Life With My 2 Boys

I never thought that the birth of my children would be controversial - to be honest I never realised that Elliotts had been the source of conversation until I was pregnant with Sam, when everyone suddenly felt as though their opinion on the mater should not only be heard but also be the ONLY opinion I should hold.

If you are wondering why their births were so controversial then here goes......"my name is Alice and I had an independent midwife"!!!! SHOCK HORROR, alert the press we went OUTSIDE of the NHS!

For anyone who is unsure, an independent midwife is effectively a private midwife employed directly by us and who looks after every aspect of our care from pregnancy up to 4 weeks after birth. If you are seeing a hospital consultant or going for scans etc your midwife can come along with you, if you wish. She is always on the end if the phone 24/7 and if you opt for a homebirth, as we did, she will deliver your baby and if you choose to give birth in a hospital she will be right by your side - This is very simplified so for more info check out http://www.independentmidwives.org.uk/

The first thing I should point out is that we are not wealthy, stepping outside the NHS for us wasn't a case of being "too good" for the NHS and in fact with my first pregnancy I didn't even know that independent midwives existed until I was 28 weeks pregnant and had reached breaking point!

From my very first appointment with my NHS midwife the simple homebirth I had hoped for seemed a unrealistic dream. I was asked which hospital I would like to give birth in, I replied that I would like to try to have a homebirth and was met with the reply "yes but lets be realistic, which hospital are you going to go to?" Things from this point seemed to spiral from my control, I was passed to consultant led care for being "high risk" and to this day I don't know really why. I was seen by a consultant, an anesthetist, 3 midwives and when I was diagnosed with SPD a physio and all of these people had differing opinions on my care during the birth but none of them were talking to each other and no-one was actually telling me what was the plan if things continued to go as they were - I was told everything from being high risk of a section and needing to have an epidural as soon as I went into labour like it or not to needing to be induced early - every time I asked a question I was told they would wait and see, which for an anxiety sufferer is NOT something I can cope with.

By the time I was 22 weeks we were looking at private hospitals, which we just couldn't afford and then at 28 weeks someone told me about independent midwives and I contacted Sally.

From that first conversation with her my stress elevated and we decided that she was the direction we wanted to go in and from the moment we made that decision we knew it had been the right one for US. By the time Elliott was born I felt relaxed, safe and secure and I got my homebirth! 7 hours 40 minutes, gas and air no hospital required!

Following on from my previous post about getting a bit more pro-active on Elliott's boredom and behaviour I have been having a think and I am not the only mum that is in the same boat and so I think I am going to try and start my own version of  "The Gallery" ( http://stickyfingers1.blogspot.com/2010/02/photography-is-my-thing-my-love-my.html ) for fellow blogging mums to join in with each week to get all our mental juices flowing and in the process pass on some creativity to others to help keep the little ones entertained! This should also aid us all in spending a bit of quality time with our children/grandchildren etc no mater what their age

Whether it will work remains to be seen but it will only work if every one contributes and I REALLY hope you do.

The idea is this - I will set a "theme" each week (please feel free to make suggestions) and during the course of the week you need sit down with your kids and complete a creative project with them based on that theme - this can be in any format, be it paper, paint, sticking and gluing, cakes and bakes it doesn't mater what materials you choose to use as long as you create something with them. When you have take a picture, write about it and post it on your blog. You could write about what you made or why you made it or it could be instructional to recreate your project or even just about the experience of doing the activity with your children.

Then email your blog links to me on lifewithmy2boys@yahoo.co.uk and I will post a list of all the links on my blog the following week.

I think as it was the Sticky Fingers blog that inspired this idea and its all about possibly getting a bit messy with your children it seems appropriate to name it the "Sticky Fingers Challenge"

So I guess the first thing I need to do is set a theme for this week - As the sun is out and we are all baking hot I guess a summer theme is appropriate so how about "the beach"

I REALLY hope to get lots of emails and I will post all the links I receive next Wednesday and set next weeks them.

Good Luck everyone.....I need to go and get thinking!

I knew the 6 weeks school holidays were going to be tough this year, being Elliott's first, but we are just into our second week and WOW it has been REALLY REALLY hard!

Elliott has taken to not having playschool extremely badly and this coupled with heat and the terrible 2's has made his behaviour go through the floor! We have had it all, throwing things, tantrums, biting, spitting, you name it - he has been delightful!

So this is why there haven't been any updates, its just taking so much to get through the day with him at the moment that I cant even think straight and by the time he goes to bed I'm out like a light myself.  Thursday night the cavalry will arrive for a couple of days in the shape of Nanny and Grandad so this will give me a chance to breath a little and work out a plan of action for the following week so that boredom and bad behaviour do not set in full time.

I did however get REALLY brave (or desperate) last week and take BOTH children on my own to the local shopping centre and cinema for the afternoon - I haven't braved this yet because of Elliott's habit of throwing tantrums and running away! I have to say that it actually went better than I dared imagine and I even braved only taking the single buggy!!!!! I carried Sam in the sling until we got there and Elliott fell asleep in the buggy on the way to the bus. When we arrived Elliott woke up and had a MASSIVE tantrum because as his eyes opened, before I even knew he was awake, his eyes had fallen upon a Buzz Lightyear bubble bath and he wanted it; trouble was he was kicking and screaming so loudly that I hadn't got a clue what it was he was after in the first place! I decided to just ignore the tantrum, he was strapped into the buggy, safe and not in a state to be reasoned with so I left him to it until he began to calm down. After that he was actually mainly good all afternoon; before he got out of the buggy and I put Sam in I explained to him the rules, that he had to be good, hold my hand (even though he was on reins) etc and he pretty much stuck to them with lots of encouragement a long the way - the only trouble was that I had to focus so much on Elliott that I felt Sam was ignored most of the time so defiantly going to take the rear facing buggy next time and squash Elliott in it if I have to put him in there.

The film we chose to see was Cars 2, Elliott REALLY enjoyed it as it was very action packed and loud making sure it grabbed his attention. I hadn't quite thought this one through though because I forgot that poor Sam only had little ears so kept covering them up during the noisy bits to protect them. It cost a small fortune to take them especially as I decided to get the "wider" "VIP" seats because of having the baby with me and needing to feed him during the film, we were at the Vue Cinema in Lakeside and small tip DON'T bother paying the extra money! They aren't that much wider and too close to the screen so it actually hurt my eyes.

So I guess the question at the moment is what are my plans. Well Elliott can not continue to behave the way he has been so this has to be nipped in the bud NOW before it becomes a bigger issue later. Plan A is to get his bedtime routine sorted and him in bed at a good hour every night, this will be happening as of next week and I will blog about the experience as well as explain why it is we have gotten to this point with him and also about his sleep disorder. Plan B is to establish a day time routine so that he knows what is happening everyday and therefore is a bit more secure. We are also going to be sorting out our garden so that he can go outside and play and I am going to be scouting around for some fun things we can do at home.

On the blogging front I also have some product reviews coming up -

The first is for Bambino Mio who have challenged us to use on reusable nappy a day for a week!

We will also be testing out a few products from the wonderful people over at Nuby as well as the possibility of a big review coming our way also so watch this space on that one!

At the moment in time BOTH my children are actually sleeping so I am going to take advantage and make myself the first cup of tea I have had today as well as tidy Elliotts bedroom and change his sheets; exciting stuff! LOL

I appoligise for the lack of posts this past week - its been one of those weeks where nothing much has happened but it never seemed to stop long enough for me to update my blog. My Laptop was unusable for a couple of days, which didnt help, and it was Elliotts last day of playschool for the academic year last Friday and everything seemed to be gearing up for that.

But this is a brand new week, its Monday and we are sitting in waiting for a courier care od Dorel Customer Services to come and collect our Maxi Cosi Axis car seat, which has potentially developed a fault. I have to say the service I have always recieved from Dorel has always been second to none - We previously had a problem with our car seat, which on the whole we are very pleased with, and to say that Dorel bent over backwards, went above and beyond the call of duty is an understatement. Now we have more problems here they are again coming to collect the seat and get it seen to just in case this minor problem turns out to be a major comprimise to the seats safety in an accident. I dont normally name names but we have very few customer service heros out there and so on this occasion I will say that we have been taken care of by Noel Seabrooke and Laura Parker over there and they are staff Maxi Cosi should be proud to have representing them!

So that having been said I'm going to pop on a new product review on a seperate posting and also find out what this weeks Gallery challange is!

Elliott and Sam went to a pirate and princess party this afternoon - here they are dressed up for the occasion!

The conversation went like this ...
Elliott: "lollypop" (as in I want a lollypop)
Me: "No Elliott you've had ice cream and you are going to have your dinner soon"
Elliott: "No dinner, lollypop"
Me: "Elliott I've said no, you've already had ice cream"
Elliott: "LOLLYPOP!"

At this point I decided to leave him to sulk for a minute while I called my husband so not to envoke a major tantrum; 2 minutes later I found him like this....

Dont worry he is breathing he is just ASLEEP on the kitchen floor! Sometimes the force of tiredness is just too strong to fight!


Being the good mother that I am I have to admit that he is still there! - Well actually in Elliotts case its a bit more complicated than that as he suffers with a sleep disorder but that is a story for another day.

This got me thinking - have your children fallen asleep anywhere unusual? Please email the pictures to lifewithmy2boys@yahoo.co.uk and next week I will put a gallery on my blog of the best ones - any fellow bloggers can you include the link to your blog so I can include that also

UPDATE -- 10 mins after posting he woke up...rolled over and went back to sleep!

All quiet for a couple of days on the blogging front. At present I should actually be prepping a drama workshop for a church youth group tomorrow....or today now.....but Sam has only just managed to settle for the night and as such work has not yet began; I need to get my poor tired brain into gear!

Yesterday I somehow managed to get locked out of my own blog- how embarrassing! However I am back in now and this morning my next product to review arrived on the doorstep in the form of the sanamama wrap - so far I cant persuade Elliott to give it a go but in the products defence he hasn't been in the most co-operative of moods today.

My plan for this week is to take part in the "Gallery" for the first time - this is something for blogging mums to join in on every week where we take a picture and write a piece on a given subject mater - this weeks theme being travel. As soon as this came in my content for this topic leapt to my mind after a particular incident last week so all will be revealed soon; I am hoping to take my picture tomorrow if I can capture it quickly enough.

Other plans for this week include writing a progress report on Elliotts eating problems and his check up on Wednesday with the health visitor at clinic. We shall also be taking part in a photographic competition to win tickets to Lollibop 2011 so again the results of that will be posted on my blog for all to see.

Aside from that we will be testing the sling at some point, Elliott willing, and seeing what the boys throw at me during the week......oh and I have a plan for my blog but all will be revealed!

On the subject of the boys we have made great leaps in improving Elliott and Sams relationship over the past few days. Their relationship wasnt bad - Elliott basically spent the majority of his time ignoring "baby", which is understandable, Sam doesnt exactly do a lot that a 2 year old can get excited about and when he does enter into his field of vision it is usually from being in his way of a cuddle or attention. On Friday Elliott wanted to play trains and because Sam was requiring my attention I said that if mummy played "baby" had to play too. Intitally he wasnt too amused but very shortly he started to enjoy playing with Sam and since then he has begun to actually request that Sam joins in his games.

Here is a video -- I should point out that when hubby and I play "trains" with Elliott we arent allowed to touch the actual trains

I am getting plenty of views on my blog but few followers so far so if you are reading these words please hit that follow button and let me know what you think of Life with my 2 boys - there is always room for improvement.

Well things have taken a somewhat dramatic turn for Quinny in the past 24 hours - whoever is having to deal with the fall out over there deserves a weeks holiday and a VERY large box of chocolates!

Basically what has happened is that Quinny have had to put this years casters program on hold as the buggy they had chosen, the Senzz, has problems and therefore they are now going to wait a while longer and launch it with a brand new product instead - so it's not a case of "no you're no longer doing it" just a "not just yet" - fair enough. For me I think a) getting a new product to review before it has even hit the retail market not only is great exposure for my blog but b) I would rather take on a product that the manufacturers think is fantastic and put it through its paces to see how it holds up to expectation,than take on a product that has been on the market for a while and that they have already had plenty of feedback on to work out the kinks. For me product testing isn't just about writing what I think about the things I use everyday but reviews such as the type we are doing for quinny I hope will be taken on board by the manufacturers and the kinks that we find in it as parents and every day users listened to and used to improve on a design so that its a better product for everyone.

One day I will write up reviews on all the buggy's I have used so far but as a brief example the first buggy we owned was a silvercross 3d and the break system on it was rubbish if you were using it on public transport, the reason being the bus would go around a corner, gravity would take its effect on the buggy, put too much pressure on the break and the break would just come off. As a consumer I would hope that somewhere along the line Silvercross would take note of this, look at the break system and say this isn't good enough for our consumers, our consumers need to know that when they step onto a bus with our product with their baby in it that they aren't going to have to stop the buggy from escaping down the aisle every time it goes around a corner. As a consumer and public transport user I want to know NOT to purchase this buggy as it isn't suitable for my personal needs. Why is it so important to know this? because my CHILD, the most precious thing in the world to me is riding in it!

A good design means you have happy consumers that recommend your products to their friends and happy manufacturers that sell more buggy's - I remember the first thing I was told when I began working in retail at 16 was that if you have a happy customer they will tell 3 of their friends, if you have an unhappy customer they will tell 10 .... bring that up to date with Internet capabilities and these little blog sites with individual reviews can have a MASSIVE impact.

Quinny are getting a big backlash to pulling the senzz from the program right now that I personally don't think is necessary and I am actually surprised by the immature attitude some people, not even the people who were involved in the program, are taking to this. I think for many women their buggy to them is not only something they transport their child in but its an extension of the parenting experience, this picture we have had in our heads since we were little girls playing with dolly's and by offering a new toy to play with and then saying they cant have it may be more upsetting to some people than even they understand.

For now it is business as usual in our house, I am going to be continuing to try and find new products to review for my blog and to try and get that side of things off the ground as well as blogging about my boys because above and beyond everything else, I'm a mum!

Well she came over - I'm not too sold on this new health visitor we have, she has this slow controlled tone normally adopted by opticians conducting and eye test - I will break down the things she has said may help with Elliott's eating -

** As we don't have a table we are to eat around an invisible table with Elliott facing us in his highchair with no distractions from the TV --- to be honest this will actually help with Elliott's wind down period before bed that there is a point when he knows the TV goes off.

** We are to keep light airy conversation during mealtimes and try to discuss simple things that he can understand that he can possibly contribute to.

** He is to eat his dinner from a large dinner plate with small amounts of food - this is apparently to trick him into thinking he has less food to get through than he does.

** We are not to draw attention to it if he doesn't choose to eat and not offer him anything else until the next allocated meal time.

** If he asks for something before we want him to eat his dinner we are not to say "no" but tell him directly but to say something like "Elliott we are going to eat dinner now so when you have had some then you may have a yogurt for desert"

** He doesn't have to eat all his dinner but as long as he eats some he can have a healthy desert, if he its nothing then he isn't allowed anything else.

** Make a fuss about what he has eaten and not draw attention to what he hasn't

**To reduce the amount of juice he has and to give him water - this is to ensure that he is drinking because he is thirsty and not because he just likes the taste.

I think that's basically everything - we will see how he gets on this evening - on Wednesday I have to him to the clinic and get him weighed and measured to see how his growth is getting on.

This blog is really still in its infancy - not unlike Sam. At the moment it is slowly getting more attention and with a bit of luck over the coming months it will steam roll. As well as updates on the boys and the challenges that we face as a family I am also going to continue to write my product reviews and on this I have some exciting news!

We have been selected by Quinny UK to become new Quinny Casters testing out the Senzz travel system! Over the coming months we will be set challenges by Quinny to put the Senzz and ourselves through our paces. This is a really exciting opportunity and hopefully it will be the first of many big reviews for LWM2B

Here is an image of the Senzz to demonstrate what it is that we will be testing - I will post more info on it's specifications etc when it arrives and maybe even break into a spot of video blogging!

Also in addition to this I am currently awaiting the arrival of a new sling from http://www.sanamama.com/index.html - I am very into my slings and own a moby wrap for Sam, a toddlerhawk from babyhawk for Elliott and a conventional baby bjorn - I think I may do a sling week when this review comes up and run reviews on all the slings I have tried out. The sling from sanamama is a totally different style of sling to the ones I have tried before so it will be interesting to see how it holds up

and finally for the moment I am also having a nursing cover sent to us from bebe au lait. After my previous nursing cover review I will be great to see if the market leaders can improve on the product to justify the high price tag and if going for the tested brands really is always necessary.

So lots going on and hopefully much more to come!

Well I have been taking steps to battle Sams flat head and Elliotts eating - in fact the first step has been the same one, speak to the health visitor.

First up Sam - well she has said that there is nothing that can really be done to prevent it because its from the side he is sleeping on and that when his hair gets thicker it wont be so noticable....gees thanks for that! - so we are back to looking into flat head syndrome pillows and ways to encourage him to want to spend more time on his tummy rather than laying down.

Now onto Elliott - The health visitor has decided to do a home visit when he is at pre-school so that she can discuss it and ways to get him out of it. She did give me some literature to read and one thing I did find interesting was to NOT take away things like, chocolate, ice cream, biscuits etc - apparently for a fussy eater these are their "safe" foods, things they know wont harm them and so by taking these away it wont encourage them to eat "proper" meals it will just take something else out of their diet and they will loose all the calories etc from that and loose even more weight. I guess if the childs issue is with food and not with the fact that they are too full to eat then this makes sense when you think about it. So for now we will just continue as we are for another 48 hours and then see what she comes up with on Friday.

Things I will be blogging about soon....

More product reviews - being sent a couple of new products to try out aimed at young babies so I will be letting my thoughts be known on those.

Also - my battle with breastfeeding

I seem to be getting a flat headed baby! -- I never had this with Elliott so its a new one on me to be honest. I dont think it is too bad at present but I would rather get ontop of it now before it becomes a problem.

So plan of action is to research a few products and then spend money we dont have - adding reviews of what I try to my blog.

The first thing I need to implement is more tummy time....we tried this today and he wasnt amused so I guess I will also try and find something that will encourage this also.
So here we go off on another side road journey....

There is another battle that we NEED to start winning in this house and that is Elliotts eating - or should I say lack of it!

Elliott was an amazing eater when he was being weaned - he would eat anything you put in front of him and he was an absolute joy to feed and loved flavour. Then one day at 18 months old he litterally woke up and decided he was going to be a fussy eater and he has been that way ever since. Elliott is one of those children who wont even put food in his mouth to taste it first, some days he wont even look at his dinner before declaring that he wont eat it. He basically is living on toast and weetabix as well as chocolate when hes allowed it. Tonight it has become screamingly aparent that something has to be done because my little boy with the typical 2 year old tummy now has a flat stomach and I can see his ribcage! 

At present he is cutting his back teeth so he has a few days grace till they settle down and then its going to be a case of trying what we can to turn the corner and get him eating again!

Well I havent been particularly great with my blogging this week but I have a valid excuse

Last friday my cat, Charlie, had to be rushed into the vets with a blocked bladder - he was in until Wednesday and is now absolutely fine after this life threatening condition. I thought that was going to be the worst of the week but no

In the past few weeks of feeding Sam I have been stopped in public on 3 seperate occasions and asked for infomation on this poduct so a product review seemed to be a must have

I remember when I was nursing Elliott having that slight sinking feeling of dread at the thought he may need to feed while we were out in public - as much as I wanted to breastfeed it was a little stressful for me when out. I used the "breastfeeding area" in my local shopping centre on a few occasions, sitting on a uncomfortable right angeled bench, which was practically impossible to get into a good feeding position on, I remember trying to find a place to feed and messing around with trying to be discreat with breastfeeding tops. I wasnt confident enough to just "whip 'em out" and be very public with my feeding - and my rather large boobs really werent designed for discreation

When I was pregnant with Sam I wanted an alternative and I discovered the humble breastfeeding cover. Its an extremely simple design, if you have a sewing machine and a bit of time you could whip one up yourself. It is effectively a short length coton apron with a boned neckline so that you can see your baby whislt you are feeding them

I looked into a few different companys that made the covers before purchasing and in the end settled to try a cover that I found on ebay from  http://www.peekabooboo.co.uk/ - I chose them because I like supporting cottage industry mums but also because they were very well priced. I had a physical look at a cover from the market leaders in nursing covers, bebe au lait, but I REALLY couldnt see where the justification was in the high price tag, the fabrics were lovely but the only difference was that in one corner of their cover there was a little bit of toweling fabric for wiping your babys mouth.

When the cover arrived the first thing that struck me was how well made it was, in some ways better than something you would buy in the shops. The only improvement I could think to make to the cover itself would be to provide a storage bag for it - as it lives in your changing bag most of the time to be able to fold it up and store it in a pouch would be really helpful for keeping it neat and tidy.

Using the cover itself took a few goes to get the hang of - ensuring I could feed and see Sam through the neckhole of the cover but I find the easist way to do this is to adjust the neck to the length that suits you and then tucking the side of the cover that you are feeding on under the babys head so that it holds it slightly taught and creates a slight tent effect.

The freedom however that this cover now gives me is amazing! I never got the hang of laying cloths over me whilse feeding and found it more stressful than just going and hiding in a corner. At home I can feed Sam in front of my dad or anyone I dont feel 100% comfortable feeding in front of, or visa versa. When out it is FANTASTIC, I no longer bother with breastfeeding tops or walking around to try and find somewhere to feed Sam, I just feed him wherever and whenever he needs even if it means just sitting on the floor and doing it in the middle of the shopping centre. No more screaming hungry baby, no more feeling self concious its quick and easy. I have fed him in M&S, on a bench, in a corridor, in church and at the table in a restuarant.

I know there are plenty of people that believe you shouldnt have to cover up to feed, and I agree with them BUT it does make me feel a little uncomfortable and it can make other people feel uncomfortable to have you sitting there with your boobs out so this is a really easy simple solution that keeps everyone happy.

I would say to anyone embarking on breastfeeding this is a must have, simple, practical product that will make your life a LOT easier and take some of the stress out of going out with your baby

I dont think its all that easy to review food, either you like a food or you dont but as this is a new little known product I thought it worthy of a mention on my blog

I've been thinking overnight about what should be my first product review on my blog and I have to say that this one jumps to mind immediately.

This was a product that I was asked to try out and review for a popular baby website and I have to say that it is one of those products I just would never have gone out and purchased in life due to the cost considering the short life cycle of the product BUT it is probably the best maternity product I have ever used and these really should be handed out by physios on the NHS for its benefits to SPD sufferers.

I have now passed mine onto a friend who is currently struggling with SPD and she has had the same surprising results

Here is what the manufacturers say



Here is my full review

I have to say that I was somewhat dubious when trying this product; how much can a pillow really help when you have SPD? I have previously tried the traditional wedge pillow and found that it hasn’t really helped with my pain but has enabled me to get a bit more comfortable to fall to sleep and I expected this product to do pretty much the same thing. The product information suggests it is best used for bigger bumps and will take a couple of nights to become accustomed to it. I can understand this, due to the contour shape in the middle of the pillow there has to be some thickness to get your bump onto it, rather than a wedge that begins at nothing and graduates upwards. With a 33 week bump it wasn’t any trouble to get onto and felt really no more awkward using this than sleeping in general in the third trimester. Once on the pillow I didn’t get an instant relief or feel suddenly as though I was floating on a cloud but I really felt the effects of using it the next morning. My SPD has now reached the point where I need crutches to get around on my bad days and I have a support belt to take the weight off of my bump;. It hurts constantly and to move is a challenge. The first thing I noticed when I woke up on that first morning was the fact that I was facing the opposite direction to the one I had fallen asleep in, this is unusual as under normal circumstances I would have woken up in order to roll over and it would have caused pain in the process. Not reading too much into it I got out of bed and did notice a reduction in the pain level I normally suffer with. In the 3 days I have now been using the product I have found that I can get up in the morning with relative ease and with such a reduced pain level that sometimes I will go to do something expecting it to hurt and it just doesn’t! I have also found that my pain levels during the day start at such a lower level that I am able to do more and walk further - I have even managed to take my 2 year old to the park and it has been months since I have been able to do that. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a miracle product, it’s not going to take your SPD away but I can’t believe I am writing that it really HAS made mine A LOT better - so much so that when I saw a physiotherapist yesterday I told her all about it. When you are comparing product prices with a wedge this does seem much more expensive but it is worth the extra expense. When you have SPD it’s pretty miserable and I only wish I had tried this product earlier and in my first pregnancy, where my SPD was relatively mild. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this product highly for anyone that is pregnant to help relieve those aches and pains. I would honestly say it is more than worth the retail cost because if you are like me you will be pleasantly surprised with the results! Avalible here - http://www.pregna-pillo.co.uk/products-page/

Well I have decided to start a blog to share the new life that I now have that I am the proud mum of 2 little boys, Elliott, 2 and a half, and Sam, 5 weeks

When I was pregnant with Sam I had a pregnancy diary that I really enjoyed keeping so that has in part inspired me to start this blog. My other motivation is that I remember how nervous I was about being a mum of 2, the juggling, learning how to deal with a strong willed toddler as well as a newborn etc and my thoughts were to record my journey of how I do that as well as the things that help me a long the way.

I have been writing product reviews for a baby website for a few months now and I thought that I could include these in my blog as well as reviews for the products I have tried in my "private" life that have been of a benefit to me, I can think of a few already that arent widely used but that have been of such a benefit to me in the past 2 and a half years of being a mum.

When Elliott was born I met a group of 8 mums and we would meet up with our babies once a week and share the things we were learning along our individual parenting roads - some of the knowlege I gained during these sessions I still use to this day and not only from the successes but also from the failures. The internet now allows me to do this sharing on a larger scale.

Im not a perfect mother, who is, Im not an expert mother and I have no alliances with any particular company, group etc. I have no alteria motive behind my blog, it is what it is and if people enjoy it and read it I will be more than happy with that. Im still learning how this all works so bear with me until I roughly know what I am doing.

I should do a few introductions at this point

I'm Alice, I'm 30 and originally from Nottinghamshire. I have been married to Steve for nearly a year and a half now. I'm a full time mum but previously worked in customer services but originally trained in performing arts. This would be me.....

Then we get to the boys!! - First up we have Elliott!!


Sam is currently 5 weeks old and just finding his feet in the world. We are currently having a few troubles with his weight gain so he is unfortunatly being mix fed at present but we are hoping to eventually get him back to exclusive breastfeeding. Sammy already seems to be a much calmer personality than his big brother and in geneneral he is happiest when feeding and nothing much seems to bother him.

If you want my first "review" of something then it would be of the photographer that took the 2 pictures above of the children above. Saraya is based near London and not only is she exceptionally talented but you could not wish to meet a sweeter more bubbly photographer. She really was made to capture images of children and we have now had the pleasure of her photographing Elliott twice and both times have been amazed by the results! Ok this isnt much of a review but please check out her website or facebook page as her images really do speak for themselves - well worth the trip.

Ok well thats probably my first blog done. I now have a sleeping Elliott upstairs and I am balancing a sleeping Sam on my shoulder so I am going to take advantage of this and make a cup of tea and see if I can figure out how to use this blog in more detail.  ----- first thing is to change the background colour of my blog posts so that you can actually read them!!!!