Becoming Domestic

This is obviously one of every parent’s worst living-nightmares. I can make myself cry just by thinking about this happening.

A fortnight ago I went to meet my ninety four year old Grandma off the train from Weymouth in Bristol Temple Meads train station which is pretty big with thirteen platforms. Prior to our previous rendez-vous in October I had reminded her of the policy for her to stay put if she alighted from the train and I wasn’t there to meet her. This time I had forgotten to reinforce this and due to a mix up of late trains arriving at wrong platforms I was waiting on platform 11 with a pre-booked wheelchair and friendly station staff to push her while she got off the train at platform 8 and wanderered off and out of the train station trying to find me (she actually ended up in a taxi but luckily we fouond her before she whizzed off into rainy Bristol).

It made me think that I hadn’t told my kids recently of my personal preferred procedures to follow if they ever get seperated from us or the people looking after them.

• They are to stand still the minute they realise we are not with them & to know we will be looking for them the minute we realise they are not with us
• They are to shout our name (not ‘Mummy’) as everyone is called mummy.
• I am not embarrased to shout their names loudly the minute they might be lost (very easy when they are small in a shop full of people and rails of clothes). Usually I very quickly hear a ‘Yeah?’ when I call them.
• They are not to go with anyone who tells them they can help find their mummy. They are to say ‘No, I’m not allowed to go anywhere with strangers. My mummy/daddy will find me her.’
• If they see me over the other side of the road they are not to cross but to wait for me to see them. It will help if they shout and wave.
• I do have a couple of wrist bands with my mobile phone number on but since we left London I haven’t used them

I generally am on full red-alert whenever I’m out of the house with my children and constantly ask them to hold the trolley/pram, or my hand and if they aren’t I’m always looking to see where they are and telling them to stay with me as I can’t look after them if they aren’t close. It’s well worth the effort and peace of mind

• Rice flakes
• Millet flakes
• Toasted coconut flakes
• Raisins
• Mixed nuts (brazil, hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts)
• Sunflower seeds
• Pumpkin seeds
• Chopped dried apricots
• Chopped dried dates

Mix together & enjoy with milk!

I am six weeks into using the washable nappies we were given for our new baby. I do love using them as they give me a really high sense of satisfaction - especially when reloading the wicker basket with a pleasing pile of freshly laundered OneLife nappies and fluffy pink washable fleece bottom wipes. I don’t find the extra laundry a problem. I hardly notice it as I always have a number of white things needing washing most days anyway as the baby is a fairly sicky one.

If for some reason I do get through the 16 or so shaped nappies without getting them washed and dried I do have a number of ‘emergency nappies’ ready to go as well as my trusty OneLife nappies - these consist of a pile of terry squares (small but I wish I’d bought the larger size) and a whole load of all-in-one nappies which are a fine fit for the baby but harder to launder/dry with all their layers of padding and creases where yucky stuff can stay unoticed by the washing machine.

The only trouble is that I’m not so sure about how one gets through the night without a sodden baby by morning time without having to wake up and change them halfway through the night… I do add a booster but this seems to make very little difference. If my tiny bladdered baby is always soaking by morning time how on earth do green parents of bigger babies manage?

As it is much nicer snuggling up to a dry baby than a wet one in the morning I’ve recently started experimented with putting the babe in a little disposable nappy as I dress her for bed from the packet we bought to take to hospital when she was born.. The morning wetness with the washable nappies doesn’t seem to bother her but as she is in my bed lying on my sheets it does bother me!

[This post is for the girls…Blokes - look away now as not much here in this post for you other than persuading your women to use these two fabulous new products]

The Mooncup Menstrual Cup - An Innovative Alternative to Tampons

I can’t remember how I discovered the Mooncup I think it was reading a post on the ever-wonderful www.mumsnet.com/Talk/ forum. An environmentally friendly way of dealing with monthly menstrual periods which happy users were saying were better (cleaner, needing to be changed less frequently and more comfortable to wear) than any of the disposable sanitary protection products on the market? It sounded too good to be true so I read up on the manufacturer’s website and very shortly afterwards bought one (for about £15 I think).

The claims were absolutely spot on. One small silicon egg-cup shaped product is used in place of a tampon and collects the fluid. The fluid is then tipped away down the toilet and the Mooncup resinserted. It can be washed in water and between periods it has its own discreet little unbleached cotton bag with pretty pink ribbon to store in. No more shelves of bulky sanitary protection or being bamboozled by the bewildering array of choice in the ‘feminine hygiene’ aisle at the supermarket. No more spending good money on disposables products which clog up landfill every month of your reproductive years (how much does that add up to?!) Read the rest of this entry »