Alfie NineMonthUpdate

Nine months ago yesterday I gave birth to my son, the most amazing nine months ever but they've gone so quick. He is developing so quickly and changes all the time. Every time he wakes up he seems to be doing something else, it's amazing to watch but part of me is sad that he is not going to be a baby much longer. 

His physical development that has been the biggest change in my eyes. He uses anything and everything to stand up, he loves standing up and if he's not crawling he's stood up trying to grab everything, we have to be so careful where we leave cups and photo frames now. He can reach quite high as he's tall. The crawling seems to be getting quicker and quicker every day, he hates staying still during change times. He often crawls off with no nappy on and I have to chase after him. If you take your eyes off him for a second, he's gone.

The cot situation seems to be a bit of a pain as everytime he wakes, he stands up which makes him wake up properly. So he is waking himself wake up rather than just rolling over and settling himself down again. 

Intellectual development- he is always shouting and screaming. He has a few words in his vocabulary now, he says; 

Dada

Mama

No 

Yeah 

Hiya (along with a wave)

Hello.

He loves his books, i only recently bought him books when a friend told me that I can read to him now and it will help his development. So I popped off to asda and bought him a few. I got him; 'Dear Zoo', 'The Gruffalo and the Gruffalos Child', 'Night Monkey, Day Monkey'. He loves me reading to him and laughs at the pictures. He opens the flaps on his 'Dear Zoo' book and is loving becoming independent and is so clever. 

He goes to bed at around eight and wakes up at eight in the morning. He sometimes wakes up in the night but we put his dummy back in and he soon falls back to sleep. 

He is wearing 9-12M bodysuits, 6-9M sleepsuits, trousers and tops. 

He has four teeth, two bottom teeth and two top teeth. His top ones have only just  came through and he's been quite upset with teething for the top ones but abit of calpol works wonders! 

I'll see you next month for his ten month update! I'm sure I'll have lots more to tell you. 

Weight Loss Mission

The time has finally arrived that I'm completely motivated to loose some weight, it doesn't happen very often, but I seem to be extra motivated to tone up and get fit right now. 

I've bought '30day shred' by Jillian Michaels. A few blogging friends have done this and saw amazing results so I'm so excited to give it a go. 

I am going to start on the 1st of February and keeping track of my progress by blogging it. I feel that blogging will give me motivation as I will record my measurements every couple of weeks and will be able to see that something is happening and I am on the road to my dream body. 

I've been feeling rather low and down in the dumps the last few weeks so I think exercising and eating better will make me feel happier as I'll be doing something to benefit myself. 

I have been quite active in the past, going dancing and joining the gym. I used to love the gym and went everyday, this was like 4years ago and since then I haven't done any exercise so I'm very excited to see some results from doing my 30day shred DVD. 

I look forward to sharing my weight loss journey with you. 

I will be starting my weight loss mission on the 1st of February, wish me luck!

Now I'm off to find my sports bra. 

Catch you all later! 

Nursery Ideas

I'm really looking forward to Alfie having his own room, he's still in a corner in our bedroom which I love as he still wakes in the night and is my alarm clock at silly o'clock! 

One day he will have his own room so I've been internet 'window' shopping. 

Here are some of my ideas for his room so far-do any of you have similar for babies nursery? 

You can tell that I'm a fan of neutral colours. I'm looking forward to doing Alfie's room when the time comes! 

The importance of Reading- Guest post

When the lovely Emma asked if anyone would like to do a guest post back in...erm, a long time ago anyway, I said I'd love to! But with Christmas and getting my new blog up and running I wasn't organised enough to get it done. So I told Emma to give me a dead line! And here we are!

Since blogging I have come across many a blog post about reading or reviewing books which delights me!

As a teacher I cannot stress enough about how important reading is. Not just reading for the sake of it but reading for enjoyment. Children won't get as much out of reading as they could if they don't like what they're reading. It broadens their imagination and vocabulary which will become apparent in their writing!
They also need to understand what it is they are reading. Some children are able to 'read' words perfectly but do not have comprehension of what is going on in the book. Reading is about understanding as well as the written word. When reading with children I ask questions to assess their understanding. This is what parents can do at home whether you're reading to your child or they're reading to you.

Some Examples...

* Why do think...is happening?
* What do you think this word means?
* Why do you think that character is feeling...?
* What was your favourite part of the book, why?
* What do you think will happen next?

These are a few things you can ask when reading with/to your children, not only to gage how much they understand but to get chatting with them about the books they read.

I'm sure every school promotes reading with a reward system. Where I am now parents are required to sign and comment in their son/daughters reading diary five times a week.
Now I'm a parent I really know that time can be an issue but even if it's just five minutes, it's worth it and makes a difference!

Books can be quite pricey in certain stores but there are many ways to find them cheaper!

1. Pound Shops! I have bought many hard baby/toddler books for Eliot from here most of
   them priced at £4.99 on the back! They get in good reads for older kids too.

2. The Book People are particularly good with book collections

3. Charity Shops often have good reads at bargain prices.

4. Supermarkets! Often have deals on very popular books E.g. Two for £7.

5. Join a library, a great way to read a variety books for free! My local library has a story and rhyme session twice a week so do check out if anything happens at yours.

I loved reading as a child and I hope that Eliot grows to enjoy it as much as I did. I've seen what a difference it makes to learning in the long term.

You can find Lucinda over on twitter and her blog is over at Teacher2Mummy 

Baba&Boo ClothNappyReview

When I first got pregnant, there was no doubt in my mind that I would be using disposable nappies. I had piles of nappies sat waiting for Alfie to be born, I didn't even think about using cloth nappies. 

When I started my blog I saw a lot of talk about cloth nappies amongst parent bloggers, I was intrigued by this as my pre-conceived idea was that a cloth nappy is just a piece of cloth with a safety pin to keep it together. I was wrong they come in some fabulous designs and I might be a cloth nappy fanatic now! 

We were sent this gorgeous blue with skulls cloth nappy with two inserts included to try from BabaAndBoo- A company I first came across on twitter. 

I wasn't sure how these cloth nappies would work but after reading other peoples reviews. I felt more comfortable trying them out, loads of people swear by them so they must be good! 

They are fastened by poppers so you do it up as tight as you need. The material is soft and the inside is fleece material and feels nice against the skin. Some disposable nappies can be so rough and I always make sure I use barrier cream to protect the nappies rubbing on Alfie's skin. With these I don't need to because the material is soft and just sits next to the skin. Another advantage of the cloth nappies are that they don't smell like the chemicals that disposable ones have in. 

I'm so inexperienced with these so Alfie did have a leak, i think I just need to make it tighter next time which is easy using the poppers on the front. It's trial and error when you first use something new so I'm sure I'll get the hang of it better when I use it more. They do advise you wash before use and I did once but maybe it needs a couple more washs to increase absorbency levels.

Overall, I will recommend anyone to try cloth nappies. If you would like some more in depth information about using cloth nappies you can go to the BabaAndBoo Website or my lovely friend Kelly has cloth nappies for beginners post if you would like a look. You can also see one of her cloth nappy reviews here. I will be buying more for sure, so many gorgeous designs. 

Any baby will look cool in these nappies!

 *I was sent this cloth nappy for the purpose of this review but all words are my own!

Pink Lining Change Bag

All us mummies need a good changing bag, that is organised so we can find what we need without routing through for 5mins. I did used to use an oversized tote bag but it had no pockets what so ever not even for my phone so it was abit of a pain and not very organised. If you saw my Christmas wishlist then you will know I was lusting after the 'not so plain jane pink lining change bag' and guess what? I got it! Yay. I love it and it really is so much better to have an organised change bag! 

I went for the NotSoPlainJane bag as I wasn't keen on the yummy mummymotif because it's just not me. The not so plain jane is detailed enough and is the same as the yummy mummy just without the motif on the front. I went for the navy bows, but they also do pink bows and green. They are beautiful really and amazing quality! 

You wouldn't belive how detailed the bag is- it has two big pockets for nappies and wipes. Two insulated bottle holders. A  pocket for your phone. Two pockets at the sides. A big pocket on the outside too. What's more is, you get a changing mat and a wet bag, they are both covered in the trademark cupcake design which I'm not so keen on as it's just not my style. The changing mat however is so padded and comfy for Alfie. The best portable changing mat I've used so far! 

Pink lining do so many gorgeous bags and bits. I recommend taking a look at the website you might just find something you love! They do really good sales too so make sure you keep checking as you might find something you love with money off too! 

Silent Sunday- 05-01-2014

#SILENTSUNDAY

2014- A New Year

So, another year has been and gone. 

Last year was the best year ever of my life, my life has totally been flipped upside down and I love it. I love being a mummy to my boy, Alfie. He is fantastic, adorable and cheeky. He keeps me going, even when I'm feeling not up to showing my face to the outside world he gives me that extra push to go out and I feel much better for it. He has helped me build my confidence, even though he can't talk to me and tell me to get a grip. I do it for him. He is the most important thing in my life, and everything I do- I do it for him. 

At the beginning of 2013, Alfie was a 24week old baby curled up in my tummy. And then April came round and it was time for Alfie to meet us. He was 10days late but it made it more special when he was eventually ready to come into the world. I remember cuddling my boy for hours and just staring at him all night. I didn't sleep, I couldn't. I just wanted to stay awake and keep him safe. 

In September we went for our first family holiday- Alfie was4months but it was lovely to get away from Lincoln and it did our little family the world of good. Just being together. 

In July, I started my little blog 'emmaandalfiesworld' -it is the best thing I've ever done. I've met loads of lovely people and everyone is so supportive. I have friends with newborns and friends with older babies than Alfie and the community is very strong- we all go to each other for help and advice. That's what I love about blogging- you have a group of people that are there to chat too day and night- especially us parent bloggers! 

My aim for 2014 is too make my blog bigger and better. I appreciate all the followers I have& I can't wait to see what 2014 holds for us all. 

Minnie Macaroon Review

Now the weather is getting very chilly we need to wrap up warm, especially out little babies. I've been searching for the perfect snuggley hat and was having no luck until I came across Minnie Macaroon on twitter, they are a company that was founded in 2009 in West Yorkshire. They specialise in using Icelandic yarn to make some right little beauties. 

We were sent this gorgeous little Bear hat to review, and I love it! Exactly what I was looking for. If you like your baby in quirky clothes and searching for a hat for winter then I would recommend taking a look at their website! 

 It's so soft and warm and I know Alfie is all snuggley wearing it. Alfie hasn't pulled it off yet so that's a good sign, it does fall into his eyes so he does need to grow into it abit but it's good quality so will last for a little while yet so he has chance to grow into it.

It's excellently made and has the sweetest little bear face! 

They make little teddies also, a brilliant range to pick anything that you want for your little ones. 

The hats come in baby- child &Adult sizes, perfect for those beautiful babies& cuddley children. 

Pop on over and take a look you won't be disappointed!