3 October , 201621 December , 2017 - Sarah 1 Comment

A Family Portrait (September 2016)

Another month gone and this one has really flown. It only seems two minutes since we were taking our August Me & Mine photos on the garden bench.

This month has been a quiet one. We haven’t really been up to much at all. Still just settling into our new routine. Gabe started the month with hand, foot and mouth disease and has ended it with four molars all coming through at the same time. But in between he has learnt to feed himself with a spoon and fork, he’s learnt to climb the stairs (at lightening speed, almost giving me a heart attack when I couldn’t see him and realised he’d made it up two flights of stairs without me noticing!). He’s also turned the TV off approximately 723 times and it’s driving me insane! Oh and yesterday he let go while standing up for a couple of seconds and didn’t fall over – I wonder if he’ll be walking by our next monthly update?

Toby has been getting used to nursery this month and has now moved into the pre-school room. We have made some progress with potty training too (full post coming soon!) but I think there’s still a way to go before he really gets it. Apart from that he is still just a little sponge, absorbing every word and fact that comes his way. A few weeks ago we were visiting Barry’s mum in hospital and there is a helipad outside. From out of nowhere Toby just said ‘oh look, a windsock!’ I mean where does he learn this stuff? (TV mostly – see, CBeebies is educational!)

I’ve signed up with a couple more supply agencies this month but still not actually got any work. To be honest I don’t know if I could cope with it at the moment with Gabe still waking up several times a night. And I have no idea how I would get both boys up, dressed and to nursery on time if I was going to work! I’ve been attempting to keep on top of blogging this month, and I was definitely inspired when I went to Blog On last weekend. Hopefully Gabe’s sleep will improve a bit soon and I might actually get some time in the evenings to get my laptop out. And while I’m not working I really need to make the most of my two days when the boys are at nursery.

And lastly, this month Barry has mostly been driving. He’s been encountering some awful traffic on his commute and spending four hours in the car some days. Add on to that a two day trip to Germany which involved getting home at twenty to one in the morning only to have to get up at half five to go back to work again and safe to say he’s looking forward to finally starting his two days a week working from home soon!

We didn’t actually manage to get a family picture in September but we went out for a walk up a local hill yesterday and I thought it would be the perfect place to get a picture. However, it was really busy at the top, there was nowhere to put the camera and we hadn’t taken the tripod despite Barry asking me three times if I wanted to take it. So I thought, never mind, we’ll make do with a phone selfie. But the boys had other ideas…

me-mine-september-2016

So that will have to do for this month. I think it’s pretty representative of our lives at the moment anyway!

Hopefully we’ll manage a better picture next month. In October we are looking forward to getting our new kitchen/diner, it’s all ordered so we just need to wait for the work to be done now. I’m so excited about what it’s going to look like! We will also be starting to look at primary schools for Toby – I can’t believe he’ll be starting school next year, he only turned three a couple of months ago!

Until next month then…

29 September , 201627 September , 2016 - Sarah 1 Comment

My Wild Ones // Climbing rocks and a whooshing stick

I’ve got a bit of a backlog of photographs and things to write about at the moment so please forgive my posting about something that we did two months ago.

When we were waiting to get the keys to our new house we went to meet Barry’s parents in Arnside, a village on the estuary of the river Kent, at the north east of Morcambe Bay. The estuary has a tidal bore which we were lucky enough to see just after we arrived.

beware-of-the-tide-in-arnside

After a lovely lunch in the Old Bakehouse cafe we had a little stroll along the water.

toby-with-his-dad-and-grandparents-looking-back-towards-arnside

Gabe was quite happy in the buggy as we walked along.

gabe-had-fun-from-the-buggy-on-our-walk

Looking out across the water you can see Grange over Sands where Barry’s parents live.

looking-over-the-bay-to-nana-and-grandads-house

As we walked along of course Toby found himself a stick. Apparently it was his ‘whooshing stick’.

toby-found-his-whooshing-stick

He had lots of fun climbing up the rocks with his Grandad.

toby-doing-some-rock-climbing-with-his-grandad

He’s quite the adventurer…

toby-is-super-happy-on-the-rocks-with-his-stick

At one point the water was coming right up over the path, I’m glad the tide didn’t get any higher or we would have been stuck!

watch-out-for-the-rising-tide-coming-up-over-the-path

Apparently the whooshing stick was good for drawing in the sand too.

a-stick-becomes-a-pen-for-drawing-in-the-sand-with-nana

Gabe enjoyed the view too.

gabe-enjoying-the-view-towards-grange-over-sands

And then as we were heading back to the car, the inevitable happened…

the-inevitable-breaking-of-the-whooshing-stick

We had a lovely day out though. It’s a beautiful part of the world and I’m sure we’ll go back again sometime.

27 September , 2016 - Sarah 4 Comments

Living Arrows 39/52 (2016)

I’m sure I only wrote last week’s Living Arrows post two minutes ago, time seems to be speeding by at the moment! We’ve still not being up to much, just settling into our new routine.

Gabe was still recovering from his immunisations last week and had a bit of a temperature on Wednesday. He’s got all four of his first molars coming at the moment too – two of them have cut and the other two are on the way. He’s coping pretty well, just not sleeping very well (not that he ever does!).

My parents are both involved in Scouts and at the weekend my dad was camping with his group just round the corner from our house. I took the boys along for the afternoon on Saturday – Toby had a brilliant time just running around the field and joining in some of the activities. I had Gabe in the carrier and even though he was a bit grumpy and tired he still managed to charm everyone with a few cheeky smiles.

Gabe giving a cheeky smile at scout camp

It’s been quite a big week for Toby really – he went to his first ever birthday party, and wasn’t really a fan. To be fair, the entertainer was really, really loud and I probably would have been scared if I was three too! On the plus side though, I got chatting to one of the nursery mums and we’ve arranged to meet up in a couple of weeks so that’s good. We’ve also been making some progress on the potty training front with Toby too. We’re not there yet but yesterday he had three wees in the potty which he has never done before so we’re calling that a win!

I was messing about with my camera and a peek-through book the other day and took this picture of Toby…I quite like it. He’s getting much harder to photograph these days though – he has to be in the right mood to cooperate!

Toby through the peek-through hole of a book about space

21 September , 2016 - Sarah 5 Comments

Living Arrows 38/52 (2016)

A bit late this week… Gabe had his one year immunisations on Friday, and he’s getting two molars – he’s coping pretty well though apart from a lot of disturbed nights (for both of us). We met my friend Claire at soft play on Monday though and he seemed to be having plenty of fun. I love these sheep dungarees too – I’ll be sad when they don’t fit anymore.

And Toby this week? Well Toby had a massive chocolate ice cream!

17 September , 2016 - Sarah 1 Comment

A modern makeover for your child’s bedroom

*This is a collaborative post

I know everyone with children says it, but kids really do grow up so quickly and my two are no exception. No sooner is the nursery decorated and prepared for the arrival of a new born, than it is time to redecorate to accommodate the growing child who sees the nursery décor as just too babyish. In an ideal world, you will probably get a good few years out of the nursery decor, but as your child grows and establishes his or her own preferences (Bing bunny anyone?), it becomes apparent that the cute border and cot bed are no longer up to your child’s impeccable standards! As we have just moved house and the boys have started sharing a room it meant we left Toby’s old nursery behind and had to decorate a new room for them both. If you want to ensure you aren’t continuously redecorating it is a good idea to choose a modern theme that will also see your child into the forthcoming years. As we have just faced the same dilemma ourselves, I thought I’d share a little of my research with you – I hope it helps!

A Bed that dreams are made of

Kids change their minds on a whim and although they may have once insisted they will love their themed bed forever, you can be certain that they won’t. Instead of going for fads, invest in a durable bed which will stand the test of time and entertain their whims with themed duvet covers instead. Toby is currently in a full size single bed but I think a three quarter sized metal bed is a great idea for older kids as it will see them through until their teen years, and all you will have to do is change the mattress every few years. Small doubles (also known as three quarter size beds) are a great way to make your child feel a little more grown up and don’t take up as much room as a full-sized double. I’ve taken quite a fancy to the Bedstar range of small double beds as they are well within our price range and are really quite stylish.

Storage is a must!

The one mistake parents often make when buying furniture for their child’s bedroom is to think in miniature: small wardrobes, tiny desks, and incy wincy bookshelves. These may look great for a while, but are completely impractical for a growing child. Buy a full sized wardrobe that will fit their increasing clothes collection and install bookshelves that won’t look childish in years to come. We’ve actually just bought a new triple wardrobe (which is currently in our bedroom) for all the boys clothes. Storage will encourage your child to put things away which will make any parent happy! After all, you can’t complain about a messy room if they have nowhere to put all their stuff, can you?

Keep them involved

Giving your child a say in their newly styled bedroom will make them more willing to take care of it, so let them know early on what they can select for their room. Pictures, bedding and accessories such as bean bags and cushions are easily changed so allow them to choose items such as these which reflect their own personal tastes. Letting your child make decisions like these can also make the process a lot more enjoyable too, and not just for your child, but for you too, so be prepared to compromise – just a little! Toby isn’t really old enough to have much of an opinion yet but we did let him decide whether to stick with the space theme from our old house or choose something new. He stuck with space and I’ll be sharing a full room tour as soon as we’ve managed to get the shelves up and add the last few finishing touches.

15 September , 2016 - Sarah 5 Comments

Siblings // Toby and Gabe in September

I haven’t got much new to add in this month’s Siblings Project post. Toby is tolerating Gabe slightly more, and Gabe still wants to do everything his big brother is doing.

We are still having odd moments when they actually manage to play together but more often than not Toby just gets annoyed when Gabe crawls all over whatever he is trying to play with, or tries to eat the pieces of whatever toy he has. I know it will only get better as they both get a bit older but for now, playing referee is driving me a bit bonkers!

I haven’t managed to get many pictures of my boys together this month but here’s a few that I did capture…

Looking out over the balcony together – Gabe is getting so big now but I think it will be a while yet before he catches Toby up!

Toby ‘helping’ Gabe play with some of his birthday presents.

Toby pushing his brother on the swing – I had to intervene when he got a bit over enthusiastic though!

And that’s it for this month. I’m hoping next month I might be able to write even more about how Toby and Gabe are playing together. I really think it will help when Gabe starts walking, although then Toby will have even less chance of being left alone…

12 September , 201611 September , 2016 - Sarah 8 Comments

Living Arrows 37/52 (2016)

You can tell it hasn’t been a great week when I haven’t posted anything since last week’s Living Arrows. Gabe’s sleep has been rubbish (even more rubbish than usual) thanks to his hand, foot and mouth, and I think possibly teeth as well. He’s gone right off his milk as well, and hasn’t been eating very well either so then he’s been even more grumpy because he’s hungry. Add to that we haven’t really been able to go anywhere because of him being contagious…

Toby has been pretty good this week though, despite being stuck in the house for a few days. We think he might have a very mild case of hand, foot and mouth too – he had one spot on his tongue for a day, and a very slight temperature but otherwise seems OK. Fingers crossed that’s it for him.

This week’s photos are more living room shots – we’ve not really been anywhere to take any others. I usually only do one picture of each boy for Living Arrows but this week I just couldn’t choose so they’ve got two each.

This first one is Gabe looking very serious. He’s not always grumpy but he’s definitely not as smiley a baby as Toby was.

And this is his other new face… I’m not sure if it’s a smile or a growl but it’s cute either way!

I usually share very smiley pictures of Toby so I’m going for something slightly different this week. Our new house has a balcony but it needs replacing and at the moment isn’t really safe to go out on. We’ve moved the play pen in front of the door now though so at least we can have the door open and let a bit of air in without anyone escaping! Toby was enjoying looking out over the fields with his big bunny this week.

And this last one is another close up but I just liked his expression…

7 September , 2016 - Sarah 3 Comments

Living Arrows 36/52 (2016)

If you read last week’s post you’ll know that Gabe had been ill with a cough which ended up causing a reflux flare. We then had a couple of days where he seemed OK followed by a few rubbish nights which I put down to teething. Then I was just about to leave him at nursery yesterday when the girls noticed he had some spots on his hands…yep, he’s only gone and got hand, foot and mouth disease! Seriously, this boy cannot catch a break. He’s actually coping with it surprisingly well so I’m just hoping he gets over it quickly and that the rest of us don’t catch it too.

This photo was taken last week before the latest illness struck. We found a new park to go to with plenty of things for Toby to do, and some swings for Gabe too. Just look at his little face…

Things are much the same with Toby. He’s doing well to sleep through all Gabe’s wakings, he’s still whinging and whining a lot of the time, but he’s also a big lovely cheeky chops.

31 August , 201621 December , 2017 - Sarah 4 Comments

Me & Mine // A Family Portrait (August 2016)

I normally start these monthly Me & Mine posts by saying how quickly the month has gone but actually this month it seems an absolute age since I published July’s post. Since then we have actually moved into our new house and spent a month unpacking boxes and trying to find a place for everything to go. We’re still not quite finished but we’re getting there and there’s only really one room of chaos left!

In other firsts this month, it was Gabe’s first birthday a couple of weeks ago – so we’ve made it through our first full year as a family of four. And look how different we were a year ago!

Although we didn’t really do anything to celebrate Gabe’s birthday (not even a cake – bad mummy!) he seemed to enjoy opening his presents and we are hoping to have some sort of house warming/ birthday party sometime in September.

Toby and Gabe have both started going to their new nursery this month too. They go two days a week, which is supposedly to give me time to do house stuff and perhaps even a bit of blogging. I have managed to do quite a lot of organising in the house, the blogging not so much! And today I even signed up with a supply agency so hopefully I might be heading back to the classroom fairly soon. I wanted to get the boys settled in nursery before the start of the school year so that if some work does come up they are already settled in and it isn’t all a last minute rush. They are both doing really well, and the staff seem great so I’m very pleased with how it’s all gone.

Barry started his new (old) job this month too so is currently commuting to Manchester every day. It means some long days for him – he leaves the house at 6 am but is usually back not longer after 5 pm so most days we are managing to eat together and put the boys to bed. I know it’s really hard for him though, because he only really sees the boys for that couple of hours before bed when they’re tired and grumpy. He will eventually be working from home two days a week though so hopefully things will get a bit easier then.

I think that’s probably about it for this month. We’ve just been busy getting to know the local area, realising walking to the park and back is just that bit too far for Toby and I will end up having to carry him, and generally just trying to get ourselves into a new routine.

I mentioned last month that I wanted to take this month’s Me & Mine posts on the bench in our garden and my plan is that every August we will take a family picture in the same place so we can compare how things change from year to year.

We took 194 pictures while we were sat here (Toby did have control of the remote for some of the time which might explain it) and luckily, amongst them all we did get one nice one where everyone is almost smiling and looking vaguely in the direction of the camera!

We also got these lovely ones of Toby pulling faces…

And this one of me tickling the boys, which I actually love…

Until next month then…

31 August , 201631 August , 2016 - Sarah Leave a comment

What is colic in babies?

*This is a collaborative post

According to the NHS website ‘colic is the name for excessive, frequent crying in a baby who appears to be otherwise healthy. It’s a common problem that affects up to one in five babies.’ This crying usually happens in the evening and can go on for several hours at a time. There are some other indicators that your baby may be suffering from colic; baby draws knees up to his chest, baby has a swollen stomach, baby passes wind more than usual. If your baby has some or all of these symptoms then it is likely that they are suffering with colic.

It isn’t really know what causes colic – it may be trapped wind, indigestion or some other discomfort but the truth is that no one really knows. As long as your baby is gaining weight, feeding normally and seems otherwise well then colic is usually nothing to worry about. Most babies will grow out of colic when they are between four and six months old.

However, there may be other causes for excessive crying in babies. I have had two babies with reflux and I know that in the past reflux was often dismissed as colic when in fact it is something which can be treated with medication if necessary. Things like allergies and intolerance can also present with similar symptoms. If you are at all worried you should always speak to your GP or health visitor.

So having said that colic isn’t usually something to worry about it doesn’t make it any easier to live with. I know how heart breaking, and exhausting it can be to deal with a baby that won’t stop crying for hours on end. I have been there so many times…rocking, pacing, singing, pushing, shushing…doing everything I can think of to try and get my babies to stop crying.

There are a few things you can try though to try and ease the symptoms of colic;

try to make sure you are winding your baby thoroughly after every feed.
an over the counter remedy such as Infacol may help to release trapped wind.
carrying your baby in a sling can really help to calm them – being upright against the warmth of your body can be very comforting. I can remember spending hours with Toby in a stretchy wrap walking up and down the living room to get him to settle.
a walk in the pram or a drive in the car can sometimes help.
white noise works brilliantly for some babies – you can get apps for your phone, or why not try the vacuum cleaner, a hairdryer or the washing machine. I have sat both my boys in their bouncy chairs in front of the washing machine before now!
baby massage can be very comforting for a baby, and also help to release trapped wind. I went to a baby massage course run by my local health visitors but there are lots of videos available online too.

Colic can be awful to live with, both for you and your baby, especially if you don’t have a lot of support. If you can then do speak to your partner, family and friends and take whatever help you can get. Even getting someone to take the baby out for a walk for half an hour while you have a shower, or a nap, or even just sit and stare into space with a hot cup of tea, can make the world of difference!

Toby Goes Bananas

A family lifestyle blog

Linkies & Guest Posts