The Amazing Cheeky Wipes!

We used reusable nappies and Cheeky Wipes with Elizabeth from when she was around 3 weeks old.  I can even remember the day that we started using them.  It was snowing heavily outside and had been like that for a few days.  It was just before Christmas in 2010.  We had run out of disposable nappies and the local shop didn't have any in so we were forced into using our stash of reusables - I was definitely unsure about it as I was still trying to adapt to life as a new Mum and couldn't see how I was going to fit in an extra washload every couple of days and get everything dry, etc.  It turned out that I had nothing to worry about and was actually quite gutted when we had to stop using the reusables due to Elizabeth developing a very sensitive bottom.  We also decided to stop using the reusable wipes as well.

I loved the reusable wipes we got from Cheeky Wipes.  They were so soft and made cleaning E's bottom easy. When I found out they did a 'hands and faces' kit made with lovely, soft micro fibre, I knew we had to try them.  E seems to have fairly sensitive skin and constantly had a rash around her mouth which we assumed was from the oil in her foods (as she was very sensitive to olive oil when she was a baby).  However, after doing a few experiments, we ruled out a lot of different things - everything except the wet wipes we were using.  After only a couple of days of using the Cheeky Wipes for E's face, her rash had disappeared and hasn't yet come back.  That was almost 4 months ago, back in August. 

We've since bought a new set of wipes for bottoms and plan to switch T into reusable nappies shortly.  Hopefully it'll be as plain sailing as last time!

Our stay-cation

This weekend we shipped E off to stay with Nanny and Grampy. Originally we were going to spend the weekend in Bath as it's our anniversary (and we went to Bath after we got married) but due to a number of factors, we decided to stay home instead. We promised ourselves that there would be no DIY, no chores, no work; nothing that resembled our normal daily lives. Even the dog is at the kennels. We promised to spend our time together doing things for the two days we had and enjoying having T all to ourselves.

We started Friday night, watching a film and having take away. We quite often do this but knowing that we didn't have to get up in the morning made the evening much more enjoyable. We watched Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and really enjoyed it (but we both felt the ending was a bit pants). T is starting to get into a nice evening rhythm now as well and his night time sleeping is becoming more predictable. Long may it continue!

Saturday took us to Birmingham, to the Bullring for a spot of shopping. We thought we might be able to squeeze in Cadbury World too but that was a little ambitious on our part! We massively underestimated the number of people we'd encounter and the amount of traffic too. T coped very well with all the noise and we all had a great day.

We ate lunch at The Handmade Burger Co. and it was delicious! The staff were friendly, the food came out quickly and we loved it.

We just had a light dinner that evening and watched another film. This time we went for something a little less light hearted and something that I really didn't want to watch. I'm a bit of a wimp you see and don't like scary movies. F really wanted to watch Prometheus and although it's not a horror film, it's still a sci fi that is designed to make you jump and sweat a bit. But we watched it and it was actually hugely disappointing. I have seen the original Alien film and although I had a heart attack every 10 minutes, I did enjoy it and hoped this latest instalment would live up to its heritage. It failed to impress.

The weather was much better on Sunday so we thought it would be lovely to go out for a winter walk. We decided to head to Waddesdon Manor to see the latest art installations and look at the Christmas decorations. We've been there a couple of times in the past for events but have never explored the house or the grounds. We decided against going in the house on this occasion as it was too much faff getting Toby into the baby sling but we were quite content just having a wander. We had lunch there, at The Stables, and it was very busy so had to wait a while for our food. We chose to sit outside as there was a huge queue for a table indoors and sadly the heaters weren't working. It was pretty damn cold!

We were quite eager to get our little girl back so we headed straight round to pick her up on our way home. She had a wonderful weekend, playing with her cousin Kacie and visiting Santa's grotto. Next weekend is another big weekend for her although I doubt she'll notice - she turns 2. Eek!

More Books, Books, Books!

I loved the last Gallery topic so much that I thought I'd expand on it. You can read my original post here.

So as I said, Elizabeth loves books. We started reading to her long before she reached 9 months of age although it was around that time that she started to interact with the books herself. We started showing her baby books, the black and white ones with spots and stripes, when she was just a few weeks old. I suppose we started reading to her a few months after that and a story became part of her bedtime routine, which it still is.

Now Elizabeth likes to sit and 'read' a book herself, just as much as she likes to read with either Mummy or Daddy.  She has an impressive assortment of books, ranging from simple lift-the-flap board books to 'proper' books with paper pages that tell a more involved story.  She easily has upwards of 50 books, both in English and Danish, spread around the house in various locations.  Her collection is starting to rival ours!  I have no doubt that she'll end up being a bookworm, just like we are.

First thing in the morning

Chillin' in her room

Some of Elizabeth's many books

Just a few more....

Elizabeth making sure that Toby loves books too!

Baby

You'd be forgiven for thinking that this post is about our dear little Tobias, who is indeed now the baby of the family.  However, this post is actually about Baby, my daughter's dolly that she totally adores.

Baby is actually Tiny Tears - MY Tiny Tears from when I was a child - which E stole from me found one day while I was clearing out some boxes and bags.  Knowing how much she loves her dollies (that's all that nursery tell me these days...) I decided to let her play with it.  I figured I'd sneak it away when she wasn't looking.  Surely she wouldn't miss a doll that she's played with for only 10 minutes, right?  Wrong!  The first thing E asked for the next morning was Baby and she got very upset when I told her that I couldn't find the dolly.  In fact, she got so upset that I caved and got Tiny Tears out and she has been attached to Elizabeth ever since.

Since Toby came along, Baby has been a much bigger focal point for Elizabeth.  She copies everything I do with Toby and so Elizabeth is now very much Baby's Mummy.  Baby gets put to sleep in the rocking chair, she gets swaddled in her blanket, she even gets breastfed!  That one was a bit of a shock the first time I saw it!  Baby has her nappy changed - E even tells me that Baby's done a poo sometimes - but Baby doesn't seem to need clothes.  I've given E some newborn clothes to dress Baby in but this is either a silly idea to Elizabeth (because Baby has always been naked) or it's just too frustrating trying to get clothes on a dolly when you've only just learnt to dress yourself.

Breastfeeding Baby

Elizabeth is incredibly affectionate towards Baby.  She'll pick her up and cuddle her, rock her to sleep in her arms (usually whilst shh-ing her), burp her after a feed and give her a dummy.  She can often be found wandering around the room with Baby on her hip, hitching her up if she slips down (just like Mummy does) and talking to her and pointing at things as she walks.  Whilst teaching Baby, Elizabeth is learning.

 

Then of course she'll see something else to play with and Baby gets dropped on the floor.  She can't be perfect!

The Gallery: Books

Elizabeth at 9 months old

From a very young age, we have read to Elizabeth and allowed her to explore books.  Even now, as she approaches her second birthday, she loves reading and will frequently ask us to read a book with her.  She often sits and reads a book on her own as well.  Now obviously she can't actually read the books but she will turn the pages and point at things on the page, babbling her way through the book (and I'm pretty sure she knows exactly what's going on on the pages).  She has a few favourites that she will pick up more than the rest and these are the ones that have that 'well read' look about them.  Some flaps are missing in the Where's Spot? book, there are rips on some pages in the Totte Ryder Op book (her favourite Danish story, Totte Tidies Up) and there are many many creases on most of the pages.  Personally I try not to think about the state of some of these books...

We love Elizabeth's passion for books and hope that it continues to grow with her.  One day she may even be as obsessed with them as her parents are :)

This post is for week 120 of The Gallery.  To see all the other book-obsessed entries, go here.

The Photo Gallery: Yellow

The theme for The Gallery this week is yellow.  I've been a little lazy and am using a post that I was going to write anyway and the 'yellow' bit is a rather tenuous link.  Still the yellow is there!

At the weekend we took a lovely walk around Watlingon Hill.  The weather wasn't great - there was no sunshine to speak of and the fog didn't really clear up all day.  Still, we had a very enjoyable walk and we actually loved the fact that it was so foggy.  It made the walk something special.  There was a calmness to it that can only be found when you're on your own at the top of a mountain, or somewhere so remote that the only sounds are you and the wildlife around you.  Total bliss.

Now because of the fog, it was pretty damn cold.  I'm still in maternity clothes so didn't have a huge selection to keep me warm.  Elizabeth doesn't really have any warm winter clothes yet either but I did find an awesome pair of warm joggers in a drawer that are bright yellow!  There's that tenuous link I was talking about.

Elizabeth keeping the dog at bay while we get Toby in the baby carrier

Ready to rumble!

Stopping to look at some purple flowers; Chiltern gentian

It turns out that the purple Chiltern gentian are quite rare and aren't usually in flower at this time of year.  Lucky us for having seen it!

You can have a gander at the other entries for The Gallery here.

'Bump' is now 'Baby'

In case the title didn't give it away, I've had 'the baby'!  Tobias was born last Monday, weighing a good 8lb 7oz (3.82kg).  There was no time for anything other than gas and air once we arrived at the hospital but everything happened so quickly that I didn't have a chance to think about it!

I'll fill you in on the whole story at a later date but will leave you with a photo of Mum and son.