Days out in Yorkshire - Malton Food Lovers Festival

Little E is not very little. At 8 months he is 11kg (24 pounds) and heavier than some of my friends' toddlers. He is very difficult to carry for long periods, even in our Baby Bjorn Miracle (which is only rated up to 12kg!), so we are always looking for places we can push a pram around.

For the last two years we have happened to be around in York when the Malton Food Lovers Festival has been on. It's amazing and we wanted to go again while visiting family, but we couldn't remember how well it would work with a pram.

Good news! It was simples with a pram. In the whole area we only had one step to navigate. Amazing when there are over 160 stalls spread over several squares. We can come every year now!

As I took this photo, we suddenly realised we had forgotten to bring any food for Little E. Not ideal with a weaning baby. Fortunately, there was so much good food we had no problem finding something for him. Sausage rolls went down a treat! The adults enjoyed them too.

So, if you are around Malton at the end of May and looking for a day out with a baby, I would definitely recommend this food festival. Most of the stalls are food (rather than crafts) and they are all bloomin' amazing. We have just found out there is a smaller event every month as well. Ask Mr Google for details.

Days out in Oxford - Hinksey Pool

I had to take the car for a service. What can you do with a 7 month old for 5 hours while you wait for your car?

Fortunately, Hinksey Outdoor Pool is down the road from the garage, so I ordered good weather and packed up my gear.

I love Hinksey Outdoor Pool, but would it work with my little one?

So, I arrived at about 10 on a Monday morning in May. Despite the glorious weather, the place was pretty empty. The last time I went it was a weekend and rammed!

First problem I spotted for my little one...where was the shade? I hadn't remember the space being so open. There were a few trees around the periphery, but the sun was so high they barely cast any shadow. I spotted one bench in the shade and set up camp there. The bench was pretty comfortable to breastfeed on, so that was a bonus.

I felt so sorry as other families arrived and mournfully eyed up my little patch of shade. It wasn't even big enough to share and rapidly disappearing as the sun rose higher and higher.

My friend arrived and we decamped to the only other piece of shade we could see - by the fence near the cafe. It wasn't very picturesque (the recycling pile was outside), a bit noisy (the fan from the cafe) and smelt of chips (from the fan!), but our bubs (7 and 8 months) were in the shade and we were happy.

Also important for new mums, the cafe serves a pretty good cup of coffee for £1.50. Caffeine and sugar, how do I manage without you? Nothing appropriate for weaning babes though, so pack a picnic.

Next, the pool. Little E was not in the best of moods that day (I think mixture of a runny nose and big developmental surge), but I took him into the water twice for a paddle. There are some water features that spray water, which he was pretty fascinated by. The sloping "beach" effect of the pool meant it was easy to help him "walk" into the water and he started experimenting with stamping his feet. I was hoping to take him into the water a bit more, but despite it being heated, it was pretty cold and Little E didn't look that happy. Another day perhaps.

People are probably not as dim as me, but I leant an important lesson about swimming nappies - they leak. I had heard that their only role was to...ahem...contain solids, but I was hoping to not have to keep changing Little E in and out of his wetsuit. I put him in his swimming nappy, a happy nappy and then his wetsuit, but realised later wee was dribbling down his leg. The pram and my friend's sarong had damp patches. Ewww!

Despite the problems with shade, it was lovely sitting on the grass with our babes, chatting and having a picnic. I even got a swim while Little E was napping. Before I knew it, it was 4pm and the car was ready. Perfect.

I won't add details about Hinksey Pool here. The links and information will change, so just ask Mr Google nicely for opening times, etc.

So, I had a lovely day at Hinksey and can't wait to go again. However, I need to invest in a big umbrella or tent to keep me and Little E from burning. I suggest you do the same!

Crafting by a not very crafty mum - Sock monkeys

Drunk on the success of socktopus (http://moxblox.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/crafting-by-not-very-crafty-mum-behold.html) I needed a new challenge. I decided I should go for it and try to do some sewing.

Problem is, I haven't done any serious sewing since I was 14 when I was in textiles class making a bean bag snake. 14 was a long time ago...

So, why now?

Essentially, I love Little E very much, but being a mum can be very boring. When he was under 5 months he often just wanted me to be around, but wasn't interacting much. There were only so many useful things I could do with an iPad, so finding crafty projects was perfect for me. I could sit with him, whilst doing something stimulating for me without the GUILT, because I was making something for him. The extra bonus was he seemed fascinated by watching me sewing.

Why did I feel guilty? That's a whole other blog post, but don't most mums feel guilty for doing something for themselves?

Pinterest to the rescue! Seriously, what did people do before this interweb thing?

http://craft-with-confidence.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/sock-monkey-tutorial.html

This is a great tutorial for how to make a sock monkey with step by step pictures. As I've said, I am rubbish at making stuff, but this was enough of a challenge without me throwing down my pins in tears.

I don't have a sewing machine, so I did everything by hand. More time consuming, but not hard. I also tried not to buy anything again. I used up old socks that I didn't want to have to darn and ribbons/buttons I had collected. In the tutorial she stitches the nostrils and mouth, but I wasn't confident I could do this, so I used a laundry pen to draw them.

With my first attempt, I filled the monkey with chickpeas, as I thought Little E would like the textures. They don't give a very good monkey shape, but it is satisfyingly heavy. The legs are very uneven as I was so convinced I was going to fail that I didn't measure anything.

I think you can agree, my second attempt is much more like a monkey. I thought the pattern of the socks made a nice mouth and I like the "winking" button eyes. He is stuffed with one of Big E's old shirts that I ripped into rags.

To be honest, Little E is not really interested in them, but my friends love them. A few people even want me to make them one! I see an army of monkeys on the way.

Crafting by a not very crafty mum - Behold socktopus!

When Little E was about 4 months we went through a phase where I couldn't leave the room without him screaming. I was going to be the tough mum who taught my child to be self reliant, but guess how long that lasted?

As long as I sat in the living room with him, he would play around on his mat happily. There was only so many useful things I could achieve with just my iPad, so it got me thinking about making things for him. 

I used to love making things. I'd spend hours drawing, painting plaster casts, messing around with play dough, but slowly it all stopped. Adult life got in the way. I had plans to take drawing classes, etc, when I finished university, but never got around to it. I'd always hoped having a baby would give me the "excuse" to unleash my creative side again.

I like this stuff, but essentially I'm a bit rubbish at it and too impatient, so I need quick and easy projects. A lot of craft projects I found were too intimidating. If this sounds like you, read on!

A couple of pairs of my favourite socks wore through. I hate darning them and they just end up wearing through again, so I thought there must be something I can do with them. A no sew option preferably.

Pinterest is a great resource and this is where I found Socktopus!

http://thehatched.wordpress.com/2012/08/07/socktopus/

The instructions here are very clear and I had no problems following them. I like to think I'm pretty environmentally friendly, so I tried not to buy anything to make my socktopus. I put the sock with the hole inside the other with some worn out baby socks to make the head. I have tried to keep as many ribbons from presents and had one that matched the socks to tie around to finish the head. I had samples of curtains that I had kept to make the eyes. All I had to buy was the fabric glue.

As I said, I have no idea what I am doing! I went to my local craft shop and checked out all the fabric glues. I bought the cheapest (UHU The All Purpose Adhesive) and I am pleased. We used it to fix my Big E's mobile phone case as well, so a good purchase.

And this is my socktopus. Nailed it?

Most people love him and Little E has fun pulling on the legs and enjoys me tickling his face. I hope it will be fun in future to throw around as a ball with streamers.

And yes...there are 8 legs.

Plagiocephaly

I thought I would write my first proper blog post about something that had been a great deal of concern to me, but I found very little comfort online.

My son has right sided plagiocephaly or flat head syndrome.

Little E had a pretty deformed skull to begin with, as he got stuck in my pelvis in pregnancy and didn't roll from about 30 weeks onwards. We were reassured by our midwives that it would get better and it did. It was amazing to feel the skull plates moving every day.

Unfortunately, this then meant we missed how bad the right sided flattening was becoming. It was only at 3 months we realised it was a problem.

I'm a doctor and in my head I knew there was nothing to be done and we just had to wait for it to get better and encourage him onto his left side, etc, as much as possible.

But I checked with Google....

Every story I read and message board on mumsnet was from very upset parents with the same problem who had spent thousands on special helmets to mould the skull back into a more regular shape. No one seemed to have a positive story.

So, the doubt crept in. What if Little E was stuck like this and I hadn't done everything I could to help?

I couldn't bear the thought of the helmets, but I did see an osteopath and a physiotherapist, just to check it wasn't from tension in his neck. Everything, of course, was fine.

So, we went with standard NHS advice - as much time off the back of his head as we could manage. We moved all his toys, including his cot mobile, to his left side. I forced him to do as much tummy time as he could bear. We padded his pram to make it softer on his head and carried him in his Bjorn as much as I could tolerate.

And you know what, the difference is amazing, especially once he started rolling and sitting. It's hard to take photos of the problem, but I have included some, so people can see the progress. We have until he is 18 months when the skull plates fuse and I am so hopeful of the final result. Here he is at just under 8 months.

I suspect he will always be slightly flatter on that side, but so what? It's amazing how I now look at people's head shape. Who knew there were so many shapes, sizes and contours? He will be individual, just like everyone else.

It also helps that a research paper came out recently, saying they could find no difference between children with no treatment and those with helmets. Of course...can I find the paper anywhere? Grrrr...

I hope this gives some comfort to those who are in a similar position to me. It WILL get better. Spend the money if you want on the helmet, but I'm glad I didn't.

A new adventure

So, I'm a not-so-new-mum of a 7 month old.

I have been messing around with various "upcycling" toys for Little E, when my friend suggested I start a blog.

I found it hard to imagine anyone would be interested, but then I thought of all the "mummy" blogs that have given me comfort, tips and inspiration over the last 7 months. We've all done it...it's 3am...the baby won't sleep...you google for some salvation!

So, I hope to blog about stuff that had worked well (and not so well!) for little E and try to spread some love!

P.S Mox BlOx = mum in Oxford, blog in Oxford