When a change is needed

There is no one more judgemental then you to yourself.

Us mums really like to take a beating. Especially by ourselves, we think about it at night, we think about it after our child doesn’t behave a certain way or we behave in a way we should not.

So what do you do?
I read it everywhere, we should stop.
We are doing just fine.
We should be less harsh on ourselves.

But should we really?
Say whaaaaaaat?!
Yes! Think about it… If you think YOU can do better or act more appropriate instead of that little tiny overreaction we had when our child climbed on the table for the 10th time, why not change?
Why do we think it’s ok? And what can we do to change?
(of course this doesn’t count for everyone, it counts for those thinks it should count for them)

When we are tense or emotional it’s often a sign of having too many feelings cropped up and too little outlets to handle them.
You can talk about it more with your partner or your friend but that doesn’t always help.

So I challenge you.
For 10 minutes a day.
TEN MINUTES..
Seriously, you can find ten minutes of giving your child a snack in their high chair or during naptime or you know, instead of tidying the house for the fourth time today.

Why you shouldn’t do it with a youngling on the lose..

Change into something comfortable that allows you to stretch and do sun salutations.
Yes, yoga..
It’s a challenge, be open for it, and for a week long try to do it for 10 minutes.
I’ve posted my favourite youtube video of it, just try.
One week is all I ask for and you tell me in all honesty whether or not you feel different after.
And by no means do you have to have experience!!

 

It’s not my video, I do not know the lady in the video, it’s not advertisement.
I’m just talking of personal experience after a great friend reminded me of sun salutations and I am so much more relaxed about everything throughout the day.
It’s hard to explain the feeling, I suppose you could say I have more inner peace but I’m scared that might scare some people away who think I’m just another yoga hippy (which in reality I am, haha) 

Let me know how you get on if you do decide to give it a go!

Teething, remedies and dangers

Another night interrupted, filled with cuddles of comfort.
It can’t be nice to wake in such pain and I’m sorry I can’t always relieve it.. 
I am no fan of painkillers, frequent use can be very dangerous and have long-term, sometimes damaging, effects.
As teething can last for months at a time it is not my to go to form of relieve.

I prefer to seek for more natural remedies, here are my favourites;

• Chamomile tea
  The best all-rounder, its stomach soothing – anti-inflammatory – anti-irritant – sleep aid and muscle relaxing.
  Suitable from the early months, can be taking by mum to pass through breastmilk or made with the boiled water meant for formula, I would advice to do 3  cups/ bottles a day to reach full benefits.
  You could also freeze the tea in ice cubes, tie in a muslin to let baby gnaw on it.
• Baltic amber
  Works for some not for others but I say it is worth a try! Scientifically there isn’t a lot of evidence but mama’s words prove different
  It’s not easy to find an honest real Baltic amber trader but once you do, it could be worth investing in an anklet or necklace, which ever you prefer (please make your necklace into an anklet at night to avoid choking risks)
• Chew objects
  Any safe kind, at a young age mine preferred objects on room temperature, but now molars are appearing cold and frozen seems to do the trick.
  Sophie the giraffe is a well known favourite, light and multiple chew options!
  Cold carrots sticks for older babies, do be careful for bits that can break off.

As I am looking into natural relief for teething I keep stumbling on recalled and dangerous products out there, claiming to be a great product to help soothe teething pains.
At the top of its market are teething gels, oh yes, recalled by the fda, these little substances often contained benzocaine, found in oragel and anbesol (which was my favourite with my first son) they have since adjusted their ingredient list and now use Lidocaine Hydrochloride, a drug that has unknown long term use effects (benzocaine once had the same unknown effects until a pattern of side effects appeared)
A close second being teething granules/pills, I am all for homeopathic but allot of companies have taken interest in it and use beneficial natural products like chamomile but often diluted to extreme tiny amounts (funny enough broadly advertised on the front) that it will barely work. A famous one being Hyland’s teething tablets, who contain belladonna, their product has been recalled due to uncontrolled amounts of belladonna giving adverse reactions leading to extremes as seizures and brain bleeds. They have been put back on the market 9 months later with a child safety cap and now claim (like before) to have controlled measurements of belladonna. Hmm I’m not convinced..

Of course, I know at least one or two people who read this will think
‘but my (grand)mother/I used such and such and I/my baby turned out fine’  (unfortunately it takes that one time where it won’t turn out fine)
Or the famous ‘if it wasn’t safe it would not be sold’
(don’t go there.. I will throw the most notorious one back which is, why do they still sell cigarettes?)

 

I am puzzled, I will stick with replacing my toddlers water to cold chamomile tea for now.
But do not despair!
I am working on a paste that will work similar to teething gels but using whole cloves (steeped in oil) mixed with coconut oil to harden.
A safer way then using essential clove oil (advised against under 2 but great to numb gums!) so stay tuned!

Not the mama!

 

I used to watch dinosaurs, thinking it was funny, the baby who would do all sorts of things to his dad all because he was not the mama.

Not so funny when it actually happens in your own home..
You see my dearest youngest son goes through days where he flat out refuses anyone’s care but mine and he will do everything he can, in order to get it.

 

I rarely have lay ins.
As soon as daddy gets up we know what’s going to happen, he will go with him quietly or it goes a bit like this..
‘It’s as if he thinks; oh noo not him again, you can see the disappointment in his face and he throws himself back. I get him out of bed and he will look at our bedroom door, when I walk the opposite direction towards the stairs the crying starts.. I do everything the same in the morning as the mama but he won’t accept it. He will go to the living room door, sit there and cry, pushing it so it makes noise. I can’t cuddle him, distract him or even bribe him. He simply won’t stop until she comes down.’

 

It is slowly getting better though, when we first started introducing foods we done a mix of baby led weaning and mashed foods. If I didn’t hold the spoon he would refuse to eat. No matter how hungry, he would not take a spoonful of anyone.
Night time waking is done by yours truly too, perhaps that comes from having breastfed him at night but he dropped it at 11 months.
Now he goes in screaming-banshee-mode if anyone else goes near him.

 

I can’t just get ready.
Getting ready for a (super rare) night out involves loads of distractions but usually ends like this

 And yes I always end up with a massacre of mascara near one of my eyes. 

 

There are loads of possible explanations why this is happening..
One thing people love to point out at me for making my baby too dependent

Thanks to carrying him

Or perhaps it’s because of doing what a woman knows best to do, for too long (though I would have loved to still be doing it!)

Or maybe we should go down to the root of all evil.
That place where it all started..

 

Though you can be a small pain in my backside from time to time, I love how close we are right now.
Daddy patiently waits for when it’s his turn, once you become more interested in what he does.
And for now I will have limited lay in days on the weekend, until you are ready to let me go that bit more..

A healthy energy snack

We all need a pick me up or a quick snack but instead of taking a bite out of that chocolate bar or get a sugar lift, try a healthier option!

 

 

 These little goodness, filled with fuel, chocolate date balls are so easy to make!
All you need is a blender and two hands to roll them in. 

 Ingredients;

• 1/3 cup pecans
• 1/3 almonds
• 1 1/3 pitted dates
• 3 tbs shredded coconut
• 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
• 2 tbs cocoa powder (optional)
• 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
• 2 tbs milk (almond) 

Whizz together to a sticky paste, roll them into bite size balls followed by rolling them in your covering.
Totally up to you what! I used shredded coconut and sprinkles that we had left over but you can also use sesame seeds or grind nuts.

Enjoy!

When it’s one of them days..

Aaaaaaaaah

Aaaaah

Aaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaah

He stops to see what’s happening on the TV. 

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah 

Aaaaaahaaaa 

Aaaaaah 

He stops again. 

That’s me, very unfiltered, tired, headache and done. It’s been going on over e-ve-ry-thing all day long. 

Want a pear? Ok I’ll peel it, not good, don’t want it cut. Cry. 

Want a cracker? Ok, one for you and for your brother. Don’t want it. Cry. Brother has his, cry because now you do want it. 

Your full of cold, I need to wipe your nose. Cry. 

You want to get up the chair but fail. Cry. I put you on chair, cry because you don’t want to sit. 

We all have those days where you want to pull out your hair, scream as perhaps even cry with them. It is stressful and frustrating. 

Breath mama. Your the best, you will get through this day. 

Take a few deep breaths outside the room, gather yourself. 

Do yoga or another form of stress relieve/relaxation. Just for 10/15 min whilst your baby goes to sleep. Or wrap them on you and do it with them. 

Just don’t forget.. 

You can do this! 

You’re the best 

Besides, he’s over it now 🙂

HULK muffins, vegetable undercover

We all love muffins, what is even better then a muffin is a healthy muffin.

Voila!

I present to you ‘the Hulk’ (previously known as Popeye muffins, but apparently that is not cool anymore)
With a great amount of spinach who’s flavour doesn’t burst through, make these your perfect kids snacks.

The recipe
Preheat the oven at 350F (175c) this makes around 9/10 muffins

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 whole grain flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt

Mix the dry ingredients above together.

• 1/8 cup oil
• 3/8 cup (soy) milk
• 3 ounce (85gram) spinach

Put them in your blender and mix until puree

• 1 banana
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla paste

Mash together, put it in the blender and mix through.

Poor the liquid mixture over the dry and mix through with a spoon.

Fill them in the muffin cases up to 2/3 full, leave in the oven for 18/20 minutes.

And tadaa, an awesome undercover vegetable in a great tasting muffin!

Disposable vs cloth – round 1

I know you have heard of them dreaded washable diapers.
You know, them things that you wash clean of poo and wee in your washing machine, the same machine that washes your clothes..
Them things that add on your already mahoosive washing pile.

Well let me tell you something..

 

• It can save you money.
  I say can because it can also come with a cloth addiction.
  
• You will save on garbage disposal.
  At least 1 bag a week, 5 a month! It all adds, and weighing at 500 years+ for decomposing.. What a crappy gift to leave your great great grandkids.       
• Allot more bum friendly.
  The amount of heavy chemicals in a diaper is scary, TBT is in the plastic and Sodium Polyacrylate is what helps absorb liquids. Did you know  Sodium Polyacrylate has been banned since 1985 in tampons (believed to be related to toxic shock syndrome) yet it’s still very present in diapers??!  (and that is only because diapers aren’t used internal, but do not forget how close to the skin they are!)
  
  

Those three points certainly have made up my mind.
You will not work your arse off to make a cloth bum happen.
If that didn’t do it for you, then so be it.
Here are a few more images to make my point come across.

 

*pictures starring my dearest Logan*

 

 

Why kids are great!

Kids are awesome because 

• They love belly buttons. 
• They dance out of nowhere for you.
• They cook you food. 
• They ask for strawberries all year round.
• They share their freshly sucked paci/dummy with you. 
• They ask if you need them to help wipe your bum. 
• They give spontaneous kisses. 
• They swim on your wooden floor. 
• They clap when they’ve eaten their dinner.
• They clap and praise when you’ve done a wee. 
• They love it when you swirl in a dress. 
• They swim with sharks in the bath. 
• They read you a story holding the book upside down. 
• They always grin when you hang your face above them. 
• They hysterically laugh over ‘silly billy, smelly belly’ and other rhyming words.
• They pick you flowers (from the neighbours garden) 
• They love cuddling the dog/cat/bunny. 
• They make you drawings. 
• They run at you from kindergarten with open arms. 
• They think your the prettiest mum/dad ever.
• They have ‘phone calls’ with anyone at anytime. 
• They sleep like angels. 
• They find you all sorts of bugs. 
• They would share their favourite sweets.
• They eat the spread of the sandwich. 
• And lick the filling of a cookie. 
• They go on an adventure out of nowhere. 
• No one is better then their mum or dad. 
• They get extremely excited over a surprise. 
• They love playing in a box.
• They think your wobbly bits are soft and cuddly.
• They give you a drum solo out of nowhere. 
• They love talking to people about you.
• They love you unconditionally. 

The heartache of evaps

Low and behold, there is a line.
*This is my test, a few hours after testing and not seeing a line at first.

Anyone who has taken numerous pregnancy tests squint.
Desperate to see something, (or nothing) even the faintest line.
We keep the test, relook, put it away.
Look again.
Bin it.
Look again, each time you open that bin.

Its frustrating and very elusive.
When you stare to long at one place, things will appear, especially lines.
So we take a picture, filter, send it to a friend..

Something is there.
You both agree, you think about when you took the test and realise you are outside the time zone.

That right there, should not have happened.
When the time zone is done, you need to destroy that test.
Freaking stamp on it, take it apart, put it through the shredder, drive your car over it! It is UNVALID.
After the time zone the strip test starts drying out, which sometimes results in discolouring of your pregnancy indicator line.

Any line is a line, you don’t get false positives.

That is BULLSHIT (excuse the language) reread the above written text and you tell me that the line of dried out wee and test colouring is a positive line.

Then there are blue dye tests.
These tests are evil. These tests will say unless there is a clear line it is not considered valid. WTF?!
See these little devils leak..
They leak either just within the grove of your pregnancy indicator line or just outside.

Example of leaked lines.

I mean come on!
You have been warned, buy them if you want but you get just as much result as pulling yes or no out of a hat.

Have you ever had an evap or leaked dye line?
I am angry and sorry, I genuinely am.

10 ways to keep them eyes open

Welcome to the matchstick club!

Seriously.. Whomever told my son that 4.30 is the new 6am, I will find you..
And I will send Liam Neeson to you.
I could sit, slumber and struggle to keep the matchsticks in place (and probably nod off one or two times) or help myself stay awake.
But how do you do it, when you have no energy what so ever?

• Eat the right foods
  What ever you do, do NOT skip breakfast! Don’t eat big filling meals and try to limit sugary snacks, they all make you crash hard.. Snack yes, just keep it healthy, if your lucky like me all your snacks will be divided by the amount of kids you have.
• Exercise
  I have had bad bad days, but lets face it, the sofa will swallow you up at some point today.. Do a quick 10 star jumps, walking after your toddler to close the kitchen cabinet for the fifth time does not count. 
• Nap
  Always a good one, unfortunately if you have kids this will not work. You see, kids smell that you are needing and trying to rest, so they will stay awake and become extremely demanding. Do not risk this option.
• Get dressed
  You won’t get out of the pj mood if you stay in them. Go to the bathroom, wash yourself and attempt to get dressed without having a mini human empty your full wardrobe (that alone will sharpen you up).
• Flick a switch
  Going from dark to bright helps waken you up, play peekaboo with longer peek and boo times (also a saver way not to break your light bulb)
• Sing
  Breath control is a great way to get energised from the extra oxygen. Perfect time to whack out ‘best Disney songs’ we all know the words better then the latest top 40 songs these days..
• Do something new
  Though I often fail when Im tired, nothing keeps me more focussed, concentrated, off the sofa, busy then trying out a new recipe, challenge myself.
• Water
  Did you know by not drinking enough you reduce your cognitive function by 30%! Its not only good to drink but also to splash, sudden bursts of water on our face helps us wake, bring on bath time!
• Keep busy
  Now is the time to sort the toys out! Not only will you entertain your child, you finally get that dreaded task done. Sort off, as long as your quick enough to keep the throw away pile together..
• Laugh
  Perk up to wake up, do something silly or watch something funny and I don’t mean that quick giggle when you see your toddler awkwardly prevent himself from falling over.

If all fails, lay on the floor. I will promise you, your tiny humans will not let you sleep.