Slumber-Roo and Me - A Review of the Neko Carrier*

When I was approached by the lovely Sarah at Slumber-Roo and asked if I fancied reviewing some of their baby carriers - well - you can imagine my immediate excitement!

Sarah visited the office with three gorgeous slings to choose from and my decision was pretty easy when I saw the beautiful Neko - I couldn’t wait to pop it on and take it for a swing. 

So what did we love about it?

Aesthetically, it's 10/10. This particular sling is called 'Rainbow Royale Jasmine' and is a stunning mixture of woven pinks, yellow and oranges, made with 100% bio-cotton and duraflex belts.  

It's also really comfy to wear! Whether that's simply because it's new and hasn't been worn in yet, or whether it's slightly more structured than the Tula carrier, I find I get far less aching in my shoulders and back wearing the Neko. 

It also has a fully adjustable panel, width & height, suitable from newborn (3.5kg/8lbs) up to approximately 2 - 3 years and a maximum weight capacity of 15kg/33lbs, so is going to really give you great value for money. 

It has a very generously sized detachable sleep hood, and the best part is that it's SUPER EASY to attach! Just slide the elastic under the clips and viola...we have instant head support and darkness for those quieter moments that are often few and far between these days! It also means that when my daughter wakes up at the most ridiculous noise (she'll sleep through me dropping my keys, doors slamming, but the theme tune to Peppa Pig comes on and she's SO AWAKE) I can very quickly detach the top so she doesn't wonder why she's woken up in a tent! 

So, the downfalls...

Breastfeeding a baby in a sling has been a godsend for me, so I needed to know that the Neko would provide the ease and comfort that my past slings and carriers have allowed. It's comfy and supportive, but the straps seemed to let it down. In my old sling, I simply reach behind me and loosen the straps with one hand to lower Callie to breastfeeding height. In position, I re-tighten and off she goes. The Neko straps felt like they were backwards, so to reach the clips where you feed the straps through, you almost have to be a contortionist (or have someone with you who knows what they're doing!). 

However, after posting my original review, the lovely ladies at Neko got in touch with some helpful tips and advice to make my feeding experience with the carrier a positive one - which I can happily say it now is! Using the images below, and by advising me to move Callie higher (which I thought would have the opposite effect) I have finally cracked being able to feed her easily in the sling. 

So overall, a beautiful carrier, and very well-made product and one that I would massively recommend. The storage bag is adorable and really handy, and it comes with a great instruction manual which one day, I'll probably have time to read! I love this carrier and get a lot of compliments about it! 

I'm excited to share with you two new reviews in the coming weeks - the Boba X carrier, and the Beco carrier! Keep an eye out over on my instagram page for updates and links to the reviews! 



*All opinions are my own and no financial gain was involved. Sling provided for review by Slumber-Roo. 

Lapland UK

My Mum's Christmas present to my sister and I were tickets to Lapland UK. 

We'd only heard of Lapland UK when it popped up on Instagram as I was scrolling through Christmas hashtags, and I was intrigued what it was all about!

The drive from Devon to Berkshire was about 3 hours there, and 4 going home. Unfortunately I had no option but to do it all in one day, so next time (if we do decide to return) then we'd definitely consider staying somewhere overnight!

When we got there, we picked up the kids' Lapland passports and had our intro talk with some of the elves. (I don't want to give too much away if you've never been).

Then we headed through the Enchanted Forest into Lapland, and straight into the toy factory to help Conker the elf make the toys for Christmas. We sat around and built toy penguins before reluctantly handing them back for Santa to deliver. Luckily *eye roll* in the next room they had plenty that you could buy for £25...sneaky, Lapland!

We didn't buy one, mainly because I knew that included in the £70pp fee (including the 17 month old...!) was a cuddly Husky dog later on in the day. 

After the toy factory we headed for storytime in Mary Clause's kitchen before decorating gingerbread cookies.

One thing I did think was that it was great for the littles, but when adults are the same price, there's not much in the way for us, other than their enjoyment. A free hot chocolate or bag of reindeer food (both being sold on site for £4 each) would have made a massive difference - £70 per person including a baby was steep, and that was the cheapest day we could find!

Anyway, moving on, we then went through to the village where we had an hour and a half to browse more shops and see the sights of Lapland. There really is no expense spared on the design - it's like a Christmas Disneyland, and you can't help but smile.

We were excited to see that the ice rink was included in the cost, so that killed some time. 

We had a hot chocolate, took some photos, petted the gorgeous Husky dogs, and then we found the Post Office where you can write a letter to Father Christmas,

Everywhere you go, the elves stamp your passport, which was a lovely touch.

Then all of a sudden it was our time to continue through, passed the reindeer who were more interested in being as far away from humanity as possible, and visit Santa (through another little shop, of course).

This is where Lapland redeemed themselves and the cost of all the things we'd walked past didn't matter.

A week before the trip, I'd filled out a form via email asking for information about our little ones. When Father Christmas knew the name of my nephew's pets, and that he'd recently achieved his 50m swim badge, he was amazed! Then, by complete fluke having previously written that he'd like a Husky toy in his letter back in the post office, Father Christmas pulls a fluffy white pop from his bag for each of them and their faces are a picture.

When we'd finished with FC, we went through to the final part - where you see your photos. You can have one for free, then any more are charged for and the prices aren't terrible -  it was about £20 for all the images digitally and a print, but we only wanted the one. I was a little disheartened when we walked through to find ourselves in a sort of build-a-bear for Husky's - children everywhere wanting accessories and outfits for their new toy.

All in all, the experience was wonderful. I'd go again, but I wouldn't pay more than the £70pp we did this time. We took a packed lunch and next time even though I moaned about £4 for a hot drink, we did enjoy it and it's part of the experience :)

The ice rink was a really lovely addition too, but the best bit was absolutely the effort put in by all the cast members, especially the wonderful girls in Mary Christmas' kitchen! 

Thank you all for a truly magical start to the festive season! 

Bath Time Tips with Water Babies!

Why Swimming? 

Drowning is now the 2nd most common cause of accidental death for children under 5 in the UK, so it’s really important we’re teaching our children about water safety from a young age and the first place we can start doing that is of course, at home in the bath!

Bathing baby

Now it’s not the 1950’s anymore; you will be allowed to leave the hospital without having to prove to a midwife that you can bath your baby! That being said, many of us return home and when it comes to that first bath time or the inevitable poo-explosion, we sometimes have a little panic about what to do. 
If you’ve seen a newborn baby in person or even on the TV, they come out covered in this cheesy yellow substance. It looks a bit gross, but it’s actually really handy! It’s a moisturisation layer called vernix. Because of this, you don’t need to give your baby a bath for about the first 10 days of it’s life. Instead, your midwife will advise you simply top-and-tail wash them. That’s all well and good until you have that inevitable poo-explosion! So whenever you bath them, here are a few helpful tips that have come from our swimming mums and dads over the years! 

We want to create a positive association with water from the beginning, so it’s important to make sure that during bath time baby is both safe and comfortable. You can use either a plastic baby bath or your adult bath from birth – like with everything in parenting, it’s about choosing what’s best for you and your situation! 
Roll up a towel and place it in the bottom. It absorbs the warm water so it keeps baby warm, it’s comfier than the plastic backing, and although you won’t be taking your eyes off baby, it acts as an extra non-slip surface so you know that if you need to reach for the shampoo bottle, baby isn’t going to slide down the bath. 
Make the room warm - We all remember swimming as a child – the transition from the pool back to the changing room was horribly cold! Just because you’re having a bath it doesn’t need to take place in the bath room - just wherever its warmest really- in the lounge or on the kitchen table. Maybe you’ve had the heating or fire on downstairs? If you’re using your adult bath, stick the shower or hot tap on and steam the room up for a few minutes. Also, wrap baby’s towel around a hot water bottle before you give them their bath so it’s nice and warm when they are finished! 
Feed them in the bath- this creates a lovely association between water and their favourite thing – feeding! Bath time is normally done before bed when tired and hungry - so great idea to have a little feed in the water. Have baby on your chest at shoulder depth in the water to keep them warm but keep an eye on their face so it doesn’t go near the water. 

What to do in the bath 

Word Association –It’s all about teaching children not to panic if they fall into water, as you’ll remember my statistic at the start of this talk – the children that drown do so because they’re so overcome by the sensation of falling into the water. What this skill does is it helps normalise that startle response so they can start focussing on what’s next – kicking to the top and holding onto the side. It’s also great for hair washing later on! Name, ready, go – big bucket over the head! Done! Sit baby upright, say their name (to get their attention), are you ready (because we’re asking them a question) and then ‘go’ – go is our keyword for triggering baby’s gag reflex. You could use any word whatsoever to form this word association, and in our classes we use name ready dive, name ready splash, etc, but go is our underwater keyword. As long as you use the same words every time it doesn’t matter what you say but keep it on topic! Babies are super clever. They’re born with a natural response called a gag reflex and this is where a valve at the top of the windpipe shuts off anytime their face is immersed in water on the surface or underwater. Because they elicit the same response on the surface as well as underwater, it means we can utilise this from the start! So once we’ve said name, are you ready, go, we pop a handful of water over their face and wipe it away with the same hand action. You’ll find by the 3-4th week of doing this a few times every bath time, you’ll say the words and baby will close their eyes and purse their lips because they know what’s coming. 

Back floating –  It's important to get used to having ears in the water as it’s a hard thing to ‘un-teach’ with toddlers who join us with no experience. Back floating is the first chance baby had to experience their own balance and buoyancy in the water so it really stimulates all four quarters of the body and gets them moving. It's a great skill for building confidence and independence like these two Water Babies Charlie and Harrison, who are showing the various progressions of a simple back float in the pool! 

Moving onto swimming 

There are a few things to consider when taking baby swimming. 

• Immunisations – NHS advice is that you can take your baby swimming at any age, both before and after they have been vaccinated. It doesn’t matter if they haven’t yet completed their course of vaccinations. It used to be that the polio vaccine given to babies was live and babies were advised to wait until they’d had their full course, but this was stopped in 2004, and that’s when the guidelines changed to ‘from birth’ – many older Health Visitors give out-dated advice! 
• Call the pool to check temperature and quiet times. You don’t want to turn up during aquafit or school lessons as it’ll be a sensory overload for baby. The pool needs to be warm enough for baby - Under 12llbs-12 weeks need hydro around 35° Over 12llbs-12 weeks then pools should be 30° 

What to pack? 

 • Happy Nappy System- pass around happy nappy and inner reusable nappy. We think they’re called ‘happy’ nappies because they keep our pools happy! Paper disposable swim nappies aren’t designed to hold anything. They can’t contain the absorbant chemical that normal disposables do otherwise they’d swell up! Chlorine kills wee but not poos, and poo can contain something called cryptosporidium, which could make everyone using the pool very sick. So erring on the side of caution, anytime a poo escapes, the pool must be evacuated and closed for back-washing. No one wants to be the Mum whose baby pooped in the pool, so double-up with the nappies – the neoprene nappy has snug bands on the waist and legs to keep any nasties contained long enough for you to notice and hop out. 
• Towel (hot water bottle) 

• Hat for afterwards as babies lose heat through their heads 
• Wetsuits if pool is cool 
• Favourite toy for positive associations with the water 

In the water ‘what do I do now’? 

If you’ve been swimming already, did any of you get in and then just stand there thinking ‘now what?’ – I was guilty of that! • Name Ready Go – same as in the bath 

• Swim Position - Cup your wrists together and keep eye contact, and move them head first with you walking backwards. 

• Back floating – same as in the bath 
• Check the temperature and keep an eye on your little one, normally can tell if cold as lips and fingers tips will start to look blue, or mouth with chatter. Underwater swims 
• Gag Reflex - Like I explained before, we can utilise baby’s gag reflex. Practice some name, ready, go’s on the surface then when they’ve cracked it, have a go at taking them underwater. 
• Underwater Swims:
There are two main reasons that we at Water Babies swim little ones under the water. 
    1. Safety – So like I said previously, it’s about removing that startle response to falling into water and working on what comes next. 
    2. Toddlers learn to swim underwater far sooner than on the surface – it’s much easier for them to take a breath, push off and glide than it is to coordinate their breathing, stroke and technique on the surface. 
• It's important not to take them down vertically. Have the conviction to follow through. Make sure their whole head goes under – there are nerves in the top of their head that tell their body when they’ve gone underwater, and in turn they help the body know when it’s fully back out of the water and trigger that first breath. We don’t want to confuse baby so make sure whole head goes under. Once up, have a cuddle and bounce them up and down. Some babies do a bit of a funky chicken after going underwater, some cry, and some have a really strong gag reflex (especially if they’re young) so they may still hold their breath for a few seconds. It can feel like forever, but just bouncing them up and down in that cuddle will help them feel the water coming off their body and will help them know to take a breath. Also tickling their feet can do the same! 
 • Babies will be super tired and very hungry afterwards. 30 mins in the pool is like 3 hrs at the gym for us – I couldn’t last that long, so it’s no wonder they’re sleepy and hungry! 

Why take them swimming? 

• Mainly, because it's splashes of FUN!!!! 
• It's amazing what babies can actually do! They’re like sponges, taking in so much information. It's a great way to encourage that learning.
• Swimming position increased muscle strength and tone and hand eye coordination, better sleeping patterns. 
• Bonding opportunity for you, Dad, or whoever wants to take baby! 
• Skin to skin – helps regulate babies breathing, body temperature and heart rate. 
• Make friends with other mums – all learn to be confident together 
• Starting so young means they never have the feeling of ever learning to swim. Happy and confident in water is so important in the area we live! Picking a swim school 
• Babies and toddlers that swim are miles ahead in certain aspects of their development than their non-swimming friends...

Food for thought

• Regulations in baby swimming came in only a few years ago. Check for teacher qualifications (are they qualified to assess and award swimming stage awards, or are you just getting the equivalent of a chapter badge every term), are they insured? 



• What do you want out of lessons? A lesson plan, progressive classes, just a bit of fun, lots of songs, courses or no commitments? Shop around and find what works for you. 
• Added extras – we incorporate baby signing into our lessons, for example. 
• Check for hidden extra costs – cheaper isn’t always better! 
• Are they ‘Water Babies’? Having been the leaders of the pack since 2002, we swim over 50,000 children every week in the UK alone! It means that a lot of people try to copy what we do, and although it’s flattering, we think if you want the Water Babies experience, then why settle for anything less than the originals! 

Any questions, please contact me on saira.wood@waterbabies.co.uk! 

World Brestfeeding Week 2018

To start this blog I’d like to quote UNICEF, who said ‘breastfeeding is a highly emotive subject in the UK because so many families have not breastfed, or have experienced the trauma of trying very hard to breastfeed and not succeeding. The pain felt by so many parents at any implication that they have not done the best for their child can close down conversation. It is time to stop laying the blame for the UK’s low breastfeeding rates in the laps of individual women and instead acknowledge that this is a public health imperative for which government, policy makers, communities and families all share responsibility.’

Last week was World Breastfeeding Week. I wrote a post and for fear of backlash, never shared it. I’m sharing it now.

Why do we need a whole week dedicated to talking about something so natural? You’d be on my wavelength if your first thought was ‘it’s 2018- are we STILL having to convince people of this?!’. It seems that everytime we’re getting somewhere and the rate of breastfeeding Mother’s in the UK starts to rise, something happens to make it dwindle again. This time, I blame the ‘fed is best’ campaign. On the outside, it appeared as a ‘movement’ to promote inclusivity between breastfeeding and formula feeding mums, using the notion that a fed baby is a healthy baby. But once you start picking into the details of it, it became very clear that ‘fed is best’ was not all it was cracked up to be. Now, as it’s World Breastfeeding Week, I won’t be talking about formula here – being pro-breastfeeding does not make me anti-formula or any other alternative options; I fully believe that it has its place, but that’s not for this post. Fed is best was brought in off the back of ‘breast is best’, and very bravely suggests that rather than debating how babies should be fed, we should be comforted by the notion that we are able to feed our babies at all.

Fed is best was started by Dr. del Castillo Hegyi, whose child suffered dehydration in the first few days of life and subsequently, has been diagnosed with multiple developmental challenges including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and ADHD. If you want to read more about Fed is Best and why it’s not as cut-and-dry as they try to make themselves sound, there’s a fabulous blog by MamaBanana’s (http://mamabananasadventures.com/2017/03/the-truth-about-fed-is-best.html) that is well-worth a read!

So, let’s get onto these magic boobs!

Breastmilk is biologically-tailored nutrition. It’s designed by our bodies to nourish our babies. It’s not an alternative method of feeding; it is the main method of feeding. There are so many benefits to breastfeeding that I didn’t want to start listing them for fear of being here all day, but you know what, that’s what World BF Week was all about…so here goes…

1. Baby will have altogether better short and long-term health
2. Reduced risk of SIDS
3. Helps your womb contract after delivery
4. Less likelihood of obesity for both Mum and Baby
5. Helps mum return to pre-pregnancy weight
6. Reduces risk of some cancers for both Mum and Baby
7. Breastmilk changes composition according to baby’s needs
8. Breastfeeding promotes food tolerance
9. Protective effect against postnatal depression
10. It’s free! It costs nothing, except maybe breastpads and chocolate…
11. It creates a lovely opportunity to bond (of course, this is applicable to bottle feeders too)
12. It releases oxytocin, the love hormone, which helps you relax!
13. Breastfeeding Mums can burn an extra 500 calories a day
14. Breastfeeding Mums sleep an average of 45 minutes more a night than those using formula
15. Breastmilk contains antibodies – it’s their first line of defence!
16. It could save the NHS up to £50 million each year through reducing ear, chest and gut infections

  

At present, 81% of new Mothers attempt to breastfeed at birth. By 6 weeks post-partum, that statistic drops to 24% and by 6 months it’s at 1%. In order to create this positive change that we keep wishing for, it’s important that we start looking at the future – our children’s perception of breastfeeding – and normalising it so breastfeeding becomes the no-brainer choice for feeding baby. But getting people to choose to breastfeed isn’t easy when people like Fed is Best feed us horror story after horror story about the many issues some breastfeeding mothers face, and the health problems a very small amount of babies have faced. Cows-milk protein allergies, mastitis, blocked ducts, thrush, pain, the list goes on, and it’s easy to see why people would give up at the first hurdle with the stress of having just had a baby overshadowing everything else.

The answer here is to shout from the rooftops how beneficial breastmilk is, and empower women to want to choose what’s best, not what seems easiest (which, by the way, is always a hilarious comment I read – I’m sure popping a boob out is far easier than sterilising bottles at 1am, checking milk temperature, measuring formula, etc. I’m not sure where people think either methods are easy by any standard). So I've done my bit. For the last two months, I have been training as a breastfeeding peer supporter. I can honestly say it's been the most eye-opening experience, and I have learnt so much, and now I feel ready to go out into the community and help empower other Mums to feel confident in breastfeeding. 

As MamaBanana said, if you don’t believe in this campaign, that’s okay - just don’t blow out the candles on a birthday cake that’s not yours.

This is our week, let us have it.

Spotlight on Underwater Swims!

🌟💧 Spotlight on Underwater Swims! 💧🌟

Although only 5% of our lessons focus on underwater swimming, it doesn't mean it's not an important skill for little ones to learn!

Why underwater swims?

Drowning is the 3rd most common cause of accidental death in under 5's in the UK, and children that drown do so because they aren't able to save themselves - be it that they don't know how to, or that they aren't strong enough to. So taking your little ones underwater from the start helps you prepare them for every eventuality.
We start by getting rid of that startle response that overcomes them when they fall into water, through lots of fun splashing into the water! It helps them get used to the sensation of 'falling' into water so if it were to ever happen to them, they aren't startled by it. We then link this to skills such as holding on, moving to a place of safety, and climbing out of the pool. But not only is it a safety skill, toddlers also learn to swim underwater far sooner than on the surface, so helping them feel comfortable and confident swimming underwater makes for a stronger swimmer!

Is it safe?

Babies are super clever - they're born with a gag reflex - a valve at the top of the windpipe that shuts off anytime they're submerged in water, or if water is poured gently onto them. They don't even have to think about it, it happens automatically! What this means is that by pairing skills with words, we can create an association so that baby knows what to expect, and more importantly, can tell us if they don't want to do it! It's always been important for us that underwater swims are baby-centred, meaning that every time we go to do a swim, our teachers make sure your little one is happy to do so! The great thing about their gag reflex is that we can elicit the same response on the surface by popping a little handful of water gently over their face - so if they aren't feeling up to any underwater skills one week, you can still make sure they're learning the skills everyone else is, whilst making sure they're not doing anything they don't want to do :)

How do I do it?

With everything you learn in Water Babies, our teachers first explain what we're doing, and why, and then how to do it. We then demonstrate how it should look, before talking you through 1 by 1, so we can give you feedback to make sure baby has the most enjoyable and safest experience with you. You'll never have to wonder if you've done it right or wrong, and as every baby is different, we listen to each baby's cues individually to make sure they're happy as well.

When is baby ready?

Baby's gag reflex is innate, which means it's there from birth. Because of this, there's no evidence to suggest that there's any benefit to waiting to do underwater swims. We start right from your first lesson, and this has never been detrimental to baby's safety or enjoyment in their lesson! Not all of our beginners are newborn babies though - so if your little one is a bit older, there are lots of things we can do to help them feel more comfortable going underwater; blowing bubbles is a great example of this, getting their faces looking down into the water and exhaling! 

Do I have to?

You never have to do anything you aren't comfortable with. As teachers, we won't ever swim babies or toddlers underwater if they're crying, asleep or have hiccups, so if they're otherwise happy, we're happy! But as their parent, if you're happier skipping an underwater skill, never feel as if you have to take part (you'll have plenty of other skills to practice!)

Happy Splashing!

Wild One!

'Happy first birthday baby girl!!!! Oh my goodness, what a year it's been. . . . 

You've taught me so much, I can't begin to tell you. It seems like only yesterday I was holding this tiny baby having had a whirlwind birth, midwives having left, and being left with baby Callie, all 6 lbs 13 of her, and wondering what on Earth I was supposed to do. . . .

Watching you sleep and checking you were breathing every 5 seconds, cutting your food extra small when weaning, covering every surface in foam...look at us now. We've learned about each other, we can read each other like a book. I know your every look, every word, as you know mine. You're my best friend. I love you more than I knew was possible to love anyone. I'w m so proud of you and love that you got to spend today with so many people who love you!' 

What a day! We had THE best time celebrating Callie's first year; and the theme couldn't have been more fitting for our little wild girl! A huge thank you to Jenny South photography in Plymouth for capturing the cake smash photos so effortlessly and for sharing my vision to perfection! And a huge thank you to everyone who came to the party / couldn't be there but still sent their wishes, and showered our little Wild One with so much love!