Littlemummy.com

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 …

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, …

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 – …

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 …

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

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. …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …