Mammies favorites: moses basket or crib

Moses basket or crib?? With my 2 babies I have tried them both. It really is a matter of prefrence but i am still going to tell you the reasons for my favorite!

With Corey I had the moses basket. It was a hand me down from my sisters baby.
It was frilly and cute and portable. But Corey only fit in it for 2 months before he was too big for it. Moses basket are very small so dont expected to use it for very long. Our moses basket drooped down in the middle which drove me insane trying to fix. 

So for Logan we decided to go for a glider crib. Its much less fussy and frilly. And yes we cant bring it down stairs for naps but we had the tiny Love 3 in 1 rocker napper for that (Which was barley used for naps anyway as Logan likes to nap upstairs in his crib). The crib is so much roomier. Logan will is 4 months old and he is wearing 6-9 month cloths and he still fits in his crib. We decided this week to move him into his own room to see if he would sleep better and he does but we could have gettin a few more weeks out of the crib! 
The crib can be changed from stationary to rocking. And the rocking motion it has is so smooth it really does glider!
I feel the crib looks nicer but thats just my person opinion and taste. 

You are going to pay about the same for a crib or moses basket in and around €100 brands new so really its up to you! But we are crib people all the way!! 

Schools in session

Whether its there first day of school, they are going back or are starting in a new school its an exciting and sometimes worrisome time for parents and kids alike.

In our house Corey is returning to his old school after spending the past 2 years in a speech and language class in a different school. Of course we are excited to have him back in the school we choose for him. But we are also nervous because he is returning to mainstream school, into a class of 30 students who haven't seen him since junior infants.
Corey is going from a class of 7 with teacher, teaching assistants and a speech therapist to a regular class of 30 with teacher and fingers crossed a teaching assistant. Of course last term he was integrated regularly into a full class of 30 and he got on well but you still never know whats going to happen. We just hope he will cope well.

So with all that in mind here are a few back to school tips and tricks to make the start of or return to school easy and enjoyable for all!!

• Before going back to school we like to do something special to end the summer off well. A day out to an adventure center, park or even the cinema. Let your kids decide on what they would like to do or give them choices of places you think would be great!

• On the first day or even through the first week make them extra special lunches. Let them get that disgusting nutrition less Billy Roll they where begging you for all last year. Spoil them with cereal bars and their favorite fruit and drinks. Remember to check the schools list of banned food as a lot of schools don't let the kids have chocolate, biscuits or certain treats.

• I recommend especially with younger kids or kids starting a new school that you take the first day of school off work so you can drop and collect them. I know this would be traffic mayhem if everyone did it but putting them on a bus to school when you know they have no idea where they are going when they get off can be stressful for parents and kids. So leave the house a little earlier and struggle through the traffic and lack of parking for the first day just for the peace of mind that your kid gets to their class easily. Its also good for first time school goers incase they are over upset or somthing happens you can go in if your needed to collect them!

• After school bring them for a treat. Even if its just an ice-cream or a piece of cake somewhere that you can chat and find out how there first day back was.  

• Make sure your kids have good school supplies!!

1. A decent school bag with big padded straps is a must especially as they get older as they will have more and more books to carry. Make sure its a good size too. A good rule of thumb is if it can easily fit a A4 ring binder in it its usually big enough!
2. For pencils and pens I recommend BIC. They are good quality and wont run out fast. The BIC evolution ecolutions graphite pencils (the green ones) are the best as the nib doesn't break easily. Keep a few at home because they will more than likely come home with no pencils in their pencil case at some point and you don't want to be pulling your hair out searching for one to do their homework.
3. Choice is great for stationary and copy's. They sell individual copy's from 45 cent and packs of 10 for about 3 euro. The Aisling and Ormond copys and notebooks are the best in my opinion.
4. Buy your books online. I did the whole going to the booked shopping thing once and I ended up in 3 different shops and having to order a book in and going back to get it a week later! So this year I got all my books on http://www.buybooks.ie they offer 10% off and free delivery over 50 euro, plus it saves on dirty looks for leaving it so late! 
5. For a good pair of runners for PE and school shoes go to http://ie.sportsdirect.com/ they have great quality shoes for unreal prices!!
6. Tescos is great for uniforms they are very reasonably priced. I also recommend Next and Marks and Spencers.
7. If your child doesn't need a uniform a great place to get comfortable clothes and sports wear is http://ie.sportsdirect.com/ they have great brands that are cheap and if your child goes through the knees of pants like mine does you will be glad you didn't fork out a fortune on expensive tracksuits.

• Homework soon after they come home. When I was young homework wasn't done until after dinner and it was so hard to get through as I was so tried from a long day. It has happened with Corey that we had something going on and couldn't do it until late and it was torture for both of us. So my rule is have a snack when you get home then homework and you have the whole evening to relax after that.

Another point that I think is very important and I try to be very conscious of is not to tease your child because they have to go to school. Even if you loathed school (which I did) they don't need to know how you feel about it. Knowing their parents or other adults hate school can make them think its acceptable to hate it and when you hate something you tend not to work hard at it! 

Make them believe you are jealous and would love to be in school. If they do say they hate it then remind them of what you loved about it even if its just being with your friends everyday. I wish I enjoyed school mabey I would have done better, so I want to do my best to make it enjoyable for my kids.

Hopefully there will be no tears! Best of lucky to all the kids and mammies and daddies! It can be an emitional time but it will be great!! Xxx 

At the movies

So this post weekend we went to the cinema. Going to the movies is one of our favourite past-times, with or without the kids. But this time it was a Family day out with my boys my sister and my godson.
We decided to give Findings Dory a try. We are big lovers of Finding Nemo so we expected a lot!
For the most part its a good movie. Cute little baby Dory will pull at your heartstrings, the new characters are most good and the storyline is interesting with a few references back to the original. It kept Coreys attention and wasn't boring. 

But there was one thing wrong with the movie. Bullying!! 
A few times we were shown 2 new characters bullying and manipulating another character who had obvious social and developmental delay. Now I know alot of the other characters have disabilites that they over come but this just ruined the movie for me! 
Now you may say kerrie your being to sensitive its just a kids movie! But try to imagine living with a child with a developmental delay, autism or special needs. Try watching that child try so hard to socialise only to be mocked, ignored or turned away. Try worrying every day that your child may not make true friends. Try not knowing what happens at school on the yard when you are not there. I can tell you its not nice. And then to see it up there on the big screen being made into a big joke made me mad! 
A scene with bullying would be bad enough without showing repercussions for that bullying. But bullying a person who is different or strange or slow is just unfair! 

And now you can't believe your eyes!

On the advisement of the school health nurse we had Corey referred to our local obstetrician. We were told the waiting list was years long and in the meantime to bring him to our local optician which happened to be Specsavers. 
So as advised we did. He went through all the testing and we were told yes he needs glasses. We picked our frames and they were sent off to have the prescription filled. Ace!!

He needed them for watching TV and looking at the board in school. So we spent the next year reminding Corey everyday to wear his glasses. Glasses were lost and found again, broken and glued back together.  
A year later we received a letter reminding us he needed another test. So like the good parents we are we brought him. Little had changed, a slightly stronger prescription needed. And again we picked frames and waited for his new glasses. So followed another year of 'why aren't you wearing your glasses', broken and lost glasses and all the pains that come with having a young child with glasses.
We finally received a letter telling us we had our appointment with the obstetrician 3 years later. So we ignored the latest reminder from Specsavers and waited for our appointment with Dr Smith. 
The day came and Dr Smith did all the tests. He checked the glasses Corey has been wearing for over a year. And his findings where...........Corey doesn't need glasses. He more thank likely never needed glasses and if he does need glasses in the far Far off future the glasses he has don't even match the need that may develop! 
So no more glasses for Corey! Our poor son who already has a speech delay which makes him stand out, just spent 2 years unnecessarily wearing them! 
I don't know if its lack of training, lack of care or just a want to makes as much money as possible off people but Specsavers has failed us! I sent and email to them and Dr you know whats they wrote back??? Yea you guessed it Nothing!! 
We will never go back and will advised those we know to stay away! They just lost at least 2 life time customers as Niall wear glasses too! 
So next time a free Specsavers eye test voucher comes through the letterbox I recommend you through it in the trash because that's all it is!! 

Mammies favourites: Rockers and bouncers

If your looking for a great rocker, bouncer or bassinet for your new arrival look no further than the Tiny Love 3 in one rocker napper. 

The Tiny Love can has 3 positions and be raised from a bassinet to a reclining seat. So it's perfect for napping in the living room, resting and watching the world go by. 
It's the first place our Logan slept at home. We have brought it to visit family as it's great to have somwhere for Logan to sit in other peoples houses plus you don't need to bring a travel cot for naps and it fits easily in the boot of the car. 
It has an adjustable harness to prevent baby falling out. It can be changed easily from stationary to a rocker by adjusting the legs.  There is a lovely mobile with music and lights that Logan adored from very young he would smile and chat away happily to the lights.

The Tiny Love is only about €100 depending on where you purchase it, but it is well worth the money. 
It is definitely one of our best purchases and we would be lost without it! 
http://www.smythstoys.com/ie/en-ie/baby/c-631/baby-rockers-bouncers/p-3768/tinvy-love-3-in-1-rocker-napper/

Mammies favorites: Baby grows

I have tried them all Next, Primark, Heatons, Dunnes Stores, Mothercare, Tescos and even Aldi and here is a rundown of my  favorite babygrows and why I liked them, and my least favorites too!!

You would think the more you spend the better the product but its not always the case. Some of the cheapest baby grows I have used have been far superior.

Pennys or Primark baby grows are one of my favorites. They are a great length for long babies like my Logan. The foot space is roomie which is something I find a lot of baby grows are lacking. They wash pretty well as in they dont look overly worn when washed a few times but the edges where the clips are can get a little warped and need to be stretched back to form. I would give them an 8/10 just because of the warping.

Dunnes Stores as with all there kids clothes seem to be made for short stocky kids so these are always worn first when Logan goes up a size. The foot space isn't great its always too small even when the grows are a bit on the bigger size. The material is good and they wash well and can take a good few washes before they start to look worn. Dunnes Stores seem to have gotten notions about themselves and there pricing has gotten out of hand.  4/10 

You would expect Next to be the best and fit wise yea they are sized well, the foot space is good and I love the added fold over sleeves so you dont need mitts. But I found after there first wash they looked old and worn, the colors were not as vibrant and they just looked old. the material is heavy and seems like good quality so I dont know why it is they dont wash well. Next is not cheap so its disappointing that they are not better quality 7/10

Heatons baby grows are fine for the first couple of weeks when you move up a size but they are generally sized very small. The material is very light and they dont wash very well. They loose all there softness once washed and the material begins to look very faded after a couple of washes. 4/10

The babygrows from Mothercare are lovely quality. They are sized nicely with a good amount of foot space and plenty of room for long legs. They wash nicely and dont fade even after several washes. They are on the pricier side but with Mothercare you get what you pay for 8/10

Aldi is my favorite shop we do most of our shopping here and of course they dont disappoint even in the clothing. The aldi babygrows are sized brilliantly they are long and roomy with a great amount of foot space. The material is light which is nice in the summer heat but they wash really well. Logan has been wearing these for weeks and they still look like new even after many washes. They are the cheapest of all the baby grows and the only fault I can think of is as the material is a bit lighter they wont be so great in the colder winter months. 9/10

So if your on a budget I recomend you go for Primark or Aldi for your babygrows and if you want somthing a bit pricier or are buying as a gift go for Mothercare.

Mammies favorites: Bottles

This is a new segment that I am going to do every week where I try out and review products. Everything from nappies to food to beauty essentials! Everything out there for baby and mammy. 
These are all products I have purchased or will purchase myself!

This week we are talking about The Nuby natural touch and Tommee Tippee Closer to nature baby bottles. 

When I was pregnant and getting all my bits together for baby I bought a packet of Nuby bottles on sale in Boots. At just €13.99 for 6 bottles I thought I'd be set but I soon learned why they where on sale. The name and measurement marks started to come away more and more each week until there was nothing left. You could literally rub the wording away with your finger. Also the teet got very discoloured by the formula after just a couple of weeks. One good thing I can say about them is Logan never had nipple confusion using these bottles while breastfeeding. He took to them very easily.

So of course we had to go get a new set of bottles because we couldn't measure the water for Logan's formula. We got a packet of 4 Tommee Tippee Closer to nature baby bottles in Aldi for €14.99. I have been using them for about 2 weeks now and so far so good! The teet is practically the same shape as the Nuby so there was no problems transitioning over to them. I'm constantly scratching at the wording to see if it is coming away but it hasn't budged. And the teet is still as clear and clean as the day we bought them. Plus the Tommee Tippee bottles fit perfectly into our Tommee Tippee steriliser!

So as the saying goes buy cheap and buy twice!
http://www.mothercare.ie/tommee-tippee-closer-to-nature-easivent-260ml-bottles-6-pack.html

http://m.boots.ie/h5/cat_hub?path=%2Fen%2FTommee-Tippee-Closer-to-Nature-Easivent-Baby-Feeding-bottles-260ml-4Pack_922439%2F&unCountry=roi

World Breastfeeding Week Competition

Happy world Breastfeeding Week to all you amazing mammies out there with a baby hanging out of you!!
I am unfortunately no longer breastfeeding for my own very selfish reasons (I was gettin too fat and I'm getting married in a year and a half) but I loved every minute when I was breastfeeding and I would recommend it to everyone! I know it might not work for everybody but it is worth at least trying!

To celebrate World Breastfeeding Week I am having my first ever give away over on my Instagram page so pop over there if you want to be in with a chance to win some lovely goodies for mammy and baby!!

www.instagram.com/thenewirishmammy/
The prize includes

• A baby grow
• Penguin booties 
• Baby oil and wash 
• Coconut oil cream
• New born nappies
• Baby mittens
• Scented candle 

The winner will be chosen at the end of August!!