DENIM DENIM DENIM !

  

Cool outfit for a baby? Go for DENIM! Denim never goes out of fashion (it doesn’t really matter with babies as they grow out of they clothes so quickly) but very often comes back with a big blue bang!  Now is the time to rock it, especial that as a mum (or dad) you will start slowly to shop for autom clothes or as me for clothes for the next 3 months ( yes I need to start preparing wardrobe in size 9-12 months !!!!!! ) .

There are some amazing pieces :

River Island does a lot of cool denim pieces :

   
In love with this little piece ! Had to get it for Chloe ! 

   ZARA  is doing those dungarees. Pair with any top underneath for the cute little outfit.   
H&M does this dress for Β£5,99!! You can pair it with a pretty blouse/ top for a cute look or go for cool printed leggings with a edgy top (stripy) for a cool look. And those denims couldn’t be any cuter. 

  

NEXT went with the denim trend as well producing this really cute skirt and blouse (which Chloe owns now 😁)   
   

BABY FASHION

 I work in fashion and I love fashion.  What comes with it is the desire to buy lots of clothes for my baby girl. I am trying to be sensible with the amount of clothes I buy as she is growing so quickly. Because there is no point to buy lots the key is to buy carefully. Look at what do you need? how many of? And be selective! What is the most important, is making sure that clothes are comfortable and practical; trust me there is no point of buying lots of white clothes (as they won’t be white for long) or a silk blouse (as it probably will be ripped after first wash or wear) or something what is difficult to put on (as you baby will scream the place down!)   

 I am into fashion and trends, and I do want my baby to look nice but comfortable is a priority. I don’t agree with putting your baby in leather (think about how comfortable it is to wear for you, and you aren’t learning how to move and control every part of your body), lace (how itchy !!!)  ect! 

 Your baby can look cool, cute and be comfortable ! 

 Best retailers in my opinion is : H&M, NEXT, ZARA, MAMMAS AND PAPPAS and RIVER ISLAND MINI. Lots of cute, comfy and fab stuff. Look at my YUMMY BABY section for food and fashion updates ! 

GOING BACK TO WORK – THE SCARIEST THOUGHT Β OF ALL !!!

Before Chloe was born you would hear me say : I am coming back to work after 6 months on maternity. You see I was a workaholic and I loved my job in fashion! Soon after Chloe was born only thinking about work and needing to live Chloe was stressing me out. My beautiful baby has totally changed me and the way a see work. I quickly decided that I am taking my full one year maternity leave (it’s very fortunate that I can do it) and decided not to think about it. 

 But now as Chloe is 8 month old I have had no choice but to face the fear of going back to work.  What was making the whole process worst is the fact that all of my mum friends are going back to work part time (most of them are teachers) and I know that I won’t be able to do it.  I work for one of the biggest fashion high street brands as a Visual Merchandiser Menager … We know that fashion and retail aren’t really baby friendly + you simply can’t do my job for only 3 days a week. The whole situation was making me feel really shit! Even the fact that my in laws will be looking after Chloe for 3 days a week wasn’t making me feel any better … Why? Because simply no one can look after her as well as I can ! No one knows my baby as well as I do!  

 So I had a meeting with work to discuss going back, what are my expectation, how flexible am I ect. But it does feels a bit like a waste of time as I know that they won’t accommodate what I really want. So we have this meeting where they are pretending that they care and are open minded ( if you are not flexible or want to do part time you will need to step down) ; and where I am pretending that I want to do full time and that I am excited to go back 😁 . The whole meeting is just a joke 😁

 But I got the ball rolling which I am proud of, now I am trying to see how far I can push. I will return to work few weeks later than my maternity finishes which is amazing as it gives me 3 more weeks with my girl. I have also asked to work for the first few months 4 days a week … Let’s see if they will agree to it….

 I have some keep in touch days coming up … That shall be interesting as I have never left my baby for a long time ! 

What I am trying to do very hard is not to think about going back and pretending that it’s not happening 😊

TEETHING ??????

If you ask me if Chloe is teething my answer would be YES … For the past 4 months ! Was she really teething for so long? God only knows,as the teeth have a long way to go and it doesn’t happen overnight … What I know now is that she is DEFINITELY teething now. My usually very happy baby for the past 2 days has been so  upset, crying every 5 min and having small temperature. 

 We all keep waiting for those first teeth, now finally at the age of  8 months I can see tooth coming through !!!!!

 We all think that dribbling and putting everything in to the mouth is a sign that baby is teething-wrong !!!! I have reed an article which explains that this is a normal phase in baby’s development and has nothing to do with teeth. 

 So how do we know if baby is teething? 

– dribbling lots and lots more than the usual lots ! 

– temperature

– one red cheek (apparently not both)

–  red bum 

– swollen gums

– moody, clingy 

…. But it’s still a little bit of guessing game as it is with everything when it comes to babies  πŸ˜‰

JumperoΒ 

Should you buy it or no ?

  
 Things to consider:

– It’s very big and takes up lots of space.

– It’s expensive 

– How much use will you get from it? 

 We bought it when Chloe was 4 month old as she only wanted to stand! I thought that this will be a great solution : she can stand, jumped and play.  In our case it was a waste of money. 

 We got Fisher Price Discover ‘N Grow Jumperoo which costed Β£80 and we used it only a handful of times. Chloe didn’t mind standing in it for 15 min max and then was getting bored. She wasn’t really in to jumping, and as soon as she started crawling she refuses to go in to it. Lots of my Mum friends agrees that in they case it wasn’t worth it. 

My advise would be buy used one, or borrow one from a friend/family. You can see if your baby likes it and if not then you can just return it or get rid of it πŸ˜€

TIPS FOR HOLIDAYS WITH A BABY πŸŒ΄β˜€οΈπŸŒ΄πŸ˜ŠπŸŒ΄πŸ˜ŠπŸŒ΄πŸ˜ŠπŸŒ΄πŸ˜ŠπŸŒ΄β˜€οΈπŸŒ΄β˜€οΈπŸŒ΄

Going on holidays with a baby is not an easy task, doing it for the first time is quite overwhelming! Here are some lessons learned by myself after our first holidays in a hot country. 

1. HEAT RUSH

Babies very often get heat rush so it’s best to be prepared. Take creams good for heat rush and ideally speak to your GP about it (ask for medication incase your babie gets it). Chloe get it half way through our holidays, lucky it didn’t bother her and she was her happy self.

2. PRETTY SWIMMING COSTUME 

They do look good but aren’t much use, especially with very little babies. I ended up having Chloe mostly only in her nappy, or in a sun protecting swimwear. I would advise to buy lots of pretty panties  instead 😁

3. TENT

 Yes Tent😁 I didn’t realise that I needed one till a very last minute. I was talking to my husband about  how nice it would be to take Chloe to the beach when he asked me if she will lay under a umbrella? Of course that the answer is no ! Then I started panicking : where will she play, sit, hide from the sun? Lucky I discovered those foldable baby tents! I would definitely recommend getting one as it was great through the holiday! Chloe was using it a lot. 

4. MOSQUITOES πŸ˜–

 Get something to prevent your baby getting bitten, and something just incase a mosquito manages to get a taste of your baby.

5. LOTS AND LOTS OF WET WIPES

 Can’t live without wet wipes… It’s shocking how many packed I have used on our holidays! Take lots ! 

6. PORTABLE FAN !

 What a great invention ! You can get small fans which attach to a pram (or anything else) it will keep your baby cool.

7. PLAYMAT

 You always think about taking baby toys with you … But what is your baby going to play on ?  Take a small play mat, it doesn’t really take any space but it comes very handy. 

8. CLOTHES 

 I have packed a whole suitcase of clothes for Chloe…. And she didn’t wear half of it.  She has spent most of the time in a pretty nickers as it was too hot to wear anything. She wore lots of jumpsuits (on a very thin stripes) or very summery dresses. I found that T-shits are way too much in a hot country. 

Hope that this will help you with getting ready for your holidays! β˜€οΈπŸŒ΄β˜€οΈπŸŒ΄β˜€οΈπŸŒ΄β˜€οΈ

Development craziness !Β 

It seems that my baby is on some short of development craziness ! One day she started crawling, few days later learnt how to sit up on her own, than started pulling herself to standing position, another few days later started crawling up the stairs !!!!!! And then walking while holding on to the furniture !!!? It’s crazy!!!!!!!!  Where is my little girl gone ? 😒 I am a very proud mummy ! 

NEED TO BUY GOOD HAIR DYE TO COVER ALL OF MY UPCOMING GREY HAIR – Chloe has started to crawl !!!

It has happend !!! Finally after waiting and waiting it has happend. After days and days of thinking that she will do it (rocking back and forward on her knees, making one hand move forward) she did it … AND THERE IS NOTHING STOPPING HER NOW !!!! Nothing stopping her to go and grab nails which I just left on the floor for a second, nothing stopping her trying to climb up the stairs, eat my sleepers, eat anything that is on the floor, pull things out of drawer …….. All of that and hous which is not baby prove equal me getting lots of grey hairπŸ˜‚ 

  
I need to baby prove my house and I need to do it quickly !!!! 

But as anything to do with a baby this is not an easy and straightforward as I thought 😊. 

There is so many stair gates : wooden, metal, plastic, pressure one or drill in ones, one you can’t trip on ect …. Once I made my mind up on what I want guess what happened …. It doesn’t exist!!! 😩 I wanted a wooden one you can’t trip on, which doesn’t require drilling in to the wall ! will have to go for the secon best πŸ˜€

Play pen … What’s your opinion? I am getting one so I can go to the toilet without being followed or scared that she will decide to climb up the sofa ! 

Table corners protectors ( the only straightforward thing to buy ) are sorted . 

Cupboard locks are at less invisible to the eye … I remember my mum using elastic bands to stop me πŸ˜‚

And door locking stoppers and sockets protectors .

And that’s when I will drawl the line … I am not buying foam for my door frames or covering all furniture with it  or any other crazy stuff … Chloe needs to learn not to do things and understand that if she does something she may hurt herself …  

Been quiet for a reasonΒ 

I AM IN GREECE ON HOLIDAYS !!! πŸŒ΄β˜€οΈπŸŒ΄β˜€οΈI think that’s pretty good reason as to why I was quiet for a bit 😁

  
 For the past 5 days I been having well deserved holidays in an amazing hotel in Greece with my amazing husband and Chloe. 

I didn’t really have time to post anything in a buildup to it as I was crazy busy prepping for it. Discovering week before the actual holidays that I need so many things which I didn’t even known that existed ! Every single time I ordered something/ bought something I would think of/see something that I needed. Going on a beach holiday with a small baby for the first time turns up quite difficult. You can’t just pack a bikini and some clothes (ok it’s never just some clothes, it’s a lot of clothes and carefully thought through outfits). You need to think about things like: where will the baby be while you are on your sunlounge (no it won’t be tanning next to you), what will she eat? What will keep her entertained etc etc etc  but I will write later about my experience with what to take and what not to. 

So far we are having a fabulous time and I can say it’s the best holidays I have had ! 

   
 

Excitment / nightmare of buying a pram!Β 

Buying a pram was the most exciting bit straight after decorating Chloe’s nursery. Prams are not cheap so there is a lot of pressure to make sure that you pick up the best pram; pram which will be good for new born but also for toddler, practical but good looking, have all of the gadgets but will be simple and quick to use. 

There is a lots of things that everyone tell you too look at, there is also lots of things that no one tells you about, things that you find out about as you start using your pram – I wish I knew about those.

Obvious things to consider while buying pram

– Do you want a travel system or just a pram (travel system seems to be better value for money).

– The size of the pram. Will it fit in to you boot??!! This is an important one as prams are not small. 

– How easy is it to fold. This is important but in my opinion it isn’t a deal breaker. They all are more or less easy to fold, some are just super easy to fold or foldable with one hand. 

– How & where will you be using your pram. In my opinion it’s important only from the size point of view ( if you use it a lot in the city (tube,bus) you want it to be quite compact).  I would advise to look more at the suspension; It doesn’t matter where you are, you want it to be smooth to ride and to be able to cope with uneven surface (you have city pavements which are worst than off road paths in the countryside).   

Things I wish I have know before buying my pram:

– Hood wchih goes all the way down is the best. You use it when baby wants to sleep, so you don’t have to buy sleepshade. You also us it when it is sunny ( normal hood doesn’t protect properly from the sun and baby very often is exposed to it). That saves you money which you would have to spent on an pram umbrella (which btw isn’t very good).

– Big basket isn’t necessary (I use my one only for small things) but one which has a cover is very very good and handy ( whatever you store there is protected from dust and mud & people can’t see what you have in it).

– Height of baby when in the pram, you don’t want your baby to by too low or too high .

– How long will you be using this pram. If you are planning on having 2nd baby close to your nr1 then you should look at prams which will be able to acomodate it. 

– Look at what is included in the price of the pram and what do you need to buy separately.

MOST OF ALL PICK THE ONE THAT YOU LOVE. All of the above are important but you do have to love the way it looks !! This is not negotiable! 

What is good about some of the most popular brands :

Boogaloo 

PROS – nice colours, very big hood, shopping basket with cover.

CONS – quite flimsy, placement of break, baby seat and carry cot a bit low. 

I Candy :

PROS: nice colours, height of child is perfect, great if you want to use with more than one baby, very solid. 

CONS: expensive, you need to buy a lot of things seperatly, quite big. 

Silver Cross :

PROS – small, perfect height of child’s seat, lots of things included in the price.

CONS: colours could be much nicer, good doesn’t go low enough. 
When it comes to buying your pram its good to ask for opinion of others, compare them, see reviews ect but what is the most important is to make sure that you buy the pram that you love ! If you go for one which meant to be the best but you don’t love it you will regreat it trust me 😊