Our day out at The Baby Show!

Friday we headed to The Baby Show at Earls Court. I didn't go on my own, I took Xander and my pregnant friend Iwona. I went to the show in the capacity of a registered show blogger and was lucky enough to win a ticket with NCTBaby for my friend!

In an ideal world I would have braved driving, but the thought of driving in inner city London feels me with dread so instead we went by train. We opted to do the route overground and avoid the tube and the journey there was quite straightforward. Going from Farnborough Main station we changed at Clapham Junction and got off at Brompton West and walked just a few minutes to Earls Court. This was our first trip out on the train and I was surprised how accommodating the train staff and fellow commuters were to help us, with people offering to help us on and off trains with the buggy.
As it was Xander's first trip in a train I had to document it with a pic:

On arrival we presented Iwona's ticket and then I registered at the Press Office for my bloggers pack and wristband (which allowed is entry into the exhibitors lounge) and then began browsing the show.
We found lots of bargains and quickly started loading up the basket under the pushchair and bags!! (See my previous blogpost for suggested retailers) and also booked for the baby first aid session ran by The Red Cross. We also had the opportunity to hear Professor Robert Winston lecture on child development which was really interesting (he's a particular favourite of mine, I love The Child Of Our Time documentaries and show them to my students in my Sociology lessons!) so it was a real experience to see him in the flesh!:

About 1pm we was ready for some lunch and so took advantage of my Press wristband and entered the exhibitors lounge which was less busy for a cold drink and some food.

Something quite exciting was going on there: a series of pitches from up and coming baby companies to a panel of judges including Tom Pellereau (winner of The Apprentice 2011) We was lucky enough to get to meet him and even have a cheeky pic taken with him!:

After this we headed back to the show and attended the pre booked free first aid session. I thoroughly recommend this. The session was really well done and interactive, allowing you the opportunity to practice on dolls techniques to assist when a child is choking, CPR techniques and how to deal with burns. I feel we learnt a lot in such a short space of time and feel I could confidently use the procedures in case of an emergency with Xander. (Xander was so well behaved throughout the half hour presentation) In fact he was brilliantly smiley and happy throughout the whole day!)

After the session we headed back to do more shopping! I also had the opportunity to meet with several retailers that I have tweeted with regularly! It was lovely to put a face to (often sometimes crazy) Twitter aliases aswell as make some new contacts!

Our final highlight was the opportunity to meet and speak with Annabel Karmel who gave me some wonderful advice regarding weaning Xander given the possibility that he may also be a celiac and require a gluten free diet.

We left right at the end of the show, but could have easily stayed longer we had such an enjoyable day. However by leaving at that time we hit the awful commuter traffic. The journey home was completely chaotic. For some reason the direct train from Clapham Junction to Farnborough Main was cancelled meaning we had to take several trains to get home and getting on and off a busy train again and again with a loaded buggy was exhausting. But it was completely worth it for such an enjoyable day!!

Baby Show. Ready to go??

Today I visited The Baby Show with Xander and my pregnant friend Iwona in tow! We had a fantastic day!!

So here's my advice of how to prepare for your visit to the show and things to do whilst you're there:

1) I packed our changing bag full to the brim and it was completely unnecessary as I didn't use ANY of it! The changing area was fully equipped with nappies and wipes! A smaller nappy bag means more space for your shopping!
2) Make sure you pick up your freebies as soon as you enter the show! (free mum & me wipes and pack of decaffeinated Yorkshire Tea!
3) Before you go to The Baby Show go onto their website and print of the vouchers to claim your free MAM UK bottle and Nurture BreastLike Bottle!
4) Sign up as VIP at the MaByLand stall to receive your free wrist rattle!
5) Sign up to the Avent mailing list and get a pack of two dummy's!
6) Enter all the competitions!!
7) If you're going as a group don't be afraid to ask retailers if will do a group deal!
8) When you arrive check out the schedule of speakers so you don't miss them! They were brilliant today - you're in for a treat!
9) Try and book onto The Red Cross baby first aid course! Very worth while!
10) Pay £2 and pick up your pinkMade For Mums goodie bag! Excellent value for money!

Retailers you MUST visit whilst you're there:

Bibee Dresses: Launching at The Baby Show they offer a fantastic clothing solution for pregnant and breastfeeding mums and have a brilliant show offer for you!

Tutti Bambini: Had fantastic deals!! Bargain nursery furniture, toys and bedding!

Baby Rug: Get ready for the cold weather with their extreme baby rug! The perfect solution for keeping your baby warm whilst in a carseat or whilst baby wearing!

Buggle Snuggle: Check out their super snuggle fleeces for use in carseats and pushchairs!

Funky Box: Lovely, stylish and practical storage solution for your wetwipes!

Ruby and Ginger: Buy your Cosy Car Seat cover and matching accessories! They have some fab deals especially for The Baby Show.

Gumigem: Buy jewellery for mum that is designed to look amazing and help your baby through the teething process.

The Cozy Shop: Seriously the cutest, most snuggly blankets, cushions, bibs and toys for your little one!

They're are hundreds more fab retailers but these are ones that caught my eye!!

Whatever you do try to get yourself to The Baby Show this weekend for some brilliant deals and a fab day out!!

(I will post a more personal blogpost in the next day or so about the baby show, our journey there and back, what we did, who we met etc!)

Activities to do with a 0-3 month baby

The first few weeks of parenthood are a complete blur, they go by so fast and you find you barely leave the house apart from the occasional trip to the supermarket to stock up on supplies, the odd visit to the midwife or possible to see a relative or two. You have the company of your partner aswell whilst they're on paternity leave so you have adult company. But what do you do all day long after the dust has settled and your other half has gone back to work?

Well if i'm honest at first I drifted from day to day, watched a lot of daytime tv and ate alot of chocolate! But after a week or so I suffered cabin fever and craved adult company (there's only limited conversations you can have with a baby!)

So I researched baby groups in my area and made an effort to get out and about! It's been great for Xander to interact with other babies and I've met a few mummy's in the same situation as me!! I no longer feel alone!

So far we've attended:
• a baby massage course (run by our local sure start children's centre) See my blogposts on these sessions for more details!
• baby bounce and rhyme time (run by our local library)
• bumps and babies group (run by our local NCT division)
• baby stay and play/ baby scrapbooking session (run by our local sure start children's centre)
• baby sensory (run by our local sure start children's centre)

I plan to write some individual blogposts about these sessions, so make sure visit back to my blog real soon!!

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

Our second baby massage class!

Yesterday we went to our second (of three) baby massage sessions at our local sure start centre. (if you haven't checked yours out yet make sure you do they're brilliant places!)

This session was focused on the head and body massage. (Last week we covered massage techniques on the legs)

Xander really, really didn't enjoy having his face done. I will try again but won't push the issue, if he doesn't like it that's fair enough! But he LOVED having his body and in particular his tummy massaged!!

We learnt in particular massage strokes that ease trapped wind, constipation and colic. All of which I'm sure will come in useful in the near future.

Next week is our last session. I'll be a little sad for them to end as we have both enjoyed going along. We've made a couple of new mummy and baby friends and in fact next week a group of us are planning on attending a Stay And Play session at the children's centre (on a Friday morning) The session sounds completely my thing! Theres an opportunity to make a baby scrapbook! They have a digital camera and printer so you can take photos of your little one playing and with their friends and theres a messy play corner every week with hand and foot print projects!! Sounds like fun!!

Our first baby massage class!

On Friday we went to our first baby massage class. It's a FREE three week course at our local surestart centre and it has been one of the most enjoyable experiences that I have had with Xander to date.

The class started at 1.30, typically Xander fell asleep at 1pm! When we arrived at the centre he woke up all grizzly and wanting a feed. I thought 'Oh no, mines going to be THAT crying baby!!' But I have him a quick bottle and he settled.

There was 11 mummies and babies participating in the session. We was arranged in a circle with our names in front of our mat so we knew who everyone was!!

The session focused on massage techniques on baby's legs which meant we didn't have to strip the babies of completely. Luckily Xander was wearing dungerees so all we had to do was unpopper the legs!

The instructor demonstrated each of the techniques before we tried on baby. Xander totally enjoyed it, it completely relaxed him!

He particularly enjoyed his foot massage (same as his mummy!)

Baby massage is considered to be important in creating a bond between parents and baby and I completely agree that it was lovely to spend some focused time interacting with Xander.

After the class we all stayed for awhile and had a chat. This session was the first mummy and baby activity we have done and Xander loved interacting with the other babies and it was lovely talking to other mums. Hopefully we'll make a few new friends!! Already looking forward to next Fridays session!

Why not look up your own surestart centre and see what they have to offer? I can't believe how many classes they run. I'm already on the waiting list for cooking for baby, baby scrapbooking and sensory massage! We're going to be sooooooooo busy!!

My Return Back To The Gym!

I finally bit the bullet...I have re-joined my gym. I simply couldn't look in the mirror and be happy with what I saw back.

People are keen to remind me that i've had a baby, yes i'm well aware of that! But that to me does not justify me being lazy and scoffing my face with crappy snack food.

I probably wouldn't have quite so many issues with my post-pregnancy body if I hadn't lost so much weight for my wedding (in total over 3 stone) but I feel like I made all that progress and it's all lost.

So I did it, joined the gym. It's going to be a struggle fitting sessions in-between looking after Xander and hubby's erratic work shifts but I'm sure I'll manage.

I signed on the dotted line yesterday and rewarded myself after with a swim, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room!! A couple of baby free hours did me the world of good!

Today was a little more hardcore. A full hour of Zumba! I have to admit I struggled, but i kept going ... didn't stop once! I seem to have lost all coordination in the last 11 months and I left the gym studio with a face as red as my gym vest. But I have to say I actually felt good!

So I have to keep going. Stay positive! I'm going to aim for at least two sessions a week and if I do well I may even reward myself with a spa session!! I WILL lose this baby weight. I'm determined.

DIY Baby Announcement Cards

You may be aware (if you are a follower of my other blog: Crafty Thinker) that i'm a Stampin' Up demonstrator. Stampin' Up! is a catalogue based craft company which sells stampsets, punches, ribbons, card, beautiful scrapbook papers and other craft accessories. I love being a demonstrator and showing people how to create their own handmade cards, scrapbook pages, gift boxes etc.

Today i'd like to share with you an idea on how to make your own baby announcement cards:

These cards were super quick to make (which was just as well as i had to make quite a lot!!) and you will notice that i slightly altered the designs to make creating such large quantities more bearable!!

I started with 'Bashful Blue' cardbases (i managed to make 3 cards from every piece of A4 card) and embossed them using the 'Big Shot' and the 'Stripes Embossing Folder' to create texture and then placed three 'Basic Pearls' in the bottom corner of each card to add some bling!!

I then stamped the super cute baby feet from the 'Baby Prints' stampset onto some 'Whisper White' card using 'Bashful Blue' ink and then stamped the 'it's a boy' over the feet (also from the 'Baby Prints' stampset) using 'Pacific Point' ink and then ran it through the 'Big Shot' using a die from the 'Labels Collection Framelits Dies', using 'Dimensionals' to attach the image to the cardbase. Here's a close-up:

I finished these cards off by stamping the announcement image from the 'Little Additions' stampset using 'Pacific Point' ink:

I loved making these cards and sent them out to all our friends and family to announce the arrival of Xander.

If you're expecting your own little arrival why not consider making your own announcements. Alternatively why not make a batch of these to give as a practical baby shower/ new baby gift? - check out the catalogue for suitable materials and feel free to email me for advice and orders: amyjtidd@gmail.com

Five Things That You Should Avoid Saying

Inspired by My Two Mums list on five things that you should avoid saying to a new mother, I have decided to make my own list of things that bother me when people say them. Here it goes:

1) it's fair enough (in some instances) when people ask if the baby is a boy or a girl, but not when they're clearly wearing clothing etc when it makes it so obvious. Asking once, especially when a baby is a newborn is forgivable but what really gets my goat is when people have asked and then still refer to Xander as 'she' ... Why ask if you're not prepared to listen?!
2) My little boys name is Alexander. We named him this as a tribute to my hubby's mum who sadly passed away. She was known as Alex. It was decided that at the moment it's still a little too raw to have another Alex Tidd in the family so we opted for Xander. Which is a name we love. We always say to people 'his name is Alexander shortened version Xander' yet people still call him Alex. It's not his name! Grrrrrrrrr
3) This one I stole from My Two Mums: Don’t stop me and refer to Xander as ‘new' It makes him sound like an inanimate object.
4) When hubby is looking after our son don't ask me if he's babysitting. Teenagers babysit, fathers do not!!
5) Why do people ask if babies are 'good'?! Surely all babies are good, how can they be bad?!

Has this list inspired you? Why not write your own?! It's good to vent!!

Guest Blogger: Grans Tips For New Mums

The article below has kindly been written by Shirley (@sdcrafts) She shares some wise words for all us new mums out there. I have already taken her advice. Take a read and let us know what you think, maybe leave a comment below:

The thing is, Grans say they know best. In fact, they don't know it all from the beginning for all Grans were once New Mums - they know what it is like. The most valuable gift a Gran can bestow on a New Mum is experience. Here's mine, for All of You.

I became a Mum in 1981 and again in 1983. It was a short gap and, yes, I did have two lots of nappies as Older Son was still in night ones. But if you've just had a First Baby, you don't want to know that!

My 5 Best Tips

1 - Sleep When Baby Sleeps

Oh yes you can, even in the first few weeks. Yes, you will be upside down with your sleep patterns; yes, New Baby will be demanding, an alien in the nest, so new that you are thrown into a confused spin of emotional hormones. And you are lactating, healing, the centre of New Baby's attention.

You are Everything. Neglect your sleep at your peril. But How, you wail. Simple. Sleep when Baby sleeps. Always - right through the Day and those precious snatches of the night. Only break this pattern for essential and limited friends & family visits and medical appointments.

Everything else can go hang. Your priority is to Sleep when Baby Sleeps.

2 - Do NO Unnecessary Housework - Just the Hygienic Stuff

If a visiting Mum (now Gran) cannot push the vacuum around for you or peel some potatoes, refer her to me. If your partner is unable to do ALL the shopping and most of the cooking for a few weeks, ditto. If you are ABLE to do ALL the aforementioned jobs AND adhere to Tip #1, you really don't need my advice at all. Go and make a new 3-piece suite and landscape the garden - leave us to the important stuff.

My point is, your New Baby needs You and a Home that will not give him/her dysentery. Your New Baby is not in the least bit interested in ultra-hoovered carpets, plumped up cushions, overflowing waste paper bins.
But your New Baby and You (OK and your partner) do need clean loos, rinsed out wash basins, clean hand towels, a reasonably pristine kitchen. Just clear up as you Both go - that's you and your partner, not the Baby who obviously doesn't yet know one end of a loo brush from the other. Actually, permanent loo brushes are evil - swap over to the disposable kind - I love them! But I am quite sad, really.

So, you need an as-germ-free home as possible, not a palace (unless you have servants). Your New Baby needs you, milk, a clean bum, sleep and not a lot else. Concentrate on those things.

3 - Watch the Pennies

You have prepared your Home for the New Arrival. Well, s/he is here now. Installed, lock, stock and wailing cry in the Nursery. If you have all essential supplies, for the foreseeable future (that's around 18 years or 21 if University is chosen), your Child will not care a curtain hook as much as you what the Home looks like. My 3rd tip is not that you should all inhabit a Refuse Tip, but a home does not need a radical makeover every change of season. Ignore the TV, dismiss the magazines - make a Home not a Show House.

In the first few weeks of New Baby's life, use the things you have already and only buy the essentials - work out what those are before Baby arrives if reading this in advance of Labour Day (sorry to mention that word but if you haven't yet embraced the hard work to come, Get Ready).

4 - Eat Wisely & Spoil Yourself Too

If your are breastfeeding, you need to eat well - all the nutrients you have will go into your milk so you need extra for yourself too. That said, Breastfeeding was the best aid to weight loss I ever knew - I should still be having babies, silly me. That's why I'm podgy in my latter years!

Spoiling yourself means chocolate in moderation and alcohol NOT, unless you want a sozzled infant. I also recall eating a pokey curry and regretting it as I scooped up the resultant nappies the long night through. Monitor what you eat and see how it affects New Baby's motions (that's poo, not when New Baby's first step comes along).

5 - Ignore Me

This one is easy - I have passed on some of my benefits of hindsight, but my two sons are now 31 and nearly 29. So my Early Motherhood is Positively Prehistoric - Things Have Changed.

Still, I hope some of this heartfelt advice will help you understand that you are not alone - early motherhood has not changed at all.

New Babies need You and little else. You need Sleep, Good Food and Lots of Loving Support.