My Hummy - Portable White Noise Wonder

I’d previously written a post about Whisbear and the benefits of white noise but wanted to get a more portable device that would keep Ripley settled during car and train outings.

Car journeys usually send babies to sleep (great) but Ripley would usually wake the second we turned the ignition off (not so great).  Since we’ve been using MyHummy, he tends to snooze for ages and I can actually get sh*t done!

Can we talk about my leopard print baby wrap?

I am now the proud owner of a leopard print baby wrap. I repeat, a LEOPARD PRINT baby wrap.

This gorgeous baby wearing item was created by Artipoppe, a Netherlands based company that create luxury baby wraps and ring slings in the most stunning designs.  All products are made from premium, natural, breathable fabrics carefully sourced around the globe from Mongolia to Scotland. 

I'm so happy to have discovered a brand that enables me to keep my own personal sense of style whilst wearing baby in a close, practical and comfortably ergonomic way.

Do women fall pregnant just so they can own one of these? The answer is probably yes.

The Recyclable Moses Basket

My sister says it looks like a giant Croc.
My mum thought it was a stylish laundry carrier.

I'm talking about Ripley's moses basket.

First Class Travel for Babies

Whilst shopping around for the perfect car seat, I was advised that newborn babies should only stay in them for a maximum of 30-45 minutes at a time.  This is due to research funded by The Lullaby Trust who discovered that babies traveling in a 40° upright position for long periods of time are at risk of developing breathing difficulties.

Now considering I have absolutely no sense of direction and am useless with sat-nav, most of my car journeys end up taking at least 20 minutes longer than necessary.

Sleepyhead zzzzzz

So, let me get straight to the point.  If I didn't own a Sleepyhead, I would not have the ability to write a sentence.

This blog post (and probably all future posts) are only possible because Sleepyhead actually gets baby to sleep. Which I guess is the purpose of the product.

As soon as I announced my pregnancy to friends, the "congratulations" were swiftly (and quite seriously) followed by "and definitely get a Sleepyhead".

My Water Baby

On the 17th September 2017 at 01:26am, I gave birth to my 7.4lb little boy, Ripley Kit, after a beautiful and intense 24 hour natural labour.

NLDS Wedding - 1 Year Anniversary

Today is my 1st wedding anniversary.

It has flown by.

Dan and I had been boyfriend and girlfriend for about 15 years before we tied the knot so I didn't think getting hitched would feel any different at all - we were basically married before we 'officially' got married. But actually, something is different...I feel more in love.

Our wedding at Trinity Buoy Wharf has already been documented on Rock My Wedding and Smashing The Glass so I'm not gonna go into too much detail but I thought I would post a selection of images from the day.

Project Nursery

The nursery was painted last weekend - something I've been looking forward to for a while.

At this stage, we haven't decided what we're doing with the floor, shelves and curtains and the radiator still needs to be installed...but we have moved all the furniture in.  With baby currently 6 days overdue, I was eager to have it set up in time for nappy changes, feeding, etc

I actually really like the floor in its current state but our house gets very drafty come winter time.  If the temperature starts leaning towards the arctic side, we'll lay down a big rug or carpet.

So baby, I just wanted to say thanks for holding out.  We're ready whenever you are now...
 

S-T-R-E-T-C-H-M-A-R-K-S?

I'm currently 1 day over my due date and have so far steered clear of developing any stretch marks.

It's probably because I have literally drowned my body in oils and lotions every single day since discovering I was pregnant.

I'd been using Lucy Bee's Coconut Oil pre-pregnancy and increased the amount when my skin started getting a little itchy (due to boobs/bump slowly growing, etc).
It does take a while to absorb and Dan said I felt like a slippery fish whenever I got into bed.  I put so much on that it turned the bed sheets an odd colour so you do need to allow it to sink in (but I'm too impatient for that).
 

If it's good enough for Princess Charlotte....Whisbear

Following this weeks announcement that The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their third baby, I thought it would be an appropriate time to talk about Princess Charlotte's favourite toy.

It's a modern looking, octopus-teddy hybrid called Whisbear (short for Whispering Bear) which emits a consistent hairdryer sound for 40 minutes to help baby settle. Yep, this white noise apparently soothes babies - and now I have a valid excuse to get my hair done every week.
It also offers a standby CRYsensor mode that automatically turns the bear back on for a further 20 minutes if baby starts to stir.

My pregnancy journey summed up in 2 mins

What was the first thing you did when you found out you were pregnant?  I googled what cheese I could eat.

I only decided to start the blog when I was 34 weeks pregnant so there hasn't really been a 'journey' to follow on here.  But at 39 weeks, I wanted to summarise my personal experience and surprisingly, I've LOVED it.

The bump at 27 weeks