Bath thermometer

This cute little crab is more than just a floating bath toy, it is a thermometer also. Many a times my husband and I had much discussion about the temperature of the bath - I love a nice warm bath, he is more into lukewarm. Anyway now our crab tells us exactly what temperature the bath should be via the digital display! It beeps when over or under the limit so you know to adjust the temperature. A great idea and keeps the littlies safe from scalds.

It retails for $29.95. I bought ours at half price from http://www.petersofkensington.com.au/Home/. It is also available from http://www.urbanbaby.com.au.

Gifts for 2 year olds!

Two year olds love puzzles and books and are still not at the point of wanting particular toys. They are starting t0 become interested in imaginative play. Here are a few things we received or bought for our two year old that were a big success!

Tea Sets

Ah, the instant joy of water play! Fill a teapot with water and let the little ones go crazy overfilling their tea cups... outside of course! The china, porcelain or ceramic tea sets are just gorgeous but just not so practical to play with for this age group. Wooden sets are good but obviously can't be used with water. Although they don't look as sweet, plastic is best or tin.

This little placcy number is made by Fisher Price, costs around $24 and available from major department stores, such as Kmart and Target. It plays music when you tip it! Perfect! Toysrus also do a similar one for around $20.

This tin one looks nice. It is around $22 and available from PeeDee Toys.

Wooden Fruit Set

This little pack has a knife and cutting board included to "chop" the fruit & veggies! This one is available from Unique Kids.

Picture for bedroom

Before you get into the age of "I wants" a picture is a nice idea, particularly one they can keep forever. I found these really sweet prints on Etsy at Cinnamon Ink. They range from $10-$30 for the print, plus $5-$8 in postage.

We bought this one for my older daughter from the Keep Calm gallery. It is a bit more expensive at GBP48, plus the cost of postage and framing. Hopefully she will like to keep it for many years as its not too childish, and has a nice message.

Sunhat

My husband went to New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup and returned with these cute hats for our daughters - they loved them and get lots of comments wearing them around and about! You can purchase from Filiokus for NZ$35.

Our favourite kids books!

Here are the all time favourites in our house:-

1) Hooray for Fish by Lucy Cousins

Beautiful pictures and lovely story!

2) The Chimpanzees from Happy Town by Giles Andeae and Guy Parker

I have read this book so often I can recite it by heart! There was a town not far from here called Drabsville USA....

3) Ten little fingers & Ten little toes by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury

I love the message in this book.

4) The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

I must say it does surprise me that my littlie loves this book so much as the language is quite outdated and formal. I guess it is the timelessness of the story, and wonderful illustrations that capture her imagination.

5) Babykins and his family by Richard Scarry

This book was first published in 1976 - another classic! I love Richard Scarry - his humour is wonderful!

6) What do People Do All Day? by Richard Scarry

Yes, another Richard Scarry because we love his books so much. In fact we could include any in here but these 2 are firm favourites.

7) Milly-Molly-Mandy

So I do admit to putting this on the list myself as they were my favourite books as a child! My littlie hasn't really gotten into the stories yet, but I'm positive she will! So happy and wholesome, what's not to like about Milly-Molly-Mandy and her Little Friend Susan and the nice white cottage with the thatched roof!

8) Olivia

Olivia may not be as wholesome and chipper as M-M-M but she's super fun and written with great wit! We love her books and her TV shows!

Great baby gift ideas!

I love giving gifts, especially good ones! Here are some great ideas for baby gifts that we received or have given:

1) Sophie Giraffe - Natural teething toy by Vulli

This toy is for babies in the "scene"; every baby whose anyone has one!! They are made in France from natural rubber and non toxic paint. What's more Sophie stimulates many of babies senses - contrasting spots for sight, a little squeaker for sounds, good body parts to chew (ears, legs, horns), and nice and soft to touch. Oh, and she is bliss for soothing sore teething gums. She retail for around $35 from baby stores and various online boutiques.

2) Personalised towel or blanket:

We received 2 beautiful hampers from Baby Stitch and I use the towels and blankets the most. The 2 hampers shown are reasonably pricey at $75 (towel and frog) and $100 (blanket and giraffe) but they are very good quality. Postage is an additional $10 flat. They are available from http://babystitch.com.au/

I have also purchased the towels from Identity Direct, which are cheaper and still great quality.
http://www.identitydirect.com.au/personalised-towels.html. The baby pink or baby blue colours are lovely for baby gifts!

3) Wooden name puzzles

I have purchased these as gifts in the past and have been very happy with their quality. They are a nice gift to display as well as being a puzzle to enjoy. Pricing is determined by number of letters for both the puzzle and the optional wooden box, so best think of something else for someone with a long name! They are available at Moooo http://www.mooo.com.au/personalised-wooden-name-puzzle.html?cid=puzzlehome2

4) Flutter Bug change table mobile by Infantino

This very handsome bug attaches to babies change table to keep them occupied during changing time, which is typically babies least favourite time of day! They love the wings that spin and the music that it plays. It is in the $40-50 range, available from most of the big baby stores and a great gift idea. From personal experience, when the little ones are old enough to rip the wings off its time to take it down and save for the next bubba!

5) Music for dreaming


What new parent wouldn't want the gift of sleep?!! This is the most beautiful music - it is so soothing and peaceful to hear. Based only on the experience in our house, music seems to send little babies into a deeper sleep. Using music at bedtime helps enormously with establishing routine, and trying to settling little ones in the middle of the night!

There are so many amazing testimonials on this CD's website, including that it is widely used in neonatal wards, it will sell itself to you! I received the CD for Mothers as part of a package, and I couldn't recommend that more highly either. It is beautiful! Read more, hear a free trial or purchase from http://www.musicfordreaming.com/. CD's are around $30 excluding postage. I also found them at the ABC Shop for a cheaper price and much cheaper postage.

6) Lil Fraser wraps

Wraps are a must for any new mum, and these are the best around. They are 100% cotton, soft and super stretchy so keep the littlie nice and snug! They come nicely presented in a cotton bag, so make an extra nice gift.

7) Useful hampers

Don't send flowers, send babybuds! We received a couple of these for baby no 1 and all the bits and pieces were still in great condition and have come in very useful for baby no 2! They look fantastic too and are available direct from Baby buds http://www.babybuds.com.au/

The Dreaded Night Terrors

We had a terrible time with night terrors with our little girl for many months. We have since isolated the problem to overtiredness. She is over 3 years old now and chooses not to nap in the day! It is on these days that she has a terror after being put to bed, almost every time. If she has a sleep in the day she never has a night terror now. The intensity of the terror usually isn't as bad as when they first started.

I spoke to a number of other parents, doctors, a peditrician, a child psychologist and other early child workers and, together with our own experience, this is what I learned:

• Night terrors are distinct from nightmares as they occur in the first part of the night

Our little one always had hers before 10pm. Sometimes she would have more than one a night. It is important to distinguish between nightmares as they are very different and treatment is different.

• During a night terror the child is still asleep. The recommended treatment is to leave them so they can return to sleep as quickly as possible.

We found just leaving her too difficult; she was screaming at the top of her lungs, reaching for things that were not there, crying and calling out for us and usually had her eyes open so appeared to be awake. We would try to comfort her but during the worst of it we would typically wake her to calm her down. We did this by bringing her out with us to watch tv, ah the magic of television! Once she was in front of the tv she would wake and she was always fine and happy, delighted to be up watching tv. We never had any trouble returning her to her bed (but could certainly see how this could develop into a bad pattern!).

These days I tend to follow the same drill when she has a terror: put on her sleeping music, try and calm her by stroking her back or face and repeat to her over and over again "just close your eyes and try to go back to sleep". I don't get her out of bed for a cuddle unless she wants it. It may be because we have passed the worst of it, but she seems to settle more quickly and returns to sleep.

• Unlike a nightmare, night terrors do not indicate the child is frightened by something.

From my understanding night terrors relate to an immature neurological function. They are somehow stuck between sleep levels as a result of their brains still developing, and being so active. In the morning they have no recollection of the episode.

It certainly seemed the case to us that once awake she was fine and had no fear of returning to her bed to sleep. The psychologist suggested it was not in his field as it was neurological rather than psychological.

• Night terrors are very common.

Of all the parents I spoke to it seemed 1 in 3 had some experience of the night terrors! It is really common, with varying degrees. Our little one seemed to get a bad dose as it was occurring every night, sometimes up to 3 times per night for about 3 months. Most parents said they let their child watch tv until they calmed down and then put them back to bed. Not many were able to just leave them and stand watch for their safety.

• Night terrors are very stressful for the parents!

I found that time very stressful! We didn't feel like we could go out as we didn't want to leave her with a babysitter. The child appeared to be so distressed it was really concerning. Trying to comfort them is really difficult also as they are calling for you but don't seem to recognise you or react to you. Sometimes they push you away.

• There is not too much you can do other than ride it out.

The triggers are considered to be overtiredness and overheating. Our child has never been a great sleeper - she is never tired! - and she is like a little furnace at times when she is sleeping. Other than keeping tabs on these things, there is not too much else to do. We were frantically trying to find someone to help! Every medical person was always very relaxed and gave the same advice: there is nothing wrong, it is very common, make sure she gets enough sleep and doesn't overheat, and stay with her during the episode to ensure her safety.

Some explanatary websites are http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/night_terrors.html and http://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/factsheets.cfm?doc_id=8841

Fairy Parties

If you have a little girl it is inevitable that you will be hosting a fairy party at some point in your little ones lifetime! There are lots of ideas on the net - here are a few that I used:

1) THE RUN SHEET

Since our little one was turning 3 we decided on a 2 hour duration so having a run sheet seemed important to make good use of the time.

From what I researched the general guidelines were incorporated into the schedule:


10am Drink on arrival for guests & parents

10.20 Let the games begin! (half hour is more than enough for this age group)

11.00 Serve the food (after activities)

11.30 Do the cake (half an hour before the end)

12.00 Last half hour was free play


2) THE CAKE

Very important!! I made the cute little fairy cottage from the Women's Weekly cake book. It was very easy - I used 2 mixing bowls to cook the cakes and put the roof on a piece of heavy cardboard. Admittedly we didn't leave it constructed for too long as it was an exceptionally hot day!

















3) THE FOOD

Fairy cakes! These were made the day before.

Fairy bread! I copied this idea from cupcakesandallthingssweet.blogspot.com. Very easy & effective!




Fairy fruit wands - made by skewering fruit pieces and placing a watermelon star on the top.

Lots of pink marshmallows

Sausage rolls - I made these from a Donna Hay recipe which are usually fantastic. However I made them a few days before in order to free time on the day. In hindsight the sausage meat could have been made the day before but they can really only be rolled in the puff pastry on the morning so the meat juices don't make the pastry soggy!

Pink "fairy juice" - We put Waterfords Apple Berry mineral water into jugs - probably not the best for kids due to the artificial sweetners but it IS bright pink!

4) THE GAMES

We played 4 games. A few of the littlies under 3 were over it by the third game, but was probably about right for the 3 year olds+!


Firstly, Whats the time Mr Wolf as a bit of a warm up - no prizes awarded!

Then, Pass the parcel with little rings in each wrapper for the girls, and stretchy reptiles for the boys!

Next, Musical Statues. Everyone won a bouncy ball for their best pose!

Finally, a Treasure Hunt to find fairies and bulldozers hidden in the garden. We made up a story as to how they all got there then everyone brought the findings back. They were able to take one home!


5) THE TAKE HOME BAGS

We are big fans of the lolly bags in our house! We tried not to use toooooo many lollies this year and include some other fun things like little pens, stamps, stickers, and bouncy balls.


6) THE DECORATIONS


I made some of Martha Stewart's Pom poms (see post) which worked really well in different shades of pink. We hung them from the trees and from the sun shelter which we pitched as the Fairy Tent. The tent was surrounded by white tulle curtains... wasn't particularly effective as I had underestimated how big the shelter was so didnt really have enough tulle to drape... next time!

Some other ideas I have since had are pastel coloured balloons on the trampoline for bouncing fun, and buying fairy nets from $2 shops for draping around the backyard!

And of course everyone had to dress in a fairy dress if they had one!

Dri eyes hair washing visor

My 3 year old is blessed with an amazing head of hair but brushing it each morning causes fights, so you can imagine what happens on hair wash days! I'm told no kid likes having their hair washed so when I found this invention on the net I thought it definitely worth a try.

Let me say it definitely works - it acts like a visor and creates a seal to ensure no water falls onto the child's face. It is a great Aussie invention and is reasonably priced at $25 including postage. It suits kids from around 3 years up. The only downside I found is that sometimes my little one decides she doesn't want to use it, who knows why.... kids!

Read more, or purchase from http://www.drieyes.com.au

Brolly Sheets save on washing... say no more!

Brolly Sheets are unique because they have a soft cotton top and do not contain pvc or vinyl so are soft and not crinkly to sleep on. They are supposed to hold up to 2 litres, however we have not tested this as yet! They go on top of the top sheet and tuck in at the sides so if there is a bed wetting incident in the night you only need take off the Brolly Sheet and replace it, rather than remake the whole bed. Saves the washing as well.

They are available from http://http//www.brollysheets.com/shop/Brolly+Sheets.html but surf the net for offers before purchasing direct.