The apps we love

Matilda doesn't really spend much time in front of the TV, she probably has only really 'watched' TV a handful of times in her life.

Sure, of a morning the TV is on in the background and if there is a music act on she will sit up and bop along to it, but otherwise its the very rare (and only recently) ABC for kids show that she has seen.

But she does have a few favourite apps. Well it is the technological age after all.

They are all educational (well they aren't games anyway) and frankly they can be great fun. So I thought I would share our top apps with you.

Matilda's favourite would have to be a three way tie between Willbee the Bumblebee, Dear Zoo and The Wonky Donkey so I will chat about those first :)

All of these books can be read to you or you can read along yourself. The two books by Craig Smith also have a song version which are the current favourites in our place at the moment. For the older kids there are also some games and other activities in each of these.

Willbee the Bumblebee

 
Matilda just loves Willbee, she bounces around and shakes her maracas as the story unfolds. It's a great little story about a bumblebee working in the garden until his jersey comes unravelled. It's then up to the other animals, Monica the butterfly and Spider Steve (who reads the Women's Weekly!) to help him out. It's a great story, catchy song (probably too catchy) and the environmental message in there makes me a happy mum.

I definitely recommend this one :)

Dear Zoo

Dear Zoo is a great story and the app is so much fun. It comes with plenty of sound effects and is simple enough to let the little ones start to experience the touch screen. Don't get me wrong Matilda isn't left alone with the iPad to read this story, but she can now get the animals out of their crates and make them make their sounds.

We add in a few extra words on the snake story (the snake is too scary for Nanna) as I don't believe in bringing Matilda up to be afraid of any animal, but otherwise this one is definitely a huge favourite in our house.

 The Wonkey Donkey

Ah the Wonky Donkey, it's a toss up who loves this one more - Matilda's Aunty (she's a teacher), Matilda or Matilda's Dad (cause it makes fart noises..!)

This one is by the same guy who does Willbee and its just as great. Actually, this is the original but for now Willbee is slightly ahead in the favourite race.

Again you can have this one read to you, sung to you or you can read along yourself so plenty of choices there. The song is the current favourite in our place and there is a lot of bopping along as the story unfolds.

It's also good for a giggle as Wonky gets more and more interesting and traditionally unattractive but then turns out 'quite good looking' - gives Mum and Dad a laugh anyway!

Baby Karaoke

This is another lifesaver. Matilda loves the songs and its great for that much needed quick distraction. It would be great if all the songs on the Raising Children Network site were available, but its a free app so these five are great!

Baby's Music Box

I am going to apologise for introducing you to this one straight up. Sorry.

Its annoying, like really annoying but... it instantly calms a screaming baby so, well, it's also handy.

We don't use this one so much any more but as a small bubba Matilda loved it. If she was ever a little distressed we would pop it on and the soothing (lets be clear - soothing for a wee baby not for you) sounds of this app would help nine times out of ten.

Thank goodness we don't have to use it much any more!

ABC for Kids

I am pretty sure every parent has discovered this one - but just in case you haven't its got a handy little selection of songs and videos for that urgently needed short distraction. We like Elmo's videos at the moment, particularly the one where he makes Baby Bear sing for his porridge. Again, this one is a little too catchy and I find myself singing it hours later!

Warning: anyone one with a Mummy-crush on Mr Laga'aia - this will not help matters. Take it from someone who knows ;)

The Wonder Weeks

 
This is one for the Mummies and Daddies out there. This app is a great summary of the information in the invaluable Wonder Weeks book. I cannot believe none of the mainstream education (that I experienced anyway) talked about these wonder weeks. We hear so much about the growth spurts at 10 days, three weeks, six weeks, three months & six months but in my experience these wonder weeks are much more obvious and amazing!

Do yourself a favour and get this app and sign up for the the reminder emails on the website. If you can find the time to read, get the book as well. You will learn so much about your little one!

The Wonder Weeks is even available as a chapter by chapter eBook so if your little one has passed some of the milestones you don't have to buy the whole book. I love that!

The last leap of the Wonder Weeks is not until 17 months, so even parents of older bubs can get some use out of this one.

There are a couple of other books Matilda quite enjoys but is a little young to truly appreciate them just yet. Having said that she does enjoy them, and I can see them being favourites in the future so here's a quick list of them:

• Mademoiselle Daisy's New Friends
• Scott's Submarine
• Scott's Polar Trip

So that's it for the moment, there are a few others we have tried and found that they aren't so great or that they are a little advanced for Matilda at this point, but these ones are definitely the ones on high rotation at our place at the moment.

I hope if you give them a try, you like them as much as we do. And if you have any favourites I would love to hear them!


NEWS FLASH: The Wonder Weeks website has a Christmas Giveaway happening at the moment -you can download the first chapters of the eBook for free on their website, nice!

Christmas is so different on this side of parenthood

I love Christmas - always have, always will. Every year I make Matilda's Dad pop on the Christmas carols to put up the Christmas tree. I love wrapping the presents and seeing them under the tree and I love giving them out during the season :)

Most of all I love the family time. Christmas for me is all about family. I grew up in a big family (so big I still have to draw a family tree for Matilda's Dad on occasion) so Christmas was all about Mum, Dad and my sister and all of our grandparents, aunts, uncles, great-aunts, great-uncles, heaps of cousins and other adopted 'family members' all getting together for a massive lunch, games and presents and then doing it all over again at dinner with the other side of the family.

As we got older it was more and more about the family, the silly games of cricket or footy on the oval during the day and long nights of 'panic' or whatever the board game of the year was that year. It was about catching Christmas beetles and spitting cherry seeds over the fence late into the night.

As an adult I still love these get-togethers. Its a chance to see everyone, or almost everyone, in the same place at least once that year. It's a chance to swap old stories and laugh til we have tears running down our faces (usually thanks to the same accident prone and very funny Uncle) and its the one day a year where we can stuff ourselves silly and no one cares. Not one little bit.

But this year, well this year its different.

All of those things still matter but there is an extra touch of magic in the air.

I knew it would be different with Matilda here, but as she was so young I wasn't convinced we would see a difference just yet - not so. Matilda herself loves the lights, the trees and the decorations. Not  just at home but when we are out and about as well.

Her favourite words, besides Dadda and nanna, are wow, look and that, which is lucky as we hear lots of them as we get out and about.

But it's the difference it has made to Matilda's Dad that I have really noticed.

See, my husband hates shopping centres. He also hates crowds. Christmas time in a shopping centre is therefore his version of hell. So imagine my surprise when he suggested a trip to the shops... on a day when Target had a sale... to get more Christmas decorations... whhaatt??

Then further surprises as he is itching to put up the tree and play the carols - usually its a reluctant husband helping out with this every year.

The difference? Yup its his little girls first Christmas.

And its not just us. Yes, the rest of the family are all very excited too - but so are the neighbours! Yes, that's right the neighbours. We come home the other day to find that one of the neighbours has decorated one of our boundary trees with lights in the form of 'Matti' (which is what he calls Matilda!).

Is that not the best thing ever!

Well, this is where I was going to hand over to Matilda's Dad - he was planing to tell you in his own words how he feels about Christmas, but he is waaay too busy and we will be waiting til next Christmas for that, so instead here are a few pics of Matilda and her Daddy decorating the tree for Matilda's first Christmas :)

Merry Christmas everyone, we hope its your best one yet xoxo

I love my holiday husband

I love my holiday husband.

That's not to say I don't love him all year round, but I particularly love the husband I get when we go on holidays, the one that emerges when we really relax and get away from it all.

You see we've just come back from three glorious weeks away, lost in the wilds of one of our favourite destinations, Tasmania. And it was awesome. 

The holiday itself was great, we got to do and see some amazing things and Matilda has been to some of the most precious places in the world.

But as usual the best bit was family.

My husband commutes, like so many of the people that live here on the Coast, so its a very long day for him. Alarm goes off at what I would call stupid o'clock, he walks out the door not long after - around 5.30am and walks back in the door just after six each night.

The working day is a fairly standard one, but the extra three or so hours of travel, and six different trains a day make it quite a challenge.

During the winter months this means there is often very little sunshine to be had as it is dark when he leaves and again when he returns.

Since the addition of Matilda into our little family our nights can be, as many can imagine, a little hectic. Bath time is Daddy time as that is one of the few precious moments they can stop and hang out together on a weekday. But by the time the Matilda's dinner, bath, story and bedtime are complete, not to mention squeezing in our dinner and making lunches for the next day we often flop onto the lounge for a quick cuppa and catch up before crawling into bed exhausted and ready to do it all over again tomorrow.

This, as you can well imagine, can be exhausting for everyone involved.

So when we get away from it all the real, fun loving version of my husband emerges. And its great!

While we were away we danced like idiots in our friends kitchen while Matilda and the dogs watched on, we sang our way though a thousand daggy songs, we laughed and stayed up way too late, we went on picnics and spent the days exploring the amazing places Tassie has to offer and we had the best time.

So, that's why I love my holiday husband.

For all of those interested in our Tassie trip, I will post a little more on that another day - in the meantime I am going to share a few of my favourite Daddy / daughter pics form our trip, just because I can :)

 

My advice for new mums a year on

I love to share what I have learnt with others but I am also weary of being the know-it-all new mum who bombards everyone with her opinion. I suppose that's one of the reasons this blog exists - I can give as much advice as I like and only those who want it read it.

Recently one of my fav mummy bloggers, Latte Mum, has been talking about her first year as a mum and what advice she would give herself if she could go back before her bubba was born. It got me thinking, what advice would I give myself if I could go back in time?

So, after some time considering this same question to I came up with my top three pieces of advice for new, or any really, mums.

Actually it's really only one piece of advice, but we'll call it three for now ;)

1. Trust your instincts. Above everything else.
Honestly this is the most important thing you can do for yourself and your baby. No one knows how to parent your baby better than you do, no one.

Sure, take advice form others, listen to the great and not-so-great hints and tips from other mums, aunts and uncles, Nanna's, pops, friends and complete strangers, but only take on those that feel right to you. Trust that you know what is best for your family.

Don't get me wrong, it will be hard at times but it is always worth it.

2. It's ok to change your mind (as long as you are doing #1)
I found that I went into this parenting thing with quite a few preconceived ideas that I never considered there was an alternative to (starting on pureed foods for example). But then as I travelled along I discovered that there indeed was alternatives and often they suited me much more than the original idea.

So I changed my tact and that was ok. Actually it was better than ok, it was perfect because it was right for my family and I was following my instincts.

Don't get bogged down in how you thought it would happen, if it doesn't feel right or if its not working, try something different. You never know, it might just be perfect for you :)

3. Find your 'parenting rock star' (for the times you doubt #1)
Its all well and good to say trust your instincts but some days that is really, really hard. On those days you need a few things, good friends - often other Mums who think like you do and a parenting expert to back you up!

Mine, as many will know, is Pinky McKay. When I am struggling to find what works for me or when the 100th person that day has questioned the way I am doing things (or given me that wonderful unsolicited advice I have talked about before...) I turn to Pinky. She doesn't always agree with me, don't get me wrong, but in general her parenting philosophy suits mine and that makes me feel better.

There are also a few facebook pages I am a member of that do this as well. The Natural Parent Magazine and Natural Parenting tips are great ones.
 
So there it is - my collective wisdom eleven months down the track. I hope it helps and I wonder what I will be writing this time next year when Matilda is almost two (yikes!)?

Have a great night xoxo

A little ray of sunshine

I have to say I am feeling all warm and fuzzy after one of my absolute favourite bloggers sent a little ray of sunshine my way with the Sunshine Blogger Award.

My love came from Latte Mum whose blog I just adore. The blog itself is beautiful, it really is, sometimes I visit just to admire the design! But it doesn't stop there, Latte Mum has a beautiful way of expressing what it means to be a Mum, I love following her journey. So do yourself a favour, grab a cuppa and go visit the lovely Latte Mum's site you wont be sorry :)

I am feeling a little extra warm and fuzzy just because of the name of this award - I just love the song A little ray of sunshine by Aussie band Axiom - actually I have it playing in the background as we speak - here why don't you enjoy as well... :) Anyway, I often use it in cards when baby girls are welcomed into this world and it was one of the first things I said to Matilda's Dad after she was born. So this recognition is just that little bit more special :)

With the award comes some responsibility, I must now pass on the award to my favourite blogs (pity I cant pass it back to Latte Mum!). There are a few Mummy bloggers in here, but I have included some of my other favourites as well. I hope you find something here you like :)

• The Imagination Tree creative play and learning for kids - A great blog for those of us that are a little less than creative but want to get hands on with our munchkins.
• Play at home Mom - more play based learning ideas from a group of clever Mums.
• Little Grazers delicious food for little hands - great recipe ideas for us BLW mums!
• Finding that place called home - Another beautiful blog, this one about a little bit of everything - being a mum, food and a lovely natural life in a beautiful part of the world. 
• Healthy Happy Life - amazing recipes! The Sweet potato burgers are to die for...
• Wordwood - a place where I go to escape into a beautiful world and watch my friends create their dream.
• Neilwrites - this guy is funny, intelligent and downright interesting!

And finally there is no way I could go past Pinky McKay's blog Mummy Matters. Pinky is my parenting 'rockstar'.

Ok, so that's only eight, not the 10 I am supposed to do but I find it hard enough keeping up with these ones! If I think of others I will add them, promise.

As with any award there is always a catch - with this one I am required to let you know 10 things you might not know about me, so here goes:

1. As mentioned above I love the song  A little ray of sunshine, it and Hallelujah when sung by KD Lang are the only two songs that can bring me to tears.
2. My husband and I have known each other since we were 15 - but we were not 'high school sweethearts'.
3. Once we were 'together' we spent a total of three years living in different states!
4. My sister is my best friend. Followed closely by some other amazing chicks!
5. I have the most extended family known to man.
6. I have a 'thing' about getting in and out of the same side if the bed, something that my husband only realised last night!
7. Every year my Mum buys me a bottle of perfume and the latest in Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta series. Its not Christmas if that doesn't happen.
8. I had a miscarriage in 2010 - it sucked.
9. I feel complete when I am near the ocean.
10. While I am happy not to drink while feeding my gorgeous little girl the first drink I will have once she is weaned (whenever that might be) will be either a Kahlua straight up with loads of ice or a Frangelico, freshly squeezed lime and ice, followed by whichever one I didn't have first. I will then probably pass out as it has been so long!

For all of the fabulous blogs mention above, the rules for accepting this award are:

• Include award logo in blog post and thank the blogger who gave it to you & include link back
• Answer 10 questions about yourself or list 10 facts about you
• Nominate approximately 10 bloggers for the award and contact them to inform them

Thanks again to Latte Mum for the ray of sunshine I hope everyone has enjoyed dabbling in my favourite reads :)

What to do when you cant be objective...

Have you ever had one of those situations where you know you really need to be the objective one, the one that provides the stable, sensible advice looking at the problem from all angles but you just cant?

I am in the middle of one of them at the moment. Ironically I am not only sturggling with the issue but with writing abut it!

You may ask why on earth I am trying to wirte about it then, well sometimes writing helps me sort it out in my head and I feel like sharing. Mostly my difficulties in writing this one is fully discussing the issue without sharing too much personal information and without offending anyone (I hate offending people).

The other reason I want to write about it here is that the way I would have delt with this pre-Matilda is very different to the way I am (or am not as the case may be) dealing with it now. It is because I am a mum that I am having such trouble separating myself from the problem.

So the thing is that we have had a falling out with a family member on my husband's side. Sadly we are really not sure what the falling out is all about but suffice to say it has meant a long period of silence between us and them.

Now pre-Matilda I would have quite easily separated myself from the issue, discussed it with my husband and gave him some gentle advice. But now... Well I just can't.

You see, we are big enough to look after ourselves. We can make decisions and see the behaviour of the other person for what it is, but Matilda can't. We can understand the complexities of the issues, but Matilda can't.

And it's my job to protect her. It's my job to teach her right from wrong. It's my job to keep the real world out for as long as possible. Right?

So how do I objectively look at the issue and help my husband through this without compromising on the things we want to teach Matilda?

I even feel differently about being treated this way now. Previously I would have been a little annoyed and probably insulted at this behaviour but I would have easily dismissed it and encouraged reconciliation for the sake of family.

This time I am hurt. I am hurt for my husband, I am hurt for Matilda and I am hurt. I am also angry. I feel like we are being treated badly and that the compromise we would need to make to fix this would be a significant one, particularly in light of our parenting responsibilities.

I no longer feel like I can look at the issues objectively. I can no longer be understanding of the personal issues, I can no longer brush off the bad behaviour. I want to teach Matilda the importance of respect and in this case I feel we are getting none.

However, I also want Matilda to be empathic. I want her to be understanding and to know when there is a difference between bad behaviour and personal circumstance. I want her to be able to forgive and I want her to know her family.

How do I teach her patience when I have run out? How do I teach her understanding when I am struggling and how on earth do I teach her the difference between understanding and reasonable compromise and it being a doormat?

So what do I do?

Do I compromise and facilitate a reconciliation or do I stay quiet and let this silly stand off continue? How do I stop feeling so angry about this? And do I want to? And how on earth can I support my husband through all of this?

Sadly I don't have an answer.

Jumping on the Pete Evans bandwagon

I know, I know, there are probably plenty of blog posts out there after the weekend's hullabaloo over Pete Evans's A day on my plate column in the Sunday Age but I'm weighing in as well, if you're over it fine - don't read it :)

But my post will be a little different... I'm not here to crucify the guy for his menu choice, I actually applaud him for his choices and being brave enough to put it out there. It's a cruel world out there.

The thing that amazes me is that had this menu come from some Hollywood celeb there would be thousands of women rushing out to try it and 'activated almonds' would be the new black.

But an Aussie chef steps up and simply says "this is what I eat" and he is crucified. What makes one so trendy and the other, to quote anther blog out there, "slightly wanky"?

I almost like Pete's response (posted on his Facebook page) more than the original column, this is it here:

IGNORANCE is not bliss!

I'm occasionally ridiculed because I choose to eat what I believe to be a nutrient dense diet, and I find it so bizarre as to why people sometimes find my food choices so offensive? All I know is that I'm well aware

 of the consequences of eating 'dead' food. And also I'm a father and I take that privilege very seriously, so for me striving for optimum health and trying new things whenever possible, so that I can be a responsible role model for my daughters and still be able to surf right up until the end, is my choice and quite simply what works for me.

I like this quote by German Philosopher 'Arthur Schoepenhauer.'

Good on you Pete!

So why does this get up my nose so much? Well mostly it is because I can't stand other judging people for their choices. I really wanted to just write "grow up" on the posts as they came up on the day, but figured it was better not to give them my energy.

But then he posted that response and there was the comment regarding parenting - I love it!

In that little statement he had me as a fan. I really believe we all need to be conscious of our parenting activities, of our choices and of how they affect our little ones. They do, after all, rely on us for everything to begin with and as time goes on we are their check point - the standard they compare everything else to and in turn make their own decisions with this in mind. Why wouldn't we want to provide them with the best we possibly can?

When Matilda's Dad and I decided it was time for a family we embarked on a pre-conception care program with our amazing naturopath Jo. It didn't stop there - once we were pregnant, I was super conscious of the foods I ate and followed a strict list of foods that were not to be eaten. Why? Because it was only nine months and what was really more important - that lovely olive from the deli or the health of my unborn baby? To me that's an easy one.

Now I am not saying we are perfect, not even close but it was good to have some guidelines to follow and a very special goal in mind.

So to me Pete Evans choosing to eat activated almonds, coconut kefir and what ever else was on his menu to ensure his health and to provide a great role model for his daughters is something to be celebrated!

DIY mark II - it seems everyone is doing it

It seems there was a rush of DIY posts on my facebook feed yesterday, or was it just a case of 'yellow car syndrome'? I don't know, either way though there are some very crafty mums out there.

I just love Latte Mum's awesome 'stained glass window', I only wish I had a window low enough to do this as well.

By the way, her reasoning behind doing this was heart warming:

"He has made me see the world differently, so I figured it was time to repay the favour"

Aww, how beautiful is that? :)

Then there were these great fairy wings made by Hatchings Cloth Nappies and this clever game made by Oz Baby Trends - there are two sides, here is the other one.

The Oz Baby Trends one is one my to do list for sure!

Not to be out done, this is our latest creation - Stepping stones made simply from flour, salt and water - made into a dough. We then put Matilda's foot or hand in, took an 'impression' and baked for about three hours on a low oven.

I wouldn't say I am entirely happy with the results as yet - the instructions from the fantastic blog The Imagination Tree (discovered through Pinterest of course) said to put on greaseproof paper but I think the one I used has been pre-greased as so they are a little soft and oily on the bottom.

Next time I will use the baking paper that isn't pre-greased and see if that makes a difference.

I also plan to paint at least the hand one and see how that comes out. Will post photos once we are done :)

Kicking it DIY

Right from the start my girl has been a second hand rose, so much of our things we given to us by fantastic family members and friends. Even now one of my favourite sites is a local buy and sell site. All this reuse is a great way to teach Matilda about recycling but it got me thinking - what about reusing items within our own home?

When my friends little girl Mia was only little we had made her a shaker using rice and a drink bottle. Mia found it the other day when visiting and asked why we hadn't made one for Matilda - good point, why hadn't we?

After that we went off to our 'Pre-toddler' mothers group at the baby health clinic and discovered the fun of the simple box.

As an aside, we are so lucky to have this service! Seriously its fantastic - they run three lots of Mothers Groups - an early one when the bubs are only a few weeks old, then one when they are about four months old and then another at eight-ish months old. The first one goes for about six weeks, the second for four and the last one is just a once off. How great is that? On top of that they have a great drop in service once a week, plus a breastfeeding drop in service and an immunisation clinic. And its all free.

Anyway, the clinic had a whole bunch of boxes of all different sizes out for the kids to play with. The boxes were covered in various pictures of babies, artwork with hands and feet etc. The kids loved them, they spent all morning climbing over them, banging on them and building with them.

Well that's how Matilda and I have got a little lost in DIY toys - so far we have made shakers with coloured rice and recycled drink bottles and boxes covered in paintings done by little Mia.

We took photos so we could share them with you :)

This is our first attempt at colouring rice - its pretty simple, just a drop or two of food colouring into a small bowl with a little rice in it then spread it out onto some baking paper to dry:

Then all you have to do is add it to your chosen bottle. We were clearly not going to be happy with just one so we asked Matilda's Aunty to bring over some other food colours - she did one better, check out her coloured rice stash!

Turns out Matilda's Aunty had been using colured rice to make flags in her classroom - score for us as this was the left overs ;)

Matilda had so much fun, even if Daddy is still vacuuming orange rice out of the carpet...

 So now we have plenty of shakers, of all sizes and colours - we even have multicoloured ones

We then moved onto the covered boxes - so far we only have two complete as we gave all the big ones away to a friend moving house, but we will add to the collection as we come across more boxes. The first one is extra special as Matilda's little friend Mia painted the picture especially for this task and even supplied the box. Too sweet xoxo

Unsolicited advice - sure, please, go ahead...

There are two types of unsolicited advice that I seem to get and both drive me bonkers!

The first is one I am sure we have all experienced - it's the advice we get from the stranger on the street, in the supermarket or at the park about parenting that we (at least I think) clearly don't need.

I experienced this for the first time the other day in my local supermarket. Matilda was quite happily sitting in the trolley munching away on some bread. Once that was done I pulled out a few fresh blueberries and offered her one. Now we were pulled "off to the side" of the aisle so we weren't in the way and I was quite lost in my conversation with her "Ta Mummy, now go slow with that" etc etc, when a stranger pulls her trolley up, across the front of mine, and proceeds to lecture me on the way I am feeding my child!

"Does he chew them up?"

"Cause if he doesn't he'll choke you know"

Gee thanks! I would have never known my child needs to chew her food...

Now, when I tell this story it involves a raspy, I-smoke-a-pack-of-cigarettes-a-day, old lady's voice. It may, or may not, have sounded like that but it emphasizes my point. So feel free to re-read her delightful advice with that in mind ;)

I still cannot decide if I am more insulted by the lecture or the fact that despite Matilda being clad in a pink trolley cover and a sparkly pink top she continued to refer to her as 'he'.

The other type of advice is the one that fascinates me more than anything. Don't get me wrong it it still annoys me but mostly I just find it fascinating what people will say and their response when you challenge them (in a nice way).

Have any other mums ever had these types of comments?

"Don't let her suffer"
"Don't let her get sunburnt"

Ummm... Like I would! I know the people saying this don't actually think I would do these things, they are kind of something that is said without thinking. Well that's all well and good for the person saying it but it gets to us mums!

I would never knowingly let Matilda get sunburnt, let her suffer or do or eat anything that would be dangerous for her so please don't suggest I would. And if you do, be prepared for me to challenge you on it.

I have done this once before and the look on the persons face was pure shock - she had no idea how insulting what she said was. She hadn't meant anything by it, she was just trying to show she cared. But that's not how it felt for me.

Please people, when you speak to a new mum understand that what you say as a offhand comment may actually feel like intense criticism or be quite insulting - even if that's not how you meant it. Stating the obvious is common in everyday conversation but when you mix hormones, sleep deprivation and the insecurity of being a new parent it can become a personal criticism.

As for those strangers in the shopping centre - if my child chokes on the blueberry feel free to stop and lecture me but until then back off. It would be much nicer if you just stopped to say hello to her.

The 'other' Mummy guilt

We all know about Mummy guilt, there a thousands of blog posts out there about it and everyone has experienced it. You know that guilty feeling you had when you first left bubba, when you had to go back to work before you wanted to or when you discovered that you hadn't done up points 498 and 499 on the 500 point harness... Well that's not what this post is about.

I've been thinking about the other type of Mummy guilt I have come across since being a mum - I like to call it "Your not doing it the way I did and I feel threatened by that so I will attack your choices" guilt - or 'past Mummy guilt' for short!

Has anyone else experienced it? It usually goes something like this:

"I've decided to do X" (this could be cloth nappies, baby led weaning, not using sun screen - or the exact opposite!)

"Really, well here's a hundred reasons why what you are doing is ...... (insert wrong, dangerous, stupid, unethical etc etc)"

Well ok it's not quite that bad but it can be quiet confronting and honestly I don't understand it. By choosing to parent my child my way I am in no way suggesting that the way you do it is wrong, it's simply the right way for me. Is that really that offensive?

What I find fascinating is that this reaction isn't just from mothers of bubs the same age as Matilda it can come from anywhere - Mums of toddlers or older children to mums of teenagers, adults and grandmothers!

It really makes you wonder how those mums who are feeling a little sensitive put up with it, no wonder we all get overwhelmed at times. I can't count the amount of times I have felt like I have had to defend my parenting choices to someone who simply did it differently.

The thing is, usually the topics that create the most reaction are not those 'hot' topics we expect. Things like smacking, drinking alcohol during pregnancy / breastfeeding etc can be highly emotive but are rarely discussed and challenged. Yet breastfeeding on demand, giving them finger foods rather than purées or using cloth nappies are fair game? Really?

So here's my promise - I will happily share my parenting techniques and philosophy with you. I will even defend my beliefs about those important topics. But I will never judge you just because you do it differently. I may ask you lots of questions about the way you do things so that I understand your methods, I may even give it a try myself. I also may not. Please do not be offended if I do things differently, just as you choose / chose to parent your children your way I choose to parent my way.

While ever we have our children's best interests at heart we all have the right to do it our way.

Simple as that.

A tip from Evie-Rose's mum

When I first started this blog I said that one day, maybe, if they were interested, I would have other Mums as guest bloggers, well we aren't quite there yet but... I thought I would share a fabulous tip from my friend Evie-Rose's Mum.

The other day I had a Mummy brain moment, lost in the wonders of vacuum packs (yes I am new to these) and I thought to myself Gee its funny how stewing pears and vacuum packs smell like fairy floss.

They don't. Only stewing pears smell like fair floss, but that smell quickly turns to burning and smoke if you leave the pears on the stove and get lost in vacuum packs.

So I was complaining to Evie-Rose's Mum that I had to scrub the pan for days to get it clean and she shared this gem.

Put water, bicarb and a dash of dish washing liquid into the pot. Return to the heat and cook off the burnt bits.

It works a treat! Matilda's Dad had a similar Daddy brain moment the other night with dinner and we got to give Evie-Rose's Mum's hint a try. Not only do we now have a sparkling clean pot but we had fun watching it all react and bubble up like a science experiment.

Which reminds me - if you are going to give this a go don't add too much water and do not walk away from the stove (do it when the kids are in bed!) as you will have a much bigger mess to clean up if you do!

Sometimes all I do is wash

Most nights my husband comes home after the nasty daily commute and says

"So what did you get up to today?"

and my answer is inevitably "washing". I feel like that's my answer day after day sometimes!

Don't get me wrong I am not complaining, some of that washing is nappies and I wouldn't change that for the world (post coming one day about my love of  cloth nappies) and every time I hear the rainwater tank pump kick in for the washing machine I am happy knowing we are doing our bit.

So today's post is about a few little old fashioned things I find useful, sharing is after all one of the reasons I started this blog, so it's about time I did that!

So what are my favourite baby related laundry things so far?

Old fashioned 'clothes hanger things'
So I'm not ally sure what you call them but you can see them in the (not very good) picture below.

This might give you too much of an insight into my little personality quirks, but it drove me nuts hanging baby socks out with adult sized pegs! It was just ridiculous. So I started looking for baby sized pegs. Then I remembered these things from when I was a kid. I found a couple in the local bargain store and haven't looked back. I even put them into all my baby shower / new baby presents now.

As you can see the pegs are nice and small for bubs clothes and socks. The white one is great for all the 'single' things like socks, mittens, cloth wipes etc. and the blue one does the pants, singlets and bibs.

The best thing is that the are portable, so we take them with us on holidays and we never have to worry if the will be somewhere to dry Little Miss's clothes.

Woollen hangers
Still on the old fashioned theme, has anyone else used these wool hangers? My mum has one that must be 30+ years old. She bought my sister and I one when we moved out of home and I've carried it from house to house with me. I have used it for the odd delicate or woollen item over time but I never really appreciated its usefulness until now.

They look like this in the packet (and cost about $4):

and then like this on the line, these are Matilda's knitted cardi's hanging out to dry:

So in case you cant see - it has a hook on either end and one in the middle. For adult clothing you simply thread the arms through and have the middle hook poking thorough the neck. For Matilda's clothing I do the same but have one tiny cardi / jumper on each arm space.

They are great for all of that delicate woollen and crochet clothing little ones get and for anything that will drop out of shape if hung up with a peg.

Well they are my two favourite laundry items at the moment. I of course love my nappy buckets for Matilda's super cute cloth nappies and frankly I quite love my laundry, which we built just before Matilda arrived.

The last thing on my recommendation list for today is... a rainwater tank! I couldn't possibly talk about doing the washing without mentioning that all of our water for washing comes from our tank (rain permitting). That means that we leaving the precious treated drinking water for uses more appropriate (our toilets are also flushed with rainwater).

Here is my beloved rainwater tank, which is located right next to my clothesline!

Have a great Friday!

What a beautiful blog post

I love this post from Latte Mum A letter to my pregnant self, such a lovely way to reflect on the first nine months of her little boys life.

We are coming up to the same nine month mark in the next few weeks, it's hard to believe that we will have had Matilda with us as long as I was pregnant at that stage.  That's an amazing thought to me, those early pregnant days seem like a world away now.

Babies certainly turn life on its head and its worth every minute!

Quick tips - things we have done since birth

There are a few things we did with Matilda right from day one that are now appearing to be really handy - I have no evidence these work (other than what I see at home) and maybe it's all just part of normal development but here's my first few tips for things to do from day one.

Play music for bed time
Even in the hospital we has the iPod and a speaker. Each time we put Matilda down we popped on some soothing music. It doesn't have to be special 'baby sleeping' music just something we would like to sleep to - actually much of it was what we put on every night for ourselves (including while I was pregnant).

Now whenever Matilda goes to bed we put the music on, it seems to help her know it's bed time and we have very few issues with her nodding off. Of course if she is upset we cuddle and calm her, even nurse her to sleep on upset nights but most of the time bedtime is calm and happy for all of us.

For the record our favourites, for this purpose, are Olivia Newton John's Grace and Gratitude; Miten and Deva Premal's Songs for the Inner Lover (this one has our wedding waltz on it... awww) and the Music for Dreaming Cd's. There are a few others, like the U2 Rockabye Baby which are also great.

Count the buttons on their clothes
I have no idea why we started this one, but ever since she was born we would count the press studs as we did up her clothing. I think we thought it was a good way to introduce counting and let her know what we were doing - it soon became a habit, even Nana did it.

Who knows if it will have any effect on her counting ability but what it has done is provide a way to calm the ever active eight month old when she fights getting dressed.

I'm told they all go through a stage where they hate getting dressed / undressed, so when Matilda is really protesting I go back to counting those press studs. She seems to remember that it means it's almost over and, if I am quick enough, we get dressed without too much fuss.

I figure there's no harm in it and if it helps later on all the better!

Tell them which arm / leg is going into their clothes
Again, something else we did without thinking about it other than maybe considering it was good for her to know what was happening. Whenever we dressed her we would say "right arm in, pull it through" etc etc (We even had a silly little song for it).

Now I have no idea if she knows her left and right, or I'd this is normal or not but when we dress her now she will pull her arms though the clothing without thinking about it. It makes dressing her so easy!

So that's my tips for this morning. I hope everyone is having a great day!

Rant: When will we keep an open mind on natural alternatives??

Look, most people who know me will agree - I'm a bit of a hippy at heart. I'm quite happy to admit that.

If there is a natural alternative / option for to help Matilda I will give it a go. Don't get me wrong, I am not going to give just anything a go but if it is safe then why shouldn't we avoid the medical alternatives and keep them for the serious occasions?

I have been discussing this with some of the other Mums around me lately with the bubs all having a fever at one stage or another. The general advice we all get is to give them paracetamol or ibuprofen at the first sign of a temperature and to keep administering until the fever is gone.

But what if the temperature is the body's natural way of fighting the infection? Aren't we just extending the illness by putting it off? Now don't get me wrong, there is a limit - if they are in real pain, need sleep or if the temp is getting really high then of course I will give her some. I just wont do it as soon as she gets a little warm.

Teething is another area where everyone says "medicate, medicate, medicate" so when I noticed the Woolworths Baby Club promoting an article regarding the natural alternatives for teething relief I was intrigued and then really disappointed.

The article was written by Dr Ginni Mansberg, who I often enjoy watching on morning TV. I must admit that should have been a warning sign as I have rarely seen her 'approve' of alternatives (for example coconut oil) but still I went in blindly hopeful.

But there it was, every alternative was canned. What annoys me the most is that often it was canned because there was no evidence it worked - there is also no evidence it doesn't work!

Now, I am not saying we should all rely on the alternatives mentioned, I agree that putting lemon in a teething babies mouth seems quite cruel! But if so many of the mothers in her surgery swear by amber necklaces maybe, just maybe there is something in it??

As for frozen fruit, sure you have to be careful but for those bubs following the baby led weaning principles, a frozen piece of fruit or veg shouldn't be an issue. And surely that's better than sticking it in a mesh feeding bag and adding yet more plastic to their little bodies??

Well that's my rant for this Wednesday afternoon. I think the lesson in all of this is I should stick to my natural parenting sites and not the multinationals who are more concerned in selling more products I don't need!

Energised?? Did I ask you to spike my drink?

Sooooo annoyed - I'm not usually a soft drink drinker but yesterday it was hot, i was thirsty and so I decided to grab one out of the fridge. Now usually I would have a good old ginger beer but there was a mountain dew in there so I grabbed it for a change. 

A couple of sips in I decided it wasn't really what I wanted after all (should have stuck with water!) and I put it aside. 

Later in it caught my eye - not because I wanted to drink it but because I wondered what it meant by 'energised' 

To my horror I discovered that Mountain Dew now contained caffeine! And not just a little bit, I had basically had a few sips of an energy drink!  

It even comes with a warning that pregnant and lactating women should not drink. 

I am so cranky! I don't even drink coffee while feeding Matilda, what gives a soft drink company the right to spike my drink with caffeine and then not warn me when it's purchased.

So that's my rant. Next time I'll be checking the label before I drink!

News Flash!

The voting for the competition my little girl is in has opened! 

Check out all of the super cute bubbas in this year's My Child Coverstar competition and then vote for my baby girl (please)!

Testing out the natural remedies

Isn't it funny how easy it is to forget your own advice? Those of you who follow me on Facebook will know the little one was sick last week, our first bout of sickness which was not fun for any of the family.

It all started off with a rash and then followed through with temperatures for a few days. No fun for the little one or this mumma.

Anyway, as a result poor little Matilda's skin really suffered - and she has always had beautiful skin (something I hoped she would get from her Dad and not me). The doctors advice was to rub sorbolene cream into it but I'm not so keen on that so what to do?

We love jojoba oil and paw paw cream (as long as its a petrochemical free one - oi that annoys me, but that's for another day...) but neither of these seemed appropriate. Then my sister reminded me of Mum's remedy for dry baby's skin - bath in oats and dab on egg whites when really bad. Apparently this was all that worked on my cousins really bad skin when we were small.

I am always passing this advice onto friends when they are struggling but had totally forgotten it myself.

So come bath time Mummy sacrificed a stocking sock, grabbed a handful of oats out of the cupboard and tied it over the tap while the bath filled. I would have taken a photo for you but honestly there is no way to make it look appropriate for a blog!

Then when the bath is full we untie from the tap, tie a knot and let it float around the bath, occasionally giving it a squeeze and squeezing directly over Matilda's back and head.

After a few days Matilda's skin is looking beautiful again. Possibly softer than ever before.

So my advice? Give it a try! If bubby has had a rash or is just suffering from dry skin it could just do the world of good. And a few less chemicals on their little bodies can only be a good thing :)

Baby spew - the greatest insult to a breastfeeding mumma?

Argh after all that hard work making milk for Matilda she throws it up - all over me, the lounge and the carpet.

Ignoring the fact that it means I now have to wash my pjs, dressing gown and the blanket on the lounge again, and after making sure that my bubba is ok (for us spewing is a side effect of teething) it for a second makes me think:

"Damn it! It took a lot of work for me to make that. There is a lot of good food, cooking and just a touch of chocolate in there!"

Anyone else have those moments of insanity?

Well that's it for me this morning, covering the serious issues today ;)

The shortest modelling career on record

The princess and I were lucky enough to spend a couple of hours with our favourite photographer the other day. It was a nice way to celebrate Matilda's six months with us and nice for Mummy and Matilda to have some photos together (I always seem to be the one behind the camera rather than the one in the actual photo...)

Anyway, much to my surprise I decided to send a couple of the photos off to the My Child Magazine CoverStar competition - I was never one for the whole 'baby competition' thing so I surprised myself when I sent them off.

I was thinking about this last night during our feed time (ok so this was a week or more ago now... Not all posts go up as quickly as i would like but back to the point...). The photos turned out sooo well and she really is a gorgeous bubba so I started thinking maybe I should look into other competitions. Or maybe even a baby modelling agency... I mean I could control where the photos went, couldn't I?

That thought led me to think about where my hypothetical model baby's photos could end up - what if  it was used to advertise things I don't use / believe in - like disposable nappies (particularly non Eco friendly ones), chemically laden baby washes or other products, non-organic premade baby food... The list goes on.

Nup there is no way I could allow that to happen so here ends Matilda's modelling career before it even began :)

But seriously, I wonder if people who do model for a career have a say in what the 'endorse' or if it really is just a job and they do what they have to do. We all make sacrifices in our work, often we have to put our personal views aside and stick with 'the company line' so why should models be any different?

And on that topic is there a difference to a celeb endorsing a product and a model wearing a brand of clothes in a catalogue? I'm starting to think no, but then that's just my opinion.

With all this in mind I went back to the My Child Magazine competition: why on earth did I send in Matilda's photos? I think in reality it was because the co-sponsor is Purebaby - I love their organic cotton clothes and if Matilda was to be successful I would be more than happy to see her photographed in their clothing.

Update: Matilda has been selected as a finalist! This mumma is excited to see her girl in a magazine - cant help but want to show my girl off :) Has this changed my mind? No I think it has actually strengthened it :)

How on earth did you get milk there?

This post is one I had in my head when Matilda was tiny, it still amuses me to this day. Re-reading it tonight I realize this may be a little TMI... I don't care, I'm still posting it :)

Like many Mums I set out to give breastfeeding my best shot, I went to the breastfeeding classes, became a member of the ABA, talked to friends and family etc etc. I was all prepared...

But in all of this no one ever really explained the squirting. I'm not talking about that little bit of leakage you get when your bubba cries or is overdue for a feed, I'm talking squirting out like water from a full water balloon full of pin holes!

It doesn't affect everyone, lord knows we are all different, but for those of us who have it can be messy and amusing all at once.

Mostly this would happen around the time of a feed. In the early days I was 'all fingers' there was so much to think about - holding Matilda, getting my shirt down, bra unclipped, Matilda attached, being comfortable, having water and food close by - the list goes on. So I wasn't really thinking about what my boob was doing once I had achieved all of that.

But then Matilda's Dad comes home after being out and says "what on earth is all over the tiles?".... Hmmm I don't know but it seems to be all over the places I had wandered trying to settle just fed baby... And then it dawned on us - MILK! It had leaked all over the floor!

We laughed and I promised the from now on in I would cover up before wandering around the house.

This was most definitely not the last time I would hear the phrase "How on earth did you get milk there?" Over the first three months we discovered the telltale milk pattern on the bed head, the cot, the bassinet, the lounge, the bath, the shower tiles, the rocking chair, chest of drawers, the dining room table and chairs and the car door!

Even now it happens on the odd occasion and I get the giggles, knowing that there are probably plenty of other places that I never found.

So for anyone out there about to become breastfeeding parents beware - you may end up playing our funny little sleep deprived game of "How on earth did you get milk there?"

My very first post... about nothing :)

My very first blog post and it's about, well, nothing! I'm a new mum who is loving the crazy journey that is motherhood. I have a great passion for sustainability and believe in consciously parenting my little girl.

I am a 'sharer' by nature - I love sharing things I find that are interesting, useful, new or sustainable. After sending the same list of 'nappies I love' around to friends one of my treasured new friends from Mothers Group said "you really should start a blog".

Well I know that there are a thousand other mummy blogs out there, and that it has taken me months to even start this so finding the time to update it may actually be a challenge - I'm going to give it a go. If only one person reads it and finds something helpful - great, if no one reads it - oh well, I've satisfied my need to share and talk about this fantastic journey.

Hopefully I'll convince some of those other amazing Mums I know to guest blog sometimes - so look out for them as well.

If you do read this - please let me know (leave a comment or via twitter, Facebook or email) - I would really live to know who's out the and what is / isn't useful or entertaining!

Matilda's Mum xoxo