Tommee Tippee Steamer and Blender

To help us along on our weaning journey I wanted to get a food processor/ blender of some description and whilst browsing Boots website I spotted this new release from Tommee Tippee-I'll admit I was kind of in two minds as it is more expensive than some hand held blenders that I had been eyeing up-and especially as Tomme Tippee do another blender for £20 but now I can totally say it was so worth it-plus I received my Boots points so win win really.

This machine is a steamer and blender in one and it is a lifesaver. It is quick, efficient and you literally just pop your prepared food in and select the length of cycle and off you go to grab a cup of tea. There is a steam and blend cycle which you can use individually or you can use both cycles at the same time. It is super easy to use-there are clear step by step instructions but basically you fill a compartment with 450mls water (for steaming) and then lock the lid in place, select your cycle by pressing the steam and or blend function buttons and then select your time. The steam function has a limit of 30minutes whilst the blend function is set at 5minutes maximum. There is a pause and cancel option if you need it also.

The Tommee Tippee comes with two little pots and a spatula to mix the food. It is easy to work with-to clean you simply unlock the lid and remove the container and it all comes apart easily to be washed. There is no mess what so ever and you can literally clean it in seconds and store it away again. It is so quiet apart from the occasional blur of the blender but otherwise you don't notice it. I have used it for parsnips, carrots, peas and pears and I am super impressed with it. I pop it all in and just leave it whilst I tend to baby. It is really compact too-not at all bulky like some blenders I have seen. 

The consistency of the food is perfect and the best bit is you can control the texture with the different timing options so as baby grows you can experiment with bulkier textured foods. I love that it steams the food so all the nutrients are retained so baby really is getting the most from their food.  I am so glad I decided to buy it as it is a time saver and means more time to tend to other duties rather than standing over pots and pans to puree all the foods.

If you are after a gadget for your weaning journey I honestly couldn't recommend this enough. Money well spent in my opinion. It varies in price but it seems to be on offer in Argos at the minute for £80-but shop around and see-I chose Boots for my points just. Some people might not think it is worth spending that much for something for weaning but I intend to use it even after baby has been fully weaned-perfect for steaming all your veg and fish!. Really though anything that saves time is worth it for me as I would much rather have that extra time to play with baby or actually just sit and relax for those 20minutes than stand at a pot stirring veg. 

Weaning Journey

Everyone has different ideas about when to wean-the current guidelines state 6months or when your baby shows signs they are ready-such as sitting up or good head control. Personally I think it is up to each parent to decide when their baby is ready-all babies are so different so it goes without saying that weaning will happen at different stages for everyone too. I am lucky in that my health visitor is open minded and not judging me for weaning earlier than the 6 month period as I have heard of others who are set against mummies weaning before that.

Aoibhín has really good head control and although is not yet sitting up independently for any long periods of time she is getting there-plus her eyes never leave us when we are eating and I was starting to feel like Shrek and she was puss in boots with her big eyes staring at my food. So we took the plunge and started to wean just before five months (about the 21 week mark-why is the weeks and months age so confusing)...anyway we started her off with some baby rice- although not the most nutritious meal we wanted to ease her in gently and as much as I love the sound of baby led weaning-I just don't want to start off that way. Baby rice is quick and was the perfect way for us to make the transition. WE just make it up with her own milk and she loves it! She gets so exited when she sees the little pot coming and she just grabs for the spoon!. I generally give her the rice once a day-varying different times.

We then added a little bit of Ellas kitchen flavoured porridge in the mornings and again she loves this too! I love her little face when she tastes it and am so excited for all the new flavours she will be introduced too. We have also given her the Farleys rusk (the reduced sugar ones) I don't see any harm in allowing her these as it gets her used to the texture plus it massages her little gums!.

I intend to puree all my own foods and have bought the Tommee Tippee blender/steamer to make it easier-It looks super easy and efficient but I intend to do a review on it once I have used it. I also bought those little storage pots-a mixture of Tommee Tippee ones, Asda little angels and Tesco ones-they are so handy and perfect for popping in the fridge as it means you can have individual pots rather than having to defrost an big portion at once.

I was waiting on a big food shop today so now that it has arrived I intend to puree, puree, steam , steam-exciting day ahead!. I am starting her now on carrots, parsnips, broccoli, sweet potatoe pears, bananas, apple and cinnamon and whatever else was in my food shop!. Initially I will let her taste each food alone-that way I can gage her reaction to the food but also see if she has any allergies or  sensitivities to certain foods. I will incorporate some baby led weaning too but probably once we have established a good basis of purees-so basically any finger foods-a lot of supervision and mummy sitting watching like a hawk I am sure too!.

I am so excited to watch her try new foods and see what her likes and dislikes are! Also any new mummies sign up for the Ellas Kitchen website and you can get a weaning chart and stickers to document babys weaning journey!. 

I'll be back with updated posts once we are well into our weaing journey to see how we have got on!

Road to Postpartum Body and Beyond

Being Pregnant was one of the most amazing times of my life-and probably one of the few times that I loved my body. I loved watching my belly getting bigger and with each little kick and mexican wave she did in there I grew to love it more. I was just one of those pregnant women who constantly rubbed her bump and I made sure to show my bump off with clothes that fitted my body and showed my growing belly off. Even now at five months post partum I look at bump pictures and miss it so much.

 I put on exactly 2stone 2lbs whilst pregnant and I literally was all bump and oedema - the week of giving birth I had lost 2stone and 7lbs- so very quickly I was back to my pre pregnancy weight. Maybe it was the fact I had gestational diabetes that I lost the weight so quickly-or maybe it was all the oedema leaving my body-or maybe I just got lucky as it was my first pregnancy.  However, although I was below my pre pregnancy weight I wasn't where I wanted to be-I wasn't happy with my body before pregnancy and I think developing gestational diabetes gave me the kick of motivation I needed. It wasn't about a number on the scale or even a dress size for me-Its about being healthy and happy with myself. My stomach is soft and squidgy now but it homed my daughter for nine months so I refuse to dislike it or be too hard on myself. I will never have a 'supermodel' body and that's ok-as long as my body works and I feel good in myself that is the most important thing. Too much pressure is put on women to bounce back after pregnancy at a time when they should be immersed in their new baby. I'm not saying go eat all the chocolate (whoops) but just go easy on your post partum body-give yourself a break. Believe me as my fellow gd mummies will know-I eat allllll the chocolate after I got home from hospital.

For me it is all about everything in moderation-having gestational diabetes has really put me off sugar which has been a bit of a blessing and it is a lifestyle change that I will continue to incorporate into my daily life-that and walking. Those last few months of pregnancy had me practically bed bound because of oedema so now I love nothing more than getting out every day for a walk in the fresh air. Really all I want is to be healthy..and toned if possible. I refuse to hate my body anymore like I did before pregnancy but I also know that in order to feel good about my body I have to be kind to my body. For me that means eating good fresh foods, exercise to help keep me fit physically and mentally, and not being too hard on myself. I am proud of how far I have come and I feel so much better about myself and I love my body- the stretchmarks, the soft and squidgy belly because it gave us our daughter and I will forever be in awe of that. So be kind to your post partum body, Don't compare your post partum body to anybody elses-you carried your baby, nobody else. Your body has just done the most amazing thing in the world and it will be different to how it was before.And that's ok too.

DURING PREGNANCY

                                   2WEEKS POSTPARTUM

                                3-4MONTHS POSTPARTUM

                                  NOW AT NEARLY 5MONTHS POSTPARTUM

My Baby Changing bag

One item that you are guaranteed to need once baby arrives is a changing bag to hold all those baby essentials-and believe me there are a lot of things to keep to hand for a baby-who would have thought it! I remember searching for ages online trying to find a bag that was practical, big enough and that I actually liked. I stumbled across someone who had a Yummy Mummy bag on instagram and I just fell in love with the style of it. Stylish, Functional and practical.

I purchased mine from the pink lining website but they are also available on the likes of John Lewis and Mothercare websites or you could also browse ebay as a good few are on there for sale too! There are so many colours and different styles to choose from-I can't actually remember the name of my bag (dragonfly I think!) but they all have a different name. As I wanted a bag that wasn't too gender specific but yet still 'feminine' enough that I liked it I particularly loved that you could go neutral on the outside of the bag but inside was a lovely pink-hence the pink lining name.

When  my bag arrived I loved it immediately and was so impressed with the quality and space within in. . There are two straps to hand hold are an over the shoulder strap. The bag comes with a handy cushioned change mat and a zip bag to hold essentials-I use the bag for nappies, cotton wool, sudocream and wipes. Inside the bag there are two insulated bottle pockets, two nappy pockets for holding extra nappies-I usually use these for hats/glove/bibs etc. There is also a handy pen holder, an attached mirror with a keyring to attach your keys so you don't have to rummage around for ages!. There is a zip pocket inside to for loose change or your lipgloss and two pockets at each outer side of the bag plus one button pocket at the front. I use these for spare dummies (because I will drop one ) my little pots of baby formula and just extra bits and bobs. It really is so spacious-plenty of room!

To give you an example here is what I put in my Yummy Mummy bag
*cushioned changing mat
*Zip Bag-with nappies (4) wet wipes. cotton balls, sudocream and nappy bags.
*change of baby clothes-vest and babygro
*babies gloves, hat and booties
*babys medical records red book
*a few toys-rattle/and a couple of small hand held toys
*spare bibs and muslin cloths
*pots of baby formula(2)
*bonjela and teething ring
*my phone, keys, lipstick
*2 baby bottles and insulated bag( there is two insulated pockets in bag also)

So believe me there is lots of room!. The bags cost £79 which is slightly more expensive but Honestly in my opinion are more than worth it. Prior to seeing the Yummy Mummy bags I was going to buy a bag from River Island for £50 and it was nowhere near as good as this bag-so I think its worth paying that little bit extra. Stylish, Practical and Pretty!

Teething

So at the grand old age of 20 weeks we have two teeth-well technically one but the other one has just burst through the gum. two wee tiny perfect little teeth.The front bottom two are out!. She has been such a little angel too-god love wee babies-if teething is anything like an adult tooth ache then they have a right to be as cranky as they want!.

Every baby is different and not all babies will have the typical associated symptoms that go alongside teething-even some of the 'symptoms' are debatable as to whether they really have any association with teething at all..but here's a few that aoibhín had for weeks proceeding the tooth eruption-she was waking through the night despite the fact she always slept through. Now this of course could be put down to the much feared 4month sleep regression or maybe she was just keeping mummy and daddy on their toes-who knows? Babies like to remind us who's really in control. She dribbles-a lot-I'm talking multiple bib changes daily. She will chew on anything and everything-even mummys nose. She has a rash on her cheeks that comes and goes and she can not get her hands far enough down her throat...did I mention smelly smelly nappies? . Aside from that though she was her usual pleasant self-a little bit irritable at times but nothing major thank god it will continue that way!.

However, there are a few things we have been using to ease this whole teething process for her and make it as painless as possible. Teething rings/toys especially the ones that go in the fridge content her and she will chew at them for ages- basically anything she can chomp her little gums down on. Bonjela and teething granules-we don't use the bonjela alot but when we do it seems to settle her and I give her little gums a massage while I'm applying it. If shes particularly unsettled then Ill give her a little bit of Calpol which does the trick. Obviously it's parents preference if they want to give medicated products but I imagine this whole teething business is incredibly painful and so I am more than willing to give her a little bit to help her on the journey to a sparkly smile.

Basically though I guess it's just a game of patience and helping them the little ways you can- they say the first few teeth are the worst until the molars come along, so I am hopeful that she will not be too unsettled with the rest of the teeth, as and when they make an appearance. The next teeth that should make an appearance are the top front two (between 6-8 months) followed by the top lateral and bottom lateral (between 9-12 months) and lastly the molars (from 1 year to 30 months for both first and second molars)...obviously when these appear is individual to each child and although aoibhín has her front bottom who knows when the rest will come...we will just have to wait and see!. Good luck to all you mummy's with teething babies-I hope its a smooth journey for you all!