Wee Maw

Monthly Archives: January 2015

• 

  B’gosh that’s cute!

  Posted at 10:17 am by corrinacampbell

  Jan 31st

  I was delighted when I saw this #linky set up by ‘First Time Mummy’ and ‘Knott Bump and Me’ as I love baby fashion and the weekend is when I have some time to myself to blog..thanks Wee Paw 👍.

  As we are often out and about and the weather is freezing we have been avoiding dresses and opting for trousers that can fit inside our super warm onesies…it’s snowing here!

  This weekend Wee One is kitted out in her cosy Osh Kosh B’gosh dungarees, her Osh Kosh B’gosh long sleeved vest and a homemade hat with star buttons-cute!

  

  I love these dungarees, especially at this time of year as they have a lovely cosy fleecy lining for extra warmth ❄️
  (PS please excuse splatter stains, I took pictures of garments once worn-error!)

  

  The long sleeved vest has gorgeous wee grey hearts and some even have twinkles that last after being washed..hooray 👏

  

  The hat was hand knitted (yes, hand knitted by a Scottish clever cloggs!!) and is finished beautifully with cute little star buttons. 🌟

  

  And the final look…

  

  

  

  Serious face but B’gosh it’s cute!! ❤️

  
  Posted in #weekendbabystyle | Tagged fashion, Mummyblogger, weekendbabystyle

• The Weaning Diaries | What to feed your baby when they’re ill

  Posted at 7:13 pm by corrinacampbell

  Jan 29th

  Liked this blog about what to feed a sick baby since there seems to be a lot of bug on the go at the moment!

  First Time Mummy

  The last few months have brought a lot of coughs and colds our way. This week Austin had just got rid of a cough and two days later a new one arrived – boo! Illnesses are annoying as it is, but of course they affect appetite too and so start the weaning wars….

  That’s probably a little harsh to be fair as it isn’t a war – maybe a slight battle. Austin is normally great with food and will eat absolutely anything (although he’s started to learn to blow rasperries after receiving a spoonfull of food, which he thinks is highly amusing – more on that soon!) It’s a real shame to see him refuse his meals as I know he must feel really rotten 😦 But he’s only human and I know when I’ve got a horrible cold I go off my food too.

  So, what have I done…

  View original post 240 more words
  Posted in Uncategorized
• 

  How’s the dog with the baby?

  Posted at 9:08 pm by corrinacampbell

  Jan 28th

  

  How’s the dog with the baby?  I hear this question regularly as visitors arrive and the dog and baby battle for attention.

  Maverick, my dog, joined our wee family 7 years ago. The deal was that I could pick the dog if my husband could pick the name. Yes, he’s a small chihuahua x bichon named after the one and only Top Gun Maverick.

  My husband will tell you, for 7 years Maverick has been my ‘Fur-Baby’.  Yes yes, I may have ‘mothered’ him slightly (let him sleep in the bed, on my lap, come with me wherever I go etc etc) but he’s so cute and small it seemed only right.

  

  Even pregnant Maverick was by my side.  I loved this dog more than anything in the world, by my side through everything and still there when I was tired, grumpy and very hormonal.

   

  

  For me it was more a question of the baby fitting in around the dog and not the other way round.  I never imagined that this love for my dog would ever faultier, not even for one second.  But then I never appreciated that I would ever love something, or indeed someone more than my dog.

  I had read a bit about how to introduce a baby to a dog, how to ensure that they would both be friends, how to make the transition a smooth and easy process for all.  No bother I thought.  How wrong I would be.

  Arriving home with the Wee One I was greeted with a delighted Maverick, who was so pleased to see us return (with or without a baby, let’s be honest!).  However, something had changed.  I wasn’t the same anymore.  I had had a section so I did not want the dog anywhere near me, and certainly not perched on what was a very sore and tender tummy.  I then started to panic about dog germs and so poor Maverick was banished from the bedroom (into a lovely new dog bed for the record).

   

   

  

   

  But that wasn’t all.  The tiredness and exhaustion kicked in.  I just didn’t have time to look after a new baby and a fur-baby.  It seemed an impossible task and my priorities had changed, literally over night.  Frustration then began to creep in.  Walking a dog and a buggy was quite a task and certainly stopping to sniff at every lamp post was just out of the question with a screaming baby who needed to be kept moving.

  

  Yet, having now mastered a dog and a buggy, a routine which includes the dog

   

   

  Posted in #mummymonday | Tagged baby, dog, Mummyblogger
• 

  Wanted MBFF with GSOH

  Posted at 6:48 am by corrinacampbell

  Jan 21st

  I just read a blog about ‘When you know you’ve found your MBFF’. It’s 6am and I’m sitting in the dark with my eyes half open so apologies in advance..I’m not entirely sure how this blog will go! However, it got me thinking – so much so that I can’t get back to sleep.

  Firstly, it too me a few minutes to work out what an MBFF is, I’m obviously not quite there on the ‘Mummy lingo’. So, for those of you on my wavelength MBFF = Mummy Best Friend Forever.

  

  I don’t have an MBFF..but it’s maybe time to find ‘the one’. That special person I can call my ‘Forever Mummy Friend’.

  I’m quickly realising that now I’m Mum and not ‘Hottie Patottie 20-Something Party Gal’…cue bad photo…

  fed

  (I will fit this dress again one day!)

  So I think the ‘BFF’ criteria has changed…pretty significantly, when looking for a MBFF.

  Right, let’s get to it. What to look for in a MBFF!?

  1. Up for a laugh. (GSOH). Sometimes if I don’t laugh I’ll cry…I’m tired, irrational and hormonal – MAKE ME LAUGH PEOPLE!!

  2. Honest. Tell me if I have puke on my shoulder, or if my jumper is inside out, or if I’m being ridiculous!! I’d rather know.

  3. Empathetic. I now have real highs and real low (often dependant on no. of hours asleep). I just need to talk it out to someone willing to listen.

  EXAMPLE..
  “I tried rocking to sleep but it didn’t work, and the book said not to do it, but I did it, and now I found out that I shouldn’t have been doing it which makes me a bad mum, but I need to sleep and if I don’t sleep she won’t sleep and the book says that you should sleep when baby sleeps, but I’ve got stuff to do and I’m just so tired…blah blah blah”

  4. A little bit bonkers. Well, everyone had an inner crazy right!?

  5. Lovely. Someone who I genuinely can’t say a bad word about. That I always refer to as ‘such a nice person’, or ‘not a bad bone in their body’.

  I think 5 characteristics is plenty.

  Now…
  I actually have a confession to make.

  This blog is my second attempt. My first, when thinking about a MBFF became a bit shallow, superficial and stereotypical, which is not me or an honest reflection of who I want to be.

  Having gone from 5 characteristics that would have suited a celebrity mummy (I ain’t going to be hanging with Beyoncé anytime soon), I can see that while my new list is much more realistic…

  GSOH
  HONEST
  EMPATHETIC
  BONKERS
  LOVELY

  …It can also be applied to anyone. I had initially thought that an MBFF would be different to a BFF but I was wrong. Friends are friends, kids or no kids. They’ll be there for you when you need them, they’ll listen when no one else will and they’ll love you regardless.

  Here’s to friends.

  The old and the new.

  

  Posted in #mummymonday | Tagged bff, friendship, mbff, Mummyblogger
• 

  Lost My Name Book

  Posted at 10:47 pm by corrinacampbell

  Jan 20th

  I have been wanting to purchase a ‘Lost My Name’ book for a while but felt it important to wait for the right occasion. Since my Wee One is only 8 months it’s a tad too advanced for her. However, I was delighted to receive an invite to my wee cousin’s 3rd Birthday and so I knew it was time to make my first purchase with http://www.lostmy.name

  

  So, what’s a ‘Lost My Name’ book I hear you ask? These are the new style of personalised books. Unlike previous personalised books (where your child’s name is simply inserted into the story), ‘Lost My Name’ have taken personalisation to another level with the story of a little boy/girl who has lost their name (obviously!). I know what your thinking..if they’ve lost their name it can’t be very personalised. This is where the beauty of ‘Lost My Name’ lies. It follows the journey of the little boy/girl who go on an adventure to find their name.

  

  Along the way the little boy/girl are gifted letters from various characters, which eventually, pieced together, create the missing name..which is then how each book is personalised!

  

  For example, the elephant has an E, the robot has an R..

  

  Cool eh!?

  So, how does it work?

  The website is great and very easy. You simply insert the name of the child you want to personalise the book for and then take a look at the preview that is created for you.

  

  Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

  The book then arrives usually within 2 weeks in a cool cardboard wallet.

  

  

  I also ordered a ‘gift wallet’ at an additional cost but in hindsight the cool cardboard wallet would’ve been fine!

  

  The illustrations are colourful and clear and the text is in a child friendly font. The story also follows a basic rhyme pattern (ABAB for those of you into rhyme!).

  

  

  

  

  

  So, is there anything not to love!? Well, not really but I do have a couple gripes.

  1. It’s pricy. At £18.99 (thank goodness postage is free) plus £2.50 for the gift wallet.

  2. Sorry-teacher hat back on. It doesn’t follow phonetically with regards to how you spell a name. Put simply of the sounds/letters that the little boy/girl collect don’t actually match the sound that is in their name. For example, the angel (phonetically pronounced ‘ay’) would be given to a girl for Alexandra (phonetically pronounced ‘ah’) in all three instances, so would really need an ‘ah’ sound from an ant or albatross etc etc. The letters are also all capitalised, but I’m pleased that this is consistent as the name at the end is also in caps.

  3. The longer the name the longer the story…and vice versa, which is a bit rubbish if you’re a Sam or a Tom compared to Richard or Melanie!

  However, I like the book, I like the idea and I hope that my wee cousin will too.

  Here’s my thoughts,

  Story 🌟🌟🌟🌟
  (Clever way to personalise a book)

  Illustrations 🌟🌟🌟🌟
  (Good but no Axel)

  Value for money 🌟🌟🌟
  (It’s pretty pricey for a book)

  Overall feel of the book 🌟🌟🌟🌟
  (I liked it, the pages are soft to touch👍)

  SCORE : 15/20

  Check it out..

  http://www.lostmy.name

  

  Posted in Books | Tagged books, children, Mummyblogger, name, reading
• 

  But babies can’t read..right!?

  Posted at 9:22 pm by corrinacampbell

  Jan 19th

  

  You can take the teacher out of the classroom but you can’t take the classroom out of the teacher..or something like that!

  Wasn’t planning this blog but I’m feeling rather delighted with myself having built Wee One’s first bookcase. To say I am a lover of books is an understatement. I think they are the best thing since the Kelpies in Falkirk (ha ha!)…

  no seriously, they’re great.

  

  But it’s not just a case of loving books, for me it’s much more about the hugely important role they play in children’s lives. Be warned, I’m wearing my teacher hat when writing this!

  But babies can’t read-right!? Correct, they most certainly can’t (I speak for my own, you however may have a child genius-congrats!). Yet for me books offer so much more than just words and a story. So here goes, 5 reasons why reading to babies is a must..

  >br />
  

  1. It improves hand eye coordination. These brilliant thick pages books are perfect for those cute chubby little hands. Watch them as they watch you turn pages. This shows them how to read books (left to right) and is actually a important part of learning to read. I love feely books which encourage hands on reading.

  

  2. It provides the which pictures that show a simple sequence of events. An 8-10 page book is perfect for this and hugely more beneficial that a cartoon which moves at a very fast pace. My fave in this category is ‘Rosie’s Walk’.

  

  3. Looks of books for young children rhyme. This introduces them to sounds and words with similar sounds. Listening to repetition rhyme is even better as eventually your wee one will start ‘reading’ parts if the story without knowing the words. Check out PEEPO! A great example of this.

  

  4. Books don’t need to be illustrated all the time. Photo books can be just as interesting for new eyes. Even your own personal photo book can be hugely interesting for a baby as one of the first things they can identify is a face. As a big fan of ‘Humans of New York’ it was cool to get ‘Little Humans’ for my Wee One.

  

  5. Finally, for me it’s all about imagination! Stories can take you to places you can only dream of, they can introduce you to characters you’ve never heard of, they can invite you into a world far removed from the world in which we live, and more importantly they allow you to enter that world with your child.

  What do you think will happen next?

  How would you feel if this happened to you?

  What is your favourite part of the story?

  Who is your favourite character? Why?

  What do you think of this place?

  So take them by the hand and share in the joy that is a brilliant story.

  

  Posted in Education | Tagged earlyyears, Mummyblogger, reading
• 

  Can Babies Eat Haggis?

  Posted at 6:49 am by corrinacampbell

  Jan 19th

  Instagram @corrinacampbe11

  This has been on my mind for sometime now. Yes, I should have better things to think about but I’m a MASSIVE haggis fan and with Robert Burns Night just round the corner I’m looking for answers!

  

  So, what’s in a haggis? I decided to check out a Simon Howie Haggis, available in most supermarkets and made by a local Perthshire butcher.

  

  Be warned..if you don’t know what’s in a haggis and are a wee bit squeamish it might not be your meal of choice! I’ve always known it contained SHEEP GUTS and even when I was wee that didn’t put me off. I remember regularly having haggis which I often mixed with ketchup…Delicious and obviously nutritious, ha ha!!

  

  There is it..lamb lungs. Yuck but yum.

  Right, so we have :

  Lamb lungs
  Seasoning
  Water
  Beef Fat
  Beef Liver
  Beef Heart

  Now, based on my ‘extensive’ knowledge of what babies can and can’t eat my general rule has been as follow..

  🚫Nae nuts
  🚫Nae honey
  🚫Nae coo’s milk
  🚫Low Salt
  🚫Low sugar

  The only ‘banned’ substance in this appears to be the ‘seasoning’ which contains salt..so let’s check out those all important percentages.

  

  Fat is a biggie but as far as I know fat is good for babies 👍

  So, we’ve got 0.1g sugar and 1.6g salt. Clearly the sugar is low but is the salt content? What is deemed ‘low salt’ with regards to babies? Or is ‘no salt’ really the ideal?

  Whenever I stumble upon a tricky question like this I should really engage my brain, use that all important ‘Mummy knows best’ instinct and make an informed decision. However, that’s not how a Mummy brain works. Google needs to confirm all my thinking. Which, to be honest it usually does if I word the question right.

  Ok, 2 questions..

  1. Can babies have haggis?
  2. What is low salt per 100g?

  I tend to stick to NHS advice. For some reason I believe they know what they are talking about.

  

  Yikes! Turns out haggis is high salt content. Yet, I find myself saying ‘everything in moderation’, and ‘it’s not like I’m giving the Wee One haggis every day!?’. Instinct is kicking in.

  However, let’s canvas more opinion..

  

  I always find an array of opinions with Mumsnet but this means nothing to be. I know plenty of people will have/haven’t given their baby haggis, what I want is expert opinion (this statement is by no means meant to offend any Mumsnet Mummies..you are all experts, just not the kind I am looking for!)

  I feel truly Scottish now referring to The Daily Mail who suggest that haggis is as bad as the dreaded ‘Turkey Twizzlers’, clearly I am a truly terrible mother for considering haggis as ‘baby food’.

  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-374967/Haggis-bturkey-twizzlers.html

  Right..Having scrolled through numerous forums, pages of Google, random Mummy Sites it is clear that I am struggling to find that all important ‘Doctor’ or ‘Mummy Expert’ who will tell me that I can give my Wee One haggis. I am left back at where I started, with Mummy Instinct.

  My instinct tells me that yes it’s high salt but Robert Burns isn’t about salt, it’s Scottish history, it’s tradition…it’s our national dish!! If she had turkey (not Twizzlers just for the record!) for Christmas then a bit of haggis this January shouldn’t be something to get my knickers in a twist over. #dinnaefretpet

  So, on the 25th January we will be serving haggis, neeps and tatties to the whole family and I can’t wait.

  Just dinnae tell the Wee One it’s SHEEP GUTS!! Ha ha 😆

  Cheers 🍻

  

  PS This is my first #mummymonday #linky blog! Hooray 👏

  

  Posted in #mummymonday, Food | Tagged haggis. scotland, robertburns
• 

  Stickman, Edinburgh

  Posted at 9:35 pm by corrinacampbell

  Jan 18th

  

  Yes yes, another Julia Donaldson but sometimes I just can’t help myself!

  Stickman, showing on St. Andrews Square Edinburgh over the Christmas period, running from the end of November until the beginning of January.

  For those of you that don’t know the story it is about Stickman, his wife and three stick children. You’d never think a story of a stick could be good but I’d go as far to say it’s brilliant!

  Showing twice a day in the Speigel Tent this is a show that is ideal for young children, and to my amazement babies too! Wee One is only 7 months old but was mesmerised by the whole performance! Catchy songs, interesting props and of course a fantastic story – this is a great way to spend a cold, snowy afternoon!

  

  

  

  A tad pricey at £18pp (excluding baby thank goodness!) but with an EH postcode reduction of 20% it didn’t feel like such a blow!

  Running time of 30 minutes was ideal and mid-week prior to school holidays proved to be a winner with plenty of tickets available and front row seats without a fight!

  I loved every minute, however, the venue was cold. 30 minutes of sitting with wellies on resulted in seriously numb toes. This was possibly because it was a particularly chilly day but for little kids they will certainly always need to be wrapped up warm for this.

  Thankfully with John Lewis round the corner it didn’t take too long to warm up afterwards.

  So, thoughts in the day?

  Venue 🌟🌟🌟
  (Cold cold and colder!)

  Entertainment 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

  Value for money 🌟🌟🌟🌟
  (With discount it’s still £15)

  Food 🌟
  (A cheeky wee mulled wine would have been a winner…no food available at this venue 👎)

  SCORE 13/20

  But I’d still go again next year. Think a hip flask may be in order! Ha! 🍻

  

  Posted in Entertainment | Tagged Edinburgh, Mummyblogger, Scotland, Stickman, Theatre
• 

  Tiki Tots Edinburgh

  Posted at 7:48 pm by corrinacampbell

  Jan 15th

  

  It was our first trip to Tiki Tots, located in Morningside Edinburgh. Plenty of parking outside which was good for me, although a tad pricy at £1 per hour..the joys of Edinburgh City Centre!

  Conveniently next to Pizza Express so coffee and pizza is possible without too much hassle – uh oh!

  This is one the most impressive soft play centres I’ve been too. The Jungle Theme works well for all those little monkeys ready to run wild! I didn’t take many photos when inside as there were kids everywhere and I don’t like to take photos of other children without permission.

  However, I have raided the Tiki Tots website so the pictures below are from there!

  There are 3 rooms plus a comfy, buggy friendly cafe.

  The Bush Baby’s is beside the cafe and is for the under 3s. This is where we were based. Nice equipment, seemed clean which is a big plus for me as I’m a total soft play snob, and some really cool features like the water pool and floating balls!

  

  

  The other room is for 4+ and looks awesome..I could totally play in here!

  

  There is also a kids Party Room for hire.

  

  It was £2.50 and although I’m sure this was possibly for a set time we didn’t feel any pressure to move on quickly or rush. This was possibly because we were there mid-week off-peak.

  My only slight criticism was, as with all soft play areas, that there were often older children playing in the baby zone. As a new mum I find this rather alarming as I’m convinced my wee one will be trampled by some larger child. Needless to say this has never happened but nor do I want it to. With the Baby Zone located right next to the cafe it makes it’s a popular choice for 3+ kids who can play unsupervised but are still needing to be within earshot of Mum.

  I have to say, I loved my afternoon at Tiki Tots, as did the Wee One who then slept the whole way home..hooray!!

  Scores are in..

  Venue 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

  Food/coffee 🌟🌟🌟🌟

  Equipment 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

  Value for money 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (although I plan to return on-peak!)

  19/20 👍

  Tiki Tots..I’ll be back! 👏

  Posted in Soft Play | Tagged Edinburgh, Mummyblogger, Scotland, softplay, TikiTots
• 

  The Gruffalo Walk, Inverness

  Posted at 9:08 pm by corrinacampbell

  Jan 13th

  

  I had heard about the ‘Gruffalo Walk’ but had never been so I convinced Aunty Z and Granny O to go check it out with me and the Wee One. Julia Donaldson is my all time favourite author so this trip was very exciting..for me!

  We maybe left it slightly late in the day so apologies for the dark photos!

  

  

  Having initially got lost looking for a ‘Find the Gruffalo sign’ somewhere we decided to take a daunder down Culloden Avenuev as it seemed the only place ‘The Gruffalo Walk’ may be. NOTE TO SELF – it wouldn’t be a Gruffalo Hunt if there were signs obvs!

  

  Thankfully this was the right decision as we started to see various wooden character carvings along the way. Unfortunately the Wee One was sound asleep sonmissed it all. However, we eventually stumbled across the one and only Gruffalo!!!

  

  

  

  I had expected for there to be more of a hunt (getting initially lost doesn’t really count!) and I’d hoped to follow the story a bit more closed and maybe meet a fox and an owl etc. But this really is just wood carvings along a walk. I guess the beauty of it is that you could make your own story and I’m confident that any child finding the Gruffalo at the end would be delighted.

  Maverick enjoyed a quick chat with a dragon. He wasn’t such a fan of the Gruffalo!

  

  

  

  It took us about 30!minutes to walk with the buggy to the other end which is at Culloden House..they have ducks in a pond!

  

  Parking was tricky as it is not a ‘loop-round’ walk so you either park at one end (in Culloden Forest or at Culloden Shops which is half way) or get someone to drop you at one end and pick up at the other. This is what we did.

  A bit of a cold dark day but successful never the less. (I saw the Gruffalo..that made my day!)

  Scores are in..

  Venue 🌟🌟🌟
  (It’s a pedestrian street!)

  Activities 🌟🌟🌟
  (Beautiful wood carvings but would’ve liked more of a story)

  Value for money 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
  (It’s free 👍)

  Parking 🌟🌟🌟

  TOTAL 14/20.

  As free outdoor fun goes this is a simple and short kid friendly activity. I would recommend this for kids ages 2-6. We’ll go back-hopefully next time she’ll be awake!!

  

  Posted in Outdoor Fun | Tagged Gruffalo, Inverness, Mummyblogger, Outdoors, Scotland, Walk

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