Get back to your roots!

Often Christmas is about spending time with your family, going back to childhood roots etc.

Speaking of roots I would love it if everyone could extend this thinking by buying a living Christmas tree. It is all too sad and indicative of our wasteful society that after a number of days after the festivities are over that dead trees start piling up outside homes, to be collected and dumped.

Many people think the option is a) an artificial tree or b) to cut down a live tree, but I say option c! Get a small live tree, keep it in a pot, keep giving it regular and small amounts of water, plant it outside when the weather is right (you may want to pre-dig a whole before xmas and then pad it a bit with straw/ old paper.) You could keep it in a well light garage or in a conservatory or greenhouse until spring. I find that giving it a few days to acclimatise in the garage, before planting out and watering regularly once planted is the best way to go.

You can re-use your live tree year after year (until it is too big to bring in any more) as long as you take reasonable care of it. I have in the past kept the root bag over the root ball when re-planting it, making a few breaks in the netting to allow some root growth, but enough coverage to restrict the amount it can grow and therefore extend the number of years you and your family can get enjoyment from it. Then when it is a good size you can decorate it outside and if you wish buy another one for inside and begin the process all over again!

Just to be aware that artificial trees often contain: Lead & other carcinogens.

Flocked trees are a good artificial option and provide the look of snowy branches. The ingredients are usually non-toxic, but these are usually more expensive.

Fiber optic lights/ 'trees' are low energy and therefore have their merits.

LED lights are also an excellent energy saving choice.

But my choice every time is a living tree, one to watch grow over the years as the family grows!

Best wishes for the season.

Tis the season!

Well, it's the last day of work before I get to enjoy two weeks off with my husband and son. I have all the Christmas to do's done (finally), all I need to do is a tidy up of the freezer and deep freeze to make space for the final batches of squash soup and squash puree and we can settle in for our first Christmas as a family!

Personally I think the key to enjoying the holidays (as almost anytime as a parent) preparation is key. The house is loaded up with food - adult and baby, all the gifts are bought, wrapped and under the tree, all the cards are sent, invites replied to.

We use cloth diapers so there is no chance of running out during the festive season and having a frantic search for an open store (yes I loaded up on eco detergent and no I have not yet experimented in making my own, but that is on my imminent to do list!)

I say I am taking two weeks off, but on that to do list are some books and products to review, but luckily all that I have planned can be done around my family and if I have to slip away and write for a bit, I can plan it around nap times.

This year I made it ... I arrived calmly at Christmas ready to enjoy catching up with friends and family. I didn't quite make my own self imposed deadline of everything bought by the end of November, but I came close! I will need to be more resolute next year. So glad tidings to all, if you are feeling the pressure, write down your to do's if it looks overwhelming - cut through the list and be ruthless, just get rid of anything that really is not important, it's the only way!

Deep breathes, relax and think of all your gratitudes! It's a wonderful season to look back over the past year, plan for the year ahead and to count your blessings - they are always there. :)

Amazing Amber

Gooooooooooooooood morning!

Now it is only day one - but so far I am happy! We picked up our baltic amber necklace from our post box and last night after bath time, my little cherub had blazing hot cheeks and a downward smile. :(

I popped on the necklace (receiving some dubious comments from my hubby), I doubled checked that it fit well enough, would not get caught on anything and of course he could not reach to get it into his mouth and then put him to bed.

When he is feeling on top of the world my angel goes to bed somewhere between 6.15 and 6.45, after 45 minutes wakes up once, after a diaper change he then sleeps through the night. Which is why when (like for the last week) he is out of sorts and wakes 3, 4 or more times through the night - both he and I are tired and occasionally cranky the next day!

All I can say, as it is only the next morning - is ta dah! He slept through from his change and woke up happy and rested as did I and it is wonderful. The heat in his cheeks has gone down and so far there is no acidic smell coming from his diaper. (Possibly as a cloth diaper user I would be aware of it more than with disposables, however it has gone away so far.)

For a fully objective review of these wonderful necklaces - I will of course give it more time, but I'm convinced so far! If you want to try it out for yourself, whether it is for teething or any one of the other benefits of these necklaces - there is a link and a 10% discount code on the right hand side of the blog!

If I could cartwheel ... I would do so right now!

OrganicallyFabulous.com

One thing I knew really early on was that I did not want to expose my son to unnecessary chemicals, where possible! I took this back to not even getting any hair colouring in the 12 months prior to his conception!

So during my pregnancy I did all I could to create a happy, healthy home and only applied organic cream to my belly which I have to say worked wonders.

I know some think that genetics etc plays a big part in who gets stretch marks and who doesn't, but all I know is that I started using the cream twice a day from 10 weeks onwards and by the end I was huge!!! HOWEVER I DO NOT HAVE A SINGLE STRETCH MARK - not a sliver!

Having seen such great results on myself, I obviously had no concerns using the baby organic products on my son! They smell great, go on well and are from ONEgroup - the makers of the world's first Certified Organic skincare, haircare, personal care, health care and cosmetic products, which are independently certified to international food grade standards.

I use everything in the range! The bottom cleansing gel is great at change time and does not require any rinsing and so we can use re-useable cloths as wipes and avoid landfill waste as well as not applying chemicals to my son's brand new skin! Both the baby lotion and the barrier balm are great on my son's face when heading out in our chilly winter weather, without them his cheeks would get rather dry!

Totally fabulous! www.organicallyfabulous.com

Cord blood banking

I have every intention of writing a more detailed article in the future on this, but feel compelled to give a response to a tweet and so will do so here:

@TheKidsDoctor - I do disagree. We weighed up our options and for approx $1,000 one off fee and then just $125 a year it seemed a very cost effective 'insurance'. As you say you do get the blood screened when they receive it and so have peace of mind at that time.

Perhaps somewhere between 5 - 8 years of age (by which time most of the 'feared diseases' that could be cured with this technology would have been discovered/ manifested), we could then decide whether or not to continue with the storage and I believe at that time we can donate to medical research or if the system allows public donation.

My choice to co-sleep

For me it was easy to make the decision to co-sleep with my son for the first four months, firstly because I wanted to, but also because all the reasons ‘for’ appealed to me.

I can totally understand why caution is advised and that this has to be a considered and personal choice. For example if you are on any medications that make you drowsy, if you are a restless or fidgety sleeper, any use of drugs or alcohol can also make co-sleeping inadvisable. (Where I say you I also mean your partner if you intend to make it a ‘family’ bed)

Also there are concerns about some of the ‘safety items’ to aid co sleeping. Basically if there is anyway a baby could get trapped by the cushions or buffers that surround them – they should not be used.

Initially I had my son in a bassinet by the side of the bed which any similar arrangement offers the best of both worlds – the closeness, but also the safety of separate sleeping spaces. Saying that when my son’s appetite picked up and was nearly constantly feeding he slept on the bed with me, by which time I was confident in my abilities to share safely.

When he was nearly five months we moved him to his own crib in the nursery and using his bedtime routine we helped to bridge the change as best we could. He took to it fine... it took me over a week to get used to the adjustment as whenever I wanted to be sure he was ok before I would just crack open an eye lid, or even just listen to him breathing. Whereas now the slightest imaginary sound in the house had me up at lightening speed and into his room to be sure he was ok!

Now he is sleeping through and mostly so am I – we have reached a healthy and happy status quo. He has had the close contact here in the ‘outside world’ that he enjoyed whilst growing inside me, but as his needs have changed, so should his sleeping environment. My concern was that if I left it too much longer when developmentally he goes through separation anxiety it would be even harder to make the transition.

Whilst I am in the minority having made this decision, I do think there are those who go against there own wish to co-sleep due to safety fears and worries about how people might perceive this. It is rare amongst mammals to have this desire/ action to separate ourselves from our newborn when we sleep. I hope if by reading this maybe at least one mother who wishes to try it is encouraged to do so, or one closed minded person reconsiders their opinion, as some of my best early memories with my baby are snuggled up in bed, or waking up and looking over and seeing his beautiful, angelic sleeping face!

Taking time to tick things off the to do list...

... is very important for mental well being and therefore good parenting!

Being relaxed rather than anxious and feeling the weight of the to do's yet done.

Ticking the jobs off one by one, it's tempting to sit down to re-charge....

Can now breathe a big sigh before pushing onward with more things on the list!

Travel items

Well I'm searching for travel items... things to make our trip to the UK, in the New Year, even easier.

Like an 'on the go' high chair, on the go potty, travel bath ... those sorts of things.

All recommendations are appreciated as I need to pack light, but still make sure I cover the necessaties!

Winter preparedness

There are so many things you need to do for winter preparations, but one I recently did for my peace of mind was to put an emergency box in my car.

This box has blankets, hat, gloves usual breakdown kit etc.

But also I have a vital set of supplies for my son: spare diapers - cloth (so one size fits all, therefore no worries about keeping current sizes), food, dry clothes etc.

Whilst I am not planning to take a drive in adverse conditions - weather can well ... sneak up on you! As a mom I do worry about worse case scenario's - possibly too much, that's up for debate. I do find that I can put those worries to good use. I think through all the supplies I would need if my son and I were stuck somewhere in the car and now having planned and packed for such an eventuality, I can at least rest my concerns about not being able to manage.

Also when coming home from a trip I fill up with fuel to ensure we always have a nearly full tank wherever we go.

In my house in the freezer - I have enough baby meals frozen to last til spring and some supplies to keep mum and dad going too! (Perhaps I was a squirrel in a past life?)

Quiet time

My son has never been a good napper – he’d rather be up and about and seeing the world than close his eyes. Something we did early on and have continued to get benefit from is quiet time!

We do all the normal quietening bedtime things story books etc and we place him in his crib, often it takes a lot of complaining and soothing and then he settles down and just looks around the room, taking it all in and having that down time that babies so badly need to process all the days activities.

Reading this you may think we are missing his sleeping cues and putting him down at the wrong time, we’re not he just loves to fight sleep – if the sun is up, so am I! :)

Bedtime routine advice coming soon.

Breast is best

When even the formula manufacturers are putting this in their marketing and packing etc, you know that it has to have a lot of truth to it!

But what if you can't or don't want to?

Why did I have such a fear/ inkling that all would not go to my breastfeeding plan. Was it because my pregnancy and labour were not they way I wanted them to be? Whatever it was I was one of the unlucky ones for whom something that nature designed was just out of my reach!

However all was not lost - I was so very determined and whilst my doctor could not fathom why I was so willing to persist, she did at least offer me some medication 'domperidone' which along with the natural supplement fenugreek I popped regularly, racking up to 26 tablets a day. We were also unfortunately, also having to supplement feed with some formula.

This did mean we had all the work of making bottles on top of the time spent breastfeeding, but at least this way my son and I were getting the magical close time together & he was getting the immune boost, whilst getting the calories and the fullness from the bottle.

I think with all my experiences rich and diverse so far - I would say to anyone that what works for you and your baby is what works. If you can breastfeed and it goes well for you - you are lucky. If you can and choose not to - don't beat yourself up about it, don't feel you have to justify it to complete strangers who have the odd habit of asking you directly if you are breastfeeding!

Happy mum and happy baby go hand in hand. Breast may be best, but happy, fed and content is the true goal!