Bumpy blogging

A long time ago in a galaxy far away.... Oops sorry wrong beginning !

A long time ago I started this blog with a very different aim, none the less I set up an email subscription and got  some followers, but my plan dwindled as did the old blog. Since then blogger has changed and today I discovered that my email feeder wasn't working, all is well though and it's fixed now but I have lost you if you subscribed to my posts before today.

So why don't you sign up for my updates, you won't miss any brill competitions or random ramblings again whoopee!

Also you can follow me on bloglovin or become a google follower if you are a google account holder,  all my widgets are on the blog site on the right hand side 

Nesting nesting nesting !

In anywhere between 1 and 6 weeks this little bundle will be nestled in my arms. Hopefully after a smooth and peaceful home birth. 

This thought brings on many feelings.

Oh my I'm going to be a mum of 3 under 5yrs old. 

Gosh my children who adore each other and are the most loving team ever will need to make way in their exclusive club for another little person!

Come September I'm going to be partaking  in 3 school runs a day with a teeny tiny hungry baby (I'm thinking  a good feeding sling and cover is a must) 

But most of all my overriding thought is this...

By this stage with peanut and the golden child my Facebook statuses read along these lines 'stairs cleaned, nursery ready, food cooked, bag packed, nails painted, I think I'm ready' (peanut) and 'ok I've cleaned the oven and everything else that would stand still, scrubbed 3 loo brushes and changed all the beds, now where is my boy.....' (That was the golden child)

This time I'm currently sitting on my birthing ball, looking at a half empty not yet painted bedroom, I have no cot, the nursery furniture isn't built, the nursery itself contains all the things cleared out of our room ready for painting. Termite's many items of clothing are still awaiting collection from the launderette and my house needs a good clean even before I can have the MIL round for lunch tomorrow, and whilst all of this should fill me with panic, strangely it hasn't.

I'm a breast feeder so need no feeding things, my cloth nappies, as I'm sure you have read, have been washed and dried and are ready. We have a crib and blankets so really the only thing we need now is a happy healthy baby and mum and plenty of peace for family snuggles.

Oh how the obsessively organised list writers fail when it comes to third time round or is it just me?

Mums, especially those with three or more do you just get more relaxed with each child or have I just lost the plot? I'd love to hear your comments....

Keeping Cool

Just a short one...

I've read a lot recently about keeping cool in this heat when pregnant or advice to keep babies cool and I just wanted to share my current method.... 

Yes as you can see I'm fully embracing my hippo-esque stature and wallowing in the paddling pool in the garden ! 

I'm wondering if I can simply pop a gazebo over the top and stay here until I've given birth? 

For more tips check out this lovely piece on Nursery Trader 

How are you all keeping cool? Leave a comment I love reading them 

Give her some peace

With both of my previous pregnancies I've felt very private, I knew I wouldn't want anyone knowing I was in labour because I just wanted to embrace the moment and concentrate on us. I didn't want the thought in my head that people were waiting in anticipation for news. Good job too my fist labour went on for days I'd have been sick of answering texts and calls.

With this is mind it is with growing anger that I'm having to switch over, or ignore the constant news feed about when poor Kate will birth the royal baby. I read a Facebook status from a huge parenting company, weeks ago, to say they had joined the rest of the press camped outside  St. Mary's hospital. Can you imagine the anticipation of your first birth the nerves and excitement, being marred by hundreds of people camped outside your maternity unit? 

The poor girl has enough to deal with I really hope that those magic royal organisers have a plan to whisk her off somewhere that no one knows about and she can smugly make her announcement when she's had a cuppa and some toast and  some family cuddles.

Better still imagine the response if the announcement read Kate and William are delighted to announce the blissful

Home birth of their first child... 

 

What do you think? Are you a tell all or a private birther? As always I love to read your comments.

Not So White tonight

After a day of sun bleaching I have to admit to feeling disappointed with the results ....

The photo at the top is before and the bottom is after a whole day in blazing sun. I used white tissue as a shade comparison. 

Now not to be defeated I resorted to a bought product! Earlier in the year at  a local baby fair the real nappy ladies sold me some bio D...

Claiming amazing cleaning results from one night of steeping and a machine wash. So dutifully I steeped and washed and dried and below are the third set of results.

Now I don't consider this a great result but am I being to picky?

So readers, any tips tricks or products you can recommend, please leave comments in the box before I reach for the bleach!!! 

It'll be 'all white'

I'm sure you all know by now, I like to do my bit for the environment, and I like to save money. These two things have resulted in my use of home made cleaning products and my choice for termite to use cloth nappies.

 Back to saving money though, I of course haven't bought new or full price cloth nappies, in preparation for my little darling's arrival. I have been ferreting away passed on stashes, bargain pre-loved bundles and sale buys, I have a nice little pile of nappies and unfortunately not a clue what to do with them!

 

So to start they need cleaning, some of my inserts boosters and liners are looking,as you can see, a little grey.

I don't want to bleach them as they are going to be near some very precious and lovely skin so I sought the advice of other cloth Mum's. Now here's my light bulb moment, I cant believe that me,the girl who gets shiny windows using vinegar and newspaper, gleaming ovens with bicarb and glistening surfaces with lemon and water, I don't know about the magic of the sun! The reply back from my cloth mummy's was to hang them out in the sun and watch the magic. A little internet search reveals, this has been going on for century's! In days gone by there were such things as 'Bleaching Grounds' large areas of land dedicated to cleaning! Here folk would bring their washed whites and spread them out to let the sun bake them into gleaming blinding whiteness once again!

As you can see from the pictures there is some magic needed for my liners and inserts but they have been steeped in a little lemon and water and are going to be left in the sun to become gleaming things of beauty.

I shall post again tomorrow with the results, but in the mean time, if you are reading this and you are a Fluffy Mummy please please leave your tips and advice for anything related to cloth nappy use in the comments box, I always love hearing from you and there is nothing better than parental advice.

The Descent

I know all of you who have had children will understand what this post is about as you will be able to sympathise/empathise or laugh along with some of my current issues. 

Now let me say right out I pledged to embrace and enjoy every single moment of this pregnancy as I have been told in no uncertain terms by Spartacus that there will be no more (sad face, I would honestly have another dozen if age money and space were on my side ). But....

I'm 35 weeks and in the last few days my termite has decided to move lower, this has resulted in the most ungainly waddle, to compliment the feeling that I've been kicked (forgive the terminology) in the lady garden with a steel toe boot! I can't sit up lie down or walk without a lovely cracking feeling in my pelvis and of course termite can now play bongos on my bladder or bowel depending on his/her evil desires moment by moment! The resulting lack of sleep or any sort of rest has left me looking sooooo glamorous (as you can see by the picture)  I'm surprised I've not been model scouted in the street, and it wouldn't be hard to catch me as it takes sooooo long to walk anywhere! 

But the good news is that all this discomfort does mean hopefully termite has decided to take a swan dive head first into position. Let's hope that's what tomorrows scan reveals anyway! 

My name is Monkeyfootedmummy and I'm.....

..... a pramaholic. I know I'm not alone, in fact there are hundreds of us. I never dreamt in a million years having an obsession with pushchairs would lead to me making new friends, 'spotting' pushchairs from great distances, starting my own business or being a girl who can say I have owned more pushchairs than is healthy for one Mum, but my number isn't even big......

I have 3 int the house sorry I forgot about one. I have four in the house, A Bugaboo Frog, A Bugaboo Bee, A Stokke and a Baby Jogger City. I have also owned the following

Quinny Buzz

Britax Verve

Petit Star Zia

Easy Walker Duowalker

Mamas and Papas Mylo

Britax B Smart 4

Quinny Zapp

Out n About Nipper

Loola Up

Britax B lite

Baby Jogger City Micro Double

Baby Jogger City Mini Single

It is this addiction that led me to stumble upon Pushchair Trader on facebook, a page for people to hear about new things in the pushchair world, ask questions, find things out, but best of all they run competitions on their website all the time, for really really great stuff, and loads of pushchairs. They also run a VIP scheme, both on Pushchair Trader and the sister site Nursery Trader. This scheme means you get automatic entry into the competitions, and the chance to test and review products. I'm hoping to test a fab new car seat for them with the arrival of termite although I know competition will be fierce.

They also offer something called share and earn so the more people you get to sign up through a personalised link, the more you earn. So if any of you like me are a little obsessed with your 'wheels' it's well worth looking at their site, and you can sign up here to become a VIP

Breech Babies

I have a large bump! I mean really large so I was asked to have a growth scan at 32 weeks, where I was told just in passing that termite is breech. Nothing much to worry about as there is lots of room to move and lots of time to do it in,

None the less I have worried and googled and researched. I've discovered positions to sit in, lie in and balance in and I hvae tried them all. So it was a bit of a disappointment to be told at 34 weeks that we are definitely breech, I'm to go back in a week and have a scan and if I'm still breech I can speak to a consultant about an ECV. My midwife is very kind and also a fan of home birth and believes in trusting your body and women's rights to give birth how they choose, so it was a relief to hear her agree that actually breech if presented optimally is no reason not to give birth normally., although she agreed that their is a real lack of experience in this because doctors would normally recommend a section as soon as they know baby wont be turning.

Now I have been told by more than one person that I shouldn't borrow worry, that there is time and room and Ive given birth twice normally to babies who came head first, Spartacus even reminded me that peanut was back to back until the very very last moment, but I do worry, I want the very best for my children and that goes from the very beginning, even before we are thinking about labour we are cutting out foods, eating more veg, cutting back on caffeine trying to relax and exercise. This is no different I want my child to come into this world in the safest manner for him/her and me to give us the best chance to bond and feed and get to know one another.

So having gotten all of that out of my system I guess this post has no ending yet and I will have to update you all on whether my termite changes position and decides to arrive at home like Mammy would like, or if I will need to make the decision to have an ECV and ultimately attempt a breech birth or will I have to give in to my ultimate fear and have a section.........

Canvas Craft

We love to make things here at monkey towers and I love keepsakes, much to spartacus' despair given how much clutter I accumulate already, the fact that I cant part with even the tiniest memento means we are over run with papers, models, pebbles, stones and everything that we can find make or create.

So always looking for new projects I found some small blank canvases in our local Home Bargains. If you don’t know of this store, its a shop selling, food, drinks, hardware, cosmetics, toys, stationery and various other things at silly low prices. They don't always have the same things from store to store and generally when something sells out then its gone!

Anyway I digress the canvases were 79p!!! So obviously I bought a stash thinking of all the lovely grandparent/godmother/auntie type gifts we could create.

We started with a large pieces of thick paper each and I let the kids paint stripes and smudges and smears in a nice rage of colours, being sure not to turn anything that lovely sludge shade that lots of our pictures become. Then with much mummy assistance we took it in turns to press firmly on the patterns we had created the firmly but smoothly on the canvas, then we did the same with our foot.

I was so pleased with the result that I’m afraid they didn’t even make it as Grandparent gifts and are now displayed with pride of place in the family bedroom. Such a simple and easy idea but so very effective

Peanut's Story

Standing alone in a bungalow bathroom in South Africa I laughed out loud to see the positive line on my pregnancy test, then promptly burst into tears, miles from home I didn’t want to tell my husband over the phone as I wanted to really 'share' the news with him so secretly pregnant and a week away from my husband the very last thing on my mind was how my little peanut would enter the world I just knew she was here and I loved her and life was about to become very different

Fast forward about 6 months and all I could think of was birth and planning. I had been advised (wrongly) against home birth because I had something called Group B Strep and I should be in a hospital ! I'd also suffered with SPD  and so was rather nervous about being mobile, and not in pain. My due date was 1^st December but I KNEW she was coming on 29^th November, no one wants to have a December birthday (as Peanut's Godmother will tell you) and duly on the 29^th what could only be a real proper contraction got me very excited.

We had plans for dinner at one of my Best friends (the Godmother with the December Birthday) and we stuck to them as I was doing ok if a little uncomfortable, I spent the evening chatting and bouncing on a ball, came home and we went to bed, but at 2am I excitedly told Spartacus it was time and off we went to our local delivery suite and so the story turns sour......

Im afraid you are still only 1cm! What Ive been at this hours you must be mistaken! So it continued, irregular but strong contractions for 3 more days, interspersed with no sleep, visits to the hospital only to be told still 1-2cm but waters are bulging! I researched latent labour with a sinking dread, surely this couldn’t go on for weeks I needed help, so crying with self pity on 1^st December I trundled in for a shot of Diamorphine, and settled down for some much needed rest, I sent my husband home at 7pm and started to snooze, at 8.50pm I got up to fill my little cardboard sample pot, presently sat down on the loo and with a huge audible pop the sample pot shot out of my hands with the force of my waters breaking! So the husband was called back and it all became very very real. Eight hours, two courses of IV antibiotics a shot of diamorphine and much proclaiming that I just couldn’t do it later Peanut was handed to me all gooey and slimy and pointy headed from all the pushing. 

My first thought was 'well you're here then'. I will be honest, the sleep deprivation the drugs I hadn’t wanted and the 2 hours of pushing had really stunned me and my bolt of pure love and adoration, well that came later. My girl fed like a star, cried like,well like a baby and did all that she was supposed to. But weeks on I still felt like I had failed a bit, no natural birth no calm serene loving event. But at the same time our bond was growing into something fierce and primal and despite my disappointment at not having the romantic picture perfect birth I had envisaged I knew immediately we would do it again and soon. After all I had done it, no matter how, she was mine and she was here and safe and I DID THAT! Hear me roar I am amazing, I grew her and talked to her and sacrificed quite happily for her, I worked hard for her and she was here in my arms loving me (as long as food and comfort were in plentiful supply)

So the adventure began, the sleepless nights and constant worry, the joy and smiles and giggles, the colic and teething and parental guilt, the weaning, the holidays and 9 months later.... a very clear blue line!

Frugi

So as a mum of two soon to be three I spend a lot of time judging quality of clothes for my kids, don't judge me I believe all parents do this, we want clothes that will stand up to food, dirt, rough and tumble, and most of all will wash well, dry relatively flat and not need to be ironed. But on top of all that, I really don't want to think my children are wearing something that has brought suffering to someone else's children. Oh yeah I hate paying full price too, I buy pre loved and in sales and think nothing of scouring charity shops and market stalls.
As you can see I'm a bit demanding so I was over the moon when I discovered Frugi, Frugi are all about scrumptious organic cotton clothing for babies and children aged 0-8years, they also have a fab range of breastfeeding wear for mums. Their clothing not only looks beautiful but is made from the softest organic cotton that will last and last! Frugi are members of ‘1% for the planet’ so they donate 1% of their turnover to help support 3 great environmental charities, they also promote the highest social welfare standards amongst their manufacturers and cotton growers.
Let me tell you how I discovered them, a post went out on Facebook by Frugi calling for 'Crusaders and Fledglings' This basically entailed someone who already loved Frugi, recruiting someone who had not used their products before to try them out. Both Crusader and Fledgling would review something and then hopefully Love it so much they would spread the word.



We were sent a lovely Rugby top for my son who is a chunky two year old the first thing I noticed when taking it out of the packaging was an absence of smell, you know that smell some new clothes have like a cross between chemical and plastic, which scored a point or two with me as I hate that smell. I did say I was demanding though right?
Next is the packaging the clothes come in compostable non GM potato sacks, you can just throw all the bits of packaging from a Frugi parcel on a compost heap and let it rot away!!
So back to the shirt, it felt really soft and I kept wanting to stroke it it was so lovely and the size was good too, we got a 2-3 and it fit just lovely for my boy who takes after his Dad in build, he is quite tall and looks a bit like a mini Rugby player. It survived a day at pre-school, two 'animal rescue' adventures (please note we don't really rescue animals, my children just have really vivid imaginations) and came off the same shape as it went on, always a bonus. Now for the wash, I'm a 30 degree washer and so quite often keep my fingers crossed once the washer has started, but all worked well and it came out clean and again the same shape and size as when it went in. Now for my final test, will I be forced to iron it.... I'm over the moon to say with clever hanging, something I have become quite adept at, it did not need ironing.Yes I do know this sentence leaves me open to judging but I just don't do ironing.
Now my only negative point about this top is that the cute bug on the back was so cute that my son kept trying to look on his back, rendering him a little similar in nature to a dog chasing his tail.
Overall I'm truly impressed with our little find, would I buy from them again, yes I would they are a bit more expensive than some places but they run sales and you can pick up some real bargains. Most of all though I'm impressed with their morals and eco credentials, that in itself is enough for me, plus if you head over to Frugi and use code HOLLY at the checkout you can get 15% discount

Nûby-UK Competition Win a Feeding Set

I love discovering new things and have in the past been pleased with the Nûby products we have purchased, mostly drinking cups, without knowing much about the company.
Nûby strive towards making the lives of parents and children easy, simple and fun. The highest quality standards, global trends and continual product development ensure they bring parents everything they need for their baby’s development. Products are inspired by nature and offer the best, safest and most simple choices for parent and your baby.
Earlier this year I visited The North East Baby Show and discovered that Nûby are actually local to me and have a factory shop! Oh the excitement, a day trip was planned to involve lunch with the girlies, and our offspring of course, followed my a mammoth shopping spree! The shop is small but perfectly presented and staffed by some lovely ladies who were happy to chat, find stuff and offer advice. We came home with a Monster Snack Keeper, and a Flower Snack Keeper . As well as a huge bagful for my companion and her son, bath toys, dribble bibs, cups, dummies and soft toys and we were given a great discount to, I think to match the internet offers, all without even asking. Brilliant customer service and if you are local to them its well worth a visit. I have a growing shopping list for my next visit before our termite arrives.
The kids love their bowls and I do to, the flexible plastic on the top, keeps food in but still accessible and they are brilliant for out in the car or garden as they don't spill everywhere when toppled. The golden child thinks the monster is super and makes it 'growl' all the time and peanut is a girly girl despite my encouragement otherwise, so the pink flowery theme pleases her no end. The plastic is robust and they are easy to clean so an all round thumbs up from us.

Now those kind folk at Nûby have offered 2 amazing prizes for this months competition,A full set of Flower Child and Monster feeding accessories, including a plate, bowl. snack keeper, cup and cutlery set. 

To enter simply like us on facebook, like Nuby-Uk on facebook, don't forget to tell them The Monkey Footed Mummy sent you, and email competitions@monkey-feet.com with your name and which set you would like to win. Winners will be drawn randomly from the magic monkey pot of luck on 31st July 2013.
Good Luck