Win Win Win!

In order to be a stay at home mum I'm trying to supplement our income as well as spend much less. A way I've found to supplement our income has been to enter competitions. Firstly it gives me something to do while Elsie sleeps, secondly, very occasionally I win something.

So far I've won:

1. A Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair

Excuse the mess (diner/kitchen renovation)

2. A Tesco Blossom Hamper (technically for mums to be - they'll come in eventually)

 3.Six weeks worth of dog treats and balls (with catcher)

£8.99 a box in the shops!!

4. A peanut butter KitKat Chunky

And the most recent win...

5. Ten swimming lessons for Elsie!

I enter loads of stuff in the hope I'll win something. My advice is give it a go as someone has to win!

Careful Negotiation

We are now entering the stage of negotiation as Elsie has decided to take a shine to items and carry them everywhere with her. 

Yesterday we built a den, she took along her shoe for entertainment which she is currently contentedly playing with while reading through a book as I write this.

It's amazing the things she finds interesting and decides under no circumstances is she going to give them up without a fight.

We've had:

• A shoe - which she tries her hardest to put on as yet unsuccessfully
• A spatula - she carried this for 20 minutes up and down the garden
• A pencil - HUGE tantrum trying to get this off her as she decided she wanted to walk round with it
• A wooden block - which I found at the bottom of the wash basket
• A coaster - at her grandma's house which she carried around for another 20 minutes 
• TV remote - which she somehow got an icon on the screen which took me 45 minutes to get rid of
• many many more...

The hardest challenge is trying to find something more interesting to give her instead so she lets go of the offending item. 

I'm pretty sure right now I'd make a good hostage negotiator!

Least Used Baby Items

Following my earlier post of items I've used a lot I thought I'd follow it up with those we haven't used. There are a few that were a waste of money mainly down to our parenting choices.

1. The Cot

"Get your baby in their own room in a cot as soon as possible" most people said. I didn't. The cot stayed next to our bed until Elsie was one. At which point we finally admitted it was just a fancy play-pen and put it in her room, where up to press she has spent exactly ZERO nights. Neither me nor my partner can bring ourselves to put her alone in her own room. I keep thinking of monkeys in trees, they don't shove their babies into other trees or other branches when they sleep. They hold their babies close and keep them safe. That's exactly what we've done.

I thought I was a bonkers over-protective mother until a fellow blogger mentioned attachment parenting when I suddenly realised "that's me!" So every night Elsie sleeps with me, safe in-between me and her daddy.

Meanwhile the cot sits in Elsie's room full of toys!

2. An Electric Breast Pump

I breastfeed Elsie, it's amazing stuff and she loves it. In a post-natal haze I became paranoid I might become ill and stop producing milk so spent £150 on an Avent breastpump. I filled the freezer and 3 months later threw it all out as I never got ill and carried on feeding her as planned!

I can see how pumps are very useful for a working, breastfeeding mum but for me it was a lot of money to spend on peace of mind.

3. Bottles

Along with the breast pump I also never used any of the bottles I bought prior to Elsie's arrival. We tried to bottlefeed her at a few months old to give me a break. She posited it all back up as the flow was far too fast. Back to the boob it was then!

4. A Bath Seat

I bought a bath seat when Elsie first started sitting up. We used it but with hindsight it was a waste of money, the time between buying it and Elsie being strong enough to support herself was so short it hasn't really been worth it. We now used it as an over-sized plug-cover as there's noting more fun than pulling a plug out apparently!

5. The Baby Monitor

I think we've used the baby monitor about twice. It has cctv and was a lot of fun trying out in different rooms but as Elsie doesn't really get left alone in rooms it has been pretty useless.

Obviously if you've a more traditional parenting style you'll use all of these, but for me I could have quite happily lived without them!

My Baby The Artist

We've played with coloured pencils before (too easy to break) and felt tips (goes everywhere) but today I bought my 13 month old some crayons!

It's funny how as soon as I opened the pack and got her some paper she seemed to know exactly what to do with them, gently scribbling on a piece of paper and carefully selecting different colours.

I *heart *art

I love how she loves art, drawing and creating are my favourite things and I'm so pleased Elsie's now big enough to start to share in my enjoyment of colour. I'm also amazed at how good her motor skills are, though to be fair we've helped her by filling her highchair tray with Rice Krispies and watching her feed herself from as soon as she seemed able to self-feed.

Another positive was that after a few times saying "no sweetheart they're not for eating" she seemed to get the idea.

Most Used Baby Items

When you have a baby you can be at a loss at to what you'll need. Here are my recommendations of things I found useful and will use with any future children!

1. Baby carrier

We’re outdoorsy people with a dog. We enjoy our walks and always have so a baby carrier seemed like a good idea. We bought a baby bjorn carrier and have used it almost every day. It’s brilliant for walks, great for taking a baby shopping and has definitely been one of our most used baby items. So much so we have bought a backpack style toddler carrier now she’s outgrown.

2. Travel System

We bought a Recaro Travel system. The pram and buggy were well used, however the pram in my opinion doesn’t fold down small enough for the car. If you’re buying a buggy you should check out how small it folds prior to buying, that’s definitely what I’d do next time. Without doubt the car seat part of the travel system has been the most used item. My daughter is now 13 months old and still in the rear-facing car seat.

3. A Bucket With A Lid

This sounds strange but in it we keep everything we need for nappy changes, it’s easy to carry and keeps everything close to hand. It’s been invaluable. The only downside I’m finding is that now the baby is getting more adventurous she likes to empty it all out over the floor!

4. Highchair

You will need a highchair sooner than you think and once your baby starts being weaned he or she will be sat in it A LOT. Don’t get a fancy one – I won a Stokke Tripp Trapp one and haven’t used it – to be fair it doesn’t help that it has no safety straps. We use a simple Cosatto one with straps and a tray, try and get one with a cover that easily comes off and wipes down.

5. Baby Walker

Ignore anything you may read on the internet saying walkers stop babies from learning to walk properly. You probably had one and don’t fall over when walking into town. I bought one with an activity centre on it and the baby has spent many a happy hour in it. Make sure you get one with anti-roll pads on the bottom and it goes without saying DO NOT let your baby use one near the top of stairs. Ours has and will always remain permanently downstairs.

6.Baby Gates

Buy these early, we didn’t and ended up racing out to buy them when the baby suddenly decided crawling was the best thing ever. We have four baby gates and used them to herd her into the rooms we need her in. We have one at the bottom of the stairs, one on the top, one on her bedroom door and one on the living room door! As we have a dog they act as a wonderful barrier between the pair.

7. A Floating Bath Pillow

This proved extremely useful when baby was too big for the baby bath but too small to support herself in the big bath. Bought for me by a friend with 2 kids I thoroughly recommend them. Basically a net full of polystyrene balls it supports baby leaving your hands free for washing and playing!

Baby + Blogging = Difficult

Over the past year I intended to blog, really I did. But the thing I found more than anything is HAVING A BABY TAKES UP ALL OF YOUR TIME! I’ve had no time to blog, no time to think, no time to write. No time at all.

Now my baby is one I have more time. Not a lot of time but a bit more. So I shall endeavour to blog about babies, toddlers and money!