Available on Amazon for a smidge over £14

Review by Debbie…

When my Joyful Pregnancy CD arrived in the post I wasn’t feeling that excited about it as after a stressful pregnancy to date I was sceptical as to whether it would have any benefits.  I am happy to say that I was proved wrong and this double CD is both inspirational and beneficial to your state of mind.

I found CD 1 extremely interesting with Janey Lee Grace giving invaluable holistic advice.  In particular, I found her nutrition and exercise advice very helpful.  There are also useful money saving tips plus suggestions of how to feel more in control throughout your pregnancy.

CD 2 is a relaxing hypnotherapy session with Glenn Harrold.  The first time I played it I ended up turning it off halfway through feeling frustrated that it hadn’t worked but to be honest I don’t think I gave it a fair trial as you do have to be in the right frame of mind from the onset of the CD and make sure you allow yourself some quiet time and space to listen to the entire cd without interruptions.  I mistakenly thought I’ll have a quick listen before I get the dinner ready!  After listening to it again, through headphones as suggested on the CD, it was a totally different experience and I would challenge anybody not to fall asleep before the session is over!  I did think maybe I was missing out on information everytime I fell asleep but the session actually encourages you to sleep suggesting that the information is still reaching your subconscious mind.  Either way I felt both physically and mentally relaxed at the end of every session.

I would recommend this CD to any anxious mums-to-be as it will help you feel more relaxed and knowledgeable enabling you to enjoy the remainder of your pregnancy and birth.

Now, at first, I wasn’t sure. Jewellery for children? Really? But actually, these are very special, thoughtfully designed, and will make wonderful special occasion gifts. The Arabelle Children’s Collection is inspired by traditional childhood toys and associations. All of these exquisite handcrafted pieces are available in 18ct yellow gold, while some of the more simple pieces are also available in silver. Bracelets are all adjustable in length, with some available on a cotton cord with two sliding knots in off-white, pink or blue, and all on a link-chain incorporating three clasps to allow for length adjustment.

We particularly love the Peapod – sweetly pretty, yes?

(Okay, I cheated on this one. It was begged requested from Helen by ME ;).  I have fond memories of eggy bread – under the guise of ‘Gypsy Toast’ in 70′s Essex – but have never made it for my own children… oh the shame).

Eggy Bread has been Eggy Bread to me all my life, but apparently it is also known as French Toast or Gypsy Toast. The version I always do is savoury and served with a blob of tomato ketchup but you could also do a sweet version and serve it with fruit. When I was on camp with the Girl Guides I remember breakfasts of Eggy Bread, baked beans and sausages. My baby daughter has it simple and plain.

Recipe
2 eggs
Splash of milk
2 slices of white bread
Olive oil and a knob of butter

Beat eggs in a bowl with the milk.
Heat a frying pan with a splash of olive oil and the butter
Cut the slices of bread in half and dip one at a time in the egg mixture soaking it through.
When the pan is hot (you can tell by dripping in a splash of egg. If it sizzles it’s ready) add the soaked bread.
Don’t have the heat too high as they will cook to fast on the outside and not on the inside.
Flip over
Serve

For my daughter I cut them into soldiers just as they are.

For sweet versions  once cooked you could dredge with icing sugar or cinnamon and brown sugar. Or even maple syrup (*note from Laura – or lemon and sugar, just like pancakes)

You can read Helen’s own blog here – http://www.redders.typepad.com/

Have you seen the episode of Friends in which Joey goes out on a date and gets upset with the woman because she takes chips off his plate? He explains his horror by repeating, “Joey doesn’t share food!” Well, my Joe (I’m not calling him ‘Joey’ even for the purposes of this story, sorry) doesn’t share food either.

Like Joey Tribbiani, Joe will happily, enthusiastically, insistently share other people’s food – going so far as to snatch it out of your mouth – but woe betide you if you try and take his.

But, I hear you cry, why would you take food from a baby? [...]

Spotted! This is our new series, where we spot things on our daily pottering around t’interweb – we have no physical knowledge of these products, or links to these companies, or even know the lovely people behind them. It’s just something that stops us and makes us go ‘oooh!’.

So here’s your first one – the most gorgeous stationery from Sarah Hough. I ne-e-eed want the pretty pegs for my office, the notecards for my friends, and about six of the chunky notebooks just for me.

StumbledUpon this (am loving the StumbleImages button on new toolbar)…

This weeks blog love isn’t just for a particular post – it’s for the blog in general too. I loved yesterdays post  (The Last Straw), but also the one from Friday. And the one on ‘No Sex Please‘ made me laugh out loud. And also make a Change At Bedtime.

So – may I present the Ladybird World blog, chock-full of tiny little life snippets. Careful before you click on the daisy. You may be gone some time…

Just to let you know that we have now posted our review of Think Tank Birmingham Science Museum. You can read it here.

Thanks to @Keris for the tip. We’re fans of American author Catherine Newman, and I just love this essay. It’s a little longer than the articles we usually link to (it being an essay an’ all…), but so worth a read;

Two Hearts Beat As One

We received two pots of sweet potato, pear and pea stage 1. Amalia, at just 7 months, has this weekend moved on to stage 2, however, the consistency of the Organix food seemed to be a welcome bridge between the two stages. And so to Amalia’s tasting notes: as a drooling carnivore, we were a little apprehensive giving her a total veggie meal – previous veggie meals have mostly been scattergunned down her front and onto mummy as daddy applauds in the background. Bad daddy. However, the Organix she vacuumed down with the same black-hole gusto she normally reserves for meat-based dishes (to put this in context, mummy likes her meat cooked, or rather not cooked to the point where a quick blast of the defibrillators would have the beast mooing/baaing again). As you can see from the pictures attached, Amalia went about her dinner with military precision. Lip-smacking, hand waving, mmmm-ing, which loosely translated means she liked it. Keep up the good work!

Amalia, Mama and Papi

Okay, so this is a slight stretch on our usual Blog Love – but I do love it so! What I Wore Today started life as a Flickr group set up and run by designer Gemma Coreell, and contributed to by a host of designers and artists; and it has finally migrated into a great blog of ‘best bits’. The idea is that you submit a drawing, simply titled ‘What I Wore Today’ – the pictures tell you louder than I ever could, so here’s one of my recent favourites (out of far too many to count):

The blog is here but it is very new, and the Flickr group deserves a coffee time browse.

Ok. I hate to keep banging on about it, but it’s six years since my last baby… six years ago the only changing bags around were either a black shoulder bag or rucksack, or a shoulder bag in various hideous baby prints such as teddies or jungle animals. I’m sure some women are happy to tote these around on themselves but I’m not one of them.

Then along came baby number 3 and wow, in the intervening six years a changing bag revolution had occurred (or perhaps I just get out more these days)! Now there are stylish bags in every design shape and colour. The Samsonite is one of them.

So what makes it better than every other bag on the market? Well I obviously haven’t tried every other bag on the market but after using this one I don’t want or need to. Firstly it’s huge. Fantastic. I need the room for all those baby essentials – which have also grown after six years. Plus my own ‘stuff’’ – phone, purse, keys. The bag is full of compartments and pockets for all my grown up stuff, and also has an insulated bottle holder. It looks great, in ‘Cherry Blossom’ print which is stylish but not too girly, even hubby doesn’t mind carrying it around.

I love the fact that its stain proof and easy to just wipe clean, the inside and the changing mat are also anti-bacterial – extra peace of mind there. The changing mat has an integral padded pillow which I was Very Impressed by for my little VIP baby! The only downside I can think of is that the bag has two special pram handles which I can’t see staying attached very long as they aren’t that secure, and the material that the strap is made from is already flaking a bit where it meets the bag.

I think the Samsonite bag is expensive for a changing bag, although good value especially compared to some bags I’ve seen. It’s also my handbag for the next 3 or 4 years if it lasts that long, so in my opinion well worth it.

The Blossom Slouch Change Bag is available at Boots for £51

(Review by Pol)

We are all a-quiver with spooky excitement…. A family theme park ticket to be won for Alton Tower’s Halloween Scarefest… click here, if you dare, to enter…. woooOOOOooooo!

It probably won’t come as a shock to you that Joe is a messy eater. You’ve seen his picture. And babies aren’t exactly known for their table manners anyway, are they? But Joe takes messy eating to the next level. He dials messy eating up to 11. He laughs in the face of messy eating and then hurls it down the front of my top.

Harry was a messy eater too, of course. I’ve got the traditional pictures of his face smeared with yoghurt, his fingers covered in chocolate, but Joe get his food all over his face, his hands, his clothes, the highchair, the floor and any nearby (and not so nearby – the kid’s got some reach) toys. I have picked partially chewed rice cake out of his ears, his nose, his nappy and my bra. Almost everything in the lounge has a light crusting of Weetabix (which, as any parent knows, is one of the world’s most adhesive substances). [...]

That’s it! The time has come, kick ‘em out… those grizzly-bear snoring, duvet-thieving, fidgeting and farting ‘things’ disrupting our sleep and risking our health… kick ‘em out!

Baby Aid first aid kits are a great compact kit to keep in your nappy bag so that you are ever prepared. Everything from basic plasters to burn gel.

We’ve two kits to be won so come on over to the Baby Aid competition page here.

I’m a great believer in giving my baby (now nine months) similar foods to the rest of the family. I was giving her the rice puds from jars and squashy packets, which were perfectly nice, but it dawned on me that I could just make my own which the rest of the family could enjoy too (plus it is so much cheaper).  She was about six months when I first gave her home made rice pudding, and even though I was a little concerned about the lumps, she certainly wasn’t. Down it went – then she looked at me expectantly for more.

For variation I squash a banana and mix it in (great for when they are really hungry) or serve it with a Hipp apple and strawberry puree. If you are feeling particularly domestic-goddess-like you could, of course, stew your own fruit.

Rice Pudding takes a bit of forethought as the family sized recipe below takes about two and a half hours to bake in the oven, but it’s worth it. Whenever I give it to my daughter at tea time she sleeps in for longer the next day.

Family Sized Recipe
(This feeds my baby plus a hungry son and husband with some left for the following evening)
4oz or 100g Short Grain Rice
1-2oz or 25 – 50g sugar
2 pints full cream milk
Nutmeg grated

Put the rice and sugar in a deep dish oven proof bowl. Add milk and give a mix. Grate the nutmeg according to taste over the top and place in a pre heated oven. My fan oven takes about 2 and a half hours at 150 degrees (celsius). Normal electric on the same temperature will probably take another half hour or so.

If you are just feeding your baby you can easily halve these quantities but remember to reduce the cooking time too. Half the recipe takes about 1 and a 1/2 hours on 150 fan or two hours on 150 electric. Once cooked it can sit quite happily in the fridge providing tea for a number of nights.

If you over cook then take out a portion and add some fruit puree or milk.

Perfect for breastfeeding, Milkies milk-saver collects leaking breast milk effortlessly. Milkies milk-saver is easy to use and allows Mums to breastfeed anywhere without worrying about embarrassing leaks or uncomfortable nursing pads. Simply slip it into your bra-cup on the non-nursing side before you breastfeed. Milkies milk-saver collects the breast milk that would otherwise leak so it can be used later.

To enter our new competition to win one of 2 Milkies, click here!

Reviewed by Mel and Ollie;

Wow – I was so impressed with the presentation and overall quality of the Bambas First Comforts baby sign toys and this is before I had even opened the box! It is subtly coloured and very sturdy; in fact we still keep the toys in the box. It is such a box of delights: a special place for our special toys.

The quality continues when you open the box. All six toys to aid the learning of signing are truly beautiful, and each has its own little compartment. Moreover the toys are extremely soft and tactile, and just invite handling: best of all they are just the right size for little hands. Bamba, the main character and monkey, is such a delight, he has become a really special toy. The accompanying manual (which also coordinates!) is very user friendly, and explains the background and reasoning behind signing, as well as a pictorial and written explanation of the signs themselves.

Ollie received this gorgeous box of delights when he was 9 months old, which should be the prime age for learning signing. However at this moment I have to admit that signing hasn’t worked for Ollie! He truly loves the toys, and is always happy when we get the box out (it recommends that you spend 5 minutes a day playing with the toys) – however he never copies the signs that we make. In all honesty I would say he was quite a late developer with regards to waving and pointing, so maybe in time he will start to copy the signing actions that we make. When we tell him to do something with Bamba i.e. give him a drink or feed him Ollie responds correctly using the toys, but without using the signs. However, we all know that no two children are the same and children do respond differently to things.

Nevertheless I would absolutely still buy the box. Because of the incredible quality of the kit it truly is a lovely thing to have, and as I say Ollie loves playing with the toys in their own right. The kit also makes a really lovely gift because of its high quality and gorgeous packaging.

We shall of course persevere with the signing – and you never know…

Bamba deluxe set with all the toys is a few pennies under £40

The first day of school – we’re all looking at it this time of year. Whether you have a big ole 10 yr old headed into Yr 6 (4th Year Juniors to me – will I ever stop converting?) for his very last year in primary school, strutting around being king of the playground, smiling benevolently at the ‘little ones’ . Or you have a scary-big 4 year old, just heading into Reception (Bottom Infants…) for the very first time – First Day Back is always a big thing.

I look at the receptioners all lined up with their mostly shiny-new pressed uniform (spot the ones with older siblings wearing lived-in school jumpers), and they seem so mall. Yet, I remember watching all three of mine on their first days, and wondering how the hell they got so big when my back was turned. Ella’s two years off her own First Day, but I am well aware it’ll be here before we know it.

So this week’s Blog Love goes to Jo Beaufoix – a blog we love to follow, and this weeks post about her youngest daughters first day at school just melted me.