My Heartbeat Bear [Review and GIVEAWAY!]

I’m a ridiculously sentimental person, especially when it comes to my children and pregnancies. I may not go as far as to keep the tests (the pee sort of put me off!) but I’ve got everything from from paperwork to the straps I wore when monitored during each labour!

Being sentimental I was obviously thrilled when I was contacted by My Heartbeat Bear- during my last two pregnancies I had no idea this sort of product existed at all and I’d have jumped at it if I had!

I still have grainy recordings on my phone from my home Doppler (purely for fun and bonding of course) from both Isla and Archer but for this baby I had the opportunity to do something special.

I was sent a beautiful bear to put baby’s heartbeat inside, this one being the 16'' (which is one of their most popular, no surprise there as it’s gorgeous!). It took me so long to pick- there’s a bear for every taste. Each bear comes with a small sound box that you can record up to twenty seconds into, and save, to then be put inside the bear and sealed for playback with a simple squeeze. This stage was surprisingly easy and only took me one attempt at practice before doing it for real!

I just took the box to my midwife appointment as she has a brilliant Doppler and as it was only twenty seconds she didn’t mind me holding the little box up to record at all! It came out perfect and clear and I’ve been quite obsessed with playing it back. When I had a practice I used it to record a sound off my phone which also worked perfectly- it couldn’t be easier.

It’s been fantastic for Isla and Archer, Isla especially. She’s older so understands a lot more and likes to give the bear a cuddle and “listen to her new brother” which I’m sure is helping with future sibling bonding. Archer likes to dance when it plays the heartbeat- I suppose it does sound like a little dance beat!

I’m ridiculously happy with this bear and the hormonal emotional side of me could gush about it for hours. The team at My Heartbeat Bear we’re even kind enough to send a little “boy” ultrasound T-shirt which is a part of their new accessory range, which adds an even more personal touch.

If you’d like to check them out for yourself (as a pregnant woman I definitely recommend one for yourself or as a gift for someone you know!) you can find them at https://www.myheartbeatbear.com

Thank you again to My Heartbeat Bear, I’m thrilled with it!

GIVEAWAY!

The team at My Heartbeat Bear have been kind enough to offer my readers the chance to win their very own bear! If you're pregnant, or know someone who is, be sure to enter! If you win, you can choose between the Pink 8" Little Princess Heartbeat Bear, or the Blue 8" Little Prince Heartbeat Bear!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

AD! I was gifted one heartbeat bear in exchange for this review. All words and opinions are my own.

Am I excited for baby number three?

Baby number three! It still blows my mind to write that or say it out loud. At the beginning of the year we weren’t even sure if we definitely wanted to go for another pregnancy, and now I’m 27 weeks pregnant! It’s all going exceptionally fast.

We found out via a private scan at 16 weeks that we are having our second boy and that means there’s not much preparation needed. The hoarder in me made sure I kept ahold of all Archer’s clothes from preemie to present, as well as his old crib, play mat, swing.... you name it I kept it all just in case! It’s going to save us a whole lot of money and shopping over the coming months but part of me is strangely disheartened by this fact. 

I wondered in the beginning if it was a little bit of gender disappointment- I’ll likely get into this in another post- but my preference initially had been for a second girl and I was super excited about another healthy baby boy but yes, part of me was a little sad about no more girls. Looking back I do realise in hindsight that this was a purely materialistic reaction. Having another girl would mean I could shop, as I had nothing of Islas left over and I feel shopping (even second hand as I often have for the children) is a big step in getting prepared and excited for a new arrival. I’m getting over this ridiculous concept by throwing myself into sorting and cleaning what we have, picking up token items here and there and hand making a lot of things for him. 

Another strange part of being pregnant with my third is the reaction of those around me. While I understand nothing will quite compare to how family and friends react to your first ever pregnancy and first little arrival (we noticed the second pregnancy was met with excitement yes, but definitely more muted as is natural) your third is an entirely new ball park. Instead of congratulations, the initial reaction from people is “you’re brave!” and comments about how “I’d never do it!” in regards to a third child. 

It doesn’t mean the third child is any less loved or anticipated but strangely it has had a little effect on how I feel. I feel a little sad for this baby- everyone wants him, we love him already... I am ridiculously excited to bring the final member of our family into the world- but I can’t help but feel guilty over the lack of fanfare. The midwife has me reassured that this guilt is mostly hormonal and that it’s normal for subsequent pregnancies to feel as though I’m “going through the motions” but it’s still there. 

Of course I am excited for baby number three. I’m excited for a loud house, being more squashed in bed in the morning than I already am and for Jack being wrapped around another little finger. I can’t shop or do much to prepare, and other people may not care as much as we’ve done it twice before already, and it may even feel a bit boring as it’s been such an easy pregnancy... but yes of course I’m excited. 

I know this post has been mostly rambling and a clearing of my thoughts but I’d love to know if anyone who reads here has felt even a little similar in their subsequent pregnancies?

All the best x

Helping a child with nightmares- Dream Pillow Review & Giveaway

It's heartbreaking, to hear my daughter crying out in the night. For around a year now, around 3-4 times a month, Isla has nightmares. Sometimes her nightmares are mild and she tells us about them in a hazy half asleep way, before dropping back down onto her pillow- but there are some nightmares where she runs around her room and doesn't understand she isn't asleep anymore until we come in and turn on the light.

It's not a huge issue thankfully, and we put it down to her having a very big imagination, but it does disturb her sleep and she worries about going to bed sometimes in case a bad dream hits.

That's why I was so thrilled to be contacted by Dream Pillow. They have created three beautiful soft pillows designed especially for children aged 2-12, to help them combat bad dreams and get a good night sleep.

Isla was sent the "Lamby" pillow, which came with a pad of cloud shaped paper for her to write down her wishes for good dreams. For her first night trying it, she drew a rainbow and said she hoped she would get to go "over the rainbow" like Dorothy, just without the witches! After drawing or writing what she wants to dream about, she just has to slide the dream into the pillow and get to sleep.

I hoped that her having the positive images in mind in such a prominent and happy format would stop her imagination running away into scarier thoughts, and it seemed to ease her mind as well as she was actually excited to go to sleep!

She didn't dream about rainbows, but she didn't have any nightmares and said she will just have to try harder in her dreams the next night!

Dream Pillow is such a fantastic idea, and the creators have also produced a revolutionary sleep mask that reduces all light and up to 40 decibels of sound- so once the kids are settled with their pillows you can rest easy (or use it to ignore a snoring husband like me!).

If you'd like the chance to win both an original Dream Pillow and Sleep Mask, please do enter in the widget below! Thank you so much Dream Pillow for the good nights sleep!

Dream Pillow & Sleep Mask Giveaway

I was sent one Lamby Dream Pillow and sleep mask in exchange for this review. All words, photos and opinions are my own.

Exciting News! 12 Weeks Pregnant

I'm so happy to finally be able to write about this- it's been a long 8 weeks of waiting and I've found my mind going blank when it comes to blogging ever since we found out. How could I bring myself to write when I couldn't yet talk about the most exciting thing we have going on!

I'm extremely pleased to announce that myself and Jack are expecting our third bundle of joy. Three children! Are we crazy? Many probably think so- we already have one of each and as I addressed in my previous post about feeling broody, we weren't sure that it was really the norm to venture past two children anymore.

But yes, little one is definitely on the way and the whole family is thrilled.

I'm 12+5 writing this today, and yesterday we had our 12 week scan to make sure everything is developing well with the baby- I feel very blessed to say it is.

Pregnancy so far has been surprisingly easy. With my first pregnancy, I didn't have morning sickness but I did faint all the time, even from the beginning. With my second, I had severe Hyperemesis almost from day one and ended up with acute SPD which started to ache almost from the beginning as well. We were of course nervous for what this pregnancy would bring, but the hormone gods have blessed me and I haven't thrown up or fainted or ached once!

At most, I'm tired. Wrangling two small children when all I want to do is nap lately has been hard and for some reason they've both decided that bedtime and wake up time are on a brand new schedule. Add in that I do have to get up to pee most nights and I'm definitely getting desparate for the second trimester energy.

The hormones are however, causing me to have more spots than I ever had combined for all my teenage years. My hair is annoyingly oily and I'm yet to crack the code for how often to wash it without it being too often. Breast ache has subsided but was a huge niggle for the first two months.

I'm definitely already in maternity jeans. I showed fairly quickly with my prior pregnancies and this one is no exception- they do say subsequent pregnancies can show earlier and at nearly 13 weeks there is definitely no hiding it. My uterus is way above my pubic bone already and I can feel it like a hard ball when I lay on my stomach (something I miss at night already, boo).

I'm so excited for this journey and to share it with you all!

Kinder's Easter Range 2019- Review

Easter is definitely a highlight in my children's year- who doesn't love chocolate and an excuse to eat their body weight in it? We were absolutely thrilled to be contacted by Kinder and sent a whole bunch of goodies from their huge Easter range for 2019.

From the well known and well loved Kinder Eggs, to the absolutely huge full sized Powerpuff girls egg (and I'm being honest, it was about as big as Isla's head) there's something for everyone's taste and budget this year.

It's a lot more than chocolate, the eggs all have wonderful quality toys inside, meaning that even when the chocolate is gone, the fun can carry on. They're also offering an Easter egg hunt kit jammed full of treats and fun, easy to put together signs and pointers which keeps the tradition and excitement of the Easter egg hunt alive.

Getting into taste, my two loved having the job of taste tester (so did Jack who told me through a mouth full of chocolate that this was the best review I've ever had to do) and it's safe to say that they gave two sticky thumbs up each. Isla loved how different the Kinder Joy was- it still had a toy but had the novelty of scooping out soft kinder chocolate with a little spoon, and Archer has eaten more Kinder Chocolate Mini's than I can count.

The toys are amazing too- they've had loads of fun putting their things together, and the giant toys inside the larger eggs definitely surpassed our expectations. I won't show you what we got in the giant ones, as I don't want to spoil the surprise for any little eyes that may be peeking over your shoulder at this post... I can definitely see why there is such a hype for all those unwrapping videos now though!

So yes, Kinder's 2019 Easter range also has two very chocolatey thumbs up from me and I've definitely had to cave on my healthier diet at least 10 times in the last week.

As I said, there's options for all tastes and budgets. Ranging from just 99p to £15, as well as multiple options for toys (Powerpuff Girls, Minions, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...) and even soft toys for the younger babies who can't have chocolate but can't miss the fun. The giant eggs are available in Tesco and Ocado only, so be sure to grab them while you can!

Thank you so much Kinder for all the wonderful treats, I'm going to have to go to the shops and grab some more for Easter now!

I received a hamper of Kinder's 2019 Easter range in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own honest words, and all photography is my own.

Best Rides for Under 3's at Disneyland Paris

We were a little apprehensive about taking Archer and Isla to Disneyland initially. Isla is nearly four, but she is not the tallest in her class and she barely tops a meter. Archer is another ball game, as he is under two years old and much smaller than a meter.

There was little to no information online about what actual height limits were on all the rides, so is there much point taking such small children if they can't go on much?

Yes there is! There are so many things they can go on, so I'm listing the best rides for under 3's at Disneyland Paris right here for you.

1. It's a Small World

It's a strange one, and it's got that song that everyone loves to hate, but there is so much to look at that we were dragged on it 5 times by our little ones and didn't get bored.

2. Peter Pan's Flight

Try to get fast passes as this one is hugely popular, or get there as soon as the park opens... but it's so good! Fly in a ship over London and Neverland, no scary bits and plenty to keep children fascinated (a huge favourite for me as an adult as well).

3. Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin

They do ask your childs age for this one- it isn't to do with their height, they just want to know that they're old enough to hold their heads up as this one goes around and around pretty fast! Not too fast for little ones, but enough to be one of their first thrills.

4. Casey Jr's Circus Train

Remember that little train from Dumbo? They have it hidden in a corner of the main park, and it's great for kids and adults. Mine loved how fast it went around the track, and they get to pick which animal cage they sit in!

5. Dumbo's Flying Elephants

An absolute classic, and no doubt it's the one you've seen on all the adverts. Your little ones will love the views of Fantasyland with the maze and castle. If the queue's are too big and you want something similar, head over to the Studios and get on Aladdin's flying carpets- just as good!

6. Ratatouille: The Adventure

A 4D trackless ride that takes you running through the kitchens, the size of a rat! Archer kept his glasses on for the whole thing, and while a couple of bits may make your children jump (the chef is trying to catch you) it had Isla in hysterics. A fun ride if you have braver children.

7. Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast

If you've got a Toy Story fan (both of mine are!) and have already run through all of the Toy Story section in the Studio park, head over to the main park for this ride! Though the little ones are rubbish shots, they loved the rotatable cars and getting to try get Zurg, as well as all the other cameos from Buzz throughout!

There are plenty of walk through areas if you aren't sure if your child will like rides- such as Alice's Labyrinth and Aladdin's Enchanted Passage, and there are so many rides I haven't even listed that your children might like. 

Some are a bit scarier despite small children being big enough to ride (Snow White and Pirates of the Caribbean for example) but they let the parents judge that one, and surprisingly mine did pretty well on both even so young!

I hope this helps with your planning! Let me know if there are any rides you'd add to this list.