I am so please with this project making crochet rainbow baskets and balls. Look how cute they are. They’re a bit floppy and have a few flaws but I love them. And Eleanor does too.
We use these baskets and balls for colour sorting and counting. My daughter also uses them to wear as slippers, to put other toys in and to throw the balls across the room. I really think they will evolve with her as she grows.
Every morning since I made them she’s come into the living room after breakfast and head straight for these. She takes all the baskets out and then arranges all the balls inside them.
And then she throws the balls all around the room and puts other toys in her baskets. Hey, it means it’s more open-ended right?!
I recently made a small basket for her to keep some toys in and I think I’ll be making more!
How to crochet your own
I used a pattern from ravelry for the the rainbow baskets and coloured balls and they were really easy instructions to follow. They’re in US terminology but that’s easy to switch over. I also did a double crochet (US SC) border along the top of the baskets rather than what the pattern stated.
Author: Deborah
Eleanor turns two very soon so I’ve been looking at ideas for 2 year old birthday presents. I only want to get her one present so I need to narrow down my list!
Grimm’s Rainbow 6 piece
The Grimm’s Rainbow is absolutely beautiful and can be used in so many different ways. I’d love the 12 piece set but the 6 piece is more on budget for me. I can see us using it to build towers, tunnels for the railway track and so much more.
Grapat Summer Nins
The Grapat Summer are one of 4 seasonal sets. I adore the little Nins and I think this set gives a bit of variety as you get Nins, mates, rings and coins. Eleanor is an end of summer baby and I love the colours of this season. The range is also handmade and hand painted which is so lovely.
Lanka Kade Animals
The wooden animals from Lanka Kade are so beautiful and affordable. I like the idea of buying all the animals from the Dear Zoo book for her to play with. I think she’d quite like the world animals bag too. The colourful natural ones are my favourites as then you get a bit of colour with the natural wood too. I saw the natural ones in Down to the Wood, a wooden shop in Lyndhurst, they look beautiful! You could take your child’s favourite animal book and find the matching toys.
Goki Wooden Blocks
The 50 piece wooden blocks from Goki are a mix of colour blocks and natural ones. They’re a variety of shapes and I think they’ll be great to make anything she wants. There are endless possibilities with this toy.
Tegu 14-piece Magnetic Wooden Blocks
These little blocks are magnetic and come in a variety of colours. I don’t know whether I love the natural or the sunset the most. I think these would be perfect for when travelling or to take a few to a restaurant to keep her entertained.
Triclimb
I LOVE the look of the Triclimb! I need to convince my husband that it’s a good purchase. As well as something that can be climbed on, it can also be used as a den, with a blanket thrown over or a reading nook; it’s so open ended. I think it could be a great addition to Eleanor’s new bedroom (when we move her). It says “coming soon” on the website so maybe for Christmas….?
Books
I have a huge list of books that I’ve taken note of whenever someone recommends one. I can’t get them all so I’m looking out in the library for them. Here are a few of the ones I really want to read with Eleanor:
How are you feeling today – Molly Potter
Goldilocks and the tree potties – Leigh Hodgkinson
Toddle waddle – Julia Donaldson
In my heart – Jo Witek
The Usborne outdoor book
I have to try and decide what to get her for her 2nd birthday. I’m leaning towards the Grapat Summer Nins but I think some Tegu blocks would be great too. I want everything but I’m trying to not buy her (or me) as much anymore.
What do you think would make a good present for a 2nd birthday?
Author: Deborah
I love a good cookbook, so when I started weaning Eleanor I instantly bought The Baby Led Weaning Cookbook by Jill Rapley.
I knew as soon as I heard about baby led weaning that it was the way to go with Eleanor. She always used to put things in her mouth and chew on them so I thought she might do the same with food. We didn’t start until she was 6 months old and she actually started herself by stealing my cheese on toast one lunch time.
The Baby Led Weaning Cookbook explains the rationale behind BLW and how to do it safely. It tells you what foods to avoid (e.g. whole nuts) and has plenty of recipe ideas. I really loved how the recipes were for 1 baby and 2 adults, it really put the point across to me that you should eat as a family. I’ve seen other BLW books which just have recipes for 1 baby size portion, which was no use to me. I wanted to eat all meals as a family and we still do, except the rare occasion I cook her something quick so we can have a takeaway when she’s asleep.
Favourite baby led weaning recipes
We’ve cooked so many recipes from it and some of our favourites are:
Drop scones
Mushroom risotto
Beef and broccoli stir-fry
Goulash
I hardly touch the book now that my daughter is 22 months old. I use recipes from everywhere and she eats whatever we eat. To be honest I could have done that from the start. But for a first time mum this book was really useful in giving me some ideas and teaching me some of the reasoning behind baby led weaning.
One thing that I absolutely love about our weaning journey is that it’s made me cook so many different meals. We were stuck in a rut, especially when Eleanor was a newborn. I couldn’t be bothered to cook and now baby led weaning has reignited my love of cooking.
If you’re about to embark on a weaning journey with your little one, I definitely recommend giving this book a read. If you have this book, what do you think of it?
Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate link. This means that I may receive a small commission (at no cost to you) if you purchase something through the link provided. I won’t post a link to a product that I haven’t used myself and love. Thank you for the support!
Author: Deborah
I’ve been using Miosolo all-in-one cloth nappies for 6 weeks now and they are perfect for my daughter.
I’ve wanted to use cloth nappies since before she was born but I listened to family and friends who said it would be too hard and that I wouldn’t cope with it. They were wrong and I wish I’d listened to my gut much earlier!!
I started off with 3 Bambino Mio Miosolos and one nappy from another brand but only having 4 nappies isn’t enough. I was washing them every day. When Bambino Mio reached out to me and asked if I’d like to review some of their nappies I jumped at the chance. I’ve loved them so far and now we have a few more to use.
Our experience of the Bambino Mio Miosolo
You can see my full review of the nappies in the video below but here’s a few of my favourite points:
They are so easy to use as they’re all in one
They fit from birth to potty
Absolutely beautiful designs
Fast drying
We’ve had no leaks
Comfortable for my little one
Have you tried cloth nappies? What are your thoughts on them? If you have any questions about cloth nappies please let me know and I’ll try and answer them.
Disclaimer: I was sent nappies, a booster, miofresh and nappy liners for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own and I only work with brands I truly love.
Author: Deborah
I’ve been using Headspace for just under a year so I thought I’d share with you how I’ve found it and whether it’s worth the subscription fee.
Headspace is a mindfulness mediation app that has one mission: to improve the health and happiness of the world. It offers loads of guided meditations on a variety of topics including sadness, acceptance, focus and self esteem. There’s meditations for you and kids too.
My experience
I’ve been using Headspace for a little under a year now and my membership expires in a few days. I downloaded the app about 2 years ago and it took months to just do those 10 free sessions. I wanted to do it but my mind wasn’t ready. The this time last year, just before my maternity leave was going to end, I realised I was ready to take meditation and mindfulness seriously.
I’ve battled with anxiety for years but it got a lot worse after my daughter was born. I needed something that might help and I turned to Headspace. I try to do it daily but that doesn’t always happen.
I don’t beat myself up about it. At the beginning I would get angry at myself if I missed a day and that’s really not productive at all!
I do it most days, either first thing in the morning or straight after yoga. I was doing it in the evenings but I kept drifting off!
The Headspace app
I found the app so easy to use – except managing my account, which I found I had to do on my computer.
I like the animations and how the app is laid out. I find Andy’s voice really calming and all the packs are recorded by him.
Some of my favourite packs have been kindness, happiness and acceptance. I also really love the Sleeping single which helps me go to sleep at night if I’m feeling a bit wired.
Pros
There are 10 free sessions
You can pick from 10,15 or 20 minute sessions
Bedtime singles e.g. Falling back to sleep
Clean design and animations
Clear and concise instructions
Cons
There’s no unguided meditations with music
It’s quite pricey for the subscription
Costs
At the time of writing it costs £71.88 a year (paid annually) or a monthly subscription of £9.99. So it is a lot cheaper to buy it as one payment, but look out for discount codes as I bought my subscription last year with one and it was around £50 or so, I can’t remember exactly.
Will I renew my subscription? Probably not. I’ve done a lot of the packs on offer and I honestly can’t afford the expense at the moment.
Have you tried Headspace and does it work for you? Let me know what you think of the app.
Author: Deborah
Can I say that a menstrual cup has changed my life? It seems like such a small change but it has really made those few days of the month a dream for me.
I’m going to tell you my experience of using a menstrual cup, but first I’ll give you a little background.
Before I had my daughter I was on the pill for around 14 years. I HATED my period. I have a tilted uterus which I only found out about when I was pregnant but I think it’s the reason why tampons never worked for me. They were uncomfortable and would leak however much I tried. And I really hated pads. I would run 3 packs of my pill together so that I would only have a period every 10 weeks.
When we were trying for Eleanor I still hated my period but I actually kind of enjoyed learning about my cycle. I didn’t want to go back no the pill after having her but after 6 cycles I did as they were so so heavy.
I’d get so anxious on my period and I’d just want to stay at home. I couldn’t go out in case there wasn’t a toilet around to change. It meant for a week out of the month I felt like I was trapped in the house.
I had been wanting to try a cup for months but I thought it would be messy, gross and hard to change. I was also worried that it would leak just like a tampon. But I did some research and used the putacupinit quiz (go do it!!) to find a cup that would be suitable for my body and my period. I went for the Organicup in size B.
I was going to write this review after a few cycles but I am literally raving about it after my first period using it.
My experience of using a menstrual cup
That first day though I was really having second thoughts. It was uncomfortable and I really wanted to give up. But then I remember that some people cut off the stem of their cup, so I gave that a go. As soon as I popped it back in it was like it wasn’t even there!
I found it really easy to insert using either the C Fold (my favourite) or the Punchdown Fold. Sometimes when I put it in it didn’t pop open straight away, so I tried turning it and pushing on the opposite side, and if that didn’t work I just took it out and tried again.
On the days that I went to work I used the disabled toilet. The sink is right next to the toilet so it was really easy to empty and clean without getting up. I don’t know what I’d have done if the sink wasn’t there. I’ve read you can wipe it with toilet roll or take in a bottle of water with you.
Luckily for me, my period is nowhere near as heavy as pads led me to believe. I could have left it in 10-12 hours every day.
Also, it wasn’t as messy as I thought it was going to be. I actually felt so much cleaner than I ever have with pads. You take it out, pour it down the toilet and then the blood is gone. No mess.
It might seem weird to say but this period I’ve felt free. My husband has noticed how much happier and confident I am. I used to get so anxious and uncomfortable on my period and this cup has really changed that. It’s a complete game changer!
Benefits of using a menstrual cup
As well as being so good for me mentally, it’s obviously so much better for the environment than using pads or tampons as you aren’t putting something in the bin every few hours.
My Organicup can last up to 10 years!
I can go swimming with it in, which is something I’ve never been able to do before. It’s going to be perfect for holidays or travelling.
You only have to change it every 8-12 hours too (depending on your flow you may need to change it more often).
You aren’t putting any nasty chemicals up your vagina.
A cup also minimises your risk of TSS if kept in less than 12 hours.
It doesn’t smell.
There’s no more rubbish.
What I plan to look into next is cloth pantyliners and cloth pads to use on my lighter days or alongside the cup in case of leaks. I want to have a completely waste free period.
Have you tried a menstrual cup or cloth pads? Let me know what you think of them in the comments below.
Author: Deborah
I heard on the radio this morning that the children’s word of the year is “plastic”. Radio 2 run a 500-word story competition for children and the word appeared 3,359 times in the 134,790 stories submitted. Plastic is a hot topic at the moment and I am so grateful that it is.
I’ve been trying to reduce our waste for awhile now and this month I’m going to join Mamalina and Plastic-Free Me and take part in the #plasticfreeparent challenge. The first week is about tackling the plastic used at meal times.
The challenge wants to tackle plastic wrapped veg, lunches on the go and cling film.
Cling Film
I think I can firmly tick off cling film as I don’t own any.
Last week I went to a local shop and made beeswax wraps. They were so easy to make. Yesterday I used one of them to cover up leftover homemade pie before putting it in the fridge.
Plastic wrapped veg
I do my weekly shop on a Friday so I haven’t done the shop yet. I will meal plan foods that I know I can buy loose. I struggle with things like chestnut mushrooms which always come plastic wrapped. Rocket always comes in a bag too. I have tried growing some but there are little holes all over it, I don’t know what’s been eating it!
I’m going to do my weekly shop in the supermarket but give some of the fruit and veg a miss until I can make it to the farm shop on Saturday. Hopefully I’ve have better luck there.
Next week we should be able to eat our first courgette grown from seed! I am so excited. We may also have some radishes ready if we’re lucky. I’m going to give the rocket a go, it might not be too bad.
Lunches on-the-go
I always take a packed lunch to work. It’s mostly due to budgeting, lunch soon adds up if I keep buying from the shop! But also, I can eat really yummy nourishing food if I make my own. We switch between couscous salads, sandwiches, hummus and dippers, and falafel wraps. I use plastic Tupperware as I have it. I’m not going to throw it away for no reason. I use them for cold food and they do the job. You could use Tupperware you have already, a steel container, or even wrap your sandwich in a beeswax wrap.
I always carry a reusable bottle of water with me wherever we go. I don’t really drink coffee or tea out and about but I have a thermos flask cup for if we do. I sometimes take it into work so that I have some tea for the day without having to use teabags at work.
Are you taking part in the #plasticfreeparent challenge? What small changes have you made?
Hi there, I’m Deborah. I live in Hampshire with my husband and spend my time baking, making and getting out in the fresh air. Find out more or get in touch.
