31 July , 201430 July , 2014 - Sarah 4 Comments

I’m going back to work (and my worries about nursery)

I’ve been on maternity leave for 13 months now – I’m a teacher and a conveniently timed pregnancy meant I started my maternity leave at the beginning of the summer holidays last year. It was always my intention to return to work after a year but I was only on a temporary contract before my maternity leave and unfortunately, although I was successfully interviewed there were no posts available for Modern Languages teachers in the council where I was working previously. In this council everyone has one interview with the council and then they allocate people to the available jobs, rather than the decisions being made by individual schools.

Staffing requirements can often change over the summer holidays which means a job may come up once the schools start back in a few weeks (and this is what has happened to me every other year I’ve been teaching) but this year, with childcare to organise, just hanging around and hoping something came up wasn’t ideal. I can go on the supply register, but again I wouldn’t be able to make myself available at short notice because of having to arrange someone to look after Toby. We don’t have any family nearby so it’s not like I can just ask my mum to pop up the 250 miles to look after Toby so I can go to work for a day!

Anyway, it was starting to look like I might not be going back to work after all. We told the nursery we wouldn’t be able to take up the place we’d reserved for Toby and after doing some sums we worked out that although we wouldn’t have a lot to spare, we could manage on just one wage. But then I saw jobs advertised in two schools in a different council. They were a bit further away than I’d like ideally but I had to take a chance and apply for them. I was selected for interview for both jobs and had the first one today….and they offered me the post!!

I’m very pleased to be going back to work – I love being at home with Toby but I’ve been surprised just how much I’ve missed my job over the last year. But it’s really scary to think that in two and a half weeks I’ll be back at work full time (Scottish schools go back mid-August). And even scarier is that my little baby boy is going to have to go to nursery full time in a couple of weeks too. Luckily the place was still available at the nursery we had chosen so he’ll be going there. He’ll be doing some settling in sessions very soon and I really hope he manages to get used to it quickly. I know, when I think about it logically, that nursery will be really good for Toby. He’ll get to socialise with other children, he’ll get to do so many more activities than he would if he was at home with me all the time…but but but…..I wish he didn’t have to go. Nobody has ever looked after him apart from me and his dad (apart from a couple of times when we’ve had babysitters while he’s been asleep) and I can’t imagine him spending more time with the nursery workers than he does with us. I feel so sad that someone else might witness his first steps, or his first proper words. I’m so worried that he’ll get upset and I won’t be there to comfort him. I feel like he’s too little to understand what’s going on, and I can’t explain to him why I can’t be there.

Toby woke up from his nap just after I got the call this afternoon to say I had got the job and I went upstairs and gave him a cuddle and I cried for all the cuddles I’m going to miss. I know, really, that I’m doing the right thing, and I’m sure Toby will love nursery soon enough. (And if our plans work out the way we hope it will only be for a year and then, hopefully, I’ll be on maternity leave again…and after that, who knows.) For now though I need to start organising and working out how I’m going to fit in all the chores around a full time job. And I’ve got two and half weeks to fit in as many cuddles as I can!

30 July , 20142 August , 2017 - Sarah Leave a comment

Review: SnoozeShade Plus Deluxe

In this fantastic hot weather we’ve been having lately keeping Toby safe and happy in the sun has been my main concern. SnoozeShade is a product designed to do just that! We already had a SnoozeShade Original which has had lots of use over the last year but as Toby is now a very inquisitive one year old he does like to be able to see what is going on when he’s out in the buggy. The lovely people at SnoozeShade gave us the opportunity to try out the SnoozeShade Plus Deluxe to see if it could solve our nosy baby problems!

The Details

The SnoozeShade Plus Deluxe is designed to fit on any pram or pushchair. It has elastic loops around the edges which allow you to attach it to the frame of your pushchair. Whereas the SnoozeShade Original has a vertical zip opening on the front for checking on your baby, the SnoozeShade Plus as a panel on the front which your baby can see through, but which still keeps them protected from the sun. This panel can be zipped either partially or fully open. It also has another layer of the full SnoozeShade fabric which can be poppered over the top if you baby is sleeping. The fabric the SnoozeShade is made from blocks up to 97.5% of harmful UV rays (or 80% through the viewing panel). It is also breathable so there is no danger of your baby suffering from lack of air. The SnoozeShade Plus Deluxe has a retail price of £34.99.

The Pros

First and foremost the SnoozeShade Plus Deluxe is fantastic at doing the job it is designed for – that is providing shade and protection from harmful UV rays. I still use suncream on Toby if we are going to be out for a while but I am much happier knowing he isn’t going to get burnt when under the SnoozeShade.
There are four pairs of elastic straps to attach the SnoozeShade to your buggy meaning you should be able to attach it to any style of pram or pushchair. We’ve used it both parent and forward facing on our Mamas & Papas Sola, and on our Kiddicare Deko stroller without any problems. The loops fasten with two poppers and have always stay securely attached – even with Toby trying to pull them off occasionally!
I love viewing panel! The main problem we had with the SnoozeShade Original as Toby got older was that unless we were actually using it for him to have a nap (and he was really ready for a nap) he would moan when we put it on the buggy so we couldn’t really use it just for shade. With the Plus that problem is solved as Toby can still see out and so he’s happy. If he does fall asleep or I’m trying to get him to nap then I just popper up the extra shade flap and we’re away.
There is a pocket at the bottom of the viewing panel to store the flaps that aren’t being used – a very clever feature.
There is a horizontal zip opening above the viewing panel so you can check on your wee one, or you can leave it open for extra ventilation.
Because the viewing panel zips completely open I can get Toby in and out of the pushchair without having to remove the SnoozeShade. Both our pushchairs can fold with the SnoozeShade still attached as well.
The SnoozeShade Plus is a bit bigger than the Original so Toby’s legs don’t get squashed by the fabric and it should last as he gets bigger.
We have been using the SnoozeShade a lot in the sunshine these last few weeks but they also make great windstoppers in the colder months as well. They will keep off light rain and can also be used underneath most raincovers.
A small mesh storage bag is included (although if I’m honest I have never put either of our SnoozeShades back in their bags!)

The Cons

Getting a good fit is a bit tricky on some pushchairs but should be possible with a bit of playing around. On our Sola with the seat at its most upright and the hood fully open the SnoozeShade is quite baggy – giving Toby a lot of spare material to pull at! By pulling the bottom down and attaching some of the straps further along the frame we have achieved a good fit though so it’s worth persevering. There are also some great videos on the SnoozeShade website that show you different ways of attaching the shade to your pushchair.

The Verdict

I already really liked our SnoozeShade Original and we’ve had loads of use out of it over the last year, it was fantastic when Toby was younger, not only on the pushchair but for putting over his car seat too. However, the SnoozeShade Plus Deluxe is even better! Although this is the most expensive of the SnoozeShades for prams and pushchairs I would say the extra features definitely make it worth the money and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

**Disclosure: I was sent SnoozeShade Plus Deluxe in return for this review. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

28 July , 20146 July , 2020 - Sarah 5 Comments

Living Arrows 30/52

At the beginning of this week my brother and sister-in-law were up visiting from London. They haven’t seen Toby for months and apart from a brief wobble (and some tears) when we first picked Mark up from the station Toby got on great with his uncle and auntie. On Tuesday we went to visit the Kelpies – massive horse head statues that have just opened in a new park outside Falkirk. We had a look at the horses, a lovely picnic lunch and very melty ice cream. I managed to set the camera up on the timer on a wall and get this photo of us all (Claire and her twins came too).

In the evening we went for dinner to a new pub that has opened recently near us. Toby is so good when we go out, as long as I keep him topped up with breadsticks until the food arrives! I can’t actually take credit for this week’s Living Arrows picture – my sister-in-law Becca took it while we were waiting for our meals to arrive. She’s a photographer by trade and always takes such great pictures, even when it’s just an iPhone snap!

Toby has been a bit happier and sleeping better this week too. I was definitely right about the teething though – both his top first molars have cut this week. We’ve only got a tiny corner of each one so far though so there’s still plenty more upset to come I’m sure!

23 July , 201420 July , 2014 - Sarah 5 Comments

First birthday (sort of) party

If you’ve been reading some of my other posts you’ve probably seen that Toby turned one last week. Originally we weren’t going to have a party at all. I know this might not be a popular view but I don’t really hold with massive birthday parties for one year olds who have no clue what is going on. I understand that for the most part these early birthday parties are as much for the adults as the babies but with Toby’s grandparents all living 250 miles away, and us not having many other people we would invite there didn’t seem much point.

However, as both sets of grandparents decided they would like to visit round about Toby’s birthday we decided we would just have them all at the same time, invite our friends Claire and Dave and their nine month old twins and we would have a BBQ and make a bit of a party of it.

I didn’t really have a theme and my only concession to decoration was a few balloons. I suppose it was a vague jungle theme as I’d made a monkey cake, the balloons had jungle animals on and Toby wore his funky banana leggings! As it turned out it wasn’t great weather for a BBQ on the day either but my dad was quite happy on cooking duties out in the garden under a gazebo! We had a bit of a BBQ buffet, including home made bread rolls that Barry made in the morning. I was quite pleased we decided to have a party in the end too because it meant I had an excuse to make a proper birthday cake! (If you want to know how I made the monkey cake there’ll be a ‘how to’ post coming soon.) Toby blew out his candle (with a bit of help) but I was a meany though and didn’t give him any cake. I did let him eat the monkey’s eyes though, which were his very first chocolate buttons!

My mum and dad were staying with us so they were already here. Claire and Dave arrived with their boys not long after midday and we gave the babies their lunch – the birthday boy got to be king of the castle in his highchair while the twins sat in their Bumbos on the floor which was quite comical! Then Barry’s parents turned up too, we had some present opening, some food and then began the fun task of trying (unsuccessfully) to get the babies to nap! We all had a lovely time though. I’m glad all Toby’s grandparents got to see him for his first birthday, especially as they don’t get to see each other very often.

The best thing about the whole day for me though was how well Toby coped with it all. He’s normally fine around other people but because we don’t often have people visiting our house he can sometimes have a meltdown when there are other people there. He still doesn’t really know his grandparents either, although I think he is starting to recognise them more as he gets older. He was fantastic all day though. We didn’t have any crying (until I tried to get him to nap!) and he was happy to give everyone cuddles. All in all a very successful (sort of) party I’d say!

21 July , 201427 March , 2015 - Sarah 8 Comments

Living Arrows 29/52

I feel like I’ve gone rather quiet on the blogging front lately. I just seem to have lost my mojo a little bit so I’m just giving it a bit of a rest until I get my inspiration back. Nothing sinister, I’m just not feeling the blog love at the minute. I couldn’t miss a Living Arrows post though!

This week has been all about teething and it’s been pretty horrendous. Toby has been refusing to nap, taking hours to settle at night and generally just being grumpy and crying most of the time. I really wish we could do more for him but apart from dosing him up with Calpol and Nurofen there doesn’t seem to be much else we can do. He won’t let me put a finger in his mouth to apply teething gel, he doesn’t want cuddles but he doesn’t like being put down either. We have had to resort to a few long buggy walks and even a drive in the car to get him to calm down and have a nap. He does seem to have been a bit better the last few days so hopefully he (and we!) might get some respite for a little while.

I don’t think the heat has been helping either, although we’ve not had it quite as hot as those of you down south. In an effort to distract Toby from his teeth, and cool him down, I got the paddling pool out that we had bought for Toby’s birthday. He wasn’t sure about it at first and he actually got chilly quite quickly, even with warm water, but I think he enjoyed it – especially when I got the bubble machine out too.

18 July , 201424 October , 2018 - Sarah 2 Comments

Child safety on the move with Lindam

Lindam is the name that comes to mind when thinking about child safety in the home – they are well-known for their safety gates, play pens, cupboard locks and all kinds of other ‘baby-proofing’ products. Did you know though, that they also have lots of products to help keep your child safe whilst in the car and out and about?

When we went to France at the beginning of June we spent three days driving to get there and two days driving home so Toby had to spend an awful lot of time in the car. We wouldn’t have managed without window shades and these ones from Lindam are great – I like the White Hot spot that lets you know if it is too hot inside the car, and also the two step release so if Toby manages to unstick the bottom of the shade it’s not going to ping back up.

The other thing we couldn’t do without is the Adjustable Back Seat Mirror – Toby is still in a rear-facing car seat and will be for a few more years hopefully so having this mirror means we can easily see him, and recently he’s just worked out he can see us in the mirror too!

The Lindam 2-in-1 Backseat & Pushchair Organiser now lives in our car to keep Toby’s toys and drink in, plus a few other bits and pieces that otherwise always seem to end up just rolling around in the back! And if you like you can easily unclip the organiser from the back of the car seat and pop it on your stroller instead!

Lindam also have this fantastic backpack with an optional strap to keep a hold of your little one. We haven’t really needed this yet as Toby isn’t walking. I’m sure it will come in very useful once he is though, and for now it was great for carrying Makka Pakka around and for me to try and stop Toby exploring the understairs cupboard!

Another great product for use at home and away is the FlexiGuard safety gate – a gate which is pressure fitted so doesn’t need to be attached to the wall and also folds up into it’s own case for easy transportation. This will be really handy for when we go on our next cottage holiday or even just visiting Toby’s grandparents.

I didn’t realise that Lindam had so many different products for use away from home! Are there other any safety essentials you’d recommend?

Disclosure: We were sent these items as a part of our role on the Lindam blogger panel. All opinions are my own.

16 July , 20142 July , 2016 - Sarah 2 Comments

Toby is one year old!

One year old!! The first update I wrote on this blog was when Toby was four months old and now he’s one. I know everyone says it but I really can’t believe how quickly the time has gone.

There have been a few developments this month; Toby seems to be getting bigger every day (and everyone comments on how massive he is!) but I still haven’t had him weighed since he was 10 months old. He’s still very long and skinny though, not your typical chubby baby in the slightest. He’s so strong though – he doesn’t stay still unless he’s sleeping and if we try and sit with him he wriggles away and crawls all over us. Nappy changes are often something of a challenge!

Toby now has eight teeth and had his first visit to the dentist today, although he refused to let the dentist actually look at his teeth! I thought we might get a bit of a break from teething for a while but his sleep has been all over the place for the last week and after a feel around his mouth today I think one of his first molars might be on its way. Did I mention that I hate teething?

Toby still loves to stand up but won’t do it unless he’s pulled himself up. He did actually let go and stand unsupported the other day but only for a few seconds and he hasn’t tried it since. He’s cruising a little bit but still mostly prefers to sit down, crawl to where he wants to go then stand up again. He got a push along trolley/walker thing for his birthday though so maybe that will encourage him to start walking rather than crawling. His favourite toy is still his stacking cups. He doesn’t try and stack them but he’s got very good at separating them then putting them back inside one another again. He’s started giving some of his soft toys cuddles recently too which is so cute! And he’s still giving us lots of cuddles too (and less biting which is good).

We still don’t have any real words – Toby does now say mama and mum as well as dada, and we sometimes get yeah and hiya, but I still don’t think he really knows what he’s saying. He’s very cute babbling away to us though.

Toby’s still eating pretty much anything we put in front of him, although he does have days when he seems to have less of an appetite than others. Breadsticks are a firm favourite (in fact, so much that I do worry slightly about how many he eats!) and cherry tomatoes are high on the list too. We have started to make the switch to cow’s milk but after lots of night waking we’re going to stick with formula at bedtime for now in case hunger is part of the problem. He’s accepted cow’s milk without any trouble though, although it is still warm and in a bottle so I wouldn’t imagine there’s much difference. He’s also doing better with drinking water – we couldn’t get him to use a sippy cup at all really, despite trying all sorts of different ones so he now uses a bottle with a silicone straw and is really good at drinking from it. We’re trying to make an effort to offer him a drink more often too, to make sure he is getting enough fluids throughout the day.

And I think that’s about it for this month. Toby’s such a little character these days and I can’t wait to see what developments will come next!

14 July , 201427 March , 2015 - Sarah 6 Comments

Living Arrows 28/52

It’s been a very busy weekend for us – Toby turned one on Friday and on Saturday all his grandparents came to visit for a BBQ party. I’ll be telling you all about that in another post but what with shopping, organising food, baking a cake and generally planning the weekend I’ve not had time for much blogging this week!

We’ve had a very mixed week sleep wise too so everyone has been feeling pretty tired. I think a combination of getting over last week’s cold and teething (possibly a first molar coming through!) has been disturbing Toby’s sleep; he’s been resisting naps and then waking in the night. On Wednesday night he was awake from half past two until nearly five o’clock! I can’t remember ever having a night like that before. There have been nights when he’s woken up a few times but he usually settles again fairly quickly after a cuddle and maybe some milk and medicine if he’s teething but on Wednesday night we tried everything and he was just wailing every time we tried to put him down. He then had two nights of sleeping straight through to eight o’clock but then last night he was awake for ages again. He refused to nap this afternoon and has already woken up once since he went to bed an hour and a half ago so I’m not feeling confident about a quiet night! You never know though, there never seems to be any logic to when he’ll sleep through or when he’ll wake. Fingers crossed for sleep though.

So to this week’s Living Arrows photo – this is Toby on his birthday having his first go on his new SmarTrike. Safe to say he likes it!

9 July , 201429 March , 2021 - Sarah 10 Comments

Weaning // Finding our own way

Toby is now almost one and it’s been just over six months since we first introduced him to solid food. Before we started weaning I’d read a couple of books ‘Weaning Made Easy‘ and ‘Baby-Led Weaning‘. Baby-led weaning made total sense to me – by bypassing purées and giving Toby the same things we ate, and letting him feed himself, he would be in control of what he ate and hopefully would develop a healthy appetite and relationship with food.

The reality, however, turned out a little differently…

In the very beginning Toby simply wasn’t interested in putting anything in his mouth. I know I could have left him to figure it out on his own but if I held something to his mouth then he would happily eat it so it seemed like it was more the putting it in his mouth himself than actually eating that was a problem. I wrote about this at the time in a guest post over on Redhead Babyled which you can read here.

Examining a rice cake at six months old

We carried on putting finger foods (veg sticks, toast, breadsticks etc) on Toby’s highchair tray as well as feeding him other bits and pieces off our plates and eventually he did figure out how to pick things up and eat them himself. We also carried on feeding him as well – either with a spoon or just by popping something in his mouth or holding it for him to take a bite.

I really wanted to embrace baby-led weaning and let Toby feed himself but there was one major stumbling block…

I just couldn’t handle the mess! I don’t know if this makes me a terrible person for letting my own feelings get in the way of something which perhaps would have been better for Toby but every meal was getting me so worked up that I couldn’t carry on. I tried loaded spoons a couple of times but so little food got into Toby’s mouth (and so much food got everywhere else) that I went back to feeding him things like porridge and yogurt myself.

Porridge face (before we gave up loaded spoons!) at seven months

If Toby is having something he can pick up himself without making too much mess (things like breadsticks, sandwiches, fruit and veg, dry cereal, chicken) then I put it on his tray and he feeds himself. He did go through a bit of a phase of just squashing anything we gave him but he seems to be getting over that now. Up until recently if I gave Toby more than one thing, or a big piece of something, he would just try and shove the lot in his mouth in one go – which led to our only proper, out of the highchair, choking incident when he shoved a massive broccoli floret in his mouth in one go (he was fine though!). However, in the last week or so I have been trying to get Toby used to choosing what he wants to eat so I put a few different things on his tray so he can choose what he wants and then I just keep adding more. He usually eats everything eventually but at least he is gaining some control over what he eats when. He’s got much better a picking something up, taking a bite out of it, eating that bite and then having some more. I am also trying to introduce taking things off a plate or out of a bowl, which is going OK as long as I keep a hold of the plate or bowl too!

Getting his own Shreddies out of the bowl at twelve months

I do still spoon feed Toby the messy things like yogurt or spaghetti bolognese and for the moment he seems quite happy to eat these things from a spoon. I am definitely not force feeding him – which is the criticism sometimes levelled at this method of feeding. If Toby doesn’t want something then he will let you know, and there’s no chance of getting him to open his mouth to eat it! We don’t do aeroplanes or play games. Mostly Toby will have his mouth wide open for the next spoonful before I’ve got back to the bowl and when he’s done that’s that.

I’ve read quite a lot of blog posts and articles about weaning and there seems to be a misconception from some proponents of baby-led weaning that if you aren’t following baby-led weaning methods to the letter then you must be spoon feeding your baby purées or mashed food and you are somehow doing something detrimental to your baby’s health and well-being. But that simply isn’t the case. We have found our own way with weaning. Toby eats almost exactly what we eat. He has his meals with us and we all have the same things on our plates. The only purées he has ever had are fruit purée in his porridge or Weetabix, or as a snack when we’re out somewhere. Feeding Toby the way we do means we have happily been able to take him to restaurants and cafés knowing he can share our meals and do so without me having a meltdown about the mess.

I’m sure in the next few months Toby will get even better at feeding himself. We’ll start using plates and cutlery more and I’m sure he’ll get the hang of those too. Weaning seems to be such an emotive subject at the moment but to be honest I don’t think it really matters how you choose to feed your child – as long as you are feeding them and they’re happy (and you’re happy) then I’m sure they’ll be just fine. By they time they’re five no-one is going to care whether they were spoon fed or put every morsel they ever ate in their mouth on their own. As with so many things in the last year, we found a way that works for us and I’m happy with that.

I’d love to hear about your weaning experiences, especially if you did a bit of a combination like us – I’m sure we’re not the only ones who have made it up as we went along!

8 July , 20142 August , 2017 - Sarah 3 Comments

Review: Plum Greek-style yogurt pouches

Toby generally eats whatever we eat but we do use fruit pouches at home and out and about, mostly because they are quick, easy and convenient. Plum have recently introduced some new fruit and Greek-style yogurt pouches and so when they asked if we’d like to try them I was keen to give them a go.