Tag: baby essentials

Charlie @ 11 months

helsx91Leave a comment

Wowza!? How quickly have these last 11 months gone. I know I keep saying it but I can’t get my head around the fact Charlie will be 1 in just a few short weeks.

He has come on leaps and bounds, it seems like he’s growing up so quickly. He is the most beautiful, funny, happy little boy. He is actually a little boy now, but he will always be my baby.

He makes us laugh every single day, he is so curious, fearless he’s into everything. Loves his toys, loves playing games, loves his food, loves his bed! We are extremely lucky. He’s no trouble for us, he’s a fantastic eater he will eat anything I put in front of him.

He sleeps like a dream, from the moment we put him down we don’t hear him until he gets up in the morning. He loves his bath before bed too. The only thing he doesn’t like is having his nappy changed or getting dressed but apart from that nothing!

He does grind his teeth a lot which goes through me! He still has 8 teeth, 4 at bottom & top. I thought I could see the white of his molars the other day but I wasn’t 100%. He’s crawling everywhere and he’s really fast, he stands up and sits down all day long. He does sometimes shuffle around the sofa, and I’ve seen him let go a few times and fall on his bum. He’s definitely getting more confident.

He loves to walk holding your hands but still hasn’t got his balance properly yet. We are going on a mini break at the end of the month to a lodge in Narberth for 3 days so that will be a nice mini holiday. We’re also getting this prepped for Charlie’s birthday party!

Exciting times! I’m not ready for him to turn 1, I don’t think I ever will be!

Hx

Advertisement

Packing for holiday with a 9 month old!

helsx91Leave a comment

I decided to do a blog of what we packed to go abroad for a week. I probably started gradually packing a few weeks before. We took two cases as we had 23kg each, so for Charlie I wracked my brains to make sure I covered everything so here was my list for him.

We took his changing bag for the plane and packed everything else into our suitcases.

Plane Bag*

🔹 2 ready made bottles

🔹 Water bottle

🔹 2x Bottles

🔹 2x Fruit

🔹 2x Food

🔹 Spoon & Bowl

🔹 10x Nappies

🔹 2x packs of wipes

🔹 First Aid Kit

🔹 Teething Gel

🔹 Nappy Cream

🔹 Nappy Bags

🔹 Dummies & clip

🔹 Calpol Sachets

🔹 Changing Mat** this was amazing!

🔹 Feeding Bibs & Normal Bibs

🔹 Ear Defenders

🔹 Toys – Sophie, Bee, Crinkle Book, Bath Book

Suitcase

🔸 Lion King Shorts & Tee

🔸 Hooded shorts & Tee

🔸 T-Shirts x5

🔸 Rompers x4

🔸 Swim Shorts x3

🔸 Swim Suit & Hats x2

🔸 Suncream kids Factor 50

🔸 Nappies x25 (min)

🔸 Wipes x4

🔸 Shorts x4 beige,grey & denim

🔸 Hat for daytime

🔸 Sandals

🔸 Shortsleeved Vests x6

🔸 Swim Nappies x15

🔸 Sleepsuits x2

🔸 Bottles x2

🔸 Beach Tent

🔸 Inflatable For pool

🔸 mini pool

🔸 hooded towel

🔸 Light Sleeping bag

🔸 Bibs

🔸 Formula

🔸 10 Sachets of food

🔸 4 ready made bottles

🔶 Snoozeshade

I need to mention the changing bag – Matt bought a travel changing bag from amazon and it was a god send! It saved me lugging his backpack around and we used it throughout the day. It folds out into a changing Matt, has space for wipes, creams, nappies & wipes it was just perfect for what we needed. I’ve included pics below!

I’ll be honest I packed WAY too much for Charlie he didn’t wear even a quarter of his clothes as most of the time he was in his nappy and we would get him to sleep before we left for dinner in the evening so he would be in just a short sleeved vest bodysuit. Even putting shorts & T-shirt on him in the day it was just way too much as it was too hot. I think if he was older and staying up later then he would have worn a lot more but I am glad I over packed than under packed.

We didn’t use the beach tent or the small inflatable pool but would still take them for when he’s older!

Another thing I just have to mention is our snoozeshade – what an absolute god send this is. I use it every day anyway because it helps get Charlie off to sleep if we are out and about in his Pram. But for holiday it was great too! We used it all day everyday and it is definitely my holiday essential for any baby to have. We actually got ours off eBay for £5! BARG!

I think we took around 35 nappies in total and didn’t use them all, and we had swim nappies left over. Charlie went through 2 swim nappies a day we’d take him in the pool in the morning & afternoon. We also took Charlie’s 0.5 tog sleeping bag as he sleeps in one every night and wanted to try keep things the same, as we had air con in our room he just had a vest on underneath and that was fine he wasn’t too hot or cold.

I think that basically covers everything!

Hx

NUK First Choice Leaner Bottle – Product Review

helsx91Leave a comment

I’ll be honest, I haven’t had much luck with bottles. The last bottle I got for Charlie just leaks all the time and now we can’t find the lid which was temperamental anyway, so that gave me an excuse to buy him a new bottle!

I searched high and low on Amazon, I read loads of reviews on different bottles and finally settled on the NUK First Choice Leaner Bottle. The bottle was £7.99 which I didn’t think was too bad, they have Disney designs and I went for Winnie the Pooh!

The bottle arrived today and I’m pleased to say I was pleasantly surprised. Packaged well and lovely and bright. Not to big, although I felt it is a bit on the smaller side. But that would be my only criticism, although I’m sure you could opt for a bigger size I’ll have to check that one!

The bottle holds 5oz or 150ml if you prefer. The lid is very good clips on solid with no leakage. I wanted this cup purely for water, I’m sure you’d be able to use it for formula too. The bottle comes with instructions although I’m not sure why you’d need them it’s pretty self explanatory, plus I couldn’t even see the instructions in English printed anyway!

The bottle also comes with a separate stopper, I’d assume you could use this if you didn’t have the lid. Tried & tested by Charlie you’ll see by the photos he found it easy to hold and didn’t seem to have any problems with drinking from it at all. Overall I’m pleased with my purchase and definitely would recommend.

5/5⭐️ from me!

Hx

Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep – Product Review

helsx91Leave a comment

If you haven’t got yourself one of these then you are seriously missing out on life. This product is hands down our best ever buy! We struggled the first few weeks when I swapped from breastfeeding to bottle. Making up fresh bottles every 4 hours, doing it half an hour before because we had to wait for the kettle to cool. Oh god what a bloody palarva!

I’d first seen the Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep machines whilst wandering around mothercare with my mum whilst I was pregnant. I remember rolling my eyes at it as I picked my jaw up from the floor after seeing the price (£125!!!!) Oh they will bring out anything these days we both said to each other as we picked up all the different gadgets and laughed.

Oh how wrong we’re we about this one! A few weeks passed and I’d heard raving reviews about this thing. Me & Matt were still in the cycle of making up our own bottles early hours and it was killing us. Then one day matt had found a second had one on eBay for £30. “It’s worth a shot” he said, and I agreed. What did we have to loose really for £30?

We received it within a few days but the bottle stand had snapped, it didn’t make a difference to the machine but Matt let the sender know. To our luck she refunded him and got her money back through the delivery company as they’d damaged it. WINNER WINNER!

I found a video on YouTube on how to work it and was amazed as to how easy it was. We put a new filter in and added the water and waited. Once the water had filtered through we decided we would give it a whirl. I changed the dial to the number of ounces we needed, and pressed the button. The machine dispensed around 2 ounces hot water and beeped. We then had 2 minutes to add our formula, I added our scoops and pressed the button again and cold water was added to make up the ounces we needed. Once it was done it beeped to let us know.

Me and Matt looked at one another in disbelief, that was it? A bottle ready to go in under 2 minutes at the correct temperature really??. This was life changing. Surely we’d missed something right? WRONG! This machine was bloody Brilliant! I googled again to make sure we’d followed the instructions and we had, it was THAT simple. From that day forward we have never looked back. It’s been an absolute god send.

Looking back now would I have paid £125 for it had I known how it would help us? ABSOLUTELY.

Obviously £125.00 is a lot of money, and although I think it is definitely worth the money. If you decide to get one second hand for a fraction of the price like we did then go for it! Just buy a new filter which is around £10.95 from amazon. The filters need to be changed every 3 months but the machine will flash up when it needs changing. There is also an option to do a clean which will clean through the whole system.

I dropped it over to my mums when she was having Charlie for a few days she looked at me rolling her eyes, saying she probably wouldn’t bother using it as she’s used to using the kettle. By the time we came back it was a different story she couldn’t believe how good it was!

I am giving this a easy 5/5✨

Currently on offer in mothercare for £79.99

John Lewis £69.99 as of 15th July 2019.

Comes in black & white and possible a few other colours depending on the website. I believe there is a newer version out aswell now called “Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Day & Night” which I haven’t tried this is £129.99.

IKEA – Antilop Highchair With Tray. Product Review

helsx91Leave a comment

We didn’t mess around when it came to highchairs. We just knew we needed one, weren’t bothered about colours,brands or how funky it looked. We just wanted a secure highchair with a decent price tag – and boy did we find it!

We picked up the Antilop Highchair with Tray & support cushion from Ikea. I can honestly say it’s one of the best things we’ve bought. The only thing I found strange was all the pieces are displayed separately rather than as a package, but hey whatever it is what it is.

The chair itself with the tray is priced currently at just £12!!! Like what an absolute BARG! And you could just use this, but the chair on display had the cushion too so we opted for this which was an extra £6 so all in all it cost us just £18. Bloody Brilliant.

Assembling the chair couldn’t be easier, the tray was a bit dodgy to start with but Matt managed to clip it down firmly. It has straps in which can easily be adjusted to suit you & your baby. Everything is wipeable to quick to wash down after a messy meal.

The cushion in inflatable again, takes no time to blow up then fit the cover over and your off to go. This product was exactly what we needed, simple, lightweight, excellent value for money and does the job.

My overall rating for this would be 5/5✨

If you’re looking for something different, SmartSprogs have a great article on highchair chair options for your baby! This is a great option if your struggling to find the right one for you! 😊

Mothercare Jumperoo Giraffe

helsx91Leave a comment

So I bought this when Charlie was 3 months old, I actually bought it second hand from a friend on facebook for £30 which was an absolute BARG! They are currently priced at £90 after looking online.

I bought it purely because I felt like Charlie didn’t have many toys which he could actively play with at 3 months. Although he didn’t use it like he uses it now, he defiantly enjoyed it. I don’t like the thought of babies being on their backs all day which is what seemed like Charlie was doing as all he had really to play with was his playmat.

It was really simple to put together, the only thing I find is it takes up a lot of room! It would be handy if you could fold it down when your not using it. Its lovely and bright, it has buttons on which play music and make different sounds which Charlie loves. The elasticated seat swivels 360 which Is great as there are different toys all the way around, which means when he gets bored I can swivel him round to something new!

Charlie doesn’t bounce in it as such, but he jigs up and down when he gets excited. I think as he gets older he will use it a lot more to bounce in. There is a banana which hangs overhead, to this day Charlie still hasn’t noticed it haha! But I’m sure as soon as he does he will be reaching up to grab it! Overall I do like the jumperoo, it gives me 15 min to do what I need to do and keep him entertained and he genuinely enjoys playing in it. I think if you can get it in good condition second hand then go for it, would I pay £90? Probably not as I do think its expensive for what it is. But, it is a good little bit of kit. I’d give this product 4/5.

Our Guide To Weaning

helsx91Leave a comment

We started weaning Charlie at 5 months old and purely on the off chance. We had planned to wait until he hit 6 months (like your told too). I had been in Tesco and there were fruit purée pots on offer for £1 so I thought oh why not. He had been showing absolutely no signs at all that he was ready to wean. I got home sat him in his chair and offered some to him on a little calpol spoon. I had no essentials for weaning! Well, it was the funniest thing I’ve ever witnessed, Charlie opened his mouth as wide as he could and started kicking his legs in excitement.

I couldn’t believe it I FaceTimed my mum and we were both in hysterics as he continued to gulp down each spoon I was offering him. I quickly realised I didn’t know what I was doing when it came to weaning, so spent the next hour on google! I also dashed out to Sainsburys to grab some bits and bobs listed below!

I bought a load of the cow & gate 4 months+ pots to see what types of food he liked. Now they can be expensive if your going to use them on their own but great for finding out what they do and don’t like. We still buy them now as we find them handy when we are out. And I don’t mind when they are on offer, currently in Asda they are 12 for £6 and Tesco 5 for £10. I also buy the supermarket own sachets of purées which he loves!

I used the freezer pots to make my own, our favourites at the moment are;

Carrot & Parsnip

Sweet Potato & Carrot 

Apple & Banana

Strawberries, Pear & Banana 

Avocado & Cucumber 

They are super easy to make I normally do them on a Sunday or when Charlie has gone to bed, and I pull them out the day before from the freezer to use. I also have a weaning book of recipes but I’ve found the whole experience really fun! 

Baby Essentials

helsx91Leave a comment

So I thought it would be helpful to write about our things which we just couldn’t live without! If you’d had asked me about what you need when Charlie was born I wouldn’t have had a clue! But I’ve got together some of my must haves! Some of them will be a bit obvious…this was mostly UK branding and prices as of May 2019. ( I won’t put prices on everything!)

Asda Little Angels Range:

Vapour Bath £0.87p

Bubble Bath Wash £0.83p

Conditioning Shampoo £0.84p

Bedtime Baby Powder £0.87p

Little Sponge £0.50p

Baby Lotion £0.82p

Bedtime Shampoo £0.87p

Wipes 12 packs of 64 wipes £5.70

Nappies size 1 jumbo pack70pk £2.50

Nappies size 2 jumbo pack 60pk £2.50

Nappies size 3 jumbo pack 98pk £4.75

Nappies size 4 jumbo pack 84pk £4.75

We love this range it’s so cheap and they have lasted us ages! 

Tesco have a brilliant range these are some of our essentials from them.

Fred & Flo Range:

Nappies size 1 50pk £1.80

Nappies size 2 58pk £2.40

Nappies size 3 56pk £2.99

Nappies size 4 48pk £2.99

Nappy Cream £1.25

Bedtime Powder £1.25

Other essentials:

✦Johnsons Cottontouch Extra Sensitive Wipes 12 x56 – £6 (when on offer normally £10)

✦ Dove Baby Lotion – £1.00

✦ Dentinox infant gum gel (teething) £2.65

✦ Infacol Pain Relief £5.50 – you will need this!

✦ Gripe Water £3.50

✦ Changing Matt – we have 2.

✦ Dummies & Dummy Clip

✦ Baby Bath 

✦ Calpol

✦ Bodysuits short & long sleeved 

✦ Sleepsuits

✦ Muslin Cloths

✦ Hats/Mittens 

✦ Socks & Bibs 

✦ Blankets 

✦ Changing Bag – bought mine off eBay for £16 and it’s the best! 

✦ Little first aid kit (just encase)

✦ Bottles – we went for the Tomme Tippee anti

Colic bottles but everyone has their own preference.

✦ Bottle Steriliser Tommee Tippee Microwave – we got ours for £10 on Facebook market.

✦Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Healthcare Kit – Amazon £11.99 includes –

  • 1 x Digital Oral Thermometer
  • 1 x Baby Brush
  • 1 x Baby Comb
  • 1 x Baby Scissors
  • 1 x Baby Nail Clippers
  • 2 x Emery Boards
  • 1 x Toothbrush
  • 1 x Nasal Aspirator
  • 1 x Instruction leaflet

✦Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine – this was an absolute god send and a definite MUST HAVE! I only wish we’d bought it straight away. They are expensive so we bought ours second hand off eBay for £30.

I think that’s everything I don’t think I’ve missed anything, but that was like our essential list of what we use probably every day/ every other day!