Olympic Sports and Birthing Babies!
rocknrollerbaby- July 26th, 11:18
Nearly 3 months after giving birth and everything is very much not back to normal yet when it comes to my body and you know… down there! I know I knew this would be the case but I had kind of hoped it would all be a bit quicker for the healing than the predictions because I am still in a fair amount of pain with the tear I had. It’s not only the tear either, there are many other lovely little side effects to labour that I can’t help thinking if discussed more could potentially reduce the teenage pregnancy numbers in droves! I mean a teenager thinking about the romanticism of being with her boyfriend and a sweet new baby might have a whole different view if the picture she had in her head was of some thing quite entirely different! I’m sure they are told it’s not all romantic and the boyfriend may not even stick around once he realises how hard bringing up a baby can be etc. etc. But I’m not really talking about that either…
If for instance a teenager were to be shown a picture of a lady’s bottom as she’s giving birth, a picture of what the pressure of pushing also pushes out, I wonder would she be so keen? And I’m not only talking poo here for we who have had babies know that a little bit of poo popping out is really the least of our worries! I was left with piles after having Florence; piles, haemorrhoids, whatever you want to call them and they are bloody painful! I was, understandably worried about the pushing this time as I knew how painful the piles were still, even two years on, and I just knew another labour would make them worse! It has!
Then there’s obviously the tearing aspect, I know not many have tears and infections like I did but I guess a picture of that wouldn’t go a miss either! A good old proper picture of how it all can look two days afterwards with bruising (even my bottom cheeks went black) could be just the ticket for the girls in our high schools to go screaming to their Doctors for contraception or better still, put them off having sex altogether! What would a teenage girl think if she was presented with this sort of information? Pictures of the haemorrhoids, tears and infections, stretch marks (thankfully I was spared those), boobs after a pregnancy which used to be small and are then huge but changeable daily depending on milk, a nice juicy shot of their once flat tummies now with a distinct jelly like edge, nipples which have quadrupled in size (a before and after shot should do it) and let’s not forget the whole issue of weight! What might pregnancy do to their once toned and svelte teenaged figures?!
There’s nothing quite like having a baby and when you’re old enough to cope with bringing one into your family then you’re old enough to deal with all the ways pregnancy and labour changes your body. However, when I was a teenager and far away from being at the stage of baby ready, if I was ever slightly considering that a baby with a very inappropriate boyfriend would be a good idea, a picture, a very graphic picture of all these things would have certainly pushed the thought right out of my head again and I would have continued to enjoy my youth with my perfect size 10, un marked and unscathed body!
A pictures of me and a friend when I was 17 with an unmarked and unscathed body. Can’t believe I thought I was fat!
DONKEY WATCH
Donkey does the Olympics!
I know technically Le Donk is Dutch and I’ve given him a French title but as he lives in East London I thought it was probably appropriate that he supports Team GB along with the rest of my family. (We’ll let him cheer on his other sides too of course)! This week I’ve been taking him out and about supporting the Olympics in his own inimitable style and he’s not only been to the Olympic site (well as close as the guards would allow us)but he’s been playing a few games of his own! We walked to Stratford station and used the step free access to get on the DLR (Docklands Light Railway). This is the best public transport for travelling with Le Donk as practically the whole network has lifts and the trains are modern and wide so other travellers don’t get huffy when you travel with children. Seriously, sometimes Londoners can be really miffy and rude about it – I got on a bus the other day and was moaned at for sitting in the designated place for buggies because someone else had to move to let me into my designated spot. I’m afraid I told her ‘If you don’t want to move then don’t sit in the seats designed for those with wheel chairs or buggies!’ Silly woman told me I should carry my children and not use a buggy – well, I have some things I like to say to people like her but I won’t publish them!
So Donkey pushed with utter ease into his spot on the DLR and enjoyed a brilliant view of the entire goings on at the Olympic Site. Jonny and I used to live a stone’s throw away from the stadium and walk across the Green way every day so I had planned on taking Donkey up there but unfortunately there were soldiers advising us it is no longer open to the general public! Disappointing but thorough security is a must, Donkey was devastated but we managed to show him from various other vantage points and here’s Donkey at the Olympics!
Us with Le Donk on Pudding Mill Lane platform with the main stadium and the viewing platform behind us!
On the DLR with masses of space for loads of Donkeys if necessary! We loved whizzing past the viewing platform and stadium and got a really great view from here!
Outside the Olympic shop right in front of the grounds!
Florence, Donkey and I making like the mascot!
Jimmy and Donkey pulling another mascot pose!
Up at one of the viewing platforms!
Look at that behind us! It’s all happening here!
On the ground outside the gates! How exciting! London 2012 here we come!
For more information on the ‘Donkey’ and all other ‘Bugaboo’ products please see their website www.bugaboo.com. It’s also worth noting that ‘When you choose a ‘Bugaboo’ product (now available in more than 50 countries) you are choosing a company which is a proud (PRODUCT) RED™ partner. ‘Bugaboo’ contributes a portion of its profits across all products – to the Global Fund to help eliminate AIDS in Africa, with the goal of ending mother-to-child HIV transmission by 2015.
I am so super happy that finally, with the school holidays here and the Olympics upon us, the sun has decided he will make an appearance and I’m keeping everything crossed that we will get the type of long hot summer I remember from my own school holidays otherwise it’ll be September before I get some sun when we go on holiday to Portugal! One thing is for sure though and that’s whenever the sun is out I will be being super careful with my children’s health and that of the whole family. I was recently invited to meet with the Boots (www.boots.com) health care team to discuss how they are making life easier for us Mums and assist us with giving our children the healthiest fun in the sun possible!
Speaking to Mike Brown, Boots Suncare Expert for over 26 years has given me some much interesting knowledge, for instance, did you know that all Boots sun creams are made with the best ingredients possible and work just as well if not better than the leading brands on the market which are often much more expensive! Mike also explained to me the star system which determines the UVA coverage (Mike is responsible for developing the UK’s first test method and labelling for sunscreen). He said this is just as important at the SPF number! They have to work with each other as they have to be correctly balanced, if there’s not enough of one then there will be too much of the other and your skin will not be getting the right amounts of anything from the sun! Basically, when using sunscreen you need 5 stars and that’s just the way it is, no compromises! Especially when it comes to children’s health! He also said that he would absolutely use the once a day products on his own grand child and thoroughly recommends them! It was great to hear this because I know I’ve often been sceptical about them working in the past but now I know differently!
Carolyn Norman who is the Boots Optometrist told me what I should be looking out for when it comes to children’s eyes! Obviously this is a major area of importance and we should be getting our children’s eyes checked just as we do their teeth! A shocking 53% of children have had eye examinations in the UK compared to 90% having seen the dentist! When you hear that the eye test is not just for vision but also helps to detect underlying conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure it really brings it home how important it is to make an appointment, which is free for children of course! (We saw some super looking frames for little ones too – nothing like NHS specs from yesteryear)! She also advised that when looking at children’s sunglasses to make sure they have a CE sign! They can be adorned with whatever character your little one is into but they MUST have that sign!
It was interesting chatting to the Boots Pharmacist, Angela Chalmers and Boots Nutritionist, Vicky Pennington too. They had some valuable advice about how to ensure children are eating the right food groups, getting their 5 a day and supporting their immune systems by taking multi vitamins. I also didn’t know that we should all be having Vitamin D supplements. I knew I had them prescribed when I was pregnant but had no idea that I should still be taking them as a breast feeding mother so that Jimmy gets what he needs and Florence should be having some too! Sufficientvitamin D means that bones develop properly.
So, Boots, in general as well as being a reputable brand we all know we can trust with their advice have many, many products and services to assist us with a safe sun philosophy! Be it vitamins, travel first aid kits, sun glasses, insect repellent or of course sun cream (Boots own brand is Soltan) it really is your one stop shop! In the Boots near me (and many across the country) the pharmacist is part of a scheme where they can prescribe for minor ailments and I get all my infant paracetamol (pain relief) and ibuprofen (which is for swelling and pain relief) free with this service. A top tip from Angela is to make sure you are shaking the bottle before administering, apparently the paracetamol sinks to the bottom so if you don’t shake the first half of the bottle doesn’t give enough in a dose and the lasthalf gives way too much! Something I didn’t know and wasn’t always doing if I’m honest, thank goodness I know why we should be shaking the bottle now and will always do it! I also wonder if many people realise what great clothes they make for children as well? My faves at the moment is the swim wear suits which have an SFP 50+ built in and I’m loving the children’s beach towels!
Florence being safe while enjoying the sun!
Countdown to Lollibob!
4 weeks? NO! ONLY 3 weeks to go!
The wait for Lollibop is getting closer and closer to being over and with all the Olympic excitement happening right now we have a good distraction to keep us from getting too bored while we wait! Seems amazing that in just 4 weeks the long awaited Olympics will be over but to save us from feeling too sad Lolli will be right around the corner and what’s more, all that pesky Olympic traffic on the Capitals transport system will be back to normal and we can travel to Lolli with ease!
One of the latest named guests it the ever popular Poppy Cat! How exciting! Check out Lolli’s FaceBook announcement! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151010776063810&set=a.396358513809.174074.302018843809&type=1
Rastamouse will also be one of the main stage acts again this year which is brilliant news as we LOVED their headline act last summer! The reggae mice are currently holed away in the studio having just signed a second album deal with EMI so I’m sure they’re looking forward to some time out performing at festivals such as Lollibop this summer and we’re looking forward to bopping with them – bring on LOLLIBOP!
For more information and how to book tickets please see www.lollibopfestival.co.uk.
Just before I go into ‘My life with 2!’ section and talk about this week’s ‘Must Have of the Week’ I just want to tell you about something I did with one of my previous newborn must haves! Do you remember I had some lovely newborn photos of Jimmy taken by Pennycress photography? Well, we wanted to do something fabulous with the pictures and then for Father’s day I discovered CEWE PHOTOBOOK’s (www.cewephotobook.co.uk) which is where you can have all your pictures arranged in a book perfectly for you and instead of photos falling out of albums everything is there for you and it all looks very professional indeed. We’ve had photo books in the past so I know how lovely they are, someone made one after our wedding for us and it’s one of my most treasured things, I absolutely love them. I also made one for my Mum once with pictures of Florence (it was before Jimmy was born) and she loves it too! We live in an age where technology has taken over and I think rarely do we print out our photographs any more which is a shame as we take more than ever having cameras on our phones meaning we’re in a position to do so every day! Nowadays we seem to just store them on our computers and memory sticks but there’s something very special about looking through an album so mixing the technology of today with the tradition of having a book of photographs is such a lovely idea don’t you think? The thing I found about CEWE PHOTOBOOK’s and using their service is that it is very simple to use and the end result is great. I down loaded the necessary in order to start using the system and then it was all very easy indeed. Upload photographs, arrange them, choose the style, size and cover and hey presto, couple of weeks later there it is posted through your letter box! We had £30 to spend and I was impressed with what you can get for that including the delivery! I was so impressed I used another of their services and had my favourite picture of Jimmy printed onto a canvas because as well as the photo books they have a whole array of options you can select from to make your photographs look wonderful! When my delivery arrived I was again impressed with how good the quality is and I will definitely be using them again! Once you use their service it’s worth noting that you then get the opportunity to use brilliant offers and discounts which make this already affordable service even more inviting! I can’t obviously take a picture of my pictures to show you how great they are so I’ll leave you with my fave pic from Jimmy’s newborn session… (I know you’ve seen it before but I love it so here it is again!)
MY LIFE WITH 2! WEEKS 11& 12!
Well, this is the first proper post I’ve done in a fortnight and it’s because we’ve been away doing lots of lovely things and having a very busy time indeed! We went to stay at my Uncle’s holiday home in Walton on the Naze and had a fab little mini break. The children and I then went to stay with my Mum so that she could look after Florence while Jimmy and I went to visit the Weleda Institute (more about that next week) and because Florence had enjoyed the beach so much (despite the weather) we all got the train to Cromer and had another day in North Norfolk which was lovely! I’m not sure if it’s all the sea air or what but Jimmy’s been sleeping amazingly despite having started to teeth! Yep, it’s already happening, the dribbling, upset and chewing on his fist poor thing! But last night he slept for 7 and a half hours! 7 AND A HALF HOURS!!!! I am amazed, that’s better than Florence usually… He’s such a good boy! And now our beach trips are over the sun is shining (typical) which means he’s getting to wear some of the gorgeous summer outfits bought for him by friends! Sun’s out, we’ve all had enough sleep and I’m smiling from ear to ear!
Our mini break in Walton On the Naze!
It was a short trip to my Mum’s though because we had to race back to London to go to the launch party of the Toy Kingdom in Harrods which was AWESOME! My sister in law and lovely nephew joined us and at half past 8 in the morning we arrived at door 10 of the famous store ready to enjoy one of the best children’s parties we’ve ever been to! Well, would you expect anything less from Harrods?! We couldn’t believe how amazing the new Toy Kingdom is! Imagine being a child and your wildest fantasy would be to be locked in a toy shop overnight, able to run riot with all the toys and games. There would be mini racing cars, a stage with dancing soldiers, giant stuffed toy animals, all our favourite characters, every toy you can think of, sweets galore and a reading room with all of our favourite books! Somewhere to make scientific experiments and another place where we could try out the latest art and crafts! Imagine that! Well, actually, you don’t really have to imagine anything because Harrods have made it a bit of a reality! We got lost in the exciting fantasy land that has been created and lost in a good way. The children did literally not believe their eyes and my sister in law and I regressed to little girls, so excited to be amongst the fun! I felt like Tom Hanks in the film ‘Big’, this is a toy store to rival all others and could be a day out in itself! Florence and my nephew Arthur came away having adopted Cabbage Patch kids (yes folks, they’re back) and Moshi Monsters (we were Moshi Monsters virgins but not any more) with some super memories from the party! Ok, so perhaps every day (unlike our visit) Shrek won’t be giving a live performance (aren’t we super duper lucky) but I can guarantee your little ones will think this place is like a magical kingdom. We had the best time – absoshrekkinglutely!
The awesome Toy Kingdom Launch Party at Harrods!
To top the fortnight off in an ever so lovely way we took the whole family (and Aunty Tory and cousin Arthur) to our local park yesterday afternoon for the pinnacle of the Leytonstone Festival where we all enjoyed a wonderfully sunny afternoon of live music and BBQ. I love living in London, it makes everything so possible with children!
My ‘Newborn Must Have of the Week’ this time has got to be my new Breastvest feeding top! I love maternity wear with an absolute passion but I’ve not found many feeding clothes which make me smile… I generally just wear clothes which are easy enough to pull down but this is often uncomfortable as they’re not designed to do so, so it generally ruins the clothes and limits my wardrobe loads! I usually never wear anything which has to be pulled up, my tummy isn’t tremendously bad after birth but I definitely don’t want it on show all the time but it’s impossible to wear a vest underneath so you can then pull your dress/smock/jumper/top up because you then have to pull the vest down and it’s all just too much going on… In steps the Breastvest and it entirely eliminates the problem. This is a light weight vest (made from 95 viscose, 5 % elastane) and it can be worn under anything meaning you can lift up your outer wear and your tummy is not exposed. The beauty of it is that you then don’t have to pull anything down for this vest comes underneath your bosom and sits just under your bra but does not expose any flesh in between that and the bra! Love it! No mum tum on display but not too much material to deal with and I have been able to buy a few summer smocks which otherwise just wouldn’t have been possible for me to wear this summer! This is a fantastic idea and because it has very thin spaghetti straps which are long and adjustable (to begin with it does feel a little strange but you get used to it) you can wear it with other thin strapped garments. I think it’s a great idea and one to not be without! I love that you can order them gift boxed and it would make an ideal present for a newly nursing Mummy as well as something totally affordable for yourself! (Love the way it dries super quickly as this means you could wear it every day if you are prepared to do a washing load every evening)!
The Breastvest is £15.00, comes in sizes xs – xl and in the colours black or white. For more information please see www.breastvest.co.uk.
WIN tickets to The Baby Show Manchester
The must go to event for parents and parents to be
The UK’s leading baby and parenting show is coming to Manchester this August and to celebrate, The Baby Show is teaming up with Rocknrollerbaby to offer you the chance to win tickets to this essential event on 31st August – 2nd September at EventCity, Manchester.
The Baby Show in association with Made for Mums and sponsored by Fisher-Price is the perfect place to visit for all parents and parents-to-be who want to find the latest maternity and nursery products on the market – all from the very best UK and international brands! The show will feature 200 must-have brands including Fisher-Price, Babies R Us, Mamas & Papas, and Mothercare, as well as niche and designer products. Visitors will be able to enjoy special offers, great entertainment and hear from baby care experts all in one place. What’s more, EventCity, Manchester offers first class first facilities and has over 3000 FREE car parking spaces.
The Baby Show also boasts expert speakers on hand to give support, guidance and advice to all visitors, including midwives from Channel 4’s award-winning show ‘One Born Every Minute’ and baby food and nutrition expert Annabel Karmel. The Baby Show has become an essential event in all parents’ calendars and has also attracted a celebrity following with stars including Una Healy, Stacey Solomon and Chantelle Houghton spotted searching for the best products at earlier shows this year!
With everything in one place and with the added bonus of exclusive offers and expert advice, you’ll find everything you need without the stress of the high street! For more information, visit www.thebabyshow.co.uk
For the chance to get your hands on FREE tickets for The Baby Show in Manchester, simply enter by emailing me at [email protected] with Manchester Baby Show in the title and your name and address in the email by Wednesday 8th August.
Well, that was my fortnight and we’re looking forward to the next week which will be full of Olympic excitement (everything’s going on in East London now and it’s very exciting seeing it all), see me having a facial massage (so excited), us have a trip to a theme park and zoo and generally just enjoying the sunshine as a family! Doesn’t the sunshine just bring out everyone’s smiles. My husband sent me the best text while he stood in the sunshine waiting for our BBQ order at the Leytonstone festival yesterday; ‘love my wife and our little fam’! He’s not usually cute like that so it was definitely a sunshine (and perhaps beer) inspired text! Be back soon… (and COME ON TEAM GB)!
We got our (too cute) Team GB rubber ducky £5.00 from Asda (www.asda.com) where they have lots of Team GB goodies for sale!
In the meantime follow me on Twitter @rocknrollerbaby
(All opinions and words, apart from those in green, are my own. I have not been paid for this article although I did receive some products to keep after I had reviewed them.)
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