My Little Box | August & September

Oops, I've been a bad blogger - time is flying by, and before I knew it, the September My Little Box had landed on my lap before I'd even reviewed the August one!  So, I'm going to do an all-in-one post where I'll share what is in both of them and what I thought :)

My Little Gypset Box (August)

Probably the most contraversial of the boxes, I saw quite a few negative reviews of this one.  I'm a bit more mixed about it.  I didn't hate it, but it also was my least favourite, I'll explain why.  Whether it's right or not, I really don't like So Susan products - I see them cropping up in beauty boxes but nowhere else.  Because of that, the perception I have of them is as a beauty box filler.  There was also a bronzer which I actually do like, it's quite natural toned which should be good for us pale ones :) Loved the inclusion of the Korres Body Milk, I'm a bit of a sucker for them! They also included some hairbands/bracelets - I actually really liked these, I haven't used them as either yet, but they're in my bag ready for my next hair emergency!

Last but not least, the bohemian bag by Antik Batik - personally, I'm not a massive fan of this, I don't love the design.  However, I have found a use for it.  It's hanging on the banister of my stairs (looking quite pretty, dangling there), and inside are My Little Box products that are waiting to be used!

My Little Fashion Box (September)

This is the September box, the 'My Little Fashion Box' box, and what a lovely box it is!  Inside is a beautiful scarf and goodies from La Roche Posay, Kerastase, My Little Beauty and  and alfa.k nail art decals.  As you probably know, every box is themed, and this one is perfect for keeping yourself pristine when you're out and about - so hair, skin and lips, and of course, a fabulous scarf (it's super soft too!).

Each box costs £14.95 (including P&P) which you can sign up for here.

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5 things I'll do differently next time

With Squidge now being a year old, I find myself reflecting a lot on how his first year was, not just for him, but for us.  And what his first days and weeks were as a newborn (gosh I miss those days!). 

It’s no secret that we’re dying to start trying for baby #2, and will be fairly soon, and if and when we manage to have another baby, there’s a few things I’d do differently.

Make more effort to breastfeed

Squidge just didn’t take to it, he screamed and screamed and screamed and I cried because he was screaming.  It just didn’t happen.  I’d try every day, but to no avail.  Just hearing him cry/scream was super stressful – we’d never had a baby before and the last thing you want to hear is your baby crying.  Well, I’m a bit more accustomed to it now and feel more confident dealing with a crying baby.  So for baby #2, I would definitely try on many more occasions to get them to breastfeed (assuming they struggle in the same way Squidge did), instead of a couple times a day, I'd make sure I try and every single feed.  On reflection, I could have made more effort with this with Squidge, and should have.

Wear them more

I’m a big fan of baby wearing and we still put Squidge in a sling fairly regularly.  He likes it and we love it.  Something I didn’t really do though was to wear Squidge around the house when he was a newborn because at that stage we didn’t have a sling.  We didn’t buy one until he was about 2 months old.  Well, for baby #2 I’ll be wearing them from the first few days for the extra bonding and closeness.

Baby led weaning (BLW)

We haven't quite managed it with Squidge, we've done a bit of a combined approach; spoon feeding him purée's and giving him finger food to feed himself.  But with the next baby, I'd love to really give baby led weaning a proper go from day one, and ideally wait until they're 6 months old.  With Squidge we started weaning him at 17 weeks as that's when he seemed ready, but I would like to try and hold out for him to be more developed and able to feed himself for BLW to be a success.  Aside to this, I'd also like to try and refrain from giving them any jar food, and make the effort to give them only homemade food.  At the moment, most of Squidge's food is homemade (poached salmon with veg etc), but I still rely on jars when I'm out and about or if he's being fussy.

Get a co-sleeper

We moved Squidge into his own room earlier than planned as his Daddy got the flu when he was about 3.5 months old and it was keeping both of us awake.  I made the decision to move Squidge to his own room so he could sleep a bit better and it went really well, but oh my god did we miss having him in our room, waking up and seeing his smiling little face.  Next time I'll get a ridid co-sleeper to keep next to the bed that'll sleep them for up to 6 months.

Print, file and frame photos

Something we haven't really done is print photo's of Squidge.  I really want for him to have his own photo album to look back at when he's older.  Until mine was lost, I loved being able to go and look at all my old baby photo's; I'm not sure any exist of me any more :(  If not a photo album, they maybe something like project life - I know it all takes effort, but it's still something I'd love to make the effort to do.  Also, just as a little extra, I'd definitely get Milestone Cards, I think it's lovely being able to glance back and see them at these little milestones.

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The ups and downs of being an online mummy

Being an online mummy is wonderful for many reasons.  I don’t mean blogging, but just online in general, you know, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.  I love how I can stay connected to my family who are spread all over the world, and friends that are local, and ones that have moved away.  It’s great for them to be able to see Squidge grow up, while being physically absent from our lives.

Facebook has been a fantastic way for me to keep in touch with my family, most of which live in different countries to me (Irealnd, Spain, France etc).  I’ve been able to share my ups (having Squidge, getting married, our first home etc) and my downs (losing my mum, brother and other bits and bobs), we’ve mourned together and been happy together.

I’m a very open person, I wear my heart on my sleeve, and that’s something I’ve always prided myself on.  You get what you see and I’ll tell it like it is.  Being a mummy isn’t all sunshine and lollipops, sometimes days are pretty rubbish, you’ll be completely exhausted from lack of sleep, your baby will be a Mr fussy pants, completely unhappy, and you won’t have the energy to deal with it.  Well, I talk about those days as much as I do the super happy awesome ones, because it’s real…

But it’s gotten to the stage where I have to be really careful what I write, otherwise I start noticing passive aggressive status’s from friends about moaning mummies.  Yes I don’t want to offend anyone, but I’m also not going to sugar-coat reality for anyone either.

I know people go through really tough times, parents have lost children (horrific), whether born sleeping, or later on – both completely awful, I honestly can’t imagine just how awful that is.  But does that mean I shouldn’t say ‘Oh my gosh I’m so tired today, Squidge was awake all night’ in case I upset anyone because they don’t have their baby & I should be more grateful I have mine?  Well, I am grateful I have a baby, every single day of my life and moment that I exist with every shred of my being.  I know all too well about loss (mother’s day posts aren’t exactly a picnic for me, but I’d never expect people not to share about it), and about how scary it was when Squidge was born and didn’t cry or breathe, he had to be resuscitated. 

I say lets just tell it how it is, we can’t all walk on eggshells for living in permanent fear of offending someone, on the off-chance they actually see that Facebook post or tweet.

What’s your thoughts on being an online mummy, and censoring what we say for others?

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