Getting Out The Door With Four

 Organisation

The summer holidays are in full swing here, and that means lots of fun days out planned. However, before we can go out and enjoy our time together there is just one thing we need to do, get everyone out the door. While that sounds like a simple task it can be the most stressful part of the day, even worse than bedtime.

Meet the kids

We have Roran (6) who wants to help by doing everything, but can’t do it without asking first and has no concept of priorities. Willem (5) who has severe selective hearing and is not very keen on helping at all. Persephonie (3) who is adamant she can do everything herself and will except no help even when we are running super late. Beatrix (1) well she can’t really do anything for herself so pretty reliant on me doing it all.

Starting early

I aim to start getting everyone out of the door at least 30 minutes before I need to, the first step is shoes. We have a shoe cupboard by our front door yet even though it is full somehow it never has the shoes in that we require, those are hidden somewhere around the house. The boys are usually good at finding theirs, although I do often need to ask Willem several times first and explain why we need to wear shoes. Persephonie’s are usually harder to find and often we find the wrong pair, she has far too many shoes and is very picky. Beatrix is easier she only has one pair which she rarely wears.

Looking after their skin

Next, sun cream.  Even after weeks of hot weather I am still explaining that we need it on. So we have a bottle in the car and one in the changing bag and another in a box by the door. Roran is always happy to apply his, although I have to check his face as he seems to forget that.  Willem will do his but often protests with an elaborate reason to why he doesn’t need it and needs some encouragement. Persephonie won’t let anyone help her except for me and Beatrix happily sits there.

The right hat for the right mood

Sunhats.  Each child has at least 3 sun hats and still every time we leave the house we can’t find any. There is a box for them by the door, but they never seem to make it back in there. They do turn up in the car, the garden, a bag, under the sofa or even in the doll’s house. Even when we do find hats they have to be the right one. Roran is now ‘too cool’ for your standard sun hat, it needs to be a cap. Meanwhile Persephonie, who has the most hats, needs the one that fits her mood.

Staying hydrated

Water bottles. I always make sure we take a water bottle out with us in the summer, and Roran is keen to fill them up, but first they need locating. Each of the children have a Klean Kanteen which they manage to lose daily, often they are found in the car. Once we have located them all Roran will fill them up, but he cannot unscrew them so that is my job. Then I need to remind them to actually take them out with us.

Double checking EVERYTHING

Whilst all these things are being sorted I am often busy making sure I have nappies, change of clothes, spare hats, snacks, money, and everything else we need for the day. Most days I go back in the house at least once as someone as forgot something. Once we are out the house we can enjoy our day…

 

Previously posted on www.familiesonline.co.uk 

BeeBooBuzz Vests

BeeBuzzBoo are a new company that only started up this year. They offer the market a selection of organic baby wear in bright colours. A British Brand, their products are also knitted, dyed and manufactured in Britain. At the moment they are offering long sleeve and short sleeve vests, but hope to expand in the future. Last month I was fortunate to win a set of 3 vests in a raffle, and here are my thoughts.

Colour:

The vests come in two sets, warm colours and cool colours. I choose the warm colours as I find red and orange very autumnal, so perfect for this time of year. When they arrived I was very impressed with the brightness of the colours. I have since washed them and not noticed any obvious fade in colour and still happy with how bright they are.

Style:

I have found the vests ideal for putting under our dungarees and playsuits, and go really well with a lot of our scandi prints. The long sleeves are a good length, and also wider than other brands so look more like a top than a vest which I like. The neck is an envelope style so easy for putting over babies head. I usually prefer buttons/poppers as find some envelope styles get saggy when being worn but haven’t noticed this with these. The vest fits nicely over our cloth bum which is always a bonus in our house.

Cost:

A set of 3 costs between £21 and £23, which I find reasonable for the quality and that the item is made of organic cotton. The items arrived wrapped and gift boxed, so great for a gift to someone.

Overall:

I am very impressed with these vests and will be looking at getting myself some more soon. I have already recommend them to many different Facebook groups when people are looking for plain vests for layering up with. Great quality and a good price, plus organic and a UK Brand.

 

Tots Bots Element Prints 2017

I have always been a fan of the Tots Bots elements prints, and the latest collection haven’t failed to impress. The set of 3, Whirl, Bee Kind and Rumble, are colourful, bright and fun.  Linking the always popular rainbow colours with popular theme such as bees and rain clouds, I can see these being a hit with cloth nappy users and collectors alike,

We’ve been testing out the EasyFit nappies with Beatrix. At 3 months she fits in birth to potty nappies on the lowest rise.

Absorbency:

These are our first TotsBots EasyFit Stars and I am very impressed with the absorbency of them. They lasted with no leaks between nappy changes, even when in the car seat and her sling for long periods. Beatrix didn’t seem to feel wet or uncomfy when her nappy was due a change either.

Fit:

The fit of the nappy was great and looked more secure and less ‘gappy’ than some of our others. Beatrix is only on the first set of poppers so has a lot of growing room in them. Beatrix is still quite narrow but we found the nappy fitted lovely around her waist.

Cost:

The EasyFit Star cost £17.99 per nappy and are designed to last from birth to potty training, so good value in our opinion

The new prints will be available in Easyfit, Teenyfit, PeeNut and in Wet Bags and Happy Mats. Visit TotsBots for more

Travelling With Cloth

One of the questions I often get asked my nappies is if we use disposables when out and about and holidaying, and the answer is no we still cloth.

I have spoke about this before in my previous post  ‘Can I Use Cloth Nappies On Holiday‘ However the biggest challenge with using cloth when away is how to store them, so how do we manage that. Well first of all when we go away we often only go for a few nights, so this makes things a lot simpler.

1. How many nappies to take? We always work out how many we would use on a normal day and then times that by how many days we are going away for, including travelling days. We then add a few extra for any eventualities that may happen such as extra poo’s. This is where a big collection comes in handy, but as long as you are organised and wash and dry the day before you leave you should be ok.
2. How to store clean nappies? As we often travel by car I will either put all my nappies in a bag, we have some lovely Tesco Cath Kidston bags for life, or just use the wicker baskets that we store them in at home. There is really no need for a special way to store them when they are all clean and fluffy. Just keep in mind you may need some on the journey so keep a few to hand.
3. How to store dirty nappies? This is often the biggest dilemma for most and it’s simple in a wet bag or bucket, why can’t you take them too. I personally prefer the wet bags and use them at home and out and about rather than a bucket. Anyone using cloth on a full time basis will more than likely use a wet bag when out and about already, so get a bigger version. I love our Tots Bots Kaleidoscope Wet Bag, not only for it’s amazing pattern but also, because it can hold a lots of nappies and is the perfect size for a few nights away

Travelling with cloth doesn’t have to be hard and doesn’t mean you have to change your routine. It doesn’t need to be expensive either my Tots Bots Wet Bag and Happy Mat are available for just £22 on their website. Both get used at home and out and about, so are a great investment.

Hello Baby…

It’s been a busy month for us all. We had my sister weding, lot’s of family birthdays (including mine) and a new arrival.

That’s right baby Hughes number 4 is here and keeping us very busy. I have so much to share with you about how our family has changed. I will be sharing my birth story and some amazing photos with you soon.

Until then don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram @mummytothehughes and on Facebook – Mummy To The Hughes

Real Nappy Week 2017 – Can I use Cloth Nappies on Holiday

Holidays abroad are not really our family thing, in fact we usually settle for a nice lodge somewhere in the British countryside. So when my husband’s family suggested a big family holiday to Menorca I knew there would be some challenges. The biggest one in my mind was nappies for Willem, who would be nearly two at the time of the holiday. Oh yes and the fact I was expecting again so we would be taking a newborn with us, who will also need nappies. I was also told there was no guarantee I would have access to a washing machine, great! Now I love my cloth bums and although I am not against disposables just think about how many cute photo’s I can get of them on holiday with a pretty nappies on. So I started looking at my choices.

I already used gNappies with a gCloth for Willem, in fact they are the only ones his nursery have managed to get on with, but I had never tried the disposable inserts. This looked like a good option so I did some research to see what people thought. The power of Facebook is amazing and there are several cloth nappy groups around, including a few designed just for gNappy fans so I joined them and asked my questions. I got mixed reviews but overall most people though it was a good combination, especially for holiday. One person even explained that when she went away she would just hand wash the pants and pouch and because of there design they dried super quick. This was great as it meant I didn’t have to overstock. I searched around for some bargains but soon learnt that most of them sell pre-loved for near new price so in fact buying new wasn’t really an issue cost wise.

I did my sums and bought one pack of Medium to Large disposables for Willem, as he would be in the pool most of the time and didn’t need as many nappies as his sister, and our new gPants as he already had four and he didn’t really need any more but I couldn’t help myself. I brought Persephonie two packs of small disposables, although I didn’t think she would need them all it’s better to have too many than too little, and she ended up with nine gPants which was plenty. I put one of each pack of disposables in each hand luggage bag to spread the weight, although they weren’t really heavy and with the pants packed was ready to go. I had also put some in my handbag for the flight, and a clever tip I learnt: get a zip lock food bag to put your nappies in. I had two, one each, with spare pants, spare pouch and spare disposable inserts. This worked great on the aeroplane. No need for searching through my bag in the small toilet, just grap the bag and it’s all together. We also used this trick with spare clothes

So what were the results…

Practicality

We all found the system easy to use, especially seeing as many places didn’t have a changing table so we had to do a lot of fast changes on the toilet lid or floor, with a changing mat of course. Even my mother in law worked them out straight away, although she had to check every time that she had put the pants on the right way round. They were great for my daughter to just lounge around in to help keep her cool. They also worked as a great addition to an outfit for her, I admit to buying certain tops to match her nappies.

Reliability

There were a few leaks, but on both occasions my son had spent most of the day in the pool and drank a lot of drinks in the evening, so I believe it was just his vast amount of fluid intake. We had no leaks with my daughters nappies. They were both at time in my Boba Wrap and our Rose & Rebellion carrier and we had no compression leaks.

Containment

My son does not react well to heat it gives him diarrhoea, but I was pleased at how well his nappy and especially the pouch kept it all in. No need for clothes changes with his gNappies. My daughter being 8 weeks old still has wet poo and again not once did it leak, we had the occasional pants change but no need for an outfit change.

Night Time

This was a big one for me as my son wears a two piece bamboo nappy with a charcoal boost to bed and still on occasion leaks. However I was very surprised that the system work great at night time for him, and lasted the whole night. My daughter was the same no issue with her nappy lasting the night. Please note: By night I mean 10pm until 6am, my children don’t do lay-ins no matter how late they go bed!

Cuteness

Well it wouldn’t be about cloth nappies if I didn’t say how cute they were. I love that we had matching sets but unfortunately my son doesn’t stay still enough for a cute photo, but I did manage one photo.

Overall

I was really pleased with the system and I actually carried on using it once back at home with left over inserts I had. A few weeks on my little girl is still using her gNappies, with a cloth insert, on a daily basis as she is now too big for her newborn nappies but not big enough for her birth to potty ones. I am also now looking at getting some mediums so that I don’t have to wait for her to grow in to her brothers larges. I think my only real disappointment was that I had no where to compost my wet inserts which I feel is one of the great benefits of the gNappy disposable system compared to many other. I will defiantly be using the system again.

This blog was originally posted on my Nurturing Knowledge website in 2015

Real Nappy Week 2017 – Bambino Mio Solo #UltimateNightNappy

When it comes to night nappies we’ve had a go at quite a few: disposable, prefolds, Mio Solo, Little Lambs, Lollipops and Bamboozles… and now it appears we’re back to Mio Solo’s.

My little boy has been dry in the day for over 6 months now, but at night he is nowhere near ready. However he’s a chunky boy and at the weight limit of most standard cloth nappies out there. So we’ve had to try a few different brands with him to get a good fit and if I’m honest we just accepted that he was going to have damp pyjama bottoms in the morning. Then I saw a tweet from Bambino Mio about Mio Solo being a great night nappy and I tried to think why we stopped using it at night time, but couldn’t come up with an answer so we have decided to try again.

Mio Solo – my pros and cons

Likes:
It’s reliable – I always use one in the day on car journeys or days out
It’s easy – these are what I send to nursery and grandparents/aunts
It’s width – they seem wider than other brands which I like
It’s height – yes they are bulker than other brands but I like the high rise
Prints – well who doesn’t like a nice print to flash

Hates:
They stain – nothing major that the sun can’t get out, but you need sun
They go stiff – again nothing that a bit of rain can’t fix and they soon soften back up
The mioboost width – these are fine as my boys got bigger, but when younger (under 8 months) I found them a bit too wide, so used a different brand.

What happened…

Night 1:
My son was very pleased at getting to wear a blue nappy tonight and was happy to put it straight on, which is unusual. I had the common call for the toilet about 10 minutes into bedtime, but as the nappy is an all in one, there is no struggling to get two parts onto him, he knows wriggling takes longer and means later to bed. The fit is great on him as well, no struggling to get it around his hips/waist as I’ve had before with some two parters. In the morning we had dry pyjamas, no leaks, and his skin was dry, no dampness. Also there wasn’t a strong morning nappy smell that we often get with other brands. Success!

 

Night 2:

The night started well, nappy on, bed, toilet call, the usual. However, when we it came to our bedtime and moving him from our bed to his own we discovered a major leak. He had soaked through the nappy in just over 3 hours! Unsure why, but I suspect it was put on too tightly as my husband has a habit of doing that. We quickly grab another and changed him, this was an easy process as no messing with nappies and wraps just one simple change. The next nappy lasted the night fine and again no wet pyjamas or skin and no next morning smell, so a semi- success.

 

Night 3:
This time my little boy choose a cola cube nappy, he likes getting to pick a colour. On it went and to bed he went. The next morning, he got up asked to go to the toilet and was able to take his nappy off himself. No leaks, no damp skin and no smell – another successful night!

My conclusion?

Overall we’re pleased with the results and how well the nappy held up overnight. We did boost it with two mioboost each night and felt that this many was need for our son, but it’s nice to know we can alter that as he becomes dryer at night.

This blog was originally posted on my Nurturing Knowledge website in 2014

Birth Story – Persephonie

At 40 weeks I had thought I would still be pregnant for at least another week or two, but it turned out that my little girl wasn’t going to wait as long as her big brothers had. It was my estimated due date and as normal for a Friday I was running around all morning. However around lunchtime I popped to bathroom and was surprised to see I had had a show. Although this had happened before I was more surprised as with the first two I had also been having slight contractions and at this point I wasn’t even having twinges. I decided to ring Rob just to let him know it would be a good idea to make sure he was up to date at work, just in case.

That evening we went out for dinner, just the two of us. We discussed that she may arrive that weekend, so made the plan to make sure first thing Saturday morning we would blitz the housework and get prepared. We arrived home said by to the mother in law and after a long day I was in bed by half 9.

I woke up at 10.45ish with an ache all in my hips, just like the beginning of my first labour which lasted several hours. I took some paracetamol and decided to get some sleep, but after 15 minutes of trying to get comfy I decided I’d like a bath. I was a little worried that this may slow things down but felt it was the best choice if I was going to get some sleep. I lit my vanilla candles, I love the smell of vanilla and find it a great birth anchor for me as it always helps me to relax. I turned the hallway light on so that I could sit in the bathroom in the dark, but not pitch back. As I got into the bath I instantly felt better and could rest, I went into ‘my zone’ began to relax listen to my breathing and let my body do it’s thing. After a while I could feel the contractions, rather than the ache, and tell that they were regular but not really that long – about 30 seconds. During the contractions I found my breathing was enough, and during the intervals I would use the mind body scan which I teach in my MummyNatal classes this gave me a chance to concentrate on me, help my body relax and notice that the intervals were getting shorter.

Around midnight I decided that this was happening tonight and made the effort to get out of the bath to wake Rob. I announced that he needed to get up and tidy the dining room, he didn’t seem impressed but knew there was no point disagreeing. I went back to my bath.

Around 12.30 I needed to move, and I decided to go down stairs to sit on my ball (now it had been tidied up). I noticed the pressure had changed and was a lot more intense than before so I suggested we call labour ward. After the third/forth time of suggesting we call, Rob asked me if I had been timing the contractions and that he thought we should do that first. After around 10 minutes Rob suggested we call labour ward and was straight on the phone. I told him I was going back to the bath and that he was not to let the midwife in without gas and air. The pressure had become very intense and I felt I needed something extra.

The midwife arrived just after 1.30, she came into the bathroom and sat down. She did all of her obs that she could while I was still in the bath, for which I was very grateful. She asked if my ‘waters’ had gone I told her no, and she asked if I had a birth plan. Now birth plans or preferences are a topic I discuss in my MummyNatal classes and how they are an important factor in gaining the birth that you would like, however it is just as important to actually print it off your laptop as well – oops! So I did a quick debrief of what we had planned and told her Rob knew everything so if she wasn’t sure to ask him. She then explained that she was unable, due to it’s shape and where the shower was, to examine me in the bath so asked if we could go to the bedroom. I had originally decided that I didn’t want any vaginal examinations during this labour, but I had changed my mine and decided I would consent. On examination the midwife explained I was 4 cm dilated, to me that didn’t seem right with the strength and pressure of my contractions, but she then told me my membranes had broken – I think it happened in the bath. This made me feel a lot better as I knew from my last labour that I reversed dilated after my membranes had broken but still gave birth within the hour.

We then headed downstairs to my ‘birth room’ which was set up ready with my candles, lights, birth ball and yoga mat. Rob went to ring my mum to come sit with the boys, they were both asleep upstairs but our youngest is a very light sleeper. I used my breathing and birth ball to get into ‘my zone’, while the midwife sat quietly in the corner and just left me alone. Around 2am we heard a very familiar sound the pitter patter of tiny feet, Willem was awake! He stood at the top of the stairs crying and we knew he wouldn’t go back down easily so Rob went up to him in an attempt to get him back to bed, my mum hadn’t arrived yet. At around the same time my pressure change, I let out a different sound than before and the midwife immediately looked at me, ‘that’s changed’ without the need for any type of physical examination she knew it was time. I changed my position so that I was leaning on the birth ball and could immediately feel baby descending, I tried to concentrate on me but kept getting distracted by Rob being upstairs, finally I got my focus and got ready for that magical moment.. Rob obviously knew it was close as he came down before getting Willem back to sleep and was there in time to see our first daughter arrive into the world, with a few breathes a bit of gas and air and a lot of relief.

I had told our midwife we would like a physiological third stage, and my placenta arrived naturally 10 minutes later all by itself. We waited until the birth of the placenta before Rob cut the cord, by this point Willem had come down to join us. He took one look at his new baby sister and asked to go watch Thomas the Tank Engine. Our second midwife arrived 15 minutes after the birth and my mum 5 minutes after her. From the when I noticed my twinges/contractions started to the arrival of baby Persephonie it was just less than 3 ½ hours, the midwife arrived 45 minutes before the birth and left around 2 hours after with the second midwife. By 4.30 I was and bathed in my own bed, ready to face a new chapter in my life.

This blog was originally posted on my Nurturing Knowledge website in 2015

School Allocation Day for Willem

‘It’s not like it was when we were children’, this is what I’ve had to explain to my dad two years on the trot now. When we were younger you wandered up to your local school the year before you were due to start and your parents put your name down and that was it. Now it’s like a lottery, you pick your three choices and hope for the best.

Today I found out Willem got our first choice of schools, and I was so relived. This time last year when we found out where Roran was going I wasn’t all that bothered. We lived near two very good schools, although I preferred one to the other I was happy with either really. However this time I got a little worried as we had temporarily moved out of the catchment area, so what if we didn’t get Willem into the same school? How would I be at two schools at the same time? I can’t move Roran he loves his school/friends/teachers, but how would I explain to Willem he was going somewhere else?

These were obviously all irrational fears created by my own mind in my own little imaginary world, but to me they could be real. Everyone told me to not worry as he was clearly going to get in with the sibling rule, but what if he didn’t? You hear stories of parents having children at different schools, I just couldn’t manage that, especially with a new baby and a toddler in tow.

These scenario’s all went pop this morning when I found out at 6.30am via an email we had got the preferred school. Now I just need to get my head around my little boy going school. Roran started at the age of 4 years and 11 months, being an October baby. Willem will be 4 years and 2 months, as his birthday is right at the end of June. He will be so young compared to his big brother, but at least he will be there to look after him.`