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Monday 27 March 2017

Sleep Tight All Night sleeping aid **REVIEW**

Did you know that March is National Bed Month? Sounds great right but as parents most of us will agree that at some point or another bed times have been hard with out little ones!

Evelyn has never really slept well, in fact we thought to ourselves that things would get better as she older we couldn't have been more wrong! Evelyn likes to fight bedtime and still at almost 3 wakes in the night which can be difficult and tiring for us all.

When we were recently asked if we would like to try out the Sleep Tight All Night sleep aid and I knew it had to be worth a try.


The sleep tight all night is a 4 in 1 sleep aid concealed within a super cute cuddly companion. It uses soothing music and a light system to not only help your child drift off to sleep but to stay in bed until morning time. It offers a unique sleep aid system that has been based on scientific studies relating to the colours associated with inhibiting and encouraging sleep. That's not all though as this cuddly companion can be switched in to day time mode, complete with chirpy upbeat phrases to engage with your child in the day time.


You set the timings for these lights yourself with the easy to use buttons attached to the light module. You simply select how long you would like your child to sleep (anywhere between 30 minutes and 12 hours) and what sounds you would like if any. You can then push the button to the lock symbol and this will lock all your choices in place meaning they can't be moved or changed regardless of how wriggly your child is in bed!


Evelyn was delighted when she realised her new bedtime companion was a cuddly unicorn and I have to admit even I was taken by just how soft it was. For the first couple of uses it was more of a novelty and it did take a few nights for her to realise what the red and green lights meant but once she had the hang of it she was even telling her big brother when it was time to get up.

This  hasn't really stopped her night waking's but it has helped her settle back much quicker when she has woken which really is the purpose of this sleep aid. The music you can set is really soothing (falling raindrops, soothing surf, gentle heartbeat, whispering waterfall and comforting crickets) and having the soft glowing light as she settled back off definitely helped for her. She has also started saying "its morning my unicorn is green, can I get up?" in the mornings which is pretty cute and means she has started to gather what the lights mean which is great and has stopped her climbing of bed at 5am!


I also really like the fact you can set the timings on this in 30 minute increments as it makes it perfect for not only bedtime but nap time too!

These are aimed at children aged 12 months +, Evelyn is 2 (almost 3) and it has been perfect for her. Its definitely something I can see her using for some years to come too. If you have slightly older children then watch out for the new sleep tight all night characters coming in Autumn time which include Batman and a Dinosaur!

You can find the full range of sleep tight all night bedtime companions via the Golden Bear website. Be sure to let me know which is your favourite!

xXx


**We received the sleep tight all night unicorn free to enable us to write this review. All opinions, thoughts and photos are my own.**

Thursday 9 March 2017

Whatever your choices parenting is hard!

Every day there seems to be a new debate when it comes to pregnancy, new mums and babies. The formula/breast, cloth/disposable nappies and even vaginal/ caesarean births seem to be up for debate but why as parents do we want to judge other parents for their choices?. After all we are all parents and all fully aware of just how hard parenting is regardless of our choices.

There are pro's and con's to all choices we are given to make when it comes to our babies and raising them. Some are medical, some are personal and some choices are taken out of our hands for various reasons. So why when it comes to making our choices do we fear being judged and by the people we hope would understand.. other parents!


When we make choices for our children we all think them through, we choose them because we genuinely feel this will be the best option for us. Its not like we just flip a coin and hope for the best, pushing through even if something isn't working. Of course not we all want the best for our children and what works for some may not work for others, that doesn't mean its wrong.

There have been so many times as a parent where I have felt the need to justify my choices only to kick myself later in the day for feeling this way. I am the parent and my children are happy (mostly aside from tantrums!), healthy and active. Yes my youngest doesn't sleep through the night, it would appear she is some sort of nocturnal creature who enjoys keeping us awake lol! But I don't think that changes any of my choices would have made the slightest bit of difference.


We see pictures just like the one above over social media and we are quick to assume that these other parents have it "easy" or that there children couldn't possibly misbehave. Of course deep down we all know that's not true! In fact in the picture above this was a moment captured from a hard day. There had been tantrums, screaming, refusing to walk and both of them ate way too much sand that day. But in this photo we are smiling, we are happy and we are family just like you who have our ups, our downs and most definitely out fair share of tantrums and wrong decisions but ultimately it doesn't matter because we have each other and we get by.

In 20 years time when our children are all grown, becoming adults and maybe even thinking about a family themselves. They won't look back and remember what milk they drank or what nappies they wore. They will remember the love we gave, the hugs they had and hopefully the support we as parents can offer in supporting their choices. No judgement, no criticism and no doubt that they will do their best just like you did with them.

So come on mums, dads, parents, carers new mums or mums who's children are grown lets stop judging each other and be proud of the choices we made for our children what ever they may be. We don't need slogans or riddles to tell us what way is best to feed our children or how to raise them we just need to support each other, parenting is hard enough without doubting ourselves too.


xXx

Wednesday 1 March 2017

Diono HIP highback booster seat **REVIEW**

You may have heard lots of news about the new car seat laws coming in to force on 1st March 2017, if not then here is what you need to know -

As of 1st March 2017 the new regulations will mean manufacturers will no longer be able to make booster seats for smaller children, only the backless boosters for kids over 125cm tall. This however only applies to new purchases of car seats and booster seats and if you are already using a backless booster you are able to continue to use this.

However it has been proven time and time again just how much safer a highback booster can be for your child and for us its really not worth the risk. As a mum of 2 I am fully aware just how expensive car seats are and so today I wanted to show you a car seat that complies with all the new regulations and is really reasonably priced too!

Here is the new car seat from Diono the HIP highback booster seat suitable for children aged 4-12 years with a weight range of 15-36kg and up to 160cm in height (classed as a Group 2/3 car seat).



We love this seat and James and remarked on just how much comfier it is compared to his last high back booster, which no doubt is down to the extra padding in the HIP seat.

The new HIP highback booster from Diono incorporates full body side impact protection and reinforced head support with 6 height positions that can be easily adjusted with one hand making the seat so safe meaning you can drive safe in the knowledge your little ones are suitably protected.
The deep side wings and double wall head support make the HIP highback not only really comfortable but durable, strong and safe too. 

One of the first things I noticed about the HIP was how lightweight it was, a big bonus if you will be using the seat between more than one car or need to travel with it. But just because the seat is light weight doesn't meant style has been compromised. The seat looks stylish with a black colour scheme with grey feautres including not 1 but 2 handy cup/snack holders on either side of the seat. The headrest on the HIP is also adjustable with 6 positions meaning safety and comfort whatever your child's height!


If there was one little thing I had to pick out about this seat it would be that the seat cover seems to have started bobbling quite quickly. James has been using the seat for just over a week for the school runs and general wear and some areas of the fabric have begun bobbling. This of course does not effect the use of the car seat and is purely a cosmetic observation.

The covers on the HIP high back booster are completely removable which anyone with kids will know is super important! The covers are easy to remove and reapply making it a really quick and easy job.

The Diono HIP Highback booster seat is priced at £40 which in my opinion is a fantastic price and if you are currently using a backless booster or are just about to move up to this size/group car seat it really is worth a look. If you want to take a closer look at this seat check out the Diono website.

xXx