Blake's swimming lessons

When Blake first started Swimming lessons in September I was rather nervous about it. 
To be fair I'm not one of those people who are confident and like being social situations. 
When Blake was about 8 weeks old I had to force myself into going out and going to groups so that 
I wasn't socially isolated. I now have made some great Mummy friends especially with a lady who lives around the corner from me and coincidentally the ladies I have made friends with all have boys who are around the same age as Blake. 

But that wasn't really my major worry with regards to taking him swimming. 
Whilst I was pregnant with Blake I woke in the night after having a terrible dream.
Bear in mind I didn't know that I was having a boy as we had chosen to keep the gender a secret. 
I had dreamed that I had gone swimming with my baby who was a boy and he went under the water but I was
in one of my epileptic blank out episodes so was unable to save him and no one else noticed and of course I was unable to do anything. 

It was a pretty scary dream and so having a boy and going swimming made them fears feel very real.
I decided that I wanted to take Blake swimming though as I know that it will be fun for him and also it would be great for him to start getting use to the water and starting to learn to swim at a younger age than I did. 



When it came to going to the lessons with Blake I made the decision to have someone with me and Blake at all times just in case. We go to lessons on a Saturday afternoon which has it's pros and cons and I have Stuart with me and Blake. 


I love how the lessons are planned although only half an hour long Blake is now loving spending time in the pool 
and enjoys it so much that he cries when we get out the pool and even does the same at home at bath time. 

We do everything in a group in the pool, walking around in circle's singing songs whilst bouncing our babies up and down in the water and "swimming" them on their fronts and backs. I love that we near enough always do their version of here we go round the mulberry bush. Which means we splash our little ones faces in the water and pretend to give them a shower which in turn will eventually make them more confident in the water. 

One of things I am not too confident in doing yet is putting Blake under the water I have done it a few times and he hates it and cries so I'd rather leave it a little while longer as he will eventually get more use to having water on his face. 

I'd love to know if you take your little ones for swimming lessons and how you have got on?
comment below




Firework safety

It's fast approaching that time of year again when people will be letting fireworks off non stop. 
I'm looking forward to bonfire night (5th November) this year as it will be Blake's first time of being able to see them, although admittedly we will be watching from the safety of our home with Blake being so young. 

Pryers Solicitors have been doing some research recently on firework safety and was shocked to see how many injuries still occur that are caused by fireworks. I think it's pretty scary too as people really should know by now how to be safe around them as they can be so dangerous and aren't toys. 

The most common injures are on the hands (31%)  which is of no surprise really as this would be when people are not holding them properly to light them up.  The next most common is eyes (25%) which is pretty scary as 
people are taking dangerous risks to see pretty lights in the sky. 



It is important that not just you but your whole family and friends are aware of the dangers of fireworks and
the safety tips when using them. 

Some interesting facts included are that the most common place for accidents are at family party (52%) followed by street or public place (27%). Also (3%) of injures have happened indoors and (1%) in cars. 
It makes you realise that their are some people silly enough out there to try and set of fireworks in such an enclosed place. 



If you are going to see fireworks this year please be safe and follow these important tips: 

- Do NOT carry fireworks in your pocket

- NEVER relight fireworks

- PUT used fireworks in a metal bucket filled with cold water 

- ALWAYS supervise children 

- BE AWARE of animals close by 

- NEVER throw fireworks! 


But most importantly make sure you stay SAFE, unfortunately even if you're sensible, not everyone is.
The best place to view fireworks is at an organised display who will have had training and know what to do in an emergency. Or you can be like us and view ones that are being done locally from the safety of your bedroom window. 

Essential Items for a New-Born Baby

the new babies 527_pe.jpg

Prior to your new baby's arrival, you will have a to-buy list as long as your arm. Indeed, the amount of things a little person needs is remarkable! To avoid becoming overwhelmed by it all, focus on the top priority items first. The other bits and pieces will follow once a baby arrives.

Cot

Help baby get a good night’s sleep with a cosy cot. Baby cots from Cuckooland and other such suppliers have a host of designs from which to choose your bed. Pick a colour to fit the décor of your nursery and a size that suits the room too. Decide if you want a cot for the baby stage only, or whether one that converts into a toddler bed is a worthwhile investment.

Moses baskets and bassinets provide a delicate bed for the daytime. Place your baby in a cot at night to get them accustomed to the feel and space of this restful place. Affix mobiles to promote better sleep and purchase cot bedding to keep your baby warm at night.

Car Seat

Another essential item to buy before baby arrives is a car seat. Car seats need to be upgraded as children grow so pick one that you can use for a while. Car seats are manufactured under strict safety standards. Always buy a seat from a reputable supplier who can prove the meet all the legal requirements. With lots of choices in terms of styles and colours, pick the most suitable for your car.

When picking your car seat decide whether to buy more than one. Although expensive, two-car families may find it more practical in the long run to have one in each. Continually fitting and refitting a seat for different journeys will take time and effort to do. Having two negates the need to keep swapping cars or fitting seats every time you go out.

Pram

When you’re feeling ready and confident, you’ll want to take your new baby outside. A pram is an essential piece of kit to enable you to do this in comfort. While babies are light and small, you may prefer to carry them in a sling or similar device. However, to help your posture and to give your body freedom, a pram is ideal.

There are a vast array of prams on the Highstreet and online. Each has unique features to make life for new parents as easy as possible. Some designs are multi-functional, including prams that double up as carry cots. Lightweight frames make pushing a baby in the park effortless. Robust and durable, prams are ergonomically designed to turn corners effortlessly.

Clothes

Keeping a baby warm is essential. Choosing the right clothing will hold in the heat and keep the chills away. Layers of clothing are ideal for a new born baby. As babies can’t regulate their temperature, use clothing to aid their comfort. Cardigans are easily added and removed to accommodate fluctuating climates. Vests are a baby staple; so too stretch suits and socks. Hats and mittens are perfect for winter walks while sunhats provide essential protection on sunny days. Add a cute set of booties outdoors and a shawl for cold days.


Enjoy your new arrival and be fully prepared for anything!

Grey and White Dining Items

Recently I have been really getting into Monochrome items for the home. 
I really like to have a theme for each room in our home for example for our bathroom I like the idea of a Nautical theme. Mine and Stuart's bedroom is a pink/brown theme, Blake's room is a bit all over the place at the moment, as is our living room/diner and kitchen. 

I think that Monochrome is going to be easy theme to do for the kitchen and dining area of our living room. 
The walls are all white so we would just need to incorporate Black, white and grey shades into the rooms. 


Our  wishlist for our kitchen and dining part of our living room are fab grey and white pieces from Wilko's utility range which I have fallen in love with. 




1. Grey 12 piece Dinner Set £20
Stuart was actually the one to point out this set as we were having a look for a dinner set as we are hoping to get one as a possible joint Christmas present. 
We love this one as the plates and bowls are quiet deep and are a good size too.

2. Grey Seat Pad  £5 each 
We already have Black table and chairs with a grey chair pad on them but these pads
are a lot more thicker and look so much more comfy. 

3. Black handle 16 piece cutlery set £15
I just love this and how well they co-ordinate with the monochrome theme. 

4. A little bit of what you fancy lap tray £5 each 
Again another lovely item that goes with the Monochrome theme. 
We are in the need of some new trays so these would be ideal .

What do you think about these Monochrome dining items? 

My facial skincare routine

Before and during pregnancy I was lucky when it came to my skin. 
I have always been rubbish when it comes to a proper skin care regime as I always forgot to remove my make
up before  bed which we know is a big no, no. 

Since having Blake though my skin has become extremely dry and flaky. 
So I have now started looking after my skin better by sticking to a proper regime. 

The products below are what I use on a day to day basis although I do change the moisturizer from time to time. 



So first of all when in the shower every morning I use the Skin Therapy Tea Tree Facial Wash.
I get this from Wilko's and it costs around 90p. I love how smooth and soft my skin feels after using
this and my skin feels fresh too. 
I have been using a facial wash every morning for years so this is part of my skin care routine
that I have always kept on top of. 


Next up I use the Simple Kind To Eyes Revitalizing Eye Roll On. 
I love this and started using it after having Blake when he was in the i'm going to keep
you up all night phase. 
I love the cooling effect it has on my eyes and makes me look and feel more perkier. 
I tend to always look out for it on offer when buying it and have yet to have paid full retail price for it.


 I then pop on a moisturizer my current one is The Simple Kind To Skin Hydrating  Light Moisturizer.
I really love this one as it works really well at keeping my skin hydrated but doesn't leave it feeling greasy. 
I also have a Nivea one that I use which I also love and find works really well. 


I then leave it half an hour or so to let the moisturizer skin in before applying Nivea Daily Essentials 
Express Hydration Primer. I love this primer as it helps my foundation to last all day. 
I only do this step if I am going to be wearing make up if not than I don't bother. 



Then before bed I use the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water to remove my make up. 
I use this even if I've not worn make up as it removes the daily dirt and grime from my face.
I then use my moisturizer again and then go straight to sleep, 



Once a week I use the Skin Therapy Tea Tree Facial Scrub, again this is from Wilko and
costs around the 90p mark. 

I then try once a week to fit in a little pamper session when Blake is in bed and put on a face mask. 
I tend to use the little sachet ones from Superdrug but I have purchased one from Lush recently which you would have seen in my haul.

What are your favorite skincare products? 

Lush Haul #1

Hiya everyone,  so recently I decided to have a look at what Lush have to offer. 
I've not brought anything in lush for quiet a while so after browsing online and finding
a lot of products that I wanted to try I decided to purchase a select few. 

I picked out non Christmas items as I am thinking of doing another order closer to the time. 
The items I have picked out are all products I have never used before. 
I'm not sure how long they have been out for as not been in Lush for ages or looked online. 

So I have gone for three bubble bars, one bath bomb, a face mask and a shower jelly. 


Out of the lovely range of bath bombs I picked out this very colorful one which is called
The experimenter, the experimenter is vibrant in color and has popping candy inside with a fair trade vanilla scent. This caught my eye not just because it is colorful but also because of it being in a hexagon. 
It's quiet a large bath bomb too so I am hoping I will be able to get at least two uses out of it as well. 




Next up is this very bright and pink flamingo bubble bar.
The pink flamingo is described as a fruity cocktail and contains rose wood, ylang ylang macadamia nut oil and refreshing bergamot.
I love that this is on a stick I do love bubble bars on sticks as it makes them more easier to use again. 
This bubble bar can be used up five times. 



Rose Jam bubbleroon, looks like a macaroon but is mixture of scents including rose.
I'll be in pink bubble heaven. 
There are also do another two different bubbleroon's but this one stood out for me more. 






Sparkly pumpkin is a perfect treat for this time of year with Halloween coming up. 
I love how cute it looks but mainly love that it's quiet a citrus scent which is ideal for
cold nights. I used this amazing bubble bar as part of my Friday night pamper treat and really enjoyed using it.
There is nothing better than a Friday night pamper session. 



The refresher is a citrus secented shower jelly which I love as like the name its refreshing. I am going to try this in the shower during the week it's recommended that it is stored in your fridge or freezer so that the cold will get your blood pumping. 
Last of all I purchased the "Don't look at me" face mask. 
Like the sparkly pumpkin I used this Friday night as a pamper treat. 
If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my face mask selfie. 
I love the vived blue color and it smells really fresh.
The face mask contains ground rice to gently scurb away dry skin.
This is great for me as it does two jobs in one so II didn't have to use a seperate facial scrub. 



Have you purchased anything in Lush recently? 
I'd love to know your favourite lush products. 
Comment below


Blake 10 months

Another month has gone by and Blake is now 10 months old. 
We are starting to come up with more ideas of what to do for Blake's first birthday and so far
have purchased his outfit to wear on the day and also decided on what cake to do for him. 


Clothing

Blake is still in some of his 9-12 month clothing but the outfit he is wearing today is 12-18 months and fits much better.  I think it's time to change is wardrobe around and put all his 12-18 months bits in and take out his 9-12 months clothing. 


Teething
He was a bit grumpy the other week and we didn't realise at the time it 
was because another tooth was coming through. Blake now has 3 teeth all at the bottom.
He also had bad nappy rash so now we know why, I guess we just didn't put two and two together. 


 Sleep
Blake is still sleeping well but his routine has changed yet again! 
He now goes down for a morning nap between 10 and 10:30 am and will sleep for one or two hours so will be up in time for lunch. In the afternoon he sometimes has a nap for an hour or so other times he won't and ends up going to bed earlier.
 On an average day Blake will go to bed between 8 and 8:30pm and then sleeps through the night
and will wake anytime between 6:30 and 7:30am. 


Feeding
He is still on three bottles a day but is cutting down the amount per feed now since he is eating a lot more food. 
He eats three meals a day and eats the same as us the majority of the time. 
He is now finally decided that he doesn't mind drinking cool boiled water (persistence is key) 
and loves to hold his cup and drink by himself. 


Development/Milestones

- He can crawl yay he finally did it! 
He is a very active baby and wont keep still and loves crawling every where which makes nappy changes a lot more harder. 

-  He has been clapping a lot this month and banging toys together

- He has started to also wave a lot more and likes to hi five with mummy and daddy. 

Other

- He is getting a lot more confident in the swimming pool and loves it! 
He has started kicking his feet in the water and is getting more use to having his face splashed and really has lots of fun. 

- He keeps changing the music on his cot mobile or turning it on first thing in the morning

-  He loves going to the park and have been a few more times although still not been with Daddy yet.  

Christmas 2015 Prep

I know it's only October but one of my favorite time of year is coming. 
Christmas! 

Although I love Christmas it can be expensive and now that we have Blake 
who was born 9 days before Christmas it's not only going to be an expensive time of year
but it's going to be pretty hectic which means that I have to be on the ball when it comes to everything Christmas.


Our budget for each person has already be sorted and Blake's presents have all been purchased 
and I have started putting money aside each week for everyone else's gifts that we will need to be brought.

We don't have to worry about cards this year as we brought a few boxes in the sales a few years ago so they should last us a few more years yet. 

As for decorations we will need to buy new ones this in exempt of our little elf door and mistletoe as we got rid of the Christmas tree and decoration's last Christmas. 
Our tree was basically falling apart so had to chuck it out and we had it for a good few years so not worried. 
We will need to get new tree decorations as well this is because the baubles were glass ones which obviously aren't suitable with a child around.

Wrapping paper I am in two minds about I have a feeling we made need to purchase more but will wrap presents up in advance to make sure that we don't run out on Christmas eve. 


For food we don't know yet about what we will be doing for Christmas day or boxing day yet but am planning to budget for some Christmas food to have in just in case. 
Plus we just have to have mince pies in our home right? 



As for other Christmas prep I am coming up with some exciting things for Blake mainly to do in the countdown to Christmas.  I am thinking of doing a Christmas eve box and trip to Santa has to be done but am pinning more 
ideas of things we can get up to.  


I'd love to know what traditions you get up to? 
comment below. 

Aldi's Home, Bedroom and Bathroom range

Autumn is here! 
Thanks to Aldi you can now bring  a dash of autumn excitement into your home. 

Aldi's home, bedroom and bathroom special buys will arrive in store on the 4th and 8th of October so some items should already be in store, whilst others will be available from Thursday. 

The bathroom range consists of a family toilet seat at £19.99 
and other little bits such as towels starting at £2.99 in a range of colors  and bath mats and towel warmers too.

 

For the bedroom there are a range of duvets, duvet sets, heated throws, twig lights
and photo print cushions. The one I have seen is a gorgeous stag one which my sister will
love since she adores stags. 


For the home you will be able purchase large items such as dehumidifier's, flame effect heater, air beds, shoe tidy and smaller items such as cushions, LED Bulb candles, wall art etc. 
If you are thinking of giving your home an autumn update than I would recommend having a look at Aldi's special buys range and see what you can find. 

Will you be adding autumnal touches to your home?   

Nourkrin three Months On

So I've now completed using Nourkrin three months as recommended. 
You can read about my  issues and also how I got on at one month on and 

I am very pleased with the results that I have had by using Nourkrin over the last three months. 
I was a bit skeptical to begin with as I have used products to make my hair thicker before but 
didn't find them to work as well as I had hoped they would. 

When I first chose to try Nourkin back in June my hair was very wispy, limp and would break off easily as it was so fragile. 
After using it for a month I had already noticed a difference. 
My hair wasn't no where near as wispy and felt more thicker. 
By August I had been using it for two months and could see a significant difference. 
I had my hair trimmed that month and my hairdresser commented on how much healthier , stronger 
and thicker my hair now is. 

So now I have been using it for three months as of 13th September I am seeing results that I wouldn't have thought possible. 
My hair is so much more healthier, thicker,and stronger than before I used the supplement. 
I no longer straighten my hair every day as I find it easy to manage as its no longer as fly away and looks near enough how I want it to. 


Left to right
June, July, August, September

Left to right
June, July, August, September

I definitely believe that consistency is key when it comes to trying out this supplement and trialing it over a three month period like I have will prove that the results can be amazing. 

I hope that I will be able to continue using this supplement as I don't want to stop seeing the fantastic results that it has on my hair. 

I was always self conscious about my hair but since using Nourkrin I feel more confident with my hair and  I don't worry as much about how it looks on a daily basis. 

If you would like to Purchase Nourkrin it is sold here
I have seen it also in my local Holland and Barrett but not sure if all stores do it
but worth a look.