Posts in category: Uncategorized

While reading through the comments on that post, I read one from Natalie at Crummy Mummy that’s stuck with me – “Sounds like you’re getting a bit broody to me!!”

And I think I have to agree, there is definitely a sense of broodiness about me at the moment.  I’m not sure if that means I want another baby though, I think maybe it means that my children are getting older and I’m feeling a bit nostalgic for those early, new baby days.

There are definitely some hard parts to the newborn days, and after having my first I was really quite shell-shocked I think.  But second time around it all felt much easier and now there are a few things that I’m finding myself missing about those early days:

A whole new person to discover and learn about.  A new set of quirks to find out about.  A new pile of questions, just waiting to be answered with time.

There’s still so much for me to discover and learn about my children as they continue to grow, but I do miss that brand-newness that came with the baby days.

2) The smell. 
Oh that wonderful new baby smell.  You just can’t beat it.

3) The bubble.
By which I mean that wonderful new baby bubble, when it’s almost like everything else just stops for a bit, and your whole world is reduced to you, and your family.

It doesn’t last long, especially if it’s not your first baby, but for that short time it’s lovely.

4) The firsts.
The first bath at home.  The first gassy smile, and the first real one that goes all the way to their eyes.  The first time they reach out and bat at a toy.  The first time they roll over.  The list goes on.  The first year as a whole is a year of firsts, and it’s wonderful.

I know I still have a lot more ‘firsts’ to come, but there’s something special about the new baby ‘firsts’!

I’m sure there are more things that I’ve missed off this list, but the thing is, I just miss those baby days as a whole at times.  They go so quickly, and before you know it you’ve got a walking, talking toddler on your hands.  And I’m sure in another year’s time I’ll be writing about all the things I miss about having a toddler, as my daughter will be three, and entering the realms of ‘little kid’!

I suppose the key is to just try and be ‘present’ at each stage.  I’m not saying for a second that we should cherish every moment, of every stage, because that’s just impossible.

It’s more that we should stop every now and then, at each stage, and just drink it all in.

Because all too soon that moment will be gone.

Are you out of the new baby days?  What do you miss the most?  Or are you actually just happy to be out of that stage?! 

But, things have actually worked out quite differently.  She is so feisty and independent, she just wants to do the things her big brother does.  Which has meant that actually she’s dropped a lot of ‘baby’ things much earlier than Rhys did.

He quite happily sat in his buggy until he was 3, whereas (after it broke on the school run) we got rid of the buggy when Nerys was about 18 months old and never replaced it.  She is more than happy to walk alongside me, and be carried when she gets a bit tired.

We also got rid of our high chair a long time ago, after we got fed up with it taking up so much room in the house, and realised that Nerys actually just wanted to be up at the table with everyone else rather than stuck in a separate seat.  So for the most part, when we eat at the kitchen table, she’s been using the same grown up chairs as everyone else, and has been sort of kneeling up on it to reach the table comfortably.

So, when I was offered the chance to review this lovely booster seat from Welcome Family I was really excited.

When the seat is folded down it measures 41 cm x 29 cm (the same size as an A3 piece of paper!), and is just 5 cm in depth, which makes it really great for popping in the cupboard under the stairs, or behind the kitchen door even, when it’s not being used.

I did have a slight issue with this the very first time I used it, as our kitchen chairs have curved backs, so the rubber grips on the back of the booster seat weren’t flush against it.  This meant that it wasn’t held in place as securely as it should be and it slipped a bit when Nerys sat in it.

But all I had to do was get her out and pull the straps so they were really tight around the chair (very easy to do) and then fasten them again.  After I’d done that we had no problems at all.

• It’s so compact when folded down, which is perfect when you don’t have a lot of space to store things.

• It attaches to the chair quickly and easily.  We don’t always want the booster seat attached to the chair, so it’s great to be able to put it on and take it off without a big fuss.

• It looks great.  You can get the seat in a few different colours but I really love this natural wood one as it’s so classic.  It blends in really nicely with the rest of the kitchen and feels like it would last past any current ‘trends’.

• It doesn’t scream ‘baby’.  I love how it doesn’t feel at all babyish, like so many other booster seats do.  This is purely a way to bring her up to the same height as everyone else at the table, and it’s so beautiful in it’s simplicity.

• It’s the perfect height.  When Nerys is sitting in this chair she is at just the right height, so she can reach her food comfortably and she can be pushed right up to the table so she can join in with everything that’s going on.

If you’re looking for an alternative to a big bulky highchair, then I highly recommend you go and check these out!