Win a Munchkin Latch Newborn Starter Set

I'm so pleased to share with you all that I am on the Munchkin/Lindam Panel for 2015! Myself and children will be putting some of their products through their paces and sharing our thoughts about them on the blog.

You may remember last month, I reviewed the Munchkin Latch bottles & teats and they've very kindly offered my readers the chance to win one of the Munchkin Latch Newborn Starter Sets worth £29.99!

The set contains:

• 2 x 4oz bottles
• 2 x 8oz bottles
• 4 Stage 1 teats
• 2 Stage 2 teats 
• 1 bottle brush

As I mentioned in my previous review, these bottles are perfect for transitioning from breast to bottle as they mimic the movement of the breast using the unique accordion teat. The baby will control the flow of milk by applying pressure to the base of the teat. They have anti-colic valves too to ensure that air bubbles don't travel through the milk.

For the chance to win, all you need to do is enter through the Rafflecopter widget below. This competition will run from 12th until 25th March and it is open to UK residents only. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com

The Baby Box Company

I love babies and buying presents for babies. Chris would say I'm obsessed. I do struggle, though, when it comes to buying presents for a newborn baby. Clothes seem to be an obvious go-to but what size do you get? I was swamped with size 0-3 or newborn with E and she barely got to wear any of them! The Baby Box Company eliminate all of that hassle. 

The Baby Box Company are a mother and daughter run company that started selling gift boxes for newborns when their grandson/son was born and they found a lack of variety when baby shopping.

They specialise in pre-made boxes which are available in four different sizes; small (£15), medium (£25), large (£40) & luxury (£60-£150), all with differing items inside but you can also purchase smaller items such as socks, bibs and muslins on the side.

E and I were lucky enough to receive one of their beautiful boxes to try out ourselves. We received the best-selling Pure White Box in medium and I was so excited to open it.

Inside our box was:

• Cotton Knotted Hat 
• White Sock-Ons 
• Bath Truffle Trio 
• Scented Tealights 
• White Muslin Cloth 
• White Bodysuit with Printed Dog 

I couldn't be happier with the products that were inside. I love that there are items for both mum and baby as if you are gifting this to a new mum, it's nice to treat them too! All of the clothing is in 0-3 months so they last a little longer. The items are all ones that would definitely be used so there is no need to worry that you are giving a rubbish gift.

I think they make the perfect gift for either gender but you can also purchase brightly coloured boxes too. I love that you have the option to buy whatever your price limit.

You can find out more about The Baby Box Company at their website or you can follow them on Facebook & Twitter.

(Disclaimer: We received this box for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Tippitoes Baroo Nursing Pillow - Review

When I was first given the opportunity to try out the Tippitoes Baroo Nursing Pillow from BabyThingz, I was thrown a bit as I'm not currently breastfeeding but in reality this pillow is so much more than that.

We have been using ours in a multitude of ways. Firstly, as a feeding pillow. Yep, a feeding pillow for bottlefeeding too! If I put the it across my lap with the 'U' shape facing in then lay E down on it, she can sit comfortably whilst I feed her.

She's also tried it out as a tummy time aid. E loves having tummy time but sometimes she can get a bit stressed if she's just lying flat on her belly. This pillow gives her a little support and she can have a good nosy around her.

As she isn't sitting upright by herself yet, it can't be used to support her as she sits at the moment but she does like to lie on it and look around. She's at an age where she is taking everything in so it's been very helpful with that.

A few days ago I had popped out for a bit and when I arrived home, I saw that Chris had E lying on the pillow sleeping in her carrycot. Apparently it had sent her straight to sleep which is a big deal for her! Obviously we don't leave her sleeping on it unattended or during the night but it's been great for settling her and we will continue to use it as she grows.

The Tippitoes Baroo Nursing Pillow is also said to be great as a pregnancy pillow as it can give you support around your back, knees or ankles.

There is a cover has a zip so it is easily removed for cleaning and the beige star design make it perfect for both boys and girls.

It retails at £24.99 and you can find out more at the Baby Thingz website.

(Disclaimer: We received this item free of charge in exchange for an open and honest review. All thoughts an opinions are my own.)

Shnuggle Baby Bath - Review

With us expecting baby #2 and the fact that we had gotten rid of all of C's old baby things, one of the things we needed was a baby bath.

Shnuggle sent us out one of their baths and I'll start this review by saying one thing; there aren't enough words in the English language to describe how much I love this bath. 

As soon as I opened it out of its box, I was a bit surprised that it was foam. I'd never seen a foam baby bath before and I was curious to see how it would hold water. The foam is actually super-strong polypropylene foam which means that it's lightweight (only 0.4kg!) durable and it's about 1000 times stronger than other foams. The foam makes it constantly feel warm (well, room temperature) as opposed to cold plastic baths. It's kind to your baby's skin too. 

It has a clever Bum-Bump (my favourite feature of the bath!) and sloping back so that your baby feels safe and secure. We had a regular plastic bath with C and I always had to have Chris here to help me bath him as I could never hold and wash him at the same time. The Bum-Bump makes washing your baby so easy. I don't even have to hold E at all now that she can hold her head.

The Shnuggle bath has been one of those items that I never knew I needed until I had it. There is no way I would ever use a regular baby bath now. It's a lot more compact too at 58 x 37 x 35cm.

The water shocked her!

The Shnuggle bath retails at £30.00 at Shnuggle's online shop. Seriously, at that price, go buy one. You won't regret it! It does your baby from birth to 6 months and I'm already crying inside. What am I gonna do when E is too big!? They also sell the most adorable Moses Baskets too so if you're expecting a baby, definitely pop over.

You can find out more about Shnuggle at their website, Facebook and Twitter.

(Disclaimer: We received this item free of charge in exchange for an open and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

E at 6 Weeks

How is E six weeks old already!?

There hasn't really been much change this week. 

She is smiling more and more and has started gurgling and cooing which is really cute. 

She's now in 0-3 month clothing but they are still a bit baggy at the feet. First size/newborn squish her toes up. 

She is still taking 5oz every 4 hours during the day but she goes a bit longer between feeds at night. Last night she slept from 1.30am-7.45am. Lucky us!

She is still screaming bloody murder constantly. I can't wait to see the HV to get this colic/reflux sorted. She only ever wants to be in our arms which obviously we can't do with us having a toddler too!

E at 5 Weeks

These weeks are seriously flying by.

E has been more alert this past week and she even gave her nanny her first smile!

We are still having a little bit of trouble with feeding. She still takes 5oz of hungry baby every 4 hours but sometimes she'll go maybe 5/5.5 hours during the night. I think she may have reflux! C had reflux too and Carobel seemed to work for him so we're thinking of getting some for E too.

I've finally begun babywearing! I bought a stretch wrap from VictoriaSlingLady when I was pregnant and I plucked up the courage to give it a go. She really loves it - instant sleepy dust! I think it really helps with the colic/reflux too.

She is still wearing First Size/Newborn clothing. I don't think she'll be in them for much longer though. I can see her getting bigger and bigger before my eyes!

E at 4 Weeks

I cannot believe that E is 4 weeks old already. 4 weeks really drags during pregnancy but goes too quickly when the baby is here.

She is still really fussy when it comes to drinking her milk. She takes 5oz of hungry baby milk which I think is far too much and I think she has all the signs of reflux so I'll need to speak to the health visitor about that. 

She is still awake for a large portion of the day but we do get some playtime with her which is lovely. She loves looking around her although I'm not sure how much she can see right now. 

She is still wearing First Size/Newborn/Tiny Baby clothing but they are getting a little tight now. I will need to move her up soon. She has gone up to size 2 nappies though!

E at 3 Weeks

E is three weeks old!

This week, we had a bit of trouble with her feeding. She was originally taking 4oz every 4 hours but she began finishing those bottles and still wanting more so we'd make her an extra 2oz. She really wanted to finish it but her belly was too small and couldn't handle it so she seemed constantly hungry and frustrated. We did think that 6oz every 4 hours was an awful lot for a 3 week old to be taking so we changed her onto hungry baby milk. I'd love to say that she has been more settled but unfortunately we think she has colic so we've bought some Infacol in the hope that it helps.

She is still wearing First Size and Tiny Baby (although some are getting too small) and we've started wearing some 'up to 1mth' outfits.

She is awake for longer periods and being out in her pram really helps her to sleep.

She now weighs 8lbs 3oz. Just over 1lb bigger than her birth weight!

She has started not settling unless Chris and I are holding her so we have begun swaddling and it seems like we have tricked her. I hope it continues to work!

E at 2 Weeks

Two weeks have passed and this gorgeous little lady is settling in nicely. 

She is taking around 4oz of formula every 4 hours now but sometimes we've found she'd want 5oz or that she'd want fed again after 3 hours. We're just going with her own routine. 

She is really good at getting her wind up which is 100% the opposite to what C was like. He had really bad colic so he was on Carobel. All we need to do with E is literally sit her bolt upright for about two minutes and she'll burp herself. 

We had our first bout of constipation this week too. I expected it with her being formula fed. She was writhing in pain and I felt so sorry for her. We tried her with cooled, boiled water and did the bicycle legs but nothing was working. Chris remembered a trick we did with C - rubbing her little bum with water on a cotton ball. After a few minutes, the poo just flowed. She must have felt so good after it. Poor wee mite!

She keeps lifting her head up when I have her on my chest which freaks me out. She's way too wee for that! She also gets a tight grip on my hair and necklace. 

She seems to be awake a bit more this week so we've been trying her out in her bouncer chair and she seems to be enjoying it!

E at 1 Week

I can't believe that E is one week old already. I'm all too aware of how quickly the newborn stage flies by which is why I'm making the most of it so there may be a bit of radio silence on the blog while I embrace having her. 

She is such a great little baby. Her birth weight was 7lbs 2oz. At 3 days she was down to 6lbs 5oz, back up to 6lbs 13oz at 5 days and now at 1 week old she is at her birth weight exactly. 

She is really content. She literally only sleeps in her carrycot and wakes for feeds. I was breastfeeding but I only lasted three days. It may sound really selfish of me but I couldn't handle it. The pain was excruciating even though she was correctly latching and it got to the point where I would dread feeding her and I didn't want those feelings getting worse. It didn't help that she would cluster feed and C felt a bit put out because mummy wasn't the one puttin him to bed at night and he wouldn't settle for daddy. I feel that I did what was right for the four of us as a unit. So now we're on Cow & Gate 1 (as that's what we used with C) and she takes 3oz every 4 hours. 

Her cord has come off already! Yesterday, at 6 days old. I did have a little panic as C was still in hospital when his fell off so I wasn't sure if it was okay but apparently it all looks fine. 

She is wearing either Tiny Baby or First Size clothing, dependant on the shop that they were purchased from. I usually go by the weight recommendation in the label. 

I forgot about the newborn projectile vomit. I've already been covered in it twice! 

My Second Pregnancy: E's Birth Story

If you're a regular reader, you'll know that every Monday I post a Bump Update but you may have noticed a lack of post yesterday. Sorry, I was busy having cuddles with my 4 day old. Yep, she's arrived!

On Thursday 4th September (at 39+3), I went to the hospital for my routine weekly check up at the Antenatal Clinic. My appointment was at 3.45pm and Chris was due to start work at 6pm so I just went by myself so he could stay at home with C and I could just take over when I got back and he could go off to work. I was called in and all the usual checks were done. My blood pressure was the highest that it had ever been this pregnancy at 140/105 and there was 1+ protein in my urine. I felt fine in myself but as the preeclampsia symptoms were beginning to rear their ugly head again, I had a cervix check to see if I was favourable for induction. My cervix was long but I was already 3cm so they decided that induction was the way to go. The delivery suite didn't have a bed ready so I was able to go home, get my bags and see C before heading back in. 

Waiting to go to delivery suite

We arrived at the hospital just after 6pm and after lots of bloods and being on the CTG machine, the doctor broke my waters for me at around 7.20pm. I needed to wait for an hour so at 8.20pm I was given an IV hormone drip to bring on my contractions. This took a while to get going. I felt more comfortable sat upright in a chair at this point and I used the TENS machine and gas & air to get through these early contractions. I didn't use the gas & air a lot at this point. I didn't like the woozy feeling that it gave me. The midwife explained other methods of pain relief but I didn't want diamorphine as I didn't want the baby to be really sleepy after the birth and because I wanted to labour as naturally as possible after my Caesarean section with C, I didn't really want an epidural either. 

My contractions kept coming and were getting more painful and closer together so I wanted to move to the bed to get more comfortable. A short while after, I felt like I couldn't handle the pain and asked for an epidural. I told Chris that I felt like a bit of a failure but I really couldn't handle it. This was at around 12.30am and I was only 5cm but my cervix was now paper-thin. I couldn't believe that I had only dilated 2cm in 4 hours. I was given the epidural and then my contractions started coming really quickly. I was told that the epidural wouldn't make me lose all sense of feeling, it would just take the edge off the contractions. If I'm completely honest, it didn't work very well for me. I felt everything. 

At this stage, everything seemed to happen very quickly and I was using the gas & air more and more so I felt completely out of it and I didn't enjoy that feeling at all but it was the only thing helping me. I always said that I didn't want to be one of those ladies who didn't know what was going on and made a complete fool of themselves during labour and I always thought I'd revert into myself and not be very loud. I was wrong. I remember saying to the midwife that it felt like I was trying to stop myself from pooing. She left to speak to another midwife briefly and I shouted to Chris that I felt like I needed to push. He obviously panicked as he was there with me by himself so he told me to breathe the gas & air and breathe until the midwife came back in. 

The midwife came back and told me to go with what my body told me to do so I pushed. Holy dear God, the ring of fire is a real thing. I was using the gas & air like my life depended on it and I could feel myself wailing like a banshee but I knew I had to get through it. I even looked at Chris once she was here and said "oh my god, I did it!" He just laughed haha. After only pushing for ten minutes, our baby girl, Erin, was born at 01.50am on the 5th September 2014 weighing 7lbs 2oz. Her head circumference was 34.5cm and she is 49cm long. 

Unfortunately, I had a retained placenta so my epidural was topped up and I was taken to theatre to have it manually removed. I think they said that it was stuck to my previous Caesarean section scar. I also had a second degree tear which needed stitching. We had a two day hospital stay but now we are happily at home as a family of four :)