Changing Bag Dilemma | Baby # 2

I've spend hours upon hours trawling the web on the hunt for the perfect changing bag for baby number 2 and I've got to admit that I've loved every second of it. There's something so much different to choosing a bag for this baby compared to when I was on the hunt for my first with Myles. Being a first time Mum I didn't quite understand the importance of a changing bag. I knew that I needed one but I couldn't get my head around the cost. I've never been one to splash out on myself so spending a minimum of £60 on a bag seemed absurd. Oh the times have changed. I've gone from spending £30 (finding an awesome half price deal) to looking at bags from £40 all the way up to £130! Incase you're curious I opted for the Babymel Ella Tote bag with Myles and it's held up over 2 years and I still love it!

A lot of important factors come in to choosing the perfect changing bag, especially when it comes to having 2 young children and size for me is at the top of that list. Upon my hunt, I first came across the Babymel Grace and fell in love. Babymel is definitely a brand I trust. The quality is amazing and after 2 years of constant, every day use my Babymel Ella is still going strong and is only just starting to show a little wear and tear, so obviously this was my first choice. I love how the Grace is on the larger size and also looks more like a handbag rather than a changing bag, and that's most definitely what I'm looking for this time. It's also on the lower end of the price bracket at only £62, so happy days! It comes in a few different colours but I've got to say that the black is definitely my favourite. 

After stumbling across a changing bag review on youtube for the Timi & Leslie Rachel Changing bag I suddenly found myself torn. This is the most expensive of all the changing bag I came across at £125 which at first almost gave me heart palpitations. Spending that much money on a bag seemed crazy but I just couldn't stop thinking about it. It's hard wearing, (thank you reviews) beautiful on the more casual side, massive and has the most amount of pockets I've ever seen. For the first time I was contemplating spending a great deal of money on a bag. 

Sticking to the youtube videos I was then suggested to watch a changing bag review on the Babybeau Isabelle Tote changing bag, and I'll be honest I wasn't 100% sold. I loved the size, I loved the compartments but I only liked the design. That was until I came across the navy and brown version. That was it! Love at first sight! Reatiling at £109 it's still on the pricey side but just look at it's beauty and size! I dream about this bag. 

Last up is the Babymoov Style chaning bag retailing at £44.99 so at the bottom end of the price range, and I've got to say that I'm intrigued. It's definitely has a more changing bag apperance than the other bags in my selction but I just love the design. It has plenty of compartments and just looks so classic. The price also helps too. The only downside to this bag is the size. I feel as though it would be a perfect changing bag for a first time Mum with only one baby but for two babies or a baby and a toddler I'm not quite sure if this would be big enough. 

As you can tell I'm still a little torn. I've not yet built up the courage to part with my hard earned cash and to make a final decision but hopefully I'll get there. If nothing else I hope that this post has shown you a few more options when it comes to changing bags and that you don't always have to feel quite so Mumsy. You can hold onto your style while still being an awesome Mum! 

Katie

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Mummy Monday | Lamaze Classic Discovery Book Review

Last week I reviewed the Lamaze Captain Calamari, if you missed it then click here to check it out. Keeping with the theme of Myles' favourite toys I thought that this week I would show you another. Once again it's Lamaze, no surprise there then, (I just adore how knowledgeable they are when it comes to designing toys for babies) but this time it's the Classic Discovery Book.

 

I picked up the Lamaze Classic Discovery Book on a whim when amazon had it as one of their Black Friday deals around Christmas last year. It dropped to such a great price and I being the avid book reader that I am, I knew that I had to buy Myles his first book. Though I never knew just how much he would enjoy it and that it would become a staple in Myles' day.

The Lamaze Classic Discovery Book contains 8 pages including the front and back, some of which crinkle, some squeek, some rattle and each have a different texture. The colours are extremely vivid and definitely appeal to my little man. I personally love the crinkle pages as the noise porduced is a great distraction for when he's feeling a little fussy, but he also loves to crinkle them himself. He's now at the age where he enjoys turning the pages too. I'm not 100% sure that he turns the pages to look at something new, but it's definitely an intentional act. He also likes to put anything he can into his mouth and with this being extremly soft I have no fear of him doing so with this book.

As with most Lamaze products you can attach this to many things by the hook. We don't tend to use this, instead we lay it across his lap and leave him to it. It such a great piece for self entertainment, but I also love how interactive it is. We tend to spend time each day flicking through the pages enjoying the textures and pointing out the different animals. It's also been great for Myles' developtment, encouraging him to explore new things with his hands. For such a simple product it sure does keep Myles entertained.

Overall I love this book. As with all Lamaze products I own they are extremely well made. Not one loose thread in sight and definitely built to last. I even feel that once Myles is finished with it, it'll still be in pristine condition and I'll able to save it for my future children as the colours are still as bright as the day we bought it. At £8.99 it's such great value for money and if for some unfortunate reason we were to lose this, then I wouldn't think twice about repurchasing it.

Mummy Monday | Lamaze Captain Calamari Review

It turns out that I'm a huge fan of Lamaze products. If I look around at Myles' toys their brand stands out clearly above the rest. I just love how bright and colourful they are and how fun they appear, so with this in mind I thought I'd share my opinions on their very popular Captain Calamari.

A bit of background information on our situation: My son Myles is 4 months old as I write this review and we bought Captain Calamari while I was still pregnant.

Firstly I love how all Lamaze toys have distinctively fun and unique names. I've not noticed this from any other brands and though I know my son doesn't notice this yet, I rather enjoy it.

We've had Captain Calamari attached to Myles' car seat for as long as I can remember but he didn't start playing with it until he was about 8 weeks old, though he did enjoy enjoy staring at it way before this time. I feel that the bright colours are particularly attractive to smaller babies.

The day that Myles started to play with Captain Calamari was when we attached it to his playmat. From that day on we've never looked back. It's quickly became his favourite toy that keeps him entertained whether it be on a long car ride or when I need to get a little housework done. I also find that the clips attached to the top are very useful for easily adding it to car seats, pushchairs and even playmats.

Captain Calamari has 8 tentacles (obviously) each with a different texture or pattern. Some have a crinckle texture which produces sound, others are soft and squid-gy (don't mind the pun.) Myles' favourite features seem to be the tentacle with two rings attached which always finds it's way into his mouth and the tentacle with the ball attached. We always hear this first when Myles wakes on car journeys as he bats in around rattling the balls inside.

I adore the bright colours and textures and I feel that it would make a great addition to any babies collection regardless of gender. I also feel that the toy will grow with the child. When Myles was really small he would watch the toy, now he tugs and plays with it and I'm just waiting for the day when he finds the mirror under all the tentacles. For the retail value of £9.99 it's also a great price for such a good quality product, and what's best is that Lamaze products are usual on some sort of offer so you can generally get them cheaper.

Overall I definitely recommend this product as it's lived up to all my expectations and beyond.

Mummy Monday | More Baby Buys

When it comes to baby clothes I just cannot resist. I find myself picking up so many adorable items for my little one and though it seems like a lot, believe me I talk myself out of buying so many more. In fact I've banned myself from going into Next just incase I come out with the shop.

These are a few bits I picked up on a recent trip to Matalan and Morrisons. I'm becoming more and more impressed with the quality of clothing Matalan has to offer and find myself choosing their clothes over other brands each morning. 

1. Dinosaur Sleepsuit - Matalan - £12  |  2. T-Shirt - Matalan - £4  |  3. 3pk T-Shirts - Matalan - £6  |  4. Whale Sleepsuits - Morrisons - £8 

The great thing about all these sleepsuits is that they all have built in scratch mitts. These were a must for when Myles was a newborn. Not so much now but he gets very cold hands so these are always good to have. I struggled to find these when I was pregnant but I guess I was just looking in all the wrong places as they are everywhere now.

Mummy Monday - Breastfeeding Update

I wanted to share my story about breastfeeding as I feel that it's too easy to give up when things get tough. Why is it too easy? Because we're told that it's the most natural thing to do in the world and that babies instinctivly know what to do, but it's not quite as simple as that. Breastfeeding is hard in the beginning. For a first time Mum or even a second and third it can be overwhelming. You need support, especially in the middle of those long nights that feel like they're never going to end, and sometimes you just don't get it. I found that just reading that someone was going through the same thing as me was enough to get me through another day. If you've no interest in this then stop reading here, because this could get long and boring for you. 

From the day that I found out that I was pregnant and even before that I always wanted to breastfeed. I was terrified that I might not be able to do it for some reason or another but I knew that I was determined. I refused to buy anything relating to bottle feeding. I even refused to buy a dummy/pacifier through fear of nipple confusion. I think it was this determination that has got us to where we are today.

In the beginning breastfeeding was the hardest thing I've ever done. We had a rough labour so unbeknown to myself, Myles was still drugged up for days following his birth due to the pain relief I had so he was undoubtably sleepy. Never having a baby before I didn't realised that his sleeping hours weren't normal and I had no idea that the drugs I had during labour would have such an impact on him. Now before you judge me for taking advantage of the pain relief you should know that I ended up having Myles by forceps in theatre minutes before my last resort of a cesarian delivery so the pain relif was out of my control.

After returing home from the hospital we spent the next week being visited by numerous health visitors who weighed Myles on a regular basis. Unfortunately Myles lost 10% of his birth weight in the first few days and after one week had not put back on a sufficient amount of weight so we were sent back to the hospital. I knew deep down that Myles was perfectly health but it still broke my heart to be told that I wasn't feeding my son correctly. 

Once we arrived at the hospital they performed a few test on Myles to check his jaundice levels, his hydration and to make sure that there wasn't any other concerns. All these came back fine but to be on the safe side I was encouraged to express 40ml and to give it to him after every 20 minutes feed on the breast. This was to be done every 3 hours for 5 days and I was reassured that because breastfeeding had already been established Myles shouldn't have a problem with nipple confusion.

After an exhausting 4 days of expressing and breastfeeding I found myself in tears. I didn't have time to express due to Myles constantly being on the breast. It turns out that this was perfectly normal and that all he was doing was cluster feeding and that from that point there was no longer a need to express, but it was still worrying after all the emphasis they had put upon expressing in the hospital. At this point I had a new midwife who was fantastic. She reasured me that no matter how often Myles was feeding, or how empty my boobs felt I would always have milk. She also reasured me that breastfed babies tend to put on weight at a much slower rate in the beginning, but then there's no stopping them after the 6 week mark. She definitely knew what she was talking about as after only 3 months Myles had doubled his birth weight.

The hardest thing about expressing and bottle feeding Myles my breast milk was just how unnatural it felt. I guess for someone who chooses to bottle feed from day one this wont be easy to understand but after Myles had spent the first week of his life exclusively breastfeeding he hd no idea what to do with a bottle. It would take upto an hour to feed him just 40ml and he would cough, splutter and choke the whole time. It was much more stressful than breastfeeding had ever been. It broke my heart to watch.  Now I feel that exclusively breastfeeding is the greatest gift in the world.

We've had our ups and downs and even to this day he can still cause a little nipple pain if he has a lazy latch in the middle of the night, but I think we're both doing well. I can't actually imagine ever giving up breastfeeding now. Don't get me wrong we will definitely have stopped way before he's a toddler but it's such an amazing experience and to know that he's thriving because of me and the amazing things my body can do is the most rewarding feeling.