Selling your House with a Baby

To clarify: that's, selling your house when you have a baby. Not selling the baby along with the house...
Selling a house when you have a young child is not much fun! From estate agents' photos to house viewings it's an endless cycle of cleaning and clearing! Here are some of the things we have learnt:
1. Make sure you are both home when the estate agent comes to take pictures, that way one of you can hold the baby while the other moves all of the baby paraphernalia out of each room before photos are taken - your whole house doesn't need to be spotless; just the areas being photographed!

There is so much stuff behind that door!

2. It can be a nice idea to leave some toys out, so that your house looks family-friendly, but make sure they are neat and organised. We left some foam play mats out downstairs and a few toys in her room. Her highchair went under the stairs though as it made the area around the table look cluttered. 

3. Try to organise an open house, so that you can have most of your viewings on the same day (preferably while someone else looks after the baby, if at all possible). That way you only have one lot of tidying to do.
4. For viewings, put bulky items like prams in the car boot to keep the hallway clear. We also put Little Miss' highchair away each time, along with some of her bigger toys, like the ball pit.
5. A cute, smiley baby might be just the thing to sell your house, or at least make it memorable, but keep some scented candles on hand to cover up any unfortunately timed bad odors...

Moving House

Moving is definitely not something I envisioned doing with a baby. When we bought our current house, we expected to stay in it for 5-10 years, but a few months ago my husband received a job opportunity we couldn't turn down. So over the summer holidays we will be leaving Kent and moving up to Oxfordshire!

I was a bit upset when I realised Little Miss would never even remember her first room. The room I spent months sat imagining her in. The first space that was ever hers. But moving does at least give me the opportunity to plan a whole new nursery. We are going to rent for a year before moving into our new house, where she will have a bedroom suited to a two year old.

I'm apprehensive that moving will play havoc with the sleep cycle we have only just settled into. A new room will probably mean more sleepless nights, but hopefully it won't take her too long to feel comfortable again.

Moving will mean more open spaces, better primary schools (or at least more chance of getting a space at one, once we're away from London) and hopefully a park in walking distance. Even though this move was prompted by my husband's job, we are doing it for Little Miss too. We think moving further away from London will be good in the long run.

The biggest hurdle will definitely be moving away from my parents though, as Little Miss is so close to them and has been spending three days a week with them while I'm at work, but she will now be at nursery full time. This is definitely the aspect of the move I am finding the most scary - there will be no more impromptu drives over to see them, or round-the-corner babysitters! But we couldn't make this change without their support and encouragement. And the occasions when we do see them will be even more special because they are less frequent.

Has anyone else done a big move with a young baby? If so, do you have any tips?

Eleven Months Old

Where has all that time gone? I can't believe we are less than a month away from Little Miss' first birthday. Party plans are already underway (as well as a few other big changes), but here's a quick update from the last month.

She Has
6 teeth, still. No more this month.
Started offering things to us, although she doesn't always let go if we try to take them!
Becomes obsessed with the straps on her pram. She loves climbing up to play with them.
Not breastfed for a month. She now has two bottles a day.
Been to the zoo again, and to a farm.

She Can 
Stand unsupported for about 5 seconds
Sleep through the night!Walk holding one hand for support, although she's not that interested in doing so, so I think it will be a while yet until she is walking on her own.Point when she would like something. It's lovely being able to tell what has captured her attention. Do a great hand movement if someone says the word spider, although she thinks it's another type of wave, rather than an animal!Dance! She likes bopping up and down to music and waving her hands.


She Loves
Spending the day with Nanna and Gramps while Mummy is at work
Splashing in the paddling pool
Strawberries and peaches
Going in the swing (and she has started to cry if I take her out before she is ready!
Balloons and she's making a good attempt at saying the word, too.
Her books. Especially 'Guess How Much I Love You', which she always points to.
Shaking toys to make a sound.

Returning to Work

It's been longer than I intended since my last post, but I have found it hard to find the time to write recently as I have just returned to work. Luckily, it's only three days a week for the rest of this term, but I am full time from September, which will mean another period of adjustment. We are moving over the summer, so Little Miss will also be starting nursery then, whereas she is staying with my parents for now. I think I've got it easy at the moment and September will be the much harder change for both of us!

For now, at least, we are already settling into a new routine and here are some of the things I have learnt so far. 

1) Saying goodbye in the morning is the hardest part. All I want to do is sit and cuddle Little Miss. Letting her go is incredibly upsetting. We have found settling her down with some toys before we leave is the best tactic, as she's distracted when we say goodbye. 

2) I used to clock-watch a bit at work, but my day is now just one constant countdown until I can go home!

3) My days at home are actually far more exhausting than my days at work! Since returning to work I feel far more rested and refreshed! 

4) I appreciate my time at home with Little Miss so much more now. Towards the end of my maternity leave, I was starting to spend a lot of the day wishing she would have a nap, or waiting for my husband to get home. I now try and make the most of the days we have off together and we are having much more fun (although I still breathe a sigh of relief when she falls asleep!)

5) Miraculously, Little Miss started sleeping through the night the same week I returned to work. I remember reading Bring Up Bebe a few months ago and finding it really bizarre when Druckerman spoke about babies who started to sleep through when their mum's returned to work, but there must be something in it! (Or it could just be because I've stopped breastfeeding...)

Returning to work hasn't been fun, but it has been easier than I expected and has bought a few unexpected benefits with it too! I still much prefer my time at home playing games and going to walks with Little Miss though.

Ten Months Old

She Loves
Climbing everything (especially stairs, if she can get at them)
Organix Strawberry Rice Cakes
Turning pages in books (usually before I can read what's on them for her)
Pulling (rather violently) at flaps in books
Usborne 'That's Not My Books', especially 'That's Not My Owl'
Pressing the buttons on the washing machine and tumble dryer (thank goodness for child locks!)
Empying things: boxes; her LeapFrog picnic basket; washing baskets; changing bags; drawers of clothing...

She Can
Clap
Wave
Point (It's been a good month for hand movements!)
Finally bounce in her Baby Einstein jumper!

She Has
Spent her first day without Mummy or Daddy, ahead of my return to work tomorrow
Moved into 9-12 month clothing
Started to almost always sleep through on a Tuesday. We can't work out why though!
Six teeth, which she likes biting us with...
A very cheeky grin
Been to Christmas Tree farm, where she watched Daddy feed the animals

Food Update

We are getting more adventurous with what we are feeding Little Miss. She is becoming a little carnivore and loves her meat. She also loves beans and pulses, I think because they are soft and easy to eat. I have also stopped breastfeeding, as I am about to go back to work, so Little Miss now has a bottle of formula after breakfast and before bed. We were giving her two more bottles during the day, but she wasn't really interested in them and the Health Visitor suggested we drop them completely and give her two healthy snacks instead.

Here's some of the food and meals she has tried this month:

Apple
Steak
Meatballs
Pancetta
Chorizo
Sweet potato and dahl pie
White fish
Spanish meatball and butter bean stew
Summer Vegetable Curry
Tom Kha Gai (recipe from the Spicery)
Chocolate!
Nandos chicken
Tapas in La Tasca
Homemade baked beans
Tagliatelle
Mild fajitas and enchiladas
Quiche
Tuna
Organix rice cakes and carrot sticks (which I'm sure are secretly just Wotsits...)

  

Things I wish I had known before I had a BOTM (Baby On The Move)

Less helpful tips, more exhausted rant...

Don't buy a shiny pedal bin. So what if your old bin has a broken lid? Just put up with it. Little Miss doesn't know which germ covered delight to attack first: the pedal; the shiny body or the bin bag itself, which just won't stay tucked in. Other bins may suddenly have to be relocated to the tops of shelves. It might look strange but it decreases the amount of time you will spend moving your child away from them.

If you can't block your kitchen off, remember to clean things you might not expect to - such as the outside of washing machines, which are apparently very fun to lick.

Even the most awkward surfaces can and will be climbed. Such as the towel rail, the toilet and chairs which are tucked under the table.

Side tables will become superfluous as you won't be able to keep anything on them. You're just going to have to learn how to levitate that cup of tea above head height, sorry. 

Even though you know your child can get themselves back on the ground and have seen them do so on many occasions, they would much rather stand and fuss until you come and get them.

Forget fancy walkers. The recycling box you've been keeping on the (suddenly extremely dangerous) kitchen tiles is SO much more fun to push around. It also makes it easier to reach that new bin...

  

Toys for a Nine Month Old

Now that Little Miss is nine months old, I think it's time to pick up a few more toys for her, particularly ones which are a little more interactive. Here are some ideas of toys for 9m+

Swing // Music Maker // Bath Toys // Plane // Pop-Up Animals

Unfortunately, we don't have room for a swing in our current garden, so this TP swing from Early Learning Centre is going to have to go in my parent's garden, so Little Miss will be able to use it when I go back to work. 

She loves making lots of noise and her rattle is one of her favourite toys (for eating, as well as shaking...), so I think she will really like this music maker. 

Another thing she loves is bath time and for some reason most bath toys are advertised as 9m+, so we will definitely get her some new things to play with in the bath now that she is big enough. 

The animal pop-up toy and plane both look very interactive, which will be great now that she is getting a bit older. 

Ten Little Princess

I'm sticking with a royal theme this week with a review of one of mine and Little Miss' favourite books: Ten Little Princesses by Mike Brownlow and Simon Rickerty. 

Ten Little Princesses is a fun, girly counting book with lots of bright pictures to catch your little one's attention and it has a great rhythm too. I have found that Little Miss engages more with picture books than she does with touchy-feely board books for her age group because she likes listening to the rhythm of the words, in the same way that she loves it when we sing to her. Usually, she sits and listens to me read without paying too much attention to the book itself, but she seems to really like the bold pictures in Ten Little Princesses.

Many of the princesses in the book are based on traditional fairy tale characters, but there are some new additions too. My favourite is the princess knight in a suit of armour. She looks really cool and shows that you can be a princess without wearing a fancy dress. 

If princesses aren't your thing, there are two other books in the series: Ten Little Pirates and Ten Little Dinosaurs. Ten Little Princesses is so great that I am planning to complete the set. 

Election 2015: Make Your Vote Count

Over the past few months, we have been bombarded with so many policies and manifestos that it has become increasingly difficult to keep track of who is promising what. Using the BBC's policy guide and the party manifestos, I have tried to list some of the key parent-related policies for each party. This is supposed to be an impartial, balanced guide (I'm not trying to tell you who to vote for). I'm not commenting on which policies I agree with or what I think is lacking. The number of bullet points for each purely reflects what I was able to find. Although it felt patronising, the Labour Women's Manifesto did make it really easy to find the sorts of policies I was looking for, which is why their list is the longest. 

Labour: 

• Protect education budget for 0-19 year olds so it rises in line with inflation
• Ensure all primary schools guarantee access to childcare from 8am to 6pm
• Cap class sizes at 30 for 5, 6 and 7 year-olds
• Extend free childcare from 15 to 25 hours for working parents of three and four year olds, paid for by an increase in the bank levy

• We will protect the Sure Start budget, and open up an additional 50,000 childcare places by requiring Sure Start children’s centres to offer childcare 
• Double paid paternity leave to four weeks, and increase the level of paternity pay to over £260 a week
• Consult on allowing grandparents who want to be more involved in caring for their grandchildren to share in parents’ unpaid parental leave, enabling them to take time off work without fear of losing their job

Conservatives:

• 30 hours free childcare for working parents of 3&4-year-olds
• Create at least a further 500 free schools in England by 2020, resulting in 270,000 new school places
• Protect school funding per pupil
• Ensure a good primary school place for every child, with zero tolerance for failure
• Support primary school sport with £150 million a year, paid directly to head-teachers, until 2020

Lib Dems:

• Ring fence the education budget for 2-19 year olds
• A strategy to end child illiteracy by 2025
• 15 hrs a week free childcare from the end of paid parental leave
• A "long-term ambition" to increase free provision to 20 hours a week for all two, three and four-year-olds and for children aged between nine months and two years of working parents

• Triple statutory paternity leave to six weeks

Obviously I have only looked at small part each party's manifestos here and have ignored everything else, but I hope it is at least a little bit helpful. The BBC's policy guide is really good for comparing every party (not just the main ones) on the issues that matter most to you. Here is where I took the information from: BBC Policy Guide; Conservative Manifesto; Labour Women's Manifesto 

Royal Baby

Congratulations William and Kate! I have enjoyed following all of the royal baby news over the past few days (I am still amazed by how stunning Kate looked - and in heels too!) Inspired by all of the footage of gorgeous little Princess Charlotte Cambridge, I have put together some royal baby themed gift ideas for your little prince or princess. 

Cushion // Plate // Crown // Bear // Penny

Bear // Blanket & Hat // Happyland Royal Family // Vest // Book

I bought the Happyland figures this weekend for when Little Miss to have in a few months and I would quite like to order Shhh! Don't Wake the Royal Baby! Have you bought anything linked to the royal birth yet? Or are you already sick of all the coverage it's getting?

Nine Months Old

She Loves...
Being pushed around the room in a washing basket
Taking toys out of her LeapFrog picnic basket
Eating everything
Trying to grab phones, tablets, laptops...

She Can... 
Pull herself up to standing (but can rarely get back down again...)
Walk with her walker 
Help herself to toys from her basket

She Has... 
Four teeth
Been on her first holiday
Lost all ability to nap in her cot during the day
Started to try and lift the flaps on her books (and has only broken one so far)
Slept through the night TWICE

I can't believe Little Miss has now been alive for nine months! I only have one more month at home with her before I have to go back to work and I'm going to make sure we enjoy every minute of it. I am going to miss being on maternity leave very much. 

  

Cornwall Part 2

The Beach

Little Miss had her first experience with sand while we were away and (to my surprise) she seemed to really enjoy the feel of it on her toes. We didn't brave the sea though as I think that would have been too cold for me, let alone her!

Coastal Walks
Little Miss recently outgrew out Baby Bjorn, so we picked up the Lillebaby Complete (after seeing some great reviews on other blogs) before we went. It was brilliant for all the long walks we went on, and was comfy for me even when I was climbing over stiles or walking up steep hills! I'm quite short and I found the backpack style baby carriers a bit too big so the Lillebaby has been a great alternative. We also made use of the 'all seasons' vent whenever we were out of the wind.

Trelissick
On Easter Sunday we went to Trelissick house and gardens and had a great time exploring, this time in the pram. When I stopped to feed Little Miss, we let her have a good crawl about on the grass. She has only just started to crawl, so I really wanted to get a video of her doing it with such a beautiful backdrop, but she foiled our plans by attempting to eat something from the grass every ten seconds (she only succeeded once, so I don't think we did too badly!) The videos were a bust, but I did manage to get some lovely photos (complete with silly sunhat!).

Eating out

Little Miss is usually pretty great in restaurants. We normally order an extra side of veg and then give her some of our food too. She was a bit of a pickle in The Old Ale House, due to teething pain (luckily it was a weekday lunchtime, so there wasn't too many other customers in there for her to disturb!). And she completely slept through our meal in Falmouth, but she was great everywhere else.

Melinsey Mill

I love cream teas! They are one of my favourite parts about going to Cornwall but somehow I only managed to have one this holiday. It was so yummy though I really don't mind. At the bottom of a steep, single track hill, Melinsey Mill is a quaint, quirky stop off with a pond walk complete with teapot walkway (take a look at the website for pictures) The scones were homemade and delicious, and they were very generous with the jam and clotted cream. They were also one of the surprising few places we visited with a proper baby change unit. Why do so many restaurants/pubs have tonnes of highchairs but no where to change your baby other than the counter next to the sink in the ladies? It doesn't really make sense and it's so frustrating!

Cornwall Part 1

Over Easter we took Little Miss on her very first family holiday. We haven't braved international travel yet (or airplanes) but instead went to a holiday cottage in Cornwall from the company Cornish Gems. The cottage was a converted cowshed near Portscatho, on the Roseland peninsula. We had an amazing time and were really disappointed when we had to come home (although it has been nice getting Little Miss back into her usual routine).

Although we didn't tackle flying, the six hour drive came with its own challenges and we were quite apprehensive beforehand. We got REALLY lucky and Little Miss was amazing, sleeping most of the way and playing with her Freddie the Firefly (or her socks for some strange reason…) whenever she woke up. We had plenty of stops along the way so that she could move about a bit and have a break from the car, but the whole journey was a far cry from the nightmarish twenty minute journeys we used to have in her old car seat, where she would SCREAM at the top of her lungs for the whole journey, even though she wasn't hungry/sleepy/cold/hot/in need of changing etc. We credit the amazing difference in our car trips with her new car seat (we went with the AxissFix in the end. It's worth every penny just to have her happy in the car).

The cottage we stayed in was gorgeous. Cornish Gems specialises in luxury holiday homes, however, they have a range which they advertise as 'baby friendly' as they come with features like cots, stair gates, sterilisers and even baby monitors. This made travelling with Little Miss so much easier and also gave us the chance to road test a video baby monitor for the week, which we now think we might buy. They had a Maclaren stroller at the property, but we worried Little Miss might be a bit too small for it, so we still took our normal pram, as well as our brilliant new baby carrier, which was ideal for coastal walks. Although the Cowshed had a lot of baby friendly features, it wasn't 100% childproof. Most of the property was on one level, but there were some tiled stairs down into the kitchen which didn't have a stair gate and we had to block them off with the shoe basket for the week. It also wasn't ideal for a baby who decided that she was going to learn to crawl properly and start pulling herself up on everything in sight while we were away and we had to keep a very close eye on her at all times to make sure she didn't hurt herself on sharp corners!

Although Little Miss has never been a great sleeper, we had managed to get her down to only one or two wake ups a night before we went away. Unfortunately this was not the case in Cornwall. She clearly didn't like being in a new place and woke up and cried inconsolably every few hours. It probably also didn't help that she was learning to crawl and pull herself up, and her top teeth were starting to cut through - the odds were very much NOT in our favour. As a result, she ended up sleeping in our bed most of the time, which we panicked would give us even more problems when we got home, but she seems really happy to be back in her own room and is sleeping better than ever (until I post this, of course, at which point I can probably expect hourly wake ups…)

Portscatho is lovely, if out of the way. We were about half an hour from Truro but a nice walk from some lovely beaches. We also had a stunning view out across to St Mawes from our cottage. It was a fantastic backdrop to Sunday's Poldark (unfortunately no tin mines in sight though!)

Little Miss seemed to really love her first holiday, encountering lots more 'firsts' while we were there. I can't wait to take her somewhere else, although we are just starting the process of moving house, so it might be quite some time until our next trip away! I'm conscious that this post is getting quite long, so I'm going to write another one soon on some of the things we got up to while we were away. 

Swimming Lessons

Little Miss and I have been going swimming each week for about two months now. We started going with our NCT group but had to change days so we are taking Nana with us at the moment to watch from the sidelines. Little Miss absolutely loves it, she has such fun in the water and seems to enjoy bath time even more as a result. Here are our swimming top tips:

• Most local pools offer baby swimming lessons for a similar cost to a session on your own in the pool. You don't have to pay hundreds for fancy programs.
• The pools near me also all seem to offer lessons everyday, so unlike most baby classes you can pick the session which will work best for you.
• Despite the name, they aren't really lessons and I definitely don't expect Little Miss to start swimming any time soon! Instead, our half hour class is all about having fun in the water, chasing toy ducks and singing songs. It's much more entertaining than taking her in the water by myself, but has given me plenty of ideas for when I do.
• It's a work out! From crouching in the baby pool (think half an hour of squats!) to getting both of you changed, taking your baby swimming is a lot of exercise!
• The pool will probably be cooler than your baby will be used to. Little Miss cried during her first few swimming lessons, but since I bought her a baby wet suit from Two Bare Feet we've had no more tears! Lots of her friends are fine in normal swimsuits, so I think it's just Little Miss being sensitive, but it's worth bearing in mind if your own little one seems unhappy in the pool.

Day-By-Day Wonder Bébé

Over the past eight months I have read four very different parenting books. Some have been full of fantastic advice, some have made me laugh out loud and others just weren't for me. Here are my thoughts on each:

Bringing Up Bébé
One French Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting.

This book is AMAZING. I wish I had read it sooner. It's part memoir, part parenting handbook, so it's easy and fun to read, with some great anecdotes about Druckerman's life in Paris. I have found lots of the advice really useful and am trying to implement many of the tips. I just wish I had read the sleep advice before Little Miss made it past six months.  

The Wonder Weeks

Discover the wonder weeks. Why a baby is fussy at set time and how you can help him to make the most out of it.

A useful guide to what is going on in your baby's head. Its main job is to stop you blaming everything on teething and get you thinking about the impact developmental leaps may be having on your baby's moods and emotions. There is also an app (which is great if you don't have time to read the book, but disappointing if you already have it) and a diary. I like reading Wonder Weeks a leap at a time, so I always know what should be coming up next. It has actually proven to be quite accurate when predicting 'sunny' and 'stormy' weeks. 

The Day-by-Day Baby Book
In-depth, daily advice on your baby's growth, care and development in the first year. 

A different tip, idea or suggestion for every day of your baby's first year. I like catching up with this each week. It has some good ideas for games and general advice on feeding, illnesses and milestones etc. I also really enjoyed reading the pregnancy version before Little Miss was born. It's also a great way of keeping track of how many weeks old Little Miss is. 

Beyond the Sling
A real-life guide to raising confident, loving children the attachment parenting way. 

I bought this because I'm a Big Bang Theory fan and thought it was worth a try, but I was really disappointed with it. The highlight was reading about elimination communication, which was interesting, even if I would never want to try it. It does having some interesting anecdotes from Bialik's life and I liked the fact that it wasn't pushy - Bialik was just explaining what had worked for her family and friends, not trying to tell you that you had to parent in a certain way. Beyond the Sling just wasn't advocating a parenting style that was right for me.

I don't usually read non-fiction, but I've enjoyed the parenting books I have read so far. I'm also quite interested in reading Michel Cohen's 'The New Basics' (which is recommended in Bringing up Bébé) and Michael Rosen's 'Good Ideas' as both sound really good. Do you have any other recommendations? 

Easter

As well as her first tiny taste of chocolate, Little Miss received some lovely gifts for Easter.

She got some lovely, Easter-themed, story books, a Fisher-Price Roller Blocks Play Wall and Musical Book, and a Baby Einstein Discover and Play Piano and Octoplush.

She really has been spoiled by her grandparents and auntie and she is enjoying playing with all her new things on our first family holiday. 

Happy Easter everyone! 

 

{photos from Bubble Photography}

8 Months Old

She loves...
Following me around the room
Playing with her cousin
Going to Baby Sensory
Watching the washing machine and tumble drier!
Our new Lillebaby carrier
Her ball pit


She can...
Crawl!
Feed herself quite successfully with a rudimentary pincer grip
Escape in one hundred different ways when having her nappy changed
Climb in and out of her ball pit when she has had enough


She has...
Two teeth and another one on the way
Started drinking one bottle of formula a day
Outgrown her Sleepyhead, so nighttime has been interesting for a few weeks...
Started to give kisses
Finally moved into 6-9 month clothing

  

Baby-Led Weaning

This month, Little Miss has tried:

Pineapple

Melon

Peaches

Nectarines

Frozen Banana

Raspberries (so far the only food she doesn't like - they actually made her cry!)

French Toast (my delicious Mother's Day breakfast)

Pizza (grabbed straight out of Daddy's hand before he could stop her...)

Noodles

Quiche

Omelette

Sausage, leek and fennel pasta

Weetabix (which swiftly replaced the baby porridge when I noticed how much sugar it contained)

Cream Cheese (a favourite on toast)

Meatballs

Chicken Pie

Pesto and Mozzarella stuffed mushrooms

Tuna

Little Miss is really good at trying new things and loves eating. We are still cutting everything into finger-sized pieces and letting her feed herself. She loves the independence and I love that we can all eat together at the same time. 

My Pal Violet

I bought LeapFrog's My Pal Violet on a whim from an Amazon Lightning Deal for Black Friday but it has quickly become one of our most used toys. 

Violet (and her green brother, Scout) can be connected to the computer and personalised with your child's name, favourite colour, food and animal. These 'favourites' aren't all that applicable to a six month old who has barely started eating, let alone expressing preferences over colour and animals, so the options I have put in for now are pretty generic and can (hopefully) be changed at a later date. Violet then uses these options in a variety of sweet songs and games. There are enough songs and activities that, even though you'll quickly learn all the words, Violet does't seem as repetitive as a lot of Little Miss's toys.

Recently, Little Miss has started to turn whenever Violet says her name, which is lovely. Unfortunately not all names can be used though- my nephew's name wasn't recognised by the system, so Scout can't say it. But it is still a great toy even without the personalised features.

As well as songs, rhymes and games, Violet also has a button for 'bedtime music' which can last for 5, 10 or 15 minutes. For us, this has proven to be Violet's best feature as the soothing music is great for helping Little Miss drift back off to sleep at night.

Violet has an age range of 6-36 months and at the moment I can easily see us using her for that long, as Little Miss gradually learns to interact with her more and more. 

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is nearly here, but it's not too late to order a last minute gift. Here are some of my favourite ideas. 

Breakfast in Bed Kit £15

Personalised Sterling Silver and Leather Wrap Bracelet £35

'Favourite Memories' Box £22

For My Mum Signature Collection £15

Baby Etched Framed Print £64

6-9 Month Clothing

So far, Little Miss has been about a month out with her clothing sizes. Now that she's seven months, it's time to move her into 6-9 month clothing. Here are some of the things I can't wait to buy.

Top right: M&S

Bottom right: M&S

Left: Baby Boden

Top left: both M&S

Top right: Next

Bottom right: Next

Bottom left: Baby Boden

Top left: M&S

Top right: Next

Bottom left: both Mothercare

Bottom right: baby boden

Happy World Book Day!

As a librarian, writer and book-addict, I love World Book Day. I can't wait until Little Miss is old enough to go to school in fancy dress, but until then, here are some adorable book-themed baby outfits I would love to try:

There are lots of different Hungry Caterpillar costumes, but this dress from Etsy is definitely the prettiest I have seen.

We love our bread, we love our butter, but most of all, we love each other! I loved Madeline as a child and her little blue dress and hat would make a very cute WBD costume.

Another great Etsy creation - hats and nappy covers for Winne the Pooh characters!

 

And this fluffy Eeyore outfit looks super cuddly too:

This Peter Pan costume has a DIY tutorial for if you're feeling inspired. 

I have a bit of a soft spot for Disney costumes...

But fairy tales, like Little Red Riding Hood, make great outfit ideas too

Harry Potter is sure to be a favourite in my house.I love this Gryffindor vest for baby Hermiones. 

And finally, I can't think of a book character to match it to, but this shark costume is too funny not to post

Who will your little one be dressing up as for World Book Day this year?