Life With My 2 Boys

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!!!!