Creating your dream nursery

October 23, 2012 in Babies, Pregnancy by admin

Nurseries are incredibly exciting rooms for expectant and new mothers, they’re the perfect opportunity to utilise maternity leave to get creative and design the most cute, unique and special room for your new bundle of joy. Personalised nurseries and bedrooms, crafted by your very own hands are even more special because they’re made with love and compassion rather than just copying a magazine trend. If you’re itching to create the most gorgeous environment to hear your baby’s first words then here are a few ideas on how to personalise the nursery for the most special person in the world.

Your nursery should ultimately be full of character and charm. It is the perfect blank canvas to display individuality and even record your baby’s development through creative interior design. Even if you’ve decided to keep the sex of your baby a surprise, you can still get creative with a needle and thread to welcome them home to a cosy and incredibly special nursery built just for them.

Creating Unique Art Work
Canvases of the handprints of your new baby would make a cute, personal and fun piece of artwork. Don’t be afraid to use bold vibrant colours, you want the nursery to be as fun as possible. If you have any more children, you could have a handprint canvas done for them too as well as mummy handprints and big daddy ones too!

You could also create a feature wall of ‘family stuff’. Display height charts so that you can look back in five years’ time and see how much your baby has grown! Yearly family portraits are also a fantastic idea for your family wall as you can see how everyone grows up. As the years pass by you can add things to your wall such as a photograph of your child’s first day at school. It may seem a while off right now but they grow up so fast!

Personalising Plain Furniture
Another idea that can instantly transform an otherwise generic room is to paint furniture such as book shelves, drawers or toy cupboards with stencils of your child’s name or simple illustrations that mean something to you. This can be a favourite book character, the birthdate of your baby or even something totally unique that only you and your family will understand.
The same idea can be used when designing cushions or pillows by sewing the same intricate details onto the surface of the fabric. A blanket with your baby’s birthdate sewn in is a gorgeous and thoughtful addition to a cot but can also be a sentimental keepsake for them to grow up with.

Displaying Gifts
Make use of the gifts you receive from your baby shower rather than thinking of them as clutter that has to be stored away, display the gifts you receive! Soft toys are great for welcoming your baby home and helping them to settle in, they won’t want to come to a cold room lacking in personality! Display your balloons in there, cover the room with soft toys and allow yourselves to celebrate and not worry about mess; you’ve definitely deserved it!

Making it Cosy
Rugs are ideal for baby’s bedrooms and nurseries as they make the floor a lot more comfortable for them; something which they’ll appreciate during the crawling phase! If you’re not feeling ambitious enough to create this yourself then many rugs specialists offer custom design services so you can still create a unique pattern and design without doing any of the handiwork!

Mobiles are a must-have for over your baby’s cot, but don’t buy one from a shop when you can create a gorgeous one yourself. If you spend time crafting animal shapes and adding personal charms such as gifts and special jewellery you can create an entirely unique mobile that has sentimental value as well as the ability to get your baby safely to sleep!

If you can get handy with a knitting needle, you can really personalise your baby’s nursery and make them some fantastic accessories which they can cherish forever and even hand down for generations to come. It’s lovely to be able to give your children accessories and have a nursery that’s completely unique to them; after all they’re so special they deserve it!

This article was written by Steph, who usually blogs over at bathroom website Bathshop321 but decided to write this post to curb her broodiness!

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Getting kids to clean their teeth!

September 19, 2012 in Babies, Bath time, Parenting, Toddlers by admin

Apart from a nice warm bath and a cuddle in a Cuddledry towel, getting your little ones to clean their teeth is an important part of the bedtime routine. It isn’t always easy though, which is why we’ve asked Aquafresh to help us out with some top tips. They came up with 20! Blimey. Now, you’ve got no excuse.

For more information, or to sign up to The Aquafresh Club for a free sample of Aquafresh Fresh & Minty, you can visit http://www.aquafreshclub.co.uk

Top 20 tips on how to make brush time less stressful:

1. Get a 2 minute egg timer – you can get these at the dentist – so your kids know how long to brush for!

2. Let kids pick their own toothbrush – they will get really excited when it comes to brushing their teeth with the toothbrush they have picked!

3. Get your kids a (robust) mirror – they can make silly faces in it and watch themselves brushing

4. Play their favourite song while they brush to the beat – as most songs last two – three minutes it’s the perfect length

5. Brush your teeth at the same time – kids love to copy mum and dad!

6. Get an older family member to surprise your kids with their false teeth and a story about how theirs fell out – always a good incentive to get kids brushing!

7. If you have more than one child, turn brush time into a competition – the one who brushes the best gets to pick the bedtime story! Don’t forget to alternate the ‘winner’ though!

8. Tell your kids that the Tooth Fairy pays out less for decayed teeth – this will get them brushing better!

9. If you have an older child, get them to teach their younger sibling how to brush – this makes it fun and also reinforces good brushing tips for the elder one.

10. Let your child brush their favourite toy’s teeth – they will soon pick up how to do their own!

11. Sing “Brush, brush, brush your teeth, gently to and fro, up, down, side to side, teeth so clean they glow” to the tune of “Row row row your boat” – it’s a great brushing rhythm!

12. Give your kids a gentle scare by showing them pictures of people with bad teeth – or even your own – so that they know why they need to brush!

13. Make three animal faces for brushing: tiger teeth (together), hippo mouth (mouth open) and snake tongue (to brush tongue). It makes it more fun and gets their teeth in the right position.

14. With older kids, establish the link between bad brushing and bad breath – they will soon cotton on to this!

15. Get your kids to brush with disclosing tablets once a week – they will love the surprising effect and it can become a challenge to see who can get their teeth white the quickest!

16. Play ‘dentist’ with your kids – put them in a chair, inspect their teeth while they brush and provide a running commentary while they are doing so!

17. Reward charts with stickers work very well – once they have reached a certain number they can get a treat which is a great incentive!

18. Let your child ‘brush’ your teeth too – they are more likely to let you brush theirs if you can take it in turns!

19. Give your kids 1p in a piggy bank every time they brush properly – 2p per day adds up to £7.30 a year!

20. Let your kids be independent! You will need to brush their teeth at the end but letting them do it first makes them feel very grown up and it’s good practice!

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Laboraide – new natural pain relief for labour

July 18, 2012 in Birth, Pregnancy by admin

Launched at the Baby Show in Birmingham, Laboraide is a new and highly innovative product developed to help reduce both the pain and duration of labour.

Midwives teach that during childbirth the relaxation of the mouth and jaw is directly linked with the ability of the cervix and vagina to open. Laboraide acts like a gentle cushion between your teeth enabling the jaw to rest in a relaxed position, also keeping the airways open allowing you to breathe easily and get plenty of oxygen to the muscles you need for giving birth.

Using Laboraide during the second stage of labour is a natural way to help reduce the pain and you can still use additional pain relief methods such as gas and air, a TENS machine, a birthing pool or have an epidural.

It is not uncommon for women to damage their teeth during labour (usually on their gas and air nozzle) as the desire to bite down on something can be so strong. Biting down on Laboraide can help eliminate this damage.

Laboraide has been designed keeping in mind you and your needs during birth. Made from a soft, durable cushioned material you will hardly know you are wearing it. Lightweight and discreet and available in a range of gentle pastel colours, it is the perfect device to help reduce the pain and time of labour.

How does it Work?

Trials have shown that using a dental support device such as Laboraide can reduce the length of the second stage of labour by as much as 40%

Since the early 1980s, clinical studies have been carried out exploring the relationship between the use of DSDs (Dental Support Devices) and muscular strength/power. Many studies have shown dramatic improvements in an athlete’s performance – so much so that DSDs are now widely used during training and competition.

In 2009 a very significant study was carried out at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Maryland USA, which demonstrated some major findings:

• Average duration of the second stage of labour for women wearing a dental support device (DSD) was 40% shorter than in the non DSD group.

• Using a DSD may decrease the number of failures to descend (baby entering birth canal after woman is fully dilated) requiring operative intervention.

More information about the science behind Laboraide can be found at www.laboraide.com

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Give Dad the gift of stress free baby bath times

June 14, 2012 in Babies, Bath time, Parenting by admin

This Father’s Day, forget the novelty golf ball cufflinks, and give that special man in your life a gift guaranteed to make being a new Dad that little bit easier. And no, it’s not an au pair… On June 17 this year give the gift of stress free baby bath times with an award-winning Cuddledry baby apron towel – the ultimate combination of luxury and innovation.

The original Cuddledry apron towel, which is the proud owner of multiple awards for it’s quality and design, including the FQ Magazine Top Gear Award, was actually inspired by Dads. We were watching our partners bath our babies, over a glass of wine of course, and as we watched them struggle to simultaneously hold a small towel and slippery baby, decided there had to be a simpler solution.

So we created one!

"Father's Day"

The Cuddledry towel is a double layer of silky soft pure cotton and bamboo fibre, which you wear around your neck like an apron, leaving both hands free for safely bathing and lifting your baby. The bamboo fibre makes the Cuddledry extra absorbent, and gives it a softness that lasts wash after wash, even without fabric softener. The bamboo also gives the Cuddledry towel long lasting natural anti-bacterial properties, meaning extra peace of mind for parents.

If you’re worried that pink and baby blue gingham might not appeal to the man in your life, fear not. We have lined up an extra special limited edition apron towel with dads in mind – a pure white towel with a subtle beige linen edge that’s the perfect compliment to any nursery colour scheme.

TV presenter Ben Fogle is one Dad who appreciates the help of a Cuddledry at baby bath time. Ben is well known for embarking on all kinds of crazy adventures, but parenting requires a whole new set of survival skills. When he’s not navigating the Arctic Circle his wife Marina says that Ben likes to tackle the challenge of bath times instead, and thanks to Cuddledry the Fogles are well equipped!

“They are really fabulous,” said Marina, “and have been constantly in use since they popped through our door. I love the quality – they’re so soft and thick and both our children love cuddling in them while we dry them. Having thought we had bathtime sorted, I now don’t know how we survived so long without them.”

Get your Cuddledry apron towel now at www.cuddledry.com

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NOW: 20% off an easy way to support your baby at bath time

May 28, 2012 in Babies, Bath time by admin

As makers of baby bath towels, we’re obviously always keen to discover new products that make baby bath times easier and simpler for parents. With this in mind, we are rather smitten with the new baby bath support from Whitestep, designed to complement their fold away baby bath tub.

The nifty new bath gadget supports your baby safely in the bath while allowing them plenty of freedom of movement to have a good splash about.

Inspired by the gentle curves of a mother’s womb, or supportive arm, the Flexibath support is designed to fit the natural shape of your baby’s body, and has no awkward wedge between their legs or underarm holders. Made in Denmark, the support is free from phthalates, BPA and other nasty chemicals, so is perfect for delicate baby skin. The Flexibath grows with your baby, and is suitable from birth up to around eight kilos.

And the best bit of all? It’s only £12! We think that with this and a Cuddledry apron towel, we’ve got stress free baby bath times sewn up!

The very generous people at Whitestep have very kindly said that Cuddledry customers can get a stonking 20% off everything on their website, so you could get a Flexibath AND a new bath support from a bargain for less than £34 – what a bargain!

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Herbal rememdies for kids

May 1, 2012 in Babies, Parenting, Toddlers by jo.middleton

We all know the deal – as a country we take too many antibiotics, and rely too heavily on painkillers and other medications. We want to do the best for our children though, so what are the alternatives? Are there ways to protect the health of our babies and toddlers without having to resort to a prescription?

The good news is that yes, there are! We’ve put together a few of our favourites, but do let us know if you have any other home remedies that your family swears by.

"Echinacea"

The echinacea plant

Echinacea

A good all-rounder, echinacea is used by lots of people to stimulate the immune system, helping the body ward off infection. Particularly useful in winter, it may help protect your family from the usual round of coughs and colds, by giving the immune system a much needed boost. Useful resource: A.Vogel Echinacea

Honey

Coughs, colds and runny noses seem to be a permanent feature of most young families, and most will run their course quite naturally, supported by plenty of rest and fluids. Research has shown that honey can be a useful way to soothe coughs – give 2.5ml of honey to children two to five years old; 5ml to children six to 11 years old; and 10ml to those 12 years and older. Never give honey to babies younger than one.

Arnica

Arnica is a very popular herb, that can be effective against a whole range of ailments including joint pain, swelling, bumps and sprains. Arnica is particularly helpful in speeding up the healing of bruises, and reducing the risks of any complications arising from bruising. Useful resource: Arnica A.Vogel Herbal Remedies

Salt water

Congestion can be very frustrating, especially for babies trying to feed and breathe through their nose at the same time. Saline nasal drops or spray are very effective for relieving congestion, both in babies and older children. For babies, place a few drops of salt water in each nostril to thin mucus, wait at least a minute, then gently use a bulb syringe to remove any discharge.

Milk Thistle

One for the mummies! If you’ve had maybe one too many glasses of wine the night before, (for stress relieving purposes only obviously), try a bit of milk thistle as a treatment for hangovers…

Get well soon!

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The secret to a happy relationship? Don’t sweat the small stuff…

April 28, 2012 in Babies, Birth, Parenting, Toddlers, Working mums by jo.middleton

You’ve got married, you’ve bought a house, you’ve had a baby, life should be perfect right?

So how come you feel so tired all the time? And why is it that every time your partner leaves a towel on the floor you want to stab him with a fork?

OK, perhaps it’s not always quite that bad, but things certainly aren’t the happy ever after you imagined as a child, planning your dream wedding and picking your baby names.

Fear not. This is normal.

I’m not saying that it’s OK to stay in a relationship that genuinely doesn’t make you happy, or to live a life you don’t want at all, but it is normal when you’re raising a young family, and juggling work, bills and children, to sometimes feel like you want to run away and hide under the duvet for a week or two.

Naturally, when you’re feeling tired and under pressure, it’s the people closest to us that bear the brunt, and so it’s often our partners that become the focus of our frustrations. Relationship and sex problems are a common symptom of parenthood, but although they happen to many people, they aren’t something that you should ignore.

So, what can you do to ease the strain?

Make time for yourselves as a couple – yes we know, everyone says this, but that’s because it’s true! The idea of ‘date night’ may sound like a horrible cliché, and having to put on a bit of make-up and brush your hair when all you really want to do it lie on the sofa watching Take Me Out is tough, but it’s worth it in the long term. When you do go out, try to think of things to talk about other than the kids…

Ask for help – “If you want me to do the hovering,” says the man of the house, “just ask!”

“But I shouldn’t have to ask!” complains wife. “I want you to notice it needs doing and just do it!”

Sound familiar?

Unfortunately, a lot of men, (and women too), just don’t notice things like this, and if you wait for them to, and let your resentment grow with every day that they don’t, you’re wasting everyone’s time. Having to ask doesn’t make you a nag, it isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s being assertive, and getting things done.

Be more accepting – Towels on the floor are annoying, but is it really the end of the world, especially if it means he’s been taking charge of baby bath time. We’re not saying you should let yourself be treated like a doormat, but just be aware that it’s all too easy to transfer our own high standards onto others, and end up feeling let down and resentful. Look instead at the things your partner does that really matter, like listening to you and spending time with you.

Take a lesson from author Dr Richard Carlson and don’t sweat the small stuff.

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New babies are expensive so be smart and slash your bills

April 16, 2012 in Babies, Parenting, Working mums by jo.middleton

Although the news of a baby’s arrival is a happy one, it is important to be prepared. Babies are free, but their maintenance fee can be a shock! Most expectant parents don’t realise the financial burden they are taking on, and focus mainly on schedule disruptions and the exhaustion they will be facing.

The biggest expense is childcare (if you are a working mum.)  The next, will be formula (if you choose not to breast feed) and then nappies. Yes, nappies! Consider that a baby can use 8-12 of these a day, so the costs really do add up. Expenses can begin before the baby is born!

Baby gear is mostly expensive upfront, and will probably be your next biggest cost with the crib, stroller, car seat, baby bath and so on…

These are just the expenses that you can control. It’s so important to save money on the expenses you can control for the expenses that you either can’t or haven’t prepared for. Cutting costs wherever you can will really help you in the long run!

While saving energy in the home is unlikely to be on your list of priorities at this time, have you thought about taking measures to cut down on the energy your household uses?

Start at the source! Consider changing your electricity provider and compare electricity prices to see whether you are with the right supplier and on the correct tariff. Other companies could give you a cheaper deal, plus incentives for changing. With up to £400 of savings at stake, if you switch to find the best option then plenty of pounds will be saved.

Changing your clothes washing habits can really save you money. Just by swapping long wash cycles with hot water for short wash cycles with cold water with a proven stain remover can save you 93KWh of energy a year. Never wash clothes in small loads, only use your washing machine when you have a full load. If you dry your laundry on a line outdoors or on a drying rack indoors and ignore your clothes dryer, you will do the environment a favour and cut your electricity bill by 6%.

When you do use your washing machine, dishwasher or dryer, use it at low energy use times of the day, and avoid using them between 4pm and 9pm.

Use a laptop, it uses almost three quarters less electricity than a desktop. Also, turn off and unplug all appliances in your house and home office at night. Use strip plug adaptors, so you can switch off up to six appliances at a time by flicking off the wall switch.

Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones, they use three quarters less energy. Also, kids love Christmas lights! You don’t have to skimp on the festivities just because you are trying to save electricity. LEDS use 10 times less energy than incandescent mini-lights and a staggering 100 times less energy than standard bulbs.

After you have brought your baby home, it is tempting to worry about it catching a chill and turn up the heat. The heating bill is usually the most expensive bill. Instead, invest in insulating your home and watch your bills significantly decrease!

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How to lose the baby weight?

April 5, 2012 in Babies, Parenting, Pregnancy by jo.middleton | 2 comments

Weight loss is a tricky subject. One the one hand we know that size zero isn’t healthy, and that we should love ourselves for who we are, but on the other, it’s tough shifting that baby weight, and we shouldn’t be ashamed of wanting to get our bodies back into shape. Concerns about body image can impact on other aspects of our lives, potentially leading to low self-esteem and relationship and sex problems, so it’s important to tackle them head on.

We know you’re all grown ups, and don’t need us to make your mind up for you, so today we’ve got a guest writer with a possible solution. Jane Hodgson started her own business, creating Skinny Sprinkles, and yes, I have given them a try myself, and you can read about that on my own blog. But for now, over to Jane…

…

I set up an online business selling beauty products a year after having my gorgeous daughter Isabelle, who is six this month.

In that time I put on weight and lots of it! I guess it was the combination of having a baby and sitting at my computer 24/7. I tried slimming supplements but none of them worked for me. I have always dreamed of creating my own product, so I thought a slimming supplement would be the ideal choice.

I wanted to create a product that would take away the stigma associated with losing weight, a product that women would not feel ashamed of taking. Over a period of 14 months and with the support of Dr Nigel Plummer an expert in the development of nutritional supplements, we came up with Skinny Sprinkles®.

I didn’t want Skinny Sprinkles® to be just another weight loss supplement. I wanted it to change the way people feel about losing weight to encourage people to be positive about weight loss and strive toward a healthier lifestyle. The packaging has purposely been designed to be lively and fun not medical; this is the feeling I want Skinny Sprinkles® to evoke. Getting the psychology right with weight loss is as important asgetting the ingredients right, it’s the combination that worked for me.

I want women to feel proud they are making the effort with aproduct that does actually work. (the weight reduction claims relating to the actives in Skinny Sprinkles® have been substantiated by EFSA).

Skinny Sprinkles® makes following a calorie restricted diet really easy. We received our first test batch of Skinny Sprinkles® in late October last year and so I took 3 a day and kept to 1200 to 1500 calories a day and by Christmas I lost a stone. I continued to take them over Christmas and although I did not lose weight because of the inevitable increase in calories, amazingly I didn’t put any weight on. I even indulged a little with my favourite Christmas vice – Baileys!

In total I have now lost 2 stone,  and can now even fit into a pair of size 10 Jeans the first time in 6 years. They are still a little tight though!

If there are any mums out there that would like to try Skinny Sprinkles and be featured as a case study on the website please contact me at jane@skinnysprinkles.co.uk or via twitter @skinnysprinkles.

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Chore wars

March 23, 2012 in Babies, Parenting, Toddlers by admin

Are rows over housework getting you down?  Follow these tips to help everyone feel they’re getting a fair deal.

A new baby means more work for everyone, but the reality is that new mums often end up with the lion’s share when it comes to household chores. And when one partner goes back to work leaving the other with the bulk of domestic duties, resentment can build, causing lasting damage to your relationship.

Point-scoring doesn’t help anyone, so here are a few ways to make sure everyone wins.

1. Plan ahead
Don’t just assume things will ‘work themselves out.’  You’re more likely to argue if you end up doing more than you expected, so think it through and agree in advance about who will do what once baby comes along.

2. Value your role
Just because one person earns more it doesn’t mean that their job is more important, or that they deserve more of a break when it comes to the weekend.  “I don’t mind doing the housework during the week, but the expectation that I will also do it at weekend drives me mad!” says Rebecca, 36.  Try swapping roles for a day so he can see just how hard you work – then agree a schedule that gives you both the time off you deserve.

3. Find time to talk
Knee-deep in laundry with a screaming baby on your hip is not the time to tell him how you feel.   Find a time when you can sit down and talk without getting emotional, and show him you’re not tired or irrational – you need things to change.

4. Do some things together
Ok, so it’s hardly quality time, but doing the laundry or dishes together can give you a shared sense of purpose and help you feel you’re in it together.

5. Drop the scorecard
You’ve fed the baby, done eight loads of washing and been up all night, but keeping score means no-one wins.  It’s not a competition, so take a deep breath and let it go.

6. Don’t go on the attack
Sometimes it’s less about what you say than how you say it.  If he feels threatened he’s more likely to counter-attack, so instead of saying ‘you never do the dishes,’ try asking if he’d prefer to wash up or clean the bathroom.

7. Don’t criticise
Telling him what he’s done wrong will only make him less likely to try again, so resist the urge to stand over him or criticise when he does help.

8. Say thank you
A little appreciation can go a long way.  At the end of the day you’ve both worked hard, so make sure you recognise each other’s efforts.

9. Lower your standards
It may drive you insane, but chances are he simply doesn’t notice dust gathering on the picture frames or the layer of grease over the cooker.  Make sure you’re both clear about what standard is expected, but be prepared to lower your sights sometimes if it means keeping the peace.

10. It will pass
Right now it may seem like things will never change, but as your little one grows more independent you’ll start to share things more evenly again.  Hold on and remind yourself that the end is in sight.

For more relationship information and advice, visit The Couple Connection.

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