3 July , 2016 - Sarah 1 Comment

Gabriel is ten months old

Yep. That’s right. Gabe is ten months old. Another two months and he’ll be one. And actually because I’m so late writing this month’s update he’ll actually be one in just over six weeks!

When I wrote Gabe’s nine month update he had about 10 chicken pox spots and I was hoping he was going to get away with a mild dose but no such luck. A couple of days later and he was covered; they were all over his body, his bum, his face, his head, in his ears, eyes and mouth….it was horrible and he really suffered for the next week. Despite not scratching any of his spots he has ended up with a few scars on his body and one right between his eyes – hopefully it will fade a bit over time but I don’t see what else we could have done to avoid them.

And it just doesn’t get any better for my littlest bear – the week after he had recovered from his chicken pox he got another stomach bug. He was sick one evening then seemed OK overnight but was sick five times the next day. After he’d got over that he seemed to be really struggling with his reflux and then started teething again… It really is never ending! Despite all the illness we have still managed to get out and about a bit this month and Gabe seemed to enjoy having a go on the swing a few weeks ago.

Hopefully though there is some light at the end of what has been a very long tunnel. I can actually feel a tooth on one side and the other one doesn’t seem to be too far away. And last week we finally got to see a paediatrician at the hospital after being referred back in April. The doctor has prescribed Gabe some new medicine and so far it does seem to be helping so fingers crossed things are on the up at last and we can all start getting a bit more sleep soon! At the moment Gabe is still up at least once or twice a night (and often more) and is usually awake and wanting to get up at some time between 4:30 and 5 am. Most nights he ends up in bed with me in the early hours too. I wouldn’t say I was an enthusiastic co-sleeper but I just do whatever I can to get as much sleep as possible at this point.

In spite of all the illness Gabe has made some big developmental leaps in the last month. He is super speedy at crawling now, making it very difficult to get this month’s milestone card picture!

He has learnt to pull himself up to standing which he is incredibly pleased with himself about. He’s started cruising along the furniture too. It does mean we have to be in a state of constant vigilance though as he is still a bit unstable and hasn’t quite worked out how to sit back down properly yet either so he always seems to be seconds away from causing himself an injury!

Our progress with weaning has been slow this month as being ill and teething has affected Gabe’s appetite quite a lot and I think because of that he has’t really grown or put on much weight in the last month either. His co-ordination is improving all the time though and he is getting much better at feeding himself finger foods, although he is still mostly spoon-fed. I’m hoping we can get him more used to lumpier food over the next couple of months and he can eat the same as the rest of the family. He usually has three bottles of milk during the day now, but also has at least one or two during the night as well. I’m hoping that getting his reflux under control will help us stop the night feeds too.

Gabe has also started making much more distinguishable sounds now too. He says hiya and although we’ve not quite got Dada yet he does say ‘a-da’ instead. It’s very cute.

I think that’s probably about it for this month’s update. When it comes time to write Gabe’s eleven month update we will be mid house move and he’ll have to deal with lots of disruption to his normal routine. We’ll be leaving the house he was born in which is a little bit sad but hopefully by this time next month we will be getting settled into our forever home. And please, everybody, send all your wellness vibes this way because I would love Gabe to have a month where he isn’t ill at all.

3 July , 20166 August , 2017 - Sarah 8 Comments

Review: toTs by SmarTrike Voyage changing bag

Before Toby was born I bought the changing bag that matched our travel system. It was fab and has seen great service over the last three years, but with two kids in cloth nappies and all the other paraphernalia that they need it was becoming a bit of a squash trying to fit everything in. I’d been browsing changing bags for ages but couldn’t find one that ticked all the boxes. I was then asked if I would like to try one of the new changing bags from the toTs range by smarTrike and the Voyage changing bag looked like it would be perfect for everything we needed.

For a start, this bag is massive! I mean seriously huge. I can easily fit cloth nappies and wipes for both boys, a spare outfit each, snacks, drinks, plus all the other random bits and pieces that seem to live in my changing bag; suncream, calpol, tissues, odd gloves (yep, still in there in the middle of summer).

There are plenty of pockets inside the bag to give it a bit of organisation and I used the pocket on the front for my phone and purse. All the toTs changing bags come with a separate insulated bottle holder which has been great for keeping Gabe’s bottle warm when we go out.

I really like that both the side pockets are also insulated and big enough for Toby’s water bottle when we’re out and about.

The Voyage also comes with an extra inner bag which can be removed or clipped in to the main bag. I think if you were using disposable nappies it would be perfect for popping a few nappies and wipes in so you only needed to take the smaller bag when doing a change. For us it’s not quite big enough to work with cloth nappies but happily it is absolutely the perfect size for my laptop so I’ve been using it for that instead!

It doesn’t stop there though – this bag is packed with fantastic features. I love how it can be carried over your shoulder but also has rucksack straps which can be hidden in the back of the bag when you aren’t using them. When I’m trying to hold Gabe in one arm, and Toby’s hand with the other, the rucksack straps have been brilliant. And it’s great for babywearing too…

The bag also comes with buggy straps to hang it from your buggy handle, although I seemed to have packed ours somewhere when I was tidying the house for estate agent pictures and now I can’t find them – luckily our pushchair has a huge basket so the bag will fit in there! There are little things too; a key clip in the front pocket for example. I’ve never bothered using these before but it’s actually brilliant and saves me rooting around in the bottom of the bag for my car keys every time we’re out.

There is also the fact that the bag is made from water repellent fabric – great for when you get caught in a shower but also means it’s wipe clean too.

And lastly I love the fact that this bag doesn’t really look like a changing bag. I even used it as an overnight bag when I went to Blog On last month and it had plenty of space for everything I needed for two nights away. I can see me getting plenty of use out of the toTs Voyage bag even when I don’t need a changing bag anymore.

The only thing that lets this bag down for me is the changing mat that was included – it was just a very small plastic mat. Looking at the pictures on the Smyths Toys website though it does look this has been updated since I got my bag and is now backed with the same fabric as the bag.

If you don’t need a changing bag quite as big as this one then there are two others in the toTs range too which all have the same great features. There is also bedding, muslins and gorgeous comforters in the range too. Gabe loves his and it’s so soft!

The toTs by smarTrike Voyage changing bag in Dark Grey Mélange has an RRP of £74.99
**Disclosure: I was sent the featured product in return for this review. All opinions are my own.

**This post contains affiliate links

29 June , 2016 - Sarah 2 Comments

Living Arrows 26/52 (2016)

I can’t believe we are half way through the year already! I’m late again with my Living Arrows post this week – must try harder!

At the weekend I was down in London for #BML16 and I had a brilliant time. Barry, it would be fair to say, didn’t enjoy my time away so much as Gabe went into full on teething monster mode on Sunday. His teeth still aren’t through but he’s calmed down a bit now at least. He just wants to be constantly on the move at the moment. I was trying to take a few pictures of him the other day but he just kept crawling right up to the camera. I love this shot I managed to get though… (you can see one of his chicken pox scars right in the middle of his forehead – poor bear!)

Toby, by all accounts, was an absolute superstar while I was away. He can be a bit of a pain sometimes when I’m around and is always whining for me to do everything for him. ‘No, mummy do it’ is a very familiar refrain in our house, but he was really good and didn’t complain about only having daddy for the weekend at all.

He was certainly pleased with some of the treats that came home in my goody bag anyway! Here he is ready for bed with his flower garland and Mim Mim toy – and of course his outfit wouldn’t be complete without his four muslins and his sunglasses!

22 June , 201621 June , 2016 - Sarah Leave a comment

Feeding to weaning // A plan for #stresslessweaning

I remember when I was weaning Toby and I didn’t really know what I was doing! I read a few different books but there seemed to be a lot of conflicting advice. With Toby, and with Gabe we waited until they were six months before starting weaning and then combined traditional spoon feeding and babyled weaning. Despite his face in this picture Gabe was actually enjoying this porridge!

To be honest we have pretty much made it up as we’ve gone along and I just followed my instinct and let the boys guide us too. All babies are different of course and what works for one might not be right for another but I know I would have appreciated a brief guide to weaning that I could refer to without having to read tons and tons of stuff to get the information I needed.

As part of their #stresslessweaning programme Babymoov have teamed up with nutritionist Julia Wolman who has provided this feeding to weaning plan for me to share with you.

Age

Starting solids

Milk feeds

First foods – around 6 months or 26 weeks (no earlier than 17 weeks)

Start with 1-2 spoons of smooth puree or mash, or tastes of finger food, once a day. This can be approx an hour after a milk feed if in the morning, or in the middle of a milk feed if mid-morning or afternoon.

Once baby is happy with first tastes increase to 6-12 spoons, or more finger foods, once a day.

When this first “meal” is going well, progress to twice a day.

All milk feeds should continue as normal during first stages of weaning.

At least 4 breastfeeds or formula feeds are usually required per 24 hours.

“Stage 2”

6-9 months

Continue as above with 2 meals, moving to 3 meals a day by around 7 months.

Once baby is having 3 meals per day, offer dessert at lunch and supper.

Progress to thicker mashes and then soft lumps, and offer spoon fed babies soft finger foods at every meal.

Increase variety of foods* offered so that baby’s diet includes meat, chicken, fish, pulses, eggs, bread, pasta, dairy

[*unless otherwise advised by clinician]

Once baby is having 3 meals per day, gradually drop ONE milk feed. Usually this is the mid-morning feed.

At least 3 milk feeds are usually required per 24 hours.

Night feeding (i.e. after 7pm) should stop now.

“Stage 3”

9-12 months

Continue with 3 meals per day, plus healthy snacks if baby wants (and if it fits in with naps!)

NB. There are no set portion sizes so be guided by your baby. Start with small amounts and offer more if baby wants it.

Gradually drop another milk feed – usually this is the afternoon milk.

By 12 months babies should be having just early morning and bedtime milk, i.e. 2 feeds per day.

Of course we all know that babies don’t always like to stick to a plan (I know Gabe hasn’t got the memo about night feeds ending between six and nine months!) but hopefully this will give you an idea of where to start.

If you have any questions about weaning, or perhaps about when you should be thinking about dropping milk feeds then please do pop them in the comments and I’ll pass them onto Julia.

21 June , 2016 - Sarah 4 Comments

Living Arrows 25/52 (2016)

It’s been a busy week of house moving stress and you’d think for once the universe would give us a break…but no.

I don’t think Gabe is actually ill this week but he’s possible teething again and we’ve had a weekend of hourly wake ups through the night and then getting up for the day before 5 am. I seriously hope he improves before I go away to Britmums Live next weekend or poor Barry is really going to suffer! Toby has stopped waking up crying for me in the night at least – I have no idea what that was about but I’m glad it’s stopped.

The one bonus of this week is that both both boys have been having some extra time at nursery so I can get house moving admin done and I can’t lie, it’s been bliss to have a few hours peace and quiet!

Gabe is all about the standing up nowadays, the trouble is he’s not worked out how to sit back down again yet (safely at least) so after standing for a while he just starts shouting until someone comes to rescue him…and then immediately just pulls himself up again! He was very proud of himself for standing up under the table the other day though.

Toby is at such a brilliant age at the moment – he’s really starting to get into imaginative play and he’s finally embraced the super hero cape and mask I got him for Christmas (which he refused to wear at the time). He loves to put it on and zoom around the house shouting ‘Super T – to the rescue’! This picture isn’t quite in focus but I love it anyway…

21 June , 201626 March , 2021 - Sarah 2 Comments

I’m going to #BML16 with Ardo Breastpumps

You may have noticed me mention that I went away at the beginning of May to Blog On, a blogging conference in Manchester. I had a great time, mostly catching up with friends, as well as attending a few of the sessions too.

Well next weekend I’m heading to London for another blogging conference; Britmums Live (or #BML16 as it has been rebranded this year). I went to Britmums in 2014 and I really enjoyed it. At that point I’d only been blogging at Toby Goes Bananas for about 8 months and I was a bit overwhelmed by the whole experience. This time I’m older and wiser (ahem!) and I’m looking forward to meeting up with some old friends, and meeting some in person for the first time too.

This year I have been lucky enough to be sponsored to attend #BML16 by Ardo breastpumps. I reviewed an Ardo double electric pump when Gabe was first born and it was fab. It definitely helped me keep breastfeeding for longer. Although I’m no longer breastfeeding I still believe that Ardo have some great products, and their website also has lots of brilliant information and advice for breastfeeding mums.

Anyway, I thought I should probably join in the #BML16 linky and introduce myself.

- My name: Sarah
- My blog: Toby Goes Bananas
- Find me on social media at: @tobygoesbananas, facebook.com/tobygoesbananas and instagram.com/tobygoesbananas
- How I look: Like this….

Is this my first blogging event? No, I went to Britmums Live in 2014 and Blog On MOSI last month.
I will be wearing…something comfy! Jeans probably, and a top that is clean and not covered in baby snot hopefully!
What I hope to gain from #BML16: A chance to catch up with friends and to be inspired to keep on blogging even when I feel like I just don’t have enough hours in the day.
My tips for a great conference: Choose your sessions wisely, and remember you don’t have to go to them all – spending time in the brand hub and chatting to other bloggers is just as worthwhile. Oh and stay to the end if you can!

If you see me next weekend please do come and say hi. And please accept my apologies in advance if I don’t know your name – I am rubbish at matching bloggers to their blogs!

15 June , 201614 June , 2016 - Sarah 5 Comments

Siblings // Toby and Gabe in June

This is going to be a very short post this month. If I’m really honest, with the chicken pox and everything else we’ve been dealing with in the month since my last Siblings project post there hasn’t been a huge amount of sibling love going on in our house. It’s been more about sibling competition for mummy’s attention and I think a bit of jealousy creeping in from Toby because I’ve had to spend so much time looking after poorly Gabe.

I haven’t even got any proper (well, posed) photos of Toby and Gabe together this month but I didn’t want to miss a post, and I thought this was a chance to record what my boys’ sibling relationship is really like at the moment.

Don’t get me wrong, there have been some moments of affection. Like in this picture when Toby was trying to help Gabe get out from under the chair (I think!) even though he was perfectly capable of doing it by himself.

Toby is quite tolerant of Gabe for the most part – even when he insists on grabbing Toby’s hair….still! I’m really hoping he’s going to grow out of this grabby phase soon.

And Gabe just wants to be wherever Toby is, doing whatever he’s doing, which of course isn’t always possible at the moment. Yesterday, Toby even resorted to shutting himself in Gabe’s playpen so he could get away from him. Actually, maybe I should try that one more often….

14 June , 201625 September , 2018 - Sarah 5 Comments

Review: Rockin’ Baby Pouch

I first started babywearing when Toby was tiny and his reflux was so bad that he hated being put down. I had a stretchy wrap and would often carry him around the house when he was struggling to settle. When he got too big for the wrap we got a buckle, or soft-structured, carrier and used it a lot on days out and walks when the buggy wasn’t practical. When Gabe was born I used the stretchy wrap again but I found it quite a faff to put on, particularly if I was trying to wrangle Toby at the same time. I used the buckle carrier with Gabe, and still do use it a lot, but I wanted something I could get him into really quickly and easily – particularly for those times I was just popping in the shop, or needed to carry him but have my hands free for Toby too….

Enter the Rockin’ Baby Pouch! You may remember the boys had some clothes from Rockin’ Baby a while ago, well we were also sent a Rockin’ Baby Pouch to try at the same time. The pouch is a sling type carrier, it is suitable from birth to 18 kg and there are four different carrying positions. The sling is adjustable using a series of zips on the back which are then hidden by a protective cover. The edge which goes under your baby’s legs is padded to be more comfortable for them.

The sling is also reversible – ours has a lovely blue and white floral pattern on one side and the other side is plain black. It is handmade in the USA from 100% cotton. And here’s the best bit – for every sling they sell Rockin’ Baby will donate one to a mother in Kenya or Haiti, and educate her on the importance it holds in her baby’s life.

So how did we find the pouch? I have to admit on the first use I found it a bit tricky to get the fit right. Because you have to adjust the pouch to the right size using the zips before you put it on, if it’s not right once you put the baby in you have to take him out again, change the zips, put the baby back in…and repeat until you get it right. I had to have a couple of goes before I got the right combination of zips and Gabe was getting a bit fed up with me by the end!

However, you only really need to do this once, unless someone else is going to be using the sling. And even then, as long as you remember which zip setting you used it’s quick to change it again. So once you’ve got the right setting it’s quick to pop the Rockin’ Baby pouch over your shoulder and chuck the baby in. [I promise no babies were actually chucked anywhere for the purposes of this review].

I found the Rockin’ Baby pouch reasonably comfortable for short periods and the lack of adjustment means it’s great for those times when you’re just popping into a shop and don’t want to faff about with the buggy, or for me, when I’m dropping Toby off at nursery and having both hands free makes it a lot easier. I’ve also used the pouch at home when Gabe has been in a particularly clingy mood and I’ve needed to get Toby’s lunch ready or something.

However, the same features which make it great for short periods and quick up and downs, also meant that I didn’t find the Rockin’ Baby pouch particularly comfortable when wearing it for extended periods and I don’t think Gabe does either. I did use it when we visited a local farm and Gabe was in the pouch for about half an hour but I think that would be about our limit.

I think most people who babywear regularly have different slings for different jobs though anyway – for a long day out I would always go for my buckle carrier, but for those times when you just need your hands free for fifteen minutes then a pouch or ring sling is a great option.

And it’s so easy to use that even Daddy managed it!

**Disclosure: I was sent the featured products in return for this review. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

13 June , 2016 - Sarah 4 Comments

Living Arrows 24/52 (2016)

I think you people are going to start thinking I’m making things up but Gabe was ill again this week! This time it was a stomach bug (I think) – he had a bit of a temperature so I was giving him some Nurofen after his tea, he choked on it and threw up all over himself. The night was OK and I thought that was the end of it but the next day he was sick five more times! He was very sleepy and snuggly all day too which isn’t really like him either. Anyway, by bedtime he wouldn’t go to sleep without a bottle so we risked it. He kept it down, and the ones overnight and by the next day he seemed fully recovered. So I don’t now what it was but at least it was over quickly and he’s actually been pretty cheery since then.

Barry was away this weekend, visiting friends down in Manchester so I had both boys by myself overnight for the first time. It actually didn’t go to badly apart from that by Sunday afternoon I was going a bit insane after being constantly climbed on and sat on for pretty much 48 hours solid!

On Saturday we went out to a cafe for a bit of a break (and so I could get Gabe to have a car nap). This cafe has a little play area with some toys and colouring things. There were a few other kids playing too and for once Toby didn’t do too badly with sharing – there’s this big dragon toy which is basically the only thing most of the kids want to play with but Toby did well to let another little boy have a turn without too much of a fuss. I may have distracted him with chocolate cake, but whatever works right?

Gabe was reasonably well behaved too – although I did have to take him out of the highchair after a few minutes has he was rivalling Houdini with his bid to escape! He enjoyed playing with this bead toy for a bit though. He is actually starting to play with toys now and so it’s getting a bit easier to distract him, for a few minutes at least…

10 June , 201618 January , 2017 - Sarah Leave a comment

Novotel Super Heroes Day

This weekend we were invited to Novotel Edinburgh Park for their Super Heroes Day. In addition to the Super Heroes activities on offer we were also given a chance to have lunch in the hotel lounge, and try out the swimming pool too.

Novotel Edinburgh Park is in a really convenient location if you are visiting Edinburgh but don’t want to stay in the city centre. It is right on the ring road, and next to a train station and tram stop so there are plenty of options for getting into the city or to the airport. There’s also lots of free parking at the hotel so you don’t have to worry about driving into the city centre and finding somewhere to park.

When we arrived at the Novotel we were shown to a quiet area of the bar where we could have lunch. A staff member brought us a high chair for Gabe and Toby enjoyed sitting up on the bench seats.

For lunch I ordered a chicken Caesar salad and Barry had a barbecue pulled chicken sandwich.

For Toby we ordered from the kids’ menu which was a very reasonable £4.95 for three courses and a drink.

He had a melon and fruit stack as a starter, and then chicken fingers and chips. I’d taken food with us for Gabe but he did have a bit of Toby’s melon and then chicken too.

My Caesar salad was very tasty, and very big! There must have been two full chicken breasts in there!

Barry enjoyed his pulled chicken sandwich too, which he had with a side of chips.

Toby enjoyed his lunch too, although he did struggle a little bit with full size plates and cutlery.

Seeing as Toby’s meal came with a dessert we thought we might as well join him, well he wouldn’t want to eat dessert all by himself! Toby and I both had a chocolate brownie, his came with vanilla ice cream and mine with salted caramel ice cream.

Barry had treacle tart with clotted cream. All our desserts were delicious, in fact my only slight complaint is that they took rather a long time to arrive.

Our whole lunch was lovely and the staff were very attentive and they were the same with everyone from what I saw so I don’t think we were getting any special treatment. I didn’t see any other children in the bar area while we were eating but there was plenty of space and nobody seemed to mind the boys exploring a bit while we were waiting for the desserts.

After lunch Toby and I took advantage of the hotel’s leisure facilities and went for a swim whilst Barry took Gabe for a push in the buggy so he could have a nap. Downstairs from the reception there is a small gym and a swimming pool.

The pool was lovely and warm and we had it almost to ourselves. Toby has been swimming a few times recently and he’s really starting to enjoy it – I must get him booked in for lessons after we move.

We didn’t have too long for swimming as we were booked in for the Novotel Super Heroes Day at 3 pm. This was a free event with activities aimed at children aged 5-11 so although Toby was a bit young he was able to join in with most things with a bit of help! When we arrived Toby was given an activity booklet with stickers to collect from each of the five areas; Cookery Conquerors, Eco Warriors, Healthy Heroes, Chill Out Champions and Craft Captains. There were members of staff dressed in capes and masks in each area to help with the different activities.

I think Toby’s favourites were probably choosing the right foods to help different parts of the body in the Healthy Heroes area and sorting rubbish for recycling in the Eco Warriors game.

And Gabe enjoyed the Chill Out Champions area with daddy…

Once he had collected all his stickers Toby posed with one of the Novotel Super Heroes – he decided he was going to be a bit shy about it though…

When it was time to leave Toby got a goody bag and a balloon to take with him. He had a fun afternoon of swimming and activities and was pretty tired on the drive home.

The Novotel Super Heroes Day takes place at 33 Novotel hotels throughout the UK and although most of the events have already taken place this year I would definitely keep a look out for next year’s Super Heroes Day if you have a Novotel near you. From what we saw of the hotel it definitely seemed to be very family friendly and I’d certainly consider booking a Novotel if I was looking for somewhere for a family break.

And I’ll just leave you with this – my favourite photo from the day…

**We were provided with lunch and access to the leisure facilities at Novotel Edinburgh Park free of charge in exchange for this review. As always, all opinions are my own.

Toby Goes Bananas

A family lifestyle blog

Author: Sarah