First visit to see Santa

Last Wednesday was a very special day...... it was Brooke's first trip to go & see Santa!
I know it's crazy and everybody says don't bother the first year because obviously she has no idea about Santa, or even what's going on at all, but I love Christmas and was determined to get little B in on the action as soon as we could.

We booked to go on the 16th for a couple of reasons. Firstly I thought it would be near enough to Christmas that the atmosphere would be good, but not near enough that it would be crazy busy with all the kids broken up from school. Secondly it was that exact day last year that we did a pregnancy test and found out we were having a baby so being the silly sentimental girl that I am I thought it would be nice to take our baby girl somewhere exciting on that day to sort of mark the occasion.

We went to a garden centre not too far from where we live which I booked a couple of weeks beforehand. I didn't fancy going to a busy shopping centre grotto so this was ideal for a quiet mid-week visit for us.

The grotto area was separate from the main garden centre and had a nice little walkway lined with Christmas trees leading up to it. About 5 other kids came in at the same time as us which was a lovely small group.

We went into a large room with decorations all around it, benches in the middle for us to sit on and Santa in a little stage type area at the front. We all sat down and Santa told all the kids a story which was really sweet and made sure he interacted with each one and asked them questions. Then each child got to go up and see Santa individually, have a chat about what they wanted for Christmas (of course!) and have some photos taken.

We were allowed to take our own photos in the grotto as well which I loved. It's definitely a nice touch and means you don't have to fork out for the pricey professional photos if you don't want to. Obviously with it being Brooke's first Christmas they were obligatory for us!

We were over the moon that Brooke actually seemed to really enjoy herself. She loves all the twinkly lights and Christmas music and was just in the best mood for the entire morning which I was so pleased about. I was a little bit worried she'd be too young and find it all overwhelming and get upset but it was the total opposite. She wasn't too sure what to make of Santa so wasn't her usual smiley self but she wasn't upset about it either. While Santa was telling his story she sat there good as gold, cooing away and seemed quite interested in what was going on! haha 

After we came out of the grotto she was squealing with happiness all the way round the garden centre and shouting chatting at everybody we saw. Strangers always comment on how vocal she is it's so funny, she gets really loud!! 

It was G's birthday last week as well so we ended the day with a trip to Toby Carvery as a treat and B slept the entire time AND the whole way home so all the excitement must have worn her out!

Did you take your little one to see Santa when they were small? We'd love to hear about your experience.

XOXO

Baby's First Injections

Now we've been to 2 out of the 3 appointments for Brooke's first lot of injections I feel like I can share our experience and hopefully be of some use to anybody who has their baby's first injections coming up soon.

As a new mum I was vaguely aware that small babies have to have vaccinations but that's about it. I was pretty clueless about when they happened and what exactly they were for.

So far Brooke has had her 8 week vaccinations and her 12 week vaccinations - the 16 week ones (which will be the last until she is 1) are coming up just before Christmas.

I was absolutely dreading the first appointment, like really really dreading it. I know vaccinations are done for such good reasons and of course 2 seconds of pain is so much better than a serious illness, plus Brooke obviously won't remember these AT all, but there is still nothing more heartbreaking than your babies little face looking at you, screaming out in pain, wondering why mummy - the one person who is meant to protect them from anything bad - is letting somebody hurt them! :(

At the 8 week appointment Brooke had three injections, two in one thigh and one in the other, and one oral medication to vaccinate against rotavirus.

The injection that I was particularly anxious about was the one for Meningitis C. It is a very new vaccination that had only been offered for around 6 weeks by the time Brooke had it so I had no friends to ask for advice about it.

NHS advice with baby vaccinations in general is to have calpol on hand in case baby develops a fever later on that evening but with the new Men C injection it's not IF baby gets a fever, it's WHEN baby gets a fever because it is almost a certainty that baby will react badly to that one in particular. You are advised when you book to actually bring the calpol with you to the appointment and to give some straight away after they have the injection, plus twice more through the night.

We have been very lucky and thankfully Beooke has coped incredibly well with her vaccinations so far and hasn't had any major side effects.

After the 8 week jabs we gave her calpol at the doctors as advised, she was a little sleepier than normal but was absolutely fine. She amazingly didn't develop any sort of fever and slept as normal that night. We only felt the need to give the calpol that day and by the next morning she was her usual happy self. She did actually come out in a bit of a cold a few days after which I've mentioned in a previous post, so I expected that was a delayed effect of the injections.

At the 12 week appointment 2 injections are given (no nasty Men C this time - Yay!) and one oral medication. Again Brooke reacted well, had a slight temperature later in the evening and flushed rosy cheeks so we gave her one dose of calpol but was good as new after that!

I'm a bit worried because her 16 week injections are the week before Christmas so I'm hoping she doesn't have a nasty reaction to them that will ruin Christmas for her, so fingers crossed! Plus we have to have the nasty Men C one again next time!

Obviously the actual moment when the injection is carried out and Brooke screams her head off completely breaks my heart! BUT we definitely feel it is for the greater good and will continue to get her vaccinated as per the NHS recommendations. Luckily we have a super brave little girl and she has only cried for 30 seconds max and cuddles from mummy and daddy really seem to help.

Have you had your little ones vaccinated? I'd love to hear about your experience? What do you think of the new Men C injection?

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XOXO

Baby's First Cold

For the last week or so our poor baby girl has been suffering with her first cold and it's breaking my heart.

Subsequently I've discovered that before 8 weeks old there really isn't anything you can give a baby to make them feel better, something that I never gave my thought to until I had Brooke.

I think as an adult we just take for granted that we can grab some cough medicine or vapour rub, pop a paracetamol or even blow our nose but poor little B has definitely not had such an easy time.

Luckily it hasn't been anything too serious. To begin with she had a horrible snotty nose and temperature so I was able to give her some calpol which seemed to help. The worst thing was definitely that she couldn't breathe through her nose. She would have to spit her dummy out in the night so she could breathe and then she'd cry because she wanted her dummy again - it was so sad! That along with a nasty cough was ensuring poor little B was up most of the night which is unheard of for our sleepy bear.

After a few days suffering I ventured up to Boots to find out if there was anything we could give her. Annoyingly vapor rub, plug ins, olbus oil, cough medicine is all from 3 months plus. At this point Brooke was 9 weeks so I asked if it really makes that much difference? Personally I can't understand it? Surely a product is either suitable for tiny baby's or it isn't? What difference is a 2 month old baby to a 3 month old baby? ....but anyway off we went with our recommended saline spray to try to decongest B's little nose so she would feel more comfortable.

Luckily this did seem to do the job and after a day or two Brooke was feeling much better. That along with the amount of Vicks that G and me were smothering ourselves in must have had some secondary effect on her.

Unfortunately we're just left with a little cough now that keeps waking her up in the night but fingers crossed that'll be gone soon, it seems to be getting better everyday.

Did your little ones get poorly at an early age? What did you do? I'd love to hear about it

XOXO

Brooke's First Halloween

Even before Brooke was born I've always loved Halloween! I know it's not for everybody and is very American but that doesn't bother me. In fact last year I was lucky enough to spend Halloween in Las Vegas with work and it was in-cred-ible! Literally the craziest night out I have ever had - the Americans go all out for Halloween and I'd never seen fancy dress costumes like it.

This year is Brooke's first Halloween so we couldn't resist getting her some cute little outfits to mark the occasion.

Brooke's Nonna found this for her in a charity shop for the bargain price of £2!

It's actually size 3-6 months so I was expecting it to swamp her but it wasn't too big at all which is a little bit scary.

Today we've just gone for a casual My First Halloween babygrow which I picked up for £5 at Asda. It's actually really lovely quality and has the helpful fold over sleeve/mitt things which is always good because Brooke's hands get SO cold during the night!

We did actually get invited to a Halloween/birthday/fireworks party this afternoon but I didn't think Brooke was really old enough this year. All the other kids going are quite a lot older and will be able to enjoy the fireworks where we would have to stay in the warm and watch through the window/or be asleep so we turned down the invitation.

Daddy is at work today so me & B are staying in the warm & having cuddles tonight but I can't wait until she is a little bit older & we can go to parties or go out Trick or Treating!

Brooke's Nonna bought her these lovely little Halloween presents which I thought was so sweet! Even though the candle holder isn't really baby friendly as such I think it's great that we can get in out every year & light a little candle to "spooky" the house up. The little owl puppet book is just adorable and I'm sure B will love it by next Halloween and again it's something we can get out every year.

Are you doing anything special for Halloween? I'd love to see your baby's costume?

Happy Halloween everyone!

XOXO