I wanted to write a useful post about the things we are constantly reaching for and have loved now I have a 7 month old!
I have settled on 10 items I cant live without, I don't want to duplicate on items already discussed in too much detail so if I have missed something out I regularly talk about that is why.
1. Muslin Squares - A teething baby means a dribbling baby, we always have one on hand during the day. I like the George at Asda ones best, we have the pink ones.
2. Leggings - They look smart and a little more grown up than a babygrow but not to fiddly that the baby is overdressed or awkwardly dressed for feeding.
3. Snowsuit - WOW, what can I say. Love them. Its Autumn, they are needed!
4. Bear cub hats - Queue repeat of answer 3.
5. *Tommee Tippee Steamer Blender - I loved their prep machine but this item is vastly over taking the prep machine now Leia is being weaned. Essential item, saves me time when cooking & prepping Leia's lunch and dinner. HUGE thumbs up.
6. *BabyBjörn One Carrier - I have blogged about this. We love it for quick trips to the shops. Leia is constantly settled. My arms are free!
7. Next Babygrows - They wash up so well, they look new even after the mess we get in at breakfast time. Definitely our favourite.
8. Zara Baby - Newly discovered, affordable classic baby wear. Recommended to me by my friend Georgia, who has a YouTube Channel
9. Autumn Walks - Leia & I tend to go out for a walk everyday even if its just to our local shop and back.
10. Canon DSLR 750D - A very generous gift from my other half so I can capture Leia at every moment.
What are your must have items?
Happy 7 Month Birthday Beautiful Lady
Rebecca, Leia's Mummy x
YouTube - Rebecca Hollick Instagram - @iamrebeccahollick e-mail business enquiries - iamrebeccahollick@aol.com Disclaimer - I was not paid to write this review, opinions are my own from a mummies perspective Products with a * I have been sent to trial
I usually steralise Leia's bottles at the end of the day ready for the next morning - there is nothing worse than waking up to wash a sink full of bottles, you also can't beat the feeling of waking up to a tidy house!
Whilst pregnant I loved watching the 'How I steralise my baby bottles' videos on YouTube, as I was sent the Dr Browns Deluxe Steraliser to trial I thought this was a good opportunity for an update seen as we are using the Dr Brown's Natural Flow bottles at the moment.
The first thing I noticed on removing the product is how substantial it feels - not plasticy nor flimsy protectively covered in a tightly wrapped film.
The steraliser is the best by far in terms of look - perfectly in keeping with our kitchen! I love colour shape and sleek design, it's more of a gadget as opposed to just a steraliser making it a fantastic baby shower gift for an expectant mummy!
Although the steraliser feels sturdy it is actually still quite compact, I noticed on the right hand side a neatly placed pair of tongs and on the left a water fill tank! Perfect. I'm always reaching for a jug to fill our current one so this really pleases me. The steraliser has 2 compartments: the bottom for the bottles which slot in perfectly cap facing down, (it fits up to 6 although we are using 4 wide neck bottles) the stems, which actually look a lot like straws & any lids, then there is the top compartment which stores flat the filter, tests and rings leaving you with everything in more of an organised fashion, I also inserted my travel lids which I am finding essential at the moment as we are always out & about. This section actually clips back to lock position.
After inserting all of my bottles & accessories in to the steraliser I usually put it on the oven hobs as we have an extractor fan. The first time you actually use the system the orange light indicator light is on as soon as you plug it in however the manual explains that for the next cycle the indicator light just needs to be gentle pushed downwards to begin. The steam steralising cycle is 12 minutes long.
I've loved trying the steraliser out as we originally had the Dr Brown's electric version which was too very good in terms of design and quality
Rebecca, Leia's Mummy x
YouTube - Rebecca HollickInstagram - @iamrebeccahollick e-mail business enquiries - iamrebeccahollick@aol.com Disclaimer - I was not paid to write this review, opinions are my own from a mummy's perspective Products with a * I have been sent to trial
Our BabyBjörn One carrier is swiftly becoming our favourite mode of transport. It is keeping mummy's hands free and a clingy baby happy being close to me.
Lately every time I put Leia down or leave the room she screams showing us the biggest bottom lip so having the ability to hold her whilst I'm doing other things is fantastic. Let's face facts, life with a newborn is hard work for most coupled with being back at work full time and having to maintain a family home so something like the this fits in to our lifestyle perfectly.
We live just a 2 minute walk from our local village shop and sometimes it just isn't practical to assemble the bugaboo and go off on our two minute outing. The BabyBjörn One comes ready assembled folded very neatly in the stylish baby blue carry case.
I was expecting having to clip parts together and was pleasantly surprised at how easy this was. I didn't read any of the blurb...I never have time! Literally you just put the carrier overhead and your arms through as if you were putting a vest on.
You then tighten to secure to how you feel comfortable, the bottom part I just loosened and stepped straight into then again tightened the straps to fit comfortably. It's as simple as that. Now to put the baby in. This was even easier, although I was very cautious at this stage - tightly gripping her to ensure she was safe at all times.
Leia absolutely cannot stand being in her car seat or strapped in, so at first she thought I was trying to put straps on her and she let out a scream but as soon as she was sat down and looking up at me I could just tell she loved being in the carrier. It was perfect. A couple of people actually asked us where we got the carrier from whilst we were on our travels! The BabyBjörn Oneis incredibly stylish and sleek when it comes to carriers. It is plush and cosy and looks like whoever owns one has literally spared no expense. It would be an amazing gift to receive as a new mum. On our outing Leia was dressed in a baby grow with a cardigan that had a hood (I read about over heating babies in carriers and was careful to ensure she wasn't going to be too hot accompanied by my body temperature) She must have been super cosy in there as she fell asleep before we got to the shops which is unheard of. She stayed asleep for our whole outing and when I got back I was able to lift her out of the carrier not even disturbing her.
The BabyBjörn One is perfect for heading out on a quick walk but could fit in to much more hectic lifestyles too and would be amazing for city living in central.
We loved trying it out
You can find the *BabyBjörn One carrier here they retail at £119.99, however there is a 10% saving on amazon at the time of publishing Rebecca, Leia's Mummy x
YouTube - Rebecca Hollick Instagram - @iamrebeccahollick e-mail business enquiries - iamrebeccahollick@aol.com Disclaimer - I was not paid to write this review, opinions are my own from a mummies perspective Products with a * I have been sent to trial
I have teamed up with Sophie La Girafe to bring you a fantastic giveaway! All of you know we are obsessed with Sophie in my house. It was Leia's first real toy & has been a staple in my changing bag over the past 6 months mostly making appearances at my mummy get togethers & baby groups! We love the original Sophie & were lucky enough to previously have been sent a few items to trial as part of my channel launch. Leia is now 6 months old currently teething and generally needs a lot more attention than in the early days so having something at arms reach when you are out and about to distract her is essential for me, you will all know I'm not at all an over packer, I am a minimalist when it comes to outings which is why Sophie fits perfectly for us. Sophie La Girafe have a gorgeous range in terms of gifting varying from their teethers to their amazing organic skincare range which we absolutely love. We were delighted at being given the opportunity to allow you to win the absolutely gorgeous Sophiesticated Gift Set, featuring an original Sophie & a So Pure Sophie Teething Ring.
If this isn't enough the set also compromises a luxury gift bag & card - making it the perfect gift for a baby shower, Christmas or a treat for your newborn. The perfect first present. To be in with a chance at winning you have 3 ways to do so Either comment on this blog post, enter via my Youtube Review or via Instagram I will count up the comments and choose the winner at random on October 15th 2016 You can find details on the Sophiesticated Gift Set here they retail at £24.99 Rebecca, Leia's Mummy x
YouTube - Rebecca Holick Instagram - @iamrebeccahollick e-mail business enquiries - iamrebeccahollick@aol.com Disclaimer - I was not paid to write this review, opinions are my own from a mummies perspective Products with a * I have been sent to trial
I previously filmed a video over on my Youtube channel all about our experiences with different brands of baby bottle!
It can be a mind field choosing the right bottle for your baby, from colic to teat size to flow & practicality. To be honest there is no one size fits all when it comes to bottles, you have to go with what is right for your baby.
I have been testing out a few new bottles (with the help my lovely test subject Leia) as we were upgrading to the next stage & I thought it would help to share this info once again.
For clarity & test purposes I have stuck to the same 3 brands as we used when Leia was in the first stages - Tommee Tippee, Philips Avent & Dr Brown's.
All 3 have a place for me, firstly I love the Tommee Tippee brand - you all know I love the perfect prep machine, however the closer to nature bottles were not favorable for us right now, Leia is not what I would classify as a hungry baby the teats are very large and as shes so tiny she struggles to get the formula in relatively quick timing although for a hungry baby I would recommend you giving them a go - they are the most competitively priced in terms of value for money plus I love the fact they come with a secure lid so you avoid burns if giving that bottle a shake after the boiled water method.
Avent we have been using for the past 3 months & had no problems at all, when we switched to the next level teats they were slightly too fast for us in terms of flow. The Avent are gorgeous with their sleek design & the brand is a staple for most UK households which I love.
Dr Browns were an early favorite for us and we are back to using the Natural Flow bottles now as they seem to be working well. The flow is quick but not too quick. They also retain the vitamins & minerals which makes me feel better as Leia is formula fed.
What bottles do you like?
I'm really keen to give the new glass bottles a try and see what we think.
Rebecca, Leia's Mummy x
The Avent bottles can be found here, Tommee Tippee here & *Dr Brown's here
As I usually posts vlogs on my YouTube channel I thought I would add to it by writing a blog post on our Sunday!
Leia has just turned 6 months & my family live around 2 hours away so they don't get to see her as often as they would like. We planned a family Sunday lunch in my area & were joined by my parents & sister (pictured, I'm behind the camera for these) where we all ventured out to the Buckinghamshire countryside to a quaint little inn called The Bell.
It has an idyllic country setting but just a stone throw away from local amenities which is what we love
On arrival to the venue we were not disappointed - it was perfectly picturesque
We were seated by the French antique doors which were open as it was relatively warm
The menu was traditional British pub food which suited us, we all pretty much went for the beef roast option, which was 21 day aged beef. The plates arrived to us complete with a sizable portion of beef, root vegetable puree which I NEED the recipe for immediately! The presentation was beautiful too, not that that stayed for long!
We had all 'planned' to get dessert and I opted for the sticky toffee pudding which was just as impressive as the roast!
If you are ever in the area I would definitely recommend you giving them a visit.
Thanks for joining me again, I am properly in blogging, vlogging & general productive mode at the moment, the house is clean, baby in bed so I thought I would share with you my thoughts on our new changing bag. Leia is now 6 months old (yes I know it's flown) & to be carrying round a big changing bag is just not practical & quite frankly heavy. You see Rebecca of before March 2015 was that type of person that would over pack. Not now, you realise quite quickly with a baby a heavy weighed down bag and a pushchair is not a good combo.
On receipt of the Caboodle I thought how could sometching so compact fit all of our essentials in?! The bag looked cute & not too mumsy or girly, complete with two front pockets large enough for a phone and a back zip not quite big enough for my purse, but great for loose change and a lip gloss, but at the same time wouldn't loose me points with the other half should he take her out solo.
The bag comes with a changing mat soft and squishy and folds to a nice size, a thermal pack great for storing hot water for a bottle taking the hassle out of having to worry about having enough to venture out and about with baby and finally my favourite part - a clear cosmetics pouch, which totally sold it for me - genius!
I packed in 3 nappies, baby wipes, sudo cream & teething gel in to the pouch which all looked perfectly snug.
I put a muslin and bib loose in the bag & used the 3 inner pockets for bows, socks & a change of clothes.
The bag is stylish & practical & fits in for our everyday outings
Thank you for joining me for what is my FIRST EVER blog post!!! Yayyyyy!
Finally I have time in my life (whilst the baby is napping) to actually write and share with you our thoughts on a product
I wanted to blog about beauty much before I started doing the 'mummy' vlogging, as now my life is totally surrounded by a baby (who is just scrumptious) bows (who couldn't love them) & baby gadgets, this seems apt & I LOVE it!
I was very kindly, I say I, correction.... Leia, my 6 month old was sent a fantastic piece of kit from the lovely people at Mattel whom I imagine their head office to be like the toy room out of Santa Claus - The Movie (the 80s version). The Space Saver Jumperoo arrived neatly packaged in a Fisher Price Toy box, all very exciting we opened it within about 2 minutes of course desperately eager to see Leia's face with it all lit up - I had been browsing to make the purchase for a few weeks prior as we want her on her feet so to speak as she is getting to that age where she wants to do more than just sit in our arms so this seemed a sensible thing to buy.
It came in 8 pieces consisting of the 2 'legs' you would say, the bottom stand, the hanging toys, the computer dock and a couple of attachments to put it all together..relatively easy for me to put together myself, right? Yes right. I put it together with no assistance! Very proud of myself!
It was soon together within around 20 minutes or so.
Leia immediately got in to the Jumperoo and was bobbing about but on day one wasn't really interacting with the toys, she may have been slightly overwhelmed as they are or she was just a little tired, I think it must have been the latter as day 2 came and she loved it!
Leia was all excited to be in the seat and was bobbing about,even taking bites of the fantastically placed teething gel toy which sold me completely, with a teething 6 month old this is a must!
We thought the Space saving idea was fantastic although I have never seen the bigger version. This one just folds straight down to the size of the Jumperoo assembled but pretty much flat and very easy to store.
I have searched online for the Jumperoo and the cheapest I have found it is at boots in what looks to be their baby event, I am not entirely sure on the timescales of the event but you can check it out here
Hello! Welcome to this my new blog page to work in addition to my YouTube Channel (Rebecca Hollick) Let me start by saying my name is Rebecca as some of you will know I am new mummy to my little pumpkin Leia (as in the princess) We are tutu crazy, bow crazy, tea crazy (well I am...all 3) I instagram most things that are pretty, I love photography & filming & editing and talking to you guys! I work full time, I went back to work after 16 weeks and you will probably see me trying to juggle homelife, work life and baby life whilst doing fun stuff! Hope you have found this introduction somewhat useful! Lots of love Rebecca. Leia's Mummy x
