good book to recommend

Haven't been posting much lately... apologies!

There are lots of things I want to post, and I'll try to update more often.

I got this book recently

"Is that you, wolf?"

and my boy looooovvvveees it!!

There are a few touch and feel pockets, as well as a pop up wolf at the very last page.

We added some sound effect when we are at the wolf page, he looks suprirsed and scared but he kept flicking back to that page when he reads the book himself, so it can't be that scary!

Highly recommended for abit of fun!

Ikea MULA Building beakers

I really should have made a better effort to update this blog more regularly.  I'm now back to work, it feels like I'm taking on another job when I get home from work - pick him up from nursery, make dinner, feed dinner, bathe, put him to bed.  It's only after he's asleep I feel like I can have a rest.

We went on a holiday to France in late August, we are driving so the amount of luggage is limited to the size of the car boot.

Here's a great toy we're so glad we bought!

The beakers can be stacked to form a tower, like the photo above, or you can hide them all in the red one when you want to pack them away.  Simple toy but kept my son entertained day after day.  Now we're in October, and he still loves it!!

And... this is probably the cheapest toy we've bought to date - only GBP 1.50!!

When your toddler is abit older you can probably use this to teach them colours too.

Highly recommended :)

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/80021008/

NUK nasal decongester & Braun ThermoScan

My little one got ill last week, he got a temperature and a runny nose.  It's the first time he got a temperature and it took him 5 days for the temperature to come down!!!

He's finally well and hence I finally have time to update my findings of what I found useful while my little one was unwell.

1. NUK nasal decongester - it's tricky to clear the nasal passage when the little one has a runny nose.  This nasal decongester works very well, it's very quick and easy to use.  The little one breathes so much better after his nasal passage is cleared.

 

 2. Braun ThermoScan

We used to have another ear thermometer - the BrotherMax one, we got it because it worked as a room temperature as well.  But we found the temperature measurement is not very accurate - we used it a few times in a row and we got 36.6, 36.6, then 37.9!!  So... how can we trust its measurement when it fluctuates so much within minutes?  A friend recommended the Braun ThermoScan - it's used by many NHS professionals (including our GP), and it has an indicator that would beep if the position isn't quite right.  Now we feel more reassured that the temperature measurement can be relied upon!  (At first I wanted to get it from the pharmacy straight away after hearing my friend's recommendation, but RRP is 42.99!!  It's cheaper to get it from Amazon even if we pay for the express delivery!)

No one wants their little one to get ill, but it's inevitable that they will one day... it's better to get these gadgets in advance so they are available when you need it urgently!  (and save yourself from paying for express delivery!)

Homemade banana cake

Sorry I have been abit lazy with updating my blog these days as it's the summer and we have always been out in the park!

Have been doing some baking as my little one loves finger food

The below quantity makes 6 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 egg
10g sugar
60ml milk
15ml vegetable oil
80g all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 banana

How:

1. preheat oven at 175C
2. mix the flour with the baking powder and sieve well
3. mashed up the banana
4. mix the egg and the sugar
5. add milk and vegetable oil to the mixture and mix well
6. add the sieved flour and baking powder and mix well
7. add the mashed banana and mix well
8. put the mixture into cupcake cases
9. bake at 175C for 15 minutes or until golden brown

It's a very easy recipe, I did it at 10pm because we decided to have a picnic the next day. (And because it was late, I forgot about taking photos!)

The little one had it for breakfast before setting of to the picnic! Hubby loves it too!

It's his first time trying out whole egg, and there's no egg white allergy, yay!

Cheese biscuits

I'm in a baking mood these days!  Baking for baby is actually quite fun, and its good that you can control what's in the biscuits - eg reduce sugar, salt and preservatives, and anything you think your baby might be allergic to. 

Ingredients:

115g flour

55g butter

55g grated cheese

2 egg yolks

(Original recipe suggested using 1 whole egg and sprinkle of sesame but I've omitted in case of allergy)

Mix everything to make a dough, put in the fridge for 30 minutes, bake at 200C for 10-15 min or until golden. Can keep in a air tight box for 4 days. 

Apple rice cakes

Have been experimenting with homemade finger food for my little one. 

This is a really simple and healthy recipe using only apple purée and rice!  It was experimental but I think it went well!

All you need is a small bowl of cooked rice, and some fruit / veg purée (depends what favour you want I make) mix them to get a paste like mixture, get into the desired shapes and bake at 175C for 15 minutes, till they get dried. I tried some and they feel light and delicious!  Since its only rice and apple purée you can let him/her have as many as he/she wants. 

Travelling with a new born - travel tips

General travel tips:

1) Car seats aren't compulsory in some countries, some people would just hold the baby in their arms when they travel on a taxi.  Maybe I'm abit paranoid and risk adverse, but I don't feel safe with that as the baby might fly out of my arms if there's any accident.  Better be safe than sorry so  I always use a baby carrier and put my son in it during taxi journeys.  When he's older I may get those booster seats that he can carry as a back pack.

2) Bring baby food for contingencies.  Some people thought they could buy baby food when they get to the destination, but I would bring a decent supply just in case.  That's particularly important if you go to less developed countries.  We could still get Ella's Kitchen pouches in the countries we visited, but they are like double the price.

In terms of stuff we bought for our trips, we found these really useful:

1) flexible foldable bath

As we don't have a bath tub at the place we're staying, we need a bath tub to bathe our son.  This folds up easily and fits nicely in our suitcase.  Although it's plastic it feels very sturdy.  Looks cool too!

2) Microwave Steriliser Bags

These microwave steriliser bags are great because it's so light and compact, and fit into any microwave ovens.  I know some people would use steriliser tablets, but because we haven't used those before, we'd rather stick with microwave sterilising than using chemicals to sterilise.

3. Annabel Karmel Food Masher and Bowl

This food masher and bowl set is so handy when you want to mash up banana and potatoes or other soft food for your little one.  Light, dishwasher safe, and cheap, and does the job beautifully.

4. BabyBjorn Active Baby Carrier

As mentioned above I use baby carrier when we travel on a taxi without a car seat.  Maybe I'm abit paranoid and risk adverse, but I don't feel safe with that as the baby might slip out of my arms if there's any accident.  I also used the carrier when we visited places that aren't pram friendly, this BabyBjorn active carrier has a decent back support which I think is more comfortable than other models.  The carrier seems well designed and well made, and I didn't have to worry that I might drop my son. He also seems comfortable and fell asleep fine in it. The baby can face you or face the world, I usually let him face me when I want him to fall asleep.

Weaning pots

Weaning pots.

I'm a strong believer of "economy of scale" so batch cooking is definitely the way forward for me.  I've purchased lots of different ones, not that I was experimental, it's just that the one I picked initially didn't quite meet my expectation.

This is how I would rank the pots

1. Vital Baby Freezer Pots
2. KOKO Weaning Food Freezer Tray
3. Baby Cubes
4. Brother Max

The Vital Baby Freezer Pots are so good!  They stack really well, and are well made.  You can push the frozen content out easily.  The large ones are ideal size (90ml) for portions as the little one progress with weaning too.  I'd say these pots are the best I've bought, way better than the other ones.  And they are very good value too.  Highly recommended.

The KOKO Weaning Food Freezer Tray comes second, you can "click" the lid into place, and they are very neat in the freezer.  Slight downside is that they don't stack that well without the tray, so when you only have 4 of these left the tray still takes up as much space in the freezer.  They're smaller so it's useful when the baby first start weaning, then I use them for fruit puree "desserts"

We bought these 140ml Baby Cubes because the 1st stage pots are becoming too small for our growing son.  The tray is a good idea as it keeps things neat in the freezer, but these pots are not as well made as I'd hope, one of them chipped after falling a short distance (OK I know we're not supposed to drop them, but accidents do happen, right...?)

I find the Brother Max ones most disappointing.  I bought these before we started weaning as they are apparently "award winning", and I did think they look cool.  How naive...  looking cool doesn't mean they're practical... annoyingly they don't click together properly so they don't look that neat in the freezer / cupboard.  And the bit at the bottom that's supposed to push the frozen content out doesn't quite work...... so, a very disappointing buy from Brother Max (their other products are quite good!)

You can read more info and more reviews here: