Word of the Week

As I write I'm taking a tea break at 2:30am trying finish my coursework sample. It has to be posted tomorrow.

Coursework was last week's word, so this week's word is a completely uninspired urg.

Sling it, Mama! #4 Guest Post: My favourite slings

Thrilled to have one of my best ladies writing for me today about a few of her favourite slings. She's certainly been a mama on a mission to find the perfect sling for her and Dot!!

...when the bills come, when the girl cries, when I'm feeling blue, I simply remember my favourite slings, and then I don't feel, sooooooo baaaaaaad!

Sorry, could't resist, but you get the point.

My journey into baby wearing began when Dot was just weeks old - we were given a Moby Wrap, and I have to say, when she was tiny, it was great.... fiddly... but great! She was so snug and cosy, and I adored wearing it. However as she became bigger and more awake, it was clear it wasn't going to be our 'forever' sling. So, off I went to the New Forest Sling Library - quite frankly one of the best things I ever did on maternity leave. I would recommend this as a starting point for anyone wanting to wear their little one. The way ours work is like this - you rock up with a cheque book (for the deposit) and £5 for the hire, and play with, try on, and experiment with a world of different slings, carriers and wraps. each month you can take a different one (which I did!) and then return and try all over again. It's fab!!

Anyway, month one - Dot is about 4 months by now, and we try on and borrow a Hoppediz HopTye.... well the love was formed instantly. This is a mei tei carrier - essentially, it has a panel of fabric to hold baby, and 4 long straps to do up around your waist and shoulders. The reason I liked this one so much was the fabric is woven, so very strong as well as cosy for babies, and the sleep hood on it was lovely and big - so my snuggly Dot was right as rain!!

I reviewed it a few times, so please feel free to have a look.

I think the ease of this carrier was key - once I had realised that actually what I needed from a baby wearing devise was to be able to put it on myself without a faff, I instantly became hooked on finding the best and easiest carrier for me and Dot.

The journey took me a few months, in fact it wasn't until Dot was 9 months old that we found the one I was willing to part money for..... the Babies in Space SSC.... Heaven.

So why do I love it so much I was willing to part my hard earned pennies, and have it shipped all the way from Australia? 

Several reasons - this was the first buckle carrier I had used, it was simple, fast, and felt so secure. Now other's I have tried had felt safe, don't get me wrong, but this was different. It was going no where!!

Secondly, the waist band is chunky... something I know some people might not like, but for me it meant comfort and security for Dot. This coupled with the thick back panel and chunky straps means no digging in, lots of support and a snug baby for sure.

Thirdly, the hood is massive!! and grows with your child. As a front and back carry system, this means that regardless of how old your baby is, they can still have the hood up for snoozing. Something I have not seen before. It also packs away into a little front pocket.

Fourthly, they're beautiful. No denying it. And the girl who makes them does custom ones as well, so you can choose your own fabric! That's pretty cool!

Fifthly (not even sure if these are words now.... but this is how much I love it), myself and my husband fight over who wears Dot now. He has also fallen in love with it (but he won't admit it!)

And last but by no means least - I know Dot is safe as houses in it. She is perfectly sat, she is comfy, and is HAPPY! 

I guess it comes down to nothing else. You can spend a little money, or a lot of money, but as with everything else in motherhood - your child's happiness is key. And Babies in Space have made for one happy baby that is for sure!! 

Nici blogs over at The Dorothy Chronicles and can be found on Twitter here - go and sing to her about slings!

Morning Stories

Despite being on maternity leave, mornings are pretty hectic in this household. D's commute to work is over an hour and he's gone not long after 7am, and I find the only way to a) get my day started and b) successfully get ready without children screaming/peeing on the floor/turning on the oven and setting the house alight (ok, perhaps a *slight* exaggeration) is to shower and at least be dressed before he leaves. It's made even more hectic on Tuesdays and Thursdays when there's a nursery drop off and another person to get out of the door and sometimes I feel like a tornado is sweeping through my morning as we try to get organised. In addition, I've started running recently to burn off my baby weight and some more, so that puts more pressure on my morning as I cannot bring myself to run in the evening as I'm zonked by 8:30 when both children are down.

D isn't a huge breakfast man, and I can often take or leave it... It's one of those things that I have if I have time for it but it's regularly an apple that I grab to take in the car on the way to work. Effy has her breakfast at nursery but often has a piece of fruit with her milk and catches 15 minutes of tele while we whiz our way through our starts to the day.

Cue the BelVita breakfast biscuit: The solution and thus the resolution to restore mornings at Thursday's Child HQ! Packable, grab-able, split-able, shareable... A whole HOST of ways in which I can get something into all of us and an item that will definitely stay on the shopping list when I go back to work. Effy loved the milk and cereals variety and on a busy morning last week was able to share them with daddy before they both flew out of the door... They're also a good thing to have in the cupboard for the day we run out of fruit and the last banana has gone squishy. My only niggle about them is that to her, they're just biscuits and I don't want to set a precedent for biscuits for breakfast, but I guess there's more explaining to be done as she gets older... However thinking about it, looking forward they might be a good way to get a selection of wholegrains and fibre into a girl who only wants to eat sausages ever at the mo (that's the toddler, not me!). D and I also enjoyed Yogurt Crunch cocoa variety, however we felt that they were more for a midmorning snack than breakfast... Unless you like chocolately goodness first thing in the morning. That said, I was completely unaware of how many varieties were on offer and will be having a really good nose in the supermarket next time I do my shop because they sound delish!

So, in conclusion, a hit in this household and a product that I can see being useful when I go back to work later in the year, when our mornings will only get even more chaotic, I imagine. A big thumbs up from Thursday's Child HQ!

This post is an entry for the #MorningStories Linky Challenge sponsored by BelVita Breakfast. I was supplied this product for free for the purpose of the challenge but all opinions are my own. Learn more at www.facebook.com/BelVitaUK

Sling it, Mama! #3 Guest Post: From baby wearing to toddler wearing

We're into week 2 of Sling it, Mama! and it's lovely having so many people contributing to the series. Today, Bec is sharing her journey from baby wearing to toddler wearing - thanks Bec! 

I remember going to see a babywearing consultant when I was pregnant, asking specifically for slings for a baby up to 6 months. My plan was to carry until bubs was ready to go in a lightweight stroller, then make the switch.

Yeah, that didn't happen.

When Eleanor made her entrance into the world, we tried and failed to use the Moby stretchy wrap we'd been recommended. I just couldn't get the knack of getting her in it, although I'm determined to give it another go next time round after friends have raved about them. We then rented an infant Connecta for a bit before buying a Bondolino. I loved that Bondolino. So did Eleanor. For front carrying, it was brilliant. I got addicted to the lovely, snuggly closeness, and I used the carrier almost daily until she was 1, then fairly regularly until she was 18 months.

But by then front carry was hard work, and I just couldn't get the hang of getting her on my back on my own. Reluctantly I started using the pushchair more and more, until the carrier only came out once in a blue moon. By the time Eleanor was 2, I thought my babywearing days were over.

Then came a dilemma –  by this time, Eleanor could walk small journeys, which meant she resisted the pushchair. But while she was happy to walk to nearby places like the church where her playgroup is based, when home time came around she'd be too tired to walk and would ask to be carried. I experimented with a hip seat, but as we live up a hill I found it dug into my hip. I didn't want to cart the pushchair around just for the return journey, so we looked into toddler carriers, hoping I'd figure out the back carry more easily with them.

I asked Twitter - y'know, the foolproof way of garnering parenting advice - and was recommended a Toddler Connecta, so I tracked down one in the fabulous Zoology print. I soon worked out how to get her on my back solo, although it is still tricky and I need to sit down to do it. I instantly felt how much more supportive it was than the Bondolino – although that carrier was great when a baby was in it, carrying a toddler felt very heavy! However, the Toddler Connecta has a wide enough base to support the little one from knee to knee, which creates less drag on your back and shoulders.

I love the Toddler Connecta now. I love that I can get it on independently, I love that I can wrap it up and shove it in my bag so that I can whip it out for the homeward leg of our journeys, and I love the closeness. I'd missed it so much, and while back carry is very different to front carry, it's still lovely to feel Eleanor's tummy resting against my back, and when she sleepily lays her head on my shoulders it melts my heart!

I get quite a bit of attention when we're using the carrier, but I've had surprisingly few negative comments. Babywearing at all is so unusual in our culture, I thought toddlerwearing was sure to be met with disapproval, but most people are just very interested in it. Once I was walking along the street and saw an older man watching us. "There's someone following you!" he said. Oh, here we go, I thought, and cheerily responded, "yes, very closely!" The man smiled, and to my surprise he said, "She loves it, doesn't she?" It made me smile that he recognised that this was something that made my daughter happy.

And it does make her happy. She loves going on Mummy's back – given the option, it's the mode of transport she usually opts for. And it makes me happy to have her close, to hear her chattering away instead of leaning over a pushchair saying, "what? I didn't hear that." I don't know how long I'll keep using the carrier, but I'm so glad that, thanks to the Toddler Connecta, my babywearing (or toddlerwearing) days aren't over yet!

Bec blogs at Growing a Girl Against the Grain and Tweets as @becb1984 - please do stop by and show her some love!

Family Photo Friday #17 - 02/05/14

May! You sprung up on on us somewhat unexpectedly!

I don't know if I'm coming or going at the moment. I haven't seen much of the girls or my camera this week... So I had to post the linky rather belatedly to get a picture of the girls together this morning... Good job they love each other so much! 

The rules

Share a family photo from your week just gone. It needn't be a Family Photo Friday specific post, I don't mind you recycling! You can join in weekly, monthly or just whenever you can. It can be a formal portrait or a snap from your phone, something you posed for or something you caught when no one was looking. It could be from a day out, a gathering, an activity at home, it doesn't matter so long as it gives a snap shot of what your family looked like during the week that's just been.

Give us a brief explanation of your photo. 

I'd love it if you could grab the badge to add at the bottom of your post and Tweet about it using #familyphotofriday - my Twitter handle is @oneformybaby12.

Pop over to visit at least two other bloggers and see what they've been doing - maybe you can watch their family grow and change too!

Leave a comment if you can.

I promise to visit as many of you as I can and I'll pick my favourite photo to share next Friday.

Happy photo-taking and memory-making!

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<a href="http://thursdayschild-fridaysthoughts.blogspot.co.uk/p/family-photo-friday.html" title="Family Photo Friday @ Thursday's Child, Friday's Thoughts"><img src="http://i1363.photobucket.com/albums/r718/oneformybaby12/cfd43ed3-81dd-4bc8-891e-83da05b4339a_zpse02e79b8.jpg" alt="Family Photo Friday @ Thursday's Child, Friday's Thoughts" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Word of the Week

Like every secondary school teacher, I'm frantically preparing my GCSE coursework to submit to the board. Things haven't quite gone to plan, so I've been in work for two and a half days this week despite being on maternity leave trying to get it sorted, which hasn't left much time for anything else. Hence not yet having a photo for Family Photo Friday...

What a week! I'll be pleased to wave it off for another year...

Sling it, Mama! #2 Guest Post: Boba 4G

On Tuesday, Chantelle compared wraps and mei tais for the babywearing series. Today, our second guest blogger Donna is raving about her Boba 4G carrier - thanks Donna! 

I only carried my first child, LP, in a carrier a handful of times - I found it easier to use a pushchair, somewhere to put the change bag above anything else! But since having my Little Man I have found babywearing invaluable.

I had two children 20 months apart and the eldest was new to walking so I looked for any ways to make my life easier. During pregnancy we bought a huge monster of a double buggy but when we started to use it as a double I found it so cumbersome - It wouldn't fit in the car boot unless I took all the wheels and footmuffs off and it didn't fit through our doorways at home. To make things easier I started to only use the double buggy when I was walking somewhere from home - About once a week, and the rest of the time I would drive somewhere and take a single pushchair and carry Little Man in my Close Caboo.

Unfortunately though Little Man got too big for the Caboo very quickly so I borrowed a friend's Ergo and then was sent the Boba 4G to review - I haven't looked back! In hindsight I think I would still choose the Close Caboo from newborn as I love the stretchy wrap style but the Boba 4G is definitely my carrier of preference for long term usage.

The Boba 4G is a structured baby carrier that has multiple straps and toggles to make sure that it fits you and your baby perfectly. It is suitable from 7lbs onwards and comes with a newborn insert to use when your baby is tiny - I know many other carrier manufacturers charge extra for a newborn insert. The Boba 4G also has a detachable hood to protect your baby from the elements but also to give it some support when sleeping and a high back makes it incredibly supportive when carrying your baby at any time.

A few things that I love about the Boba 4G compared to other carriers are mainly the little details - It has a clip on the shoulder to attach your bag strap, camera strap or baby toys so that they don't fall off your shoulder. Detachable foot straps are included to give your child's legs support as they get bigger and the whole carrier is incredibly easy to put on and adjust by yourself. I honestly have nothing negative to say about the Boba 4G and if you're looking for a carrier that will last from newborn all the way into toddlerhood then the Boba 4G may well be for you!

At times babywearing has saved my sanity, it's let Little Man sleep whilst I have my hands free to look after his sister and it's made shopping trips and running errands so much easier. There have been times where I don't know what I would have done without a baby carrier!

Donna blogs at http://redheadbabyled.com, and you can also find her on Facebook and Twitter - Do pay her and visit and give her some love!