An update..

I feel I should start writing my blog again, if only to keep a record of all the things that have been happening of late.

I'll start with the good;

Finn has learn to cruise, climb the stairs, clap, feed himself with a spoon, and has developed the cheekiest mischievous personality.
My lovely friend Lizzie and her gorgeous son Alfie came to visit for a few days which was amazing, it was great to spend time with her, have a few cheeky vino's and for the boys to play together. I've missed that girl so much!

I am now a fully qualified Baby and Pre School swimming teacher with Puddle Ducks, genuinely the best job in the world, I go to work smiling and come home giddy with excitement!

My 'mummy knows best' skills have finally led to all sorts of referrals for Finn, which leads me onto the not so good.

The Ugly;

We had Finn's development review today, his development has been put at that of a 9-10 month baby, I'm not sure I agree with this entirely, I would put him about 12-13 months maybe, however, this has lead to various interventions.

He will now need an MRI scan to see if there is any brain injuries, a X-ray of his skull to check growth, a blood test for screening various things, physio for his feet and possibly his arms; he'll be under the community paediatric health visitor, we will need to attend various structured play sessions, we'll have home visits once a week to stimulate him further and he has also had a dietician referral.

Rather a lot to take in in one hit. Especially when you're not given any answers as to what may be wrong with him.

As I sit here with my tub of Ben and Jerrys, I wonder whether I've done enough, if I could have done more to stimulate and developed him. Will he lead a normal life, will he be bullied? Should I have taken him to more groups, let him be around more children, what if, what if, what if, what if...?

All I know is that he is the most happiest, beautiful, loving, cheekiest little boy I know. He makes me laugh daily and is so affectionate it's unreal.

I love him with every fibre of my being and what ever is thrown in our way we shall take in our stride.

I'm sorry for being away for such a long time, as you can see I've been a busy bunny, but I hope to keep this blog up to date now as often as I can, it'll be nice to look back on and see how far we've come.

Mel x



Mel x

WAHM's

I love twitter, it has rapidly over taken by love for Facebook, however my love for the book of face does still linger. I have found so many wonderful work at home mums (wahm's) who make beautiful items through Facebook so I thought I'd tell you a little bit about my favourites.

All of these mums sell such individual items and you can tell oodles of love go into every piece. I really believe in supporting local and handmade businesses and I think giving such items as a gifts rather than something bought from the highstreets make them all the more special.

Lemonade & Magnolia

Kylie is the wahm behind Lemonade & Magnolia, she makes quirky & kitsch loveliness for babies. I found her whilst hunting for dribble bibs in retro fabric. She also makes patchwork quilts, dickie bows, clothes, homeware etc, I currently have my eye on a few of her Christmas decorations. If you live near Leeds then she also stocks her items in the lovely Birds Yard. Every time Finn wears one of his bibs someone comments on them, they look super cute. Kylie has even offered to swap the velcro fitting on them for poppers for me which is very kind of her. You wouldn't get such fabulous customer service from a normal shop!











Daisy Days Designs

Now I'm sure most of you probably follow the lovely Chloe's blog, but she also has a wonderful page on Facebook selling handmade plaques, hangings, memory boxes, door signs and much more. I'm completely in love with her Cath Kidston and Emma Bridgewater decoupage letters, they would look so at home in my kitchen. I'm also loving her children's name wall art, the girls names with princess crowns, faeries and flowers are beautiful, damn me for not having a girl! Chloe has also started making Christmas decorations, my Christmas wreath got lost in our house move so I have my eye on her Wooden Christmas Bauble Wreaths.











A little something sewn

I'm not sure where I am across this page, more than likely it was from the Cloth Bum Mums group on Facebook. I'm so very glad I did as I found these amazing travel chalkboard mats, I think they're such a clever idea. To be able to chuck one of these in your changing bag and have ready made entertainment that isn't noisy, doesn't make a mess and provides imaginative play is fab. I'm totally sold on them and all the little people in my family will be getting one for Christmas! You can also buy gorgeous blankets, nappy wallets, bibs, bunting and lots of lovely other handmade goodies.








Tag Blankets By Cassie Creations

One of the very first wahm items I bought was a gorgeous taggy blanket for Finn when he was little. Super soft minky with silky soft tags attached. Finn loved rubbing the tags and always slept with the blanket, he still has a mini one in his cot now. Cassie has some lovely fabrics for you to chose your own blanket from, with colour coordinating tags. Finn very nearly didn't get his blanket, it's so soft I wanted to keep it for myself! I also love the minky cubes she makes, I imagine they would really appeal to young babies.








Have you ever bought anything from a Facebook seller?

This boy...

....Melts my heart on a daily basis. I am endlessly proud of him and he makes my heart swell with every little look he gives me.

Bit of a leap

Finn seem to have gone through a massive developmental leap of late.

On 4th August he started commando crawling, a week later he pulled up in the bath, and a week after that he learnt to roll and how to go from sitting to crawling and now he's very near to cruising.