James seem to have found a rebellious streak these last few days. I think he gets it from me. He is driving me mad with his no's. Not sure how to handle it yet. Going to see if it continues first, then maybe the naughty step or toys taken away or prehaps I should just yell back no when he wants me to do something.

Ditching the dummy fail.

A few months ago I wrote a blog about Penny going without her dummy. Three months on and she is still sucking away. We did try and for a few nights and she did go dummy free, though she didn't like it. There have been a number of reasons why we failed.

1) For the last few months both John and I have been ill and it is only now that we both feel we have got the energy back to face up to the task again.

2) Penny is teething and as a result a bit grisly.

3) She also has had a terrible cold.

4) We were worried she would disturb James while settling herself to sleep.

5) Laziness on our part.

I recently read this article from parent dish, nine ways to wean your baby off its dummy. It has made me feel so much better about our attempt. It has also given me the inclination to have another go now she is feeling better.
http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2014/01/02/9-ways-to-wean-your-baby-off-the-dummy/#!slide=aol_1004430

We have began by not having the dummy around during the day. We noticed that if it is downstairs she mades a beeline for it. Now it stays in her bedroom, she doesn't seem to have missed it. Next step is to go cold turkey.

Asda Car Seat Unsafe

I have just found out that the car seat I purchased for my son 2 years ago has failed safety tests by consumer advice website Which?

The Asda Nania Trio Plus is suitable from groups 0/1/2. It was in tests for group 2, where the adult seatbelt is used across the childs body that the car seat scored 0. Luckly my son is still using the 5 point harness (group 1), though this didn't score very highly.
As a good will gesture Asda are willing to exchange the car seat for a newer model or offer a refund. Which I think is really good of them. Guess where I'm going on Friday.

I have included a link for the Which? report and Asda's advice if you have a car seat of this type. Apparently it also affect a Kiddicare  Maxi SP car seat as well and people are advised to contact Kiddicare who will offer a exchange or refund.

http://www.which.co.uk/news/2013/06/which-advice-replace-nania-trio-plus-car-seat-322953/

http://your.asda.com/news-and-blogs/get-the-facts-which-report-on-our-team-tex-car-seat

Secondhand verse New.

Now, I have always been one for picking up a bargain and have no qualms about secondhand toys, books, clothes or presents. However, during a discussion at Mother and Toddler group I got the distinct impression I was being looked down on for having this approach.
Don't get me wrong, there are certain things that I would never have secondhand. Shoes for instance, but this is because I have a weird foot phobia, probably stemming from working in a shoe shop during Summer and dealing with sweaty feet, but I diverse.
My children are 5 months and 2 years old. Penny the youngest is growing so fast that she does not get any wear from any clothes I buy her. We saved all James' clothes from when he was that age, so she often goes out in blue and dungarees. I have just got her a clothes bundle from Ebay with some beautiful dresses in it for £4. Bargain. James, he spent most of the Summer digging in the garden, therefore is covered in dirt. Secondhand clothes for him are to run round and play in and I don't have to worry about getting his nice stuff (not that you dont get nice secondedhand clothes) dirty.
As Christmas is starting to approach, I find myself looking on line, in charity Shops, boot sales and garage sales for secondhand presents for them. At their age they won't know, or care, that what they get isn't new, it will be new to them. I have also heard of swap shops happening,where parents get together and exchange toys, clothes and baby paraphernalia. Excellent idea, I just need to find one near me. I'm hoping to find a James a used digital camera for Christmas. He likes to use mine and Johns and I don't really rate buying a toddler one. James is also Bob the Builder mad at the moment. I put a message on a local selling page on Facebook asking if anyone had any and I was inundated with replies.
Even today, I managed to get a Vtech Driving wheel for £2.50. It was in excellent condition and new it would cost £14. This is being popped away ready for Christmas for Penny.
I am not ashamed that I buy my children (and me) used items, it means that there is a little more money to go round of other things, like little holidays, days out or if the boiler breaks.

Not bathing your child for 10 days!

Yet again, the controversial topic of bathing babies has raised its dirty head again. Part time blogger, Claire Goss, freely admits that her children often go without a bath for up to 10 days. Claire has now been subjected to a torrant of abuse calling her lazy, gross and unfit. So, is daily bathing a sign of being a good mother?
I admit, I do not bath my toddler or his baby sister daily. I don't think they need it. A babies skin is so delicate that it doesn't warrent a daily bath especially with soap and chemicals.
When James was first born we tried bathing as part of a bedtime routine but he always seemed overly excited by having a bath and splashing, rather than being calmed and soothed by it.
As a result, I tend to aim to bath my children ever other day, even then this is sometimes passed over if we need to go out. It has been know for them not to be bathed for up to 5 days. They get a bath when they need one. If they are dirty or sicky they have a dunk. They have a daily wash and my children always (nearly) look presentable and clean.
At the end of the day, it is up to the parents to decided when to bath children. They know is best for they own children and fits in with their homelife. It doesn't or shouldn't take an expert to tell us what is the right thing to do.
How often to you bath your children?

Ditching the Dummy

Right.
Penny is now nearing 6 months old, so it is time to ditch the dummy.  Penny is a constant dummy sucker. She is the Maggie Simpson of our family.

When I was first pregnant I was adamant that no dummy was ever going to pass the lips of my child, then James arrived. Less than a week and we gave in. We had dummies, spare dummies, emergency dummies and emergency emergency dummies. Peace (sort of) reigned and we were able to get a bit of much needed rest. We did try to limit its use to just at bed and nap time.

With Penny, we have just been plain lazy and when she starts to cry, though it isn't very often, the dummy is popped in to settle her, even James has taken to trying to force her to have the dummy.
James kicked the habit at 4 months, it only took a few night of controlled crying until he was able to self sooth himself to sleep. Hopefully it will be just as easy with Penny.

10 things I found a could do after having children.

As the title suggest, there are many things I am good at and I few things I excel at (sitting for example) this is a compilation of 10 things I can do now I've had children.

1. Creating food monsters. I have become a master at turning a plate of food into funny faces and monsters, not because James won't eat, but because it makes him happy when he see it. 
2. Became a master at play doh. Give me a blob of dough and I can create things that Henry Moore would be proud of. 
3.  Multitasking. OK, before I had children I could multitask, but often I had a choice whether I wanted to or not. Now, I'm lucky if the multitasking only involves 2 things. It is a good thing I am an excellent juggler. 
4. Actually like children programmes. I have discovered that they snare you in. You start just absentmindedly watch bits of a program while doing something else (multitasking see). Then, I find I'm watching the whole thing while multitasking. Now I'm sitting down purposely watching it, commenting and doing voices throughout the day. Darn you Peppa Pig.
5. Go out semi-naked. I never would do this before children and given an option I would never do this after children. Called it forgetfulness or baby brain, but after feeding Penny I have been known to not do up my feeding bra. Poor postman. 
6. Invent a noise for a giraffe and a camel. Thanks to Dear Zoo for this one. 
7. Be a human climbing frame, digger, slide, horse etc.
8. 4min Showers. After watching TV the other night about a woman's rehabilitation program where the women were only allowed a 2min showers. I time my shower time, 4mins. It is a rush in rush out job, with the door open so I can hear any yelling, screaming or crashing. Baths are classified as a luxury which I have to book in advance. 
9. Cook. Before children cooking involved taking something out of the freezer and sticking it into the microwave or oven. Now I cook and bake from scratch. We may sneak in the odd frozen pizza here and there, but most the time we eat homecooked food.
10. Smile and laugh. Yes, I smiled and laughed before, so number 10 is a bit of a cop out, but not to the same extent. James and Penny amuse me and make me laugh everyday.