5 Reasons Why... It is ok not to do 'Baby Led Weaning' exclusively

   First and foremost when it comes to YOUR baby it is YOUR choice, simples.  Hopefully your choice will be an informed one, or a general mix of trial and error.   I feel in no way qualified to give advice, so please don’t take this post as a ‘do ‘ or ‘don’t’ it is simply taken from my own experience, and something I wish I could go back and tell myself at the beginning of this journey.

1.  Baby Led Weaning is actually pretty great.  There is a heap of evidence to support the method, with a ton of benefits to go with it (I won’t go into details but I really recommend doing some research for yourself if you are interested, there are some great sites out there).   I had a pretty shitty first experience of weaning – my dear little boy had such a strong gag reflex he couldn't cope with anything more than a puree until he was 13 months old.  If we had been exclusively BLW he wouldn't have had a meal in his tummy until then.  Suffering from silent reflux, getting a bit of heavier sustenance into him was an aim from the beginning of the game.

2.       One of the key advantages to BLW states that it prevents fussy eaters.   Erm, no…. often maybe, but since when did children go by the book.  I have seen BLW profiles that describe their BLW toddlers as fussy, and that’s ok right because kids are kids…. However, please don’t think that if you don’t BLW you will end the ride with a fussy eater – I have a 2.5 year old as evidence that this is not the case!  He loves his veggies and a huge variety of everything.

3.       So we’ve all seen the despairing posts of food-covered floors post meal time… (and yes this is ok too, these mammas are doing a great job) … but surely no one can disagree it’s ok to spoon feed too?? Again going back to our reflux issues, getting food into my little boys belly was the desirable result, and so I fed him.  He generally loved his food but I know that some babies don’t, and some babies will refuse point blank to be spoon fed.   While he is quite capable of feeding himself, at 2.5 years he still likes some help, and I like that he has a full tummy and the floor is clean.  I always encouraged exploring play with new foods, but I guess it’s your choice again how much food lobbing you allow (and if you don’t have a lot of choice in this matter that’s ok too, it won’t go on forever and it won’t be long until you have Father Christmas as an ally)!!

4.       Slightly off topic, buts it is definitely ok to reach for that Ella’s Kitchen (etc etc) sachet.  In reality pureeing a single portion from your own dinner is near on impossible!!  I learnt this the hard way, which was actually quite stressful when you were relying on that spoonful of spag bol you put back and its STILL too lumpy for bubba to cope with… EK definitely saved my life!

5.       Most importantly it is ok because it’s YOUR choice.  One way or the other, a little bit of both, YOU decide!

Toddler Vs Plane - Majorca 2018

   A friend described the trip with our 2 year old as brave, and there were times when I believed we had been just plain stupid however what we did accomplish was a wonderful week away together making more memories for the scrap book.

   Last year we drove to France and did Eurocamp.  With relatively little travel time we had a fab week away in September, although by then it was a little cooler which meant the pool was a bit chilly to hang out by/in.  This year I had decided that a bit of sun was in order, and full of fabulous holiday memories from my childhood my mind was set on flying somewhere hot! (Had I known of course the weather plans for the UK, Cornwall would have more than sufficed!)

   In my usual blasé style I thought we would wait and get a last minute deal, rather than proper planning and organising - ‘oh it will be fine she said...’ Several hundred stressful hours later searching online and stuck on the phone to Teletext holidays, and after just missing out on a deal to Fuerteventura we concluded that maybe a shorter flight time would be sensible so 7 days before we flew we clicked GO on a week in Majorca!  Of course the next minute my anxiety demons flew in at full force- I can never pinpoint an actual reason for it (a bit more specific than booking a hol) which makes the process all the more frustrating and infuriating.  I think that is all a whole other story for another time, but in short I got through the build up week and any remaining angst seemed to melt away about half way through the flight.  I found myself a bit edgy on the first day but that was it = WIN for me.

   Now the hero of the flight was Gordon The Express (off of Thomas The Tank)!! He came with a comic treat that I bought Ethan at the airport, and remained useful for most of the week!  In fact no emergency screen time required at all for the whole journey!  I couldn’t be more proud of Ethan for how he has behaved throughout the week, he has really been a joy (barr a couple of debatable afternoon nap times!!!) and I have cherished the time away with my boys.

   By flying from Exeter we weren’t much more than an hours drive from home, and a 5pm departure meant no rushing in the silly hours.  The whole flight process was pretty damn smooth and we were quickly on our transfer bus.  As the last drop off we had a bit of a lengthy trip, and in the dark did begin to wander where on earth we were being taken too!.... A compulsory beer before crashing out sealed the day.

   Despite the marvel of Tripadvisor you never really know where you will end up, but boy did we land on our feet.  Hotel Exagon Park was down right lush. Set on the edge of the small resort of Ca’n Picafort (which we were yet to discover) and surrounded by pine forest we really couldn’t have been in better surroundings.  Booked on a half board basis, we had a modest sized room however ample for us, with a balcony looking over the front of the hotel with a view of palm trees, a glimpse of the sea and the dramatic mountain in the background.  While we weren’t looking for ‘Tesco value’ when we booked, we didn’t have a huge budget so really felt we’d stuck gold here and definitely got 

incredible value for money.  Maybe a last minute deal wasn't such a bad plan after all!  

                                 

   Our breakfast and dinner was buffet style, typical of all inclusive - we had struck gold again, as the selection was incredible with fresh cooking stations and something different every day.  It does mean turning into a bit of a glut eating more than you usually would, but with so much to try.....!  We never found the dining room over crowded, and we always managed to get a table on the outside terrace for dinner which made it even more lovely.  All of the staff were lovely and friendly making us feel very welcome.

   It didn't take us long to get out exploring.  Barely a 5 minute walk along the river brought us to Son Baolo beach, where we could continue walking along the board walk past some beach cafes, or head up to some restaurants, shops and the bus stop.  Continuing along the beach road (mostly pedestrianised) for another 10-20 minutes brought us to the resort centre complete with marina and more restaurants.  There was a little train that stopped right outside our hotel that would do a loop of the resort every 30 minutes-ish.  We took this one evening as far as it would go, and chose to eat out before slowly wandering back along the coast.  Ethan fell asleep in his pushchair (we hired this from a company on the island which saved the effort of taking one on the plane, although later found out the hotel also had some for hire) which meant we could sit and have a night cap whilst listening to some live music. 

                                              

                                                                   Making friends with the locals 

     Most days starting by lazing by the pool in the shade of the giant pine trees - I say “lazing”... more like tag-teaming between getting a sneaky couple of chapters in, and playing in the playground or riding the motorbike in the arcade!! The sun got fairly full on post lunch time so we attempted nap times which didn’t always go great with the stubborn child, but when we did get them it made for a much easier evening (and I was so ready to nap)!!! The pool was huge and lush.  I'm not much of a swimmer but love to be in the water - particularly crystal clear aquamarine perfect temperature water!  I take Ethan to a weekly swimming lesson which is more of a work out for me, so really loved my time in the water (although as good as my intentions were never made it to an aqua aerobics session)!!

 

 

   We headed down to the beach one morning after breakfast to avoid the mid afternoon sun.  Its nuts we live so close to the coast at home but Ethan has never really 'played' in the sand before.  Most times on our beaches have been in winter rain suits and wellies! We paid for our loungers and parasol, which included 2x beers for an extra Euro - get in pre-midday drinking!!  So the kid absolutely loved the sand and played literally for hours in the shade with his diggers and dumpers.  He referred to it as 'his sand pit' and was COVERED in the stuff!! I had a couple of swims in the sea then we packed up and headed to a nearby bar for lunch, conveniently in time to watch the football.  

   Another morning we took the bus to the walled old town of Alcudia to visit the weekly market.  The old town is enchanting with its narrow streets full of shops and tapas bars, although after a stroll around the stalls we ditched the heat and headed back for a dip in the pool.  It was pretty busy for Ethan who was walking, and as we had visited Alcudia before for a long weekend (about 7 years previously) it didn't feel like we were missing anything.

   Overall we had a super lovely week.  A bit of a downer at the end was Ethan picking up a nasty throat infection which lead to a bit of a scary fever on our last night.  I managed to borrow a thermometer from reception, and realising it was a bit more than over-heating had to call the doctor to save us.  As panicked as we became the care we received was excellent, including that of the taxi driver that had to take Dean to nearby Alcudia at midnight to pick up the prescribed medication.  These magic drugs brought his temperature right back down, and although running on little sleep we made our final breakfast together, and our transfer and flight home!  Highly recommend this little corner of paradise that we found as well as travelling with a toddler!

 

 

 Enjoying a snack by the pool        A rare shot of the three of us

    

PRODUCT REVIEW - Topline Naturals Nourishing Shampoo

After another miserable winter I have been desperate for some sunshine to give my big bay boy Carat a much needed bath.  As an older thoroughbred he has been heavily rugged, and of course his coat has suffered because of it.  He has been clipped (blanket) a couple of times but not been doing a lot of work.  Heading into spring his coat is greasy, scurfy and lacking a certain lustre.

I was thrilled to be selected to test the nourishing shampoo from Topline Naturals.  The shampoo smelt delicious, and as a 75% organic product I was reassured that it wouldn’t be full of any harsh chemicals.  I took advantage of a rare sunny day with my toddler at nursery to ride then bath the boy. The shampoo recommended applying directly to a wet coat, via a sponge or straight onto the horse.  It lathered up well and a little went a long way.

As well as a full all-over scrub for the main man, I also diluted a little in some warm water to wash off our other bay Charlie who was rather sweaty from his ride.

On bringing the horses in this evening I was amazed at how soft and shiny Carat’s coat was.  Both his clip and full coat had a mega shine to them, with no remaining scurf or grease.  His man and tail also felt softer with a healthy sheen to them.  Charlie also has a noticeably softer coat on his girth and saddle areas that I had given a very quick ‘sponge over’ to.

I am incredibly pleased with this shampoo, having used a whole host of different products over the year (some horse specific, others not) and I cannot honestly remember noticing such difference in general coat quality from just one wash.  Highly recommended and I shall certainly be replacing this bottle when it runs out.

Carat’s Progress (or current lack of...)

Good old snow putting our plans ‘adrift’ again (pardon the pun).  After having another gentle winter it’s time to actually start some work and make some progress.  The following photos were taken 3 weeks ago, and he measured 512kg on the weigh tape.  The plan is for a noticeable improvement in condition over the next 4 weeks.  (Feel I should note that his neck looks oddly scrawny in the picture but it really isn’t this bad!!)

We have started some long reining and now need to increase ridden hours.  As soon as I pass my towing test (another story!) I hope it will be easier to get out schooling and find some new and exciting hacking routes.  I can also commit to clinics held by my local riding club and see if I can remember how to ride a dressage test!

After the crazy weather last week it feels like Spring is finally in the air and I can start down rugging and give him a long awaited bath.  I was lucky to be given a bottle of nourishing shampoo to review by Topline Organics, so can’t wait to put it to the test and get rid of his winter grease.

I’ve already managed one early morning ride (which means back in the house by 8.30 to tag team Dean) and as long as I can get better at getting my lazy arse out of bed can continue to get out and on and just generally crack on with it!

Wish us luck!

Meal Planners and Bullet Journal-ing

   I discovered bullet journals through Pinterest.  I was immediately drawn to the pretty pages that I was scrolling through, and loved the idea of habit trackers to try and improve myself and basically attemp to be better at this ‘adulting’ game.  I was going to get my shit together!!  I started super keenly but my enthusiasm did waiver 6-8 weeks in.  My laziness got the better of me and I went days without opening the book let alone filling each piece in.... still, it was there as a tool and more recently I’m back on it again (if not with slightly less ruler use and pretty colours) - should probably mention I use the description ‘pretty’pretty loosely, I’m not the most creative soul in the pen on paper sense and some of my most laborious work still looks like my 2 year old completed for me!!

   This was week 3, still going strong.  Positives so far from this style of journaling were my increased water consumption (water drops at the bottom of each daily box) and improving some tidying habits. On a bit of a tangent I also created a page for ‘a year of cleaning’ which provides a column for each week, and a basic breakdown of tasks - dust living room, hall floor windows etc etc.  By colouring pixels that I can catch up on whenever I can see just how long some jobs have gone and prompt myself to colour a couple more each day.

   Fast forward to my some what diminished most recent weekly spread.  Very much utilising the meal planner but not a lot else.  I do plan to include a habit tracker again when I can put more time to it!

   These pages were complete copies but my two most useful to date!  I am continuing to update my fitness tracker to follow my weight loss journey.

      Two of my favourite pages, just a cute idea I liked and also copied.  Now that we now have Netflix in the house I may need to add a template to keep track of the multiple series’ and episodes we are in the middle of.

    MEAL PLANNING

   Way before my bullet journal attempts meal planners have featured sporadically in the form of scribbled notes to a white board on the fridge.  I have a bit of an over shopping (food) disorder made easy by our sizeable pantry.  That said, we waste very very little.  Hardly a thing gets binned, and veg scraps etc get composted or fed to the chickens.  

   Meal planning for the week ahead not only allows for a little organisation rather than ‘shit what are we going to have for tea’ at 7.45pm, but also saves a lot of unnecessary spending.  When I sit down to plan my week I tend to scribble a list of fresh food, open jars etc that need using, meat etc available in the freezer and any older bits of the shelf that could do with shifting.  If I’m feeling inspirational I will pick a couple of cook books from the shelf to flick through and choose some new recipes, otherwise just select from the repertoire of old faithfuls that we continue to go back to.

A New Year

I am planning to keep this one short and sweet...! My main observation for this new year is one of huge relief that I am in a better place than last year (albeit a grumbling tonsillitis!) 12 months ago I was mid-anxiety episode (episode being days-weeks long) and scared that it might not ever go.  I sought help quickly and by the end of March was back to feeling like ‘me’ and that in itself was everything.  The rest of the year was spent enjoying my little boy and continuing to be amazing by his new abilities and understanding that he achieves every day.  We enjoyed a week Euro-camping in France, and had a lovely Xmas with our family.

I’ve never really been one for resolutions as I have always been rubbish at keeping them, but this new year feels a little different and I am excited to give myself a kick up the bum and looking forward to creating new healthy habits, and booting some bad ones a million miles away!  Frustratingly this ‘new year new me’ seems rather on hold as I am recovering from the lurgy but hoping by the end of the week I will have my zing back ready to start a new cardio Pilates class that fits in well after work (rather than the slog of driving home then driving out again).  I have started the 5:2 diet which I am not only enjoying but feeling the benefit of already, and joined an online inspirational group of like minded horsey gals to support each other in our own goals for improved fitness and weight loss - ultimately we all want to ride our horses better 😃

Happy New Year!

I Absolutely Must Try To Loose Some Weight

   It’s a bit of a kick in the teeth when you get ready to go out (first time leaving the house after 6pm in about 3 months) and none of your clothes actually fit.  I knew my weight was creeping up again, and I knew (or at least hoped) that if I kicked my butt and did some regular structured exercise I could do something about it, however it turns out I am not very good at kicking one’s own butt (don’t get me started on lack of flexibility).  Lack of motivation has always been a bit of a barrier for me in terms of exercise, and so it’s taken getting to this size/weight to know I need to do something about it was NOW!

   Bit of background - I’m a tall girl, and never really had to worry about what I ate.  I’ve always been fairly active and enjoy cooking and eating well.  My ideal weight was about 9.5st, it dropped a little when I was doing more, and towards my latter 20’s crept up closer to 10st, however I was happy in a bikini and chose lazy evenings in with the hubster rather than racing back out to the gym/exercise class.  (Living on the moors we are about a 20 minute drive to anywhere, so after driving home from work the last thing I want to do is go for another drive for a gym class...)

   After having Ethan my extra baby weight stuck about, I felt like a cow but didn’t really care- I had just grown a baby and was putting every minute of the day into him.  Clothes were an issue as I had a fairly sparse maternity wardrobe mostly living in Dean’s joggers and hoodys, I hadn’t really considered post birth!  My fitted ‘bump’ jerseys were tricky to breast feed in, however Fat Face saved the day (I couldn’t actually do up a NEXT size 16 shirt at the time) and is still my first go to shop when I want to treat myself now.   Anyway, the weight didn’t drop until I stopped bf at 8 months, then it really dropped.  2 months on I was back in my skinny jeans and relieved I had got there.  Around this time My anxiety demons had caught up with me and I had about 3 months of feeling pretty poorly and not eating my usual lot, so that also contributed but it wasn’t long until I was back on track and feeling good.

   Now - I absolutely must do something about this.  Don’t get me wrong, size is just a number and really doesn’t matter, unless your number is bothering you, and I am bothered.  My clothes don’t fit (oh just to be able to wear a fitted tee over my jeans and not be hanging out) and more importantly I’m unfit.  I don’t want to buy a new wardrobe, and most importantly want a bit of the zing back that I know comes with being a bit fitter and healthier.  Another incentive is my poor pony- I am beginning to get out more regularly with him, and it’s only a matter of time until I am back in the dressage ring.  I want to be fitter and more flexible so that I can ride my horse better (and fit into my beautiful Ariat competition boots!) Simples!

   So - my plan:  A 7 days blitz to get me going, using my modified version of a juice detox.  Now if I followed the boom to a tee, this would mean 7 days of consuming only vegetable and fruit juice (extracted juice rather than bullet smoothies) bah not going to happen!  There’s no way I can watch my boys eating the yummy food I have prepared and not join in!!  I have however done a strict 3 day juice plan in the past and had ridiculously good results, as well as just fitting a juice into my regular daily routine I really did feel better for it.  It’s a habit I want to pick back up and stick to.

   My rules: 7 days of no caffeine, no alcohol and no gluten (this last one is a bit of an experiment as I have noticed feeling super big and bloaty after certain meals so want to cut this out so that I can slowly re-introduce and see whether it does have much effect on me).  I will use juice recipes from Jason Vale Juice Master and incorporate 2x 10 mins (at least) exercise routines into my day using some old DVDs, and going old school with a Zumba class on the Wii and using my old Wii fit board to monitor my weight (had to dust that one off!!!) Juice for breakfast, healthy salad-y lunch, mid afternoon juice and my regular dinner, just going a little easier on the portion size. I will post each day’s plan, and how well I have kept to it.... wish me luck!