Living Serenely

Posts

Showing posts from October, 2011

Three alternative pocket nappy uses and giveaway sneak preview

So after that initial hint , I thought to give you peeps a little sneak preview of the nappy I plan to give away… A Pea Pods pocket nappy with a bamboo trifold insert and also comes with a bonus PUL-lined mini wet bag! I know a number of people who are not big fans of pockets. The biggest issue seems to be about the yucky business pulling out wet inserts from the pocket. So for the non-pocket-enthusiasts: just for fun, I thought to share three alternative ways to use the pocket nappy … #1. Lay the trifold on top of the shell and use it “insert plus nappy cover style”. I know folks who like using it this way so they can reuse the cover and just replace the inserts as needed. #2. Use the inserts “ prefold style ”. I discovered that these inserts are similar in size with a standard prefold and can be folded accordingly, wrapped around baby’s bum and covered over with the pocket shell or a nappy cover. The texture of the insert’s bamboo material is also able to ‘catch’ hold of

Read the rest of this entry »

Octopus baby

It’s been a while since I posted a Nathan update. He is now at the 10-month mark. He has been moving so fast these days it’s been a challenge keeping up with him. Since that initial attempt at pulling himself standing , he’s now progressed on to cruising around on his feet, holding on to furniture and anything he can find. We’re now into the octopus baby mode where those hands just get into everything. We now have to be very conscientious at making sure we keep anything important far away out his reach. Our coffee table, side tables, TV bench, lower shelves are now so clutter free! (the clutter has been migrated elsewhere). Otherwise here are some examples of things that could happen… My sewing projects have slowed down also because of all this. I used to be able to sew whilst Nathan sits in his high chair watching on contently. But now he just cannot sit still. He wants to touch, see and taste everything. But after a long while, I’ve finally finished another couple of items es

Read the rest of this entry »

Jumperoo review is out

For while now I’ve been contemplating getting a activity centre or a doorway jumper for my son who’s now into his 9th month. He’s been getting increasingly active as the days go by with an insane amount of energy to burn. I considered getting a walker or doorway jumper, but was concerned over safety issues with such items highlighted in Choice magazine’s list of Ten Things Not to Buy Your Kids . Hence stationary activity centres appear to be the safer alternative for what I was after. So when Fisher-Price gave me the opportunity to review their Luv U Zoo Jumperoo, I was thrilled. My official review has been published on the Bub Hub Reviews section which you can check out here or read below: Jumperoo - the perfect hybrid between activity centres and baby jumpers I was impressed that the Jumperoo was not just a static activity centre, but doubled up as a baby jumper as well, which is a safer option to doorway jumpers. It’s the perfect hybrid solution between activity centres and ba

Read the rest of this entry »

Another job for the little product tester

Received another baby product to review – the Fisher-Price Luv U Zoo Jumperoo. Here are a few quick snapshots of the initial reactions it received upon it’s arrival at our house…: The little guy burned off a lot of energy in the 20-minutes he was in it and slept super soundly for his afternoon nap. All part of the job of a product tester . FYI the review will be posted through The BubHub Reviews section sometime over the next couple of weeks. Will update on when it’s out. UPDATE: Jumperoo review is now out

Read the rest of this entry »

New fluff

Just a post to show off my new fluff from my cloth nappy party … Two Bitti Tuttos (the green and zebra print), a yellow Bitti Boo, an Ecobumba plaid print, and an Itti Bitti wet bag. Took the opportunity as I was changing Nathan out of his PJs to try out the fluff before I tossed them into the wash. Pre-washed nappies drying happily on the line… it was sunny 35 degree Celsius day, perfect day for laundry. Thank you for indulging me, readers… it's just all part of my routine with getting new fluff.

Read the rest of this entry »

My birthday messenger

Today is my dad’s 60th birthday. Unfortunately we are all the way here and he’s way over in Malaysia and we won’t get to see him for another four weeks. Fortunately I had a brainwave and had the sudden inspiration to use my son as the key messenger using the wonderful world of digital technology. My idea was to get him to hold up a happy birthday sign, look straight at the camera and flash one of his brilliant smiles. So simple and clever right? I was sure my dad would love it. However as with most things, the practical application of an idea is where the challenge lies. Anyway I thought I’d share a little photo montage of our attempts to get Nathan to perform… It also doesn’t help that I don’t have a great camera. However the idea didn’t turn out to be an actual failure. We I picked the last picture in the montage to post up on Facebook as a birthday greeting. With practice, I’m sure Nathan' will soon be an expert birthday messenger. Anyway, Happy Birthday dad! Lots

Read the rest of this entry »

Please give a standing ovation

My mum has been reminding me again and again to lower Nathan’s cot to the lowest setting. She was quite concerned about it because apparently my younger brother as a baby had somehow managed to fall out of his cot. It was especially unexpected because the sides of the cot were really very high for his size at that time so it was really a mystery how he managed to do it. We certainly did not want anything like that happening with Nathan. So we definitely intended to lower Nathan’s cot as soon as possible but just never got round to it. There was a lower sense of urgency in our case as Nathan hasn’t really been showing clear signs of trying to pull himself up to stand or even pushing himself up to sit on his own (although he’s already an expert commando crawler ). However in the space of just a couple of days, Nathan can now push himself up to sitting position all by himself. This development should already raise some warning bells about doing something with the cot. But before we cou

Read the rest of this entry »

Saying good-bye to our furry friend

I have some sad news. After much contemplation and discussion, we recently decided to give our dear Mishu away. It wasn’t because of anything bad he did or any issues with Nathan. On the contrary, he’s very docile and easy-going with bub… However when we did a good honest assessment of how each ‘individual’ in the household was doing, we had to admit that Mishu had become quite neglected since Nathan’s arrival . It was never something we set out to do, nevertheless we knew Mishu would be much happier with someone who can give him more attention than we could. After putting the word out, we eventually gave him to a family with a 12-year old boy who according to his mother had been hankering after a cat for the longest time. When they came over to check Mishu out, his eyes absolutely lit up when he saw Mishu and hurried across the room to pet him. I was sure he would be well loved with them. So we packed up all his earthly possessions and said our good-byes. Farewell dear Mishu,

Read the rest of this entry »

How I prepare Nathan’s food

Recently, me and a couple of other mums have started to get together regularly to form our own mothers group or playgroup. Our children are generally within the same age range with variations of a few months here and there. We generally try to time our meet ups around the kids’ mealtimes so we can all sit down to feed our kids around the same time and let them play together afterwards. I always find the scene of the variations in foods we prepare for our kids based on their different developmental stages so interesting. It’s also great to see what foods and snacks the other mums prepare to get some ideas for myself. So today I thought I might share my system for preparing Nathan’s food. Because I don’t have a maid and am still juggling work whilst still looking after Nathan almost full time, I don’t have the luxury of cooking every meal for him from scratch as much as I’d like to. So I cook his food in batches and freeze them to eat over the coming week. So over the weekend, I boil