As I write this I am breastfeeding and being periodically smashed in the face by a small, perfectly formed hand. When they’re not trying to tweak my nose, the podgy little fingers are pulling on my bra strap, trying to free the nipple that’s not in use and winding themselves into my hair so that they…
After a long gap in which I had made no attempt whatsoever to do any breastmilk expressing, a bout of mastitis the other week (see here) forced me to have another go. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end! Foggy-headed and feverish, messing about with boobs and pumps was the last thing I…
Thanks to the many readers who recommended I try reusable bamboo breast pads: they are indeed quite brilliant. Soft, easily absorbent enough and I don’t feel bad that I’m adding to the landfill with my throwaway pads. (Enough guilt going on with the nappies.) I bought a pack of twelve from Amazon here and they…
I have managed to wreak a lot of mileage out of this little cloth book in the month I’ve had it. Possibly not the most intellectually challenging of reads, it simply features the high contrast faces of three different farm animals (cow, sheep, pig) using three colours (black, white, red) to stimulate and entertain new babies. Mine…
This review is well overdue, because the Sleepyhead is, I think, my most-used piece of baby equipment so far. I have used it multiple times a day, almost every day since we came home from the hospital. And never has something been recommended to me so many times, by so many different people. And so…
You can probably tell by the fact that my posts have been a bit more sporadic that I have a hell of a lot less time at the moment. Mainly because Baby A hardly sleeps at all during the day – a nap here and there, but nothing solid – and we have absolutely no routine…
About a week and a half ago I was drafting a post entitled The Pros and Cons of Breastfeeding (watch this space for that one!) which began with the words, I feel incredibly lucky to have – thus far – had quite an unproblematic breastfeeding experience. Tempting fate there, you might think – and you’d be right: less…
Sorry that this post has taken so long to appear – I kept adding to it as I used the products more and more. I’m sure that I’ll have more to say again in a month or so! I’ve had lots of people asking me what I went for in terms of cot, pram and car…
I wish that I’d bought these a hell of a lot earlier; they’re absolutely brilliant! If you’ve ever wondered what to do in the toy/amusement department when your baby is too young to grasp hold of something, these are the answer. Little socks and wristbands with rattly, crinkly garden bugs on them. Baby A goes…
We have been moving back into our newly renovated house and I keep discovering bags of things I’d forgotten I had. It’s brilliant – kind of like Christmas, but without having to go shopping or cook a roast. In one of the baby bags I found a pack of three “safari” babygrows from Mothercare that I…
The three month update. I would use that age-old phrase the time has flown by, but actually, this month hasn’t. Probably because we’ve been waiting to move back into our house and every day has presented a new delay or obstacle, but also because there have been so many little changes with Baby Angelica and I’ve…
I have come to the conclusion that the best gadget in the world, ever, for saving your sanity when you have a baby is this: Yes, readers, I am talking about the humble motorcar. The magical, sleep-inducing, cry-preventing machine that is, with any luck, sitting right outside of your front door or maybe at the…
Following my Co-Sleeping. Kind of. post, I decided to take the plunge and see what it was like sharing a bed with Baby Angelica. If only for a few hours. Because I started to wonder whether the whole co-sleeping issue had maybe been blown out of all proportion, fuelled by newspaper stories and SIDS statistics. After…
Title is pretty self-explanatory really: things hit an all-time undignified low the other day when it became necessary, due to the huge engorgement of my right breast, to milk myself into a teacup. Closing the blinds in the lounge would probably have been prudent, but my nipple was literally shooting milk in four different directions,…
(I just found this post; thought I had published it but it was languishing in my drafts folder. Sorry! I wrote it nearly two weeks ago now…) Ooh! Well that was a turnout for the books! I’ve just experienced the most primal, intense feeling of protectiveness over Baby A, followed by a bit of a…
It was bound to happen at some point. That terribly awkward “when are you due?” situation. A question that is fine if you’re pregnant, but really quite soul-destroying if you’re not. My own “situation” has just happened at the Tesco pharmacy counter, of all places. The poor pharmacist. I think that after I walked away…
I wasn’t really aware of the concept of co-sleeping until I was about eight months pregnant – I think I’ve mentioned before that I had a complete mental block about anything that might happen after pregnancy. ie, a baby. I was so focused on just hanging on to my pregnancy and making sure that everything…
Well. Nothing to report here. If I had to do a little run-down of my breastmilk expressing experiences so far, they would go something like this: Day 1: look at the MAM Breastfeeding Starter Kit. Try to read instructions, which are printed on one piece of card with a font so small I require binoculars….