Xander's First Cold: My Tips and Advice.

I guess it was inevitable, with the weather the way it is and a chill in the air that Xander at some point would get a cold. What I didn't expect was for it to come on so suddenly. Literally within an hour or two Xander went from being his usual chatty, happy self to a little bunged up snot bag with a nasty cough.

The last couple of days with the little man have been tough, but he seems over the worst of it now and this is what we did to help him:

1) Calpol: it's a wonderful thing! 2.5ml every six hours seemed to take the edge of the cough.
2) Baby Vicks: we rubbed some of this on a muslin and tied it to the handle of his Moses basket to help him breathe at night.
3) We folded a small blanket and placed it under his Moses basket mattress to slightly elevate his head . This seemed to help him with his bunged up nose at night.
4) I fed him little and often. We didn't want him getting dehydrated but appreciated he didn't have his usual good appetite. I also breastfeed him more than I usually would (we combination feed 50% formula, 50% breast) I read that breastfeeding would pass on my healthy antibodies.
5) As difficult as it was I stayed in with Xander all weekend. (The one time I needed to go out I called on my sister to babysit.) We stayed in the warm, had lots of cuddles and ensured he didn't pass it on to anyone else and that he didn't catch anything additional to what he had already. Plus a couple of lazy days meant we could both have a little snooze every now and then and catch up on the sleep we'd both missed out on over night!

We must have done something right as a couple of days later he seems to be back to his usual smiley self!:

Countdown to the Baby Show!!

I'm so excited!! The Baby Show  is coming to Earls Court THIS coming weekend (26th - 28th October)

So this Friday me and Xander are going to pack up our gear and go on an adventure to London! This will be the first Baby Show event that i have attended as i had tickets ready for the last one (whilst i was pregnant) but sadly ended up in hospital that weekend and was unable to go.

The Baby Show is the UK's biggest and best pregnancy and parenting event with over 300 brands (including Britax, Fisher Price, Mamas & Papas, Mothercare, M&S, Stokke, Superdrug, The Gro Company & Trunki) attending and showing off all their products! There will literally be 1000's of products that you can touch, feel and test drive before you buy. Many of the shows exhibitors have brilliant offers and freebies lined up so i'm hoping to pick up some Christmas gifts for Xander at bargain prices!

Additional to all the shopping opportunities there will also be a number of parenting experts on hand presenting including: Professor Robert Winston (from Child Of Our Time), Annabel Karmel MBE (The Baby and Toddler Mealplanner), Claire Byan-Cook (Celebrity Breastfeeding Expert) and Dr Julie Coultas (Baby Development Expert)

The show is well equiped to bring along your baby/ babies with free changing facilties (courtesy of Nappies2Go) aswell as a free creche (you must book this in advance) There will also a Vtech Smart Play Zone and a Face Of The Baby Show competition which i hope to enter Xander into!

With the opportunity to buy lots and lots you'll be pleased to hear that The Baby Show has thought of everything to take to stress out of shopping by providing a drop off and collect by car service so you don't have to lug your huge haul around and if you're after a completely stress free experience you can book a personal shopping experience with Baby Concierge!!

So have i done enough to persuade you to come along and join me at the The Baby Show? I hope so! If you haven't got your tickets yet advance tickets are still available. They cost £13.50 each (Friday) and £14.50 each (Saturday and Sunday) or £20 on the door. You can buy your tickets on The Baby Show website: http://www.thebabyshow.co.uk/earlscourt

8 Week Immunisations: My advice

Oh dear, Xander went for his 8 week immunisations on Wednesday. It wasn't a very pleasant experience for either him or us. There are a few things we wish we knew before taking him so here's our advice:

1) Don't go alone. It is upsetting not just for him but for you. Take someone with you, especially if the appointment is combined with a post-natal checkup for you. It means you can be checked over thoroughly without worry about baby.
2) Don't get to the doctors early. Of you are early wait outside the waiting room or go for a walk nearby. Enter the surgery on time. Let's not forget doctors hardly ever run to time and the last thing you need is you and your baby exposed to sickness by waiting for what may seem like forever in a waiting room full of sick people. You're there to prevent your little one getting sick.
3)Put your baby in clothes easy to pull on and off and that are loose.
4) Take a blanket. The nurse checked him over and then Xander had to wait quite some time stripped off waiting for the doctor to come in and do her checks. Luckily we had a blanket to cover him over otherwise he would have got chilly.
5) Pack tissues! I bawled my eyes out!!
6) Saying that try to be brave. If you act casual and calm it is possible baby will mimic this and see it all as no big deal. (hubby was better at this than me!)
7) Buy some calpol. 2 month old babies can have 2 x 2.5ml in 24 hours. It doesn't sound like a lot but it does make a difference.
8) Write off at least the rest of the day. Baby will most likely be sleepy and/or grouchy. Just have a sofa day and plenty of cuddles.
9) Don't assume side effects will come and go within 24 hours. They can last longer. (Xander suffered with a fever which materialised Friday night)
10) If your baby does get a fever check their clothes: not too little or too many, calpol is your friend and make sure they don't get dehydrated (plenty of breastfeeding or if you're bottle feeding some boiled cool water.)

The cruel thing is he'll be over it in a few days, back into his routine then then we go through it all again at
12 weeks! I just have to remind myself it's the best thing for him.

Do you have any tips/advice for parents taking their little ones for immunisations? Please leave a comment below.