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/

Vital Baby Soft Tip Feeding Spoons

We first came across this soft tip spoon when we bought a travel set.  The lid did not close properly so I wouldn't recommend that set, but the spoon was great!  It's so soft and it's of a good size for feeding a 6 month old baby.  We love it so much that we bought a separate set of spoons afterwards.

They came in pink, blue, and orange/yellow.  

You can read more info and more reviews here:

EasyN Wireless IP camera

This camera is great!  Works during the day and during the night, we can see whether our son is sleeping or awake without disturbing him.

You can access through the internet (so hubby at work can see our son if he wants to), and the quality is great.  There's also an iPhone and Andriod app.  The price is very reasonable too, many other baby cameras are closer to the 100 quid mark!

We have two of these at home, as we also use it as a security camera while we're away from home - there's a built-in motion detection function so if there's an intruder the camera will take photos and email you.

Highly recommend this product.

You can read more info and more reviews here:

Fisher-Price EZ Clean High Chair

Most high chairs are from 6 months, but we really wanted to get one sooner so that our son can join in during meal times, so we started looking when he's 2 months old.  It would also be great as somewhere safe to put the baby while I cook my lunch in the kitchen or do other house work (or even go to the loo!)

We first started doing high-chair research on the mobile while we were out.  At first we quite like the look of the Bloom high chair, and we thought, "Isn't Bloom a prestige pricey brand?  30 quid for a high chair?  Really?"  Then when we clicked to see the details, we noticed 30 quid would only get you the seat insert!  The actual high chair is more like 300-400 quid.  (We still laugh about it today!)

Back to this EZ Clean High Chair I want to recommend.

Although our son's neck seems quite strong we wanted to get one that's suitable from birth rather than ones that are suitable from 4 months.  If you have a look at the market, there aren't that many choices that doesn't cost a fortune.

After some research we found Fisher-Price's EZ Clean High Chair.  The reason we bought it is because it's easy clean.  The surface is easy to wipe, which is really important because weaning is a messy process.  The seat can be inclined at different angles so it really is suitable from birth.  Our son loves it, he much prefers sitting next to us at the dining table while we dine, than at the bouncer on the floor.  The pattern is colourful and cheerful, would suit either a boy or a girl.  We wished we bought it sooner!

You can read more info and more reviews here:

Stokke Xplory

I would say this is one of the best buy, I love it, hubby loves it, and my son loves it.  It's also a head turner on the street, many people comment on how good it is.  So that's why we give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Why we bought it?

Because the seat is considerably higher than any other buggies on the market, so the baby can
- stay away from exhaust hoods
- enjoy the better view from being higher up
- be closer to the parent
- join in at cafes / restaurants from the seat, rather than feeling left out
- face you or face the world
- can lie down to rest / sit up to look at the world

This is a really good video that summarizes why we like this better than any other buggy.



Things to consider before buying:
1.  It takes up quite alot of space in the car boot compared to other buggies.  So make sure your car boot is big enough for it.  (We have a Mercedes E class and it's fine, you might struggle with a C class)
2.  It's quite big and heavy, so I'm planning to get a smaller one for holidays.
3.  There are newer models - Crusi and Scoot, you might want to consider these as well before making the decision, but we actually love the design of the Xplory better.

Xlory official website: http://www.stokke.com/en-gb/stroller/stokke-xplory/product-information.aspx


You can read more info and more reviews here:

Sonoline B Fetal Heart Monitor

We bought this when I was 10 weeks pregnant, and could hear the fetal heart beat at the first try.  Very easy to use, and the sound is on speaker so no need to share head phones.  It's really great and reassuring to hear fetal heart beats because I didn't have any morning sickness, and couldn't feel fetal movement at that point.  I used it occasionally throughout pregnancy just to hear my baby's heart beats.

You can read more info and more reviews here:
 

Solgar pre-natal health supplements

I used to take Pregnacare as supplements as it seems to contain the extra nutrients needed during pregnancy, it's only when I discussed with my independent midwife I switched to Solgar supplements as the blend of the various nutrients is better.  You can compare the make up of these tablets against what you are having:

http://www.solgar.co.uk/SolgarProducts/Prenatal-Nutrients-Tablets.htm

You can read more info and more reviews here:

  

Mr Beams sensor lights

My hubby actually bought these for me when I was pregnant, so that I won't have to turn on the lights when I make the numerous middle-of-the-night toilet visits, and still be able to see where I'm going.  Because I don't have to turn on the lights on my way, it makes falling back to sleep easier too.

The lights are activated by sound and motion, so would turn on themselves when I started making my moves, only when it's dark.  (So they won't be turn on during the day, thus making batteries last longer)

These run on AA batteries so there's no wiring to worry about, you can put them everywhere in your house.  A year on the batteries are still going!  Now that our son is born it's really useful as we can check on him discreetly without turning the lights on.

I'm giving these 5 stars as it made middle-of-the-night trips to anywhere within the house so much easier.  We've got some at the staircase, one at the kitchen, one at the corridor, one at the toilet.  Not only I love them, our visitors like these as well and ask us where we got them from.

You can read more info and more reviews here: