We were spoilt when my daughter arrived as was she. Sadly over time we've forgotten a lot of the gifts but the ones that really stuck with us four years later are these: Chocolate Lindt flowers - mum's definitely need gifts too and will be so grateful for being remembered. Hand knitted shawl from granny. Absolutely beautiful and still popular even now. We adore the personalised gifts we got. Beautiful building blocks with a subscription are amongst our favourites. A massive box of different types of chocolate brownies. So delicious and helped cheer me through evening cluster feeding and breastfeeding hunger. A hand made owl mobile/wall hanging from a London boutique. So cute Yummikeys are a beautiful new baby gift too and...
It's been a long, albeit not particularly warm summer up here in Scotland and definitely starting to feel ready for autumn. Here's a few of our favourite things about autumn: 1. Crunchy, colourful, beautiful leaves hanging onto the trees and carpeting the ground. Great for jumping in, kicking, throwing, collecting, sorting and especially painting with. 2. Conkers! Even as an adult it's pretty magical to find and open a big shiny conker. With children, it's fun all over again. There is a myriad of crafts you can do with conkers too if you’re feeling creative. 3. The smell of wood smoke from stoves and fires and garden clearances. And coming home and lighting our own fire of course. 4. Geese!...
This recipe was given to us by a friend when we weaned my daughter. It's become such a staple in our house that it's the essential breakfast for us every Sunday morning. Toddlers really enjoy getting involved and help stir and break the eggs from a young age. If you have any pancakes left over they do also freeze. Ingredients: 2 x ripe bananas mashed 1 medium free range egg 1 cup of self raising flour ¾ cup of full fat or semi skimmed milk Unsalted butter to cook Method: Add all ingredients to he bowl and whisk thoroughly (great for kids to get involved too) Heat a little butter in a non-stick pan and add 3 separate spoon fulls...
This will be a familiar scenario for some of you. Your baby has got the hang of feeding and sometimes sleeps for longer stretches, when teething strikes and it all goes pear-shaped. Here's a few tips that worked well for us: Keep sticks of cucumber in the fridge for your baby to chomp on. They're cool to chew on and as they consist mostly of water they're generally-considered ok before weaning. If your partially-weaned baby goes off solids, don't be afraid to up the milk feeds if they're hungry. They'll take more solids again once their gums stop hurting. There are several products available at chemists for teething. Anbesol teething gel worked well for us and we have friends who...
Once you have a child travelling becomes a very different experience. Gone is relaxing with a book and even a glass of wine on your way to a week in the sun. Many families decide to avoid air travel where possible and opt for domestic holidays. It can be easier to pack up the car and just drive to the door of your holiday. It's often a "low" stress and low cost option, especially for bigger families. We're spoilt in the uk and have some lovely places that visit, most of which aren't "that" far away. The Scottish highlands, Yorkshire, the Lake District, Peak District and Cornwall to name just a few. Here are our trips for surviving car journey with...
