Top Five: Baby Purchases!

Hi there! Hope you are all well. Today it's all about what I thought was our top 5 purchases for Tabitha.
With Tabitha being my second I definitely felt more prepared and knowledgeable of items I would or wouldn't need for her as a baby. So, I thought I'd do a little post for those first time mums - please note that what works for one may not necessarily work for another.

1. Chicco Next To Me Crib (RRP £179 but I found it here for £124.99. However, there a new version out as well available here for £179).
I knew I was going to breastfeed Tabitha but wasn't comfortable with the idea of co-sleeping, as Jamie is quite a deep sleeper, and so I wanted the concept of it but to do it safely. This was a god send. I had a cesarean with Tabitha and it took me a lot longer to receover with her than it did with Casper, so the ease of getting her out of bed was a dream. The constant feeding during the night didn't mean i had to get up and bend, which if you've had a c-section you know the agony, and I could just scooch her out. It also meant I was close to her and my scent soothed her. I absolutely loved it and would recommend to anyone. We got a good 7/8 months out of it, until she learnt how to roll out of it.

2. Tula Ergonomic Baby Carrier. (RRP £119.90 available here, some designs on offer for £79.90 and Infant Insert £29.90 available here).
Tabitha loved being on me to settle and with having a 2 and a half year old it was so difficult to do two things at once. The carrier made this possible and meant I was hands free to do other things. You do have to buy the infant insert to use from newborn but the carrier is up to 20kg - which means I've been able to use it for Casper too, getting my money worth for sure. Obviously you don't specifically have to buy a tula as they are quite expensive (though I say very worth it!) I would definitely recommend investing in a sling or carrier. I'd recommend going to a sling library as you can try different slings and carriers and be shown how to use and fit them properly and safely.

3. Summer Infant Deluxe Baby Bather (RRP £14.99 found here on offer for £9.99).
I'd definitely say a summer infant bath seat, they are set up so they lay on them in the bath. We was given a baby bath with Casper and it was just so bulky and not used at all, as it was such an effort, so he was usually taken in the bath with daddy. We bought a summer infant bath seat for him and it was such great value, was easy to use and folded down so nice compact. We stored it away and brought it back out with Tabitha. It meant Casper and Tabitha could bath safely togetger and when she grew out of it, she went straight to sitting up in the bath - so nothing more was needed. I'd recommend highly above getting a baby bath. It also comes in pink or blue if that's important.

4. Head and ear thermometer.
This is a random one, but with Casper we just had a cheap under the arm one and it was so unreliable and we didn't know heads from tails with it. It was definitely something we knew we would spend a little more on in time for having Tabitha. We actually got it for under £13 at an aldi baby event, so was a bargain price and works as well as the more costly ones. It gave us peace of mind when we worried about temperature and was consistent if we had to go to the doctors as well.

5. Summer Infants, Slummer Buddies - Elephant (RRP £24.99, but we got it for £10 off and found it here for that too!)
This is something we used with Casper, we bought one and was gifted one, so had two from new born. It is a soft elephant, that has a light projector as a stomach - that projects stars and moon on the ceiling in three colours (red, green or blue) or it do it so it changes between the three. It, also, has white noise and lullabys that play for 15 minutes or 45 minutes. It helped calm both children and Casper still uses his now at almost 4. It has become a part of the bedtime routine. I wouldn't say it necessarily sends Tabitha to sleep, however it definitely helps with getting the mood ready for bed. Definitely worth the pennies though, as it isn't as expensive as other types of sleep aids on the market. They do some fab other animals too!

Those are our top 5, what do you recommend for first time mums? I want to think I'm much more knowledgeable the second time around but with that said, I definitely have some items that I regret buying for Tabitha. I'll be doing a top 5 regrest soon, so stay tuned if you're interested!
Thanks for reading :)
Natalie x

Send Her Back, She's Broken!

Hi, I thought today I'd talk about Tabitha's sleep, well lack of sleeping.
Tabitha is 16 months and still has the sleeping pattern of a new born. Lucky me, hey? Tabitha actually slept far better as a new born than she does now.
Tabitha is breastfed, and as a newborn this was a complete fight. Not for her, she had it down straight away, but for me. I had dry nipples that cracked, causing infections, mastitis, and honest to god the worst pain I've felt. However, she thrived. She slept 6 hours straight off and was doing so well with weight and growth, and so I powered through and I bragged, I bragged that she slept. Why oh why did I brag? This was so my come uppance. Well I bragged because as a baby Casper didn't sleep, so I thought I deserved that glee of having a sleeping new born. Little did I know once she hit 4 months, bye bye sleep.

4 months hit and sleep regression, I remember thinking it was just a stage. The 4 months sleep regression, right?We have the wonder weeks app and it's great to show you what's coming, what developmental leaps to expect and moods. For Casper the wonder weeks app was dead on and so we saw the leap and we thought it just a little bump and then she'd overcome it. Well I'm still waiting for her to over come it.
I'm struggling on an average of 4-5 hours of broken sleep a night. It's so difficult as she only wants me and boob during the night, and because she has never had a bottle I am not able to share that burden and it really does get tiring.
If I say to anybody about her sleeping, a lot will suggest to stop breastfeeding but I don't want to. I fought to feed Tabitha and I'm just not ready. I know I would regret it instantly if I tried to wean her off. Surprisingly she has a dummy, I know that's not always the norm for breastfed babies, and although it will give her comfort im the day, she spits it out and refuses it at night and wanting only comfort from me.
We have tried maybe different routines as night, including bath time with lavender wash and lotion, massages, black out blinds, ewan the sheep, slumber buddy, stories, white noise, mummy putting her to sleep, daddy putting her to sleep, and thus far none have been successful. I have decided that crying it out and controlled crying are things I will not try, I just don't feel comfortable hearing my daughter cry for me.

At the minute we are trying a new routine and getting her to sleep is taking less time but she's still waking herself up crying.
New routine:
• Bath
• Massage with lavender lotion
• Pjs on
• I feed her on the sofa
• Jamie takes her upstairs
• Brush teeth
• Cuddles and put into her cot
• Story
• Slumber buddy elephant plays nursery rhyme and red glow
• Jamie holds her hand to sleep.
So far getting her to sleep is much improved, it is taking maybe 20 minutes, compared to my 3 hours. However, she cries in her sleep within an hour and wakes herself up. If I run upstairs she will settle back on the dummy and me holding her tummy. She is such a light sleeper, and I'm not sure we can combat that, but anything to stop her waking up like 20 times a night and refusing to go back to sleep would be good. The biggest struggle is between 12am and 1am she'll wake up to feed but then will not settle. She'll stay on me and I will keep her in bed with us but she constantly wakes herself up if she evens just slips slightly off of me, this is when she'll refuse water or dummy and even will get stressed on the boob. I would, and do, willingly co-sleep but she's still so unsettled and wakes up constantly that I'm not sure it's necessarily what she wants.
I'm going to take the new routine as a win, we just need to figure out how to get her to sleep for longer periods.
Do you have any suggestions of a night time routine or things to help them sleep? I'd love to hear!
Natalie x

New Here!

Hi, I'm Natalie and I'm new here, well I'm not new really to blogging. 4 years ago I used to have a beauty blog, however when I found out I was pregnant with my son I literally just stopped. I couldn't even tell you why I did, it was like I lost my mojo. I used to love blogging, and would say it was semi successful and I met the best people through it. Recently I have really been missing blogging, just putting thoughts down, and so I have decided I am going to give it a crack at mummy blogging. I'm completely new to this genre of blogging, as it could not be more opposite to beauty - not sure I even know what make up is anymore.

Well to introduce myself, as I said I'm Natalie, I'm 28, from Derbyshire and I have two children with my partner of 8 years, Jamie. We have a son called Casper and a daughter called Tabitha. They are like two peas in a pod and my whole world revolves around them, so what better subjects to write about. I'm hoping this blog will have day to day life, reviews of products, brands and days out, outfits for children, and literally anything to do with mummy life

Casper is 3, 4 in November, and a ball of fire. Casper has so much energy and never seems to stop. He's loves playing dinosaurs and vehicles, although we met a dress up dinosaur recently and he was petrified - ironic, ha. He enjoys creating and building things, especially lego with daddy. He loves animals and his favourite days out are going to the zoo and the farm. He's a little adventurer, climbing, exploring and trying new things. Casper does also enjoy reading stories in bed, well flicking the pages, and he loves learning. He seems to be a sponge and absorbs everything.

Tabitha is 16 months and full of character. She is always so happy and cheerful in the day. Her favourite things to do are sing, play with her brother's kitchen and dolls house and play outside in the garden. She loves the tv programme Waffle the Wonder Dog and sings the song constantly, much to all of our joy. She is learning new words everyday, her favourites being no and mama but her new one being sorry. She loves going to the park, and swinging on the swings and also running away from mummy and giggling as she does.
Well there is a little about us!
I do hope I don't totally bore you and I am totally excited to start this new adventure!
Natalie x