Continuing with The Alphabet Photography Project this week. B is for books! Reading is my main hobby and Husband is always moaning about random books lying around our home. So I took a wander and gathered up all the books lurking in odd places to make this composition. Linking up to The Alphabet Photography Project (#alphabetphoto)over at podcastdove.com
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13weeks = 3months! I'm feeling freaked out. Little I is growing out of yet another set of clothes. She is bigger every morning. Soon she won't be a baby anymore. She is my last baby and I want her to stay a baby forever! Ok freak out under control for now! Back up this week. Another trip to A&E. On Friday morning Little I was very unhappy and I couldn't settle her. I noticed her fist looked odd and on closer inspection her right thumb was swollen about double the size and bright red. I tried to stay calm but I couldn't work out what was wrong. Just as I was about to throw the kids in the car and get to A&E I worked it out. A rogue strand of my hair was wrapped around the knuckle of her thumb cutting off the circulation. The thumb had swollen up so much around the hair I couldn't see it properly or get at it. After a few minutes trying to loosen it, I managed to flick up an end and release the thumb. The swelling didn't my go down and her thumb remained red and hard. Little I went mad when I touched it. I phoned my GP who told me to go to A&E immediately as I was unsure how long the ligature had been on her finger. Cue much panic getting the two children in the car and Little E dropped off at my Stepmum's. By the time we arrived at A&E the swelling had started to subside so they simply monitored the thumb until they were happy no lasting damage had been done. They kept telling me she could have lost her thumb so thank god I noticed it when I did. Due to the mini heatwave we have spent lots of time watching Little E play at the park this week. Little I loves watching her big sister from the elevated position of her car seat. She snoozes off in the shade and loves the breeze on her face. She looks adorable in little shorts with her chubby thighs on display. Little I is becoming a little chatterbox! She chats away to everyone and is making so much effort to make different noises and sounds. She has also found her stomach muscles and legs and tries to sit up and stand up by herself. She has started to shimmy around the playmat and reaches out to touch the toys hanging above her. Sleep has been amazing this week. I am almost loathe to speak of it incase I jinx it, but she has consistently slept from 8.30pm until 6am for the past week. That is 9hrs without waking up. I've got everything crossed that she is a super sleeper! Not even Little E who was an amazing sleeper dropped the 4am feed so early. The cutest moment of the week was when she fell asleep after her evening feed holding my hand. This post is linked to #MadMidWeekBlogHop at superbusymum.net #brilliantblogposts at honestmum.com and #sharewithme at letstalkmommy.com My 'push present' second time around was an iPad mini. Husband bought me diamonds first time and this time, as tends to happen with the second child, practicality won. I spend a lot of time sitting feeding baby and during night feeds I am paranoid about falling asleep on baby so I read or surf the web. The iPad mini allows me to do both one handed. Perfect gift. So I was intrigued when I was sent a NueVue iPad mini case to try out. The unique feature of the NueVue is that it cleans your iPad whilst killing all bacteria picked up from little snotty children's hands. As Little E likes up watch Peppa Pig on my iPad it is very grubby. Plus I am forever applying lanolin nipple cream when I'm using it so I take a share of the blame! Before we get onto how well it works let me tell you about how it looks. I was sent the lilac canvas design but it comes in an assortment of different fabrics and colours. It looks really stylish and the materials are top quality (as you'd expect for the price). It feels lovely and the stitching down the front adds nice detail. There is a smooth leather closure at the top which also acts as a little spring to reveal the end of the iPad allowing you to remove the iPad easily. So far, so good. Now for the testing... As you can see in the picture above I have stuck a greasy finger onto the top half of the phone screen. It was a pretty heavy lanolin cream so a real test for the case. I popped it in the case and applied a little pressure to the case as I removed the iPad. I repeated the process once more and voila... A completely clean screen! I am really impressed with how well it cleans. I admit I needed to repeat the process about ten times the first time I tried it as it has accumulated 3mths of grime but since it only takes a wipe or two to restore it to glory. You need to leave the iPad in the case for half an hour for it to kill 99.9% of the bacteria on the surface of the screen which is good to know when your little one is watching The Swan Princess on Netflix for the 100th time! At £39.99 it is a reasonably expensive case and the inability to use it as a stand is an issue for me because I read with my iPad propped up so my hands are free to deal with baby. So in general I will only be using the case to clean the tablet which is very indulgent but I think the design is lovely and it would suit a lot of people's lifestyles, especially those who use a case for storage and transport but actively use their tablet without a casing. NueVue cases are available for iPhone, iPad and iPad mini. Find out more at nuevueuk.com Linking up to #triedtested over at weregoingonanadventure.co.uk and myfamilyfever.co.uk A little snapshot of our morning; Little E cow spotting in the garden. She has set up the other chair for Little I when she wakes up from her nap! Bless... Linking up to #magicmoments at www.theoliversmadhouse.co.uk, #Whatsthestory at podcastdove.com #letkidsbekids at letkidsbekids.co.uk and #theordinarymoments at mummydaddyandmemakesthree.co.uk This week I've been feeling really unhappy with my weight. My good intentions to eat heathily faltered over Easter and never really recovered. I can no longer blame the ravenous breastfeeding hunger as that has calmed down lately. I have simply got into the habit of eating sweet foods and snacks and I need to break out. I need to... The only way to stick to this is to publish my weight on the blog each week. That way I'll have somewhere to feel obligated to. I work better under pressure! I weighed myself yesterday and I am officially 85.3kg. I couldn't bring myself to weigh in stones and pounds. Kg's feel less depressing somehow (probably because I don't know the conversion!) I will be weighing in each Thursday so feel free to pop along and congratulate/commiserate/berate me on my progress. Linking up to Word of the Week #WotW over at www.thereadingresidence.com 18months ago I bought a Canon 40D DSLR camera. I was so excited to finally have a 'proper' camera but due to the practicalities of a toddler and then a baby bump I am sad to say the rather large camera has barely left it's carry bag in favour of my iphone which can be used one handed, covered in jam... Charly over at podcastdove.com is starting an Alphabet Photography Project this week and this is just the incentive I need to learn how to use my camera properly. Each week I will be photographing something to do with that weeks letter. I warn you, I won't be taking it literally! For example, week 1 is A (no surprise there!) and I immediately thought of the song my Gran used to sing to me when I was little 'A you're adorable, B you're so beautiful, C you're a cutie full of charms...' So my A is for Adorable, and nothing is more adorable than my Little I who I photographed this week on the day she turned 12weeks. Any feedback on how I could improve my photography would be very helpful. See you next week for B... Linking up to The Alphabet Photography Project at www.podcastdove.com #alphabetphoto Little E had fun this week making pizzas with her cousins Big J and Big E. She spread on the tomato base followed by cheese. She was keen to make sure her pizza was evenly balanced and olives were her favourite topping. The pizzas looked so good when they came out of the oven we forgot to photograph them in our hurry to eat them. It was lots of fun and we will be doing it again soon! Linking up to #letkidsbekids letkidsbekids.co.uk #minicreations at kidglloves.com and #brilliantblogposts at honestmum.com My baby is 12weeks old. It was around this time last year I fell pregnant with her. She is starting to grow out of her 0-3mth clothes and is weighing around 6kg or 13lb 3oz. She is trying to talk and developing a little personality. It has flown by but at the same time I cannot imagine a time when she wasn't with us. The most amazing thing has happened this week. Little I has consistently slept through the night. By through the night I mean proper adults lengths of time. For three nights in a row she slept 7hours straight then last night 8hours. I am assuming it is a temporary situation because I don't want to get my hopes up! My boobs are struggling to adjust to the missed feed and I've been in a lot of pain in the morning but Little I seems perfectly content. She is learning to self soothe by sucking her fingers and stroaking her head. The thumb hasn't quite found it's way in yet though. Perhaps this is why she is sleeping longer. It is when she does this I am reminded so much of Little E as a baby. I have been reluctant to put Little I down on the floor because her big sister tries to pick her up and move her but I think this is stopping Little I's movement development so I have been making a conscious effort to give her plenty of time on the playmat over the past few days. She is definitely enjoying it and she has begun to shimmy around a little. In bed now she ends up in different positions, half on my bed and half in her co-sleeper cot! Little I received a very special gift this week. Her Grandma Y made a blanket for her. It is lovely and big and soft. So great for Little I to have a blanket of her own rather than using one of Little E's baby blankets. Little E knows this one is her sister's so she is not allowed to borrow it (which is code for don't whip it off her whilst she is asleep!) She is also becoming a movie addict like her big sister! Here they are watching Epic together. At least it made a change from Frozen... This post is linked to #MadMidWeekBlogHop at superbusymum.net and #sharewithme at letstalkmommy.com I may have mentioned on the blog my slight obsession with Marti Pellow, the lead singer from Wet Wet Wet. Their first album Popped in, Souled out was constantly on my record player (yes, it was vinyl for those of you who remember what that is) during my teens and they were the first band I saw live. Last year Marti starred in Evita the musical and a group of us went to see it at The New Wimbledon Theatre. Marti was amazing (as expected) and I couldn't resist waiting with all the other middle aged women at the stage door to catch an up close glimpse at the rugged Scot. I was definitely the youngest waiting which is some consolation to this tale! We waited what felt like forever as Marti was one of the last to leave the theatre (probably to try and avoid the throng of estrogen waiting for him) and then like lions on a gazelle he was attacked by a cloud of women vying for his autograph, photograph, children etc... I nearly didn't get into the frenzy but I thought sod it and threw decorum to the wind and after a few strategic side steps and elbows in my opponents weak spots I was at his side waiting for my turn. Bestie was poised armed with the camera and she got the shoot. Boom! Obviously now Marti has met me it is only a matter of time before he appears on my suburban doorstep to whisk my away to the giddy heights of post heroin addiction chic. Husband is aware of this fact but oddly he doesn't seem to worried about it... Linking up to #WhatsTheStory at podcastdove.com #MagicMoments at theoliversmadhouse.co.uk and #AllAboutYou at motherwifeme.com I am a Chicco Tested for Happiness blogger and for the past month we have been trialling the new Chicco Urban travel system. We had lots of niggles with our previous pram so we were super excited to receive the Urban and put it to the test. The Urban stroller separates into two pieces: a reversible seat which can be easily transformed into a bassinet and a collapsible wheel base. You can choose from a selection of colour packs to personalise your pram which is handy if you chose a gender specific colour and want a new look without changing the whole pram. We were sent the beige colour pack which is a lovely neutral colour and looks very smart. The stroller handles really well with front swivel wheels and decent suspension. It isn't as bouncy as our old pram and feels more solid, which I like. It is quite narrow so great for shops and on busy pavements. We live close to the countryside and when we tested the Urban on rougher terrain the solid, no puncture tyres were a godsend and it still handled well. The handle has 4 adjustment positions making it high enough for 6ft 4'' Husband to use without backache. There is also a really large basket underneath which holds a fair amount of stuff. On our day in the country it held two waterproof jackets, Little E's wellie boots, an umbrella, 2 large bottles of water, a blanket, a big bag of crisps and the car keys. There was still room to spare! In bassinet mode it isn't very accessible due to the base being in the way but in stroller mode it is much easier to get items in and out. One of my favourite features of the pram is how deep and cosy Little I is in bassinet mode. She is well out of the way of the wind and weather and she sleeps like a dream in it. The padded liner makes it soft and snuggly. If it is sunny the flap on the cover can be unpoppered and propped up to block the sun from her face. She can stay in this mode until around 6mths or when she can sit up unaided. Converting to stroller mode is simple, you just engage the clips underneath and the bassinet folds into a seat with the back adjustable by tilting the angle of the whole frame or letting down the back support. In bassinet mode baby must be facing you but in stroller mode you can choose to have them facing you or facing forwards. Collapsing the Urban is pretty simple but it does require both hands. You unclip the seat unit from the base then engage two buttons whilst flicking the release catch. After a few attempts it becomes second nature. The handle folds down and the frame concertinas shrinking down to the size of a medium suitcase. You can then carry it one handed using the integrated handle. It is reasonably heavy but I was able to lift it into my boot 8wks after my C section with no problem so it is manageable. I now have a medium size car with decent boot space but I can tell this would fit in smaller cars like my old Clio with the parcel shelf removed. We were also sent the Chicco Auto Fix Fast car seat and adaptor to make the stroller a fully functioning travel system. When I'm popping out of the car for a quick errand I like to be able to attach the car seat to the stroller wheels to save getting Little I out of the carseat. The Urban can't be used with other brand car seats which is a shame but the adaptor allows you to pop their car seat onto the frame very easily. The car seat is a good design with a good safety rating. Little I looks very comfortable with the fab Ergo system head support which helps guard against flat heads and shoulder pads which are fixed in place making sure you position baby's shoulders correctly. It comes with a base which you strap into the car permanently using the seatbelt not isofix (an isofix version is available) making it faster to correctly secure the seat each time. But one thing we have really struggled with is positioning the seat in the cars. Because our seats are quite angled we have struggled to get the car seat flat and as a result Little I has been tipped forward causing her head to flop forwards as we travel. We need a wedge support to level the seat out. We haven't needed to do this with our previous car seats. We will definitely be using the Urban over our old stroller and would recommend it to others who are looking for an easy to use, versatile pram which will fit in smaller car boots.
The Chicco Urban stroller costs £349.99 and the colour pack is an additional £49.99. The Auto Fix Fast car seat costs £119.99 and the stroller adaptor is £24.99. I have seen some bundle deals online greatly reducing this cost. You can buy online from Amazon via the link below
This stroller was sent to us for review as part of the Chicco Tested for Happiness blogger network.
Post includes affiliate links Linking up with #triedtested at goingonanadventure.co.uk and #pocolo at vevivos.com |
Welcome!Artist, Baker and Blogger. Mum to my two beautiful, cheeky girls. Muddling my way through parenthood with equally cheeky Husband. Categories
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