Best Of The Teething Toys

I'm pretty sure Ada has started to show the signs of teething (constantly chewing on everything, dribble everywhere, slightly flushed cheeks), so I've been investigating some of the best teething toys out there. I personally went straight for the rubber toys as I have a vintage one it can be added to, but it surprised me just how much is on the market, and how many I actually already have without even realising it!

Wooden Turtle Teething Ring // Amazon, £12.40

Lets face it, if a teether manages to keep your kid entertained more than purely just chewing on it, we're onto a winner. This wooden teether from Organic Baby Teether comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes (if turtles aren't really your thing) with a little rattle inside. The wood is also layered with organic flax oil so help soothe the pain of teething.

Isabella Silicone Teething Necklace // Fox & Finn, £15.99

Ada loves to pull on just about anything, mostly my hair, so I know I'll definitely be buying a teething necklace. I absolutely love the colours on this one by Fox & Finn, and there's quite a few different versions available. It's made out of the best grade silicone, with a safety knot between each bead to avoid any possible choking hazards.

Sophie La Girafe Teething Ring // Mothercare, £9.99

Probably one of the most popular teething toys on the market at the moment. Sophie La Girafe is made out of completely natural materials, and comes in a few different designs, depending on which one you think your babe would get on with the most. I bought a little gift set for Ada which has the original giraffe in, with a ringed teether too, as her little hands still aren't up for grabbing anything too big just yet.

Babyplay Taggie Lion // Mamas & Papas, £8.75

Ada has quite a few toys like this from M&P's, except I never realised the rings were suitable for teething. Kane assured me they were, but they just seemed so hard to me. Apparently babies are more resilient than I thought! This makes a great multi-tasking toy with lots of different textures and patterns, and the ability to make sounds to keep baby entertained.

ZoLi Bunny Teether // Amazon, £7.99

This is a bit more of a simpler option, but it does what it says. The dual nubs are meant to make it easier to reach molars, so it would be a good option for when all of babies teeth start coming through.

Comotomo Silicone Baby Teether // Amazon, $6.07

Another great silicone option, this is a baby sized teether with lots of different points for baby to grab at and hold. I've read that the little prongs are a similar size to fingers, so if your baby is a hand eater, this might be the one for you!

Organic Cotton Knitted Rattle Teether // Miyim, £12.99

I didn't find too many available, but this is a plush teether made from organic cotton and natural plant minerals. It makes a cute toy/teether hybrid, although I'd imagine you may have to throw it in the wash a few times! Being a rattle and a little toy makes it perfect for buying even before your baby starts to teeth.

Dr Brown Watermelon 'Coolees' Teether // Amazon, £4.50

This cute watermelon shaped teether can be popped in the fridge and cooled, providing extra comfort for those sore gums. The shape means they can reach all parts of the jaw without gagging, and it's a good size for babies to hold and chomp on. It's pretty much a steal at just £4.50 too!

Have you tried any of these? What is your favourite teether?

Some Office Updates

My office has always doubled up as a stock room, and for that exact reason, keeping it tidy has always been a bit of an issue. I've got an IKEA shelving unit in there, a vintage shelving set, and three clothes rails, as well as a few storage boxes thrown in too, so you can imagine it ends up looking a bit of a jumble unless I make a conscious effort to really keep it tidy. Since Ada has been born I work in my office a lot more than I used to, as I find I can get my work done so much quicker than downstairs, so I've added a few more bits to my workspace to make it a really enjoyable space to work in.

The first thing that I was really desperate for was a new chair; I had been using the Made Wilton chair but that was donated to Ada's nursery, so I was back to using the cheap Ikea chair I bought ages ago. It's a perfectly good chair for ten minutes, but after that it causes serious bum and back pain, so I got the Made Lex Office Chair as a replacement. It's not only so much more comfortable but it looks so much better in there too. 

Ada's schedule is a bit all over the place at the moment; sometimes she'll head back off to sleep easily in the early hours of the morning, meaning at about 6.30 I can get up and start doing my work. Some days though, are a little harder and I end up working late into the evening when she's down in her cot snoozing away. So, I needed a lamp for my desk rather than working under the bright main light, and decided to have a little peruse on John Lewis. I loved the look of the Blair Marble Table Lamp but being the pennypincher I am, decided to have a look on Ebay and managed to find one for well under half the price, score! I also finally got Kane doing some DIY and he popped up some shelves for me which are a functional and pretty addition.

What do you think of my new buys?

5/52

a portrait of Ada once a week, every week for a year

Well, here we are, at the end of the fourth trimester already. Ada is three months old today, and as much as I keep saying it, the time has gone so quickly but I still feel like she's been in my life forever. I keep thinking fondly back to a year ago when I'd be now pregnant with her, and since having A I've actually missed being pregnant, even though it was the most horrific time ever!

This little lady is turning me into the person I've always wanted to be. I'm more hardworking, more playful, more confident, and more patient, although I'm still working on that one! Every day is filled with so much happiness as I watch my little baby grow and spend her days excitedly babble away, waving her arms around and kicking her legs. I've started to throw her (only the tiniest amount!) into the air; she barely leaves my hands but the look on her face is just of complete joy.

We had a bit of a breakthrough with tummy time this week, and she's spending more and more time lying down holding that head up. I'm sure she's going to be teething soon 'cause she's forever nibbling away on her fingers and hands, so we finally bought the Sophie La Girafe set for her, although she's spending more time giggling at the squeaky noises rather than using it for it's purpose!

How I Stay Organized

Stationery has always been one of my first true loves, but turns out it's actually a pretty big neccessity in keeping me organized. Rather than letting my pretty piles of notepads pile up, I have a few that I use on a daily basis and use in conjunction with each other so I can plan out my day and keep on top of what needs to be done.

This is the thing I use the very most. I try to make the most of all the different sections, which I planned the use of before the year started. I don't put birthdays or important dates in the main sections, they head straight into the little grid at the start of the month. Each day I write down what I've got planned for the day, any new stock that has arrived and what blog post I want to go live that day. I don't like to take two many notes in here, I keep it straight to the point, but all the different sections work well for me. 

After checking my main diary, this is what I use next to plan out my day. I like to list things in order of importance so I can work through what needs to be done clearly. As you can see, I didn't use it much last week as my little miss meant I didn't work that much from my desk, but usually it's absolutely full of notes of what needs to be done and ends up being a pretty messy!

This is another thing I don't mind getting messy. This is where I scribble down all my inspiration, and I'd like to really have a separate book for my business and the blog, but in reality it all gets lumped together. If there's any new stock I want to buy or keep my eye out for, or any new inspiration for blog post ideas, it all gets popped in here. When I'm a bit stuck for ideas of what to write about, this is where I head straight away.

How do you keep organized? Do you have a specific system?

My Breastfeeding Uniform

You'll be surprised just how much of your wardrobe is out of action once a baby arrived, even when you were convinced you'd be able to get back in all your old clothes after pregnancy. Weight wasn't the issue for me, I actually ended up lighter than I was before pregnancy thanks to all that delightful morning sickness. Nope, it's actually that I need easy access to my boobies, having to whip them out several times a day. And I have two words for you that will make your life so much easier; floaty tops.

Since having Ada I've added close to double figure amounts of floaty tops into my wardrobe. They're easy to pull up, and all the extra fabric means you can keep things discreet (if you so wish) and they cover my mum-tum nicely too. I know a lot of women go for the double top, but that is just a bit of a faff for me. Floaty tops with a pair of jeans or pencil skirt is my winner.

I have also added a few jumpers into the mix, after receiving this Selfish Mother sweatshirt for Mothers day. It's quite long on me which makes it perfect for covering up again, and it's the easiest thing to throw on and go rather than faffing around trying to create a suitable outfit. 

What is your breastfeeding uniform?

6 Free Printables For Mamas

I'm pretty much a Pinterest addict these days (find me here!) and one of the things I really love to find on there are free printables. There's a serious amount of content people produce and are happy for others to enjoy too, so you can find prints to frame, checklists for shopping, or housework reminders to pop on the noticeboard. I personally always go for the ones which help me keep a little organized, but here's a few of my favourites.

01 | Getting Shit Done! 

image on pinterest | image source

02 | Meal Planner

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03 | Rewards (For Kids & Chores)

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04 | Hospital Labour Checklist

image on pinterest | image source

05 | Lets Get Things Done Today!

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06 | You Can Do This!

image on pinterest | image source

3+4/52

a portrait of Ada once a week, every week for a year

4/52 | This kiddo is the happiest, smiliest little baby, right up until Mama whips out a weird black contraption that makes funny clicking noises. I took about fifty photographs of her, and these were one of the few where she wasn't frowning, shooting me a "What tha heeeelllllll?!" look.

Recently I've noticed a big change in this girl. I don't think I ever really felt like I had a teenie baby to look after, probably as Ada was so tall (58cm at birth!) but I feel like I have a proper little lady on my hands now. She's getting pretty darn good at holding her head up, although she still hates tummy time, and she's always laughing and babbling away. She loves lying down and kicking her little legs about, she's really close to finding her feet soon now too.

3/52 | I'm not sure what happened last week really, but this picture probably just sums it up. Time just seems to go nowhere with a baby, even getting up between 6-7am which I do every day now, I still don't feel as though I have the time to do half the things I'd like to. Ada is out of that newborn stage of being able to fall asleep anywhere now, which means half of my day is spent trying to rock her off to sleep, and then picking her back up again when she starts crying immediately! She's probably a little young but we're going to be working on her sleeping routine now, and hopefully giving her an earlier bedtime so she naps a little less during the day, as it seems like we hardly get any play time at the moment. 

15 Thoughts Of Every New Parent In Winter

Strangely enough, my pre-baby anxieties weren't about the birth, the recovery time afterwards, breastfeeding.. y'know, the usual things. The biggest thing that was on my mind was actually having a baby in freezing cold December, and all the ridiculous worries that brings with it. I think I actually gave Ada a bit of a sweat rash one night when my Gro-egg thermometer displayed over 20 degrees and I put her in bed with a vest, sleepsuit and two blankets covering her.. oops! We live and learn, hey.

01 | Babies need how many layers more than us? Perhaps I'll pop on a couple more

02 | Aaah look, another cute hand-knitted cardigan! I definitely need to buy another.

03 | No, we can't turn the heating off! She'll freeze!

04 | (Two months later) Shit! How much is my gas bill?!

05 | How is this coat supposed to fit on top of all these layers?

06 | She can't even put her arms down.. At least she's warm though

07 | Oh christ, she hates her hat.. Please don't cry, please don't cry!

08 | Bugger, I forgot her blanket.. Worst parent ever.

09 | I have at least ten blankets at home, too

10 | Why do baby booties constantly fall off?

11 | How do I get her out of the car without getting her rained on?

12 | How warm is this shop/cafe/every single building ever?! Off go all the layers..

13 | Leaving now, lets stick them all back on.

14 | Perhaps we'll just go home.

15 | Hurry up, Spring!

Were you as neurotic as me during Winter with your babies?!

New Skincare Purchases

Being a new Mother and with my hormones still pretty much all over the place, my skin has looked better. Never before have the bags under my eyes been more prominent, and my chin still looks like it belongs to a teenager, always with at least one or two little pimples on. Skincare has been seriously low on my priority list since Ada was born in December, but I treated myself to a couple new items, and I'm now guilty of leaving Ada in her cot for a few minutes longer in the morning, luckily her star mobile has my back and keeps her entertained!

I've always had combination skin mostly, but recently the dry areas have been absolutely ridiculous; the skin around my eyes and at the top of my nose has actually been flaking off, so I need to up my hydration game. Every bit of Caudalie skincare I've tried I've always loved, so I bought their Hydrating Toner. I use this every morning and night now, after my clarifying toner, and I really like it so far. The only thing is the little pump, somehow it means I end up getting half of it on the floor rather than my cotton pad. I've just run out of my Jurlique Rose Moisture Plus moisturiser, and thought I'd try something different. Although, the Korres Wild Rose Moisturiser for oily/combination skin isn't exactly new, I've had a sample before and really enjoyed using it. It's a really light texture so sinks into the skin really quickly, and my skin literally feels as soft as a babies bum (I can vouch for this properly now!) I have to stop myself from looking like a lunatic and stroking my face too often. 

I think I'm possibly the only blogger who hasn't tried all the Origins masks, only the Ginzing Refreshing Mask sits on my bathroom shelves. I thought instead of buying them all, I'd buy the Mini Mask Marvel set and see which one is my favourite. Although this hasn't exactly gone to plan, I've tried them all since and love them all! Turns out I might have to have a bit of a splurge at Origins soon..

Have you tried any of these?

Additions To Ada's Wardrobe

Hi, my name is Catherine, and I'm addicted to buying baby clothes. I never thought I'd actually enjoy buying bits for Ada more than for myself, but lets face, she's just a heck of a lot cuter than me; she has such gorgeous little chubby michelin man arms and legs, and I'm still working on trying to get rid of my saggy mum-tum. She's heading into the 3-6 month category soon, so I've been adding a few things to her wardrobe.

In my Spring Wishing post I spoke of my love for the Sunshine range from Next, so I bought a few things from there. She's already got the raincoat in a 9-12 month size for when she's a little older, so I thought it would probably be best if I got some other bits from the range in that size too. The colours navy, mustard and white just scream Autumn to me, and I love the little dresses I got for her. I can imagine her in these with lots of layers, tights and little boots. 

When I bought these items in store I got a £10 off code for online, so I bought a few items for her 3-6 month wardrobe. I got a little floral top which is so cute, and a couple pairs of leggings to pair with it. I couldn't resist the grey fluffy cardigan either, or the little hats, although they are absolutely huge! They currently cover her eyes so it might be waiting until Autumn until they fit her too.

Supermarket shopping is pretty dangerous, as it's seriously easy to throw a couple things into the trolley every time I pop in. I absolutely love little smock tops and dresses, and the fruit print on this one is so gorgeous! I thought the little grey dress was perfect for Spring when it's still a little chilly out too. 

What do you think of my buys?