’t as loose as it had recently been and even though he did react when I cleaned him up it wasn’t the screaming fit like he’s been having over the last few days about nappy changes. I made him scrambled eggs in an effort to calm down his recently over-active tummy. He ate well, and we settled down again for another couple of hours. At </span><time hour="14" minute="0"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">2pm</span></time><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> we stopped and had lunch, and after that we played for a while upstairs before I decided to try and settle him down for his nap. I asked him if he wanted a nappy change and he walked to the changer, turned to me and lifted his arms up to demonstrate he wanted to get up, so I took this as his signal he wanted a nappy change and did so. There was no screaming tantrum and he was quiet and calm as I changed him – it was only a wet nappy but even those have been eventful recently! I noted that the nappy rash was slightly more improved again. I gave it another coat of nappy cream and put a fresh nappy on him before putting him in the cot/bed for a nap.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">He slept well, and I had to go and wake him at 5.30. Usually when I have to wake him up he is in a foul mood, he much prefers to wake when he is ready, but this time he woke in a good mood, and was again quiet and calm as I changed his nappy – once more just wet. The nappy rash looked no better but no worse. I put a fresh nappy on him and we went downstairs.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">While The Hubby and I ate dinner, The Boy danced around the room and hardly touched a thing, but he had eaten well throughout the rest of the day so I wasn’t too worried how much dinner he ate as he’d already had a good days worth of food. (Sometimes he’ll eat far less, which can be worrying, but as my mum says, no child will deliberately starve himself) After dinner we went upstairs for last playtime, bathtime and bed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">When I stripped him ready for the bath I noticed that the nappy rash appeared better again. The eczema on his back is still there, but much less noticeable than it was three days ago. After his bath I again used nappy cream and Oilatum as usual. The Boy was once again calm and content as I changed him – a complete turn-around from Monday!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">It could be a coincidence that things are starting to improve, or it could be the Tearless Teething Hazelwood necklace, I’m still not entirely convinced; but then again I can’t deny that there has been an improvement since he’s been wearing the necklace, and that seems like a big coincidence considering that for the last few weeks his eczema has been bad with the exception of when we were using steroid cream a couple of weeks ago. Stick with me for updates about how things go!</span></div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-52734539376011475412012-03-08T17:06:00.000+00:002012-03-08T17:06:47.378+00:00Tearless Teething - Hazelwood Necklace - Day 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2e5ZYqO8xNg5XoIYCdatFnSn08skPZwg17R1mkbyP9527EYB9MjgLyQUopSYIThmgJ9JMPBl9unedkz4MFctRqqHT8378X1WgHbxry5B4zyvPe7kNNapxww61diBcE87Yr8Cxg-pkIJ8/s1600/tearlessteething.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="65" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2e5ZYqO8xNg5XoIYCdatFnSn08skPZwg17R1mkbyP9527EYB9MjgLyQUopSYIThmgJ9JMPBl9unedkz4MFctRqqHT8378X1WgHbxry5B4zyvPe7kNNapxww61diBcE87Yr8Cxg-pkIJ8/s320/tearlessteething.JPG" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Day Two of The Boy wearing the <a href="http://www.tearlessteething.com/">Tearless Teething Hazelwood necklace</a> was a busy day full of activity. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">We were up early and once again The Boy had a dirty nappy and a very sore bottom. Changing him wasn’t as bad as it was the night before, but it was still a difficult task! I applied more nappy rash cream and worked out how long the necklace had been on for – less than 24 hours at that point, so I decided it wasn’t long enough to say I’d given it a fair try and it wasn’t helping! I got him washed and dressed, then sorted myself out, packed a bag and put him in the pushchair, and we battled against wind and rain to our regular Wednesday-morning group (he munched breakfast biscuits on the way!).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">We got there and as usual I had to work quickly to free The Boy from <a href="http://summermama2010.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-love-my-maxi-cosi-mura-3.html">the pushchair</a> and the confines of his jacket and hat as he was keen to jump in and start playing with the other children. At 10 they stopped for a snack and I was a little concerned when I saw it was all fruit. Usually I try to give The Boy plenty of fruit and veg throughout the day, as he can be such a fussy eater at mealtimes, but given how sore his bottom had been and knowing what an affect fruit can have on him, I was a bit worried. I put a variety of fruit onto his plate which he quickly polished off, but then he helped himself to more and I had to eventually put a stop to it – he has a passion for grapes, but his already sore bottom told me it wasn’t a good idea for him to eat too many of those! He didn’t seem too fussed by the end of snack time though, and was soon running around again happily.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">At snack time I removed his sweater because he was beginning to look a bit hot and rosy cheeked, and at that point his Hazelwood necklace was still in place. It tucked nicely under his t-shirt though, so it wasn’t hanging out for him to fiddle with or for it to get grabbed by another child or caught on something while he was playing. He hadn’t paid it much attention and I didn’t give it another thought until </span><time hour="12" minute="0"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">midday</span></time><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> when we were getting ready to leave. The necklace was gone.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">After searching the play room, concerned that it may have broken and left pieces on the floor which a child may pick up, and also wanting to see whether the necklace was still in a useable condition since I’d had less than a full days wear out of it, I then frisked The Boy and found that the necklace had come undone and fallen into his vest! I checked it over and it appears to be undamaged – it hasn’t broken anywhere, the clasp still functions and it is in one piece, so I’m not sure whether that is how it is meant to come undone under pressure and something had happened I wasn’t aware of during his time playing, or whether it had worked loose and come undone. Anyway I put it back on him and did it back up again tightly. This means that for an unknown period of time throughout the day, between 10am and 12pm, the necklace wasn’t fastened around his neck, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">but</i> it was against the skin on his back (in direct contact with where some of the worst of his eczema is) and looking at the company website that may have been more beneficial as they say to wear the Hazelwood as close to the affected area as possible!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">He wasn’t very interested in lunch when we got home, which I put down to all the fruit he’d scoffed at snack time and all the running around he’d done making him more tired than usual earlier in the day. Sure enough when he was put down for a nap shortly after one, he fell asleep almost immediately. Usually his nap time isn’t til about three. However he woke up just before three so his nap wasn’t as long as usual, but again he had a messy nappy that needed to be dealt with, and I’m fairly sure it was the discomfort of that which caused him to wake up, as he was still rubbing his face and acting like he was tired for some time after waking up.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Again the nappy change was challenging because by this point the rash was open and bleeding. He was screaming, thrashing around and generally making it very difficult to get him cleaned up and sorted out, though obviously I understand why he was behaving this way! Once he was sorted out I again used a very generous amount of the nappy cream which has always worked well for him in the past but which doesn’t seem to be doing much this time around. I made a mental note to give him some foods to actively bind him up a bit since the loose movements had been ongoing by this point for three days and wasn’t improving, and each time it made the nappy rash worse.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Over the course of the afternoon, another two messy nappy changes, another two temper tantrums and tears over it being done. That evening as usual he had a bath, and as usual after his bath I coated his bottom in the nappy rash cream and coated the rest of him in Oilatum lotion.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">In a previous <a href="http://summermama2010.blogspot.com/2012/02/sensitive-subject.html">blog entry</a> I wrote about the skin problems The Boy has, and how we’ve been using Oilatum to keep his eczema under control. Recently he was prescribed a steroid based cream to use for a week due to a particularly bad bought of eczema – the steroid based cream worked brilliantly, cleared it up almost entirely within three days, and after a week of use it was practically gone. Unfortunately since swapping back to the Oilatum lotion again patches have returned, though at this point not anything major in comparison to what it has been like in the past. The Tearless Teething ladies at the Baby Show stand where I brought the Hazelwood necklace from assured me that eczema was a very common complaint due to the acidity levels in the body and that plenty of other Tearless Teething customers had found that the necklace helped clear it up by stabilising those acidity levels. At the point of getting The Boy into his pyjamas following his bath last night, I could see no improvement to the eczema on his back, nor any worsening. I applied Oilatum cream as normal, being careful to avoid the Hazelwood necklace (I was advised by the Tearless Teething ladies that Oilatum should not be allowed in direct contact with the Hazelwood necklace, and while they did explain to me why at the time I can’t honestly remember now so that’s something I’ll have to ask them to clarify again!)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">So, at the end of Day 2 I can’t see a radical change – the necklace was placed on him at </span><time hour="10" minute="0"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">10am</span></time><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> on Day 1 and by bedtime on Day 2 his nappy rash was still very sore and his eczema still evident. Let’s see how we progress in the days to come!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-26669171655960917922012-03-06T17:07:00.000+00:002012-03-06T17:07:15.533+00:00Tearless Teething - Hazelwood Necklace - Day 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2e5ZYqO8xNg5XoIYCdatFnSn08skPZwg17R1mkbyP9527EYB9MjgLyQUopSYIThmgJ9JMPBl9unedkz4MFctRqqHT8378X1WgHbxry5B4zyvPe7kNNapxww61diBcE87Yr8Cxg-pkIJ8/s1600/tearlessteething.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2e5ZYqO8xNg5XoIYCdatFnSn08skPZwg17R1mkbyP9527EYB9MjgLyQUopSYIThmgJ9JMPBl9unedkz4MFctRqqHT8378X1WgHbxry5B4zyvPe7kNNapxww61diBcE87Yr8Cxg-pkIJ8/s400/tearlessteething.JPG" uda="true" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">At The Baby Show a couple of weeks ago, my friend and I walked up to the ladies at the <a href="http://www.tearlessteething.com/index.html">Tearless Teething</a> stand and said hello.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">My friend had been looking for an amber teething necklace for her youngest son, Angry Bird, 10 months. She’d used a couple with her older son and had found a brand she really liked and a brand she didn’t like at all, but Tearless Teething were a brand she’d not heard of before.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Upon closer inspection, we found the necklaces weren’t amber necklaces at all. The ladies explained to us that they were Hazelwood necklaces, produced for assisting all problems associated with teething, including eczema and nappy rash. There were Hazelwood necklaces with pink or blue decoration to choose from, so we picked up two blue to examine them more closely.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKF0alI6Umh1ljsluzokLhkw7RjftRUEo1IZLrbOELjxzXkK6nAr_UVXNnqgzBtIhza94v3Z_VwZqXKwecTEFvYGbynbVI34GC_wD8MCG4w5_5MAiYKUYj7gtDKaOKHy537R275tjY_bA/s1600/tearless-teething-blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="59" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKF0alI6Umh1ljsluzokLhkw7RjftRUEo1IZLrbOELjxzXkK6nAr_UVXNnqgzBtIhza94v3Z_VwZqXKwecTEFvYGbynbVI34GC_wD8MCG4w5_5MAiYKUYj7gtDKaOKHy537R275tjY_bA/s320/tearless-teething-blue.jpg" uda="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I explained to the ladies the problems that The Boy has been having recently, with the awful eczema on his back (which is now returning, after the steroid cream cleared it up really well, now we’re back on the normal cream the eczema is getting worse again) He was never one for nappy rash as a young baby but now he is older, he gets it quickly, he gets it regularly and he gets it really badly, to the point where his bottom is bumpy, red, sore, and bleeding. As a result he doesn’t want you to wipe it to clean it because it’s so uncomfortable, so he winds up thrashing around on the changing table having a huge temper tantrum and you’re trying to deal with him in a foul mood as well as a full nappy, which isn’t easy! The ladies sympathised, but they said that the <a href="http://www.tearlessteething.com/testimonials.html">Tearless Teething Hazelwood</a> necklace really would help all of that. They said that I should put it on him and I would see a vast improvement within the first 48 hours, and after a week of wearing it we should see some changes which would last as long as the necklace did. They advise that the necklaces are replaced after three months as they loose their effectiveness – I’m not sure how accurate this is or whether it’s a marketing ploy to make you buy another, so we’ll see whether it helps in the first instance, then if it does help we’ll see how much, and if after three months the symptoms come back I may be persuaded to buy another!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.tearlessteething.com/faq.html">Tearless Teething says</a> that the use of Hazelwood as a teething soother comes from Native Americans, who found that placing Hazelwood chips on their babies necks soothed teething pains. It is thought to help by balancing acidity levels in the body, including those connected with teething problems, such as digestive issues, nappy rash and eczema as well as general mouth discomfort. The necklace is made with a special clasp which is designed to open under pressure such as if it was to get caught in clothing, so it is as safe as possible for the child to wear all the time. Tearless Teething advise removing the necklace at the pool as chlorine can have an affect on the Hazelwood, but to wear it as much as possible otherwise to have full effect. The benefits of Hazelwood are not just for teething infants – the company also produce a variety of sizes for older children and adults, too, said to assist the wearer with the symptoms associated with acidity imbalance in the body, such as eczema and digestive problems. For this reason, I’m seriously considering one myself if there is a marked improvement on The Boy once he’s been wearing his for a while.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Now, onto The Boy – it is advised that you place the necklace on the child while they’re asleep, so they’re unaware of it being there and won’t fiddle with it constantly. However, while you could send a parade with fireworks through the room with The Boy asleep he’d remain un-disturbed, he will wake up at the softest touch, so it’s been impossible to get the necklace on him that way. Yesterday his nappy rash got to extreme levels, so today when I was getting him dressed I just grabbed the necklace and quickly put it on him, then tucked it under his clothes so he couldn’t fiddle with it easily. A couple of times he’s touched it but I’ve just told him to leave it alone and distracted him with something else and on the whole he’s ignored it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">So, this is Day 1 of him wearing the Tearless Teething Hazelwood necklace – so far he’s been wearing it since </span><time hour="9" minute="0"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">9am</span></time><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> and it’s now </span><time hour="4" minute="50"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">ten to five</span></time><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> in the afternoon. I’ve seen no marked improvement yet, only that today he has not thrown as bad a tantrum as he was doing yesterday, whether this is coincidence or not I don’t know. I would love this to work, for his eczema and nappy rash and the other teething symptoms to just go away or at least show vast improvement, simply for the fact that my parents and my in-laws are very sceptical about things like this and very much feel that it is hippie-type mumbo-jumbo so I’d love to show them all some evidence!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will be keeping you updated how we go on our Tearless Teething Hazelwood necklace journey!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I paid £10 at The Baby Show for a Tearless Teething Hazelwood necklace, normal RRP £15.99 from their <a href="http://www.tearlessteething.com/ocart/">online shop</a>. </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-89241077395435515142012-02-28T17:04:00.000+00:002012-02-28T17:04:06.413+00:00Our Dormouse<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBdr6vJmZ237cxn1tOzOuaPLg81b_tJ6glBmkqfHCoA1Yx1OO-Zd78Ci42Pky2amq-oR728S6Vqf0Rwl9Bnd01_zFZmpj7PMDcdxIqncNDpFzz0f4mk4GZ8vt58VA0SNHLv8V885ocew/s1600/baby_girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtBdr6vJmZ237cxn1tOzOuaPLg81b_tJ6glBmkqfHCoA1Yx1OO-Zd78Ci42Pky2amq-oR728S6Vqf0Rwl9Bnd01_zFZmpj7PMDcdxIqncNDpFzz0f4mk4GZ8vt58VA0SNHLv8V885ocew/s200/baby_girl.jpg" uda="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff99cc; font-family: Georgia;">There was cause for celebration yesterday when I heard the news that my cousin has become a daddy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff99cc; font-family: Georgia;">Some families aren’t very close, and cousins don’t see one another regularly, but in our family, when I was growing up, my cousins were very much a part of my everyday life. In fact, they were more like siblings than cousins to me. As we got older for a number of reasons we’re not as close as we used to be; but still, to find out that he’s become a daddy is brilliant news.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff99cc; font-family: Georgia;">It’s been a bumpy road for him and his fiancée – first he was under investigation for fits, and they suspended his driving license and he had to have all these tests and scans done to try and find out what was happening (they never did get to the bottom of it, and the fits stopped as suddenly as they’d started) Then his fiancée had some health issues of her own, which resulted in her coming off the pill and she became pregnant.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff99cc; font-family: Georgia;">It’s the third baby for her – she has two older sons from her first marriage, who are young teenagers now – but they knew it would most probably be their only chance at having a baby together, so despite the health risks involved for her and the baby, they decided to go for it. At the 20 week scan it was confirmed their healthy bundle of joy was a girl.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeS-3rpnO2nvdxEW_4OC51T83dVmLe5HZJxfQkC9UFK3GUs58GX-yzlqeLLbt4gMTsKKuvQFQX89TJAxx9XTr_tdvu_pp8DLdCXlrP1vijPmol-R600IfGIN320nh18pj4wgtyZ0NeUpQ/s1600/itsagirlfootballoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeS-3rpnO2nvdxEW_4OC51T83dVmLe5HZJxfQkC9UFK3GUs58GX-yzlqeLLbt4gMTsKKuvQFQX89TJAxx9XTr_tdvu_pp8DLdCXlrP1vijPmol-R600IfGIN320nh18pj4wgtyZ0NeUpQ/s200/itsagirlfootballoon.jpg" uda="true" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff99cc; font-family: Georgia;">Their daughter was born yesterday via c section due to the health issues, and everything went well. A healthy 8lb baby, she’s already earned herself the nickname of ‘Dormouse’ because she’s so quiet and content to curl up and sleep. She’s also the first female to be born into the maternal side of my family since I was born, which is pretty crazy! It isn’t like a whole lot of babies have come along since me, though – my brother, two of my cousins had sons and then I had The Boy, so not a huge population boom in thirty years of family I suppose! But even so, it is nice to welcome a girl into the family at last.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff99cc; font-family: Georgia;">We’ve been told not to buy her anything – my cousin says his fiancée’s friends are so generous, neither of them can believe the amount of things they’ve been given by people, saying “Oh, have it, my daughter is too big for it now” and they’re ending up with huge black sacks of clothes, half of which still has the labels in. Gifts so far have included a complete travel system, a Moses basket, the nursery furniture and a glider chair, and apparently Dormouse has enough clothes already to wear a different outfit everyday until she reaches nine months old!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff99cc; font-family: Georgia;">Unfortunately despite my excitement it won’t be possible to meet Dormouse and congratulate my cousin & his fiancée for another couple of months – they live a long distance away, and the next time we’ll get together will be at my brothers wedding, which is just under six weeks away. However I will be naughty and buy her a small gift – she doesn’t need clothes or anything like that so I’m going to be creative and see what I can come up with! After all, it isn’t every day we welcome a new family member!<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg04Dl6oG2GYyl0XAOSnsyOTdk-S-pgaV8yG-CZYxNGWPHtyEo3Jnw9aH816Qd1RUDhIn38PGyNKPHbCVj1Ay5Zca7nEZZVOQP2XEEMi4wvJ8_nZT2_IXXWysqLJORN9CXbei2r91GmE5o/s1600/dormouse_1408770i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg04Dl6oG2GYyl0XAOSnsyOTdk-S-pgaV8yG-CZYxNGWPHtyEo3Jnw9aH816Qd1RUDhIn38PGyNKPHbCVj1Ay5Zca7nEZZVOQP2XEEMi4wvJ8_nZT2_IXXWysqLJORN9CXbei2r91GmE5o/s200/dormouse_1408770i.jpg" uda="true" width="200" /></a></div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-53919960604252482962012-02-16T16:22:00.000+00:002012-02-16T16:22:50.116+00:00A Sensitive Subject<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLbqKu7QXg3F-FPPsgnAoEGhrASK-0Pq3AXDR7a8vxTAiQCeBXn2KMh9NKZwcSn1g3zyE5xEC_S5ddyAEcjyNxRNpK5sFxAUv2xvw-vXym8ervf9CNI8nn9t33RNXZdbM0dwfJqjqGwQ/s1600/babyboycrawling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLbqKu7QXg3F-FPPsgnAoEGhrASK-0Pq3AXDR7a8vxTAiQCeBXn2KMh9NKZwcSn1g3zyE5xEC_S5ddyAEcjyNxRNpK5sFxAUv2xvw-vXym8ervf9CNI8nn9t33RNXZdbM0dwfJqjqGwQ/s320/babyboycrawling.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">From a young age, I suffered myself with eczema, psoriasis on my scalp and generally dry skin that was prone to cracking in winter. It was dealt with by application of many different creams, ointments, and I remember vividly a particularly nasty alcohol based solution which my mum was supposed to rub into my scalp after washing my hair but as my scalp was red raw this sent me through the roof in tears of pain, so she stopped doing that after a few attempts and we treated it with T-Gel shampoo amongst other remedies.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">My father is prone to dry skin, particularly on his face and head, his elbows, knees and shins, and these areas seemed worse on me, too. As a child I wore my hair long, but during summer months the heat made my scalp itch constantly, until I was 11 and announced that I wanted to shave my hair off. As a compromise, mum allowed me to have an undercut, which I kept for two years before growing it out, and since then (touch wood) I haven’t had a flare up even half as bad as it used to be.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The Hubby also suffers from dry skin, which like mine becomes particularly bad in the winter. He remembers the skin at the bottom of his ear lobes cracking open the winter he turned 19 and was doing deliveries on a moped, constantly putting on and removing his crash helmet, and also the skin on his hands and fingers cracking open and bleeding. Like me, he also suffers with the inside of his elbows, the backs of his knees and his shins becoming red and dry.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">It seems inevitable, then, that our son suffers as well. From a few weeks old The Boy had one rosy cheek that seemed hot to the touch and dry, but I applied various baby-safe moisturisers to no effect. During his first winter, his whole body broke out in red, sore looking spots of dry skin, so we took him to the doctor who advised it was eczema, and provided us with Oilatum Junior cream and anti histamine for treatment. He also advised that I used only Fairy Non Bio washing detergent, and avoided washing my own hands with scented soap as this could cause a flair up for The Boy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">It had an immediate effect and it was quickly cleared up (The Boy’s cream was so good that it even stopped my hands from cracking and bleeding as I was constantly applying it to The Boy) We used it less and less frequently until around April, when the weather was warmer, the central heating turned off and his skin remained beautiful and soft, like baby skin should be.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Like a bad penny, the eczema returned at the start of the winter again last year. I was prepared, having purchased the Oilatum Junior Bath Additive as well as a bar of Oilatum Soap, I made a return journey to collect the repeat prescription for the Oilatum Junior cream and we started using it all again. We imagined that it would be the same as last time, that it would quickly take effect and would soon be a bad memory.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAf2NnF_ZBVlXhRYDvqV_u_xJ09Sk2aIQM7eT7Qhe_lA7xn15V15vvWeD-PT-HDbSRu6GpBLG_Me5mnOnhfxnoyLN6UrvJzqX3AJeb6UotNot5qhMSoyxpFalnAGtk9ro3MtaVT7goUYE/s1600/baloo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAf2NnF_ZBVlXhRYDvqV_u_xJ09Sk2aIQM7eT7Qhe_lA7xn15V15vvWeD-PT-HDbSRu6GpBLG_Me5mnOnhfxnoyLN6UrvJzqX3AJeb6UotNot5qhMSoyxpFalnAGtk9ro3MtaVT7goUYE/s1600/baloo.jpg" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">It didn’t disappear as we’d hoped. Instead of soothing his skin and making it better, it just seemed to keep it on an even keel and stopped it getting worse. As the eczema is concentrated on his back we didn’t think he’d be able to scratch at it, but we were wrong on that count, too – now an inventive little monkey, The Boy has taken to rubbing his back against things to relieve the itching (rather like Baloo the Bear from Jungle Book) He knows that the Oilatum cream helps, though – last night after his bath I was drying him off and he grabbed the tube of cream and was waving it at me. I did the usual thing of putting it in my hands before putting it on him (it’s a thick cream and its very cold straight out of the tube) and as I reached toward him he sat right forward to expose his back to me and was moaning with relief as I rubbed the cream in. He even picked up the tube and put some in his own hand then rubbed the lower part of his back where he can reach – it was so sweet to see him do, but also a bit sad as well, because no child of his age should be so used to using cream for sore skin that he helps you apply it!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">While his back is the worst affected area – from the shoulder blades all the way down to his bottom – it is not the only affected area. The tops of his arms and his armpits are prone to becoming red and sore if not kept on top of, his thighs tend to feel a little like he has goosebumps if I haven’t applied the cream and his tummy gets small, penny sized circles of dry skin crop up randomly. I’ve got to the point of coating him entirely with the cream from top to toe, to the point where he’s a slippery little eel and if he was to wriggle away from me I’d never be able to catch him again! Dressing him afterwards is challenging, to say the least – especially getting a nappy on him! (He hates wearing a nappy anyway, so trying to get it on when his legs are greased up and you can’t hold him still is even more difficult!)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">We were in town yesterday and I stood outside the doctors surgery for a while debating whether or not it was worth another appointment. Eventually I decided that I’d see what it looked like in the bath last night, and make my decision. When I undressed him it didn’t take much of an assessment to see that it had become more inflamed during the day – though I couldn’t tell you what might have caused that – and as soon as he was undressed he was rubbing his back against things and scratching as much as he could (I try to keep his nails as short as possible but despite that he cuts himself where he scratches so much if you’re not careful) In the bath, he shuffled himself to the end so his back was pressed against the lip of the bath, then wriggled against it. He knows the bath water helps soothe the itching, and he knows we use either plastic pots to pour water over him, or the sponge, and last night was no exception as he even refilled the pots to hand to his daddy to pour over his back, and tried to reach himself with the sponge.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">This morning, I rang the doctors surgery and an unusually helpful receptionist spoke to me. She said the soonest appointment was in two weeks time, but if I felt it was urgent she could arrange an emergency appointment today. I said I didn’t think it warranted an emergency appointment, but that waiting another two weeks wouldn’t be helpful, so she suggested that she got a doctor to phone me and have a chat, and we could decide the best course of action from there. Fortunately the doctor who called was one who helped me before with The Boys skin complaints, and he wasn’t surprised to hear it had flared up again or that now, at 18 months, The Boy was being inventive with scratching the itch. He advised that he’d write a prescription for some steroid cream which I’m to use twice a day on the dry skin for a week, which should rein it in and then after a week return to using the Oilatum Junior cream again. I should continue to use my Fairy Non Bio for the laundry, and he recommended more Oilatum products for the bath like I’ve already been using, or else he said that E45, Simple and Dove were good alternatives. I did pick up some kids E45 bath stuff yesterday for sensitive skin, as the Oilatum products are so expensive - the soap bar is around £4 and the bath additive around £10 (but I can’t deny they’re good!)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">So we’re off to the doctors to pick up another prescription, and we start the steroid cream tonight. What The Boy will make of it I don’t know, but he knows now that I put cream on him and it helps the itching so even if it’s a different cream maybe he’ll make the association. Whatever happens, I just hope it works and we can get it under control again before it gets any worse. It’s horrible to see your child uncomfortable like that, and I know how uncomfortable dry, itchy skin can be so fingers crossed this is our last trip to the doctors for a while!!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPWK3gy2yvx0IV91TYxDvQYxGel7tGLJer4Qxo_l3ADNAxOOBPhGAjtz4nQEBXDnxJz8nCIVxWL1DIBDX21ThelQ5nJT8WveugsikXjMemn7_f7h4XkeiwPrxcinHIm2P-pP45tEuHjO8/s1600/Oilatum_Junior_Cream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPWK3gy2yvx0IV91TYxDvQYxGel7tGLJer4Qxo_l3ADNAxOOBPhGAjtz4nQEBXDnxJz8nCIVxWL1DIBDX21ThelQ5nJT8WveugsikXjMemn7_f7h4XkeiwPrxcinHIm2P-pP45tEuHjO8/s200/Oilatum_Junior_Cream.jpg" width="200" yda="true" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0gSuTxnEMm9-UYD1NJffJf0pODEqfu9fCfes6q6Tj81HYkAH0MxurZIoXQMaKHrSEEg0mBSpt_PTqRe0s835g3npm54C2BG2AOC1W1mcZocNGyNq0LAa9vG6oem1HQ6vXU2CNjKjDy5k/s1600/oilatumbathadditive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0gSuTxnEMm9-UYD1NJffJf0pODEqfu9fCfes6q6Tj81HYkAH0MxurZIoXQMaKHrSEEg0mBSpt_PTqRe0s835g3npm54C2BG2AOC1W1mcZocNGyNq0LAa9vG6oem1HQ6vXU2CNjKjDy5k/s200/oilatumbathadditive.jpg" width="200" yda="true" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBs4n5lpg03aRtddkQ7mpxJ1-tPLzws4WwzkOC3LhkcgNxtV70eXKmVzwvxOGqT2yOke4LqfTvSo6CiiXxM1lrSVcPK5qML2VyBxEmXydvEOU5I6gvGotkVLRxdgEqRVSQNEy38xnxJLc/s1600/oilatumsoap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBs4n5lpg03aRtddkQ7mpxJ1-tPLzws4WwzkOC3LhkcgNxtV70eXKmVzwvxOGqT2yOke4LqfTvSo6CiiXxM1lrSVcPK5qML2VyBxEmXydvEOU5I6gvGotkVLRxdgEqRVSQNEy38xnxJLc/s200/oilatumsoap.jpg" width="200" yda="true" /></a></div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-5853548455357589572012-02-16T12:53:00.000+00:002012-02-16T12:53:17.832+00:00Jack Of All Trades<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFCeBmh2rjOW5CFBzviJwfzRErpboVSuSwU-REzsBostr8OSl4cxCV2MsKAAY5hBZsBhzFAQHErmkPoTFYO6ot3YC1kCDonRyrMs_8dKEzFPOuVVIzEns8AYNhk7Tw41M08pTyqo47KOk/s1600/jack_of_all_trades_1200.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFCeBmh2rjOW5CFBzviJwfzRErpboVSuSwU-REzsBostr8OSl4cxCV2MsKAAY5hBZsBhzFAQHErmkPoTFYO6ot3YC1kCDonRyrMs_8dKEzFPOuVVIzEns8AYNhk7Tw41M08pTyqo47KOk/s320/jack_of_all_trades_1200.gif" width="223" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">My first job was volunteering for a cattery (part of the Cats Protection League) when I was fourteen. I enjoyed the work, got quite involved with the CPL and their various fundraising events, even went out a few times with the local area warden to collect rescue cats or drop some off to foster homes. During summer months I helped my parents distribute Yellow Pages – I’d help sort out the car parking so that people lined up alongside the lorry to load correctly, ensure distributors had enough Yellow Pages for the routes they were doing, unloaded the pallets to the front of the lorry for unloading, shoved bundles into peoples cars until they were full and I had to check they were still legal for road travel on the way home to offload. Once I was sixteen I started working for the cattery more often, and getting paid for the work as I started dealing with the boarding side of the cattery and other people came in and started doing the CPL cats.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Between then and now, I’ve done a wide variety of work for different organisations: From a sunbed shop to a pizza restaurant, a Christmas job in Mothercare and one at Boots, I’ve worked as an Ann Summers party order line call operator and as an assistant dispatcher in the ambulance service, I’ve been trained to fit a carseat and to correctly operate a candy floss machine, I have certificates for food hygiene, CPR and defibrillation skills, I can talk you through delivering a baby or folding a pushchair and I’ve worked in a sweet shop and a fish and chip shop! I’ve had full time jobs, part time jobs, temp jobs and seasonal jobs and the things I’ve seen would spin your head.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgws5I1GqmD639xMu30FATJwS6Z9zVAvUF72KnLMKpVby5w9MiYNEewyQAvu-D6uJ35rF1s2wOI2jqNFuqYlj9-_ewGiqPgv8kEyvhbU_1hjSi9kNqPAB4pWjvEEj5g2h9lUbG7Rp3MadQ/s1600/headpin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgws5I1GqmD639xMu30FATJwS6Z9zVAvUF72KnLMKpVby5w9MiYNEewyQAvu-D6uJ35rF1s2wOI2jqNFuqYlj9-_ewGiqPgv8kEyvhbU_1hjSi9kNqPAB4pWjvEEj5g2h9lUbG7Rp3MadQ/s320/headpin.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Each of the jobs I have done has required me to know very specific information about a very specific thing, and as such the skills earned do not pop up (on the whole) in everyday life. This does not mean I am clueless – in fact I am renowned amongst my family and friends for being a vast information database of all kinds of information. I never excelled particularly well at anything when I was at school – I was average to below average depending on how much effort I put into a subject, and I am very guilty of being one of those people who didn’t put effort into subjects I hated, so History, Maths and Geography were not subjects I excelled in! However since leaving school and finishing college, my learning capabilities seem to have grown. Once I would have struggled to learn new skills, the older I get the more I seem to relish the challenge and take up new skills much quicker than anticipated.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">When The Boy was born, it combined two of my longest standing jobs together – my knowledge and experience from the ambulance service (five years service, plus the additional knowledge that comes from one parent being frontline staff for 30 years and various friends within the service) as well as my knowledge and experience from the child products industry (four years) I can be my own worst enemy (I refuse to allow anyone from a retailer to provide a physical fitting on a carseat – I’ll do it myself, thank you very much!) but at the same time I think it’s beneficial because I can talk from experience. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The thing that I struggle with is customers who don’t want to listen to what you have to say. They get on their high horse because they ask you a question and you tell them you’re unable to provide a definitive yes or no answer, you explain why you’re unable to provide a definitive yes or no answer, and they huff and puff and moan at you for a while before they decide to ignore you, they’ll go and do what they want anyway.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPo-zfqX0rcnb1w-pW7txqftpFlZtDR9rzEUidHxLM83i0JG4xIcke2d1jpgITsH8ZAfntQEXtTyM6cxgf3TeeTDpyAdAvdOjzPe0Nq88E-p65QTGl2td-HRbcNR4Nq7CBrqz7MMkhh0/s1600/10747646-vector-cartoon-of-baby-in-car-seat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPo-zfqX0rcnb1w-pW7txqftpFlZtDR9rzEUidHxLM83i0JG4xIcke2d1jpgITsH8ZAfntQEXtTyM6cxgf3TeeTDpyAdAvdOjzPe0Nq88E-p65QTGl2td-HRbcNR4Nq7CBrqz7MMkhh0/s320/10747646-vector-cartoon-of-baby-in-car-seat.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">It is estimated that in the </span><country-region><place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">UK</span></place></country-region><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> there are 80% of carseats currently in use (seatbelt fitted only) that are fitted incorrectly. That means in 80 out of 100 accidents involving children, the child may as well not be in a carseat for all the use that carseat is going to do in an impact. For this reason, combined with my experience in the ambulance service, I feel passionately that the public should be provided with as much information as possible on fitting carseats. Why are they seen as such a mystery? Simply because manufacturers want to make sure they are properly fitted, so they spend a lot of money on groups of trainers who visit retailers and train staff. These staff are then responsible for providing physical fittings for members of the public prior to the purchase of a carseat. The staff should ensure that the carseat is the appropriate stage for the child, that the carseat can be fitted correctly into the vehicle it will be used in, that the parent or guardian is educated in how to fit the seat themselves, and that the seat is suitable for the needs of the parent/guardian and the child.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Unfortunately it doesn’t always happen that way. Staff regularly leave sales positions and it can be difficult to ensure that all staff currently employed are up to scratch with their training on all products. People can purchase carseats from the internet and have it delivered to their home with no clue whether or not it is suitable, and no clue how to correctly fit it. Personally I don’t think carseats should be available for sale online; make the customer get up and do their research, get to a store and have a physical fitting done. Of course, the reason a lot of people buy online – especially now – is that companies can often offer more competitive prices with online purchases and you can save a lot of money by buying online; but I ask you this question, what amount of money is your child’s life worth?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I couldn’t put a price on it. I don’t deny that carseats are pricey, but quite honestly I’d rather spend out a little extra and ensure the carseat I get is safe and well fitted than save the cash and have an accident and my son ends up another tragic statistic. This is the side of it that people don’t seem to consider – worst case scenario is not that you spend a few extra quid than you wanted to - worst case scenario is that you’re involved in a serious road traffic accident and your child ends up dead. I wouldn’t wish that sort of nightmare on anybody.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">For this reason, I find it difficult to stay quiet when I see people transporting children incorrectly. A prime point in case was when I was pregnant and about to enter the local supermarket to do the weekly shop. As I crossed the car park, a man in an older model car pulled into the car park and into a space in front of me. He then hopped out of the drivers seat and to my surprise a young girl of about four then got out of the passengers side – followed by a woman. Not only had the child been in the front seat, but she’d been on the lap of a woman who was not wearing her own seatbelt, so the child and the adult had been totally unrestrained. No matter how long their journey had been, this was a huge risk to take, as in an impact both the child and the adult could have been projected through the front windscreen. If their car was travelling at 30mph and so was the car that hit them, this makes the combined speed of 60mph that the child would have been thrown through the windscreen, out the car, and onto the road. The medical term ‘de gloved’ is applied in many instances to an accident of this nature, and it simply means that the person has travelled at such speed over the road that their skin has been worn away completely or has been literally ripped from the tissue underneath. Imagine for a moment if you will a four year old child, thrown through a windscreen at 60mph and then her exposed skin – her face, arms and legs – being de gloved? If she survives – and that’s a very big <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">if</i> – she will require a very long recovery time and while skin grafts can now offer tremendous results compared to 20 years ago, that child will always have some kind of scarring from that accident. Could you live with yourself, if you did that to a child? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I recommend that any parent does research into any product before they make a purchase, and this is even more relevant to carseats due to the sheer amount of them available, the money you are investing and the task you’re asking them to perform. It’s confusing, I know that, and for that reason I do my best to help educate people should they ask for my assistance.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Recently there’s been a big furore on internet forums about extended rear facing, also known as ERF. It’s a very popular idea in </span><country-region><place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Sweden</span></place></country-region><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">, where children are kept in rear facing carseats until they are, on average, about four years old. This is due to the fact that it is a lot safer to be travelling rear facing in the event of an impact, as rather than the neck having to take the weight of the head as the head is pushed forwards and back by gravity, the child is pressed further into the supportive back and head rest of the carseat. Statistically speaking, it is safer for everyone, no matter what their age, to travel rear facing. It is due to the design of the human anatomy – since we started walking upright and exposed our vulnerable stomach and genitals rather than having them protected as we walked on all fours, we have also placed our rather heavy head right on top of ourselves, so our centre of gravity is all wrong. After a car accident, the most common complaint from anyone involved is neck pain. It can be simple pulled muscles, it can be whiplash, and rarely can it be a serious neck injury. However when you’re thinking about a young child, the head is disproportionately large and heavy compared to the rest of their bodies - this is when internal decapitation (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">atlanto-occipital dislocation</i></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN;">) can occur. The definition of this is when the skull seperates from the spinal column, which is usually fatal. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Unfortunately, the majority of people in the UK are in a hurry to get their child into a forward facing carseat because of the belief that the child doesn’t like rear facing and would prefer to be forward facing so that they can see things. How would your child know they would prefer forward facing? As a baby it is law for them to travel rear facing in an infant carrier, so until you introduce forward facing your child thinks rear facing is normal. Why do you think they can’t see things? There are windows in the side of the car and in the back, so your child has just as good a view as you do, they’re just seeing it travelling the other way. My son is 18 months old and I continue to use the Maxi Cosi Opal carseat in the rear facing position as he remains under 13kg. People worry that their childs legs will have nowhere to go, that their ankles look twisted at an awkward angle – let me assure you that my son is taller than average and he is very comfortable rear facing. He watches the world go past through the side window and rear window (one of his favourite motorway games is waving at lorry drivers) and he has plenty of room for his legs. Yet I have had people complain that their six month old child is uncomfortable and squashed in a Group 0+ rear facing infant carrier and ask if they can move baby up to the next stage carseat. I recoil in horror when I see or hear this question, and I wish that I could provide crash test videos showing what would happen to an infant that young in a forward facing carseat during an impact.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Maybe my history of work in the ambulance service, the calls I took, the accidents I sent crews to, the scenes I’ve witnessed when I’ve been out on ambulances (both for work experience as a teenager and as educational while I worked for the service) that have made me particularly aware of the dangers on the roads. Maybe combined with my carseat knowledge, and the knowledge that people on the whole will do as they please even if they’ve been advised against it, this makes the area of carseat and safe travel a particularly sensitive spot for me, but I think it’s beneficial. After all would you rather get your advice from someone who knows all the ins and outs, all the pros and cons, or from someone who reads information from a card and hasn’t got a clue? I’ve also used a variety of carseats myself, provided physical fittings of carseats for people and seen clear examples of unsuitable carseats in vehicles. Of course sometimes people are disappointed – if they particularly wanted a certain make and then find out it isn’t suitable – but they must appreciate that if the carseat isn’t suitable then the label they want isn’t going to protect their child as they want.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN;">The majority of people seem to think that ‘it won’t happen to me’. They read about tragic accidents, of children not being correctly secured in the vehicle at the point of impact, and they think how terrible it is but it never crosses their mind that it could easily happen to any of us. Accidents are called that because they happen due to a split second decision, sometimes through no fault of anyone involved, it could be that the car does something unexpected due to mechanical failure, it could be that the road is slippery due to weather conditions or a spillage of some sort on the road, but that accident can happen just as easily to you or me as it happened to the people in the news article. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN;">In addition to the correct fitting of a carseat suitable for your child, yourself and your car, you should always ensure you use it properly for maximum safety. It’s one thing to have a good carseat fitted securely but once again it becomes pointless if the child isn’t correctly harnessed in before you set off. As a guideline, once the harness is tightened, you shouldn’t be able to get more than two fingers between the child’s chest and the harness straps. In addition, the shoulder harness height should be no more than an inch above or below the height of the shoulders. Ideally, the harness height should allow the harness to sit exactly on the shoulders, though depending on the style of harness adjustment this may not be possible. It’s another reason I love my Opal, because the shoulder harness height is adjusted as you adjust the headrest for the child, and there are so many different heights you can adjust it to I’ve never had a problem getting a perfect fit with The Boy in this carseat. Added to that the Opal can be adjusted width-ways as well, and due to his slender build I still have it on minimum width for the boy, so he is snugly in place – in the event of a side impact he won’t rattle around in there as there isn’t enough space to. It doesn’t take long – he’s in the carseat, harnessed and we’re ready to go within a couple of minutes, and I’m happier knowing he’s safely harnessed in. Another thing I do is remove the carseat once every couple of months to check the seatbelt for signs of wear, and re-fit the carseat to ensure it is as tightly fitted as possible, hence as safe as it can be. Follow the directions of the manufacturer – most Group 0+ carseats require the handle bar to be in the upright and locked position during travel as it acts as a roll bar in event of vehicle roll-over and also absorbs side impact, meaning that the jolt doesn’t travel through baby, it goes up and around the carseat handle. You shouldn’t use a rear facing carseat in the front passenger seat and most companies will advise this is even if you are able to disable the airbag – the airbag is designed to inflate on impact, and there is no guarantee that it won’t, even if it’s turned off.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN;">So while I may be a Jack of All Trades and a Master of None, when you ask me about carseats, road safety and transporting children in vehicles, please take note of what I’m saying because I do know my stuff on this subject. There may not be a certificate to tell you where I learned all this information, there may not be an exam I can take so I have letters after my name and look all important, and you may look at me and think I’m ‘just’ a mum, but rest assured that isn’t all and you should remember never to judge a book by it’s cover. </span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1sPbwPGiLgR6bxcb9uHWZCUvFkyQKSC-VjyWKl05S6QHbY9UN7VQ2CoqUZ-pLkfPb7G8-P9kSiRUpBZSP48Hruz7SI6QBFSImYiwcGeHlGP-qaXftvNnmRbEo-dJJxo6TscpTEH4yk4/s1600/books-pile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1sPbwPGiLgR6bxcb9uHWZCUvFkyQKSC-VjyWKl05S6QHbY9UN7VQ2CoqUZ-pLkfPb7G8-P9kSiRUpBZSP48Hruz7SI6QBFSImYiwcGeHlGP-qaXftvNnmRbEo-dJJxo6TscpTEH4yk4/s320/books-pile.jpg" width="210" yda="true" /></a></div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-75082364677370134992012-02-14T22:58:00.000+00:002012-02-14T22:58:43.289+00:00Home, Sweet Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguipb4cbnOS7taX2v_EKGTRmzzQlLRC0F824rElgWqqswI6TFFYNa-ki2oj2WhGHmHDTHIA15fW0_wkK8_306tbyiGpW_nkrvc8pG1g5bklvsAyS1-snUtmvhQaKEUEQVqaf-EzNuXccs/s1600/Pimpernel_Home_Sweet_Home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguipb4cbnOS7taX2v_EKGTRmzzQlLRC0F824rElgWqqswI6TFFYNa-ki2oj2WhGHmHDTHIA15fW0_wkK8_306tbyiGpW_nkrvc8pG1g5bklvsAyS1-snUtmvhQaKEUEQVqaf-EzNuXccs/s320/Pimpernel_Home_Sweet_Home.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Last week, The Boy and I set off on Tuesday lunchtime heading to my parents house, a 100 mile journey down the motorway, leaving </span><country-region><place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">East Anglia</span></place></country-region><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> behind and returning to my South East London outskirts roots! My parents moved home when my mum was pregnant with me, into the house that was home throughout my childhood and that remains their home now. When I was a young teenager they had the loft extension built and my room was jokingly known as ‘the flat’ as it was large and fairly self-sufficient with my own shower, sink, kettle, fridge, television and stereo plus a number of various games consoles over the years left there by boyfriends! The room now is currently unusable – it was never insulated correctly and as a result during winter it becomes an ice box, despite double glazed windows, without a radiator in the room and nobody using it and putting an electric heater on frequently, the sink pipes burst and ruined the cupboard and surrounding flooring one winter and the year after that the shower pipe did the same thing, though the shower wasn’t completely removed the cubicle is filthy and the water has now been turned off up there. Boxes of my old junk and my brothers old junk are stacked around randomly; old furniture painted in the colours of our childhood bedrooms sits lopsided and empty; a doorless wardrobe holds my husbands wedding outfit (in a protective zip up clothes bag) as well as a lilac bridesmaids dress of mine from years ago. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The rest of the house, with the exception of the smallest bedroom at the back of the house, has been redecorated since I lived there. This means that while the house itself seems somewhat familiar and safe, the décor seems wrong because its not how I remember it from my childhood, and so it puts a weird spin on my perspective and I can’t seem to decide if I feel relaxed and secure in this house – as a result, I rarely sleep well when I stay, despite sleeping there soundly for my entire childhood and until I finally moved out, aged 23. To add to my discomfort, I am away from The Hubby, which I find difficult; I am away with The Boy and without The Hubby, which means The Boy is entirely my responsibility, which is stressful, though when I’m with my mum she will help out loads by taking The Boy and doing stuff with him! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFiAsEAuq9m3vXDx_g8_AiY39Y9PyvPjBoh7Vy7W5-2AfSoedz1RJP75YhlDflbIZxeL0lG7nnGS7Im-PJ6CWhpOdkIi3MTTClY70yFkwu9ADBfi9hWRvRb4AXWsaB3CgMK7mMkqKCbQ/s1600/Home-Sweet-Home-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFiAsEAuq9m3vXDx_g8_AiY39Y9PyvPjBoh7Vy7W5-2AfSoedz1RJP75YhlDflbIZxeL0lG7nnGS7Im-PJ6CWhpOdkIi3MTTClY70yFkwu9ADBfi9hWRvRb4AXWsaB3CgMK7mMkqKCbQ/s320/Home-Sweet-Home-.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The first few nights, The Boy slept in a cot and I in the single bed in my brother’s room. Before our arrival my mum had changed it around and after dinner my dad and I built the cot. I adore sleeping in the same room as The Boy – having the smell of him so close, listening to his soft snoring and mumbling throughout the night, plus knowing when he did wake up that I would be immediately aware and if it was an unsociable time then I’d be quickly able to try and calm him down so he didn’t disturb my parents. However, sleeping in the room with The Boy also meant I couldn’t sit and read in bed as I usually would, it meant I had to be fairly quiet when getting ready for bed myself as while he’s a good sleeper in general, if he hears things he often wakes up purely because he’s nosy and he wants to know what’s happening. Added to that, I was sleeping in a single bed and I didn’t have The Hubby to cuddle up with. It was odd, and combined with the different night sounds my parents house has as opposed to the night sounds in my own home, I found I didn’t sleep awfully well at all.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9Fw-ETe2qqjEB5W8Qed_I6v9C0__g9akT9gffqO5wRxXDWNbERTc6vmRJDwTXpjH4DPySAxHRtPwNSajowfre4JJXCZ5Emc4sUnBNkN115lXjOkLK1Esi0kZUNLIsh1DqDKFarDpp74/s1600/Home%2520Sweet%2520Home%25201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE9Fw-ETe2qqjEB5W8Qed_I6v9C0__g9akT9gffqO5wRxXDWNbERTc6vmRJDwTXpjH4DPySAxHRtPwNSajowfre4JJXCZ5Emc4sUnBNkN115lXjOkLK1Esi0kZUNLIsh1DqDKFarDpp74/s320/Home%2520Sweet%2520Home%25201.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">We set off from home around noon and arrived at their house just before two; The Boy had quietly played for the first hour, and been lulled to sleep for the second hour by me changing the radio station to Classic FM as soon as the reception for Heart East Anglia was lost and we were cruising down the motorway (I am probably one of the only people left in the world with a radio/tape stereo in my car and no tapes I wanted to play) We arrived and were greeted with cuddles and kisses, a strong mug of tea for me and a nappy change and some milk for The Boy.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_NS2IW3Css7D6wGkp1HMxR1WicprDeVMNgOVuvyZ4BQATjEGgZ7q30jrdFHaBaQ6YH8N20qU3IfXewB0MjkAhFlywGLgCkyOi78TyBblmMOSY6tp3sfS_IGY06AyQqW1KCUbHuGoY0M/s1600/sittingbabydrinkingmilk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_NS2IW3Css7D6wGkp1HMxR1WicprDeVMNgOVuvyZ4BQATjEGgZ7q30jrdFHaBaQ6YH8N20qU3IfXewB0MjkAhFlywGLgCkyOi78TyBblmMOSY6tp3sfS_IGY06AyQqW1KCUbHuGoY0M/s320/sittingbabydrinkingmilk.jpg" width="249" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">That first day, we didn’t do much; We originally had plans for two old friends of mine to come over (it would have been their first meeting of The Boy, I haven’t seen either of them for about three or four years) Unfortunately that didn’t happen as they’re a couple and one of them had a migraine so neither came over, so we spent the day with my parents and playing in the snow in their back garden. The following day, I had plans to go and visit other friends, the husband of whom leaves for work at midday, so the idea being that we’d get there in the morning to spend some time with him as well before spending the afternoon with his wife and their son, who is two months older than The Boy. It started snowing first thing in the morning and was coming down quite heavily, and added to that The Boy slept in until almost </span><time hour="11" minute="0"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">11am</span></time><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">, which is unheard of. I never like to wake him up because he’s so grotty and moody if you wake him before he’s ready, and I gathered that after a long journey and late night the previous day then he could probably do with the extra sleep. Anyway it meant we didn’t end up getting to my friends house until after lunch, by which point we’d missed seeing her husband, though we had a lovely afternoon together. As we’d not got there until later than planned, we didn’t leave til later than planned, which meant that the possibility of a quick visit to another friend before we headed back to my parents for dinner was out of the window as we hadn’t enough time. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The day after, my auntie came round quite early in the morning – she’s recently retired but still up and about quite early in the day and by nine thirty she was being dropped off in town by her fiancé (she’d spent the night at his house) and then walked from there to my parents house. I was upstairs in the shower when she first arrived and The Boy was still in his pyjamas; It doesn’t matter, really, but it just made it feel like she’d turned up unexpectedly and she hadn’t, but I hadn’t known to expect her so early! After a couple of hours, dad gave her a lift home and I went with them so we could stop off at a shop near her to pick up a few items of shopping. We got home and mum had given The Boy some lunch and he’d gone down for a nap; they’d spent an hour in the garden playing in the snow while we’d been out, and The Boy seemed tired. My friend messaged me to say he’d be over shortly, and my cousin messaged to say he’d be there that evening after work. My friend arrived and was there for a couple of hours, during which my parents neighbour (and good friend of theirs) came over to say hello, hoping to see The Boy and probably feeling quite disappointed when he was in bed again (last time we visited he was asleep when she popped over as well). After she left, it was time to wake up The Boy, and then we played while mum did dinner, as she dished up my friend left and about ten minutes after we’d finished eating my cousin arrived. He didn’t leave til quite late, and then it was time for a quick bath before putting The Boy to bed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The next day my sister in law came round, with her son (almost eight months old) To begin with, he was asleep in his carseat and The Boy was fascinated with the Sophie Giraffe attached onto the harness using Toy Ties, but as time went on he became increasingly grumpy. We put him in the high chair for some lunch, and of course at that point The Nephew woke up.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Still hungry, grumpy and tired, The Boy was now confined to his high chair while The Nephew was removed from the confines of his carseat and allowed to roll around on the floor. He touched The Boys toys, which The Boy seemed unhappy about, until my sister in law produced some of The Nephew’s own toys, then The Boy wanted to play with those despite the fact they were baby things. After lunch, which The Boy didn’t eat much of, The Nephew sat in the high chair for his lunch, and The Boy helped himself to The Nephew’s toys. He was fascinated by the fact that The Nephew has a blue V-Tech Alfie Bear (The Boy has a traditional brown one) and he was pressing the buttons on both to confirm they did the same thing. After The Nephew finished lunch there was some time for playing together, but The Boy kept passing The Nephew things to play with and The Nephew thought a much better game was to throw the things on the floor again, so The Boy would pick it up and pass it to him again. After a while of this The Boy was becoming tired and not concentrating on his walking so well, which meant much stumbling about and tripping – I got quite worried he was going to fall on The Nephew, and he was rubbing his eyes, so my mum took him upstairs to put him down for a nap.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">A couple of hours later, my sister in law and nephew set off for home, and mum went to wake The Boy who was still snoring. After dinner we had a Skype conversation with The Hubby before The Boy had his bath and went to bed. The next morning I woke with a horrible sore throat, banging headache and a cough. I popped pills, slurped syrups and mum mostly looked after The Boy for me while I shivered and felt sorry for myself in my pyjamas for most of the day. Our plans to visit more friends went out of the window given my sickly state, and the fact that apart from not wanting to drive and sneeze my way down the road on black ice and snow, there is the fact that my friends have a young baby and I didn’t want to spread the germs. So we had a lazy day, before our final night there.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">My cough got worse the moment I lay my head down to go to sleep – it kept me awake until 3am, when I searched the kitchen for the fourth time and finally found some cough syrup. I took some, with a couple of cold and flu tablets, and shivered my way to sleep. At </span><time hour="7" minute="0"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">7am</span></time><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> my own coughing woke me up again, so I took more pills and cough syrup and returned to bed with a glass of orange juice. That morning, the rest of the family were off to church, so mum was racing about getting ready while my brother plodded his way through sorting himself out and my dad sat in the kitchen until the last minute wearing his pyjamas and dressing gown, flicking idly through the paper and gazing about like he hadn’t a care in the world. When they finally rushed out of the door, ten minutes later than they should have done, I breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time since our arrival, it was just me and The Boy, and today was the day that we were packing to head home again.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I said earlier that my parents house has been completely redecorated since I lived there – well the combination of that as well as me sleeping in the front room means that I don’t really unpack when I stay there, so fortunately for me our bags were pretty much done – I’d been putting laundry in a black bag anyway and kept the remainder of the clothes in the bag folded up, so once we were washed and dressed I packed up most of our things, ready to load into the car once the rest of the family got home. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">They got back, and I loaded up the car and sorted out the bed things from the front room while mum took care of The Boy. My dad fell asleep in the armchair and my brother disappeared upstairs. Mum cooked dinner for my brother, The Boy and I to eat before we each returned home – my brother was going back to his flat for Uni that evening. The Boy and I sat and ate our dinner while my dad snored in the armchair and my brother was upstairs. Afterwards my mum took The Boy upstairs to change his nappy and my brother finally came down to take the things back upstairs, then he disappeared into his room again without his dinner. Finally we were ready to go so I went downstairs and picked up the final bits and loaded them into the car, then got The Boy ready, put my own coat on and looked at my mum.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Suddenly my dad was awake and wanting to say goodbye and my brother had reappeared from nowhere – typical blokes, they’d got out of helping me sort out the front room and pack the car, got out of helping mum look after The Boy and cook dinner, but now it was all done they were there! We said goodbye and I strapped The Boy into his carseat and we were off.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicCFvRiZ2VT2GwHuKtrYYck70B7U_0ZPUxs2_NRFsUHkMt_6oMKNq7BgmEgY0aipunWNruiKLhydbWldKAjPx0pN4og_65XRPku9B69r2EDPCFr29-ufW8GGE33yn5SeyeeUWXk2HdqOE/s1600/familyVacationStackedCarClipArt%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicCFvRiZ2VT2GwHuKtrYYck70B7U_0ZPUxs2_NRFsUHkMt_6oMKNq7BgmEgY0aipunWNruiKLhydbWldKAjPx0pN4og_65XRPku9B69r2EDPCFr29-ufW8GGE33yn5SeyeeUWXk2HdqOE/s320/familyVacationStackedCarClipArt%255B1%255D.jpg" width="281" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Home lay two hours away, and Classic FM quickly soothed away my grumpiness as I thought of how nice it would be to get home. I missed The Hubby – I always do when we’re apart – and I know The Boy had as well. I hadn’t missed shouting at The Hairy Hounds Of Hell, but I’d missed their warmth snuggling up to me on the sofa in the evenings as I watched TV, and missed their familiar tap-tap of claws on laminate flooring. I simply missed home – my own little house, decorated the way that The Hubby and I decided, filled with our things, the place I could truly relax in. The Boy slept for most of the journey home, and as I turned into the driveway and saw our house I felt very happy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">As lovely as it is, to return to the old stomping ground and catch up with all the people there, I really do appreciate the saying <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Home, Sweet Home</i> now I have my own home. You can never really relax in someone else’s house like you can in your own; Even the night time quietness is somehow unfamiliar and you don’t sleep as well. I’ve never been one to question staying over somewhere if it’s more practical – I make a huge effort to ensure anyone who stays at our house feels welcome and that the room is cosy and they have anything they may need, I’ve crashed on various sofas, floors, armchairs and beds during my life and it never once worried me, but suddenly I’ve become a real home body (Maybe it’s Motherhood? Now I have to protect my young as well as myself I have to be more alert to my surroundings?) That first night home, I enjoyed a lovely long hot shower and washed my hair (my parents bathroom seems determined to stay ice-box cold so you freeze in the shower over the bath – the water pressure is completely unenthusiastic and it’s a struggle to wash my long hair) I then went to bed and fell asleep within about five seconds of my head hitting the pillow! I slept right round the clock because The Hubby was a darling and got up first thing with The Boy and left me in bed, so I didn’t wake up til nearly midday. I felt so much better for it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I do love going back to my parents and seeing them, but I love coming home and remembering why I moved out in the first place! I love making plans to see people, I just wish sometimes the plans would actually happen like they were meant to but we always have a nice time regardless. I love visiting for a few days because anything longer is a headache for many reasons, but in a few days I don’t settle and I don’t get to see everyone, which is a shame.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The next visit planned is for April, and for a very good reason – my younger brother will be getting married. We’re planning to drive down once The Hubby finishes work the night before, arriving fairly late evening so that we can put The Boy straight to bed (hopefully) as he (should) have had a bit of sleep in the car on the way so (fingers crossed) he won’t wake up properly if I can get him in the hotel and put into bed without too much fuss. Then the wedding will be the following day, and we’ll stay that night in the hotel and travel home the day after. It will be the longest time we’ve ever left the dogs – we’re still not entirely sure who we’re going to get to dog-sit! Whatever happens, it will seem like we rushed there and back again, we’ll have a brilliant time but we’ll be exhausted by the time we get home and we’re looking forward to it immensely but on the drive home we’ll be glad to be homeward bound.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Home is where the heart is, after all.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-40147408502166870032012-02-14T10:03:00.003+00:002012-02-14T10:06:35.420+00:00A Love Story<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMxOjtGHJfq2IMbSgVgfdW8dusXC4ZGkJN_UHHpF30nquD_5t8FZYiLVcpTnj3Q2aPtwZ8Z-BRORfaoVtnh0bTHErM6D2obDrDZ_oYdhxUEUpY5pHrML9HsZk3oGwsuuXDNQsjiaUWLxM/s1600/msn-heart-symbol-300x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMxOjtGHJfq2IMbSgVgfdW8dusXC4ZGkJN_UHHpF30nquD_5t8FZYiLVcpTnj3Q2aPtwZ8Z-BRORfaoVtnh0bTHErM6D2obDrDZ_oYdhxUEUpY5pHrML9HsZk3oGwsuuXDNQsjiaUWLxM/s320/msn-heart-symbol-300x300.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">Today being Valentines Day, I thought I’d share with you a love story.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">When I was 17 I got a job working for a pizza restaurant. I got the job through my best girlfriend, who had worked there for a while at that point. I had a boyfriend, we’d been together since we were 16, at high school, and I went to college. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">The colleagues I met there became good friends; There was constant banter, affectionate bickering, we’d turn the music up loud in the kitchen and dance while we worked, we’d spend hours in the pub over the road once our shift had finished and at the weekends a small group would end up at someone’s house, drinking more and having fun until the early hours of the morning. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">By the time I was 18 my relationship was rocky; we argued all the time (mostly over the fact that I wanted to listen to different music and wear different clothes to what my boyfriend wanted me to) By that point I’d passed my driving test so was even more independent, not having to rely on him for lifts; If I’d been drinking I just slept at whoever’s house I ended up and started from there the following day. I kept my college bag and a change of clothes in the boot of my car in case of going straight to college after one of those nights, as they started happening more often throughout the week. My boyfriend resented the amount of time I could have been spending with him but was choosing to spend with other people. We argued more and more, and as I rebelled against his more controlling side I deliberately became more like what he didn’t want – I dyed my hair from coppery blonde to plum purple simply because he said he’d dump me if I did, and I thought that would be such a ridiculous over-reaction to dyeing my hair that I did it just to see if he would carry out his threat (he didn’t). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">My best friend and I remained solidly close, spending a lot of time together and in the company of our friends from the restaurant. There was another pair of best friends there – two guys, older than us by a year, both of which I really enjoyed the company of. They were welcoming, friendly and we’d spent many evenings getting drunk in the pub and playing video games back at someone’s house, having a good time. My best friend and I went on holiday, and before going I tried to finish my relationship with my boyfriend. I missed him while we were away, and when we returned to the </span><country-region><place><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">UK</span></place></country-region><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;"> and I got service on my phone again I had a load of messages from him. We ended up getting back together again, though even as I did it I wondered why.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">In truth, one of the best friends had been flirting with me more than usual. He had beautiful eyes that I couldn’t help looking at, and as silly as it sounds he always smelled nice, which I liked. He had a shy smile and was fairly quiet and nervous – nothing at all like my bolshy, loud, shouty boyfriend! I enjoyed spending time with him especially, but didn’t think it meant anything more to him than just being friendly. That illusion was shattered after one evening in the pub when he was telling me about a girl he really liked, but that she had a boyfriend and while it wasn’t going well with her boyfriend he wasn’t sure how she felt about him. I encouraged him to tell her how he felt, my argument being that at least if he was rejected he would know how she felt and could move on accordingly. He agreed that was what he’d do, and soon afterwards I left the pub. A few moments after I got into my boyfriends car I got a text message from my friend simply saying <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It’s you x</i> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">I didn’t reply that night. I didn’t know what to do, or say, or even think. My boyfriend and I had broken up and made up so many times in the past and while I knew it wasn’t working in the long run I didn’t want to end it because of my friend: On the other hand, now I knew my friend felt the same way about me that I did about him, I knew it was unfair to keep my relationship going, because it was bad enough that I felt that way about someone else while I was still in a relationship. My boyfriend knew something was up and was clingy and even more controlling, trying to tell me I wasn’t allowed to go out with other people and not him, telling me where I could go and what time I had to leave and what to wear. I felt suffocated and trapped: We’d been together three years, I’d never had another serious boyfriend like this and at the start of our relationship I imagined we would be together for always. When you get with someone when you’re 16 years old, you either grow up together or you grow apart, and unfortunately we’d grown apart, and the more he tried to stop it the more I encouraged it. I wanted to be my own person, free to decide for myself, but he wanted me to be his girlfriend, one half of a pair, to allow him to direct me. Shortly after my 19<sup>th</sup> birthday I finally found the courage to tell him it was over between us. He didn’t want to accept it at first, but then the following day he messaged me asking if he could come over and I said yes, then packed all his belongings and some photographs of us into a box and left it on the doorstep of my parents house. He collected the box and went home, then phoned me and asked if he could see me. I said I didn’t think that was a good idea and he started crying. It wasn’t an easy break up and for ages afterwards he kept trying to convince me that we should get back together – I don’t think he knew what to do without me in his life at that point and it wasn’t because it was me, specifically, but more because he hadn’t been single for a long time and didn’t know what to do.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">My plan was to be single for a while, to show that I wanted to break up with him because I was unhappy and not because I wanted to be with someone else, and also because if I got together with my friend on the rebound how would I know whether it was a genuine thing or not? Would I just be using him to replace the person in my life I’d just cut out? I didn’t want to treat him that way, knowing how deeply he felt about me – a confessional letter from him on my birthday had him spilling his honesty onto a page for me, telling me exactly how he felt and leaving me in no doubt that he was in deep, regardless of the fact I still hadn’t said anything to him about the text message. It didn’t happen, though – I couldn’t keep away. Then one night, when I knew he would be at a club with friends, I dressed up and messaged him <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It’s you x</i> then I walked into the club and over to him, leaned over the table and kissed him, and walked out again. I felt like I was on something as I walked out of the club – I got back in the car and drove home. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">My next decision was that we’d take it slowly, not rush things, he needed to make an effort to win me over and I wanted to get to know him better, and again that was a decision that didn’t last. Within a week I was staying over at his rented house every night, returning home in the morning for a shower and to change my clothes, heading off for college, and going back to his house that evening. One night as we lay in bed together I said to him, “Do you think we can make this work?” and he said, “Yes, I do.” At that point my ex was behaving badly, showing up everywhere and kicking off, I’d had neighbours call the police on him, his friends walking up to my new boyfriend and threatening him, yet at the same time my ex was trying to get back with me, making promises for a future he didn’t want but he knew I did, trying to persuade me that he would change and be what I wanted him to be – he didn’t seem to understand that the whole point was he shouldn’t have to change, and neither should I. I tried to explain that if we were right for one another we’d be ourselves, open, honest, and it would be fine; if either of us had to change it wasn’t meant to be. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">My new boyfriend and I moved in with my parents for a while when the lease on his rented house was up. I didn’t have to pretend in this relationship – I was myself, and it was fine, and I could do what I pleased, go out where I liked and with whomever I liked, wear what I wanted, and because I had that freedom I didn’t need to rebel against anything and I settled right down. I never felt more comfortable, more secure or more happy than when I was being held in his arms.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">Our relationship was tested almost four years into it. Relatives from both families died at an alarming rate, and we attended a funeral each week for ten weeks solid, until only our immediate family was left. Then my grandfather died; my world fell apart. I was utterly crushed, devastated and bereft – and then his grandfather died within a month. The pair of us clung to one another, the emptiness inside us both. The Autumn of that year, I lost my grandmother, too, and once again my world collapsed as I watched my mother and father crumble again, watched aunts and uncles and cousins shake with emotion and saw the same minister provide another moving service at the same crematorium that I’d already spent so much time in – I felt the sympathetic eyes of friends on me, the crumpled mess who’d lost almost everyone that meant something in my life. I don’t know what I’d have done throughout that time if it hadn’t been for my boyfriend. Despite his own grief he was always there for me, knew when to give me a hug, knew when to leave me alone, knew when to say something and knew when to be quiet.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">The following year, we married. I was desperate for something good, a happy event, after so much grief and sorrow, but it was a bittersweet day as I realised how small our family had become and that my grandparents and so many other relatives didn’t make it to our wedding. After we married we discussed where we would live, where we would build our future, and we thought about moving 100 miles away, to </span><country-region><place><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">East Anglia</span></place></country-region><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">I’d only visited a handful of times; I’d never holidayed in </span><country-region><place><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">East Anglia</span></place></country-region><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;"> like The Hubby had done when he was a child. I had no experience of this area of the country, had never considered moving away from my roots before – I’d been brought up in the same house where my parents moved when mum was pregnant with me and where they still live to this day, and moving away from familiarity wasn’t something I’d considered before. Then again, everywhere I turned held a memory of someone who wasn’t alive anymore, a time when I went here and there with great aunts, great uncles, or with my grandparents. We discussed the pros and cons of moving away and I found myself telling The Hubby that I thought it was a really good idea. My past was there – my future was with The Hubby, wherever he wanted to settle. We started house hunting and found the perfect place within a few weeks – we moved in within a month. Within a week of us being here it felt like home – we’d lived for two years in a rented property before moving and that was always ‘the house’, with my parents house remaining as ‘home’, but within a week of living here that changed and this was ‘home’. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">In December 2009 I discovered I was pregnant – The Boy was born in August 2010 and the closeness and love I had for The Hubby before has increased even more now he is the father of our beautiful child. He’s still as thoughtful and sweet and kind as he was when I first got to know him, and he knows me better than anyone. Throughout labour with our son, The Hubby was the perfect birth partner, he knew exactly what to do and when (no mean feat, considering that literally everybody else who was involved pissed me off at some point during the experience!) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">We’ll have been together for 12 years in July this year – I’ve still got the first photograph ever taken of us as a couple, taken about a week after we got together and we still say “I love you” at least once a day to one another. I try not to get the hump with him and if I do I just say it and get it out of my system rather than have a fight with him about it – in 12 years we’ve not had a major fight, we’ve only had occasional bickering and a bit of annoyed banter. I still miss him when we’re apart; we still message one another several times throughout a normal day and finish our text messages with kisses. I used to wonder how my parents put up with one another – they’ve been together for almost 40 years and married for over 30 years – but now I realise that if it’s the right person then it doesn’t feel that long, and it isn’t that much of a challenge. Obviously there are times when you argue and bicker and things aren’t going smoothly, but you get through it together and it makes you stronger and happier. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">The Boy and I were away last week, and we arrived home on Sunday. The Hubby had been busy - as well as doing all the housework, he’d started the laundry and been shopping! Yesterday morning he got up with The Boy and left me to have a lie-in; last night he cooked us a lovely dinner. </span><span style="color: #ff66ff;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff66ff; font-family: Georgia;">For me, it’s still him – it has been for years and I can’t see that changing any time soon. I can’t imagine my life without him in it. So, this Valentines Day, rather than spending a lot of money on stupid teddies, pointless trinkets and overpriced cards, I’m going to cook him dinner and tell him I love him, just like I do every other night of the year – after all, it doesn’t have to be Valentines Day for me to appreciate him!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
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</div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-24973599855782229792012-02-06T17:12:00.000+00:002012-02-06T17:12:20.532+00:00Product Review: Mega Bloks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwb4H7b-OGPgrsdW8n9QNN89eGYYKxiPXB77j8ALPP58JVcrHeipcWOopzfghQQLaPd9h3GWEAdxBXkv_hibjNIIPXPt1c2ADHKEw3b-0qJwyfdPd16LjZ0dVjBXGyPNQVUMVjLvODoI/s1600/megablokslogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwb4H7b-OGPgrsdW8n9QNN89eGYYKxiPXB77j8ALPP58JVcrHeipcWOopzfghQQLaPd9h3GWEAdxBXkv_hibjNIIPXPt1c2ADHKEw3b-0qJwyfdPd16LjZ0dVjBXGyPNQVUMVjLvODoI/s320/megablokslogo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Up until a few weeks before Christmas, The Boy hadn’t shown much interest in building blocks apart from knocking down the towers of wooden blocks that The Hubby and I built while playing with him. That changed one afternoon in late November when we attended a birthday party of a friend’s son who is a few months younger than The Boy. For the birthday boy I had asked his mum what he liked, and she immediately replied, “Something he can <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">build</i>” so I went out and found a lovely big bag of Mega Bloks (suitable from 12 months) The fact that the blocks are nice and chunky and brightly coloured means that your little ones should enjoy playing with them and exploring the shapes and colours, they’re easy to click together and create something, and the fact that they came in a handy bag (with a handle) meant that when the fun is over and the toys are packed away they have a convenient storage bag which can be easily transported if you want something you can take away from home with you for entertainment (Always a bonus for me, as some friends don’t have babies and some family members don’t have anything suitable for The Boy to play with, so we’re forever carting toys around with us when we go out!)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">As soon as the Mega Bloks were opened and the birthday boy delightedly playing with them, The Boy jumped in as well and forgot his shyness (until that point he’d been attached to me or The Hubby) Within a few minutes a group of five young children were in a circle on the floor, the Mega Bloks between them, building and playing together happily. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The shop I’d brought this set of Mega Bloks from is local to home, and a couple of weeks before Christmas I headed in there to see whether I could pick up a bag for The Boy. Unfortunately they had none of the bags left, but they did have a fabulous pull-along cart containing Mega Bloks as well as the police station playset. At the time I didn’t have the car with me and the pull-along cart was too big to contemplate walking home with (I could have pulled it I suppose, but that would have got the wheels dirty before The Boy had even seen it!) I wasn’t keen on the police playset as it seemed to include more accessories than Mega Bloks themselves, so I didn’t end up buying either.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">My mum phoned that night and excitedly told me that my dad had found a bag of Mega Bloks in a local charity shop (it turned out to be the same style bag I’d brought for the birthday gift) He’d snapped it up straight away as he knew I was looking for some for The Boy, and then to add to his delight the people in the shop had found a second bag (this one a smaller size) and given him a really good deal since he straight away said he’d take both. I was pleased that The Boy would have some Mega Bloks for Christmas as it seemed something he was suddenly very interested in.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">On Christmas morning, The Boy was thrilled to open two bags of Mega Bloks and quickly he and The Hubby were building all kinds of things with them. Another gift from my parents caught my eye as the paper didn’t quite fit around I could see it appeared to be a box of Mega Bloks. The Boy opened that one and to his absolute delight discovered it contained the In The Night Garden Mega Bloks set, which comes complete with Iggle Piggle, Upsy Daisy and Macca Pacca characters, as well as a carousel and bridge to build. Many, many happy hours came from this discovery, The Boy apparently even more pleased when he discovered that all the blocks could be used together, and giant walls of colour were built upon which the Night Garden characters were sat. (The Boy is a big fan of In The Night Garden, in particular Iggle Piggle, and he was very impressed with the characters that were included in this particular set). There weren’t that many actual blocks in this box set which was a bit disappointing considering the size of the box itself, however since you do get the characters and carousel it doesn’t leave much space in the box for too many blocks.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_V8bp4HYVhnvehzHNXRpTQuGPer9lLzibYpZkZkQp37Ca4afAarKsHy7iF9l-ji87PqaAdJcQYKGQcvHF3NBOqLlXGJHPiDLKCIJbq5JphIytuFRvjuLhrNz28B9RBWo4SG-5bE3w9rs/s1600/inthenightgardenlogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="144" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_V8bp4HYVhnvehzHNXRpTQuGPer9lLzibYpZkZkQp37Ca4afAarKsHy7iF9l-ji87PqaAdJcQYKGQcvHF3NBOqLlXGJHPiDLKCIJbq5JphIytuFRvjuLhrNz28B9RBWo4SG-5bE3w9rs/s320/inthenightgardenlogo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">A couple of days later saw us travelling to visit The Hubby’s sister for our Christmas celebrations, and The Boy had a very big present waiting for him there! It took him a while to open it (he tries so hard to unwrap presents carefully, as if he thinks the paper is part of it and he doesn’t want to damage it!) Once he had opened it though, inside the paper he was delighted to find the Mega Bloks workbench!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The workbench starts off as a big red plastic Mega Bloks box with a bright yellow lid. Inside you get a selection of Mega Bloks, plus a screwdriver, hammer and spanner, and two shelving units. Using the blocks and the shelving units you build your workbench using the box as your base, and the tools can then be stored in their own special shelf. The Hubby and The Boy built the workbench as soon as they were able to, and both were thrilled. It has provided many happy hours of entertainment, and The Hubby’s sister was very pleased that she’d got such a winner of a Christmas present for The Boy (completely on a whim – she hadn’t known about his recent love for Mega Bloks, nor did she know he’d already received some for Christmas)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj55PvAV9xART4no7cLTlLIatHrKTjIrX83pPGDvK47Mfi5yvbQnh5JRORj4sO8MruK-7dEVsVTxArcrLhj-RlfvuEX5kauV8KIEcyXMa33LOQh794-lQ2GlfX1PnfSqwoCUwQVfQO1FHg/s1600/megablokstoolbenchbox.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj55PvAV9xART4no7cLTlLIatHrKTjIrX83pPGDvK47Mfi5yvbQnh5JRORj4sO8MruK-7dEVsVTxArcrLhj-RlfvuEX5kauV8KIEcyXMa33LOQh794-lQ2GlfX1PnfSqwoCUwQVfQO1FHg/s1600/megablokstoolbenchbox.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2j_UiGiaLdZSA0H6H1x6Z1D96OHOu0sL2bmwm7ZcbnduLNLRW0kPAVTTHkKS9TGdpJHaAZ-yEt_BBBBEewfc5_e_ODBztVM_OWT5iAjHP-er-0tbwmeBr7-ScHNUx9i_h0GinJDbDi3s/s1600/megablokstoolbench.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2j_UiGiaLdZSA0H6H1x6Z1D96OHOu0sL2bmwm7ZcbnduLNLRW0kPAVTTHkKS9TGdpJHaAZ-yEt_BBBBEewfc5_e_ODBztVM_OWT5iAjHP-er-0tbwmeBr7-ScHNUx9i_h0GinJDbDi3s/s320/megablokstoolbench.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The Mega Bloks workbench needs the benefit of at least another bag of blocks to make it more fun, as included in the box you don’t get that many, and The Boy does like to build a good, tall tower of blocks at every opportunity! Once the workbench is made up there are no leftover blocks, so The Boy likes to build the workbench and then use his other blocks to make his own additions. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Mega Bloks is something that The Boy has introduced me to, I wasn’t aware of this product before becoming a mummy (I remember Duplo, the younger version of Lego, and thought that was the only option!) However these great value bags, the </span><place><placename><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Night</span></placename><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> </span><placetype><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Garden</span></placetype></place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> box and the workbench have shown me that Mega Bloks know their customers well and understand what makes a good toy. Bright colours, ease of use, plus familiar additions such as the stickers for the Night Garden ‘Ha-Hoos’ and the characters make these fun, practical and great value for money. The fact that I can pack them into their own carry bag or box for storage and transportation puts another big tick in the box for me and I expect many more Mega Bloks sets to be introduced to our household before The Boy grows out of them! They don’t mark despite lots of use and abuse, and if they get dirty or sticky (we all know what toddlers are like!) since they’re plain plastic you can either wipe them over or (as I do) plonk them in a bowl of warm water with washing up liquid for a quick clean. (Remember though if you’ve put stickers on the blocks they won’t fare well in water & washing up liquid!) As The Boy gets older you can go on to the more grown up versions of Mega Bloks, with the blocks becoming smaller and more difficult to connect together, encouraging the development of dexterity and problem solving. I would recommend these to a friend and will be making further purchases myself, both for The Boy and for any friend’s birthdays!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I rate Mega Bloks four out of five, improvement only to be made by getting more blocks included with the sets, though due to the economical prices of the bags of blocks you can easily (and affordably) add to the collection.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-75452245136479089692012-02-06T15:53:00.000+00:002012-02-06T15:53:40.344+00:00Ice & Easy with the Maxi Cosi Mura 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRemHW-6DjA6fJ-wNJkZNV-Z_QYhJk73G2pxbJKUgWsV4LMxQlleycd5WfNWrpoSFmEVjsqRlgNe5jtGfuZ-KlwInV8ZblaNFkWsvllJon16mNGJNlJiXqjimKIeCoIJ4qXhU42xdrGNU/s1600/MAXICOSI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRemHW-6DjA6fJ-wNJkZNV-Z_QYhJk73G2pxbJKUgWsV4LMxQlleycd5WfNWrpoSFmEVjsqRlgNe5jtGfuZ-KlwInV8ZblaNFkWsvllJon16mNGJNlJiXqjimKIeCoIJ4qXhU42xdrGNU/s320/MAXICOSI.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Some of you will know from reading my <a href="http://summermama2010.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-love-my-maxi-cosi-mura-3.html">previous blog entry</a> about the <a href="http://www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/Products/Strollers/Strollers/Mura.aspx">Maxi Cosi Mura</a> that I have taken it out and about in snow before and have been enthusiastic at the way it copes with the weather that brings the rest of the </span><country-region><place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">UK</span></place></country-region><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> to a standstill. With this recent snowfall, I decided to write again about how it handled, not because I want to tell you all the same things again, but because I believe a pushchair can handle very differently depending on the age and weight of the child using it, and as The Boy was very young and in the carrycot addition for our previous snowy adventure, this time it would be different.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Obviously The Boy is heavier now than he was previously – the maximum weight for the carrycot addition is 9kg, but you must also stop using it when the child is able to sit up unassisted, or when they become too big for the carrycot, whichever comes first. While I was disappointed that our Moses basket wasn’t big enough to accommodate him by the time he reached four months old, the <a href="http://www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/products/accessories/mura-carrycot.aspx">Mura carrycot</a> remained a useful addition to the travel system and I was able to continue using that until he was almost six months old. Now at eighteen months old, The Boy weighs in at 12.5kg (26.6 lbs) Due to his height (now approx 88cm) he grew too long to comfortably use the <a href="http://www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/products/accessories/footmuff-stroller.aspx">Mura footmuff</a> last month (he was 17 months old) which was disappointing as it is such a useful, cosy footmuff, however we have cobbled together some pram blankets to use on the Mura seat unit instead to keep him cosy while we’re out. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I still have The Boy parent facing on the whole. It does mean that the seat unit doesn’t sit in the absolute upright position it would if I transferred him to world facing, but I’m in no hurry to do that and he is still quite content to ride along as he is. I like parent facing as I can see if he’s falling asleep and recline the seat to make him more comfortable: I can see if the sun is in his eyes and adjust the sun canopy accordingly, and most importantly (to me) we can make eye contact and have a chat while we’re walking along. I hate it when I see people out with babies – often younger than The Boy – in forward facing buggies, they’ve got the sun in their eyes or they’ve fallen asleep sitting upright and don’t look comfortable, and the parent is marching along behind them oblivious to their comfort, ignoring them completely (usually chatting on a mobile phone but that’s another story!) As we walk, I identify things to The Boy that he can see, in an effort to help him with his vocabulary.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Yesterday afternoon we needed to make a trip to the local shop for a few bits – nothing major, though a proper shop is needed as we weren’t taking the car we decided to get only the necessities as we would be carrying them home. It isn’t a long walk from the shop back home, but not one I wanted to make loaded down with a weeks worth of shopping, with the pushchair to control and the snow to consider. We wrapped ourselves up warmly, The Boy included, and set off with the Mura.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The front path from our garden gate to the front step was virgin snow as we hadn’t ventured out since the snowfall, and it was a good four to five inches deep. As such, the Mura did struggle slightly to get going – the wheels are large size (12”) and air filled, so once it got going it was fine, though heavy to push due to the resistance. We made it down the path, and once we reached the road it was easier going as people had driven on it, so while it was still snowy it was more compacted and not as deep. The Boy gazed around in wonder as we bounced down the road over the mounds of snow and he kept pointing at everything and saying “Ooo”. For a child of his age, the fact that everything was covered in this sparkly white substance must be weird, and the bouncing motion of the pushchair gave the impression it was him bouncing in the seat rather than the pushchair itself bouncing, so we started singing as we walked and this made him laugh and enjoy it all the more.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Once we reached the main pathways heading into the town centre we found some issues with the grimy snow that had been pushed to the curbside by drivers on their way through, as it had become that hard, compact, icy substance which provided an additional step to negotiate with the pushchair, which wasn’t easy. Though I usually adore the three chunky wheels of the Mura 3, this was one occasion where I did think that the Mura 4 would have coped better, for the laws of physics are more on your side. I had to be very careful maneuvering the Mura around the roadsides as it would have toppled very easily due to the way you had to keep pushing against resistance. Usually with the Mura I don’t need to rock it onto the back wheels to get it up curbs unless they are particularly high – the front wheel bounces up without hassle and the back wheels follow merrily – but as I was needing to try and rock it onto the back wheels to lift the front over the compacted snow roadside it did make it slower going than normal and I did feel quite vulnerable as I tried to get it up the curb after crossing the road, so you’re standing in the road battling with it. Luckily though there weren’t many drivers out so we weren’t holding up any traffic, and those that were out seemed to be the nice sort of people who didn’t mind waiting a moment for a lady with a pushchair to get out of the road!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">In town, as expected, the roads and pathways were fairly clear, and we headed straight to the shop. We had some trouble negotiating the curbsides again immediately outside the shop, but we managed it after a couple of attempts and learned that there was a way of handling the snow drifts with the Mura and if you remembered to do it carefully and take your time it would be fine. We went round the shop and gathered what we needed, and were complimented by the lady at the checkout that we’d made it out with the pushchair in the snow! On the route home we took a detour over the bridge so we could feed the ducks on the river as we passed through. The bridge hadn’t been cleared but had obviously been used as the snow wasn’t particularly deep and had again compacted to that brown icy substance. It was fine getting the Mura up and over the bridge, and once at the centre section I applied the brake so we could stop and feed the ducks, and was pleasantly surprised that even in these conditions the brake held the Mura solidly. Coming down the bridge on the other side was a bit slippery but the combined weight of the chunky Mura with The Boy in it was enough to stop it running away from me, and we were soon on the return journey home.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Coming back up the garden path was awkward, as the only places the snow was disturbed was where we’d walked out, and I did end up pulling the Mura up the path backwards. I know that’s not recommended (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">it’s a pushchair, not a pull-chair!</i>) but as the Mura back wheels are joined by an axle the wheels didn’t splay out and as I don’t make a habit of dragging it along backwards I didn’t feel that it would have any long term impact on the chassis. (You know those times in shops when you find yourself squeezed into a small space and you have to pull the buggy backwards to get out of it? I’m one of those smug people that doesn’t have that problem, because despite the size of the Mura it has an excellent turning circle and it isn’t a problem to spin it round and push it out of the smallest of spaces).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">We got back into the warm house, locked the door and let The Boy out of the Mura and he was quite happy. He thoroughly enjoyed his adventure and I must say that the Mura impressed me with how well it coped, as I’d been thinking due to the additional weight in it in comparison to last time I went out in snow, we’d get bogged down and stuck, but we didn’t. I believe it would have been even easier with a Mura 4 as one downfall of the double front wheel unit on the Mura 3 was that snow filled in between the wheels and every now and then we had to stop and get rid of that snow. In addition to that, as I said previously, the Mura 4 may not have had the same tipping issues when getting it off the pavement onto the road, but that isn’t something I normally find an issue with on an everyday basis, I’m thinking it is do to with the way it was sliding on the snow as we were attempting to get off pavements.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The bringing home of the shopping would have been made easier if the Mura basket was larger and capable of holding a half decent load, but we had the raincover folded up in it as well as the leftover stale bread for the ducks and The Boy’s beaker, and this took up most of the space. In addition to that I didn’t feel comfortable putting shopping in the basket as it was likely to get covered in snow and ice from the journey home again. I did buy a set of bag clips recently which hook onto the chassis and allow you to put shopping on them but they’re not recommended by <a href="http://www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/~/media/Products%20Maxi%20Cosi/MCMura%203/manuals/MAN_DRU1077_Maxicosi_Mura34_%202012_LR_ENFRDENLESITPTJAPLUKHRSKHE.ashx">Maxi Cosi</a> due to the additional stress they put on the chassis, and the fact that you can easily overload the pushchair and the additional weight on the handlebar can make it easier to tip. As The Hubby was with us for our snowy adventure he carried the shopping home!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I wish the Mura footmuff was that bit bigger and I could still use it for The Boy, as he isn’t walking very often yet when we’re out and I’m conscious of him becoming too cold, especially in weather like this, when we’re out for any length of time and he’s sitting in the pushchair. The Quinny footmuff, which I use on my Zapp and Zapp Xtra, is much bigger and still comfortable for him (it’s also less hassle to get him in and out due to a much simpler, more straightforward design) however I can’t use that footmuff on the Mura without removing the T-bar as there is no way the Quinny footmuff can accommodate the T-bar, and The Boy loves to hold the T-bar (he pretends its motorbike handles and makes ‘vroom’ noises as we go) and he has one of those toys that wraps around the T-bar to keep him entertained. After viewing the new Quinny Moodd recently with the footmuff on there which is designed to be used with the T-bar I am sorely tempted to get one! Though the T-bar doesn’t come all the way through the Moodd footmuff, it stays inside the footmuff, so I’m not sure if that would irritate The Boy or not. Maybe it would encourage him to keep his hands inside the footmuff – and therefore warmer! – because maybe he’d want to hold the T-bar while we travel, as he does at the moment with the Mura T-bar.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">I do love the Maxi Cosi Mura and I’m very pleased that we chose it as our main travel system for The Boy, but as time goes on I do find things that could do with improvement! I don’t find them major issues, but it depends on what you want from your pushchair, so here’s my list of what could be changed to make the Mura even better!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">1 – The seat unit should be able to sit completely upright when in parent facing position. The same ‘parent’ company (<a href="http://www.dorel.co.uk/">Dorel</a>) have just achieved this in the new <a href="http://www.quinny.com/gb-en/strollers/urban-use/moodd">Quinny Moodd</a>, so I think the existing products from their brands should be re-examined and the same seating position offered whether parent facing or world facing. I know a few mums and dads who say that they want to talk to their child but the child doesn’t like having to be slightly reclined when parent facing. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">2 – The shopping basket should be made into a more basic cube design. At the moment it has a sloping bottom and a low section at the back which does make it easier to slide things in the basket, but also makes it easier for things to slide out! A deeper basket (like the one on the <a href="http://summermama2010.blogspot.com/2011/10/product-review-maxi-cosi-mila.html">Maxi Cosi Mila</a>) would offer a much more practical solution.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">3 – The <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_465542647">Maxi Cosi </a></span><place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.maxi-cosi.co.uk/gb-en/Products/Strollers/Strollers/Elea.aspx">Elea</a></span></place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> comes with a baby nest for newborns and you can get a footmuff for children from about 6 months old. I think the Mura package should be the same – a snugly baby nest for newborns as an additional item to the footmuff would allow them to make the footmuff larger to accommodate an older child and yet you’d still be able to use the Mura from birth because you’d use the baby nest and your newborn wouldn’t be getting lost in a great big footmuff.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">4 – The sun canopy is too low – at 18 months old I appreciate The Boy is above average height, however the sun canopy is literally about a centimetre above the top of his head which makes it awkward to adjust, as if you pull it forward when he’s in the seat you’re pushing his hair or hat over his eyes, and if you push it backwards you’re pulling his hair or hat off the back of his head. I understand that as mine is a 2010 model Mura it has a different sun canopy style to the 2011 and the 2012, however since I’ve not seen either of those in real life I’m unable to comment on whether the sun canopy is any further away from the seat unit. If there was a way of being able to attach the sun canopy further up the chassis it would eliminate the problem by providing the additional space required. It’s a disappointing let down, as the seat unit itself is large enough to accommodate a child way beyond the recommended 3.5yrs old (15kg max weight) and the chassis is sturdy enough to cope with a lot of abuse, but due to that sun canopy positioning I think The Boy will be too tall to use the Mura with the sun canopy beyond his second birthday. Obviously I can remove the sun canopy if I choose to, however without it in place there is no protection from the sun and also there is nothing there for the raincover to go on so that seems quite pointless to me!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">5 – I understand that the Mura 4 was discontinued in the </span><country-region><place><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">UK</span></place></country-region><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"> as it wasn’t a popular enough model and simply didn’t sell well. I think the company should alter the style of the chassis so it is more similar to the Quinny Buzz and Quinny Moodd in the way that you can remove the front wheel unit and replace it, giving Mura owners the option of 3 or 4 wheels. I would definitely have a four wheel front wheel unit for the sake of making life easier in snow, even though it isn’t required particularly often, I think the difference it would make for the times you do need it would make it worthwhile. In addition to this I don’t feel that the Maxi Cosi Mura is promoted enough and not enough people are aware of this amazing pushchair/travel system option. It isn’t sold in most shops, it seems to be an online purchase only, and my argument would be that you wouldn’t spend that much money on a travel system without ever being able to see it or play with it prior to making your purchase. Even if there is only a display model available in some stores and if you decide you want one you have to buy online I think that would improve the sales of the Mura as it really is a brilliant pushchair and once you’ve seen it and played with it many people are surprised at how much it offers and how well it handles, despite the chunky size and heavy weight.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">After our excursion yesterday I flopped into the sofa exhausted – it’s a good workout pushing a Mura (containing an 18 month old) through the snow let me tell you! It handled it well, and while there were aspects that were difficult I know for a fact my <a href="http://summermama2010.blogspot.com/2011/06/quinny-zapp-and-quinny-zapp-xtra.html">Zapp</a>/<a href="http://summermama2010.blogspot.com/search/label/Quinny%20Zapp%20Xtra">Zapp Xtra</a> wouldn’t have even made it down the garden path and while we were out we saw many people with many other makes and models of pushchair who were really struggling, which says to me that my problems were minor compared to some.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">My rating for the Maxi Cosi Mura remains a solid four and a half out of five, because the issues with it even in snow are so minor, they don’t really taint the Mura love that much for me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSpt2ns6oWIrQJ8trLb7dI3E4G9AtT3OCA0-hSOXux9IIhfuN5tvRUW917newpmfyPNT4X5m1PcecQxoCH07co2y21eVr0Xse8ZD_tPvw1UQUjJvhxzJZd22sBFi4PbF4_HlxXP5pMEPo/s1600/fourandahalfstars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="60" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSpt2ns6oWIrQJ8trLb7dI3E4G9AtT3OCA0-hSOXux9IIhfuN5tvRUW917newpmfyPNT4X5m1PcecQxoCH07co2y21eVr0Xse8ZD_tPvw1UQUjJvhxzJZd22sBFi4PbF4_HlxXP5pMEPo/s320/fourandahalfstars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-83493238637928689042012-02-04T15:35:00.001+00:002012-02-04T15:39:36.788+00:00Product Review: Leapfrog Learn & Groove Guitar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjSTNPngGv8nRGIZdLFBoW4QdZcIoXCsRmZafLMFXvi6sQ-71rZaWSUPgFDVq9UjKLKGPdPwLXXY8IcwPD4E0xLLPsch5-z1D9etNIFmd5qLJIvRzEVPdBUNYEjIjq6bkH5vYJr0PGiY/s1600/LeapFrogLogo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvjSTNPngGv8nRGIZdLFBoW4QdZcIoXCsRmZafLMFXvi6sQ-71rZaWSUPgFDVq9UjKLKGPdPwLXXY8IcwPD4E0xLLPsch5-z1D9etNIFmd5qLJIvRzEVPdBUNYEjIjq6bkH5vYJr0PGiY/s1600/LeapFrogLogo.JPG" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Another of The Boy’s Christmas presents for 2011 was a <a href="http://www.mothercare.com/LeapFrog-Learn-and-Groove-Guitar/dp/B004MZRAZW">Leapfrog Learn & Groove Guitar</a> (RRP £15). This brightly coloured, chunky, noisy piece of plastic has been a very popular plaything since.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The guitar itself is sized just about right for The Boy to hold comfortably (he’s approaching 18 months – age guideline is 12-36 months). Like many of his noisy toys, it has two sound level settings, so it doesn’t have to be blaring at you in order for little one to have fun. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitc7i22qkZJyeb2fl7K0AgbBeYAX3S9XxtuUQ6T3fx4a20qtrCALwfj8E6O93G46DiDE-cnmV5AY5ZrZEL65N5R0LIbAVlVnbGl_yOoEHq9T0G1lx2rv0tcJfVQYf1z4fnj968cRosanI/s1600/leapfroglearnandgrooveguitar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitc7i22qkZJyeb2fl7K0AgbBeYAX3S9XxtuUQ6T3fx4a20qtrCALwfj8E6O93G46DiDE-cnmV5AY5ZrZEL65N5R0LIbAVlVnbGl_yOoEHq9T0G1lx2rv0tcJfVQYf1z4fnj968cRosanI/s1600/leapfroglearnandgrooveguitar.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">There are three settings for the song you play – either numbers theme, animals theme or music theme. After selecting your theme, you play the song by using the blue swish shape to ‘strum’ and start the song. You can continue doing that to keep the song playing, and each time you strum the animals wheel spins, and depending where it lands will alter the verse of the song – There is one dog, two sheep, three piglets, four kittens and five ducklings on the wheel, so depending on the theme you’ve chosen will alter which aspect of each animal image the song features. The green button on the neck of the guitar is pressed for music that plays instead of or as well as the main song, adding to the feel that the child is playing their own song by individualising it. In addition to this, there is a setting for both English and French – so you can introduce your child to learning another language from a young age, and it works in the same way so you can use the numbers theme, animals theme or music theme.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Another well made toy, this has also been bashed about a bit, taken from home to various different locations for entertainment upon arrival at our destination, it has provided lots of fun for The Boy as well as refreshing my basic French skills, as well as being a nice noisy toy that The Boy can treat quite roughly without worry of it becoming damaged. While The Hairy Hounds Of Hell aren’t keen on the louder of the two volume settings, especially when it does the animal noises, it is an educational but fun piece of kit that will help develop co-ordination, language skills, as well as encouraging learning the names of animals and numbers.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The Boy received this as a gift and the person who brought it was lucky enough to have found it pre-loved in a local charity shop and didn’t pay the full RRP for it. I would say that this RRP is quite expensive for what the toy is and what it does, though having said that similar things are similarly priced, though I think £10 would be more reasonable for this item.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Educational, fun, creative and robust, this noisy guitar gets four and a half out of five from Summer Mama and The Boy!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtG72kAiqkanG7mBoM8hOz3awHq2F99taxrpxSpASOLEiI5Z-jojtU8eEi7eaA0A6-uSPymFe2ngJPhtYc7P4cwBRB54Dtu0ufwZHNtLNfteJdRpV0g1UbfLlQhLsiQ58MLXyZh19LWSs/s1600/fourandahalfstars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="60" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtG72kAiqkanG7mBoM8hOz3awHq2F99taxrpxSpASOLEiI5Z-jojtU8eEi7eaA0A6-uSPymFe2ngJPhtYc7P4cwBRB54Dtu0ufwZHNtLNfteJdRpV0g1UbfLlQhLsiQ58MLXyZh19LWSs/s320/fourandahalfstars.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-887298373261609995.post-63574050233126255502012-02-04T13:06:00.000+00:002012-02-04T13:06:29.240+00:00Product Review: Happyland Goosefeather Farm<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjngd4cqucstIM0bQB0aR2hjSAkEOleVBrMcpFMegty9c9iozRL8-fv4t3piaP5m7c_5NRMjxQMzPW-f1Y4-tDpIDu3XIvDg0EMlQEeJ5o9gdsT4zVC2Tg969fvfBHWlz1x0k3suqkIQAk/s1600/happylands-logo-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjngd4cqucstIM0bQB0aR2hjSAkEOleVBrMcpFMegty9c9iozRL8-fv4t3piaP5m7c_5NRMjxQMzPW-f1Y4-tDpIDu3XIvDg0EMlQEeJ5o9gdsT4zVC2Tg969fvfBHWlz1x0k3suqkIQAk/s320/happylands-logo-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">My mother in law also chose a Happyland gift for The Boy’s main present at Christmas. Driven by his love of animals (he and Boy Hound are BFF’s) one of his favourite programs (<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/big-barn-farm/">Big Barn Farm</a> on CBeebies) and the continued success of Happyland products in general, she purchased <a href="http://www.mothercare.com/Early-Learning-Centre-Happyland-Goosefeather/dp/B001CPOC24">Goosefeather Farm</a> (RRP £30).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYdMFiyZQGOzQpIaGTfwPYzlRFXJ1xY-zUyBujuoJNnO4WrmL9Tv3vLBSL_oJfbkWp8r2ovQcGlfPJt-s_9Rqw8jb-YNKDL_J9KMve4IjjCaXKxTZKmfDGUOcs3btLfCrWo3WBhsORNAA/s1600/happyland-goosefeather-farm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYdMFiyZQGOzQpIaGTfwPYzlRFXJ1xY-zUyBujuoJNnO4WrmL9Tv3vLBSL_oJfbkWp8r2ovQcGlfPJt-s_9Rqw8jb-YNKDL_J9KMve4IjjCaXKxTZKmfDGUOcs3btLfCrWo3WBhsORNAA/s1600/happyland-goosefeather-farm.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Goosefeather Farm is by far the most value for money Happyland product we have so far. In the box you get:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The building itself – this has a row of buttons along the top to press for noises of each animal included in the set, which is great for association of the right noises with each animal. Inside the barn are three downstairs areas, separated by fencing, an upstairs area so the cockerel can look out on the farmyard through his little window, doors that open at the front of the barn.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The tractor, trailer, farmer and his wife</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">A horse, a cow, a sheep, a pig, a cockerel and a sheepdog</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">A pigsty and a sheep pen </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">The trailer latches to the tractor using the same simple hook system as the moon buggy and mobile space station, so The Boy was familiar with it and quickly had the hang of it. After we’d opened it we had bits everywhere, so I took the time to set it all up properly while The Boy had lunch and when he came back we sat and played for some time – though the farmers wife ended up going into the <a href="http://summermama2010.blogspot.com/2012/02/product-review-happyland-rocket-moon.html">space rocket</a> with the pig and the sheepdog, the robot from the mobile moon unit jumped in the tractor and was pulling the sheep in the trailer, the farmer was in the alien car and the cockerel was kicked out of his hidey hole by aliens by the time we’d finished! What an exciting adventure that was!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">This product, like the rest of the Happyland range we’ve experienced so far, is brightly coloured, robust and well made. Despite the amount of abuse it has already encountered since he unwrapped it, all items remain undamaged and as new in appearance. While we do have to be careful that the pieces don’t vanish under the sofa (I found Girl Hound chewing on a plastic horse the other day that had been missed during tidying up after The Boy went to bed, so I do have to watch both dogs with these small plastic pieces from sets like this) The pieces are chunky enough that The Boy cannot choke and brightly coloured and attractive enough that he enjoys a lot of playtime with them all. The Boy’s imagination is a fantastic place to visit, the times we’ve sat there playing and he’s muttering away to himself, chatting and singing, whooshing and burbling, and Goosefeather Farm and the characters from it often seem to be involved in that playtime ever since Christmas.</span></div></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3366ff; font-family: Georgia;">Unfortunately once again the downfall of this product is that the window shutters and the doors come off very easily which frustrates The Boy, as he can’t fix them back on himself, the fencing that makes the pen for the sheep falls apart quite easily and takes a moment to put back together again and the blocks that are meant to sit in the stables for the cow and the horse as hay bales fall out and get lost easily too. In all fairness though the attention to detail plus the amount of pieces in this set I am very happy with it. The Boy spends a lot of time with his (now fairly large) Happyland collection of toys and again this is a decent product that I would recommend. Another very happy four out of five!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>Summer Mamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03973553959191603635noreply@blogger.com0