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By Little Mummy, August 31, 2006 9:42 am

Cafe Nero on Wednesday was a delight. It’s a spacious italian cafe in the heart of Edinburgh’s Lothian Road.

After a short walk and a little shopping (yay! for double changing rooms) Erin and I stopped off for coffee. There was plenty of space for my ‘larger than average’ buggy I located a table near the back where I thought I could feed Erin in relative peace. No, this isn’t a blog post about breastfeeding. Erin’s up to three meals a day now and like her Dad enjoys her grub. The barista happily* heated Erin’s celery, apple and courgette soup for her.

I say happily because usually even if you are lucky enough to find somewhere prepared to do it (health, safety,food guidelines??) you usually find that you are made to feel like you’re asking them to prepare and cook the bloody meal, not just shove it in a microwave for 30 seconds.

Erin enjoyed her soup and I enjoyed the super-strength coffee.

If that wasn’t enough joy for one day…they even had a toilet large enough to fit me, Erin and the ‘larger than average’ buggy. Man, I don’t remember considering going to the toilet a luxury before having Erin….

Moral of the story?

People have babies. People need to go to toilet. People can’t leave said babies ‘loitering’ outside. PROVIDE DOUBLE TOILETS FOR POOR ‘PEE PEE’ NEEDING PARENTS.

Thank you

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By Little Mummy, August 28, 2006 12:20 pm

Fruit & Veg: Switch to organic fruit & veg, up your intake to 8 portions a day.

Swap White Bread for Wholemeal: 80% of Zinc is taken out of white bread to make it last longer.

Caffeine: Cut down. Caffeine is linked to low fertility.

B6: balances hormones, it can be found in bananas, lentils, and sunflower seeds.

Zinc: ensures good quality sperm, the following foods are great sources of zinc; cashew nuts, oysters, crabmeat and pumpkin seeds.

Vitamin C: increases sperm count. The best sources of vitamin C are kiwi, strawberries, oranges and tomatoes.

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By Little Mummy, August 21, 2006 10:42 am

Have Fun with Chocolate Fondue

You will need;

Chocolate (milk chocolate or white chocolate…..or both…yum!)

Some of the following;

Fudge Pieces
Strawberries
Marshmallows
Chunks of Banana
Brioche Bread
Pretzels
Chunks of Apple
Mini Donuts

Photo by Flickr user Yuhui

A fork, skewer, cocktail stick or trainer chopsticks for dipping into the chocolate.

Melt the chocolate over hot water or in the microwave. If you use the microwave do it on a low heat and keep stirring to make sure it doesn’t burn (I speak from experience!)

Prepare little bowls of dippy things from the list above + anything else you can think of.

*Tip – you could do this at a kids party, if it is a large party consider setting up two or three ‘chocolate dippy stands’. Adult supervision recommended!

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By Little Mummy, August 19, 2006 4:54 am

So you have your baby bible and know exactly what the script is….but what about your partner?

We all know that when it comes to this stuff most men don’t have a clue, most will try their best, but ultimately fail miserably to understand your cravings for coal or worse still those red bricks they build with (ask me about that story sometime!) your highs and lows or why you feel so tired even though you haven’t done anything.

Don’t Panic

I have the answer. I worked for me, it can work for you too!

It’s very simple.

You have your bible, he needs his.

My suggestion is not only very infornative but absolutely hysterical. I know because I read it – for research purposes only of course!

The Blokes Guide to Pregnancy by Jon Smith

Buy it now, you won’t regret it. Alex says “It was absolutely hysteical, it helped a lot. It’s like the author has been your mate for years”.

Baby Name Selector

Aditi (girl)

Indian name meaning ‘abundant creative power’

Andrew (boy)

Name of the patron saint of Scotland

Davina (girl)

From the Hebrew (beloved)

Garvey (boy)

Gaelic for ‘peace through victory’

Kiara (girl)

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By Little Mummy, August 16, 2006 3:42 am

It costs practically a year’s salary (to some) to send one child to school, that’s state school by the way.

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By Little Mummy, August 15, 2006 8:20 am

First Visitors

I had a planned caesarean as I have crohn’s disease, so we had grandparents-to-be waiting at the end of the phone. Or that’s what we thought! Turns out they got too excited waiting at home and decided to come up to the hospital ‘just in case’ (just in case what? – I don’t know).

Erin is first grandchild on both sides and first great grandchild and first great great grandchild – yip that’s five generations. So you could say there was a litte ‘extra’ excitement surrounding her birth. After her birth we had to go to the high dependency unit because I had pre-eclampsia and crohns and Erin was a little early (37 wks) so all the unexpected visitors were ushered in and out of there in twos, much to the dismay of the head nurse!

Leaving Hospital

I didn’t cry when Erin was born. I don’t know why not. I thought I would. Perhaps it was the shock of being able to see my abdomen splayed out on the operating table through a mirror-backed light on the ceiling (nice idea – not!).

Erin and I were in hospital for 36 hours. I remember getting all our things together with Alex’ help, double, triple, what I went in with + a baby of course, we traipsed out of the ward…..and then………VWOOOSH.

It hit me. This was it. She was our baby and we were taking her home to start our new lives….together……as a ‘family’. I cried.

(with happiness btw)

Back at Home

We arrived home. A bit sooner than expected (well about 3 days sooner actually). I climbed the steps to the fourth floor clutching my stomach, hoping I wasn’t leaving anything behind. Why does that journey home from the hospital feel like such a death ride? Alex was only doing 60mph (on a motorway) but it felt like that at any given moment we would go skidding off and become a tangled mass of metal, bodies, trees and …..well anythingelse that was in our path (sorry, but this was what was going through my head). The news would say something like ‘happy new family’s life ends in tragedy’ or ‘couple left babyless after horrific crash’…..come on you had these thoughts too right? When you were driving home from hospital……no?

Home in one piece with all internal organs safely stowed away behind the stitches (still in tact), Alex lay Erin gently in her crib (the one we had stared at empty.. imagining a mini-me….a mini-us in there). We both sat on the sofa and stared at her. We had a cuddle. I nearly cried.

Visit to Wales

When Erin was 3 weeks old we got up one morning, bleary-eyed, and I said ‘shall we go to Wales today?’ Alex said ‘yeah, ok’. We packed up and set off on the nine hour journey for Erin to meet my side of the family.

This makes the top five because at this point we felt empowered, coupledom had become familydom, almost seamlessly. We both realised that having Erin wasn’t going to stop us doing things, that she would fit in ‘just nicely’ (just as well I guess!)

Smiles in the Morning!

Every morning, without fail, a big gummy grin, arms and legs flailing with excitement – it’s enough to melt your heart! (and then she throws up on you….again, that reminds me, she puked on Alex’ head the other day, mash and sweetcorn bits in his hair…YUK!)

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By Little Mummy, August 15, 2006 4:45 am

I found this helpful (rough!) guide in a parenting magazine it shows how much sleep (approx!) your child should be getting for each age….

1 week 16.5 hours (4 daytime naps)

1 month 15.5 hours (3 daytime naps)

3 months 15 hours (3 daytime naps)

6 months 14.5 hours (2 daytime naps)

9 months 14 hours (2 daytime naps)

12 months 13.75 hours (1 daytime naps)

18 months 13.5 hours (1 daytime nap)

2 years 13 hours (1 daytime nap)

3 years 12 hours (1 daytime nap)

4 years 11.5 hours (ouch! No nap…)

I think this guide is pretty good although, from my experience working at a nursery I found most of the kids had stopped their daytime nap by their 3rd birthday.

What are your thoughts? Did your babies/children follow this pattern?

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By Little Mummy, August 14, 2006 7:14 am

Make an Ice-Cream Cone Picture

You will need;

Cotton Wool (coloured if possible, if not white is fine)
Paint (pale brown)
Paint Brush
Water
Black Felt Tip Pen
Glue
1 Piece of White Card

1. Draw your Ice-Cream shape onto the paper with the felt-tip pen, include the cone part + a couple of scoops of ice-cream and a wafer too.

2. Paint the cone and the wafer with pale brown paint.

3. Draw a criss cross patten to make the cone look extra real.

4. Glue your cotton wool on to look like ice-cream, white = vanilla, pink = strawberry, yellow = banana.

5. Cut the whole ice-cream out.

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By Little Mummy, August 13, 2006 2:02 pm

It’s The Little Things That Count

As the title says it’s the little things that count, and the little things that you and your guests will remember. The hand-made but very beautiful table centre pieces, the table toy for someone’s child…..

Here are some suggestions;

My wedding as I mentioned was in Wales so we had someone make Scottish Tablet to go with the coffee instead of mints.

A special speech of thank-you’s.

A slide-show (keep it short!)

A special song played for someone

Giving the bouquet to the eldest guest is a nice gesture especially if they have been married a long time – it may bring you good luck.

And Finally

It matters not how grand the wedding, but the quality of the marriage after it.

The Complete Dream Wedding Series

Part 1 – Utilise Friends and Family

Part 2 – Contributors

Part 3 – Location, Location, Location

Part 4 – Clothing

Part 5 – Food

Part 6 – Wedding Stationery

Part 7 – Wedding Favours & Decorations

Part 8 – Gifts and Rings

Part 9 – It’s the Little Things that Count

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By Little Mummy, August 13, 2006 6:30 am

Gifts and Rings

Aaaah so you thought you were the only one to get gifts….. nope! It’s tradition to give the attendants a gift to say thank you for their contribution to the day. So that’s the bridesmaids, flowergirl,and pageboy. I also think it’s nice to give something to the best men and anyone who has contributed to the wedding.

These gifts don’t need to be expensive though. I suggest personalised gifts, they are special but not too expensive.

Here are some suggestions;

Engraved tankards (good for best men, and usually under £20)

A personalised book for children.. you know…the ones that include their name.

An engraved bangle

An engraved cigar case

On eBay you can buy wine, whisky and champagne with personalised labels, in fact I did male table presents of miniature whisky bottles with personalised labels – they seemed to go down really well (down the throat, most of them!)

Rings

They are one of the only things that will last after the big day, so spend some money and buy ones that you not only love but that are good quality and will last ‘a lifetime’. I spent 10% of my overall spend on the rings. No regrets here. And if it all goes wrong….at least you’ll have something solid to throw at them!! (JOKING)