Shake shake shake, shake your little hands...

Well, I did promise that once I'd checked out some local baby classes that I found on www.ollyolly.co.uk , that I'd report back! 

Little T and I have become regulars at our local Movers & Shakers class (www.movers-and-shakers.co.uk).  This class is a 30 minute music and movement session made up of songs, bubbles, signing, puppets and a parachute... what more could you ask for?  30 minutes is a perfect amount of time to keep Little T engaged and he absolutely loves the wonderful Alana who leads our local sessions.  Approaching this class, I was a little nervous, as I'm not one of those super duper cheerful, all-singing and dancing mummies.  I thought Little T (only being 5 months old) might not get a lot out of this class yet, but as we all sat around cross-legged, with our babies sat or Little T loves to stand (supported of course), it was incredible to see this group of babies absolutely mesmerised by the cheerful songs and rhymes.  Now we have been to a few classes, you get used to the structure of the class and the trade mark songs 'shake shake shake, shake your little hands....' is on a constant loop in my head and it really calms Little T when I sing it to him at home. 

This fantastic class has become a weekly fixture in our diary and it is wonderful to see Little T so happy and engaged. Oh and did I mention that one of our local classes is held in a pub, which makes it fantastic for a quick glass of wine with my friends post-class! A win for both me and Little T!

Fast food...

Although I do quite enjoy making up Little T's baby purée from scratch, it can involve lots of pots and pans, time and clearing up.  Given that time is a very valuable commodity if you have a baby, I wanted to try out a quick and easy alternative to my homemade mush. 

I decided to try 'Kiddie Cubes', which you can by at Cook and Ocado. They are frozen cubes of baby food, which are made using organic, natural ingredients. Each bag of Kiddie Cubes (suitable from 4 months) contains 12 x 25g cubes of nutritional goodness. Individual cubes (or a few depending on how hungry your baby is) can be heated up in the microwave or on the hob in just 90 seconds. 

We tried the 'Really Rooty Veg' cubes made up of sweet potato, carrot and swede.

This is a combination of veg that I wouldn't have necessarily put together myself, but it something Little T really enjoyed! The puree has a really smooth texture, Little T liked the fact that it has been warmed and I liked that it was super easy and full of goodness! We will definitely be trying more of their wide selection of flavours in the near future for a fast food fix!

Finding time for fitness...

I was one of those people who didn't want to stop exercising during pregnancy. Although I had to give spinning a miss, I still did personal training, pilates and yoga every week right up until the end.  Having had a c-section, the required 6 week break from exercise was actually pretty killer for someone who exercises regularly, so I was raring to go to some classes, despite feeling pretty tired during the early days of having Little T! 

I am incredibly lucky as Daddy H gets home from work early enough for me to get to the gym in the evenings if I fancy it, but I went out looking for some daytime classes that I could take Little T with me to... 

The first class I went to was a 'Buggy Fit' class. Although I was little sceptical at first about the prospect of running around my local park like a crazy woman with Little T being thrown around the place, but I was pleasantly surprised by the class! It wasn't all running around with your buggy; it was more of a strenuous outdoor exercise class of squats, sprints and lunges, whilst Little T watched on in amusement. It wasn't for the faint-hearted and was actually pretty intense! 

I also go to a weekly pilates class with Little T. He is supposed to sleep through it whilst I glide into different positions and poses.... This has maybe happened once and more often that not he lays on the mat next to me with a toy, or our wonderful teacher carries the babies around in turn if they get a little fractious.

It's a really good opportunity to meet other mothers, who also enjoy exercise and take time for *ahem* relaxation...

I'd strongly recommend trying out some classes, as it's really great to try and get some 'me' time, during a long day with your little one!

I get by with a little help from my friends...

Now I know that I have written one post on the importance of friends, particularly friends with babies of the same age. I really do think it's great to have someone to moan about teething, nappy changing and sleepless nights, as well as celebrate smiles, giggles and the countless cute things your baby does....

You know what else is great - having some girl time with your friends you had before you have a baby...  I don't know about your friends, but mine are pretty awesome. Although they ask about Little T, we also get back to talking about work, love lives and girly gossip. There is nothing like a glass of wine, laughing until your tummy hurts and catching up on the "real world" outside of nappy valley.  It also gives Daddy H some quality time with Little T and a taster of a day in the life of Mummy H! It is so easy to find excuses not to go (too tired/baby grumpy/feeling less than glamorous).. but I promise you that putting on some makeup, a nice outfit and gorgeous shoes, like these beauties really does give you a boost...

Prada - just wonderful wedges!

Yesterday we went to Bills in Islington for Champagne afternoon tea for a friend's birthday and it really was fab...

Delicious!

Birthday girl!

Don't get me wrong, being Mummy H is the best thing in the entire world... but it's  nice to have a gentle reminder that I'm still the same old Lucinda... So thank you friends - all of you - who I know are all reading this post... (that is something else that makes you all brilliant!) 

Little visitors...

Now that Little T has come along, when his baby friends come to play, I have lots to entertain them; bouncers, playmats and toys aplenty, but anyone over a year and I was pretty stumped... 

Wow, it's a whole different ball game trying to stop those lovely little hands grabbing all your nice trinkets, candles and everything else in site! My LSA glassware and Emma Bridgewater plates didn't stand a chance... 

I quickly realised that I needed a stash of easy entertainment and some plastic tableware... 

Ikea have great sets of plastic cups, plates, bowls and cutlery for under £1... 

Bubbles, bouncy balls and colouring pencils and my fancy knick knacks are safe...until Little T is 1 of course! 

Outfit of the week...

With the weather being so changeable at the moment, you can't go wrong with bright colours and lots of layers...

Little T looked adorable in bold red stripes and lion dungarees from Next... 

I went for a magenta pink shirt from Sandro, Paige jeans and some super cute Marc by Marc Jacob mini mice pumps... 

We hope you are enjoying the bank holiday weekend! 

Troublesome Teething...

Rosy cheeks, chewing everything in sight (particularly their own fists), pools of dribble and spontaneous crying fits can only mean one thing - terrible teething. I'm sure not everyone thinks of it as terrible, as some babies glide through getting their teeth without so much as a tear - but not us. The normally cool, calm and collected Little T is a bundle of teething fury.

Our survival kit consists of:

The Neckerchew - this fabulous product is both a dribble bib and a teether to help soothe teething pain. It comes in a number of stylish prints and we have a dinosaur print and a print by Joules too. It's become a welcome addition to nearly every outfit of Little T's recently... 

Unfortunately, one teether is never enough... 

Sophie la girafe (of course) - this 'must have' teether is one of Little T's faves. Anyone would think she was his best friend. Great to chew on and better than his own fists!

Anbesol - this is a liquid form of pain relief that can be rubbed directly onto teething babies' gums and it seems to work for us short term... as well as calpol when things really won't settle down! 

A crazy number of cuddles and tears (from Little T, and occasionally me) is what teething has brought us, but thanks to the above, we are navigating our way through this slightly tricky time!