My new flat Iron- GHD

After years of wearing hair pieces I've decided to give my hair a break for the summer.

My hair is natural, with a very tight curl. Yesterday I washed and deep conditioned my hair and left it in for 4 hours. After washing it I put in a leave in conditioner, moisturised and sealed with oil then allowed it to air dry in four loose pony tails. Later on I moisturised again and sealed with Jasmine oil.

My hair is quite difficult to so I put it in section and kind of rolled it and went to bed. Took it out in the morning.

When curly my hair is at the nape of my neck. I'm going to flat Iron it today (after using a heat protector of course) watch out for the before and after post.

I will only put heat on my hair once a week and always after a deep condition. My hair is very thirsty and I don't want to cause any further damage than I already have.
What is your hair type and what flat iron do you use?

Celine, Chloe- Sally Havana, Driving shoes and shopping!

Not just french girls names, but also the places I choose to get my sunglasses this season.  I've been rocking Marc Jacobs for about 4 years now, so to make up for the seasons I didn't buy any I got 2 pairs, yeh me! 

My favourites are my second purchase, the Chloe's so let me write about them first.  They are toooo cute.  I love, love, love big sunglasses that take over my entire face (the Celine's are massive), but the Chloe's are big and still sophisticated whereas the Celine's in my opinion are just big.  I know which one of the two I'll be wearing more of this summer.

Let me welcome my new Chloe sunglasses- Sally Havana

ohh ohh what's inside...

Peek-a-boo

Pretty arms

I love them!  Oh yes and the Celine's, which I don't love as much.  They are cool and were quite popular amongst American celebs I've been told

Pic's of me wearing my new purchase

Thinking...did I say I loved these

I really do not need any more sunglasses this season, but I have a feeling I may come across another pair I might fall in love with x

On the same shopping trip I also got this cute shopper bag

It's encouraging me not to use plastic bags and carry this on my trips to the market or even round the shops.  I wore it with my trainers this morning, a bit random, I know, but I worked it anyway.

Finally, I nabbed some driving shoes/quick dash but still cute Minnetonka Suede Moccasin Pump. I got them at TK Maxx so they were a lot cheaper than here.  They were £19.99, a bargain.  I love a bargain and very comfortable.

Thanks for reading x

What baby does...

From time to time mummy likes to do too.  My son was lucky enough to get his first pair of trainers by a common sports brand.  Off we went to footlocker and got a pair of these:

They look really manly here

They look cute here

I haven't had a pair of trainers in years (well over 5 years) except for my Ascis running shoes, which don't really count.  I figured that as soon as my son is walking I'll be running up and down after him which was a great excuse to get myself some trainers.  I went for Nike also, hi- tops.  A bit difficult for my to style, but I guess they go with skinny jeans, leggings...

They are men's trainers but I don't care.  The black sole contrast with the suede looking finish is what attracted me to them.  I'm still figuring out where and when I'm going to wear them (silly me!) but I will find a way.  I got mine at JD Sports.

What do you think of hi-tops?

Immediate EC update

============================================================ Turn away of your eating, get grossed out easy or have a weak stomach, but read on if your an interested parent.

So it's 4:30pm GMT and I've been out and about since about 1pm. Followed the usual morning routine of bath and feed. We've had one dirty nappy so far. We just got in from enjoying a sunny day and a feed was due. We sat down and I fed him, he didn't take much only lasted about 10 minutes. His nappy was very wet so I took him off and put him on the potty. Result!

I didn't even get to make the sound or a number two (cueing0, I looked at him and went pssssss, to which he laughed then he blew off.

I've been asked by various people for evidence so gross ad it be here it is.

My son is 17 weeks and 3 days.

Elimination Communication (EC) update

My son is now 17 weeks and it is a week since I starting putting him on the potty.  I should clarify that EC isn't about potty training, but more communicating with your child and allowing them to go outside of their nappy. 

Although I do have a book about it I haven't read it cover to cover therefore my technique probably needs perfecting.  For now I am following the lead from my son and taking the time to 'study' him and his habits.

He has peed in his potty twice now and I get so excited.  He really must think I am a mad woman, but it really makes my day. 

As mentioned in my first post I am putting him on the potty soon after he is breast fed, as he usually goes within 15 minutes of being fed.  I then give him a sign of what to do (make the relevant noises or to use the technical term cue).  He still looks happy to be sitting on the potty most of the tome; he has got a bit irritated, on two occasions and I have taken him off.  I don't want to annoy him or make it seem like hard work.

We reached a milestone this week.  After his morning bath and feed he fell asleep, I really wanted to give him some 'nappy-free time' so I let him sleep wrapped in a towel.  I put the potty in the room as I knew he would want to go when he woke up and went into the shower.  When I got out I was pleasantly surprised to see Daddy pottying the baby.  I encouraged him to make the sounds (which he did so reluctantly) and within 3 minutes Baby gave Daddy his first number two.

I was so happy I captured the event with a pic.

I put my son on the potty today before his bath and he did a pee.  Babies are really intelligent, I'm sure he gets it. 

I will continue to provide updates on our progress with elimination communication and I am working on the Q&A.

Another baby haul....

Yet another lovely day in London, how fab.  Any who, yesterday my son and I went for our daily walk which to which ever the way the wind blows us.  My wind usually blows me towards the shops.  I don't need anything, I've run out of space, but my growing baby does!

So here are some bits I got for him.  My love for Lamaze children's toys continues

with the addition of baby's first tool box.  To join Freddie the Firefly (really popular) and the dog with the pressy nose thing that pants.

I came across these Petit Bateau trousers.  I'm not really into brown trousers but I figured that we could make them look good as they are really smart looking.  I'm thinking with boating shoes or blue Cole Haan 'Mini' Driver Moccasin

Really soft finish

Cute front pocket detail

Thinking ahead to my son's first holiday, he'll be walking by then and will need appropriate beach attire of course

Love this print

My mum kept loads of stuff from my youth including my ducky, that now belongs to my son.  I think it finds it a bit intimidating at the moment, I admit it is a bit big

That duck looks good considering it is over 25 years old.  I love a ducky so I got him a more manageable one

This clever duck has a temperature indicator which alerts you when the bath is too hot, not bad for under £5.  The White Hot Safety Disc reveals the word 'Hot' when bath water is too hot for baby.

Alternative to a plastic teether

Where ever possible I prefer to use organic or natural products when it comes to my son.  I'm quite particular on what he puts in his mouth and was reluctant to give him a bottle in the early days.  We needed to give him water to clean his tongue of milk build-up residue.   

When it comes to any plastics they must be BPA free.  We use Medela bottles exclusively for drinking water (although he chews the teat more than actually drink- but we keep trying).  I also have one glass bottle from Green Baby, it's very large so we haven't got round to using it yet.

I never bothered researching what materials go into making baby teethers but I knew I was 100% comfortable with the idea of my son chewing on any kind of plastic even if it was BPA free.  It just so happens that whilst I was shopping in Bebe Bisou I came across a natural teether by Danish company Hevea, a sustainable baby business. 

The teether has a gentle textured surface for soothing irritated gums.  It is made of 100% natural rubber, is sustainably produced, has an easy grip handle and has a hygienic solid design to prevent build up of bacterial.

At £10 it's a bit more expensive than your average teether but you have piece of mind that your baby isn't digesting any chemicals or plastic and because the business is 100% sustainable including the production and packaging your and your baby are doing your part for the environment.  Also after I purchased it I found it cheaper on Amazon.

Baby Cinema and Baby Massage

The clever people that work at Odeon have film screenings where you can bring your baby!  Fab indeed.  They call this concept 'Odeon Newbies' and you can find more about it here. 

This week myself and two friends and our babies went to see 'We brought a zoo' at my local Odeon in Muswell Hill.  My son behaved very well as did the little ladies who accompanied us.  My son loves to talk and scream and doesn't sleep in darkness during the day so I was interested to see how he would react to darkness in the day time.  It's dark so you don't have to worry about hiding yourself whilst breast feeding (unless your really really self conscious).

My son was probably better behaved than I was as I found the film a bit boring and soppy.  It's a 2 out of 5 for me.  My advice...wait for it to go to DVD (it won't be long).

In addition to that my pursuits around North London took me to a trial baby massage class.  I was looking forward to learning some essentials about baby massage and an engaging teacher, unfortunately I got neither so won't be returning to her class.

Next week I'm trying out post natal yoga and attending some baby groups at local children's centres.

Baby's new shoes

Whilst on my way to visit my beautiful sister and her family I stopped off at Westfield on  shopping mission.  The objective of the mission was new shoes for my baby son.  He has grown out of the few pairs he has, most of which he has had from birth. 

I've been shopping at Next, Gap and Little White Company but wanted something a bit different. I found the 'something' I was looking for in Bebe Bison, a children's designer boutique on the ground floor at Westfield.

These are Navy Blue Pre-Walker Velcro Canvas Deck Shoes by Ralph Lauren and they look incredibly smart. 

I'd been to the popular sports shops to look for some trainers but was unimpressed with the same product ranges that you see on everyone's baby.  I may have to take a trip abroad to see if I can get something more original as I'm so bored of baby Adidas, Converse, Nike et al.  I have had success in Debenhams (4 pairs) and Next so far, but I can see myself taking a trip to Bebe Bison again.  I love a successful shopping trip.

Elimination communication or Natural Infant Hygiene

I'd been reading about EC from very early in my pregnancy. It's so in line with my thought process that I knew I wouldn't be waiting until was my son was 2 or 3 to potty train him. I got him
his first potty at about 8 weeks and planned to sit him on it at 12 weeks.

Anyway, life took over and I missed my 12 week opportunity. However, this week I decided to give it a try.

EC or NI is allowing your baby, with queues provided by you and by communicating with them and watching for signs, to go to the toilet without a nappy but with a free bum (lol) as we adults do.

I learnt that it is a common misconception that babies cannot control their elimination systems when reading about it. I came across parents who had put their new borns on a potty/over the toilet/sink and never bothered with a nappy from birth! I wish that I could have done that as I'm not keen on nappies and the chemicals that go into making them but again life took over.

From spending all my time with my son I have got to know certain patterns around his toilet habits. For example less that 20 mins after a feed he will usually go. I'm not sure about the wee yet. I will have to do a few nappy free days to check. He's also a strainer so it's easy to know when its coming. It's almost like he's telling me, hence the communication.

Two days ago my son and I returned from an outing and I had just changed a soiled nappy. I decided to go for the potty for the first time. I introduced my son to the potty and told him what it was for, then sat him on it. He smiled and was ok with it. I had to hold him a bit as he's not sitting up alone for long.

My next step was to let him know what to do, I did this by making the relevant sounds. Sssssssssss for peeing and the same sound he makes for a number two. He smiled at me again then I waited. Within 5 mins he did it! He did his first poo in a potty and I was the happiest mum alive. That was the highlight of my week. I put him on it again after a feed and with 5 mins he did it again. I put him in it again yesterday and within 10 mins, he went.

I have been telling everyone I know that my 15 week old son has used his potty as I'm just so proud and feel empowered that we have started to break convention. I have been asked a few questions and will do an EC Q & A post as we get more experienced. Do remember we're just trying it out, there's no pressure for him. He still wears his nappy, I'm just introducing a new way for him to go toilet. Do you think babies are born wanting a nappy in between their legs? I don't think so I have said that I hope my son is potty trained by the time I return to work, he will be a year old. If he isn't then he'll still have a head start to a nappy free life. I only want a happy and healthy child, but if he was the confidence and ability to do things that aid his development as a person as his mother it's my responsibility to help him do so.

EC isn't easy to do so I just want to pay my respects to all the people of this generation that are trying and succeeding and trying and still trying. I also want to remind people that this isn't a new thing, what do you think humans were doing before the invention of nappies? Go figure.

Onelove

OOTD Baby

My sons first.

I absolutely love this colour on him and I will be getting more long sleeve polo shirts in various colours, they wash really well and are practical in this transition weather.

I was re organising my son wardrobe last night and came across some items that I don't even remember buying.

Anyway, he wore

Knitted cardigan- Gap
Polo shirt- H&M
Jeans- Gap
Shoes- John Rocha at Debenhams

NOTD- A Nudey

This is mink by Accessorize at Superdrug. It's one of my favourites. A nice classy looking colour that goes with most outfits.

OOTD -What?! Stripes and leopard print!

Yes, because I wanna

Yes, the dress is from Asda

I found it hard to believe myself. Asda usually have the best deals on nappies and I like to buy in bulk, that's what brought me to the superstore. There was no way I was walking past this dress, it's just too cute and too me. Plus I was excited about buying a size 10 dress 2 months after giving birth.

I can't say it is well tailored but it gave me a short term fix. So much so that I now also own it in black.

I'm usually a bit anti supermarket clothing but this dress is fun and quite striking. It's chanel-esque and looks smart with pearls and a blazer.

NOTD Accessorize Metallic in Amethyst

OOTD - It's hot, but it's not summer

At first I put on this orange shirt over a simple black vest, with a dipped hem skirt and a orange mini peeing out underneath.....

I then decided that the orange shirt was making me look fat, so put a long black tee over the vest and put a black blazer over everything to hide my sins....

Luckily, I have skinny legs and a good, strong shoe/boot collection...

These are cute, no?

In conclusion I am wearing:

Orange shirt- H&M

Black vest- H&M

Black long sleeve tee- H&M

Black Jacket- H&M

Dipped Hem skirt- Primark

Orange under skirt- H&M

Shoe boots- Aldo