Mischevious Moos 3

Hello Lovelies,

It's been a couple weeks since I last posted due to the fact that I have been poorly with a kidney infection :( yes I did feel very sorry for myself. I am pleased to say I am now on the mend and I feel like writing again! What a better way to do this than doing a mischievous moos post, I wanna give you all a good giggle and get back posting on a funny note.


Now last week I was down to one child as my lovely mother in law and sister in law so kindly had Ava for me. You would think one child would be half the trouble! WRONG. I'm not going to say that she kept getting up to stuff because she didn't, so I was lucky in that respect but what she did do was big. The most mischievous thing my Bella has ever done. I will start with some of the smaller things she got up too, the more common things that probably many other children do difference is I'm letting you all know that your not alone having mischievous children is quite common. 


I haven't posted in a couple of weeks so at least one thing occurred when Ava was here. First we had the salt saga as I like to call it, this is a reoccurring issue. We have a dining table but every now and then me and Tom sometimes eat when the girls are in bed and when we feel lazy we will eat at the coffee table, don't judge. We will take the salt with us, what can I say? we like our food seasoned. Being the forgetful people we are we tend sometimes to forget to  put the salt back on the dining table, even though we have cleaned up everything else, strange eh. This of course means that the salt pot is there in the morning, and its easy for little hands to reach and unfortunately if these little hands reach it before I do then BOOM we have a salt explosion all over the table and if that's not enough little fingers may decide to dip into it and lick it off her fingers, GROSS. Now of course I come straight in and remove my children clear it up and put the salt pot back, that should go without saying I'm not going to let them lick salt all day, I don't even  let them have it on their dinner, that should go without saying too, I mean who does! I'll leave that one there as I seem to be rambling.

 

 

 Now as you maybe aware Bella does more than Ava but before I carry on with Bella's antics I'll tell you about one of Avas! This occurred while I was ill and my mother in law came round to babysit not only the girls but me too ha ha. My lovely Shellbell as we like to call her bought me and the girls some lunch Ava decided she wanted some fruit and yoghurt this pleased me as getting healthy things down her could be a struggle at times. However Ava had her own ideas of what she wanted to do with her fruit and Yoghurt and eating it wasn't on of them. Ava is a big fan of cookery shows, Jamie Oliver being her favourite this is what Ava was going to copy, using her fruit and yoghurt of course. Using these  two ingredients she copied the programmes down  to a t. Mixing, talking us though what she was doing, putting into the oven (pretend of course), revealing the finished article and of course making a lovely mess!

 

 



 

 

Back to Bella now! These next two are personal favourites of hers too one being more reoccurring than the other. Bella has a thing for tissue boxes when she sees one it is like she is being drawn to it like a magnetic force. Of course she don't just sit there and look at it thinking how lovely these box of tissues are, Bella being Bella decides to pull them all out the box until I am left with none. By the time she has finished she is sitting there in a cloud of tissues looking rather pleased with herself, this is the reoccurring one, well not any more I have put them higher up in my bedroom! This second one is something I am sure she would do again if she could but she cant as I now have those lock things on my cupboards, yes it is to do with food! She loves playing with spaghetti and one time decided she would pull it out the cupboard and decorate my kitchen floor with it, I did find it funny but it was a buggar to clear up! I don't know if any of my lovely readers have cleared up a lot of raw spaghetti but if you haven't you don't wanna, infact I believe I found it too hard and got Katie too do it ha ha.

 

 

 

 

 

Now we have reached our finale, I have no photo evidence of this because I just couldn't in my panic. The story goes like this...

 

Me and Bella were home alone and I was doing my usual tidy up of the flat. In my tidy up  I sprayed the kitchen sides with bleach kitchen spray but one of Bellas bottles were there and I didn't want it getting sprayed so I briefly moved it on top of my oven (its electric) and then  wiped the sides down. At this point Bella was pottering around doing her thing and I thought it would be a good idea for me and Bella to have a shower and get dressed so in there I took her and we had a nice shower and had a laugh splashing water at each other. When I got me and Bella out the shower I picked up Bellas nappy I had taken off her and put it in the bin but as I got to the kitchen  I was in for a shock. The room was all smoky as I glanced at the oven all I could see was a puddle of melted plastic and a bottle teat sitting on top of it.  In my panic my towel dropped too the floor and there I am butt naked, blinds open opening the windows grabbing the teat off the oven and getting as much plastic as I could off the oven. Don't worry guys Bella was fine! While I was a stupid naked mess, Bella was going down the basket of clean underwear and running around with a pair of Avas knickers on her head. Luckily no one was hurt and I caught it but I think you can understand why I never took a pic! haha.

 

I would love to know what things your little ones get up too!

 

Mine maybe little moos but I wouldn't have them any other way, apart from nearly burning the flat down they keep  me very entertained!

 

I Look forward too filling you in next week!

 

Sorry it was a long one guys but thanks for reading :)

 

Until Next time...

 

LotsOfLove

Beth...xxx

 

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My Mind And Me - Who's Me?

Who's Me ?

New place, new surroundings and new people it was all new, That obviously didn't change when it come to my health visitor. She had arranged to come round to my mine to get to know me and the children  and get together some background information. Sounded great to me as I was dreading walking into a completely new clinic where I didn't know a soul. On the day I tidied around and made the flat look as presentable as I could. My nerves where playing up big time, I was and still am surprised I didn't have a panic attack. When she arrived she seemed friendly and I instantly calmed down a lot and thought to myself ' I had nothing to worry about '. She soon went on her way after arranging her next visit.

I was buzzing for the next visit I wasn't nervous I was calm and collected. I assumed the she was going to  be the same I mean why wouldn't she? But when she arrived she acted totally different, sure she kept up her friendliness, she has to she's a health visitor  but she was so pushy and insistent, I felt my nerves coming back and I was getting anxious for her to leave, I couldn't wait for the visit to be over. It was when she made me do a depression score sheet that she was really rubbing salt into the wound, I had known her five minuets I didn't want her judging me, which is what she did. Straight after she looked at it she shoved about 101 leaflets in my lap, I mean come on that's the last thing I needed she then said I should go counselling and out came the golden  line, I could put you through the mental health team. WHAT?!? I know depression comes under that but why when I can just go to counselling would you then threaten me with that aswell, I hated them two words. Made me sound crazy and it wasn't like she polite about it either. Not only that she was pushing and pushing me to get Ava started in another nursery, as if its just as easy as that. She has just found out im a bit depressed and instead of respected my decisions she wants to push and push me into stuff. Grr. When she left I wanted to dance around the flat because I was so happy, happy at the fact she had pissed off, not happy at what she had said or the way her attitude was.

For the next few days what she said was whirling around In my head, I felt as if I was mental, with that I felt as though I didn't know myself anymore and I also wondered if I was coming across mental. I know I may have exaggerated my reaction slightly but to me it really did effect me like that, I don't know why. It got me so down. I was asking all members of my family if they thought I was mental how I come across and all sorts infact I was that annoying they probably wanted to boot me out the door. I don't think I had ever felt that disconnected from myself as I did in that week or so after she had been. The best way I can describe it is I felt like my head was split in half one side was the normal me and the other side the depressed me, I felt like both sided had separated themselves from each other. The normal side of my brain looking at the other side saying who the hell are you and the depressed side being quiet and not knowing how to answer. I was torn. Leading me not to know what to think about myself. Yes the old me was still inside somewhere but there was this massive part of me that was depressed and it was taking over me slowly, this to me alien side of me was becoming more prominent.

It did start getting too much for me and it left me saying to myself I HAVE to do something about this. If I don't then I'm going to end up too consumed by depression. My first step was getting to know it, get to know my depression, How did I do that? I sorted out the 8 week course of counselling, done by talking therapies. I knew then that once I had got to know my depression and become friends with it then I can finally figure out why it is there, that's the next step. Finding out why it was there wasn't just a why it was also to understand it because if I understood my depression then I would finally understand myself. Then step three, giving it the boot or more like supressing it because we all know you can give depression the boot but it will always come back for a visit every now and then no matter how long its been a way.

Next week I will be talking a bout step one in the journey to tackle my depression

Until next time

LotsOfLove
Beth...xxx

Review - Sudocrem Care and Protect

Hey Guys,

I hope everyone is having a fab weekend so far, and how lovely of you to take time out to read our blog! What brings me here today you wonder, well as you could possibly tell from the title, a lovely little review brings me here today, so I guess you weren't actually wondering that ha ha.

Just over a week ago I was sent a sample cream by a lovely lady. The cream in question being a nappy rash cream, Care and Protect by Sudocrem! Sudocrem eh a favourite for everyone parent or not, there is always a tub in the medical cupboard more often than not. For this reason I was happy to give this new cream a go! Now as someone who doesn't always read the ins and out of packaging the name care and protect tells me that it cares for the nappy rash and the protects against it afterwards, keep on reading to see if it has done the job!

Now I am going to turn into a cream nerd and get more into detail about what this product offers, its an important part of reviewing and saves you all time in reading labels should you decide to invest! This ointment, claims to be a triple care ointment, which to be fair is pretty good because usually they only ever double protection, well unless its toothpaste, so as soon as you see triple you start getting wooed. These three things are a protective barrier - that will protect against irritation and rubbing, conditions skin - it has in it vitamin E and vitamin B5 and last but not least guards against infection - the protective layer it will form will prevent infection.

Okay so before using the ointment I was impressed, I love the tube, I sound sad but come on if a products packaging is attractive then your going to want to buy it, us humans like things that appeal to our eyes. But you know it isn't just the way it looks, the tube has a nice smooth feel to it, its just different. Its soft, soft like a babies bum and its for a babies bum so I guess that's why they did it like that ha ha. Another appealing thing about the packaging (yes I'm still going on about packaging but this is my last point about it I swear) as you can see by the picture it has an indent for a thumb..or finger, this is so it is easy for one hand opening which as you may know is good when your changing a fidgety baby, trying to keep them still or holding their legs up with one hand and this cool idea does work!

Lets get down to the nitty gritty, the bit you all want to know, does it actually work? When I got this ointment through Bella actually had nappy rash, I know timing eh, I used it straight away I used one application in the evening the day I got it and then two the next day and by the third application the rash was fully gone, so you can say after two applications her nappy rash cleared up, you wouldn't have thought she had even had a rash. I was very  impressed, I was sceptical about the ointment, mainly because others haven't been that impressive, I thought this one would go down the same road I thought it would take a bout a week to clear but it didn't even take a day. I usually use metanium for nappy rash, you know the yellow one, its messy its yellow and the tube usually pierces holes  in it but up until now it done the job the best. This ointment though, leaves no mess, its not greasy it don't keep coming out the tube after you've used it like the damn metanium, its the best I've had for application and tidiness. So the nappy rash had cleared, but my testing didn't stop there I wanted to test what it said on the packaging you know about the who triple thing so I carried on using, and using, and did our friend the nappy rash reappear, no which was great. That wasn't good enough for me I wanted to see if it was the cream doing its job or Bella just fighting it off herself, so for a day just a day I stopped using it. To my surprise my little love started developing a rash again, I reapplied the cream and after a couple applications it was gone. I am impressed. Now the conditions skin side of it I don't know how you would notice as a babies skin is naturally soft and conditioned looking, but given  the rest of what it says is true I take Sudocrems word for it.

Now I didn't buy the cream myself so I have had to do research on the retail price and I have found the price varies between £4 and £6, you can buy from Asda where its £4 for 30g tube, Tesco where it is £5.50 for a 40g tube and Boots where it is £5.99 for a 50g tube. To be honest I would go for the 50g tube at £5.99, only the best for my little one, I want a nappy cream that I can trust, does the job it says and not only treats it when it is there but protects against it, and if it does all that which it does then I do not mind paying the price at all. The metanium has now gone in the bin and I will be buying myself another tube of this care and protect when this one runs out. I really wanted to weigh this review up and throw a few negatives in there, but I just couldn't find any. I encourage other mums out there to invest in this product, it is worth it I promise, at the moment its th ebest nappy cream on the market.

Below are a list of prices and tube sizes from other retailers you can purchase from.

Superdrug - 30g £3.95 100g £9.99
Morrisons - 30g £4.00 on offer at the moment for £2.97 
Sainsburys- 30g £4.00
Waitrose- 30g £4.00 100g £9.99

Thank you for reading

Until next time

LotsOfLove
Beth...xxx
 

My Everchanging Body

Our lovely readers,

 

Like many of these teenagers flaunting their bodies, I was the same. Nothing would stop me going out in belly tops, tight fitted out fits, short skirts and dresses. Safe to say I was body confident. It felt good. I loved my body for that. For giving me confidence. I would get attention from guys, that was a good and bad thing, I had envious girls throwing me daggers, that didn't bother me. I felt like I was Britney or Madonna. It helped going to college, with my confidence being on a high, I was able to make friends and enjoy it. You see before I started feeling confident in myself I would be very shy, making friends was then difficult, but college wasn't going to be like that, I was confident, I spoke to every one.

 

 

 

 

 

Pregnancy

Seven to eight months after  I started college I found out I was pregnant. Shock. It was unexpected but I was happy. I never really had time to think about what pregnancy would do to my body as I new I was going to be a single mum so I was mentally preparing for that. This resulted in me taking any body changes in my stride. With every stretch mark that appeared I thought 'its for my baby', so they didn't really bother me. Sure sometimes I did think oh god! but that was to be expected as I was young and never had a mark on my body before but all in all for the majority of the time they never bothered me. How could I forget the case of my expanding stomach. That fascinated me more that bothered me, I mean how on earth was it possible for my stomach to stretch that much! My confidence stuck while I was pregnant. I though I Looked pretty damn good!

 

 

 

After I had Ava I was on cloud nine like every new mum so as you may know I wasn't really thinking about my body. It wasn't until it all settled down that I noticed that my body had really changed. It was so much different. I Had gone up a dress size, I had a 'pouch' as they say. I would look in the mirror and wouldn't recognise myself. I felt like a stranger to myself when I would put on clothes and they wouldn't fit. I remember going shopping with my parents and trying stuff on, when things wouldn't fit I would feel myself getting really down and embarrassed. I wanted a black hole to open in the changing room and swallow me up. This is when it started becoming hard mentally, the mental image of myself just fell apart, I just thought of myself as fat and ugly, being single I thought that no one would want me. My confidence went down again and I thought everyone was staring at me. I had to re start college too! ohhhhhhh no. How was I going to cope I felt the size of an elephant and shy as a mouse, but you know what I was a mum now to a beautiful  baby  girl. Sod the way I looked. That doesn't matter. Being there for my girl mattered and she needed me to do this course for her future. Safe to say that motherhood gave me the confidence to get through my second college course.

 Shortly after starting college I started too loose weight, I never got back to how I was before but it was enough to feel confident and comfortable again, and when I met Tom  I started to feel 100x better. He was so complementary, wouldn't stop telling me how beautiful I was.

 

Pregnancy..round 2

My body starting changing pretty early on when I was pregnant with Bella, weight wise anyway. My bump started growing quick much bigger than with Ava. You would think it would be easier because I knew how my body could change but for some reasons it didn't. Many times in this pregnancy I felt massive, like a whale. I was  paranoid that Tommy would end up getting disgusted and leave me. My legs also expanded in this pregnancy which was an unpleasant surprise. That added to my fear and paranoia. Towards the end though I was so tired and fed up I didn't take no notice, I just concentrated on getting Bella out.

 

 

This Is when my body really started to get to me. I am now bigger than I ever have been, I have curves that have popped out of know where, hips that have grown beyond expectation, legs that are fatter than a tree trunk (maybe now that big but it feels like it), boobs that are humungous and a stomach that...well we wont even go there. The last year as been hard as far as body  confidence goes. I just feel disgusting, but dieting is hard. I don't think I would be as bad if I weren't looking at all these fitness things all the time. I feel like that's how I should look, and how I look right now is wrong. But I know that's messed up, society is messed up. Making people believe they should be a size toned 6 is wrong. What exactly is wrong with being a size 14 and healthy? I am lucky to have Tom he is constantly telling me how I'm beautiful and how my body is perfect. They other day I sat and thought there are only two people my body has to please, myself and Tommy. If Tommy loves my body then why cant I?? So I have now started too feel confident naked. I stroll to the bathroom now rather than doing a running jump like I'm in the Olympics. I'm starting to accept my body now, I've accepted
that it changes and with each pregnancy my body turnout is going to be different, but if a I have my family and my Tommy that's all that matters.

My parting message In this post I guess is, sod what everyone else looks  like, sod what everyone else thinks. The only opinion that matters is your own. Body confidence doesn't come from what you look like or what your weight is. Body confidence comes from within and how your thought process is about your body and always have someone there to give you a boost when your body confidence is a bit low.


Thanks for reading:)

Until  next time

LotsOfLove
Beth...xxx
 

 

The big M

It never used to bother me, you know the whole living at home with parents, even when I had Ava and was a single mum I didn't mind staying in my parents home, its all I knew and I weren't in a hurry to take the leap in to independence. I had a new little baby that was enough of a change and I was 18 so it was still acceptable. After having Ava it did dawn on me that I was the 'third wheel' so to speak. But I didn't care, I had the right to be there, I was their daughter, like Ava was mine so I knew it didn't bother them after all you can never picture your child leaving home and don't tend to think about it.

Time went on, I started college, another reason for me not to take the leap, I wanted to finish the course before I thought about taking on the moving challenge, and also getting a job at the end of it was fore front of my mind too. Now I had a boyfriend at that point. Together for a year you would think we would have thought about the next step, but he turned out to have the mind of a five year old and a dragon of a controlling nan so I got out of that relationship faster than Usain Bolt running the 100m. By no means did this dampen my spirits, I stayed at home and continued studying and Ava was coming up for her second birthday. It was then that my sister made a joke that me being me took seriously. This changed my  life forever, in a good way don't be alarmed. You should try online dating she said, so I did.


To be honest I wasn't looking for 'love' I thought I would just see what it was like. I had heard about online dating and now seeing myself as an adult I didn't see the harm. Oh my it wasn't the best dating site to try, but it was one advertised on Facebook so I thought it must be popular. Some of the wronguns that messaged me on there were unbelievable. I even texted a few. Don't ask me why. I saw it all, cheesy chat up lines, a fairly normal bloke who was still tied up on his ex so much so I started to think they were still together! I had boring blokes which had less personality than my sofa, and weird stalker types, which were possessive after a day of texting, I would rather of had my eyes gauged out by a bear while being stung by a thousands of angry bees than have spoke to them a day longer. I pretty much gave up on the whole online dating scene having wrote it off as a place of creeps. I don't know why I went back on there, curiosity killed the cat as they say. But I was right to do so because sitting in my inbox was a little message from my now fiancé and father of my two children. (Ava knows him as daddy he's all she knows )we have now been together for nearly 3 years.

 

I suppose it was when I was pregnant with Bella I started to think of my own space. We had lived with Toms parents and mine at separate times during my pregnancy. Going from pillar to post we both come to the realisation we both had no place to call home. These two houses we had grown up in no longer felt like home. For the first time the place I had lived in for like 12 years was my parents home. That was how we knew that it was time. It was time to move. To get our own place our own space. stand on our own two feet. Unfortunately due too medical problems in my pregnancy it was decided that it was best not to until Bella had arrived. And of course the main problem MONEY. I didn't feel to stressed out about it while I was pregnant. It wasn't until Bella was born that it bothered me the most. Things got really difficult living with my parents. Me and my mum started arguing. A lot. Little things she did annoyed me. I started to want my own place desperately, a far cry from how I was when I had just had Ava, I had grown up. I would cry about it most days wanting to move came an obsession. I would look at properties online all day everyday and imagine myself in them. I nearly took a disgusting flat, it was Tommy that made me realise. After that I tried not to think about it but It was still there in my head, I NEEDED to move. Eventually Tommy came up with viewings randomly, to my delight we viewed a place and liked it and with the deposit saved up safe and sound in our bank account we were good to go. I faced the most painful, longest, agonising week of my life hoping everything would go through okay, I cant explain to you how it felt when we got a moving date. That was a magical day. To be honest it didn't seem real I was on cloud 9 and thought I was watching someone else moving into their place. That night felt good. Relaxed. Now came the next challenge.


I had it, all I had wanted. But I was in a new place that was completely alien to me. I had gone from Essex to Woodley In berks over night. It was new. I had no idea what was in my area, where the busses went, where the local hospital was ect. it took months to get used too and to know. At first and I will be honest I felt I didn't belong, I mean how can someone who knows nothing about the place and had a noticeable different accent belong? On top of it all the whole flat was my responsibility , that was daunting, more daunting than motherhood strangely enough. I had too cook dinners if not my family didn't eat, I had to do all the washing if not my family had no clothes, I would have to get the shopping in to make sure I was able to cook, I had to make sure we didn't run out of money and make sure the rent was paid on time to make sure we didn't become homeless. I had to make sure the house was clean so that my kids don't live in a dirt pit and get unhealthy. It was stressful, before I only had to look after myself and make sure my kids were looked after and fed. Now Everything was down to me and with Tom at work If I didn't do it, it would fall apart. I'm not going to lie it took a while to find my feet.

Fortunately now all is okay. Yes I am in a new place to where I grew up, but this area is now home, its where my children will grow up. when we drive back into Woodley, I feel relaxed I feel at ease and familiar I feel, 'ahhh I'm home'. I know what is around me. On the house chores side of it, I am no longer stressing, I am on top of it all once a day is done I sit on the sofa with a sense of achievement feeling like I have just climbed mount Everest and won the FA cup all in one day. All in all I am so happy, I'm so happy I have moved and I am so happy my attitude towards moving changed. Me and my mum get a long so much better too!


Its crazy how much your life can change and how your views can change but if I have one bit of advice to others, if you feel an urge to do something like chase your dreams or a change in your views don't fight it go with it, it is part of you evolving and is a growth of your life and your character.

Thanks for reading

LotsOfLove
Beth...xxx

Young and pregnant, follow your heart

I fell pregnant young, I know what its like the stares the sniggers the evils. People will judge and people will think they know best infact they will be pretty convinced they know best they may even convince you young pregnant person that they know better for your future than you do!

The whole negativity that comes from some people when they see this young person showing off her bump buying the babies first booties baby grows and outfits fill the area in which they are in. They can actually make this young  mum  to be feel very uncomfortable they choose to reschedule their shopping trip. While I think that getting it from the public is bad it is much worse coming off family and friends. You get family members who tend to tut at the way your destiny is going, they tut like they have never put a foot wrong. From personal experience it gave a family member a reason to get very nosy and once they had all the info they needed decided they no longer wanted to talk to me. Nice. Oh and a member of  the same family actually deleted me off of social media for it. These people where blood related to me. They treated me like, well I cant say with using bad language but you get the point. Now while I have sort of built bridges with one the other I have not and do not wish too. This woman is means nothing to me anymore. I must say that what they did seem subtle to the next thing I am about to mention. It happened to me when I was pregnant I don't know if it has happened to any of my fellow young mums. The trump card, "I think abortion would be best" This had me riled when it was said to me. This lady was telling me from her experience apparently but how dare she? I was 17 years old young and pregnant confused and hormonal but no I was not stupid and I knew that I loved my unborn baby more than anything and one thing was for sure I was keeping my baby so how dare she say that to me? 

I must say this is a big issue with people trying to manipulate  young minds. But what I cannot stand also is parents saying "I wanted the best or better for her" like what the hell! how naïve just because you have a baby does not mean its the end. Your child can still have a career ect everything they originally set out to do except they will have a little companion in tow. Look at me, yes I didn't set my stakes high but I accomplished my dream of becoming a hairdresser.  Having a baby does not mean its the end you can still achieve your dreams and that would be my advice to other young mums. Yes it may be a shock but don't make any harsh decisions think for a while and don't let anyone make a decision for you this is your life your future your baby YOUR choice.

LotsOfLove
Beth...xxx

  

Don't know, Don't Judge

As many of you may have experienced when having a child many of your friends may not talk to you as much, you spend your time knee high deep in nappies, playing comedian to your gorgeous little bundle taking snapshots of every wide eyed cheeky smile and taking on the whole new language of baby talk in order to engage in full length conversations with your gorgeous little person. So while doing all this you tend to forget that you ever had a social life. When you do eventually remember, your friends have moved on and to be honest speaking from my experience the drinking evenings well any evenings out past 11pm is just not your scene anymore partly because your simply just too tired and well  you don't want to leave your precious baby for too long. So it goes without saying you find a new sense of social life one in which you can spend with your child and be home way before 11pm. The answer? Baby groups.

Well I got the chance to join said baby group, I didn't honestly think I would get the confidence to hit it off with any other mums because well quite frankly engaging in full length conversations with people I barely know talking about intimate details like child birth sparing no details was not a strong point. Quite honestly my shyness sucked. I wouldn't mind but it only shows itself sometimes. Needless to say I did engage and too my surprise it was not that scary and I found myself enjoying the detailed stories of child birth and being able to compare experiences. I completely enjoyed going every week and having mums to relate to and having baby friends for my little Bella. It was refreshing something new. I never did any baby groups with Ava, I still had a close friend to go on shopping trips with and be social with ect but that's for another post! As you can imagine I was quite sad when the group came to  an end. delightfully myself and the other ladies exchanged numbers and agreed to meet up, this is a perk to baby groups.

I bet you wonder why on earth I am rambling and want me to get to the point of the title well don't worry I am ...

We met up we had a fab time seeing everyone in another setting (a certain coffee shop beginning with a C) we had in depth convos about parenting shared advice and got to know each other very well.  We all got on perfectly so much so we arranged another meeting. This second meeting is when I started seeing a certain person in a whole new light. We discussed our ages after revealing mine a certain member of the group started to act funny with me, didn't seem to want to  smile at me talk directly to me or quite frankly listen to me. To be honest at first I thought I was being paranoid, but after another meeting she was still the same.

Now why would you judge a person on age? Just because I am younger than the rest of the group does not mean I know nothing. For a start I have 2 children to her 1 I have tons of advice more I could give as I have been done that before. Yes no baby is the same and even I am still learning. These people who judge on matters such as age seriously don't know the person. I have been through some dark times in my nearly 22 years which I have not opened up about to the blog world yet. These are things most people do not go through in their entire life time.

Tonight as I am writing this post asking why? Why does age have to make some one change toward you? Yeah some younger people can be immature but not all, saying that she was fine with me before she found out, had conversations with me listened ect. So literally because of my age that makes the  difference. How does that change the person that I am?

I have thought this over time and time again in my head thinking this is my fault something I have done when the other day I stopped and thought no Bethany you have not done anything wrong your age is not your fault you cant help the year in which you were born and your a mature great person. No, this is small mindedness of small minded people. I would say to people who judge simply don't. You don't know anyone back story you don't know their experiences. In your mind your thinking you look better but you don't. Stop think and get to know. You will look better to people and feel better.

REMEMBER ... Don't judge a book by its cover.

LotsOfLove
Beth...xxx
 

A cot saga!

After Bella outgrew her MosesBasket we out her in a swing crib that has been passed down the family a sort of "family airloom" it was perfect and going great until she started to move around more. She's a very active baby, more active than Ava, as Ava was still able to be in it at this age. 

Recently she had started standing up in it and with the edge of the swing crib coming up to her waist it was becoming very dangerous. Sunday morning the danger came to a head when Bella flipped herself of the edge, luckily I caught her but it was way too close to home. I decided there and then that, that was it its time for a cot and I would be getting one that day. 

We decided that we would try mother care, tho I am not a huge fan as I find them way too over priced for things you can get cheaper else where. We looked around and come to the conclusion that we could only get a very basic small cot as we would obviously have to buy a mattress and the prices for them are quite high considering your buying the cot aswell. 

Well we had decided on the cot but wanted to purchase and get advice on mattress sizes types ect. So we had stood there waiting to speak to someone and looking at the cot, I mean they usually and should come up and ask if they can help well safe to say they didn't. 

Instead a group of about 5 sales assistants stood in the middle of the shop having a chat like they was on a break or waiting for a bus. A couple of them actually looked at us a couple of time but decided having a social catch up in working hours was a better option than helping customers. By doing this they allowed Tommy to search for different cots on his phone which he did and found a better a deal at smyths toys shop. After having enough of the shocking customer service at the Thurrock retail park mother care store, and a better deal found elsewhere we got out of there like a shot. Luckily and unfortunately for them smthys was five mins away so that's where we decided to go. So thanks to the staff at this mothercare store putting their social needs first during work hours mothercare have lost a sale. 

A happier time of the day was getting into smyths and realise they had this certain cot in and the deal of cot and mattress ( and yes it is a decent nice good mattress ) for £99.99 was still on. Went in there and purchased it straight away. The staff there asked if they could help as soon as we showed interest in the item. He also then went and got the item straight away all this took under 10 mins. The young lady at the checkout was also very polite offering someone to help us out taking the item to the car which we did not need but the offer was lovely. The staff where polite efficient and quick and theprices where great. 

I had then decided that I needed to dress the cot. I took myself to asda living to have a look at their red kite range. I remember having the mobile when Ava was a baby and I LOVED it. I remember for a three peice bumper set in mothercare the cheapest I could find I store was around £40. 

I found in asda (red kite range) a 5 piece the size of a cot bed bumper set for just under £30 I got in that a 

Bumper

Fitted sheet 

Non fitted sheet 

Blanket 

Fleece blanket 

I also found the mobile I had when Ava was a baby which costs only £11 with batteries. It's good quality too. So All together it was about £41, the price of a three piece bumper set in mothercare. So safe to say I got more for my money. 

In returning home Tommy put the cot up. It was easy to assemble and took him 10 mins. I then put on the bedding and bumper. It looks lovely so pretty and girly and Bella loves it. 

She finds the mattress so comfy she's slept in it longer and napped in it longer she looks so comfy! 

I am very happy with the combination of purchases from smyths and asda living.

I think if I was a first time mum I would have stuck it out at mothercare as you don't realise that other places sell these things and you think mothercare is the only option. 

But if I'm honest you can get just as good for better money and better deals you have to shop around. I'm not going to lie and say I've never shopped in mother care because I have and if I need to get something and they are the only place that sell or have it in stock then I will go there. But as far as the bigger items are concerned, you kno the types of items you need help with, shop around. When buying these items you want help from a sales assistant who can give you all the info and more. But you just don't get it well at least you don't at the Thurrock retail park store. So if you want to go to mothercare I do not recommend this store as they obviously prefer you to "self help" 

If you want to go to one in Essex I say the Romford store is a better option... They may be more but these are the only two I've visited. 

However on a better happier and lighter note smyths toy shop is the place to go they have affordable prices, sell practically everything and their staff are very friendly! 

LotsOfLove

Beth...xxx

Bella 7 month update!!!

7 months already! Where has the time gone? She's getting bigger but she is really thriving! 

My baby girl has come along so much and so well, she has taken to weaning like a duck to water and she's starting on lumps really well! 

 

Baby girl has also started sitting up!! 

AND Crawling....

She is getting cheesier by the day now she's crawling, going near things she knows she shouldn't and giving me her cheeky grin that always melts my heart!! I could help but getting a quick snap before pulling her away! 

Tho she is still small for her age and is still fitting in to 3/6 months with room to spare! She is coming on leaps and bounds. I'm so proud of her she is such a gorgeous baby girl.

LotsOfLove 

Beth...xxx

Baby Feeding Blast!

So as you all know Bella has a milk intolerance. We had to see a dietician and we had that appointment yesterday. 

I'm going to do a series of blogs about feeding babies with milk intolerance incl signs, recipes and just general advice from my experience. I think it will be good as I have never had anyone to talk to with first hand experience. 

The first thing you have to do when feeding a baby with milk allergies is to read all the labels carefully on EVERYTHING you give baby to obviously make sure there is no milk in the food. Most things that can cause allergies are highlighted in the Ingriendents, and on some labels it will tell you if it includes milk or don't include milk on the front or back, however it doesn't always. Milk mostly comes up as milk and whey. 

If you buy jar food for baby then the pure fruit purées don't have milk included and a range of savoury incl ham pasta, sweet potato bake, Sunday dinner, cottage pie, bolognaise and a few more. I will in a future post list all makes and dinners and sweet things that don't include milk. Also the only baby rice that doesn't incl milk is the plain one. 

Unfortunately most "snacks/finger foods" do include milk. However there are three that I've found which don't, the first is carrot puffs, the second is plain rusks (red packet) although they are made in a factory which uses milk. And the third are Bellas favourite and they are banana wafers made by kiddylicious they also come in blueberry flavour they are gluten free and dairy free. Kiddylicious do a range of products incl strawberry puff which Bella also loved.

Like I said my future posts will include more milk free foods recipes advice and of course updates on Bella! 

I know it's all new a daunting when your child has allergies especially when your new to it and don't know anyone with first hand advice and experience but I hope my posts can help and of course those with no allergies will find this interesting as everyone can eat these foods! 

If you have any questions then please don't hesitate to tweet @EssexToWindsor or contact by Instagram essextowindsor

Hope it helps! 

LotsOfLove 

Beth...xxx

The price of baby monitors!

So 6 months down the line we have decided a baby monitor would come very handy. It beats having the TV on lowest and running up and down the stairs every five minuets to check if Bella is crying. 

I started looking at monitors and was knocked back on how expensive they can be! Now I am not going to lie me and tommy can't just afford to spend £50 just like that so to be honest we needed a cheaper alternative. I got on the Very website thinking ordering it from there will be the only way to do it and of course they are also more dearer on there! First I though I thought I shall check on mothercare still to expensive I thought I would give Argos a go. I was pleasantly surprised there was a basic baby monitor ( all we need ) for £19.99 the brand name summer. I thought because I had never heard of it before and it was so cheap that it was not going to be very good. But I was so wrong! It's a bloody good baby monitor and for a decent price! It does the job what we need it too. 

I have wrote this post because I know there are plenty of people whom can't afford the expensive monitors and go without but you don't have to there is always something in your budget if you look. 

Hope it helps

LotsOfLove 

Beth...xxx

Bella update!

YIt's been a while since I've updated you all on the lovely Bella Mai and boy has she changed! Bella is now 6 months old and coming along lovely! 

 

Bella is a happy cheeky 6 month old. She now weighs 14lb which is a bit small for her age but for Bella and her tricky start with her allergy is good and she is putting weight on regular. 

She can now roll over & boy does she love to do that! She rolls around the floor bed and crib! Turning onto her belly to play with her toys! 

She has said her first word!!!  At 5 months old little Bella Mai the genius baby said her first word. She said dada and she could stop saying it after that ha ha. She has since slowed down a bit saying it. I did catch her on video saying it but I can't upload it so below is a snap I took just after posing with her big sister! 

Finally we have started to wean Bella! We had to wait this long too see the dietician for her to tell us what Bella can eat and what milk is disguised as in food and also what foods are suitable. We tried her with baby rice, plain which she hates. We then tried her on plain fruit purées and she loves them so that's what she has for breakfast or she will have cow and gate fruit Musili. We have dug out the dinners that have not got milk in them and started giving her dinners. Here's a pic of her after mealtime...

 

That's all from us for now about Bella I shall update again in a few more weeks. 

LotsOfLove

Beth...xxxx

Bellas 4month update

I So sorry I've missed out a month of Bellas update! Last month was hectic! 

Bellas 4 month update

 

As you can see bells has started filling out tho a bit later than usual! She's come on leaps and bounds since being on her new allergy milk. She is putting weight on regulary and at the moment weighs 11lb 14oz tho she is petit. Hopefully after he stay in hospital last month after having to be on oxygen for a few days due to bronchulitis (why I didn't do her 3mnth update) she has left her rocky start behind her. 

She is not yet rolling all the way over tho she does go onto her side, I'm hoping by her five month update she will be going all the way! Shes developing a funny personality she doesn't stop smilingor  cooing.! She is also absolutely fascinated with the tele especially the football!  

That's about all this month to update!!

LotsOfLove

Beth...xxx

Bella 2 month update

Sorry I ain't done this sooner! Had a busy couple weeks! 

Bella started her second month with her first injections as any mother would know it's horrible seing your baby have them! But she was so good only had a little cry but not much she was also a bit sleepy after but she was a big brave girl! 

Bella is well into her 2 months! She is coming in leaps and bounds and getting bigger! Though not that big, she's only 9lb 6oz due to her sickness problem .. That still ain't fully resolved. After being told she had reflux and being put on ranitidine she was still bringing up milk and not putting weight on properly. They still think it's reflux so waiting for her out patients app. So I've taken it into my own  hands in the meantime. My health visitor suspected a lactose intolerance so Uve bought her lactose free milk by aptamil. And she may be bit sick dribble sick but it's not as much as before and she is also more comfortable and settled. She used to be un comfy on her feeds and screaming after as if she had belly ache but she hasn't done that since being in this milk :) .. 

On a lighter note she is such a happy little sole she is smily and giggly it melts my heart everytime I see her smile... 

We are having some wonderful family times already, it feels like we have never been without bella it's so heart warming when she gurgles back at us and she absolutely loves Ava I can tell they are going to have eachothers backs as they get older we have enjoyed some lovely family times in bellas second month including a trip to pontins! 

Hope you enjoyed the read :))

LotsOfLove

Betha...xxx

Registering a baby

So after the eventful climax of pregnancy... Labour and birth, as a mother you are on cloud 9 cooing over your new baby and enjoying them. You tend to forget things with baby brain and all that. At the hospital they make a point of giving you leaflets about things such as baby registration (well they did me) just that you don't forget the information of that you have 6 weeks to register your baby. Obviously all being exciting you want to make your baby official and legal.   I did. A week after I went to get Bella registered and got told they had already reached their capacity this happened 3 times! The doors are open 9-15:00 

After the first time I was told to get there at half 8 so the second time we did then got told to be there at half 7 to que!! Hour and half before the doors opened the third time we got turned away again!  Bella was a month old before we got her registered. And that only happened because my sister found out that they had appointments just opened on a sayirday and she grabbed the last one. This is after someone earlier that day told has they were thinking about opening it on a Saturday so we were lied to first off!!

This I find disgraceful. They really need to make improvements in my area a lot of babie are born and they should be able to deal with it. Without that appointment it could have carried on for the 6 weeks and then I would have been fined. I don't know what it is like in other areas but in borough its a bit poor. 

I wrote this post to let people know

Who have gone through the same experience your not alone! This has happened to quite a few people.  

And I hope those who are having a baby can register their baby without any trouble :) 

LotsOfLove 

Beth...xxx

Mummy 1 Month Update

As you all know I had a baby girl 1 month ago and here is my update :) 

I have been feeling so well after having Bella. I was in a bit of pain in the first week after with my uterus going back ect, and my boobs were a bit tender with a bit of breast feeding and my milk coming through. Mentally as you know I had the baby blues but all including the physical things have gone and I am feeling my normal self:) the only thing that of course has not gone are my stretch marks...

I have not yet used any cream for them because to be honest I don't have much time to think about it. I should make time for myself so I will do and let you know what products work for my stretch marks.

I've found settling into family life with a bigger family very enjoyable. On weekdays while Toms at work I have made a habit of getting up and after giving bella her first morning bottle getting me and the girls dressed then giving Ava her breakfast and Bella a bottle. This is after sterilising her bottles and getting her milk ready for the day. Of a weekend Tommy obviously helps and we do it as a team. I love seeing my little family all together I'm so proud. 

I've found getting used to having two children very easy and enjoyable. Dont get me wrong it is very tiring at times but I wouldn't change it for the world. Everything I do as a mother is totally worth it. I look at my girls every day and I feel the love for them pouring out. They are my world and always will be. 

All in all everything right now in my life is looking up. My family has extended and Bella has made life go from great too amazing. 

I couldn't be happier :) 

LotsOfLove

Beth...xxx 

Bella's 4 Weeks Update

Bellas 4 Week update!!

Bella is now 4 weeks! Ain't it gone fast! We are having issues with her weight in which doctors are looking into, she dropped down too 6lb 11oz and has been slow putting it on but she is now just above birth weight at 7lb 4oz! This is meaning Bella is still comfortably in newborn clothes she even has some room! She is really coming on in other areas though she started cooing a little bit yesterday:) and has established a proper feeding routine, she is breast and bottle so is feeding every 2 hours first on breast then has some bottle except of a night she goes 3 to 4 hours. We have a established a nice routine during the day of a morning getting up having a feed then I sterilise her bottles and sorting out her milk & water for the day while giving Ava breakfast and then me and the girls get dressed ready to start the day :). Bella has quite a bit of colic especially during the evening so she takes a while to settle bless her but she does and then wakes up at between 2 and 4 for a feed :). I have started to put her in cute little headbands they are so pretty and she looks adorable in them not that she don't already! She has took to a mam dummy though daddy still gives her a leeds United one! If I had my way it would be West Ham! But she is following in her daddy's footsteps football wise! 

I'm really enjoying being a mummy of

Two and am so proud of both my girls. Bella has took my life from perfect to amazingly perfect, she is so precious and such a beautiful baby girl and we all love her so so much.

LotsOfLove

Beth...xxx