It seems like ages since I last blogged. Apart from writing something for Worthing Mums, I haven't blogged for two months. Firstly we went on holiday (again) then everything got a bit stressy, mainly because someone at work mentioned the "R word" to me (i.e. redundancy) so I'm currently waiting to hear if my job is at risk. Anyway, I've had a blog rattling around in my head for ages so I'll attempt to get it into words.
Let me start by saying that I truly love my daughter and I'd never allow her to do anything that I considered dangerous, but I don't believe in wrapping children in cotton wool. I've been in a few situations where other parents or carers have leapt to the assistance of my daughter when she and I have been wondering what all the fuss is about. The most common place for this seems to be the playground. A few months ago we were at the playground with some friends when Munchkin wobbled on a step. I didn't bat an eyelid - though I would have moved very quickly if she'd actually fallen. In the meantime, my friend had moved to catch her as if her life depended on it. This started me thinking... should I be more careful? A similar thing happened very recently. We were in park with Munchkin's big cousin, and she wanted to follow her onto the climbing frame / slide. I walked along beside her, checking that she could make it and letting her see that she could grab my hand if she needed to. As the afternoon progressed, she and I became more confident. Although I was still following her as she progressed along the walkway, I stood back, knowing that I had time to step forward if she needed me. The next thing I knew, a grandmother was holding her hand and stroking her arm. Since English wasn't the woman's first language, I was unsure whether she was trying to protect this poor abandoned baby or if in her culture it's acceptable to stroke other people's children. At this point I made it clear Munchkin was with me and no more was said.
Similar things have happened at gym club. Another mother held Munchkin's hand when she was walking over some stepping stones and quickly realised she was too steady on her feet to need assistance. I think part of the problem is that she's so small people conclude she can only be about a year old and therefore assume she hasn't been walking long. She'll actually be two in two months' time, has been walking for eleven months and has the vocabularly of a slightly older child. That's another reason why I give her quite a lot of freedom, I know that her communication is sufficiently good for her to understand if I tell her not to do something because she might get hurt and that she'll ask for help if she feels she needs it.
So am I a negligent parent? I don't think so, but one or two grannies in the playground might have other ideas.
Sunday 3 November 2013
Saturday 7 September 2013
Blackberry Farm
Last weekend Munchkin's cousin Sweetpea (and her parents) came to stay. The girls really enjoy spending time together, it's particularly nice for Sweetpea as she doesn't get many opportunities to mix with other small children. There's only 11 months between them and they generally want to do similar things, although it's probably fair to say I have the more adventurous child.
We first went to Blackberry Farm last year when Munchkin was a baby. She had her first ride on a swing there. We noted that there was a large play area for toddlers and thought it might be nice to come back with Sweetpea. Blackberry Farm is in the hamlet of Whitesmith, to the east of Lewes. Our Sat Nav failed to find it but luckily I knew it was on the main road so carried on driving until I saw a sign post. It was a lovely day and we were surprised it wasn't more busy. I guess this was due to a combination of people preferring the beach and Blackberry Farm not being particularly well known. We first went there with my step-sister, who lives in Lewes; no-one from outside the Lewes area seems to have heard of it.
Admission wasn't cheap, but there are offers and season tickets available. I was slightly miffed at having to pay child rate for Munchkin but I guess it's only fair considering how much toddler stuff they have. During peak times (Mar to Sept inclusive), it's £7.50 for adults and £7.00 for children over one. We had a pleasant walk around the open farm area. We've been to a few farms just recently and this is definitely one of the better ones. It looks as if lots of money has been invested to make it a visitor attraction. You walk round a circular route, rather than getting to a field or barn and having to turn back as so often happens on open farms. I enjoyed feeding the ducks and goats. The girls were vaguely interested in watching me and they did like the birds and animals but were definitely more interested in the play area.
Last time we visited, we had two slightly older children with us. They both enjoyed the pony rides. Though the little boy almost didn't get one; it's necessary to book as soon as you arrive. The play area has things for children of all ages. We stayed in the toddler area this time. Last time we were in the main play area which includes monkey swings and a zip wire. There's a huge "jumping pillow" suitable for all ages. In the toddler area, there's a range of slides and a trampoline. Sweetpea enjoyed bouncing on the trampoline. Munchkin got everyone else to bounce her! Blackberry Farm also has a cafe, though we didn't use it because we'd brought a picnic. The picnic area is on the perifery of the play area, which unfortunately meant Munchkin ran off once when we were trying to get her to eat. We fared better than Sweetpea's parents. Sweetpea had no interest in eating and just kept running off to check out play equipment. The playground was a real hit, we had trouble persuading the girls to leave! I can't imagine us visiting enough to warrant a season ticket (£45 for a child) but I'm sure we'll be back.
Weather permitting, we'll be back in the Lewes area tomorrow. I'm a member of Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare so we're popping over to see the animals and birds. There's no admission charge, but I'd feel incredibly mean if I didn't give them a donation.
In other news, potty training has stalled again. Munchkin has stopped telling me when she's done a poo. Yesterday she sat on the potty, stood up and pooed on the floor next to it, destroying four Mr Men books in the process. I guess I should at least be grateful that she's potty aware. I know of older children who have less interest in the potty than she does. We went back to swimming and gymnastics this week. Once Munchkin had remembered what it was all about, she started to enjoy them again. This evening I asked Munchkin what she wanted to do tomorrow. She simply replied, "Eat".
We first went to Blackberry Farm last year when Munchkin was a baby. She had her first ride on a swing there. We noted that there was a large play area for toddlers and thought it might be nice to come back with Sweetpea. Blackberry Farm is in the hamlet of Whitesmith, to the east of Lewes. Our Sat Nav failed to find it but luckily I knew it was on the main road so carried on driving until I saw a sign post. It was a lovely day and we were surprised it wasn't more busy. I guess this was due to a combination of people preferring the beach and Blackberry Farm not being particularly well known. We first went there with my step-sister, who lives in Lewes; no-one from outside the Lewes area seems to have heard of it.
Admission wasn't cheap, but there are offers and season tickets available. I was slightly miffed at having to pay child rate for Munchkin but I guess it's only fair considering how much toddler stuff they have. During peak times (Mar to Sept inclusive), it's £7.50 for adults and £7.00 for children over one. We had a pleasant walk around the open farm area. We've been to a few farms just recently and this is definitely one of the better ones. It looks as if lots of money has been invested to make it a visitor attraction. You walk round a circular route, rather than getting to a field or barn and having to turn back as so often happens on open farms. I enjoyed feeding the ducks and goats. The girls were vaguely interested in watching me and they did like the birds and animals but were definitely more interested in the play area.
Last time we visited, we had two slightly older children with us. They both enjoyed the pony rides. Though the little boy almost didn't get one; it's necessary to book as soon as you arrive. The play area has things for children of all ages. We stayed in the toddler area this time. Last time we were in the main play area which includes monkey swings and a zip wire. There's a huge "jumping pillow" suitable for all ages. In the toddler area, there's a range of slides and a trampoline. Sweetpea enjoyed bouncing on the trampoline. Munchkin got everyone else to bounce her! Blackberry Farm also has a cafe, though we didn't use it because we'd brought a picnic. The picnic area is on the perifery of the play area, which unfortunately meant Munchkin ran off once when we were trying to get her to eat. We fared better than Sweetpea's parents. Sweetpea had no interest in eating and just kept running off to check out play equipment. The playground was a real hit, we had trouble persuading the girls to leave! I can't imagine us visiting enough to warrant a season ticket (£45 for a child) but I'm sure we'll be back.
Weather permitting, we'll be back in the Lewes area tomorrow. I'm a member of Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare so we're popping over to see the animals and birds. There's no admission charge, but I'd feel incredibly mean if I didn't give them a donation.
In other news, potty training has stalled again. Munchkin has stopped telling me when she's done a poo. Yesterday she sat on the potty, stood up and pooed on the floor next to it, destroying four Mr Men books in the process. I guess I should at least be grateful that she's potty aware. I know of older children who have less interest in the potty than she does. We went back to swimming and gymnastics this week. Once Munchkin had remembered what it was all about, she started to enjoy them again. This evening I asked Munchkin what she wanted to do tomorrow. She simply replied, "Eat".
Monday 26 August 2013
Pains, Painting and Playing
It's Grumpy Central in our house at the moment. Munchkin is teething... again. She seems to have been teething almost continuously for a year. Munchkin does not teeth well. The only thing that really seems to help when she's at her worst is paracetamol. She's been really clingy on and off for about two weeks and has cried doing activities that she'd otherwise enjoy. The worst thing is that she sometimes vomits with teething, usually after eating/drinking dairy products or banana.
We've tried some summer holiday toddler groups in the past few weeks. Creation Station was a real hit. Munchkin loves painting and drawing and is always asking to do "rawing" so this was an obvious choice. We went to a couple of one off summer holiday sessions in East Preston. Unfortunately we can't attend during term time as sessions clash with our swimming and gymnastics classes. Creation Station sessions begin with a group activity which includes opening a "magic box". In the first session, this contained paper in different colours and textures. In the second session, the box contained a brightly coloured parachute which everyone lifted up and the children hid under. Munchkin is going through a shy, clingy stage and wouldn't join in with this. Apparently the holiday groups are much bigger than the term time ones and she'd probably find these less daunting.
Munchkin really enjoyed the creative part of Creation Station. The first session was sunshine themed and we made a sunshine stamper which we used to make a print on a piece of fabric; Munchkin also got to paint a picture. The second session was messy, messy, messy. It was space themed and we made planet shapes to stick on a black background. The black background had a star effect, achieved by lots of children flicking paint across a giant piece of paper which we then cut pieces from. Many of the children, including Munchkin, decided to try their hands at face painting... with poster paint! The children are given overalls to wear, parents aren't so it's best to wear old clothes. Holiday sessions are aimed at 1 to 5 year olds and cost £5 a child (with a reduction for siblings).
On the Friday in between the two Creation Station sessions, we went to Boogie Bugs at East Preston Children and Family Centre. This didn't go so well. It's basically a group music and movement session. The whole session is similar to the warm up at Munchkin's gym club. Sometimes she'll do the warm up and other times she doesn't want to know (the coaches accept that this is par for the course with toddlers). She was more interested in the babies in car seats at the edge of the room than anything else. When I tried to get her to join in with the group activity, she screamed. The group is aimed at age 18 months to 5 years. Munchkin and her peer group (under 2s) all seemed more interested in other things in the room, chiefly the toys in the corner, than 45 minutes of music and movement. She started asking to go home before the group had even finished! I'm not saying it was a bad group, it seemed really popular. It just wasn't for Munchkin. On the way home, she told me that she had pain in her mouth. I never got to give her anything for the pain because she fell asleep. She awoke half an hour later in so much pain she almost had a fit. It took what felt like forever, but was probably about 5 minutes to get her to open her mouth for pain relief. Boogie Bugs only cost £1 a session. It's next on in East Preston on Friday 30th August and is also held regularly at the Wickbourne Children and Family Centre in Littlehampton.
After my park related whinge in my last blog, a friend recommended the Gull Island playground by Splashpoint. We went this weekend and I'm pleased to report that it has much more for Munchkin's age group than the playground at the other end of the prom. She loved playing in the sand and also went on the medium sized slide, the baby slide, the roundabout, rockers and the monkey swing (well that's what I call them because I first saw them at Monkey World!). The only thing this playground seems to be lacking is swings (it just had the one). Are swings out of vogue with playground designers? I can assure them they're not out of vogue with toddlers! There was a fenced off area where either something had been removed and/or something new was being added. I'm sure we'll go back, so it'll be interesting to see what's going in that space. If we go again, we'll take a bucket and spade.
Next weekend, Munchkin's cousin Sweetpea is coming to stay, so we'll be going to Blackberry Farm near Lewes. There's a blog in my head about parenting advice I've been given and would give to other people, so I need to write that at some point... not yet sure if it's one for here or Worthing Mums.
We've tried some summer holiday toddler groups in the past few weeks. Creation Station was a real hit. Munchkin loves painting and drawing and is always asking to do "rawing" so this was an obvious choice. We went to a couple of one off summer holiday sessions in East Preston. Unfortunately we can't attend during term time as sessions clash with our swimming and gymnastics classes. Creation Station sessions begin with a group activity which includes opening a "magic box". In the first session, this contained paper in different colours and textures. In the second session, the box contained a brightly coloured parachute which everyone lifted up and the children hid under. Munchkin is going through a shy, clingy stage and wouldn't join in with this. Apparently the holiday groups are much bigger than the term time ones and she'd probably find these less daunting.
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| Our Creation Station Space Picture |
On the Friday in between the two Creation Station sessions, we went to Boogie Bugs at East Preston Children and Family Centre. This didn't go so well. It's basically a group music and movement session. The whole session is similar to the warm up at Munchkin's gym club. Sometimes she'll do the warm up and other times she doesn't want to know (the coaches accept that this is par for the course with toddlers). She was more interested in the babies in car seats at the edge of the room than anything else. When I tried to get her to join in with the group activity, she screamed. The group is aimed at age 18 months to 5 years. Munchkin and her peer group (under 2s) all seemed more interested in other things in the room, chiefly the toys in the corner, than 45 minutes of music and movement. She started asking to go home before the group had even finished! I'm not saying it was a bad group, it seemed really popular. It just wasn't for Munchkin. On the way home, she told me that she had pain in her mouth. I never got to give her anything for the pain because she fell asleep. She awoke half an hour later in so much pain she almost had a fit. It took what felt like forever, but was probably about 5 minutes to get her to open her mouth for pain relief. Boogie Bugs only cost £1 a session. It's next on in East Preston on Friday 30th August and is also held regularly at the Wickbourne Children and Family Centre in Littlehampton.
After my park related whinge in my last blog, a friend recommended the Gull Island playground by Splashpoint. We went this weekend and I'm pleased to report that it has much more for Munchkin's age group than the playground at the other end of the prom. She loved playing in the sand and also went on the medium sized slide, the baby slide, the roundabout, rockers and the monkey swing (well that's what I call them because I first saw them at Monkey World!). The only thing this playground seems to be lacking is swings (it just had the one). Are swings out of vogue with playground designers? I can assure them they're not out of vogue with toddlers! There was a fenced off area where either something had been removed and/or something new was being added. I'm sure we'll go back, so it'll be interesting to see what's going in that space. If we go again, we'll take a bucket and spade.
Next weekend, Munchkin's cousin Sweetpea is coming to stay, so we'll be going to Blackberry Farm near Lewes. There's a blog in my head about parenting advice I've been given and would give to other people, so I need to write that at some point... not yet sure if it's one for here or Worthing Mums.
Tuesday 6 August 2013
The highs and lows of a day out in Worthing
On Sunday, we spent the day in Worthing. This isn't something we do often, despite it being on our door step. The main reason for the visit was that we'd won a Pizza Hut voucher in a raffle at Munchkin's nursery. We decided to make a day of it rather than just popping in for lunch.
Our visit began with a trip to the beach. We set up camp near theWaterwise playground. This playground looks great, if you're aged five to twelve but there's nothing for preschoolers. Even the one and only rocker (a funky looking seagull) is twice the height of Council playgrounds' usual offerings. It seemed rather short sighted of the Council to forget the little ones. I've since looked up the playground on their website and see that they claim it has equipment for children as young as two... I couldn't see anything sufficiently small, not that Munchkin is two yet in any case.
We had a pleasant lunch in Pizza Hut. The waitress noticed it was taking ages to feed Munchkin, so she arranged for our pizzas to be kept warm whilst Munchkin caught up. She was obviously a good listener, as she realised Munchkin was saying "drawing" as soon as she handed her some crayons. (I've been wondering who "Rory" is for weeks!). The children's menu has a good range of options and kids are given an activity booklet to keep them amused. It's also one of the few restaurants I've been to with two baby change facilities.
Baby changing brings me on to my next point. We went for a walk on the pier after lunch, then stopped at Macari's kiosk for an ice cream. It was then that I realised Munchkin stank! I marched her to the nearest public toilet, only to discover there was no changing table. l asked at the Pavilion Box Office, hoping we could use their facilities, but they directed me to Cafe Nero. I decided to ignore this advice and took Stinky to Mothercare, knowing that the facilities were clean, on the ground floor and we wouldn't be asked if we were customers.
We then took Munchkin to the "Wilde About Worthing" sandpit at the west end of Warwick Street. This was an instant hit with us. Buckets and spades are provided, and it's all free. There's music playing, a few deck chairs, and those picture postcard things where you stick your face through a hole and someone takes a picture (no idea what they're called!). I know of the connection between Wilde and Worthing ("A handbag?") but have no idea why it's being plugged so much this year, if anyone can enlighten me, please leave a comment!
In conclusion, Pizza Hut and the "Wilde About Worthing" sandpit are great for small children but baby and pre school facilities were sadly lacking on the parts of the seafront that we visited. We're off to some summer holiday toddler groups in the next couple of weeks so there should be more reviews coming soon.
Our visit began with a trip to the beach. We set up camp near theWaterwise playground. This playground looks great, if you're aged five to twelve but there's nothing for preschoolers. Even the one and only rocker (a funky looking seagull) is twice the height of Council playgrounds' usual offerings. It seemed rather short sighted of the Council to forget the little ones. I've since looked up the playground on their website and see that they claim it has equipment for children as young as two... I couldn't see anything sufficiently small, not that Munchkin is two yet in any case.
We had a pleasant lunch in Pizza Hut. The waitress noticed it was taking ages to feed Munchkin, so she arranged for our pizzas to be kept warm whilst Munchkin caught up. She was obviously a good listener, as she realised Munchkin was saying "drawing" as soon as she handed her some crayons. (I've been wondering who "Rory" is for weeks!). The children's menu has a good range of options and kids are given an activity booklet to keep them amused. It's also one of the few restaurants I've been to with two baby change facilities.
Baby changing brings me on to my next point. We went for a walk on the pier after lunch, then stopped at Macari's kiosk for an ice cream. It was then that I realised Munchkin stank! I marched her to the nearest public toilet, only to discover there was no changing table. l asked at the Pavilion Box Office, hoping we could use their facilities, but they directed me to Cafe Nero. I decided to ignore this advice and took Stinky to Mothercare, knowing that the facilities were clean, on the ground floor and we wouldn't be asked if we were customers.
We then took Munchkin to the "Wilde About Worthing" sandpit at the west end of Warwick Street. This was an instant hit with us. Buckets and spades are provided, and it's all free. There's music playing, a few deck chairs, and those picture postcard things where you stick your face through a hole and someone takes a picture (no idea what they're called!). I know of the connection between Wilde and Worthing ("A handbag?") but have no idea why it's being plugged so much this year, if anyone can enlighten me, please leave a comment!
In conclusion, Pizza Hut and the "Wilde About Worthing" sandpit are great for small children but baby and pre school facilities were sadly lacking on the parts of the seafront that we visited. We're off to some summer holiday toddler groups in the next couple of weeks so there should be more reviews coming soon.
Thursday 1 August 2013
Ireland with Munchkin
I'm finally getting back into the swing of things after our family holiday, my 40th birthday and my step-sister's wedding. Maybe the blogs will be a bit more regular now... Or maybe not! Munchkin's potty strike is over, though she hasn't done anything other than sit on it recently. The journey back from Ireland wasn't as bad as expected, normal service has been resumed! I think part of the problem on the journey there may have been teething. Munchkin is still teething, but it was molars on the way to Ireland. Now it's canines and they don't seem to be as bad.
We spent our holiday in County Monaghan in the Irish Midlands. I got confused, and told everyone we were going to County Meath! We stayed in self catering accommodation just outside the small town of Ballybay. We had a great time, though I wouldn't call the area a tourism hot spot. On the first two days, we visited small tourist attractions where we were the only guests and were given personal tours by the owners! The Wildlife and Heritage Centre is worth a visit, though I was initially put off going by the emphasis on its collection of stuffed animals. We managed to avoid most of them and concentrated on the live animals and birds. The following day we went to Sam More open farm (so small it doesn't even have a web site!) where we saw lots of animals and birds, went on a buggy friendly walk, and Munchkin played on the vast array of bikes, toy cars and toy tractors.
We were close to the border with Northern Ireland and visited the north twice. There's no form of border crossing and two things gave away that we were in Northern Ireland: the British road signs and fortified Police stations (:-(). We were there in marching season and there had been trouble in Belfast, so we gave it a wide berth. Thankfully there was no trouble elsewhere (to be honest we weren't expecting any, so the idea of going to Northern Ireland didn't bother us at all). We made use of our National Trust membership and went to The Argory. Our walk around the gardens was enjoyable but I don't recommend the house for small children. Admission is by guided tour only. The tour is long, and at entirely the wrong pace for a toddler; she was bored and tearful and we eventually asked if we could leave. It didn't help matters that the guide was a little nervous and forgot what she was saying every time Munchkin cried! Our other NI visit was to Enniskillen. This was much more successful. We took a boat tour departing from Brooke Park, which has the best toddler playground I've ever seen. The tour took us past Enniskillen Castle and several other sites of interest before stopping off at Devenish Island, where we saw the remains of a monastic site. We took the first tour of the day, which I would definitely recommend as the later tours appeared to be packed.
There was a brilliant soft play close to where we were staying. GR8 Entertainment in Castleblayney is free for children under 2 and has special offers for repeat users in the school holidays. We also took Munchkin to the beach for the first time, at Blackrock near Dundalk. The beach is sandy and child friendly, but not really suitable for swimming since the tide goes out a really long way. All in all, it was a successful holiday and we'd like to go to Ireland again.
We spent our holiday in County Monaghan in the Irish Midlands. I got confused, and told everyone we were going to County Meath! We stayed in self catering accommodation just outside the small town of Ballybay. We had a great time, though I wouldn't call the area a tourism hot spot. On the first two days, we visited small tourist attractions where we were the only guests and were given personal tours by the owners! The Wildlife and Heritage Centre is worth a visit, though I was initially put off going by the emphasis on its collection of stuffed animals. We managed to avoid most of them and concentrated on the live animals and birds. The following day we went to Sam More open farm (so small it doesn't even have a web site!) where we saw lots of animals and birds, went on a buggy friendly walk, and Munchkin played on the vast array of bikes, toy cars and toy tractors.
We were close to the border with Northern Ireland and visited the north twice. There's no form of border crossing and two things gave away that we were in Northern Ireland: the British road signs and fortified Police stations (:-(). We were there in marching season and there had been trouble in Belfast, so we gave it a wide berth. Thankfully there was no trouble elsewhere (to be honest we weren't expecting any, so the idea of going to Northern Ireland didn't bother us at all). We made use of our National Trust membership and went to The Argory. Our walk around the gardens was enjoyable but I don't recommend the house for small children. Admission is by guided tour only. The tour is long, and at entirely the wrong pace for a toddler; she was bored and tearful and we eventually asked if we could leave. It didn't help matters that the guide was a little nervous and forgot what she was saying every time Munchkin cried! Our other NI visit was to Enniskillen. This was much more successful. We took a boat tour departing from Brooke Park, which has the best toddler playground I've ever seen. The tour took us past Enniskillen Castle and several other sites of interest before stopping off at Devenish Island, where we saw the remains of a monastic site. We took the first tour of the day, which I would definitely recommend as the later tours appeared to be packed.
There was a brilliant soft play close to where we were staying. GR8 Entertainment in Castleblayney is free for children under 2 and has special offers for repeat users in the school holidays. We also took Munchkin to the beach for the first time, at Blackrock near Dundalk. The beach is sandy and child friendly, but not really suitable for swimming since the tide goes out a really long way. All in all, it was a successful holiday and we'd like to go to Ireland again.
Wednesday 17 July 2013
Lessons Learned
Angmering Daddy and I have learned an important lesson this week: things change! We're away on our holidays at the moment and we got here by car because we always travel by car. Our families don't live near us, so we're used to packing up everything but the kitchen sink and driving hundreds of miles. Whenever we go on a long car journey, Munchkin sleeps, usually for the whole journey. Um... Well, she used to! She now sleeps for an hour or two, then wakes up. And she doesn't just wake up, she screams so loudly that anyone within five miles also wakes up!
We've been travelling by car when we go on holiday because I have an aversion to taking infants on planes. I've got friends who've done it without any problems, but it's not for me. I can picture it now: Munchkin is tired but refusing to sleep since she's in a strange place and there might be something interesting going on. She doesn't want to sit still. She wants her own seat (the only way she'll get one is if I sit on Daddy's lap). The clincher is that she's freaked out by her ears popping and screams until we land.
Next year we may have to reconsider. Hopefully Munchkin aged 2 1/2 will understand if we explain what's going on in the plane. We'd only do a short flight as I wouldn't want to antagonise her or the other passengers too much. In the meantime, we need to complete our journey from Ireland to Sussex in three legs, two of which exceed Munchkin's current sleep threshold... Wish me luck!
Tuesday 2 July 2013
Poor Munchkin...
Munchkin isn't a happy bunny at the moment. She's not really ill, just grumbly and under the weather. This has been going on for a few days. I think the main problem is that her molars and pre molars are coming through, all at the same time (or so it seems to us) and she's also got a cough. She really enjoyed her gymnastics session on Friday but things seemed to go downhill after that. There were two people we knew at gymnastics this week so it was nice for Munchkin to have some small people closer to her age.
She lost her appetite and ate very little all weekend, turning her nose up at firm favourites like macaroni cheese and ice cream (not served together, though she is partial to eating sweet and savoury at the same time!). On Sunday we went to Middle Farm with some friends from work. The adults had lunch whilst Munchkin sat in a highchair and played with some food, then we looked round the farm, where Munchkin just wasn't her usual self. Normally she'd be very interested in all the animals and birds and would be giving us a running commentary on what we were looking at (or her interpretation: "cockers" are cockerels, cows are quite often horses and the majority of birds are ducks!). On Sunday she was quite subdued. The only time she smiled was when she went on a swing, and then she screamed when it was time to come off! The rest of us enjoyed ourselves! Middle Farm has a great farm shop. I bought the best Scotch eggs I've ever tasted and some lovely fudge, as well as free range eggs laid on the farm. The farm also has a cider shop where you can sample over 100 ciders and perries (and get drunk for free if you're so inclined!) we didn't partake this time, though I am partial to a drop of cider.
Yesterday she spent all morning, including her swimming lesson alternating between happy and screaming. She cheered up a bit in the afternoon when we went to see her aunty and cousin in Lewes. Her appetite started to come back and apart from when she fell over, she was quite lively! My four year old niece (who was also in grouchy mode) offered me some really helpful parenting advice when Caitlin cried because she tried to take her banana away, "Perhaps you should leave her to cry!". Controlled crying has its place, but that certainly wasn't it! Said niece is a bit of a character, she recently cut her own hair, just in time for her parents' wedding and now has to wear a hair clip at all times to hide the damage!
Potty training/learning/familiarisation has stalled. After successful potty use on three out of four mornings, Munchkin is now refusing to use the potty at all. I think it may be because she had nappy rash, which was aggravated when she went to the loo. Hopefully it's just a glitch. I've been encouraging her to sit her toys on the potty if she doesn't want to use it herself.
She lost her appetite and ate very little all weekend, turning her nose up at firm favourites like macaroni cheese and ice cream (not served together, though she is partial to eating sweet and savoury at the same time!). On Sunday we went to Middle Farm with some friends from work. The adults had lunch whilst Munchkin sat in a highchair and played with some food, then we looked round the farm, where Munchkin just wasn't her usual self. Normally she'd be very interested in all the animals and birds and would be giving us a running commentary on what we were looking at (or her interpretation: "cockers" are cockerels, cows are quite often horses and the majority of birds are ducks!). On Sunday she was quite subdued. The only time she smiled was when she went on a swing, and then she screamed when it was time to come off! The rest of us enjoyed ourselves! Middle Farm has a great farm shop. I bought the best Scotch eggs I've ever tasted and some lovely fudge, as well as free range eggs laid on the farm. The farm also has a cider shop where you can sample over 100 ciders and perries (and get drunk for free if you're so inclined!) we didn't partake this time, though I am partial to a drop of cider.
Yesterday she spent all morning, including her swimming lesson alternating between happy and screaming. She cheered up a bit in the afternoon when we went to see her aunty and cousin in Lewes. Her appetite started to come back and apart from when she fell over, she was quite lively! My four year old niece (who was also in grouchy mode) offered me some really helpful parenting advice when Caitlin cried because she tried to take her banana away, "Perhaps you should leave her to cry!". Controlled crying has its place, but that certainly wasn't it! Said niece is a bit of a character, she recently cut her own hair, just in time for her parents' wedding and now has to wear a hair clip at all times to hide the damage!
Potty training/learning/familiarisation has stalled. After successful potty use on three out of four mornings, Munchkin is now refusing to use the potty at all. I think it may be because she had nappy rash, which was aggravated when she went to the loo. Hopefully it's just a glitch. I've been encouraging her to sit her toys on the potty if she doesn't want to use it herself.
Monday 24 June 2013
So Proud!
I'd been wondering what to blog about, then Munchkin achieved a major milestone so problem solved! She did a poo and a wee on the potty this morning. Daddy and I are so proud!
We've been familiarising her with the potty for about four months (I don't think you could call it potty training). She sits on it every night at bedtime and we've recently started getting her to sit on it first thing in the morning. We give her books to look at to encourage her to stay in one place. This sometimes backfires (so far not literally) as she wants to sit on our laps bare bottomed to have the books read to her.
We've had a couple of breakthroughs in the past couple of weeks. She did a wee on the potty about two weeks ago and then there was today's performance. I know they're probably lucky accidents, but it's a step in the right direction. She's not even 18 months yet so I'm really pleased with her progress.
I'm currently reading "Early Start Potty Training" by Linda Sonna. It's subtitled, "Potty train your child by age two," and that's my intention. Munchkin and reading don't really mix so it's taking me a long time to get through it, but it's an interesting read. Apparently children are potty trained much later in the western world, particularly in the author's native USA. She cites examples of Chinese and African culture where babies are trained to use the potty from as early as three months old.
Dr Sonna claims that research suggesting that children shouldn't be potty trained before age two is all sponsored by disposable nappy manufacturers. She says that potty training is quicker if cloth nappies are used since they allow children to feel when they're wet. I'm currently sticking with my compromise of eco disposables (maybe one for another blog, or I'll be here all afternoon) since they're more convenient than real nappies and less absorbent than traditional disposables.
Next stop on the "Potty Train" as Dr Sonna calls it, will be increasing the number of potty sessions. I can't get the song "Groovy Train" by The Farm out of my head and I blame Linda Sonna!
Tuesday 18 June 2013
Mummy actually gets a social life!
In my last blog it was Munchkin who had all the social invites. This week I acually got some "me time". Munchkin still managed to keep me busy though, most notably with the Sudocrem incident on Wednesday. She was getting grizzly on the way to nursery, so I let her hold her ruck sack. We were almost there when Daddy asked me if I'd just put perfume on. I said, "No, but I can smell lavender." As I said it, I thought, "Lavender = Sudocrem" and looked round to see a small child and a car seat caked in the stuff! As anyone familiar with nappy changes knows, Sudocrem is thick stuff that doesn't clean off easily. Even after a steam clean, there's still nappy cream on the car seat.
Anyway, the Mummy Time: On Thursday, I went to my step-sister's hen do. She'd booked a spa break / ladies night at Old Thorns hotel. We didn't stray too far from good old Sussex by the Sea, as Old Thorns is just over an hour's drive from Angmering. The bride had invited around 20 friends and family ranging in age from late 20s to 60s. We started our day with coffee at the on site Starbucks, followed by lunch in the sports bar. In the afternoon we checked into our rooms, went for spa treatments and made use of the facilities. I relaxed in the hot tub, then had a facial, followed by a short swim (where I tried to keep my product soaked face and contact lenses out of the water... in other words I did three lengths of girly breast stroke).
We knew that Ladies Night included entertainment from the Dream Boys, but some of us were getting increasingly worried as the day progressed. We were expecting the act to be quite tame but the spa receptionist told us it was "no holds barred"! After a change of clothes, a glass of wine and a short panic, we made our way to the ball room. The evening began with a three course set meal. (I had to have "special food" because I'm allergic to mushrooms and they were in two of the courses.) This was followed by 80s disco music and the opportunity to use a free photo booth. (Some people made more use of this than others. My advice would be, if your pictures are going to be posted to an open Facebook page, don't get your knockers out! )
The Dream Boys finally arrived. Apparently they were stuck in traffic. I found the whole thing highly amusing. They weren't the best dancers and had a look that reminded me of one of the blokes from my office! Two of the girls in our party were over 6 foot and couldn't stop commenting on how short the strippers were! In the second half, we were promised, "the biggest cock you'll ever see in your life". I was slightly disappointed but at least the bloke who came on to do the full monty was a better dancer. He dragged a woman from the audience on stage. We later saw her drinking with the Dream Boys in the other bar so suspect she was part of the act.
We really enjoyed our stay at Old Thorns though some small things could have been better (and I'm not talking Dream Boy anatomy!) there were a few isolated issues with cleanliness and maintenance and breakfast was a bit mass produced. Despite this, I'd definitely go back.
Anyway, the Mummy Time: On Thursday, I went to my step-sister's hen do. She'd booked a spa break / ladies night at Old Thorns hotel. We didn't stray too far from good old Sussex by the Sea, as Old Thorns is just over an hour's drive from Angmering. The bride had invited around 20 friends and family ranging in age from late 20s to 60s. We started our day with coffee at the on site Starbucks, followed by lunch in the sports bar. In the afternoon we checked into our rooms, went for spa treatments and made use of the facilities. I relaxed in the hot tub, then had a facial, followed by a short swim (where I tried to keep my product soaked face and contact lenses out of the water... in other words I did three lengths of girly breast stroke).
We knew that Ladies Night included entertainment from the Dream Boys, but some of us were getting increasingly worried as the day progressed. We were expecting the act to be quite tame but the spa receptionist told us it was "no holds barred"! After a change of clothes, a glass of wine and a short panic, we made our way to the ball room. The evening began with a three course set meal. (I had to have "special food" because I'm allergic to mushrooms and they were in two of the courses.) This was followed by 80s disco music and the opportunity to use a free photo booth. (Some people made more use of this than others. My advice would be, if your pictures are going to be posted to an open Facebook page, don't get your knockers out! )
The Dream Boys finally arrived. Apparently they were stuck in traffic. I found the whole thing highly amusing. They weren't the best dancers and had a look that reminded me of one of the blokes from my office! Two of the girls in our party were over 6 foot and couldn't stop commenting on how short the strippers were! In the second half, we were promised, "the biggest cock you'll ever see in your life". I was slightly disappointed but at least the bloke who came on to do the full monty was a better dancer. He dragged a woman from the audience on stage. We later saw her drinking with the Dream Boys in the other bar so suspect she was part of the act.
We really enjoyed our stay at Old Thorns though some small things could have been better (and I'm not talking Dream Boy anatomy!) there were a few isolated issues with cleanliness and maintenance and breakfast was a bit mass produced. Despite this, I'd definitely go back.
Monday 10 June 2013
The social life of a one year old
There's no doubt about it, my daughter has a more active social life than I do! In addition to her usual Monday morning swimming class and Saturday morning baby signing class, this week she got to spend Monday afternoon with her favourite cousin in Lewes, on Friday morning she went to gymnastics for the first time, on Saturday afternoon she was invited to a garden party (!) and on Sunday she went to Drusillas Zoo for the first time. However, the trip to the zoo was as much for Mummy and Daddy's benefit as Munchkin's. We've always loved anything to do with animals and it's great to finally have a child to use as an excuse!
I've been aware of the existence of baby and toddler gymnastics classes since I was pregnant, but this was my first opportunity to find out what it was all about. There are two clubs in the Worthing area, alllowing parents to take their child to a a class every day if they're so inclined! We went to Wickers in Lancing, which takes little ones from "competent walker" onwards. (The other club, Teenie Tigers, takes them from crawling, but only does one under 2s session a week, on a day we can't attend.) Wickers offers 7 sessions a week for Munchkin's age group; we attended one of the Friday morning sessions. The sessions are drop in - the first one's free, then it's £3.70 a time.
There are a number of reasons why I want to get Munchkin involved in gymnastics. First and foremost, I was convinced she'd enjoy it as she's always climbing on things, and loves bouncing on inflatables. Munchkin's late granny was a gymnastics coach when I was a child, and I think a good way for her to learn more about her grandmother is by doing something that Granny would have liked and helped her with. I was keen for her to do BG affiliated gymnastics as opposed to a pre school physical activity as this is something she can continue when she's older, if she wants to, of course. (BG is British Gymnastics, I think it's the same organisation that was known as BAGA when I was a child.)
Wickers is located on Lancing industrial estate. It's easy to find if you've got the instructions from the website with you, but I left them at home and overshot the entrance! It's a purpose built gymnastics club within one of the industrial units. The club has all the equipment you'd expect such as beam, vault, uneven bars (when did they stop being asymetric?) and a large floor work area. Additionally it has toddler friendly equipment such as a mini trampette and soft play type items. There's currently a trampoline there, but I understand it's going soon. There are also lots of pre school toys to keep small people amused.
The session started with a structured warm up. I was concerned that Munchkin wasn't interested in this, but Emma, one of the coaches advised me that there were always some who joined in and some that didn't. The warm up was followed by free use of the gym equipment. Munchkin's favourite was the trampette, though she tried everything the coaches suggested and they taught me how to support her doing forward and backward rolls.
Gymnastics was definitely a hit, and we'll be going back as soon as we can. Munchkin was the youngest in the class by about a year; I'm trying to encourage some of her friends' parents to give it a go as it would be nice if there were some children closer to her age.
I've been aware of the existence of baby and toddler gymnastics classes since I was pregnant, but this was my first opportunity to find out what it was all about. There are two clubs in the Worthing area, alllowing parents to take their child to a a class every day if they're so inclined! We went to Wickers in Lancing, which takes little ones from "competent walker" onwards. (The other club, Teenie Tigers, takes them from crawling, but only does one under 2s session a week, on a day we can't attend.) Wickers offers 7 sessions a week for Munchkin's age group; we attended one of the Friday morning sessions. The sessions are drop in - the first one's free, then it's £3.70 a time.
There are a number of reasons why I want to get Munchkin involved in gymnastics. First and foremost, I was convinced she'd enjoy it as she's always climbing on things, and loves bouncing on inflatables. Munchkin's late granny was a gymnastics coach when I was a child, and I think a good way for her to learn more about her grandmother is by doing something that Granny would have liked and helped her with. I was keen for her to do BG affiliated gymnastics as opposed to a pre school physical activity as this is something she can continue when she's older, if she wants to, of course. (BG is British Gymnastics, I think it's the same organisation that was known as BAGA when I was a child.)
Wickers is located on Lancing industrial estate. It's easy to find if you've got the instructions from the website with you, but I left them at home and overshot the entrance! It's a purpose built gymnastics club within one of the industrial units. The club has all the equipment you'd expect such as beam, vault, uneven bars (when did they stop being asymetric?) and a large floor work area. Additionally it has toddler friendly equipment such as a mini trampette and soft play type items. There's currently a trampoline there, but I understand it's going soon. There are also lots of pre school toys to keep small people amused.
The session started with a structured warm up. I was concerned that Munchkin wasn't interested in this, but Emma, one of the coaches advised me that there were always some who joined in and some that didn't. The warm up was followed by free use of the gym equipment. Munchkin's favourite was the trampette, though she tried everything the coaches suggested and they taught me how to support her doing forward and backward rolls.
Gymnastics was definitely a hit, and we'll be going back as soon as we can. Munchkin was the youngest in the class by about a year; I'm trying to encourage some of her friends' parents to give it a go as it would be nice if there were some children closer to her age.
Thursday 6 June 2013
Getting Started
I'm nearly 40 (shh... don't tell everyone!) and mummy to a little girl who's currently 17 months old. We live in the village of Angmering in West Sussex. There are four in our family, the other two are Daddy and an ageing siamese cat, who still hasn't recovered from the arrival of a small person!
I used to write pre-baby and want to use this blog to get back in to writing. The main things I'm hoping to blog about are parenting related. This will include details of activities we've done with our little one, who will hereafter be known as "Munchkin", my experiences as a new mum, and anything parenting related that I happen to have an opinion on. My writing style tends to be quite light hearted, so I'll try to keep this as amusing as possible, even if I end up having a rant about something!
I used to write pre-baby and want to use this blog to get back in to writing. The main things I'm hoping to blog about are parenting related. This will include details of activities we've done with our little one, who will hereafter be known as "Munchkin", my experiences as a new mum, and anything parenting related that I happen to have an opinion on. My writing style tends to be quite light hearted, so I'll try to keep this as amusing as possible, even if I end up having a rant about something!
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