What Ethan Loves.....July Competition!

Ethan loves loves loves his MAM soothers, he simply will not sleep without them and they even get a thumbs up from me as they stay in and do not keep popping out thanks to the silk design that ensures they are easily gripped.

We are MAM fans in this house, and MAM have kindly offered some of our favorite MAM products to one of my blog followers! Which consists of the Twister Teether, Learn to drink sports cup and a pack of 2 of the Mam perfect soothers worth £17.61. You can pick your own colors and these prizes are aimed for toddlers and are age appropriate for toddlers.

All you have to do to enter is like the MAM UK Facebook page and let them know that Ethan and his mama sent you, you also need to be a follower of my blog and facebook page. Once you have done this please leave a comment at the end of this post saying you have entered.

UK followers only and winner will be picked via random.org at the end of July.

Good Luck from Ethan and his mama. xoxo

Teething Survival!!

Ethan chewing on his GumiGe

If  you have been following me on Facebook recently you will have seen the problems i have had with a very grumpy teething Ethan.

We have 4 back teeth coming through at the same time, top and bottom!!! How painful must that be :-(

Now it's not so much the grumpiness that is bothering me, i can deal with that! I am however carrying around an extra stone with me everywhere on my hip! And the hip and leg pains I have been getting are awful.

Yes I have a stalker......... a teething grumpy stalker that only wants his mama. I cannot remember the last time I nipped to the loo alone.

So I have been endlessly looking for something that could give me my happy baby back. That is when I discovered GUMIGEM.

GUMIGEM is a necklace that I wear and that Ethan can chew and munch on, this keeps me happy and Ethan still gets his mama fix!

Now I must admit I had a little chew myself to see what it was like lol i must say it is very soft and they look gorgeous. Many people asked me where I got my new necklace from!!

GUMIGEM have recently started selling 'Teething survival packs' for mummies like me :-) YES

They kindly sent me a pack to try out and it's fab. Ethan chomps when his teeth are soar and sports the funky dribble bandanna bib, the teething granules worked wanders on his painful gums too.

GUMIGEM have kindly offered one of my lucky followers a chance to win a Teething survival pack. 

The Mini - Teething Surivial pack contains : A GUMIGEM™ of your choice, plus a Drybib Bandana Bib of your choice and Nelsons Teetha

In order to enter all you need to do is be a follower of my blog and facebook page, you also need to like the GUMIGEM facebook page and write on their wall 'Ethan and his ma ma sent you''

Then leave a comment under this post to tell me you have done this, please include your full name.

The competition will run throughout June and a winner will be selected via random.org at the end of the month. UK followers only please.

(If your desperate and need a Teething Survival pack now then they can be purchased here:http://www.gumigem.co.uk/ourshop/cat_395423-GUMIGEM-Teething-Survival-Packs.html

Good Luck from Ethan and his mama :-)

Pop goes Froggio! game review

Pop Goes Froggio:

Brilliant!! -Everyone loved this game. We liked the idea that not only did it keep the children entertained, it also kept them active, running around the room turning over the cards and catching the froggio. Lots of laughter could be heard and mum even joined in too!! Easy to assemble, kids really loved it, fun for everyone....top marks for this game. :-)

Monkey Dunk Game review!

Monkey Dunk:

      The children enjoyed this game. It was bright and colourful and easy to assemble. It did take quite a while for them to get the right technique to flick the monkeys, but once they got the hang of it, they loved it. When Amber (5) finally managed to flick a monkey into the lagoon, she was jumping up and down with excitement. We also liked the idea that we could choose to play it at a slightly more difficult level with the lilly pad blockers. Overall, good fun which kept the children entertained. 

So overall a very good buy and the kids loved it and was even fun for us!

Reviewed by 2 adults a 12 year old a 5 year old and a 18 month year old.

Mummy rant! Toddler or teenager?

Ahhhhhhhhhh

Ethan is driving me mad, my days consists of hearing Mamama over and over again which alone is cute, but closely followed by the winging and screwed up face!

I have a stalker!!!! he clings on to my feet with dear life and his little body slides across the wooden floor with me everywhere.

I nip to the loo and he is there by my feet waiting!

I cannot sit on the sofa for more than 30 seconds without him pulling himself up and crying until I let him sit with me.

He even crawls off when he doesn't get his own way with his head hanging down at the floor all depressed.

At first this was cute but now I count down the hours until his bed time. please let this be a phase,please let this be a phase!

Mummy rant over, I love him dearly but I think I am in desperate need of some me time!

Any tips would be greatly appreciated :-)

Xx

Baby babble?

I was having a chat with a friend the other day about the words toddlers first learn to use that they say over and over again :-)

Apparently these are the words they hear the most and I think this gives you a good idea of what the parents say the most in their home. Does your toddler have potty mouth like mummy or Daddy? Or say an unusual word because you use it a lot?

Here is Ethan's baby babble:MaMa,DaDa,NanNan,ballBall,oh Dear,ooooh,lily,car,baloo(Waybaloo) and no Effy!

So am I guilty of having the TV on far too much in my home, clearly replacing "oh s*it" with "oh dear" is working :-) but how much do I really say it? I must always be saying "no Effy" But since he is up to mischief everyday no surprises there!

So what does your baby say? Does his/her words relate in anyway to what you say at home and if so what do you think it says about you? Xx

Domestic Goddess..........not!

I asked my hubby for a sewing machine for my birthday.......yes a sewing machine.

I got it early and have no idea how to use the damn thing, I am thinking now I should have asked for the lovely pair of shoes I have had my eye on for a while! #shoeaholic

My intentions were good I was given some lovely fabric and thought it would be nice to make some bedding for Ethan. However the instructions may as well be written in French as they make no sense what so ever ;-(

If I can ever figure the damn thing out I will upload photos of the finished product! It might be a while so if anyone can help me please get in touch!

I get the feeling I am always destined to be the Undomestic goddess!!! Which is not a bad thing considering there are not enough hours in the day anyway X x

What Ethan loves......!

Need to drag my milk with me everywhere!!!

I was sitting in Nando's last week munching away on my chicken :-) when another mummy came over and asked me how i got Ethan drinking from a straw. I said that i honestly believe its down to finding the right product so i thought i would share with you which product i personally recommend for the transition.

When Ethan was ready to have a training cup it caused me a lot of stress and a lot of failed attempts and about 5 different types of cups before i discovered the Baby Born Free range. Their first stage training cup has a soft spout very much like a bottle and this is the training cup that Ethan first started drinking his milk out of. Within weeks he was on the Born Free drinking cup which has a harder spout but exactly the same shaped teat as the training cup so he didn't even notice the switch. (Thank god!)

When Ethan tuned one i purchased their straw cup as drinking from a straw is so much better for their teeth. He took to it straight away and will now drink through any straw which is really handy if out and about and you forget your cup!

Some other benefits of Born Free products are that they are all BPA free and have a venting system that allows a free flow of liquid and reduces vacuum build up. They also have interchangeable parts and are pretty funky too!! I have seen a few mini celebs in magazines carrying around their Born Free cups.

Some tips that worked for me and Ethan when we introduced the cup.

1) First milk of the day worked for us as he was hungry and less fussy.
2) I let him play with the cup and chew at the spout, its hard so it wont be bitten through.
3) Be patient, before i found Born Free products i had spent a fortune, so do your research first.

This is just some info on what worked for me and i hope it can help others i don't profess to be an expert just a normal mummy and what works for me may not work for others.

 Born Free have kindly offered one of each cup for one of my lucky blog followers, this consists of a  Training cup 6+ months, Drinking Cup 9+ months and Straw cup 12+ months, a cup for each stage....perfect!

All you have to do to enter this competition is be a follower of my blog, like my Facebook page and like the Born Free UK Facebook page, make sure you let me know you have done this by leaving a comment under this post. Do not forget to write on their wall that Ethan and his ma ma sent you.

http://www.babybornfree.co.uk/

Competition closes at the end of May when the winner will be picked at random. UK followers only.

Good luck!

Win with Bambino Mio!

Ethan in his Bumgenius!

There are many reasons why people use or switch to reusable nappies. For some it's to save the environment, or money (it's reported you can save £700 per child if you use reusable nappies) The reason i switched to reusable's was because Ethan has excema and when he was around 4 months old it was really bad in his nappy area. I had read many stories that suggested they were a lot better and kinder to babies bottoms.

I am known to have a sensitive stomach and Ethans nappies or nose produce has many time seen me with my head down the toilet! So When i did my research I decided there was no way I could handle the old Terry cloths and pins. I just could not imaging ever dealing with fabrics of poo on a daily basis. So I decided on a more modern version and purchased a Bambino Mio intro kit, you put the nappies on like a regular nappy and take off like a regular nappy. You just need to wash and dry the inserts and use again....fab! Something My stomach can deal with :-) And when I say wash I mean in the machine, gone are the days of hand scrubbing!

We got on really well with the intro pack so decided we could really give this a go.

I purchased some all in one nappies with the inserts already attached, so you just wash the complete nappy and use again. It is exactly the same as a normal nappy except you get to use it again and again after each wash. These are handy if we are busy or not at home. Also really daddy friendly as it's about as close to a normal nappy as you can get. (so no excuses Dad's!)

 Each brand name nappy is about £10-£15 each. So if you are thinking of trying reusable's do get a intro pack first to make sure reusable nappies are for you.

Once I decided it was for us, every month I brought one or two in order to spread the cost. Look for discounts and bargains on one or more purchase too. You really need about 15 nappies to do this full time. You can also get preloved nappies from Ebay or preloved websites which will be a lot cheaper :-)

You can also contact your local council and most offer a reusable nappy trial facility where you get nappies to try and someone to help and support you with them. Some also offer a cash back service where you get an incentive for using reusable :-) some even do council tax discounts woo hoo!

Other things you need to consider are the extra bits you will need if you decided to go with reusable:

• A bucket (to store dirty nappies in)
• Tea tree oil ( to put in the bucket to stop the house smelling :-)
• Liners (to catch poo's in the nappies this goes straight down the toilet)
• Nappy cleanser ( I use Bambino Mio fresh when washing in the machine)

It sounds scary and like it involves a lot of money but it really doesn't need to. You can buy a bundle of nappies that come with all the above accessories so you have it all in one go. Or buy the bucket and nappies second hand, also look out for discount codes for retailers before you buy to save money.

My bucket is my old nappy bin and I already had the oil. The liners are about £3 - £4 for a 1000 they last ages!

Yes there is that initial outlay to get started but now I never buy nappies and every week I save about £7 on nappies. I also never run out so no late night trips to the local garage :-) These days Ethan rarely has nappy rash and reusable nappies are really easy to use. I also just add a bamboo insert to night time nappies for Ethan and never had a leak!!


Also the £700 saving is a family holiday........so think about it and do some research and maybe give reusables a try.


Bambino Mio have kindly offered a Mio into kit for one lucky follower of my blog. You do not need a newborn to get started you can start anytime and the winner can pick what ever size intro kit they want.


 If you would like to win this fab starter kit then you need to be a follower of my blog, you also need to like the Bambino Mio Facebook page and leave a comment saying 'Ethan and his ma ma sent me'! you also need to like my blog's Facebook page. Then leave a comment under this article to say you have done this :-)

Competition entries close midnight 12th May and the winner will be announced on the Friday. Prize cannot be exchanged for cash or any other product. 


Good Luck!!

Kiddicrap!!

Having the worst week dealing with Kiddicrap, oh sorry Kiddicare. 

Purchased a travel cot that is well under warranty and it just collapsed while Ethan was asleep in it. The damn this is clearly faulty and now won't fold down.

I have spent well over a week, 2 phone calls and 4 emails to get fobbed off with, 'You need to send it back to us'. 

I explained to them I could not package it, as it won't go down! I was informed I would need to, as once they collected it, if it got damaged in transit I would be charged. I would also be charged if no fault was found or if I was not home when it was collected or returned.

I was beginning to feel like they thought they were doing me a favour. However after all it was me that purchased the item that was less than 1 year old an item that could have hurt my child!

I have not had one apology up until this point. 

In my desperation I posted on their facebook wall to say how unhappy I was. Some other mums commented they had similar issues with them.

Two emails later and they sent me a new travel cot.

So it got be thinking do you really have to shame to gain anything as a loyal customer these days? Hmmm

On a brighter note Mothercare are fab! I love love love them, my Bee broke this week and they are sending me out a new one as I cannot get to a store due to my broken hand. 

It's a newer model so I purchased a new hood and liner and they are sending me a £20 voucher as part of their price promise for finding these items cheaper elsewhere. 

Now that is fab customer service and I felt really valued, customer service went above and beyond to help me out. Mothercare it is for me in the future! 

Xx

Becoming a stay at home mummy!

Check out my blog for 'The baby show' on why I went from a career junkie to stay at home mum when Ethan arrived! Just click on the title above. Xx

Competition!!

How would you like to win a signed copy of Bumpalicious by the author herself?

All you have to do is follow my blog then view the Poll on the right hand side of this post and then email me (lornamkidd@googlemail.com) with the correct answer. The competition is open until the end of April and i will pick a winner at random and send you the book.

To gain extra entries then follow me on twitter @Ethansmummum and retweet "@Ethansmummum i want to win the comp at wwwethanandhismama.blogspot.com"

Please can i ask that you share my blog with your friends and let me know what you would like to see on here. Hopefully this is the first of many comps!! Thanks xx

M&P COMP Denise Van Outens launch of Bumpalicious!

Me and Ethan were lucky enough to be picked along with 30 other mums bumps and babies to attend the Denise Van Outen book signing of her pregnancy book Bumpalicious. We went off to The Mamas and Papas store on Regent street to see what all the fuss was about!

When we got there we were given a discount code for M&P purchases on the day and a goody bag with a signed 'Bumpalicious' book and a retro teddy for Ethan. (Looking good so far :-)

We didn't stay long however as it was packed with paps and there was not much opportunity to meet the author herself! Which was disappointing considering that's what the day was meant to be about Hmmm....

Anyhow we met Ethan's DaDa and he surprised me with some lovely anniversary gifts (we had been married 2 years that day) we took a gentle stroll around London and got some bargain baby Gap goodies for our upcoming holiday. So all in all a good day.

Have a read the book yet???? No......i will leave that review for another day. I wander if it will be the same as all other celeb pregnancy books. (I have carried a baby for 9 months and i am a celeb so i must let all you mere mortals exactly how to do it right!) Wall lets wait and see shall we.