HiPP #MilkMoments (+ win a HiPP Follow-On Milk Hamper!)

Weaning, for me, was one of those milestones where you don't know how to feel. I was excited to introduce tastes and food, I worried that I was doing it wrong or giving the wrong types and it was a bit bittersweet as I realised that my little newborn wasn't a newborn anymore.

I weaned slightly differently with both of my children. With C as a young, first time mother, especially to a premature baby, I felt like I was thrown in at the deep end. He was fed as much breastmilk as possible for the first few days of his life but with the both of us being so ill, I moved to formula which he was happy with and weaned in the "normal" fashion. My health visitor advised us to introduce spoon feeds at five months actual (which seems a little odd now I think back as he'd only be three months adjusted) so I started with plain baby rice as it is advised. Eventually I added in fruit flavours, mashed banana being his favourite before progressing to the HiPP jars. I started with single flavours then as he got older, I used the 'dinner' jars. HiPP Organic was always my go-to because the meal ideas were plentiful and he always got a different one each day - it helped that Tesco always had a multibuy deal on them too!

E was a little different. I only breastfed her for three days (something which I kick myself about for not doing it longer) and I'd read up more about baby led weaning so I wanted to give that a try. She took to it so well and although I obviously had worries about her choking, she was absolutely fine and we had none of these incidences at all.

With the baby led weaning, I was unsure of how much of the food she was really eating as most of it ended up down her t-shirt or on the floor, with C I could measure how much of the jar he'd taken. Follow-on milks are designed to complement the weaning diet while your baby is getting used to a variety of different tastes and texture. They are higher in iron and vitamin D than standard infant formulas which can really be a help if baby is not eating as many iron-containing foods and is therefore at greater risk of iron deficiency, and to help protect baby against becoming vitamin D deficient. HiPP Organic have been researching breastmilk for over 50 years so you can rely on them to include the ingredients your baby needs to grow strong and healthy. The Follow-On Milk includes essential your baby needs including iron for cognitive development, vitamins A, C and D for the immune system and PRÆBIOTIK® a source of allgosaccharldes. 10 out of 10 mums who have changed to the Follow-On Milk say that their babies are happier.

One thing I wish I knew about was the fact that HiPP have created a reusable milk storage box with a built in scoop holder in the lid and scoop leveller inside. How handy!

I am such a worrywart but the weaning stage goes by so quickly and I loved my kids faces when they tried new, strong flavours but my absolute favourite part was letting them get messy in the process!

If you are about to start weaning your little one, I have a lovely giveaway for you. Courtesy of HiPP, you can get your hands on:

• HiPP milk storage tin
• HiPP’s ‘HiPPofant’ cuddly toy
• As well as a number of HiPP products (+6m): 
• Creamed Porridge Breakfast 
• Penne with Tomato & Courgette
•  Pasta in a Tomato & Ham Sauce
•  Spaghetti Bolognese 
• Carrots, Sweetcorn & Sweet Potato with Apricots 
• Pumpkin, Carrot & Apple Spaghetti 
• Apple & Banana Crumble 
• Pear, Banana & Kiwi 
• Cherry, Apple & Banana Breakfast
•  Apple, Blueberry & Banana Muesli with Yoghurt

All you have to do is fill in the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck!

T&C's:

• The giveaway will run from 2nd February until 16th February
• One winner will win one HiPP hamper
• Open to entrants aged 18+
• UK residents only
• Prize will be sent directly from the PR
• No automated entries
• One entry per person

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Milks Disclaimer: 

The Department of Health recommends that you breastfeed your baby exclusively for the first six months of their life; at around six months you can start to wean them on to solids and start to combine breastfeeding with bottle feeding. HiPP Organic understands that all babies are different and some mums might want to transfer to bottle feeding earlier than others. HiPP Organic would always advise that you speak to your midwife or health visitor before changing your feeding method. For more information on milks, please visit the HiPP Organic Website http://www.hipp.co.uk/milks-important-notice

(Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.)

UK competitions at ThePrizeFinder

Munchkin Miracle 360 Trainer Cup

With E getting older, we've been trying to find the best cup for her to drink water out of whilst having meals or dealing with this unbearable heat we've been having lately! As part of our role as Munchkin Bloggers, we received one of their Miracle 360 Trainer Cups to try out.

The cup holds 7oz of water and it really is amazing! I have lost count at the amount of cups we have own over the years but this one is definitely at the top.

The cups' 360 name comes from the fact that your child can drink from it at any point around the rim. Your child is encouraged to work their muscles to suck. This opens the seal so they can get the water then it seals itself when your child is finished so you don't have any spills or leaks. The only thing E struggles with a little is tipping it up so I need to give her a hand but she is better at doing that now than she was a few months ago. I feel like it's really given her confidence and it has become one of our favourites.

It comes with the lid, tumbler and double handle so it's really easy to clean too.

The cup is BPA free and suitable from 6 months+.

As you can see, we received the green and pink version but it is also available in white and blue at a price of only £4.99.

You can find out more at the Munchkin website and you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

(Disclaimer: We received this cup as part of our role as Munchkin/Lindam Bloggers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Challenge Your Wipes with Huggies for a Chance to Win!

I'm sure everyone is familiar with the Huggies brand. I liked their nappies and was disappointed when they were discontinued. Their Swimmers and wipes ranges are still going strong though!

Huggies wipes have been reformulated and they are now free from parabens, alcohol and phenoxyethanol and they leave your baby's skin feeling clean and healthy. We all know life with little ones (especially weaning ones like E!) can be a messy time. 

Huggies want mums and dads to challenge their wipes! You can pop over to the Huggies website to request a pack of wipes and if you spot your child in a messy situation, whip out your wipes and upload your photo for the chance to win a year's supply of wipes plus other prizes! 

We've been trying out the wipes and I love how thick they are. I use Huggies wipes anyway so I'm used to that thickness but what's new about these is the smell. They are very fresh and smell beautifully of cucumber!

I let E get as messy as she wanted for dinner and boy, did she get messy! I wanted to see how many wipes I would need to use to get her face and hands completely pasta sauce free. The answer? One! Only one wipe! I was so shocked but it just shows you that Huggies wipes do go a long way. 

What are you waiting for? Pop over to try them for yourself! 

(Disclaimer: We received a pack of wipes to join in with the challenge. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Quinola Mothergrain Baby Food

I love trying E with different types of food. She will try anything that I put in front of her and very rarely will she turn her nose up at anything (I think cucumber is the only thing she won't eat!).

Quinola Mothergrain have a range which is quinoa based baby food which are completely vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.

Like most baby food ranges, they come in three stages based on baby's age: Stage 1 from 6 months, Stage 2 from 8 months and Stage 3 from 10 months. E received two Stage 2 pouches (Pinto Bean, Sweetcorn & Quinoa and Swede, Parsnip, Carrot & Quinoa) and two Stage 3 pouches (Peas, Spinach, Parsnip, Mint & Quinoa and Butternut Squash, Carrot & Quinoa). 

As I mentioned before, the range is quinoa based and they are alway packed full of vegetables. The ingredients are very basic (literally just what the flavour says on the pouch) with no hidden extras so you can be confident that you are feeding your child only the best. 

Given E's age, I tried her with the Stage 2 pouches when she turned 8 months old. They are easy to heat either by popping the pouch into the microwave for 30 seconds or warming the pouch in boiling water for 1 minute. E absolutely loved them. You get a lot in the pouch so she wasn't able to finish them - they filled her up that much! They have a fork mash texture which is great for introducing lumps. 

I umm-ed and ahh-ed about trying E with the Stage 3 10 month + pouches when she turned 9 months but decided to go for it and see how she got on. I am so glad I did. Again, these were enjoyed and she especially loved the Peas, Spinach, Parsnip, Mint & Quinoa. The smell of the mint and spinach together is quite strong but that didn't put her off. The Stage 3 range introduces soft vegetable chunks but she didn't struggle or choke at all. 

You can take a better look at all of the flavours available here and you can find out where to buy them near you here.

You can find out more at the Quinola Baby website and you can follow them on Facebook.

(Disclaimer: We received these pouches for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Munchkin Love-a-Bowls

As part of my role as a Munchkin/Lindam Blogger for 2015, I've been given the opportunity to try out some amazing products from their range. One of the items we received were the Love-a-Bowls.

The Love-a-Bowls set contains four bowls, four lids and two spoons.

The bowls are quite small so I don't use them with C (2.5 years old) as his portion size would be bigger but they're the only bowls I use with my 8 month old daughter. I love that they have lids as sometimes she won't finish everything so I can put a lid on a stick it in the fridge for the following day with no hassle. Alternatively, if we are going out I can put snacks in the bowls, put the lid on and not worry about them spilling everywhere in the changing bag. The spoons are soft tipped which make them perfect for the beginning stages of weaning.

The colours are bright and my toddler likes to point out the colours so I guess they can be educational too! The ridges on the side make them easy to hold and they stack up easily for storage purposes.

The bowls are 100% spill-proof, leak-proof and break-proof and they are suitable for dishwashers, microwaves and freezers. They are the easiest bowls to clean too!

The Munchkin Love-a-Bowl set is suitable for ages 6 months+ and retails at only £4.99! You can find out more about the range at the Munchkin website or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

(Disclaimer: We received this item as part of our role as Munchkin/Lindam bloggers. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Ella's Kitchen's New 6 month+ Range

Since we started weaning E, we've been lucky enough to work with Ella's Kitchen and try all their gorgeous flavour combinations. 

They recently brought out a brand new range of 6 months+ tastes and of course we wanted to try them out! 

We received Cauliflower Cheese, Tomato & Red Lentil Bake, Bubble & Squeak and Macaroni Cheese (chickpea & sweet potato mash is available to buy too).

The 6 month+ range are perfect for little ones who are inbetween weaning stages. They make the transition from Stage 1 to Stage 2 easier. They introduce your baby to proteins and they are a little thicker than the 4 month+ range. They are still a purée but now your baby has tiny lumps to try too.

E seemed to enjoy all of the flavours - I thought they smelled beautiful too - and although she pulled a bit of a face at the first try of most of them, she couldn't get to the spoon quick enough. Since trying these pouches, I have actually bought more in the supermarket because E liked them so much. Ella's Kitchen are definitely my favourite brand because there are no hidden nasties - I know that everything my child is getting is 100% organic. I love that you can also feed them at room temperature or heated meaning that they are perfect if you are out and about.

You can find the Ella's Kitchen 6 month+ range at all major supermarkets retailing at only £1.29 per pouch. You can also find out more about Ella's Kitchen at their website, Facebook and Twitter.

(Disclaimer: I received these pouches for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Weaning with Ella's Kitchen Pouches

I've made no secret about the fact that I love Ella's Kitchen. They are my favourite baby food brand on the market. I love everything about them. The packaging is adorable, bright and kid-friendly and their flavour combinations are perfect for weaning babies and toddlers. 

E is now seven months old and she recently received some yummy new pouches to try out - Peas peas peas and The Orange One. 

Firstly, I tried her with the pea purée. As expected, she wasn't really a fan at all. She much prefers sweeter flavours. I didn't give up hope though. I left it a couple of weeks and tried her with it again. This time, she couldn't get enough of it! She had me squeeze every last drop out and still wanted more. The purée itself is very smooth so it's perfect for first tastes (4 months +). 

The 120g Peas, peas, peas pouch contains only peas and water - no other nasties! 

The Orange One is a brand new pouch to the Ella's Kitchen range! It boasts a tropical taste with the flavours being apples, mangoes, bananas, coconuts and a dash of lemon juice. All organic and in true Ella's fashion, no hidden nasties! 

This one, I don't think E came up for air. The sweet flavours were a huge hit with her and it is a pouch that I have bought again since trying it out. 

You can find Ella's Kitchen at all major supermarkets. You can also find out more at the Ella's Kitchen website, Facebook or Twitter. 

(Disclaimer: We received these pouches for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.) 

Munchkin Lil' Apple Plates

I'm so pleased to be on the Munchkin/Lindam Panel of Bloggers for 2015. I have loads of reviews planned over the next couple of months but first up, I want to introduce you to the Lil Apple Plates - how cute are they!? 

This set contains three Apple shaped plates (green, yellow and red) which are segmented.This makes them perfect for little ones mealtimes as you know how toddlers can strop when their different food items touch. Heaven forbid! 

They have ridges to minimise spills so your toddler can eat away by themselves. 

C is a huge fan of a "fun lunch". This usually includes foods like brioche, cheese and a variety of fruit. The foods he enjoys most! These little plates are the perfect way to display these to him. I think he finds his meals more exciting and I've found he eats a bit more. 

They are so easy to clean and they even stack together neatly. As they are suitable for ages 6mth+, E can now use them too! 

The Lil' Apple plates retail at only £4.99 per pack. 

You can find out more about Munchkin at their website or you can follow them on Facebook & Twitter. 

(Disclaimer: We received this set as part of our role as Munchkin/Lindam bloggers. All thoughts and opinions are my own). 

Keeping E Clean at Mealtimes with a Skibz Catcherz Bib

As I prepared for weaning E, the one thing I remembered from last time was how unbelievably messy it is. I already owned two of Skibz feeding bibs so I was very excited to be able to try out one of their brand new Catcherz bibs. 

The Catcherz bib is available in three colours - Popping Pink, Bubble Blue and Rockstar Red. As I'm into everything pink for my little girl, I opted for Popping Pink.

When it arrived in the post, even the packaging got me excited. How lovely is it!?

My plan was to do a mixture of purées and finger foods so the catcher bit at the bottom came in handy on both occasions. It is relatively rigid so it is always open and ready to catch anything that falls. E can be a little bit mischievous and her new favourite thing is to blow raspberries as I hold the spoon to her mouth so it goes everywhere. 

The bib fits really well around E's neck. The fastener isn't something that I've seen before. It's so simple and you can adjust it easily to fit your child. I did think that surely it would be easy for E to pull it off herself but we have had no incidents of that yet. 

One thing that really impressed me was that on occasion, the bib would be stained with purée and the stain would harden on. The next day, I could wash it off easily and none of the white spots rubbed off no matter how hard I scrubbed. 

We've had the bib for close to a month now and although I do have other bibs for E, I always opt for this one at mealtimes simply because of how easy it is to fasten and clean. The bright colour is nice too! The bib is made from plastic but it is comfortable against her skin and is easily packed into the changing bag for feeding on the go.

The Catcherz bibs retail at £10.50 each and you can find out more information at the Skibz website. You can also follow Skibz on their social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, Blogger, Tumblr, YouTube and Instagram. 

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

Weaning E with Ella's Kitchen

E turned 6 months old on the 5th of this month so proper weaning had to begin. In the run up, I tried her with a few little tastes to start her off. I have written about Ella's Kitchen quite a few times before as C was a huge fan of their pouches and meals.

Ella's Kitchen very kindly sent both C and E some of their pouches to try out.

As I was trying these out before E was 6 months old, I let C have the ones suitable from 6 months+ (The Red One and The Purple One) and E took the Parsnips and Pears which are suitable from 4 months+   

Caleb had his demolished within about 20 minutes of me opening the parcel! He was able to hold them himself and slurp them up. He even asked me, "mo?" when they were done so I had to promise I'd buy more on our next shop! 

The Red One contains bananas, strawberries, apples, raspberries and a dash of organic lemon juice concentrate. 

The Purple One contains bananas, apples, blackcurrants, blueberries and a dash of lemon juice concentrate. 

I was a bit anxious of trying the purées with E as all she ever knew was the taste of milk but I needn't have worried. She really enjoyed the new tastes of both the parsnips and pears. 

What I love about Ella's Kitchen is that there are no hidden nasties in their pouches. I feel comfortable that I am feeding my children healthily and nutritiously.  The purées can be eaten straight from the pouch at room temperature or you can heat them if you prefer. My two don't mind them at room temperature so they are perfect for both at home or on the go!

(Disclaimer: We received these pouches for the purpose of this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own).

OXO Tot Flippy Snack Cup

I am a huge fan of the OXO Tot range having already reviewed their Divided Feeding Dish, Twist Top Bottle & Bottle Drying Rack so I was so pleased to be given the opportunity to try out one of their Flippy Snack Cups. 

Now that C is getting bigger, he enjoys being out of the house, running around and generally blowing off some steam. As we don't drive and walk everywhere, the journeys to the park can take a good few hours so we always pack some snacks for C to eat on the way. His favourites are fruit so this little cup is perfect. I can fit quite a lot into the 235ml cup (strawberries and raspberries tend to be the winners). 

The handle on the side is just the right size for C's little hand to hold and the flexible opening means it's easy for him to get his snacks out. If it doesn't want to eat them all in one go, there is a plastic snap-on cover to keep them fresh. My favourite thing about this cup is that it doesn't open when it's been dropped. C is so clumsy and everything gets spilled. It's so easy to clean too! 

The Flippy Snack Cup is available in green, aqua & raspberry and it retails at £6.00. You can find out more about OXO at the website and you can also follow them on Facebook & Twitter.

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