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Simply Hayley

Pampers Little Athletes!

Way back in March we were invited up to London to a day Pampers had organised where we had the chance to meet the lovely Paula Radcliffe and to celebrate the launch of the special limited edition Pampers olympic nappies!

Pampers have teamed up with Paula Radcliffe to promote their Little Athlete campaign!   

Did you know?

  • A cruising baby can take as many steps as a marathon runner in a race within 24 hours.
  • A crawling baby moves 8 times more than an adult just to get to the same place.

Those with babies who are on the move know just how determined they are and the effort these little ones put in when it comes to learning new skills and mastering crawling and walking. Similar to the determination of athletes.

Paula Radcliffe has two little ones of her own and says, “As an Olympic Games athlete I know how effort and determination can help us reach our full potential.  As a mum I see the same determination in my children as they learn to overcome every day challenges through play.  That’s why I’ve joined Pampers Active Fit and the ‘Pampers Little Athlete’ campaign to encourage other parents to celebrate their babies’ play.”

In honour of the Olympics Pampers have launched a limited edition GB design for their Active Fit nappies. These nappies are exactly the same as the normal active fit nappies which have received the Seal of Approval from Allergy UK. The only thing different is the great britain flag on their bottom ;-)

On the day we also had a chance to speak with Dr Maggie Redshaw who I’ve spoken with before to discuss the importance of play and how to help children in their development.

Dr Maggie Redshaw, says, “With every playtime your baby is learning more and conquering his every day challenges, from scaling the sofa to running down the hallway.  It’s important to reward these achievements as well as encouraging them in moving onto the next stage.”

We had a lovely day out and got to see some of our favourite bloggers including Sandy from Baby Baby, Jenny from Gingerbread House, Karin from Cafe Bebe, Sabrina from Mummy Matters and Fi from Childcare is Fun. Paula was extremely down to earth and shared with us her busy training schedule and how she got back into the swing of things after having her little ones. I was also pleasantly surprised to hear how hands on Paula and Gary are with the kids and they are only with a childminder for a very short period!  It was a brilliant day and ended with have a great informative chat with Dr Maggie Redshaw who always has fantastic information to share!

To find out more about the Pampers Little Athlete campaign go to the Pampers UK & Ireland Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/PampersUKIre). Or to see the videos Pampers, Paula and Maggie have made visit their youtube page here: http://www.youtube.com/user/PampersUK?feature=watch

 Disclosure: We received a goody bag and travel expenses for this post however these do not affect our honest opinions. 

Its carnival time!

So like a year ago almost I volunteered to host a britmums carnival and the time has finally come! So now I have around 25, possibly more, awesome posts to share with you!

Ella at notes from home is sharing her tips on how best to present your house if you want to sell it!

Actually Mummy shows off a fantastic stew which is low on Weight Watchers points!

Helen is having a rant about the sock pixie!

Mummy Vs Work has a letter to David Cameron that makes interesting reading!

RedTedArt Jeans to Skirt!

Kate on Thin Ice is being positive and for charity too!

The Nursery:

Hollybobbs has made an important decision in relation to the birth of her baby.

The Mummy Adventure shows us life as a 9 month old in photos.

The Princess Poets Life Adventures shares a short post about her little ones milestone first birthday.

Jennifers Little World has shared her love of books for little ones, something I am extremely passionate about myself.

A Mummy Too has shared a post about how she found it hard to leave her breastfed baby when she still had the choice to and the realities of being a working parent.

My Mummy Life is experiencing the early stages of Temper Tantrums!

The children’s room!

The Frugal Family have had their first heartbreak!

Blog By Baby shares her experiences of raising an autistic child.

LLM Calling shares Ten Top Tips for Sleepovers … I’m going to need this in a few years!

Mum of Three World is having a proud mummy moment

Yummy Mummy Flabby Tummy asks weather we have gone a step too far in being PC?

Parents Space!

Slummy Single Mummy has her first world problems in a week of tweets!

A Matter Of Choice looks back on the love of her life.

The Good Life Bloggers discuss Keeping children entertained on long car journeys.

Mummy from the heart shares a thought provoking post on how our children view us differently to how we view ourselves!

Dorky Mum has a fascinating insight into her recent epiphany about parenting.

Play Activities talks about the pace of life we have as parents.

In a Bun Dance has made a hysterical breakthrough in the world of family communications!

Live Otherwise shares the rules of parenting that she has discovered!


Review: Seraphine Blue Summer Breastfeeding Shawl

I’ve used nursing covers in the past, however they often don’t provide quite enough protection against a feisty DS2 who is keen to flap them around! So when I was sent the Blue Summer Breastfeeding Shawl by Seraphine I figured this may be a better solution!

Now many of you who know me, and have seen me at events etc know I will gladly feed without a cover. Infact I often don’t bat an eyelid to doing so. However there is the occasional time if your surrounded by men, or immature teenagers, where a bit of privacy doesn’t go a miss! Especially when you have a 10 month old keen to throw his head off the boob and have a good nosey at any noise before going back to it! Which is when this piece comes in handy!

I really love this shawl as it can be worn in a number of ways! The poppers mean you can wear it as a poncho, which is how I usually use it as it provides most protection against a tugging and pulling baby! Or you can wear it as a scarf or shawl around your shoulders! It is lovely and light and baby doesn’t get hot underneath it. There is plenty of material that he can pull at it to his hearts content and my modesty is still protected.

The fabric itself is beautiful and incredibly soft. It is a bamboo wool blend and is perfect for the summer as its lovely and light.

The shawl folds up nice and small and doubles up as a blanket for baby if you’ve left yours at home, as I often have the habit of doing.

Its a multifunctional piece at a fantastic price for the quality you are getting. I would definitely recommend this over the smaller nursing covers especially if you are feeding past 6 months and occasionally want to keep some modesty!

Seraphine also do a wide range of pregnancy and nursing clothes so check them out!

Review: Boy Tights from Slugs & Snails

I’ve blogged before about how I was struggling to find tights suitable for boys that didn’t feature embroidered flowers etc! Plain tights are impossible to find! So when I discovered Slugs and Snails I was thrilled! A company stocking tights specifically for boys in lovely boy designs!

There are a range of designs but I decided to try the ‘Out of this world‘ set as I knew biggest would approve too as they are space designed with rockets and stars on! The tights are available in sizes suitable from Newborn up to 3 years. We went for the 6-12 months and they have plenty of room and plenty of length to them. They are slightly long for bubs but this hasn’t been a problem. I’m thrilled they have an anti grip sole to them as it won’t be long before the little guy starts thinking about walking and theres nothing worse than children slip sliding across laminate and lino!

I have received so many comments when bubs has been wearing these as I often dress him in them as a pair of trousers with nothing on top as they are nice and warm without needing to have anything extra on top. In the winter however they would be great as a way of keeping tootsies warm.

The other added bonus is bubs has recently got to the age where socks are a play toy which he likes to take off! Tights means he can’t do that! I also love them as when we are baby wearing I don’t have to worry about the gap that arises often between the end of trousers and the end of socks!

Would I recommend these? Absolutely! I will be purchasing more for us to use as I find them fantastic! I know not everyone agrees with boys wearing tights but the pros far outweigh the cons and when they are as cute as these and designed FOR BOYS, is there really any harm?

Check out their website at: http://slugsandsnails.ie/

13.5 Miles – Completed!

Yep as regular readers know on Saturday night Me and my Mum set off to do 13.5 miles around London in our decorated bras for the Walk the Walk Moonwalk to raise money for Breast Cancer care and research.

We set off at 7:30 on Saturday evening, the joy of living at the end of the piccadilly line! We arrived to find a mile long queue to get into Moonwalk City! So once we were in after 9pm we grabbed our dinner that is provided and eventually found a space in the giant tent amongst 17000 women to sit down and eat! It was surprisingly tasty! Once we’d eaten we got ourselves kitted up and dropped our bags to the bag store and decided we’d get some tattoos done.  The queue wasn’t too bad and once done we headed to the shop to pick up a few bits before listening to Nina (one of the founders) on stage along with some of the charities. One of the key messages I heard from one of the charities that receive funding from walk the walk is that they are striving for a world where women don’t need to fear breast cancer. One day! We kicked about in the tent for a while before our start at 12pm. We managed to get quite near the front of our start, clever planning, and were across the line at 12.04. Hyde Park was the first 3+ miles and was easy because there was enough space for everyone to walk and we had a good pace going. Then we had the gridlock that is Hyde Park corner. Walk the Walk can’t afford to close roads so you do have to wait for the green lights much to the frustration of some! I used it as a chance to have a snack hehe!

After that we headed past Buckingham palace and into St James Park, round horse guards parade and along to the Cenotaph and Downing Street before heading along to Embankment. From there we went along to St Pauls and continued around the City before crossing the river just before Tower Bridge. We then paved a route back around towards Waterloo where we rejoined the river at South Bank before doing a route around the back of the London Eye, over the bridge, up to parliament and back through St James and Hyde Park. 13.5 Miles in Total! We managed it in 4hrs 40 which was fantastic as my Mum really struggled the final 3 miles with her back following her spinal surgery in November. I was amazed she’d managed 10 miles with very little problem!

The atmosphere was incredible and there were some awesome bras and a suprising amount of men taking part. Some sparing us the sight of their beer bellies and hairy chests and others just going for the baring all but a bra! Costume of the night went to the ‘Pair of tits’ who were literally that. Tit 1 and Tit 2. Both of them had a giant inflatable boob on their front! Needless to say that got a good few cheers from supporters.

The walk the walk volunteers need commending for standing out in the cold all night long! And the cheers and shouts were so appreciated! Even from the drunken men who fall out of clubs and find 17000 women strolling past!

We finished and had to wait for my father, who it turned out stayed in bed an extra ten minutes after we rung him, so whilst waiting I ended up extremely cold and although I got home at sometime around 6am to two wide awake kids I didn’t feel warm again until about 11am!

Yesterday my legs were so painful especially in my lower right calf where I seem to have pulled a muscle. Today I am just achy but pleased I got a good nights sleep.

Would I do it again? Yes! In fact my next challenge will be doing a marathon power walk for CRUK in September!

Queueing to get into Moonwalk City!

Inside the massive tent

Name and number on the chest with a sharpie!

Bras on the face!

Trying to keep warm before setting off!

I look like a dork in a baseball cap!

All set and ready to go!

Walking through the finish!

Freezing cold waiting for my father!

Did it!

Why I’ll be walking around London in a bra the day of Cybher…

Yep next Saturday whilst a large number of bloggers are letting their hair down following Cybher I will be donning a bra, and walking 13.5 miles around London in aid of Breast Cancer. Yes I’ve written about it before and Yes I’m going to write about it again! Why? Because I’m doing it for sponsorship. I’m doing it to raise money to help find cures and treatments for breast cancer.

Last summer when my littlest was just ten days old my Nanny was diagnosed with breast cancer. It knocked me for ten. There was me struggling with breastfeeding and providing the best I could for my little guy with what these two lumps on a womans chest are designed for and on the other hand they were going to cause my Nanny and the family a great deal of pain and worry. So bittersweet.

Nanny has come out the other side following treatment although remains on tablets and under the care of the consultant. One of the tablets she was taking for a while was a trial drug. Her attitude was if she didn’t take it then how would they ever know if it could help people. Damn right! I was so proud when she said that.

But before these kinds of drugs can even get to the patient they need money to fund the research and science behind it. Roughly 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer at some time in their life. Thats one in the group of postnatal friends I have. Thats roughly 300 from the 2800 followers I have on twitter. It could be me, it could be you. And for that reason I am asking you to please donate anything you can. Even if its just £1 it still makes the difference. As the famous saying goes, every little helps!

This week I’ve spent numerous evenings surrounded by material, lace, needles, thread, ribbons. I’ve done what I hate most! Sewing! All because next week 17,000 women will take to the streets of London in decorated bras, myself included. So for that reason and the fact I’m going to subject them all to my Mum tum! PLEASE consider sponsoring me, even just the tiniest amount! You can find our page HERE.

Thank you! 

Senses.

I see… The lounge that needs tidying. The course books that I should pick up and read. And the telly I’m not watching because I can’t find the TV gadget.

I touch…. My new cheap uncomfortable breast pump!

I hear… Said new breast pump that’s do loud my neighbours probably think its some form of adult toy!

I taste… The chocolate bar I just ate. Milk chocolate rocky road!

I smell…the chlorine still on my skin even after a shower from swimming with my eldest today.

What I am afraid of…

Roads. Cars. Accidents.

I’ve always been aware of the amount of people that get killed on the roads in accidents, sometimes down to drink drivers, extreme weather etc. As a child I was hyper aware of it. And then I learnt to drive and I was even more aware of it. I was petrified of motorways. Absolutely petrified. I did Pass Plus with my instructor and seeing as we live smack next to the M25 and M3 within 10 minutes of being in the car he had got me to join the motorway. To say I was crapping it is in an understatement!

In recent years a number of old school pals have passed away in road accidents. The most recent at the end of last year.

Recently since my Dad busted his collarbone I’ve been driving him places a lot and he’s commented that I’m a safe driver. Why he observed that I don’t know but probably has something to do with the fact I’m the complete opposite of him at driving! As a child I used to be terrified at times being in the car with my Dad! I don’t want my children to be scared of my driving. So I do drive safely, especially as I have precious cargo on board more often than not!

I don’t know that its a fear thats ever going to go away as I’m so aware its there and its something I use everyday and ultimately that fear keeps me being safe. I would hate to have the ‘I’m invincible’ attitude that some people have because I think then your less aware of the dangers.

Whats your fear? Check out everyone else’s over at Boy Oh Boy:

What doesn’t kill you…

A bit like Emma at Boy Oh Boy, I also have a pinterest board with words that inspire me. Well thats most of my pinterest too but this board has some of my favourite sayings. However my absolute favourite quote at the moment is:

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. 

For me it just says everything about my life so far. There has been so many times that I’ve been knocked down. When I’ve thought I was at my lowest ebb. When I thought I couldn’t muster up any fight any longer, but somehow I’ve always come back and each time I’ve fought back stronger and with a new resilience and understanding of who and what not to trust etc.

Check out Boy oh Boy for other bloggers favourite quotes!