The Secret Is Out

So I've been pretty MIA from the blogging world for over a month now. Because we've been hiding some pretty exciting news. We're expecting baby number 2!

Noah You're 2!

How on earth has that little (debatable) wrinkly baby I brought home from the hospital 2 years ago, turned into such a kind, caring and rumbustious toddler? It's inconceivable how much he has changed, and I couldn't be more appreciative of what a delightful little boy he is. He has come on leaps and bounds in the past year and I love nothing more than discussing this with you all.

Speech
Something I never had to worry about, because I never shut up, I knew it would be absurd to think I'd have a quiet and shy little boy. Noah is a chatterbox and can now say much bigger sentences such as 'one more time please' when he really wants another song or to watch another video of himself back. He remembers his manners and exercises them well, 'Please Mama' 'Thanks Daddy' and is more than familiar with the word 'No'. I have absolutely no worries with his communication and language and often find myself in awe. For example Noah saying 'Good Morning' to people in the street, a little old man was in amazement and stopped to shake his hand and call him a fine young gentleman. He does make me proud.

Welly Weather - Weekend Mini Style

- Coat: Next - Leggings: Zara - Boots: Zara -

Toddler Gift Guide - The Ordinary Moments

So as Noah has both his birthday and Christmas coming up in the next 7 weeks, this is a really appropriate post as I have spent months trying to absorb as much information from fellow bloggers on what on earth to get him. Some of it is easy, as I know my son and what he enjoys, but I also want to get him toys that are going to stretch his development too. Shopping for presents is such an ordinary moment, but now it's for my son, makes it extraordinary and I absolutely love nothing more. So, here are some of the presents that will be wrapped ready for Noah next month, which may help if you're struggling for ideas.

Snack Time On The Go

As someone who tries to avoid it as much as possible, I know how stressful feeding your little one on the go can be. Not only are their endless things you have to pack, but it can be an all round stressful occasion. Hungry toddlers & public places do not mix, let me tell you that from experience.

Our Bedtime Routine*

Bedtime is such an important time to have a routine to us, because we work full time, we all need our sleep and if Noah doesn't sleep well, we don't work very well. So as soon as Noah was old enough to co-operate, we instilled a pretty firm one.

Bathtime Fun - Professor Scrubbingtons Review*

Professor Scrubbington's have a different take on bath time and it's one I love. They focus on creating products to allow little ones to wash themselves with ease, as well as smelling super squeaky clean.

Little Dish - My First Pizza Review*

Having worked with Little Dish before & sampled some of their fantastic meals for toddlers, I was extremely excited to find they had just launched a pizza range and jumped at the chance for Noah to once again sample them. And what a treat they were.

Weekend Mini Style - Smile

Dungarees - Zara | T-shirt - Zara | Boots - Zara

The Best Parts Of Parenting - My Sunday Photo

So when you read blogs, even before you have a baby, most posts are telling you the hardest bits, what not to look forward to or what to prepare yourself for. I thought I'd mix it up just a little and tell you some of the best bits about being a parent, because trust me, there are hundreds.

Ellas Kitchen Snacks Review*

Potty Training Diaries

The last few weeks have contained so much excitement, frustration and all kinds of other emotions, because we've finally took the plunge and headed on to the potty training bandwagon. We first tried Noah roaming free in the house with no pants or nappy on before we went away in summer, and he was getting on well. So now we're back we've hit it full force with my mum training him whilst she has him, my nan doing the same and when he's at home he is without a nappy also. And he is doing magnificent, I feel a little silly for apprehending it so much, mopping up a bit of wee really isn't much to be concerned about.

Weekend Mini Style #3

So this weekend we've embraced the colder weather - which lets face it, has gone totally t**ts up as it's the hottest October on record. But nonetheless we are going with the autumnal theme, hence the knitted hat. Noah has been a dream this weekend, I was out most of Saturday at a close friends hen party & he was such a good boy for John that when I came home I just had to sneak him out of his cot for some late night cuddles. Luckily I didn't wake him. He was in a very giddy mood come photo time, and I just had to stick with these pictures because they are too adorable not too!

Does My Baby Have Asthma?

This is a question that has hung over our head for a year now. It's not even something I doubt anymore - but more that I know the answer - yes my son has Asthma. It seems nothing short of ridiculous that because Noah doesn't tick a certain age box on a doctors check list, he can't be diagnosed with Asthma because twice I have been told 'He does have Asthma he's just too young to be diagnosed'.

Beauty Advent Calendars.

It's almost the most exciting time of year (eeeep) and thus my first festive post of the year. This one does have to be prepared far in advance because so many of these sell out early, I wanted to let you know the best ones I've found and where you can get them or pre-order before they fly off the shelves.

1. Benefit Party Poppers: Benefit help you celebrate the 12 days of Christmas in style, with a fantastic Calendar that even plays music as you open it! You get a wide range of their most popular products, and at a pretty affordable range as the Beauty Calendars go. (£34.50 And available online from October 15th)

Weekend Mini Style

Firstly excuse the dirtiest camera lense ever, and the fact that Noah wasn't co-operating with a photo means we are going solo with a flatlay this week. Noah's Sunday is pretty much a Pyjama day, so we've gone for Saturdays outfit this weekend. He's sported a cute lumberjack shirt and some comfy jeans for a long morning playing at the park. Teamed with his cute little pumps and a woolly hat, ensured he was very cosy and snug in the cold Autumn frost. It's simple but chic.

Bath Tub Fun* - Paddys Bathroom Review

For a child that is a complete water baby, we are constantly looking at new ways to jazz up his bath time. And then along came Paddy's Bathroom, a relatively new brand on the market when it comes to bathing products, they are sister brand of Ellas Kitchen though so have an extensive knowledge of the market out there.

Baby Number 2? The Ordinary Moments.

A question that wasn't even questioned by most midwives (literally hours after I'd given birth to Noah) It was merely assumed that everyone will have another baby. And after the traumas that can be childbirth, this isn't always the case. Some people do only want one child, or can only have one. For some people it isn't a choice and it's just a given, so I find it almost ignorant for people to ask the question 'When are you having another?', it's often nonchalant but none the less alarming that most people seem to have decided a family with one child isn't acceptable.

That being said, for me it's always been hard to picture Noah as an only child, seeing as I was one of 4. John being one of 2, and a man, was a little more comfortable with the idea. Pregnancy was enjoyable for me, labor not so much, but the recovery was pretty harrowing so for a long while I was also very comfortable with Noah being an only child (selfish maybe). But as Noah has grown and become such a caring, kind little soul, I definitely feel he'll miss out on so much if he doesn't have a sibling. We both want him to have someone to pretend to feed his latest concoctions too, someone to squabble over who gets the last Yorkshire pudding at Sunday lunch and more importantly someone who'll be there when we no longer are. After deliberating all that, it was easy for us as long as nothing comes in our way - we would like another baby. So then it poses the question of when, and how big of an age gap? Between my older brother and I is 5 years, 3 between my big sister and I and then 8 between me and my younger brother. So I have experienced all ends of the spectrum, John has a 2 year gap between himself and his brother Andrew. Me and my older siblings all grew up playing with the same friends, on the same street, we could visit LegoLand and Themeparks and all find something to do, and even now we have all moved out of the Family home, we can visit each other and expand our own families. This is something I want for Noah. I want to be able to take him and his siblings to places, and find age apt activities for all, I want them to attend the same schools at the same time and be able to talk and relate to each other. I was fortunate to get to experience all of that and I hope to be able to pass it on to Noah. But again, that being said, you never know what can happen in life. If we have our way, Noah will have a sibling before he goes to school.

When exactly though, we'll just have to see. Do you want another child, if so when?

Toddler Travel Toys.

So as you'll be aware if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, we went away for a couple of weeks with Noah in August. As mentioned, it was a totally different ball game than it had been the previous year, as Noah was now a toddler - one who doesn't like to sit still. However thanks to a couple of these handy toys, both plane journeys were smooth sailing and I hope these can be of help to you.

This was the game changer, and even still now over a month later, now is obsessed with it. It kept him occupied for so long, not so much now where he can buckle them all within about 10 seconds. But at the time we flew, it took him a good 10 minutes to do them all. It's fantastic for fine motor skills too as well as learning colour matching! I would advise buying this to anyone travelling, I think it retailed at around £6 on amazon as a 'Child buckle toy'


My next to purchase list was this fantastic Etch-a-sketch style toy. It worked out so well compared to taking pens and paper, (which is something we use when in the supermarket to subside Noah), because on a plane the last thing you want is pens and pencils falling and rolling under seats to unforgiving passengers behind. The pen on here was attached by string so also avoiding it being launched into the row in front. This was something I just picked up in one of our local bargain shops. They cost nothing more than a couple of pound and most and again can be used for an age after as it never gets old for him.

The last set of toys that ended up being super useful were these cute wooden transports. Again off amazon for less than £5. They were perfect, tiny for hand luggage and I managed to shove them all in one sealable bag so I wasn't rummaging around the bottom of his travel bag for them whilst he's screaming 'BUS' at me. I kept these away as with all the toys so they were new to him when I produced them on the flight. He spent a long time 'brummmm'ing them around the arms of the chairs and backs of seats before one somehow ended up 2 rows in front (whoops). So beware if these are dropped, they do tend to scoot around a little.

I hope this can help any of you travelling with a toddler approaching the 'terrible twos'. Please let me know any toys you found useful on your travels?

My Sunday Photo

Somebody heard it was Monday tomorrow. 

Our Week In Pictures 27/9

This week has been a usual week for us, work, work and work, we don't usually get home till around 6 and after leaving the house just before 7, means there isn't really much time for anything till the weekend. Noah has really started enjoying more advanced puzzles now, (you can find the video on my Instagram here) he can do all of his simple wooden ones very easily, so was needing a little more of a challenge. He seems to have got these fantastic ones by Orchard toys  all wrapped up now so I might have to look at purchasing some more. I'm so pleased there is a company out there catering for children younger than 3 interested in Jigsaws.

Friday night saw us all snuggled on the sofa watching Home Alone 2, YES, I am aware it's September, but it was on the television and Noah was engrossed. We let him stay up a bit later than the usual 7 o'clock as he was a pleasure to be around and we wanted the extra cuddles. And how could I resist putting up this cheeky smile? Noah's become slightly obsessed with 'Papple' he loves Granny Smiths apples just like his Mummy, because they're very crunchy. And of course we teamed it with a bowlful of banana which is his ultimate favourite.

What have you got up to this weekend?

Toddler Room Decor

So Noah is to turn 2 in less than 3 months, let us skip past all the 'oh my goodness how is nearly 2' and get to the point where he is now officially a toddler. That being said, he definitely needs an updated room and as most have, I've fallen in love with the black and white decor I have seen floating around the blogosphere. I like the idea of having a little colour though, as it'll definitely stand out amongst the contrasting monochrome. I intend to get his room completely updated by his birthday and will be posting a full tour once I have done so. Until then, I'll fill you in on the bits I have already or intend on purchasing for him.

1. First is this beautiful Light box, it's perfect for Noah especially as he grows because we'll be able to leave little messages to each other, but until then I can put whatever I like on there.
2. I aim to fill his whole nursery with little prints like this, just as a reminder every now and then to sit back and enjoy him whilst he's young. They're also really cute and quirky.
3. Thirdly are these fascinating night lights. Noah isn't bothered about the dark, but he's not potty training and within the next 6 months should be into his 'big boy bed'. Therefore he'll begin to toilet himself in the night, or might want to find us. These will be perfect so he can still see, as he wouldn't be tall enough to reach the lights.
4. I LOVE this colourful garland, it will add the perfect pop of colour I'm wanting.
5. These storage bags are so affordable and handy, they can store anything from toys, to laundry or rubbish. Anything will look stylish in these.
6. And lastly are these wall stickers. I really don't fancy painting Noah's room with any black, so the closest thing are these cute wall stickers, they'll add that little pop to tie the walls in with the interior design.

Has your little one had a room update now they've grown? 

Weekend OOTD

I absolutely love Noahs outfit this weekend. It's becoming Autumn which I love as I can really layer up his clothes to make sure he's as comfy and cosy as possible. His whole outfit is currently in stock on the Zara website, I adore their winter clothes because they're affordable and practical. I particularly love the turtle neck t-shirts, as Noah suffers with chest infections easily - these are perfect for protecting his little chest from the cold.

Coat - (Zara £22.99) 

T-shirt - (Zara £2.99)

Leggings - (Zara £6.99)

Boots - (£27.99)

New beginnings

So we've had quite a busy month, hence why I've not updated in quite some time. But, we've moved house! It's so exciting to finally have our family home and we have been so busy packing and sorting, it's been a busy few weeks. Then we got burgled & then I became ill with glandular fever, we haven't had it easy but now we are all settled, it's perfect and we couldn't be happier.

It hasn't been easy moving house with a toddler in tow, but thankfully with a lot of help through babysitting by family, Noah has settled so well in our new house and we need not have worried because he doesn't seem to have even noticed the difference. We have tried our best to stick to his routine he has always had and that has worked well. 

What have you been up to this month? Have you ever moved house with a toddler? 

What have we been up to?

I 

We've had such a lovely couple of weeks because at last, the sun is out and it's time for evenings in the garden, dungarees and ice creams. Speaking of which, Noah had his first '99' in the park on Sunday, which he absolutely loved and demolished as you can see, but he was very kind and shared with daddy, (I had my own haha). Sunday must have been the day for firsts as he also had his first go on a ride at the fairground, he loved the teacups and we can't wait till he's old enough to go on more exciting rides. 

More exciting for mummy, is that Noah finally joined the bugaboo club. I'm in love with it, and regret not getting it from the start. Noah was struggling with sitting upright in his old pram, so after seeing the varied seat positioning with the Bee, I knew it had to be done. Plus it's perfect for holiday in a couple of months.

Lastly, around the end of April, Noah became very ill, to the point where he wouldn't take any form of drink or water. We look him to the doctors but were fobbed off, so we took him again and finally got answers - he had a severe bout of tonsillitis. Not good, but after 10 days of antibiotic he's back to his normal and happy self. 

All in all we've had a good month, we are so happy the weathers getting nicer, and so excited for our holiday in a couple of months. What have you been up to now the weathers nicer?

Television For Toddlers.

Yes, I'm one of those slightly obnoxious parents that gloats that my child doesn't watch any cartoons. In reality, Noah just didn't show any interest in any form of children's cartoon character, the only channel he would pay any interest too was Baby TV, which I was more than happy with as most of the bits on there are educational. He's always been more of a music baby (curse you uptown funk) and will stop, dance and giggle away at all the latest hits, Sam Smith, Bruno Mars, Meghan Trainor - you name it, he'll stop and dance to it. But he's just never shown any liking to your usual childrens programmes.

So can you imagine my horror when he suddenly starts voicing 'Peppa' 'Peppa' at me? Where on earth did that come from!? Daddy, that's who. In the weekday mornings, as I start work earlier than John & take a little longer to get ready, he often feeds Noah his breakfast, and unknowingly to me has got him very much interested in Peppa Pig. Something I will freely admit I tried to almost enforce onto Noah, so that I could use the programmes to keep him still on our previous holiday - it failed. Now, Daddy seems to have managed to get him hooked. Okay, okay, I might be exaggerating, but he can fully recognise her face and point her out as 'PEPPA', at which my looks could possibly kill John. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the whole thing, it's not really a bad thing I just still feel he is very young. I as a child watched Tots Tv, Pingu and all the other silly cartoons and didn't end up with square eyes. How do you feel about childrens cartoons?

Moving Your Child Into Their Own Room

In some peoples eyes we may have been early or late doing this, and looking back, we definitely could of done this earlier, nonetheless Noah is now in his own room. And guess what, I don't know what I was so worried about!

Noah's cot has always been against the far wall in our bedroom since he moved into it at around 12 weeks old. He's had his own room, just a couple of metres down the hallway from ours, but we've always felt comforted and at ease knowing he was just at the foot of our bed. If he cried, or got hurt, or worse, we weren't too far away and that was always reassuring for me. (Especially after reading a horror story on SIDS at 9 months old that scarred for life) Anyway, as Noah turned one we knew it was something we wanted to do, but then he went through a horrible sleeping phase when he woke every 3 / 4 hours, and selfishly we wanted to be nearby so it didn't disrupt any of us too much in the night. Since then, Noah has slept fine, and we were gradually starting to question if we'd ever move him into his beautifully decorated nursery. But finally, after a sporadic bank holiday weekend tidy up in his room, we just decided to move the cot down and see how he got on.

 (ps. don't freak out, all plug sockets are covered and he can't even nearly reach the wire)

The first night was like an absolute dream, the only hiccup we had was I didn't charge his monitor enough so it scared the s**t out of me when it beeped very loudly at about 4 am. I spent the next 2 hours waking at every little noise in case it was Noah. Lesson learned, on the Monday night we charged everything up and again, he slept absolutely perfectly. I wasn't worried he'd be waking a lot, as he rarely wakes at all any more, I was more worried if he did wake he couldn't resettle himself as he'd feel in a strange place. But now we're well into our third week of Noah in his own bedroom, I'm confident that if he did wake, he'd know exactly where he was and he'd drift right back off to sleep - he probably has even done so, but I've just not noticed.

I do feel a little bit silly for not doing it sooner, but only you can decide when the time feels right. I thought this would be a big event, but it's really not. We just have our bedroom back to ourselves, and Noah can now fully enjoy his own little boys room in peace and private.  What age did you switch your little ones to their own room?

We've Booked Our Holiday (yay!)

As you can guess by the title, we've booked our summer holiday. We're off to a little town in Alicante called Javea, my Dad's parents have a little villa there and they're happy to let us stay there for just short of a couple of weeks in August and we're already counting down the days, we cannot wait.

It will be a whole different ball game to last time we went away, Noah was 7 / 8 months old when we went to Tunisia last summer, and was a completely different person to who he is now. Now he's full of spirit, and full of 'I don't want to sit still for a second', so the plane ride should be fun. Thankfully it's only a couple of hours and we fly at 6:30am so I'm hoping he might sleep? As the flight is only 2 hours, and Noah is under 2, we haven't got him his own seat, it seems a little pointless as he probably wouldn't sit in it even if we got him one, so he will be perched on my lap with one of those silly seat belt thingy-ma-jigs.

I feel in the dark again, as Noah is now a toddler I have absolutely no idea of how to keep him occupied during flight. So far I've picked him up his own carry on suitcase, that will be solely for his stuff, as that way I know if I need something where it will be. I vow not to take one thing of Noahs in neither mine nor John's bag, as it just becomes a huge search effort when we need something silly like a wipe. I will be like a sponge for the next 3 months, soaking up any information I can find on flying with a toddler, so if anyone has any tips please let me know. The holiday side should be a lot easier, last time we went all inclusive and Tunisia didn't really have many of the amenities or brands that we have here in the UK. However travelling in Europe gives us that benefit that we're probably going to be able to find pampers, and weetabix if we need it, so I'm much more relaxed in the event I forget anything. Noahs great granny Pat has even managed to find a company out there that rent baby packages, including a travel cot, car seat, a huge box of toys etc, which is an absolutely saviour. It means we don't have to worry about lugging all of it out there, and it's super handy.

We've even started Noahs swimming lessons up again which he starts on Friday, to get him used to the water again. He loved the pool last year and I'm just hoping he's a bit better in the sea as he was not so happy about being in there.

As you can tell, we are hugely looking forward to our time away, and we welcome any tips on holidays or flying with a toddler, as I could definitely use all the help I can get.

Little Dish Review *

Something that can be a worry as a working parent, is rushing home from work after a very long day and cooking a home cooked meal from scratch. Lets be honest, sometimes we really don't have the time or energy. And I can hold my hands up and say yes, Noah has had beans on toast, spaghetti hoops and probably lots of other crap I vowed I'd never give him. We're fortunate, that whilst we work, Noah is either in nursery, or with my Mother, so each day he gets a good home cooked meal. However there are occasions where let's be honest - it's a bit of a faf to cook a whole separate meal for one child if for example we have a curry or chilli, something I definitely wouldn't want to give to Noah (we like them a little bit too spicy).

It was always a concern that he'd be having too much salt in some of the tinned products mentioned above, and texture was a worry too, I didn't want him to regress to smoother consistency if he was having a can of chicken soup. And then I discovered Little Dish. An absolutely amazing brand, me and my Mum first discovered them in Waitrose, the first thing that grabbed our attention was the fact that; yes they were a childrens meal, but they didn't have garish packaging like most similar on the market. We were amazed to see they offer such a variety of meals, from fish to pasta and curries to hotpots, they looked amazing so we picked up a few to try with Noah. He adored them of course, so I reached out to Little Dish who kindly sent me some samples to try out with him.

 

 Noah's first sample was 'Fishermans Pie with Salmon and Pollock' and oh my word it went down a treat, as you can see, Noah had absolutely no issues gobbling it all. In fact, when I tried to help him steer a bit he missed into his mouth, he went crazy as he thought I was taking the spoon away. Little Dish is a brand I feel comfortable feeding to Noah, as I'm aware they will nourish him just as well as I would. Their meals contain always at least one of your five a day, often more, they are low in salt which is a huge thing for ready meals. They have zero added sugar, and no additives or preservatives. I can't wait for Noah to try the other samples, which included a chilli, they are perfect to wean him onto some gentle spices before he can start to eat what we're eating.

Have you ever tried a ready meal for your toddler? Perhaps from Little Dish?

March Make-Up Favourites

This month I don't think my favourite products have changed once, and as a beauty lover this is definitely a very rare thing. So of course, I had to share them with you all;

1. First is my base, the holy grail of bases, Estee Lauder Double Wear. I don't even need to say much about this, it's amazing. It just buffs into my skin so well, it feels so soft. My skin still feels like skin with this on, and more importantly, it still looks like skin. I notice the biggest difference with using this foundation is it's lasting power, sometimes with others by the end of the day my foundations almost melted off my face. But not double wear, it powers through even the longest days at work.
2. Benefit Boi-ing, again another huge beauty cult because of it's fabulous reputation. This really is industrial strength concealer and when you're a mummy, you certainly need it after nights of teething induced sleep. I feel although it is quite a thick consistency, if I just rub it between my fingers before applying and buff it in, it sits perfectly all day long and covers up just how tired I actually am.
3. Nars Illuminator in the shade Orgasm, this product has lasted me SO long. I've had it for months and without fail use it every single day. It's been amazing for winter as it's given me that radiant glow, when my natural one was left behind in the summer haze. I'm almost at the end of this and I will always repurchase, the finish is subtle yet noticeable and I will forever love this product for exactly that.
   
4. Two mascaras and both yet again, amazing. Roller lash I actually received free in my Birch Box, which I was really happy about as I'd just ran out of my sample from a magazine earlier in the month. I will be repurchasing this when it's ran out as it's definitely working well for curling my lashes. Loreals Miss Manga however, steals the show with it's budget friendly price tag, as well as the volume it provides for my lashes. I think the brush is my favourite kind, it's big but not too big,so it really coats every lash from root to tip.
5. My beloved Nars blusher in the shade Seduction. Now on first impressions it may seem like quite an almost purple shade. But the colour payoff isn't as garish as it may seem, which is a very good thing because I think it suits me perfectly. It just gives a subtle flush but slightly darker than your typical peony pink, which is great for someone with olive skin like me. I've used this again, nearly every single day and it doesn't seem to have budged. 
6. Lastly is another high street favourite, with Soap & Glory Brow Archery. I waited for months for this to be in stock anywhere, and finally it was in November and I grabbed the last one. I haven't looked back since. The thin nib of the brush is perfect for filling in brows. I don't think mine need too much work, so this is an amazing tool just to help them that little bit, I've never really used the crayon end as I haven't needed to, so can't comment on that but the felt tip side is worth the hype all on its own.

What's your favourite products this March?

Maxi Cosi Pearl Review.

As mentioned in my previous post, this car seat is 10000% tried and tested, as it withstood the impact of a Lorry, and thank god, Noah remained completely unharmed. I do believe we owe a lot of that too the Maxi Cosi Pearl, as well as ISOFIX, and I will always recommend it for those reasons.

If you haven't seen the Pearl, it's beautiful, it feels luxurious and I definitely wish they designed one for adults, mainly because it reclines! Yes, reclines! So on those long journeys when Noah drops off to sleep (those oh so rare journeys now, curse you toddler-hood) we simply pull a lever under his seat and he can lay back in comfort. I don't have to worry that he'll strain his neck if it drops forward, or that'll he will feel uncomfortable and stiff when he wakes, because he is just as comfy, if not more so, than he would be if he was sleeping in his pram. The extra padding around the head and neck ensures that in the horrific event of an accident, Noahs' head would stay completely supported which I can completely vouch for as when we had our crash, Noah was asleep. He didn't cry with the impact, he simply woke up and had a nosey around. My mind is completely at ease now I know he's strapped into that, the best thing is he'll be in it for another 3 years, as it's fit for use right up until the age of 4. Another huge and I mean huge plus, if your OH is anything like mine, is that the harness is so easy to clip in. John definitely can't work it out if something needs fifty thousand straps before your child is secure, so the Pearl is perfect, because two sides clip together and wa-la, you're all good to go.

What more could you ask for with a car seat than complete comfort and safety for your child? The pearl comes in a huge variety of colours and designs, so there is always something to suit everyones taste.

Do you have a Maxi-Cosi Pearl?

The Day We Had A Car Crash

After a lovely week off work together, we'd decided to drive up to see my sister & her fiance in Manchester, all went well and we were on our way home, pretty early on a Sunday morning. Some of you may even remember me tweeting the picture below around 15 minutes before it happened, John was driving and we'd just got onto the M62, normally quite a busy stretch of motorway, but it was 9:30am on a Sunday morning so it was pretty quite. We were in the slow lane as it was a temporary 50 zone, due to roadworks (which no one is ever, EVER, working on) and I remember feeling like the lorry that was slowly over taking us, felt to close.

Well that was my famous last thought because we felt an almighty bang. Before John even had time to finish his 'What the **** was...' we suddenly realised because we were turned horizontal across the front of a lorry. I remember screaming and seeing dust around us, I could hear the beeping of the lorry driver (I'm assuming this was to warn drivers behind him) and we could definitely feel the force of the lorry as it pushed us along the carriageway. We came to stop as luckily the driver braked pretty quickly, it titled our car facing forward and the force, along with some steering from John pushed us into the side of the slow lane against a metal reservation (like the one above). John jumped out, and I climbed out across his side, as my door was jammed shut, we then managed to grab Noah out through the front and clambered over the reservation to safety. A pair of absolutely lovely men had stopped in the car behind us, and the rang the police as well as helping other cars get past. The lorry driver stopped further up and eventually came down where he admitted he didn't see us.

After asking the guys behind us what happened, as we were alongside the lorry we really had no idea, it turned out, the driver simply hadn't seen us, he indicated and moved across into us, he'd clipped the back of our car and it turned us in front of him. I couldn't believe what had just happened, we were all so lucky, none of us had a bruise to show and we were incredibly thankful. How many accidents do you hear of with a HGV that come out ok? Noah didn't even cry throughout any of the ordeal. I felt sorry for the car, it's a courtesy car as mine was in for repair, so we didn't really even have to deal with that. It's now nearly a week after the crash and aside from a very achey back on my behalf, we're all roughly okay. Again, I cannot thank the quick thinking of other drivers - thus not causing further trauma by crashing into us, and although he was incredibly stupid in the first place - the quick braking of the HGV driver as we all know this could of turned out so much worse.

Enjoy my little doodle of exactly how it happened. We're all slightly nervous now about driving on motorways, although for the first time today since the accident I did overtake a lorry, with sweaty palms mind you, but I did it nonetheless. A review of Noahs amazing car seat will follow, it withstood the impact of a 70 tonne lorry so it's definitely tried and tested.

Have you ever been in a car accident with your little one on board? How did you deal with the aftermath?

Bronchitis In Babies.

There is possibly nothing worse for a Mother, than to see her child suffering. And unfortunately for us, Noah has had an absolutely dreadful cough for nearing 5 months now, it first developed in September, which we were fobbed off by doctors that it was just a general cold and he'd recover within 5-7 days. Of course, when he didn't we headed straight back which we were then told it's more like 14-21 days - honestly who has a cold for three weeks? I certainly don't, but, we're not doctors and they are so we trusted them.


About a month after our initial visit, we took him back and were given some antibiotics and told he had 'viral bronchitis', we were pleased someone had actually acknowledged it was more than a cold and we looked forward to him gradually getting better over the 7 day course of antibiotics (amoxicillian to be exact) and you know what he did get better. For around a week. Then we had the relentless coughing and spluttering again night after night, it became unbearable not only for Noah but for us. Fast forward to around November time and we found ourselves reaching for the phone to ring the number that had become almost learned by us - the doctors surgery. Noah was booked in, told he had bronchitis and prescribed something totally different, an inhaler. I'd never dreamt of Noah needing an inhaler, but it seemed obvious, we hoped this would help and as usual for a few weeks it did. But around Christmas Noah seemed to be struck down with it again, but worse than ever. Even after a night with Nanny & Grandad they could see how much it had affected him.

So now we're here, in March waiting it out. We have three inhalers, Ventolin, Atrovent & Clenin Modula. If I'm honest I now feel we're getting somewhere, however I also think that's due to the warmer weather. I think this will be one of those things Noah will suffer with each winter, and until he's old enough he wont be classed as asthmatic as doctors (and I quote) 'simply don't diagnose babies with asthma'. It seems ludicrous that doctors wouldn't diagnose somebody with something just because of their age, there probably is reasoning behind it, but it's something I'll never understand. Our son can't have probably better suited medication because of some unwritten rule?

I've wrote this post to let other mummies out their know, you don't quite realise how many children are suffering with this till you tweet about your woes, that you're not alone, and they will come through it. It's hard, doctors don't quite believe you I feel. Noahs' cough was definitely more of a night cough, but obviously I'm not taking him to the doctors at 3am so they can't hear him for themselves. I tried everything, hours in a&e, hours on the phone to 111. Sometimes you do just have to wait it out, the sleepless nights for you all do gradually become bearable, but the suffering your child is going through doesn't and it's incredibly frustrating. Just know it will end, and Noah is definitely much better now, I think walking helped shift a lot of it off his chest and hopefully in the next month he wont need his inhalers for a while.

Have any of your children suffered from Bronchitis?

What We've Been Up To.

So it has been a while since I last blogged, but I'm sure most of us had a break over Christmas and new year. It also happened to be a certain some ones first birthday in December and although it doesn't seem a year since he was a teeny tiny newborn, here he is toddling around (yes FINALLY) acting so grown up. Noah's birthday went amazing and I am currently scheduling a post featuring his most used presents as it's definitely something people struggle with 'What to buy a baby?' especially when their birthday and Christmas are so darn close together. It was a magical time and it also featured Noahs' first haircut, he was blessed with copious amounts of thick brown hair so it was in desperate need of a chop (and is again now). I really didn't believe the lady when she said it would need redoing in 6 weeks, but my gosh it does.

The hairdresser was amazing and as it was specifically for children it had these snazzy cars to distract them, as well as televisions to play a DVD of their choice for some older children.

Before we knew it, it was Christmas, again we had an amazing time and Noah received lots of love, laughs and food off everyone! However after Christmas time Noahs dreaded cough came back with a vengeance and I will post about the battle we've had with it, as it's resulted in many doctors trips, many a&e trips and lots of inhalers. However now we've reached February we're just about combatting it. (Thank god) This post was just a small round-up of what we've all been up to. We've had lots of fun but are looking hugely forward to summer which will feature lots of garden play, water fun & sunshine walks.

How did you all enjoy the festive period?