Essential Tips for Potty Training

April 6, 2018July 23, 2018 JayneLeave a comment

I know that having two kids doesn’t make me an expert by any means but Husband and I managed to get the girls through the potty training phase with very little aggro and it’s something for which I’m hugely grateful. There are a few tricks and facts to bear in mind when it comes to getting babies out of nappies, so I thought I’d share a few with you here.

Being dry in the day doesn’t always equate to being dry at night

I know SO many people who get really frsutrated because their kids are totally potty trained during the day but still wet themselves at night, and the simple fact is that night time dryness can’t be trained. It only happens when the body produces a particular hormone and this happens much later for some kids than others. Keep your kids in pull-ups until their go for a whole week of dry wake-ups, and even then I’d recommend having an underpad on the bed (like these Incontinence products available from HARTMANN Direct) to catch any accidents and save your mattresses.

Be prepared

If you’re ready to start venturing out of the house, you need to be prepared for a few weeks to carry a whole load of stuff with you. Travel potty, spare clothes, wipes, tissues – all things that you’re going to need if you have a toilet emergency or accident and it’s MUCH better to have them and not need them – take it from someone who once had to go and buy a whole new outfit including shoes for a kid who just couldn’t hold it any longer!

Skip the potty…

This one may be a little controversial, but it’s something which has really worked for us. If you live in a flat, bungalow or house with a downstairs loo (i.e. somewhere where your child will always have a toilet on the same floor as them), I totally advocate skipping using a potty and going straight to using a proper toilet. Potties are bloody inconvenient and need disinfecting every single time you use them, and you’ll still need to train them to use a toilet once they get bigger anyway. Invest in a good toddler seat and step to help them.

Remember to remember!

If your kids are anything like mine, they’re able to wilfully ignore all the signals that their body is giving them that they need to pee RIGHT until the very last second and then it becomes a mad, and often messy, rush to the loo. Remember to ask them every now and again if they need the loo and often this is enough to spur them on to actually go for a tinkle.

Do you have any potty training tips? Leave me a comment below.

BabyMel Changing Bag Giveaway (in association with Sudocrem and the Baby Changing Room Awards )

January 24, 2018January 24, 2018 Jayne48 Comments

It’s crazy to think that in 2017, there are still public places with totally substandard changing facilities, but it’s a fact. Although both of my girls are well beyond the nappy phase, I still notice these things when we’re out and about and I’ve given more than one sympathetic eyeroll to a struggling Dad who doesn’t know whether to balance his kid on his lap to attempt a bum-change, or brave the ladies toilet where the ONLY changing facilities have been inconveniently placed. One place I never fail to be impressed by is our local IKEA. Not only to many of them have HUGE family toilets which have ample space for buggies and wheelchairs, their family loos also have an adult size toilet and a kid sized on in the same room so that everyone is catered for in one special space.

Sudocrem Baby Changing Room Awards Five years ago, Sudocrem launched the Baby Changing Room Awards to celebrate exactly that – spaces which have been designed with ease and inclusiveness in mind, and this year’s nominations are now open. The awards aim to recognise the fact that “changing” is about SO much more than babies, and that there are children with complex needs who’s parents need adequate facilities to make their lives easier.

Parents like Laura Rutherford, whose son Brody, 5, suffers from GDD, epilepsy, hypermobility and hypotonia, is forced to change her son on a toilet floor. “Life beyond a baby changing table when your child is doubly incontinent means constant exclusions when you go out as a family. It’s heart breaking for us as parents and this is an issue that will sadly become harder and harder as he grows up. He is different not less. Time for change.”

Jenny Miller CEO of PAMIS explains, “We are thrilled that Sudocrem have recognized the needs of children with complex needs as they grow too large for baby changing facilities. Children and young people who require these facilities are often prevented from taking part in their communities by the simple things that we take for granted. In 2007 we cofounded the Changing Places Consortium and campaign to develop accessible facilities for the most disabled people in the UK. The Sudocrem award scheme is a great idea and we’re confident it’s going to make a big difference!

If you would like to nominate a changing room for the award, then let us know which changing room, why you want to nominate it and preferably include a photo on Facebook via the Sudocrem website www.sudocrem.co.uk/social-hub or by emailing competitions@satellitepr.com.

To promote the awards, Sudocrem is giving one lucky Mum’s the Word reader the chance to win a beautiful Babymel Frankie Tweed Nappy Change Bag worth £58.00.

Win a BabyMel changing bag with Mum's the Word and Sudocrem To be in with a chance of winning, just complete the Rafflecopter widget below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and don’t forget to nominate your favourtie changing space in the Baby Changing Room Awards!

Baby

Things They Don’t Tell You About Your Post-Baby Body

November 8, 2017 Jayne3 Comments

When I fell pregnant with Sausage, there’s no denying the fact that I wasn’t in the best shape I could have been in; two years of marriage and the “comfort” had set in, with lots of lovely evenings spent together, eating takeaway and watching movies, and it had exactly the effect you#d imagine on my figure. I’d always planned to get in shape before we even considered having another baby, but fast-forward five and a half years and I fell pregnant a LOT quicker than I thought I would after having my implant removed. All of this neglect aside, there are things which happen to your body, post-baby, that a lot of people don’t talk about. Here’s just a few of the things that I’ve had to deal with:

Hair Loss

I’m pretty lucky that I have fairly thick hair to begin with, but after both of my babies the hair loss was shocking. I always lose it from around my hairline which is probably the most annoyingly noticeable place to lose it from, especially as I wear my hair in a ponytail and it can really mess with your confidence. I’m lucky that I didn’t lose enough to have needed to resort to an FUE hair transplant, but it’s something which affects a lot of new mums.

Incontinence

This one is pretty much a universal truth for anyone who’s had a baby – you WILL pee yourself at some point in the future. I know women who’ve done every Kegel exercise imaginable who still break out in a cold sweat at the thought of going on a trampoline or getting a bad cough, and it’s not something we should be ashamed about, it’s just a fact of biology.

Stretch Marks

Because of things like Instagram and women’s magazines, it would be really easy to think that only us mere mortals get stretchmarks and that they’re something to be ashamed of. The fact of the matter is, some people get them, some people don’t. Celebs have the benefit of photo retouching and professional make-up people to make them look perfect but it’s very rarely a reality.

The Pouch

Obviously, not everyone who has a baby ends up with a pouch (you know , that flap of skin on your belly which just WILL NOT SHIFT not matter how much weight you lose) but it’s incredibly common and a lot of women say that their bodies never look the same again after having a baby, which can be hard to deal with, mentally. It’s taken me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I’ll never have my 22-year old body again, HOWEVER, I’m working hard to improve my new normal.

Scars

For ages after having Sausage, I found it really hard to look at my c-section scar because it represented a traumatic time in my life. It was jagged and red and made me feel like a failure for not having given birth naturally. Then Husband told me how grateful he was to that scar, how it represented the fact that a doctor was able to remove Sausage from my body safely while she was being starved of oxygen and save her life. As soon as I started to view my scar differently, it changed my whole view and I now love it.

Baby

3 Simple Tips for Moving House With Babies & Toddlers

November 7, 2017 Jayne3 Comments

Proudly brought to you by Brisbane’s #1Removalist Platinum Furniture Removals

Months of sleepless nights, tantrums that leave you questioning how such a creature came from your own body, finding inexplicably sticky objects everywhere you go – if you’ve got kids under five, there’s no doubt that these things have made you fairly accustomed to dealing with a certain level of stress.

Now, take those day-to-day dramas and add moving house to the equation – an event that’s been rated more stressful than death and divorce. Feel your cortisol rising yet?

Relocating your home with little kids in tow can be tough, but there are three simple steps you can take to mitigate the stress your family experiences.

1. Maintain Sleeping & Eating Schedules

While your normal schedule might be up in the air from house hunting, packing and time taken off work, it’s important that your kids’ routines stay the same.

Make sure that your kids are sticking to their regular schedule of meals, naps and bedtimes as much as possible before, during and after the big move.

And, while it’s a good idea to get them out of the house on moving day, don’t forget to give your kids an opportunity to say goodbye to their old room before they go. A sudden relocation without any warning can cause a huge sense of loss in young children.

2. Don’t Redecorate Rooms Straight Away
It’s tempting to take a two-birds-one-stone approach to redecorating and moving. After all, why not avoid double handling and just swap out old stuff you no longer want with new items for your new home on the same day?

Kids crave normalcy and having familiar furniture and objects around while they learn the layout of your new home is crucial to reducing their stress.

Young children have a genuine fear of being alone, and this can be heightened if you’re moving into a larger house where it’s more difficult for them to find you when you’re in another room.

If you find your kids getting particularly clingy during the first few weeks at the new house, don’t admonish them. Their anxiety is natural, and it will pass as they get more and more used to their surroundings.

3. Take Care of Yourself
No matter how much you try to hide it, when you’re feeling stressed out your children are bound to pick up on it!

Practicing self-care is particularly vital while moving house. A few pointers for keeping yourself (and your children) emotionally balanced during this time include:

Rely on routine and planning: Help yourself relax by budgeting for your move early (with a financial buffer for unanticipated expenses), making checklists with realistic deadlines and having a backup plan in case things don’t go as expected.

Get support: Seek help from family, friends and even organisations early and often. Whether it’s financial, physical or emotional support you’re after, find out who you can count on to be there for you before you start to feel like you need help.

Be kind to yourself: Remind yourself that you are doing your best. Stop the cycle of continually feeling like you can be doing more by planning out your days in advance and talking about your worries with friends and family.

For more info and tips please visit our website and blog
http://www.platinumfurnitureremovalistsbrisbane.com.au/removals-blog/

Platinum Furniture Removals
Level 6/140 Creek st, Brisbane, QLD, 4000
0477 775 935

Baby · Family · Parenting

When Your Last Baby is No Longer a Baby

September 27, 2017October 10, 2017 Jayne2 Comments

For many people, January is a time of new beginnings, however I always feel like September is that time for me. Summer is over and we move into a new school year and a new season of cooling weather and falling leaves. I always start September feeling inspired to do more, and my creativity seems to rekindle itself in Autumn for some reason. This September has been no different, and a lot has been happening in our house. Husband and I have both had new projects at work, Sausage went into Year 5 and 11+ prep, but perhaps the biggest change is BB starting nursery.

I’ve been adamant for months that nursery was the right thing for BB as she has some shyness that she needs to get over as well as some attachment issues, but it’s been a lot tougher than I anticipated. She was fine for the first two days of her settling-in week, then had tears on the Friday. The next week was hard too, with tears on Monday, culminating in almost-hysterics on the Wednesday which led to me taking her home early. The following week, she got tonsillitis so missed a whole week of sessions, and she even said to us that she was glad she felt ill because it meant she didn’t have to go to nursery. To say it was breaking my heart is an understatement.

For us, it’s a really fine line between getting her used to being away from us in preparation for school and traumatising her when she’s barely ever been away from us. Helping her confidence to flourish is a big part of the growing process. However, I also don’t want to give her the idea that she can have a tantrum and get out of ever doing anything outside of her comfort zone, and the point about her getting prepared for school still very much stands.

When Sausage started nursery, she was always quite happy to go, so leaving her was a lot easier; it was only by the time she got to Reception that she started to hate it, and by then it was compulsory, so I didn’t have the option to just take her home again. Nursery isn’t compulsory, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’m losing out on precious time with BB which I won’t have the option to have back once she’s at school next year.

I think the fact that she’s my last baby is having an impact on my mindset. Husband and I agree that two kids are enough for us and that we like the dynamic of our family the way it is, and besides, having the health conditions I have mean it wouldn’t be a good idea for me to have another pregnancy anyway. However, it means that I’m having to deal with the fact that this is the last time I’ll do nursery drop offs, the last time I’ll have a three-and-a-half year old, the last time I’ll do any of this. Our family is growing up and while I love that in many ways, it doesn’t mean I don’t feel slightly sad about it, too.

BB is pretty advanced in a lot of ways and having a big sister means she’s probably growing up a bit faster than Sausage did, so coming to terms with the fact that our last baby isn’t a baby anymore is tougher than I expected. She still loves a snuggle and still holds onto my ear when she’s tired. She still asks for help eating her porridge and putting her shoes on, and still wants company while she’s on the loo. But she also refuses to watch Paw Patrol anymore, because it’s “for babies”, and wants to be a “big girl” all the time. It’s an inbetweeny stage for all of us and she’s charging towards school-age a lot quicker than I ever expected her to.

She went to nursery again today after her week off ill and went in with minimal fuss – I waited around the corner and spied on her after five minutes and she was all smiles. She came out full of beans, having baked a cupcake and made a new friend, so we’re hopeful that this positive experience will help going forward. I guess I need to just enjoy the little remnants of her baby-hood while they last, because I don’t think they’ll be sticking around for too much longer.