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Dear Daisy, It is your first day at school...

Weaning wearing thin!

Weaning is a nightmare.

I thought it was going well until this past week or so. Daisy has always shown an interest in food and always drank her milk well. We started weaning and I introduced purées (see our weaning journals for more details on our experiences!), okay so she preferred the fruit to the vegetables but she would eat both no trouble. She still will.

I started to introduce meat and fish but I can only do it if I disguise it in her purées!!! And well, i mean fish there really, meat doesn't seem to interest her in the slightest. And why? Because of the texture and LUMPS I suspect. She hates lumps.

One day we can get on with a lumpy purée no problem, other days the minute it passes her lips she is sick everywhere. I'm not overly worried because she has her milk and gets everything she needs from that at the moment, and of course she will usually eat the fail proof purée if I blitz it up. But she cant go on like this forever surely!

I do find this a little odd because she will quite happily eat a piece of toast and chew it merrily away, a biscuit, pieces of fruit, peppers etc, but comes to eat anything substantial dinner wise, its a no!

So... I need help?!!! Tips and advice pleaseeeeeeeeee! :)


Hayley xxx

A 9/10 month update.. Better late than never!

I am a little behind aren't I? I completely bypassed the 9 month update, but I am a little early for the 10 month one too. Do 3 days count as early?

I feel like this has been a big month or few weeks for Daisy in terms of her development, I say it a lot but it really is true. It amazes me what they learn to do from one day to another.



This week she has mastered crawling, she is now a little speed demon. She can get anywhere she likes and as fast as she likes! She has been doing a lazy kind of army style crawl for a while, and then a sloth style slow motion crawl for a bit too. I wasn't sure if she was going to bother to crawl properly or not, but hey the one day she wakes up and there you go! She is off! She always tends to surprise me with these little milestones after a really disrupted nights sleep. I wonder if her little mind is ticking away on how she is going to master something, then she gets up and can do it! Baby Einstein!

Other things she has come up with is babbling on and on, saying the odd word like Dada and Mama but mainly just yabbering on in her own little language and world. It is what we usually wake up to in the morning! Very cute.


She has a real fascination for glasses and is often trying to grab them off someone's face, luckily all of her nans and granddad now expect it and have to whip them off before she does! But some poo unsuspecting victim's aren't so lucky!!!

She has learnt to love swimming. She always enjoyed it but now she is really at home in the water, splashing away, kicking her legs and basically trying to get rid of me and become miss independent! I think part of it is because she has become used to it but also the group seems have to got smaller these past few weeks and so its a little quieter and there is more space for her.


She seems to have settled into nursery nicely and made some little buddies. We haven't really had a "bad" day there yet, dare I say that without jinxing it?! We had a few crocodile tears when I dropped her off yesterday but it was in the afternoon and not her usual morning visit. Which may have thrown her a little! It has been nice to get into a little routine to be honest, I have had to become more organised and learn to get things ready every evening for the next day. But I think I have finally cracked it!

Teeth? Nope - no peggies still. And actually no sign of any. I think I can feel some at the front but who knows, I have said this for a while!

She is now just into her 9-12 month wardrobe, which actually I am quite pleased about as she has some gorgeous outfits to wear! I am a bit of sale shopper and so often go a bit mad in the next sale but always buy ahead, so it is a while until she wears them! I love digging them back out and seeing what fits now.

Her eating isn't really very consistent at the moment. Some days all she wants to do is eat and she will eat anything, other days she will eat a yogurt and a banana if she fancies it. She is really up and down. I have learnt not to become stressed or worry about it because she still has her milk in the day so I know she is getting all the nutrients she needs anyway. I think its the textures she struggles with generally though. She will eat my purees no trouble and even with a few lumps in, but if I introduce meat then she really isn't interested! I can distract her and feed her, but essentially I feel like I am force feeding her! Which I don't want to do. I am going to keep persevering with her though of course. Any tips would be great :)

Lots of love,
Hayley & Daisy xxx

Bow by Braces and Bows

Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

I've been a little quieter this week than usual, for a few reasons really! Firstly work is pretty busy and I've been away from my desk in meetings and things, we've had a few things going on at home within our family that have become priority and then lastly we've been busy secret squirrelling on a secret project!

Well it's no secret any more because we have launched this week, but we have just started our own little business Braces and Bows. Basically an online store selling baby/ children's accesories and clothing. Starting with a small range to see what works and what doesn't and then hopefully progressing on to have a good solid range that offers something for everyone. 


My main objective is to be able to provide gorgeous, trendy clothing pieces to parents on all budgets! 

This is the first time I have had my own business and so it is all very new and exciting. Although I was once upon a time a business graduate and have worked in sales and marketing for ... Well too long! Probably going on 12 years! So I have done buying, marketing, analysis etc etc! So keep your fingers crossed for us that this year remains an exciting one and we can have a nice successful launch! 



If you're on Facebook pop along and find us and also our website: www.bracesandbows.com 

(I couldn't help plugging it just a little could I!!!) 

Lots of love,

Hayley xxx

A little travel wishlist

This is something I have never done before but always planned to do one day.

I am lucky in that I have been to lots of places home and abroad, mainly because our holidays are something we save for and look forward to. Obviously this was much easier before little Daisy popped along but still there are still places I would like to take her and some I can see myself & Ben going to etc, this is a long term wish list not just a 2015 one! (because that would be daft, unrealistic and flipping greedy!)

Numero Uno

New York, New York!

Who doesn't want to go there at least once in their lifetime? Everything about it just appeals to me and it is somewhere I have fancied for a while. I always thought I would like to go for my 30th but lets be honest, its expensive and not exactly a family holiday which is top of my priorities this year.

I would LOVE to go in the winter, when its cold and you can wrap up warm to wander around. I am not sure I would like to go for a whole week (just a day or so in London wears me out!!), perhaps a few days. Although the flight is pretty long - 7 hours at a guess so it would need to be 4 days to justify that traveling time

There are a few things I would definitely want to do there:

  1. Central Park - just because. Its iconic for New York isn't it!
  2. Top of the Rock observation deck - You can get a fantastic view from the Empire State building, but how about a view with it in? Even better.
  3. Shopping - of course. Loads of places I would love to go to!
  4. Broadway - just for a wander to see the bright lights!
  5. Grand central terminal - Ben would love at this one! When ever I see it on a film I always say I want to go there, but I never know why. Its just somewhere I see a lot on the tele and just need to go to in "real life"!
 
 


Numero Dos

The Maldives

Again who actually wouldn't want to go there? I am not going to say anything else because I think these speak a millions words...

 
 
 

Numero Tres

Bath

I thought I would put some places in from the UK, it isn't all about going as far away as possible!

I love a trip to a spa and Bath is renowned for just this, but a little more special than usual because most are natural roman style baths. I know of a few people that have been for hen parties and things, maybe this is an option in the future (not my own - I'm already married of course!). It isn't just the spas that are luring me in but also the famous, iconic architecture.


Numero Cuatro

Dublin

I have only ever been to Ireland once and that was to Limerick (I think). It was with some friends and more for a weekend just drinking and that's about it, it was great fun but quite a long time ago and to be honest we could have been anywhere really, except for the odd Irish accent giving it away.

Dublin is the largest city in Ireland and is its capital. It is probably pretty touristy with masses of stags walking the street but everyone I know who has visited have loved the city and have had a great time! Dublin has a vibrant nightlife and is reputedly one of Europe's most youthful cities - maybe I should go with some friends! Temple bar is an area that pops to  mind when I think of this trip.

 




Numero Cinco

Kenya

A safari is a must do in life, for me anyway. And surely somewhere like Kenya is the place to go! Just to see those huge, magnificent animals in their own surroundings, wild would be incredible. I bet it is quite breath taking. Although I do worry about the protection of them and actually how staged the safaris are. I would hate to be part of a mass of jeeps tearing over their home land just to chase an elephant, I would rather watch from a distance and not disturb them!

Where are your top destinations to visit?

Lots of love,
Hayley xxx


Images sourced: Trip Advisor, Beautiful places to visit, Virgin Holidays,

Review: A few recent baby purchases and trials

We've tried quite a few new bits and bobs lately, what with having a little shop in Boots and Tesco but also with some new finds that we've been introduced to via nonabox. I thought I'd do a little round up for you on a few of the items. 



This was a little bottle found in the January nonabox, I said in the review how I found the packaging to be unattractive and how I wouldn't pick it up off the shelf. However when you read the details, in the teeny font it states how it's got no nasties and is wonderful for eczema prone skin and implies how gentle it is to baby's skin. The first thing about this that hit me (other than the slightly odd branding- it's not bad, it just seems more relevant perhaps for toy packaging or the front of a book) was the sweet orange oil fragrance, it smelt a little un-baby like to me. Sadly that put me off it a little, its something I would perhaps associate with a room freshener. We have used it until it's ran out though to give it a good try and although Daisy's skin has had no complaints I'm still not sold on it. Anyone else tried it? 




Now this product is a keeper for me, we will never be without it now. We were recommended it when I tweeted about Daisy's cold a few weeks ago. Since then she has had another little cold and so I've got to give it a good go. And I love it! The smell is beautiful, it's like a much more gentle Vicks scent. And it really does seen to help her breathe when I rub it on her chest and in between shoulder blades, especially before bed. Thumbs up!

I notice they do a few other useful looking items such as a vapour oil, nasal drops and an inhaler dummy. Maybe I will look into those one day if I ever see them pop up anywhere.

So a goodie and a neither here nor there review for you today...

Lots of love,
Hayley & Daisy xxx

 

Daisy the little Duckling

Swimming has always been on my agenda for Daisy, something that I feel is quite important to do when they are young. Get them used to the water, build up their confidence and possibly save their life one day (fingers crossed they never have to get in that situation!!).

I only seemed to be able to come across Water Babies when I was looking for classes to go to and it seemed far too expensive. I would have paid it possibly if I knew she would like it but it was pretty risky, I couldn't pay hundreds of pounds to have her scream for an hour a week! They do claim on their website that they know they are more expensive and list the reasons such as investing money in their training and safety, which is of course important. Perhaps something I would look at in the future now that I know she quite likes a splash!

We joined some classes at our local council run pool, a much cheaper option! (And I mean like 70% cheaper!!!)

The concept for this age is similar I think, get baby used to water and to build their confidence up - as well as ours I think!



This is what the programme entails:

Ducklings: Your child's journey through aquatics starts with a programme for developing early-years water confidence, encouraged through sessions such as ‘adult and child’ and pre-school sessions.  Emphasis is on the development of very basic motor skills and an introduction to water and the swimming environment through fun and games. (Source)

I think the key to success with happiness in our lessons is to try and get Daisy to nap before we go, have a little snack before and make sure she is generally quite happy. A little tip given to us by one of our friends was to also take a little distraction to chew on for those pesky teething gums, like toy keys. And it works a treat!
 
I will definitely continue swimming with Daisy because she has started to enjoy it and become much more confident, a little dunk under is completely fine by her! Although I did think it would as in the bath she isn't bothered in the slightest by water on her face or splashing!
 
We go on holiday soon to Bluestone so I hope to take her some more there and then in the summer on our holidays it will be lovely to take her in the pool and hopefully know she will enjoy it! Although with these babies temperaments you can never be too sure day to day!!!
 
Has anyone else tried Water babies or any other swimming lessons?
 
Lots of love,
Hayley & Daisy xxx