Baby Baker Friday - Willow's Outfits - #1

So as you know, I decided that Friday's on the blog would be dedicated to my pregnancy and now, new mummy status.

I know it's not something everyone wants to read about but it is something that I really wanted to do - so I'm doing it - after all, being pregnant and having a beautiful new baby is a huge thing to be happening in my life and I really wanted to share bits and pieces of what is going on amongst these pages.

So here we go

~ Baby Baker Friday ~

~ Right, first things first, Merry Christmas everyone - I hope you are all having an amazing day ~

Now, if you follow me on any of my social media channels, be they personal or blog related, then you will have had to endure the zillion Baby Baker pictures I just cannot seem to resist posting.

But am I sorry?

No, I am not.

I simply love capturing all the special moments my little Princess has, and - well - it's only right that I share them with the world now isn't it...

From all of those beautiful smiles to the cutest of outfits, I'm collecting as many memories as I can because time is going so fast and I want to make sure I remember everything.

And so...

... Ta - Da ...

~ Baby Baker's Look Book ~

I've decided that with the amount of outfit shots I already have and will no doubt keep on taking, and with the amount of clothes Baby Baker has waiting unworn in her wardrobe and with my inability to stop buying lovely outfits for her I feel it would be only right to make part of my Baby Baker Friday slot dedicated to Willow and all of her lovely clothes.

And so...

Baby Baker is currently 10 weeks old and at last weigh in was 9lb 5oz
(although she will be heavier now)

She is currently wearing "First Size" or "Newborn" clothing
(shop depending).

And with it being Christmas Day, I thought I'd make a start on things by showing you the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day outfits I found for her.

With it being Baby Baker's first Christmas I simply had to go as festive as possible ("festive" obviously means "wear red" doesn't it...) and I couldn't resist these two pieces - especially seeing as how they were in the F&F sale and cost a combined total of £8.

Bargain

Aren't they just the cutest.

The babygrow was just £2.50 and whilst it won't fit Baby Baker for long it was perfect for Christmas eve - fleecy, warm, Ruldolph and Chritsmas tree adorned...

~ Fabulous ~

Now, Christmas Day - the first Christmas Day - required something mega cute and it just had to be a dress.

And to have a little bit of Minnie Mouse thrown in for good measures?

Yeah, why not.

This little set cost £5.50 and came complete with a pair of red and white polka dot tights which complemted the bow at the waist beautifully.

The hem line was brilliant too - all furry and very Mrs Clause like - the skirt had a little bit of netting underneath which also created a slight tutu-like effect.

The headband - already in Baby Baker's wardrobe - matched perfectly...

What do you think?

Personally I know what I think...

~ C U T E ~

I wonder what we'll be wearing next month...

Secret Santa Christmas Knits

~ Wow, Wow, Wow ~

As if it is actually Christmas Eve TOMORROW.

Where on earth has this week gone...

...actually - where on earth has this year gone - it's flown by.

And I'm not sure if it's just me being a little bit scrooge-like, but it really doesn't feel like Christmas at all just yet.

I think once the Hubby finishes work and all of the gift wrapping is finished then I'll feel a little better and more "in the mood".

But now if it snowed, that would be perfect and would certainly help to set the Christmas tone to everything but I think the only Facebook worthy weather we're getting at the moment is pouring rain and howling winds - hardly very festive is it.

Saying that though, something that can't fail to begin to stoke those Christmassy fires is receiving gifts - and getting to open them early is always a bonus.

Workwear Express contacted me and asked if I wanted to have a little delve into their Christmas offerings and then become a Secret Santa for another fabulous blogger, choosing one of their festive Christmas knits to have sent out and then have someone else pick something for me.

How could I refuse?

I mean, yes I do already have stacks of Christmas jumpers but I just couldn't say no (is there a Christmas Jumper addiction helpline number anywhere...?) and so on to the website I went and picked out a few gifts for my Secret Santa recipient.

A few weeks later a package arrived for me containing this very bright number...

Fabulous isn't it.

Now whilst it is a little on the large side size-wise I would much prefer this than to have it skin tight - I mean who wants to be bulging out of their clothes after eating all of that turkey and all of those sprouts on Christmas Day?

Not me that's for sure so the sizing of this is great for me...plus I'm still packing a whole lot of baby weight that I'd really rather not be drawing too much attention to.

A baggy jumper is perfect.

And then accompanying the jumper was a little added extra in the form of this huge, very rustic looking Santa sack...

...and it is the perfect size to house Baby Baker's pressie from us (who can be bothered to wrap huge boxes when you really don't have too?!)

I'm certainly ready to be opening a few more gifts now...

Roll On Christmas Day

* PR Samples. Words & images my own

The Broadway, Bradford - Pre-Christmas Competition

How close is it to Christmas?

I'm so not ready this year - not at all.

In fact I haven't even set foot inside of an actual shop to buy any pressies as of yet, the few I have managed to buy have simply been on-line purchases.

But I'm sorting it, I'm making myself venture into town later this week - which is going to be a mission and a half with my bus-sized pram and Baby Baker in tow - but it has to be done.

Luckily for me though, this years shopping trip is going to be a whole lot easier now that Bradford has it's all new, fairly mahoosive shopping centre, Broadway which is having it's very first Christmas this year - just like Baby Baker - after it was opened on 5th November by none other than Alexandra Burke.

At least by heading there I know that everything I need will be easily assessable and all under the one roof.

There is an Entertainer, a Clinique, Benefit, Kiko, MAC (oh yes, Bradford actually has a MAC - woohoo), H&M (WOOHOO!!), Next, M&S - and many more.

There is just so much choice.

And when myself and my little lady need a pit stop we again have a whole load of foodie type choice too - Burger King, Taco Bell, Patisserie Valerie (oh my days!), to name just a few.

The whole place is really making my impossible-seeming "lets-put-it-off-forever" shopping trip seem a lot more bearable.

And what's even more bearable is the fact that, since I have teamed up with The Broadway, I am able to offer one lucky person the chance to win a £50 Broadway voucher to spend in any of those fab shops.

Perfect in the run up to Christmas eh!!

I mean I'm sure an extra £50 wouldn't go a-miss over the next few days now would it!

And all you have to do is answer this question in the comments section below...

"What is your favourite shop within Broadway and what do you want Santa to bring you from there?"

http://www.broadwaybradford.com

@TheBroadwayBrad

TheBroadwayBradford ~

To make sure everything is as fair as possible, I'm going to ask my very lovely, impartial Mother (who knows nothing about the whole blogging world) to simply pick her favourite answer from the entries and that person will win the voucher.

~ Nice and easy ~

The competition will only run until 11pm on Saturday 19th December - I need time to contact the winner and get the voucher out in the post first thing on Monday morning so it hopefully gets to them on Tuesday.

Plenty of time for a crazy mad-dash down to Broadway to get it all spent before the big day...

(The Broadway is open Monday-Saturday 9am-9pm and Sunday 11am-5pm - loads of shopping hours)

...or maybe just keep it safe and sound until all of those crazy sales hit on Boxing Day...

(9am-6pm)

...and then hopefully pick up some fabulous bargains...

I may even see you there, flitting between the shops.

Happy Entering - I very much look forward to reading your answers!

* post & competition in collaboration with The Broadway, Bradford

Baby Baker Friday - This Week, I Hated A Health Care Professional...

So as you know, I decided that Friday's on the blog would be dedicated to my pregnancy and now, new mummy status.

I know it's not something everyone wants to read about but it is something that I really wanted to do - so I'm doing it - after all, being pregnant and having a beautiful new baby is a huge thing to be happening in my life and I really wanted to share bits and pieces of what is going on amongst these pages.

So here we go

~ Baby Baker Friday ~

A few days ago I never thought I'd be writing this up as a post - I was far too upset and worried about my little lady to imagine I'd be sharing things with the world.
(it's nothing serious - no panic needed!)

But after a lovely conversation with a very understanding doctor yesterday I decided that I would write it all out after all because, whilst there is nothing to worry about with Baby Baker, I am more than a little bit put out by some (one) of the health care professionals I have met this week.

She has made me realise that, whilst not intentional, sometimes you have to just go with your gut instinct and realise that not everyone has the skills needed to offer advice in a tactful way.

Even people who really should posses such skills.

Let me explain...

Earlier this week I decided that because I hadn't had Baby Baker weighed in a while I would make an appointment with my health visitor and pop along to see how my little lady was getting on.

And there was nothing wrong there at all - the little fattie is now a very healthy 9lb 5oz.

Whilst I was there, health visitor at my disposal, I decided to raise a few things I wanted clarification on - well, we all know how hard it is to get appointments these days - may as well use the time I had with her productively.

One of the things I mentioned was the fact that over the past week or so I have noticed that when in her chair or lying down, Baby Baker has started to prefer having her head to one side.

She can, and will, move her head from side to side but holding her head to the right is certainly her direction of choice.

I wasn't too worried though - she's happy, is always cooing and smiling, is sleeping through at night now (woohoo!), is putting weight on nicely and is generally a very happy little lady.

But being a Mum, I wanted to double check, just to make sure everything was one hundred percent OK.

And I really thought it was...until the health visitor said she wanted to "speak to her colleague" about what I had said...and then when the other lady came in they began whispering in the other room to each other...

Never a good sign.

...and then the original lady decided to tell me that she had "noticed her cheeks weren't aligned properly"...

What?!

What does that mean?

What's wrong with my baby's perfect cheeks?

Obviously now I was beginning to worry.

To be honest, I had noticed myself that the back of Baby Baker's head was changing shape a little bit and this was partly my reason for mentioning my concerns over the head turning situation...but her beautiful little face...

...become "unaligned"?

That was something I hadn't noticed.

What was going to happen to her?

Would her whole face be affected?

Would her speech be affected?
How could I help?
What could I do?

But I was told not to worry (you're joking right!), to "keep the pressure off of her head" and to "come back in the New Year".

The NEW YEAR??

I left that doctors surgery in floods of tears with all kinds of thoughts running through my mind.

I was trying to think of ways to let her sleep, to change her nappy, to let her play, without her head touching anything to stop the pressure making the situation any worse.

For the next 24 hours that little lady spent the majority of her time up on my shoulder, in a sling, on her tummy, sat up with us supporting her neck - you name it I tried it.

And she was exhausted with it all.

And so was I - exhausted and worried.

So I made an appointment to see my doctor the next day - I needed a second opinion and there's no way I could "wait until the New Year" - I'd have been a shattered, nervous wreck by then.

The doctor I saw was so lovely - she is really understanding and friendly and what a difference it makes when there is someone there who is willing to take the time to help you properly.

The doctor listened and explained that "Plagiocephaly" is very common in babies - more so now than ever with the need for babies to be positioned on their backs to sleep to try and prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

She told me that once babies begin to sit up unaided their still soft skulls will begin to move back into the correct position and the condition no way at all will impact brain development.

But she also understood my worries and realised that because I had words related to facial distortions thrown at me with no real explanation it was bound to set off a whole catalyst of concern.

Don't get me wrong - my baby could have three eyes and tentacles and she would still be perfect and beautiful and amazing - my little princess - but the way in which things were said to me was bound to make me worry.

I wouldn't want something to happen to either of my children and there be a way in which I could have helped them but didn't because I didn't have the correct information - I would never forgive myself.

I'm a Mum and I'll help my children with anything, any way I can.

The doctor found me a leaflet and promised to speak to a physiotherapist to make sure the things we were doing to help the plagiocephaly not become worse were all correct.

She was wonderful and really helped to counteract some of the worry and unease caused the day before.

That's all the situation needed really - someone to tell me that, OK there could be an issue, but here are the ways to help make it better, rather than worry me half to death and send me on my way.

And I know from speaking to my friends that it's not just me either...

One of my close friends was told, again by her health visitor, just on a hunch that her baby may need a hip operation.

There was nothing wrong with her little girl's hips, but that one comment set off a whole load of unnecessary worry and concern for my friend and her partner.

And then another friend of mine who has recently had a baby but had to stay in hospital for a few days, in her own words, has said she "felt pressured to breastfeed" even though she was in terrible pain - so much so that it was making her poorly.
She felt guilty even considering switching to a bottle and formula.

Is it fair?

No it's not.

But I do know that it isn't everyone - I have met some amazing midwives during my pregnancy and one of my health visitors is fantastic but it really frustrates me that during such a life-changing time there are some people who obviously offer up their own versions of advice, maybe with a few of their own opinions slotted in without thinking things through first.

They need to remember that whilst they are doing their job, for the parents that they speak to, it is their lives that the advice affects and not one of them will go away and "do no thinking" on the things they are told.

Their precious little bundles are the only thing the parents will be thinking about.

I just wish people would consider the things they say a little more sometimes...

George Clothing - Christmas Jumper Offerings

The date is December 8th.

Which means that as of today, there are only 17 short days until the big day.

 Christmas Day

~ Yay ~

And I have to say that (despite the main focus of this post) I really, really do love everything about the day so very much.

I mean how could I not, what's not to love?

It is a day full of family, slobbing out watching TV show after TV show and is quite possibly the only time of the year where it is actually frowned upon if you don't consume your body weight in piles of stodgy, calorific, amazingly tasty food.

Oh yes - it is so my favourite.

Over the past few years I have felt the need to be as festive as possible and by doing so have totally jumped upon the hype of the ever growing Christmas knitwear trend.

So much so that I am now the proud owner of a suitcase full of Christmassy jumpers in a whole array of colours and styles, but this doesn't mean to say I'm not willing to add more to my little stash if opportunity arises.

And so, when I was introduced to George's very brilliant Christmas Jumper Range I knew, that at the very least, one of them would have to be mine.

But choosing just the one favourite proved harder than I initially thought - I found so many brilliant ones - but in the end I did manage to whittle it down.

Despite the variety of fluffy, sequinned lady-like numbers that were tempting me within the women's section something else caught my eye and I just knew it was "the one"...

...the fact that it came from the men's section didn't bother me one little bit...

It's just fab isn't it.

A really simple, fun, tongue-in-cheek kind of jumper that just screams "Christmas".

I mean, come on - it's The Grinch.

The two go hand in hand (well they do in my household anyway!) and Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without him showing up at least once over the festive period.

...and my son liked it - so it was the obvious choice...

Now not only will he be gracing my TV screen, I shall be parading his very beautiful, very large face around all day as well.

So, jumper hunt complete I homed in on the other departments and picked up a few bits too...

First up was the denim section where I picked up a pair of dark straight legged jeans to team with the quite loose fitting jumper.

I found that the colours of both jumper and jeans complemented each other perfectly and they helped to cover up some of my post-pregnancy lumps and bumps, which really helped to make me feel a little more confident wearing them - which is always a good thing.

The lovely tan ankle boots complete with gold detailing are a perfect finishing touch too.

Not only will they help protect my feet from the horrendous British weather we are having at the minute, but they also help to make me feel a little more stylish.

(something I need all the help I can get with at the moment)

And then there was this fabulous, slightly see through, white blouse with a fab striking black and silver feather detail.

I picked this out immediately as I knew it was perfect for my "update my wardrobe with nice things" mission.

It is perfect for not only adding a very contrasting, striking collar detail to the jumper when worn underneath, but by teaming it with black trousers or a black skater skirt and thick tights plus a pair of killer heels it makes the perfect no-fuss, party ready outfit in no time at all.

I do like it very much.

But if I had to choose a favourite piece, simply because of how relaxed and fun it is, the fabulous Grinch jumper has to win every time - and can you blame me?

It's certainly going to keep me warm, snug and cosy and is the perfect way to ensure I'm looking all Christmas Day ready.

Do you love Christmas as much as myself and The Grinch?

* PR samples. All words, pictures and thoughts are my own