Today I got stuck in the shower.

No jokes. I was stuck in the shower. I couldn't get out. Hot water was running down on me and I could not move.

Ok, I wasn't literally stuck, but almost. You see the way the mornings play out in my house is that my girls wake up at about 7, upon hearing them I get up and go in the shower while they both talk and sing in their respective cots (more about this later). Then I get out the shower, get dressed and then the day begins. Bottles, breakfast, getting both dressed, nappies off, toileting, vomit = change bubs clothes, Playschool, Play Do, vomit again this time on me = change of clothes (I totally just lied - I just give it a good wipe!) and whilst I love my girls to pieces.. today I just couldn't face the sometimes ground hog day way of living. So I stayed in the shower. 

While I was in there, it was my little dream world. It was quiet, I didn't have to hold anyone, I didn't hear crying and my favourite was that I didn't have to answer the non-stop flow of Why questions. (Grrrr!) To put it simply I wasn't responsible for anyone else other than myself and let me tell you - it felt AMAZING! The only thing that did ruin my shower just a little, was my guilt. I knew they were waiting for me. So I washed myself again, reasoned with myself why I had to conditioner my hair again and then I got out. And it begins...........


In order to make this somewhat informative for you, my sleep tip for this blog is really an awake tip. From about when your baby is 4 months old and over that ridiculously starving cry that newborns get, my advice is that you don't rush into them every time they wake up. Let them lie there for a little while and start conditioning them to wait a little. I love listening to my girls through their monitors. Mikah will talk about whatever is going on her head and reveals all sorts of wonderful things and Rafaella just makes all those cute little noises and shrieks and plays with her blanky. It is really good for your kids to have this time and it is golden time for you. 

And let me tell you what I heard this morning through the monitor "Daddy didn't brush my teeth and he said shsh don't tell mummy, it our secret". Earl if you are reading this - BUSTED!

Sweet Dreams, 
BEC xoxo

www.belliesandbeyond.com.au

Travelling with Tots.

I feel that I'm a (relatively) competent mother. I'm by no means perfect but I'm not worthy of social services attention either. My kids are pretty well behaved, tantrums are kept to a minimum, they can sit acceptably in a cafe and even score some smiles from strangers. BUT the days leading up to flying internationally with them really got me freaking out. It is a well known fact that toddlers and aeroplanes are not a good combination. 

In my head I tried to tell myself - who cares what the girls are like, you will never see these people again, or everyone knows that kids act out on planes... But even knowing this, I won't lie.
I was crapping myself.
I tried to prepare myself for every possible scenario both mentally and physically.

Well let me tell you (without meaning to blow my own trumpet) both baby and toddler were FANTASTIC. We managed to score the bassinet for Rafi who not too long into the flight went to sleep  and my toddler didn't sleep but happily played the whole time.

Ok mothers, let me be graphic for one second. You know those poos that our babies do that are just tragic? Well we had one of those on the flight. It was while she was lying on her back asleep so it seriously travelled far. I kid you not - I was wiping her shoulder blades! And it gets worse..she was wearing a top that clipped up in between in her legs. So for all those people that advised me to put in one to keep her tummy warm because the aircon is so strong - you didn't think about this one did you! Yes I had to lift this rather soiled top up over her head. Am I painting the picture for you? It wasn't pretty! As I wiping crap from every inch of her chubby little body I secretly thanked myself for being such a wipe snob. I have tried and tested every brand and by far the Red Nose Baby Wipes are the best. Not only are they large and moist, but they support a cause thats important to every mother, SIDS. (5% of all sales go to the charity SIDS and Kids, how amazing is that!). Well lets just say I seriously contributed on that flight.. In order to be quick and thorough I whipped out as many wipes as my fingers could before that stank made its way around the cabin. Side note, whoever says baby poo doesn't stink, wasn't standing in a confined space with it!. 

But back to the flight....

Other than the poonami... all was actually totally fine. I'll give you my advice (for what its worth) on 5 MUST HAVE items for a plane...

1. Familiar blankets to your children...Be it muslins, wraps..whatever! Don't rely on the gross dark brown blankets that they provide you with. Take some that your children use already.
2. Make sure to use the same sleep cues you use at home. I use music with Rafi which I put on my iPhone so that she could hear it in the bassinet (screw the other people around you, what would they prefer lullabies or screaming baby?!?) Dummys, blanky.. and spares. Don't risk being without them, that's simply asking for trouble.
3. Pegs... Weird I know but pegs when travelling always come in handy. I used them to put a blanket over the bassinet to make it darker for Rafi. Particularly on a day flight this is important. I promise throughout your holiday you will find a million more uses for them! (e.g. on prams, porta cots, hanging washing..)
4. Ipad. If you don't have one, borrow one. If you don't have someone to borrow from then steal one. Whatever happens, don't board that flight without one. Trust me - this is a lifesaver. No words. 
5. If you have a baby - a dummy clip. Normally I have a 10 second rule when it comes to the dummy falling on the floor, it also depends where I am and how it lands etc etc (there's a whole criteria for the dummy drop), but in an airport I wouldn't take any chances, anything that falls on the floor would be sanitised pronto. So that's why the dummy clip is perfect. It attaches to the clothes and keeps things clean the whole flight (except if your baby shits everywhere but that's just bad luck really). Even if your bub isn't a dummy sucker - use the clip for whatever rusk they may be sucking on or even so that Sophie La Giraffe doesn't hit that germ-infested disgusting floor. 

When the Pilot said his thank you speech and turned the seat belt light off and I was disembarking the plane, I felt like I should get a round of applause or at least a pat on the back. I didn't. But I should have!

Sweet holiday Dreams, 
BEC. 

Food Glorious Food

There are things that I love about being a mother - namely my two daughters Mikah and Rafaella..I love that Mikah is a little feisty rock'n'roll superstar, I love the laughs that she gives me, I LOVED painting her nails pink last week and although we have hit the terrible two's, I'm kinda savouring every moment of this phase. I love that Rafaella has just really started showing me her sweet personality, I love how she smells (pre vomit. pre poo), I love that when I change her nappy her chubby hands reach up and touch my face and I especially love that everyday she and I discover something new about each other.

But anyone that knows me, would know there are things I definately do not love about being a mother..The first is the never ending story of washing that I just can never seem to get on top of and the next is cooking. Yes I know what other mothers say about it "It's so nice being able to feed and nourish my family with my delicious cooking" and "I love seeing the look on their face when they enjoy my food". Blah blah blah. Maybe its because its so rare that I actually see that look on my family's face.. Let me paint the daily picture for you. I put the food down in front of my toddler and before the bowl is even in front of her she looks at me and says "I no yike it mummy, take it away". How did she know! One down. I then put a bib on miss 6 month old Rafaella and load the spoon up and she even has that look on her face like seriously mum! seriously?!? This crap again! Where do you get these combinations from..would YOU eat pumpkin together with pear!" Two down. My husband then comes home from work and takes one look at the kitchen with dishes piled high in the sink and food scraps covering the walls, he then looks at me and sees how defeated I clearly am and gets stuck into making omelettes. (God Bless him).

And then I came across Baby Bites by Luke Mangan. Enter angels singing from the heavens.

I organised for 8 Bellies and Beyond mothers (and one father - high five to him) to come with me to their kitchen on Dank Street. We walked in to be greeted by lovely Justine who brought us all much needed coffee. We then met with Luke Mangan's head chef, Heath who did an amazing demo of some of the cooking and the babies taste tested as he whipped up amazing recipe after recipe. Well every baby except for mine who slept through the entire thing..she is a sleep consultant's baby after all! 

Who would have thought of using parsely or throwing in chia seeds when cooking for a bub? Other recipes include pearl barley, rosemary powder, paprika, all things that I would have never in my wildest dreams used. I didn't want sleeping Rafaella's go to waste so I tried it...and let me tell you, it's better than the food I dish up any day!

I am definately going to be taking more mothers to the ah-mazing kitchen so feel free to contact me and tell me if you'd like to join in. I am also going to be keeping a very close eye on the Baby Bites by Luke Mangan range..I think it's going to make one less job for me to do. 

Now if I could just find someone to do the washing...

Sweet Dreams, 

BEC

Want to chat to me? You can contact me via www.belliesandbeyond.com.au or like my facebook page Bellies and Beyond. If you want to know about the Baby Bites by Luke Mangan range go to www.babybites.com.au and you can find the best place to order from.