Review: Gro-Egg Digital Room Thermometer

To be honest, I'm not as vigilant as I should be when it comes to checking James' room temperature. So when I was offered to test out one of the Gro Company's products, I decided to try the Gro-Egg Digital Room Thermometer. 

If you haven't heard of a Gro-Egg, it's basically a room thermometer and nightlight in one. The light changes colour depending on whether the room is hot, cold or just right. 

We all know that a safe sleeping environment for our little ones is a room temperature of between 16-20 degrees, however this is not always possible. Sometimes it may be colder than this and other times it will be warmer, and knowing what the temperature is at a quick glance allows you to figure out what to dress your bub in for the night. If you're a little unsure you can always check the clothing guide that comes with the Gro-Egg.

The first thing I noticed about the Gro-Egg was the size. For some reason, I had pictured it to be a lot bigger than it was.. not that size matters in this case. In fact, I like that it's small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, making it easy to pack when travelling. 

The light is a little more subtle than your stock standard night light, but it gives out a nice glow. We've been using it in James' nursery for the last week and he loves it. It's been great for us too, just being able to pop our heads in and quickly see the temperature of the room. 

Now I'm keen to get one of the super cute Gro-shells for it..

I'm leaning towards the Owl, which do you like best?

xx

DIY Cake Smash

I couldn't resist doing a cake smash for James' first birthday! I think they are so adorable. I considered getting a professional shoot done but thought it would be more fun (and a lot cheaper) to do it myself. I did it the morning after his birthday party so that we could use his cake for the lolly buffet and "happy birthday" candle blow-out. The morning was a great time to do it as he was happy and full of beans (as opposed to tired and cranky which is what he was like at the end of his party).

I was originally planning to do it outside on the grass but it was raining and miserable so I decided to do it in the corner of the living room. Luckily we've got wooden floorboards so I didn't have to worry about hanging a drop sheet. I kept the props pretty simple with left over balloons from the party, a mulicoloured banner and giant letters. Cute, easy and inexpensive. You could also use other props like streamers, pom poms, chairs, chalkboards etc. Just don't go too overboard!

As I'm not the best baker in the world, I asked my friend to help make this gorgeous butter-cream beehive smash cake for James. I then added a few sugar bees (purchased from eBay) as a finishing touch. Photo-wise, I think it turned out really well. It also tasted amazing! James kept breaking pieces off and trying to give them to me - so I gobbled them up (it would have been rude to say no) and as you can see, James loved it too!




I kept him in the same outfit as his party to keep it consistent, plus I think it's adorable. I thought about making him a little crown - but knowing him, he'd rip it off straight away. I also think overalls would have been cute. A lot of bubs go topless for these shoots but I prefer it when they wear fun outfits (for girls I think tutu's are a must!).




This is definitely a two person job! One to take photos and the other to keep them from crawling off. Having two people also makes it easier to clean up! After the shoot, I cleaned James up (jumped in the shower with me) while Rob put the left over cake away and cleaned the floor.



I'm so happy with how the photos turned out and I think James had a great time digging into that cake. I definitely recommend doing your own cake smash if you've got the time (and a good camera) as they are so much fun!

xx

James' First Birthday

James is officially one today! I still can't believe it - my baby has grown into a little boy!

We had his party on Sunday (mother's day here in Australia) and as you can probably guess we went with a Winnie the Pooh theme. I started planning his birthday months ago haha. It was fun to organise although the day before and the day of were pretty exhausting! I think it was worth it though, as it was a fun afternoon for my little guy and everyone had a great time.

Unfortunately the weather was pretty miserable. We originally planned to have the party inside and outside (as our place is tiny) but squeezing us all inside and away from the rain, didn't end up being as bad as I thought it would be.

I set up my first ever lolly buffet and I'm really happy with how it turned out. As I mentioned earlier I'd love to start a small lolly buffet business, so this was my first step towards doing so. My gorgeous and talented friend Carol made the beehive cookies and smash cake - they looked amazing and tasted even better! We did a smash cake shoot the next day with James which was soo cute! I'll do a separate post on that soon.

I definitely think that James' 1st birthday party was a success. I have to be honest though, it was a lot more stressful than I had imagined a 1 year old's party to be.. but that's probably just my personality! I tend to get stressed about having everything perfect which, let's face it, it never is.. especially when there are babies involved!

xx

2014 in Review and Resolutions for 2015

I always love starting the new year by looking back on the year that was and all the things I want to achieve in the new year.

So let me start by re-capping 2014..

I had a relaxing babymoon at the south coast.

I had an amazing joint Baby-Q (a co-ed baby shower) with my sister.

I started blogging again after giving it up for over a year!



I attended two hen's nights and two weddings (including my brother's surprise wedding!)



My life changed forever when I had my beautiful baby boy. Everyday since I've grown more and more in-love with him. He is the sweetest, funniest little man and I'm so lucky I get to be his mum!



I welcomed my gorgeous niece (and James' first cousin) Isla into the world!



We also got James' baptised, went on trips to Mollymook, Orange, Windsor, Sydney and Port Stephens and attended two baby showers (did I mention my brother is having identical twins?!)



Woah that was one hell of a year! I don't think I'll ever be able to top 2014 - it was incredible!

So what are my resolutions for 2015.. 

1. Buy a house!
Rob and I are looking for a bigger place and hoping to find our dream home soon!

2. Lose the baby weight
I really want to be back to my "normal" size before James turns one.

3. Start a small lolly buffet business
We'll see how James' first birthday practice run goes!

4. Travel overseas as a family
I'd love to go overseas again. We may even go to the UK to visit my family :)

5. Be the best mum and wife I can be
I want to continue putting my energy into raising an active, creative and sweet little boy. I also want to keep making time for date nights and family activities. 

I'd love to hear what your resolutions are for 2015.

xx

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from these dorks!! haha

I hope you all have an amazing day filled with laughter and happiness (and lots of delicious food!) 

xx

Our Trip to Windsor

Last week, we went to Windsor (just outside of Sydney) for a mini-break to celebrate Rob's birthday. We had a great time exploring the town and hanging out with the little man.

Gone are the days of couples massages and fancy candle-lit dinners but we did find time for a little romance. While James slept, we took advantage of our room spa and relaxed with strawberries and champers (mmmm).

We spent the next day playing tennis, shopping in town and going swimming. We stayed at the beautiful Sebel Hawkesbury Resort, which was so handy with a baby as it had all the amenities we needed (including restaurants, a pool, day spa etc). The staff were great too and provided us with a cot, highchair and microwave (to heat up James' solids).

I think we're getting the hang of the whole "travelling with a baby" thing, although the thought of bringing James on a plane terrifies me!

xx

Happy Halloween!

Here in Australia we don't really celebrate Halloween.. but it seems more and more people are dressing up and going trick or treating. So this year I thought to myself.. do I want James growing up being a part of Halloween festivities or not. 

The answer was clearly yes! I mean who doesn't love to get dressed up, eat lollies and watch scary movies? I would have loved to celebrate Halloween when I was a kid!

To start the Halloween tradition, I decided to carve my first pumpkin! It was fun (and so messy!), Rob bought the biggest one he could find (it's almost as big as James haha). I have to say.. I'm pretty impressed with my first efforts carving a pumpkin.. it looks even better when lit up at night. 

I also bought James a Scary Pumpkin costume. How could I resist!? He was, after-all, nicknamed Pumpky when he was growing inside my belly. I'm sure he'll kill me when he's older for dressing him up like this haha (I'll definitely be bringing this one out at his 21st!). 

I can't wait to see what we'll be doing (and wearing) next Halloween!

Do you celebrate Halloween? If so, what did you get up to this year?

xx

Solids - Week 2

This week James tried Green Beans (he's not a fan!) and Carrots which he loved but are sooo messy! I forgot to take pics of him eating them, so he's one of him enjoying pear instead :)

Day 8

11am - Peas

6pm - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Breast milk)

Day 9

11am - Peas

6pm - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Breast milk)

Day 10

11am - Introduce Green Beans + Peas

6pm - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Water)

Day 11

11am - Green Beans + Peas

6pm - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Water)

Day 12

11am - Green Beans + Peas

6pm - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Water)

Day 13

11am - Introduce Carrots + Green Beans

6pm - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Water)

Day 14

11am - Carrots + Peas

6pm - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Water)

xx

Starting Solids - Week 1

So we've bitten the bullet and started James on solids this week. I wasn't sure he was ready, so I  "tested the waters" by giving him a little taste of rice cereal and he LOVED it, he practically bit my hand off when I spoon fed him and cried when I took it away! He's a big boy (7.8kg) so he's got a healthy appetite! Obviously I'm no expert on introducing solids, and there's a lot of different (and conflicting) opinions out there about when and what you give your bubs. But for us, this is what we've started with and it's all going well so far (touch wood).

Day 1

After 11am Feed - Introduced Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Breast milk)

Day 2

After 11am Feed - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Breast milk)

Day 3

After 11am Feed - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Breast milk)

Day 4

11am - Introduced Pear

After 6pm Feed - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Breast milk)

Day 5

After 6pm Feed - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Breast milk)

Day 6

After 6pm Feed - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Breast milk)

Day 7

After 11am Feed - Introduced Peas

After 6pm Feed - Iron-Fortified Rice Cereal (with Pear & Breast milk)

It's exciting being able to introduce him to new foods and see his reaction. I still can't believe he's eating solids already! Naw my little baby's growing up so fast *tear*.

xx

Father's Day

Rob had his very first father's day on Sunday (naaaw). He's such an amazing dad and watching him with James always makes me smile. The above pic is what I made for him along with a few other bits and bobs. We had such a fun day, eating pancakes (nom nom nom) and relaxing by the lake..

I'm thinking of making it a tradition.. pancakes and sunshine, what could be better?

Do you have a father's day tradition?

xx

Why I Use Modern Cloth Nappies + Giveaway Winner

For one thing.. they're so damn cute!!

They're also...

Better for the Environment

This is the main reason why I choose to use Modern Cloth Nappies (MCNs). It makes me feel a little less guilty as I know that around 5 million tons of disposables are deposited into landfills each year. I also don't have to worry about smelly nappies filling up our bin. 

Cheaper

 It cost me about $250-$300 for the initial set-up, but I'd be spending a lot more than that (up to $1500) on disposables in the long run. I can also reuse them for the next bub/s or lend them to family/friends who want to try them out on their little ones. I could even sell them if I wanted to!

Gentle on their skin

Because the nappies are made of natural cotton fibers, their skin can breathe easier which results in less nappy rash (78% of babies in disposables get nappy rash, as opposed to 7% of cloth nappy babies). It also feels nice and soft against their delicate skin and doesn't have any harsh chemicals that can cause allergic reactions. 

Better for Toilet Training

Apparently toddlers can't feel wetness as much in disposables as they can with cloth so it's harder to toilet train them. Obviously this doesn't affect me now, but it's good to know that it's beneficial later on. 

At first, I was a bit skeptical and worried about the...

Laundry

I was anticipating it to be messy and time-consuming, when in reality it's no different than washing their clothes that have spit-up, wee and poop on them (poonami!). I wash them every 2 or 3 days depending how quickly he goes through them. I use the flushable liners (which I either flush or put in the bin along with dirty baby wipes) so there's no need to soak them. Just tip the wet bags upside down into the washing machine, put on 90 degrees with napisan and sensitive detergent and you're done. They come out super clean, I haven't had one stain yet!

Leakage
I was worried that the MCNs would leak all the time, but they don't. Don't get me wrong, they do leak sometimes but that's inevitable.. just like disposables leak.

The only downside of using MCNs for me is..

Travelling
If I can go somewhere that I can wash them, then i'll continue to use them. But sometimes that's not an option so disposables are much more practical.

Carrying them in my Nappy Bag
I only ever leave the house with disposables in my nappy bag because MCNs take up too much space in my bag and I could be using those MCN's as opposed to having them packed away.

Using MCN's 90% of the time and disposables for the other 10% works for me. After trying out a number of different types, I've decided that the Cutie Bum Nappies (above) are my favourite. They're cute, super soft and easy to use (and no this isn't a sponsored post.. I just love these nappies!).

The choice to use disposables or cloth is entirely up to you, but if you're curious about cloth nappies, I say give them a try, they're not as scary as you think!

Also congratulations to Jess of Avant Garde Living who is the winner of my Lush and Victoria Secret Giveaway! Thanks to everyone who entered :)

xx