Bethany Update - Month 19

We go from walking to now running, we go from cheeky to mischief, forget turning my back to do anything while she's awake ever again!

This month was discovering the new freedom she had with being mobile. Trying to keep her in her pushchair is now proving a huge challenge, so I have dug out the reins we got given for Christmas. Her first trip with them was along our local road after some rain. She has never seen puddles before and was soon jumping up and down in the muddy puddles and covering herself. She was soon covered in mud and water but had the biggest grin on her face.

Beth has (at the last count) 4 molars breaking through with two more of her front teeth starting to show. One minute she'll be fine and the next crying in pain, her appetite also goes up and down. We have temporarily give some extra milk if she hasn't eaten much as well as some softer foods so it doesn't cause her too much distress. I also am bulking buying teething powder!

Her babbling is becoming less babble and is now starting to mimic when I talk, which is really exciting. There are words trying to emerge and is proving to be a bit of a chatter box, nattering away to random people. I love the way people just talk to her back!



Lunch with Doggie

As you can see there is a lot of boxes in the background in a few pictures. We have brought a house and just weeks away from completion. We are off to South Yorkshire!

Bethany's Ezcema Dianosis

A few months ago, Beth wouldn't settle to sleep, she was quietly crying for attention. In the end we gave her a cuddle, a clean nappy and she fell asleep soon after. It wasn't until the next morning as I did her morning change that I noticed something very seriously wrong. She had been awake scratching her bum red raw which had bled.

I used some protective cream as it had healed over and kept an eye on it every change. Then a few nights later I woke at 3am to the sound of rustling and scratching, I grab her straight out of bed to find that she had scratched all the scabs off for it to start bleeding again.

We departed for the doctors the next day, who had given us an instant appointment after a triage phone call. The doctor took one look and instantly said that it was infected, not only that that she had been scratching in other places and that the main cause was eczema.

I was so upset, how did not notice this? I felt such a bad mother that my poor little girl had been suffering and I did not know. It has been inherited from both Hubby and I as we are both hay fever suffers (I then found out it is in our families too), and I felt even worse. The heat wave has added to her misery.

We finished a week long course of steroid and antibiotic creams to heal her as well as 3 times a day of cream (Cetraban) to keep her skin from any more break outs. We've been told for now that we have to cut out all soaps like bubble baths (which she loves) and using any to wash her skin (I do use a tiny amount of hair shampoo as she likes to rub food etc. in there!).

I am a Star

A few months I wrote that I was nominated for an award for the volunteer work I do with the NCT, well I found out Sunday that I won! (Inserts cheesy photo with certificate).

"Helen is doing great work in promoting the branch locally. She deals with all parents’ membership enquiries and also manages the branch’s social media presence. She makes sure everything on Facebook is up to date and regularly posts relevant articles and starts general discussion threads aimed at engaging parents. She has also set up and run live Twitter chats and we have many more followers and Facebook visitors. Helen also volunteers at Nearly New Sales and has made a huge contribution to making the branch reach more parents."

It was and still is a huge shock, to me I don't do a lot and anybody else would do the same. I just want to be a support to parents and makes friends myself. This now means I go into the national nominations announced on 20th October at House of Lords. I had enough problems worrying about my outfit for an regional training session, this goes out of the stratosphere!

A huge thank you to Katie, Jodie, and Tessa (with Jenni, Henry and Charlie) who came along too and made our district the noisiest ones there! All 4 other nominations for the team got High Commended in their categories and this was us receiving the one for Helen D, our hard working branch coordinator. Such a wonderful day and a great reminder of the hard work that everyone puts in for the charity.

Bethany Update - Month 18

I spent many months wondering when Beth was going to walk and leave crawling behind, I'm glad to say we are finally there. A week after my last update she started to gain her confidence walking and over the next few weeks her crawling got less to nothing. There is a another side to this as one day chasing her I slammed into out chair and fractured my little toe chasing her to stop before SHE hurt herself. This now is added to the fractured nose I got over Christmas last year when she hit me with the TV remote.

I had her weighed recently and she is still a petite 16lbs 5ozs (she still can wear some of her 6 - 9 month clothing!) but I think that may change as she of seemed of got her appetite back. She will eat her food and then hand over the plate seemingly asking for more (or sniff round anyone else's food). Peas are still the favourites but don't mix them with anything else or she'll know and dribble it out.

Beth loves being outdoors now she can explore, pointing to things, feeling them and seeing what they do. It's a wonderful but tiring development, especially if she's going for a walk round. It's a still a wonderful thing to see, dogs are her favourites or "daw" as she calls them. We went for a tea once in a cafe and I was wondering why she was going nuts and pointing outside. There was 5 dogs having a rest and she wanted to met them all, give them a stroke.

Much to my joy she also seems to of taken a liking to anything on four wheels. put out a trike and she's in heaven. Of course she's starting to get the hang of real cars, at this rate she'll be driving before me....

Calendula Nappy Change Cream Review

Another product that is 30 years young, it seems to be the case as I get a little older that I seem to back to products that have been on the market for a long time. I am big supprter of Weleda and have used their products on myself and on Beth. I was sent this as part of their 30 year celebrations and the timing was perfect.

Nappy rash affects us at some point during our childs lifetime, midwife and baby skincare expert Sharon Trotter says, "Nappy rash is quite common in babies, but it's usually mild and clears up without prescription creams. When the skin in the nappy area comes into contact with poo and wee it can become inflamed, and that's when babies may develop nappy rash."

Nappy appears as  sensitive red patches of skin on bottom, gentials and inner theighs. It can also have spots and shiney, raised red areas. Treatment is keeping the area clean (regular nappy chagning as well as using clean hands to stop bateria transfer), dry (patting dry skin after cleaning as well as some nappy free time), and of course using the right protective barrier on the skin.

We have been using this on Beth since the arrival (as her White Mallow version has finsihed), and I prefer it to the senstive skin version. This has the calendula and camomile extracts that help with healing while having a pleasent, delicate scent. The healing time was within a day for any rashes and I still use it on her ezcema skin as a protective barrier between using antibiotic cream (poor things been poorly with skin infections including her bum), with no effects.

You can purchase this from Boots etc Currently through the Weleda website it has £2 off at £4.95

Bethany Update - Months 16/17

I have been paranoid the past few months about Beth's walking, talking, well development generally. It feels like we take one step forward and a few steps back. She started getting more confident in walking and then for about two weeks she refused to do it (even for chocolate!). Today as I write this we went to my friend's Christening and she wanted to walk the whole day amongst the trees and grass, to then go on to walked the length of our flat back and forth for nearly an hour.

I do wonder that the walking hiatus is because she wanted to concentrate on her talking, her know words are much more clearer like Mama, Dada, Nana and No. She has also been trying newer words but they are not quite developed yet. I can see her frustration at me not understanding her and this can be upsetting for us, this can cause times where I cannot cope with her.

Another milestone was reached as I finally got her haircut for the first time so she could see through her fringe. She was the perfect little girl, didn't even flinch, a very proud Mummy.

It has not helped that we both been ill again, Hubby and I contracted norovirus the beginning of June and I have been suffering another cold (I think we are up to number 4?) after Beth had it for a week. If it's going round, at least one of use while come down with it.

We did have a rest bite from illness and went to Weymouth for her first walk on the sand thanks to my parents. Weymouth was where I used to go for my seaside holiday every year with my parents and they wanted to carry it on with Beth. I think she had a good time, played in the sand (without eating it), as well as wanting to walk round Monkey World. It was a welcome break to see my old haunts.

 

So what's your excuse this time?

Yes I know another hiatus from the blogging world, not planned but it has gone that way. Time has just ran away from me, I've even taken a step back from social media for a while too. Sometimes you need to take a step back and sort your life out so you can be happy in your own space. Then decided that the space we live in we are no longer happy with.

 

For those who are new to my blog, I currently live with my in-laws after selling our house to keep afloat after knee injury and then getting pregnant with Bethany. We live in an annex attached to the main house with one bedroom, we are now quickly out growing this now Bethany is an inquistive toddler. However after reviewing where we live we cannot afford to stay where we are, I was deeply upset as this meant moving away from both our families who Beth sees on a weekly basis.

 

We picked an area that our family knew and went to look and do some research. The past few weekends have spent driving up 4 hours to Manchester/Leeds area to look around. We found that not only could we afford to live there, but with the kind of property we wanted. I am very mixed about it all at the moment, on one side it will be sad to leave my hometown but we would be in a house and start to settle into a family home rather than living from boxes.

 

My life currently consistent of sleep, look after Beth, and researching areas and houses. Tonight, with Hubby away looking at houses while I stayed for a friends Christening, is the first time I can sit down get time to blog away.

 

What does this mean? Changes again to my family and I need to clean out a flat of all the stuff I've been too idle to clean out! It also gives me something more to write about rather than, "I sat around in my PJ's and watched NowTV".

Shortlisted for NCT Stars Award

I have been volunteering for NCT for over a year now, and am about to be voted in for another year. It's been an interesting year, I started just for something to do to stop myself being brain washed by CBeebies and use the skills I already had in customer service. The branch was needing new blood and new thinking, I was shocked to find that in this day of age, social media wasn't being ultilised to communicate not only with their members and the community.

A few months after my introduction I took over their social media pages and am very proud of the growth they've experianced over the past year. I still get chills when I read the stats, all those, "Are you on our Facebook?" questions has been worth it. I haven't done it alone, the team have stepped up and chipped in their ideas and posts when I haven't been able to and they've done a better job than me in some circumstances.

Beth this week has had another bad cold, keeping me up until silly times in the morning. Friday was no exception, I crawled into bed at 8am and woke at 11am to find an email in my inbox annouching the short list for NCT Star Awards for the South region. The awards are acknowledgment to the volunteers and am nominated by your colleages and parents who we help. As a district we had 5 nominations, the highest other than one other district nationally, some amazing hard working people in there.

Imagine my surprise to see my name appear towards the bottom.

I have never, ever been shortlisted for any award ever, and it's even better it's for something that I really love doing and feel like I am giving support to people who felt just as lost as I do/did as a parent. The results are on 12th July at the end of a training day, with the winners going to the national awards. I am also shortlisted with another blogger who works for the Aylesbury district, Cassanda from Mummy on a Budget so if I don't win, then it would be nice to see her win it.

I do want to thank people for my nominations, it really does mean a huge amount, a lot of people forget that we volunteer our free time to make sure that their playgroups and Nearly New Sales happen. The amount of work that goes on behind that scenes is significant but we do have a huge laugh doing it and the team we have is just amazing.

Mental Health Awareness Week; Mindfulness

This year's theme is Mindfulness, which is perfect timing as I have just started exploring this after reading Ruby Wax's book on the subject called Sane New World. Mindfulness just you to focus on the here and now using breathing techniques and meditation. Stop pulling that face, it's not a "new age" thing.

Mindfulness is not about clearing the mind, it helps people observe the way they think and feel about their experiences, whether good or bad. This can really change the way you manage and react to stressful situations, giving you a valuable tool to stay mentally healthy, and an ever-expanding body of evidence shows that it really works.

For me who suffers with anxiety and worry, it makes me acknowledge that I can experience these things and its normal for me. Once I labelled the emotion and the physical attributes it made it feel smaller.There are different versions, but the most common and most useful I've found is RAIN:

Recognize what is going on;
Allow the experience to be there, just as it is;
Investigate with kindness;
Natural awareness, which comes from not identifying
with the experience.

Mental Health Foundation is promoting a four week course with Be Mindful and most importantly it's free.They want to be able to introduce this as part of the range of therapies offered currently as it has been proved to be successful and will hopefully help people awaiting treatment.

For me, it has already helped more than CBT as I'm not going over past events which can make me feel more anxious. I find it's more soothing and I come out of it refreshed. I do as little or as much as I want, I also use Buddify app from Google Play (£1.99) which provides guided medications for different situations. It has been a revelation to my mental health.

Bethany Update - Month 15

 We have had our first, unsteady little steps on our 15 month birthday. She stepped away from Hubby and did a few steps towards me, we made a huge fuss and chocolate buttons were rewarded. For the next half an hour all she wanted to do was take a few steps between us, getting to the point she was turning herself around to go again. Beth slept very well that night.

 Before this we conquered the stairs that lead to our flat, we decided one night just to see if she could as she doesn't often encounter stairs. A few steady steps later and it was like she has been doing them for months. 

 To me, it seems that this month she's grown into her toddler self and lost the last of her "baby" features. She's also got taller, where she couldn't reach the second shelf of our unit last month, this month she can clear the shelf of DVD's. Beth is still a petite little girl, only just finally fitting into her 9-12 month trousers and tops. I did get her measured for some shoes but she's so petite that she just sneaks into infant shoes and has been recommended to wait a bit longer (Note: How expensive are children's shoes?! My mum said they only last a few months too!). 

We still go to our playgroups, NCT on Monday which I help run and two during the week. Her independence is starting to come through she is happy to go and play with other children, we have had a few bullying problems but working with the Mum's we are working it out and harmony is starting to happen. Her favourite play things at the moment is pretend toys like tea set, an old mobile phone, and a teething necklace. I have an kitchen set hidden away that I cannot wait to get out for her as I think she'll love it.

Her talking is coming on, the babbling is turning more in words, granted I don't know what most of them mean, but you can tell that she wanting to talk more. She loves sitting in her buggy, waving and chatting away to everyone. She'll give toys, books or food to people after passing her initial shyness, she's warm, joyful and I really don't want her to lose that.

 

Apologies for the lateness of this post, please refer to Colds, Conjunctivitis and Ear Infections

Colds, Conjunctivitis and Ear Infections

This time last month, I had a tickle throat, thought nothing of it as it was hay fever season for me. It's part of the allergy for me, so I carried on. The next day it's developed into a cold, no problem I feel a bit rough for a few days and battle through. I really wish I knew what I knew now.

Hubby fell ill within 12 hours of my symptoms starting, we were fighting over the tissues as well as the cold. A few days came and went, we both still sniffling and getting worse. I waited to let it ride it's course until I woke up one morning with a crusted up eye and ear ache, got an emergency doctors appointment which then they took one look and said that conjunctivitis and ear infection. I was given eye drops and an ear spray to use for a week.

A week I did, the eye was better within days, but the ear got worse. As I now battling an infection, the cold hanged around so I was still blowing my nose still. One night my ear went pop, which is not unusual with a ear infection. A few days later I woke deaf on my left side with a swollen face and still not feeling any better. 

Back to the doctors to be told that I had burst my ear drum and the medication I had been given had spread the infection around my head. A course of antibiotics for a week cleared the infection but my hearing took weeks to return, the final part of the ringing finally went over a week ago.

During this time we had Easter, our wedding anniversary, my birthday and my husband's birthday which was quiet affairs as we both very ill (my husband was later diagnosed with a chest infection and has just finished his course of antibiotics). We took it in turns to rest and look after Bethany, we were constantly drained for our infections and medication. Bethany had sniffles for a few days and was fine the rest of the time, none of this touched her as bad as both of us (thankfully).

It wasn't all doom and gloom, we tried to make the most of the times we felt better and enjoy the sun and celebrations.

Feeding the ducks for Daddy's birthday

Pea and Cheese Mini Muffins Recipe

I am very late to Pininterest party, but last week I decided to join and see what the fuss is about. I lost 2 hours pinning lots of things like nails, funnies and food. I came across this muffin recipe from Feeding Olive, like myself she struggles what to feed her little girl but is also portable for when she's out.

These sounded perfect for what I needed and after investing in a muffin tin (madness that I didn't have one already!). I slightly adapted the recipe to accommodate what I had, I also went a little mad on grating the cheese and had more than it originally stated so I changed the amount of cheese to vegetable amount.

• 1 cup plain flour
• 1/2 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup grated cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup milk (cows milk/breastmilk/formula)
• 3/4 Cup of vegetables (in this case I used solely peas but Feeding Olive recommends a good list of mixable veg).

How to do it

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Put muffin cases in tray
2. Sift flour and baking powder together. Give it a quick stir to make sure the baking powder is evenly distributed. Stir through veggies and cheese. 
3. Pour oil and milk into a jug then crack the egg into the jug and whisk it all together. Make a well in the centre of the dry mix and pour in the liquid. Mix until just combined, giving you a thick batter. (I did put mine all in the food processor and mixed together in one lot, still came out perfect.)
4. Spoon batter into muffin tray and bake in the oven for 15 - 20 mins, until the muffins are nice and golden on top. Remove tray from oven, and cool muffins in tray for 5 mins, then turn out onto a rack to cool. 

Makes 12 muffins (I was more generous with my mixture and made 9)

As you can see with the food processor I got the peas in small pieces so they hide better in the muffin, Beth likes peas on their own but doesn't like them in chunks in other food so this disguises it well. The flavour has a sweetness from the peas (I used Petite Pois) and a milky tang from the cheese (a mild cheddar). 

The biggest test was Bethany as she can be very cautious with food I had made from scratch, but a few bites and she had her hand out for more. She ate a majority of it before having enough, which I am really pleased about. I now have a small supply ready for when we go out so she has some lunch to nibble that I know what is in it. 

Bethany Update - Month 14

I thought this month I'd be writing that she is finally walking, nope, we've had a few false starts. The past week she likes to let go of furniture and balance on her feet for a few seconds before landing on her bum, so there is at least progress. I also brought her a My First Walker Toy for her to use like a zimmer frame when she's walking as you can see within a day of having it she was whizzing round.

We also have a new word, "yeah" which has greatly increased the communication as she shakes her head for, "No" but says, "Yeah" for yes. Of course, there are those moments where she just repeats it over and over again, Beth is becoming chatty, most when she's sitting down somewhere so her high chair or pushchair, just natters away to the world.

The main photo is from a photo shot she did a few weeks back to enter a local competition that goes live next Friday so expect it being plugged then! The photographer was brilliant and when you see the photos there is a bad one amongst them. I would like her to, tell me parent who doesn't, but for me it was wonderful to get some professional photos of her rather than chasing her with a camera!

That cannot be comfortable surely?!

Her new favourite food is peas, we went out for dinner one night and would only eat the peas. I now have to make sure she eats her other bits before she knows there are peas or nothing else gets eaten. On the other side there are worst things for her to become food obsessed over (until the next fad).

Just as Beth gets over one cold, she then gets hits with another. This is we ended up in the walk in clinic at our local hospital with a high fever, was told there was nothing they could do. We also got told that it was very likely that Beth would be a candidate for Eczema in the future as her rashes have come back. Another week on the steroid creams.

This doesn't seem to bother Beth too much, she still is the happy, bright little girl that I love who can be a little mischief.

Her first drawing (now on the fridge)

Sofa and reading time

#OneLittleChange

I've been part of the The Orchard by Tesco for a few months now, it give shoppers the opportunity to try different parts of Tesco and give their feedback in exchange for reduced or free items. The invite for this programme arrived at the right time that I was re-focusing on trying to get a bit healthier and fitter.

Over the past three years Tesco has been working towards reducing calorie, fat, sugar and salt content of thousands of our own brand products, like fruit juice, cereals, yogurts and soups, but still tasting the same.

I got to try three different items from the range: Healthy Living Red Berry Yogurt, Golden Syrup flavor Oats and Healthy Living Lentil and Vegetable Soup.

The Oats were convenient and quick, really useful when Bethany is wanting attention and I needed something really quick but can keep me going until she goes to nap and I get lunch (sometimes this can be 3pm!). The syrup gave them a sweetness so you thought you were getting something a little bit naughty with your nice. It is cheaper to buy a bag of oats and syrup but sometimes you need that connivance.

The biggest let down for me were the soup, the flavour was OK and made a filling lunch. A whole can is 156 calories BUT is 40% of your salt allocation for the day.I commend that Tesco are trying to reduce the salt content but I found it strange to see this on a "Healthy Living" product, at least it is not hidden in the same print and people can make their decision to include. With this in mind I always made sure that the rest of my day balanced and not take on too much more salt.

The hit of the three with both Hubby and I was the yogurts. The Red Berry has two cherry and two strawberry, this has yogurt as well as pieces of fruit. It a reasonable sized dessert for 64 calories, it has the right level of sweetness and bitterness of the fruit. I have my eye on the Toffee and Vanilla which are 66 calories but I need to go to another store to get them.

I agree Tesco has made some in roads to make their ranges a lot more healthier but I do feel there is some more room for progress. However, if this is what they have so far then its a good place to start.

*I am no obligation to blog for The Orchard programme (where I received vouchers to try products) and I may receive extra compensation for this.

Why You Need to Quit This No Smoking Day

I have spoken on my own journey of quiting in I Used to be a Dirty Smoker I am not going to preach at you, because well that's not going to make you even considering quiting. I'll give you the facts and let you decide on your own.

For you

• Your sense of taste will return and you will enjoy the taste of food more.
• Your breathing and general fitness will improve.
• The appearance of your skin and teeth will improve.
• You'll be more confident in social situations because you won't smell of stale smoke any more.
• Your fertility levels will improve, along with your chances of having a healthy pregnancy and baby.
• You will save money - the average smoker has 13 cigarettes a day, which works out as 364 cigarettes a month. That's £141 a month and £1,696 a year that you could be saving by not smoking. 

For your Family

Children are particularly vulnerable to secondhand smoke, as they have less well-developed airways, lungs and immune systems. The best way to protect you and your family is to make your home and car smokefree.

It will be an offence to smoke in a private vehicle with someone under 18 years old present, and for a driver to fail to prevent smoking in a private vehicle with someone under 18 years old present. People who fail to comply could be issued with a £50 fixed penalty notice.

 I did it, and yes it wasn't easy, but the benefits as the taste and smell came back out did everything. There is a huge amount of support out there on NHS who can lend an ear, we are there to support  not judge.

You can also get more support on Smoke Free where you can claim a free quit kit to start you off

*This is NOT a sponsored post, I am a NCSCT Stop Cessation Supporter who specialises in mental health and an ex-smoker.

Book: Love, Tanya by Tanya Burr

First of all an admission, I have never seen any of Tanya Burr's videos or read her blog. There, I said it, it's out there, so why did get the book out of the library? I know Miss Burr is currently one of the biggest vlogger on Youtube at this current moment, I was intrigued by this as I knew it was more of personal book than Zoella's novels.

It is a mixture of autobiography, hints and tips and personal experience. It starts from Tanya's childhood with more focus on how she got into make up industry (She got her experience assisting one of the Pixiwoo ladies). Tanya dives into different topics from make up, fashion, love, baking to her experience with living with anxiety.

The chapters, to me, are then split into sub chapters, her life story, top 10 lists and then hints and tips. The style is easy going and light, Tanya has openly admitted that this has been ghost writed, it still is essentially her at the heart but she has had help with how to put all the thinking together. This does give it a more polished look than say a personal blog would of been.

Apart from her history, did I learn anything new? Not really, the majority of the make up and fashion tips is something I knew from my own experience in make up or have learnt through magazines/other blogs. In simple terms this is a very person focused magazine, targeted at the people who already watch/read her.

If I got given this as a present I would of been happy with it, it has the perfect format to be able to dip in and out of with a cup of tea when you have five minutes to spare. I would like to point out that Miss Burr is only 25 years old and the book is targeted towards that market, so a lot of advice and recommendations is towards them.

RRP £12.99 but currently on offer on Amazon for half price.

Superdrug Naturally Radiant Brightening Eye cream

I brought this alongside the Overnight Peel in my previous post. (You can read here)

I have been always a little dubious with eye cream and yes had seen them as a bit of a fad, even when I worked on make up counters. To me it was just another add on to increase my sales, but then this was twenties me with no need for eye cream really. This changed when I hit my thirties and was more worse when those sleepiness newborn nights came along.

I had been using Benefit's It's Potent eye cream and of course felt that it had been missing from my life. It was a small sample pot from one of the British Beauty Blogger's Boxes and was soon scrapping the scraps, sobbing. There was two reasons for the sobbing 1. It had run out and 2. To replace it was £25.50.

I was looking at the Superdrug Naturally Radiant range and alongside the peel decided to give this a try (at the time it was half price, normally £5,99. Currently on buy one get one half price). Uses Mulberry and Kiwi extracts to brighten and smooth the eye area. You massage a small amount around the eye area using the ring finger in light motions, day and night.

I was impressed with this straight away, it gave similar results as the It's Potent in the smoothing and brightening department.

Superdrug Naturally Radiant Glycolic Overnight Peel

I used to be a scrubber, one of those ones that would get the grittiest thing and rub until it was bright red. I then wonder why my skin was sensitive to everything put on it, I was on the philosophy that if I could feel it working it was doing it's job. I wish I could go back in time and slap that person.

When I was pregnant I had to rethink my whole skin care due to the hormones going on a rampage. I had fallen in love with Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel after getting a sample of it in a pack. I was looked glowing and freshly exfoliated, people complimented on my glow and smooth skin. I was sold apart from the £30 price tag. Being on maternity leave it was too much for me.

I was peel less for months, using a scrub but felt that it wasn't the same now I had been spoilt by peels. I had some money and wanted to splash out on some skin care, pursuing Superdrug I came across the Naturally Radiant range, radiance is exactly what I needed and in spade loads.

The peel was on offer and I took the plunge because the price was right, I wouldn't spent a fortune if it didn't work out (at the time it was half price, normally £5.99. Currently on Buy one get one half price). It uses Kiwi Fruit and Mulberry Extracts to even skin tone and revive, with Glycolic Acid, a powerful Alpha Hydroxy (AHA) and a Fruit Acid blend to refine and re texture.

You apply over the face, avoiding the eyes, and leave overnight. It's a clear gel so there is no way I was going to be scaring Hubby at bedtime or Beth during night feeds. In the morning you wash off and apply a SPF moisturiser (as it can make the skin sensitive to UV rays). It fitted in with my routine perfectly.

I am smitten, it leaves my skin soft and smooth, I am very surprised with the results and could even give Elemis a run for it's money. It doesn't make me look younger, but it does make me look like I've had a few nights sleep when I've actually been up until 3am trying to get Beth to sleep. That's a win in my book.

Available at Superdrug stores and online.

A Weighty Issue #4

via This Girl Can Campaign

When we last left this I was having in treatment and decided that trying to tackle both issues was simply not the best idea. I was discharged at the end of October and spent the rest of the time put the theory into practice.

Christmas came and I felt ready to get fitter and to start again. I logged back into My Fitness Pal (User name: Unevenlemming) as well as link up with the Fitbit app. I wanted to spend January tracking my everyday life, food and excerise, to see if there was any pattern or trigger that could be addressed.

I found this great motivation, I started to make changes before I planned. January was my daughter's 1st birthday and I knew there would be celebrations throughout so planned to start in February rather than fight temptation in Jan. I needed of worried, I was already making sutble changes, I decreased my potions, started to eat more balanced (as well as making sure I eat), walked more and if I wasn't leaving the house that day using the stationary bike.

I lost 4lbs in January with slight changes (3lbs in two weeks!), and I'm trying to put in some activity 5 times a week.

Now it's February, I've set up a great base to evolve from but now it's time to step it up a bit. I got myself a fitness tracker, brought off of eBay for £28, it's UP by Jawbone. It tracks my activity as well as my sleeping patterns as this can play a part in what you crave to eat. As I've only just got it, it's still early days with my new friend.

I am very geared up for the challnage of getting fitter, because that's my aim is to get fit. Beth is now more mobile and I want to be able to keep up with her. If I lose some weight too, brilliant, an nice extra bonus.

Bethany Update - Month 13

I can now say Beth has finally got a her baby rolls of fat developing, you know the ones that require raspberries blown on them followed by giggles. It seems since she has hit 1 her appetite has blossomed. This does mean that this extra nuitirtion has meant that she is now taller than ever and reaches up to my mid thigh now, but still as petit as ever.

I really do think that she will walk within the next few weeks, has confidence cruising around furniture and hanging off it standing has leant to a few false alarms. When she stands on the sofa she actually can stand up right before throwing herself around on it (this is why she is never left alone when she is up there!).

We've had colds the past few weeks, to the point she was rushed to doctors with a suspected urine infection (which after collecting a sample was proved wrong, more on that later!). We also have teeth number 5 and 6 emerging at the same time, things have been at a standstill the past few weeks to comfort her and catch up on sleep missed.

Beth is just such a happy girl, her giggles are completely infectionous. We go to NCT Bumps, Babies and Toddlers on a Monday so she can tear around with other children, I'm hoping I can see some friendships developing. I do worry about her development, I have to keep reminding myself that she will do it in her own time just be there when she needs "Muma".

Bethany Update and Bethany's 1st Birthday

A whole year has now gone by, and yes it's flown, no I cannot believe she's now classed as a toddler. We now happily cruise around furniture and the new favourite past time is to throw things off the whatever she is hanging onto. She gaining confidence each day, she would rather be on her feet than sitting down now.

Bethany now babbles and points to items she wants, her communication is increasing to the point I'm starting to understand what she is after which means we have a lot less tears of frustraction but more when I take something off of her. Everything si develpoing as it should with no intervention from Health visitors etc.

Her 1st birthday turned into a week of celebrations, she got her first lot of presents from grandparents and great granparents on the Friday before as they couldn't be there on the day (we surprised both sets with video calls on the day). She had a huge package covered in a sheet that she tried to pull off to find a rocking horse undernethe, she wasn't keen that night bue was on it the following night. She now crawls over the strokes it.

Wednesday was her actually birthday which was spent round my parents, a few presents but she was full of beans and couldn't keep still all day until naptime. I had won a competition to win a family dinner out and we all went out for dinner that night with my brother/sister in law and had lots of fun with the kids board game they supply while you wait for food. It did get very competeive!

On Saturday we had her birthday party with other members of the family, Beth being a little fairy and loving all the balloons. We saved all the presents from us until then, so she had presents to open with people so they can feel part of it. It was a small party, this worked well as she had injections the day before and her 4th tooth was cutting (which we didn't kow at the time, hence not being able to blog because of her being unwell with both).

You can see the full photo album of the pictures here as well as my bad birthday singing.

Being 1 hasn't phased Bethany, she still the happy, giggling little girl she was before. Age is just a number.