MAMA'S MAGICAL MOMENTS

Teeny Tiny's Tummy: I only eat food with flavour

This morning after burning up some calories at one of Birmingham's most popular parks, Cannon Hill in Edgbaston, we went to the supermarket on the way home. Knowing it would be Seb's lunchtime by the time we were done, I knew he wouldn't be able to wait for me to make him something from scratch.

I then decided to venture into the unknown and buy him a 'takeaway' by cult favourite Ella's Kitchen.

In the past, I've bought packet fruit made by Ella's Kitchen such as their apple & banana puree, mango brekkie (which lasted only from the checkout to the car!) which went down a treat with Seb. I like their natural ingredients promise and I can tell that they promote a more honest dialogue when it comes to showcasing what goes into making their food. (You can check their website here : http://www.ellaskitchen.com/)

So here I am, standing a little bewildered in the baby food aisle wondering what to feed tiny. Torn between the Spal Bol and Lamb Roast Dinner because out of everything else on the shelf, I guessed he should be used to these tastes. As it is Sunday, I thought, why not go for the Lamb Roast dinner?

I'll tell you why not: it was bland. As fresh as a daisy. Seb was not a happy chappy. This is a baby who eats his food 99.1% of the time and whose new word at meal times is 'more' (I kid you not). After taking a few spoonfuls, he screwed up his face and gave me a foreign hand signal. Huh, what? I think he actually pushed the spoon away?!

This NEVER happens. Mayday. Mayday.

I took a taste and empathised. I could taste carrot and a hint of mint, but no lamb at all.

Just to say that when I cook for Seb, I NEVER add salt, but do put less than a pinch of age appropriate seasonings in some of his meals with meat in.

All I knew is this situation was turning ugly and we needed a solution fast!

Mom came in with a loaf of tiger bread made by the Supermarket bakery. Not my first choice for baby to have, but it certainly gave a bit more 'oomph' to the meal and quelled his hunger.

I am still a fan of Ella's Kitchen and their fruit and breakfast ranges are great, but as my Seb has only had two packaged meals in his short life, he certainly is not made for 'takeaways'.

Are there any packaged foods that go down a treat (with flavour) that your little one loves?

Love Mama x

Baby Fashion: Wanting 'the other'

This is the first time since having Seb where I've longed to buy girls' clothes. I love boys wear and know of so many cool styles to dress your little man in. However, today I liked the British retailer 'Mamas and Papas' on Facebook, scrolled through their posts and noticed a buy one, get one free promotion on some lines.

My heart felt a sharp pang when I saw these beautiful dresses and skirts. Awwwww!!!

Girls Purple All-Over Printed Skirt £22 | Girls Striped Skater Dress £26 | Girls all over Floral Dress £34

Girls Contrast Mock Dress £26

Such beautiful patterns and shapes to suit your Baby girl.
I'm going to tell one of my best friends to get something from this deal for her little Ameilia.
Now i'm off to swoon over more dresses for my future daughter!
Does anyone else do this too?

Love Mama x

Baby Fashion: Your style or mine?

Who doesn't love shopping for baby clothes? Say no and I'd call you a liar. Even Dads and uncles are secretly in on it with the old 'I had to return some socks and chanced across this pair of baby jeans that err happened to be next to customer services'. A likely story!

The problems can arise however, when that top or jeans clashes with your baby's 'style'. As superficial as it sounds, many new parents are fashion conscious when it comes to their tiny! Not just anything can touch this newborn skin yanno...

A few celeb Moms have spoken publicly about choosing or at least moulding their child's fashion choices. Kourtney Kardashian, Rachel Zoe and even UK reality TV-ite Chantelle Houghton have expressed the importance of dressing their babies in a style that reflects their budding personalities.

That's all well and good, but for many of us young Mom's with a limited bank balance, the reality is that we rely on gifted items for the little one.

The question is: what do we do when the item isn't 'our' style?

My advice is to prepare yourself for receiving such items. Grin politely, sing out a fake 'thanks' and try to 'work' them. It's bad practise to discard or give them to Charity when people have spent money on your child. Even if inwardly you feel like:

Put it this way, I vowed that Seb would escape the grip of Disney and wouldn't have any associated merchandise. In his first year, he received countless Disney pyjama sets and now sports a snuggly Mickey mouse bathrobe. I use them but, for example, make sure his Disney sets are the very last ones in rotation; you know worn on wash days, so they aren't seen too often.

Here are some practical tips for working unwanted baby items:

If it's a top that you don't like, layer over it with a jumper or cardigan.

If it's a coat you don't like, get the baby involved in some age appropriate messy play. The quicker it gets dirty, the longer it can stay in the wash basket ;-)

Funky looking socks could make great hand puppets. They were funny to begin with and now can perform in front of a drooling audience!

Trousers or skirts are more tricky, but just take them out once in a blue moon and be grateful baby will outgrow them soon!

Love Mama x