Cuddly cashmere...

Ida wearing the jumper Sam wore yesterday

Yesterday was the little ones Christmas Party (Anna and I met at NCT and we've remained friends with the group ever since) and we all put on our glad rags to go and play at Italian Stallions house!

Now all the little ones looked especially dashing in their party clothes, the show was stolen by Anna's youngest naughty, SamSam.

Sam turned up, with his light blonde hair glistening in the winter sunshine tousled by the windy journey from the car to the door. A big smile on his face and draped in silver cashmere!

He was wearing one of Yarmood's children's jumpers (I want an adult sized one and one for DangerBaby) and he looked like he'd just stepped out of a fashion shoot.

Now I didn't have my camera to hand (eeek!) but you'll have to use your imagination!

A younger shot of Sam in his jumper

The soft roll neckline and cuffs of these jumpers mean that the jumper is free to move with the child in a way that is sympathetic to them. Hence creating the effect usually only seen on fashion shoots and in movies. The soft cashmere was keeping him warm (too warm for the very well heated house, so the jumper soon came off) and the design of the jumper made SamSam look very dashing indeed.

Now I've seen Ida & Sam wear the jumper over the past 2 (nearly 3 years) and it still looks as good as it did when I saw them wear it for the very first time!

So for a stylish, practical gift that lasts; a cashmere baby jumper is a perfect gift to open on a cold and crispy Christmas morning.

Cashmere jumpers are available here

www.unikgifts.co.uk 

(Sam is wearing silver, but as a baby he's wearing linen. The otter colour is the same colour of warm fudge)

Wordless Wednesday: Baby Chic

unikgifts.co.uk

Monday Mentor...Sure Start Centres!

Today's Monday Mentor is a lifeline for many parents; Sure Start Centres!

These centres provide classes and support to parents and children alike. My local centre has organised first aid classes (aimed at teaching parents a little about first aid for children rather than first aid of adults), computer classes, sewing classes, fitness classes that are Mummy and Baby friendly, and a whole host of toddler mornings / afternoons.

Sure Start centres are run by people who understand how life changing having a baby is. All of their activities are baby friendly; or at least have a crèche where baby can play happily while Mummy or Daddy concentrates on her class.

Sure Start centres not only provide events & classes for parents and their little ones they also provide services such as toy libraries, equipment hire, and a chance for people to gain a qualification such as GNVQ English or basic computer course. A much needed and helpful resource for parents who need to retrain or refresh their post baby CVs for going back to work after the maternity break.

The staff at the centre are friendly and approachable, so find your local Sure Start centre and see what they can offer you!

http://childrenscentresfinder.direct.gov.uk/childrenscentresfinder/

Wordless Wednesday

National Breastfeeding Week

Our Shuktara blankets make the perfect modesty cover for breast feeding Mums 

& makes a lovely blanket for baby as well!

Wordless Wednesday... SMILE

  

Danger baby, The Naughty and SamSam (aka Big boy bump) make us all smile on this grey Wednesday.

Welcome to the World Joseph

Welcome to the world, my friend,
 

You’re in for quite a treat.


There are lots of people that love you here,


And there are more for you to meet!

It is a giant world out there,


But you will find your place,


And I hope that you will live your life,


With love and kindness and grace.

But all that is for another day,


So you just sleep all curled,


For now, just know that you are safe,


And welcome to the world.

by Andra Mccoy

For baby Joseph Stanley James Whitfield. Born 25th March 2012 at 7.10am, 8lb 15oz

You handsome little sausage...

We can't wait to meet you!

Well done  new Mummy and Daddy

X

The little dress for everyday

Yesterday’s blog was all about Ida’s party dress. Today’s blog is about Dangerbaby and what mischief she got up to in her pretty Annafie dress.

Dangerbaby made her play day in the garden all the more special with her Liberty dress.

She opted to wear her’s like every pretty dress should be worn with pumps and t-shirt while she played in the garden.

Haven’t we all worn our posh dresses to puddle jump or play in? If you weren’t allowed to, try it today. Wearing your pretty frock or special shoes to do everyday things makes you feel very special. Doing those simple things with a special item makes your smile in a very BIG way. After all who hasn't wanted to wear thier princess dress or spiderman outfit to school at some ocassion?

Dangerbaby's day went a little like this.

Dangerbaby had a tea part in her dress with her Teddies. They talked about who would be in charge of  watering the garden that day and whether the pink or yellow pot was best for making tea in.

She zoomed up and down the slide with bunny bunny and teddy stopping only so Mummy could snap a picture of all the fun.

When slide zooming was complete she had a quiet chat with her favourite companion, Bunny Bunny about how best she could improve her sliding technique tomorrow.

And at the end of a very busy day she had her milk with bunny bunny and thought about getting ready for bed while snuggled up under her favourite Shuktara blanket.

Dangerbaby made her special day of garden games all the more special as she wore her liberty dress.

All Annafie dresses are  hand smocked making them perfect for every little girls body shape. They all follow a traditional design and are perfect for today's little girls. Either worn like Ida and Kathryn's or worn with wellies to puddle jump in. For pre-walkers and tom-boy’s, Annafie will even make a romper style in one of the pretty floral fabrics to make it easier for crawling around. 

We hope you find your perfect dress like our girls have. 
When the rain stops we may even put on our pretty dresses and find afew big puddles to jump in!

http://www.unikgifts.co.uk/clothing/clothing_annafie.php

Cashmere- LOVE IT & WEAR IT…and WASH IT so you can WEAR IT again!

Cashmere thrives with love and care. Just like a baby! And such a lovely thought...as I had always thought cashmere was a fragile difficult fibre.

 I have been incredibly spoilt. I didn’t own a piece of cashmere until I worked at egg, my last place of employment.  I always thought before egg, it was a fibre/material that should be looked at and not touched, or kept in your wardrobe for special occasions. Only that occasion never arouse so it would sit there and never be worn.  Or was simply worn by rich ladies as twin sets with pearls. How wrong was I!!

Whilst working at egg I was given an a few amazing cashmere pieces. One that I will always treasure is a navy blue sweater by Sine of Yarmood that I wear as I type. To simple describe it …it feels like home.

I have worked with Sine for many years and have grown to love her pieces slowly over time. Not because they weren't beautiful but because I was always a little scared of the peices. I was at first too frightened to wear a piece of her gorgeous cashmere. I now am never out of my lovely jumper! Once had had a peice on it was never coming off! It’s perfect for sleeping in as it’s super soft and breathable. It has no ego and simply is what it is. Beautiful and sublime.

Nest of hats-  newborn, 3-6 months, 6-12 months

Sine is a master of her craft. After the birth of her twin daughters, Francesca and Sicily, many moons ago, Sine set to work teaching herself how to machine knit after being unsatisfied with the cashmere baby products available. She knitted simple pieces to ensure ease when dressing her twins and items that can be easily worn by both little boys and girls.

Sine’s mathematical approach to knitting means that each piece must work out and balance proportionally to be able to pass the Sine test aesthetically. If the sums do not work out or feel unbalanced a whole piece is changed to “balance” the mathematics behind it!

Samson in his Yarmood jumper

The result is an understated, unpretentious, precious pieces that can be treasured for life. Cashmere is one of the few materials that grow softer and more beautiful with age.  The Yarmood cashmere pieces when worn give warmth and protection. Perfect for our little ones.

Ida & Sam in Yarmood sweaters 

We’ve been lucky enough to have Yarmood join our family of makers. And even luckier now that we have Yarmood baby versions of my lovely jumper. 






Samson is especially lucky to have a little jumper of his own to match Mummies! We have Jumpers that will be worn with love, we'll love wearing, they'll protect us from the cold and last forever and ever. Mummy just needs to make sure she puts them on the right temperature in the washing machine!

Simply beautiful!

Lucky us x


Thank you Yarmood for creating such wonderful pieces!
Read my little story about "MY" cashmere here. 

Indoor games for outdoor babies

Baby in a 'tent'

Dens

Probably the most obvious game we can play and as you know our Shuktara blanket comes into it's own for making dens. The light dapples through the patchworked colours making lovely dark and light contrasts that you can spot through the patterns. We LOVE the way it drapes, better than any synthetic parachute that we've played with at toddler groups.

Hide and Seek

A firm favourite as long as Kathryn is the one to hide, although don't take too long finding her as 'chase me' is also a good game as you run back to your hiding place. A quick dash around the side of the larder or open door, a little face peeking around at you for the 'peekaboo!'. So much giggling...

Make a rainbow

Colour me beautiful?!

Out comes the art mat, a plain canvass mat that's waterproof on one side and an empty canvass on the other. It's time to put Mummy's art supplies to good use... I can recommend pastels for those under 2, as long as you don't mind the mess. We mixed colours on the paper with our hands and then looked at our hands to see the result! Such a pretty mixture of colours, our own private rainbows.

Baking

Well, mixing cornflour and water together. If you get it just right then you have a watery paste that will pour but will not be pushed. Drop a few pieces of food dye on to it and watch the colours swirl. Try to mix it together and it crumbles?! A hard one for an adult to understand and magic to the baby.

Bubbles

Washing up has never been so fun! A sink full of bubbles, a saucepan that needs cleaning... around and around with the bubbly brimful of soap suds. Messy work, as both Mummy and baby will be damp but the washing up gets done.

Egg hole can also be peeked through

What noise does this make?

Our knitted friends and breakfast boards have come in to their own. Into a box they go, baby picks one out and Mummy says 'It's a bunny, bunny goes hop hop!' or “It's a chicken, chicken's go cluck cluck”. The knitted animals are soft to the touch and usually come out of the box first but Kathryn loves to peek through the 'eye' on the breakfast board and tries to say 'Meow' with me.

Twist vs Pull

A collection of old bottles washed clean and ready for recycling are all that's needed for this game. Some twist but some pull, which is it? Try them both and watch the squeals of delight when the top finally comes off... 'POP' shout Mummy and baby when the cap is finally released. Same game in reverse to put the top back on (Twist or Push!).

Slow boat to China

Is your Summer holiday suitcase still waiting to be put away? Well for someone small it can become a boat to an adventure. Quick put in some T-Shirts and other essentials (anything baby wants to put in) and climb on in. Most suitcases can be pushed forwards and backwards like they're on a rocky sea. Don't forget to sing those sea shanties... “A sailor went to sea, sea, sea to see what he could see see see but all that he could see see see was the bottom of the deep blue sea sea sea”.

Enjoy your time indoors!

[Turns out DangerBaby is not allergic to the garden – YAY! We've picked up a virus that's currently spreading around Surrey; similar to baby hand foot and mouth but not the same virus. http://www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/health/handfootmouth/ 

Thank you to all the Mummies that contacted us with helpful information and support. Very very appreciated]

It shouldn't happen to a Mummy

What a week it's been! Really it shouldn't happen to a Mummy... first my little one starts to suffer from separation anxiety and will not go to bed. She wants to sleep on Mummy, or be touching Mummy or have Mummy cuddles. I'm hoping it's a phase, as neither of us is getting much sleep. If she wakes in the night then she really needs Mummy and we both doze from 3.30am to 7.30am when it's up time.

So what? A little sleep deprivation is something parents are used to. What's so tough about that? Well it was the second thing to happen that has really hit us hard. This was an allergy (we think*). A severe reaction to something that has caused huge painful blisters to appear on the soles of baby's feet and all over her hands. Blisters on her knees and small sore red marks on her bottom. They started as a small rash and grew into big painful fluid filled blisters... they were so bad she couldn't walk or pick up anything.

Now I don't suffer from any allergies and couldn't understand what was causing the blisters at first – it looks like she's walked in acid or on hot coals and burnt herself.** I've racked my brain for anywhere we've been where she could have come in contact with something awful. There's only one new thing in our lives – horse chestnuts.

Old photo of the horse chestnut covered back garden

In the area of Surrey where I live we are surrounded by huge mature horse chestnut trees and we're having a fantastic harvest this year. The chestnuts are ripe, loving this hot weather and are coming down like hailstones (big, fast dangerous to be under the tree type hailstones). If you want chestnuts for roasting on an open fire, then I'm your gal – we have boxes and boxes full already. It really is a good year for them. I have two huge mature trees in my garden, so our lawn is a carpet of “ow-er ow-ers” as we've called them to let baby know they are prickly. They fall as soon as you pick them up, so I'm constantly hoovering them out of our way with the lawn mower.

5mins of collecting!

So with this recent discovery of Kathryn's reaction to horse chestnuts & their casings this means the back garden is now out of bounds. For my little nature girl this is torture; she can see the garden from our lounge and has quickly learnt to say 'door'. Heart breaking as I want to go outside and play in this lovely October sunshine as well.

But we've found some indoor games for outdoor people and we'll share them on tomorrow's blog!

*I'll let you know about if these are the cause of the blisters once we've taken her to the nearby allergy centre.

**Blisters improved with a day at the seaside playing in the salt water, we've been using bicarbonate of soda in her evening bath and calamine lotion to help calm the red sores.