Dummies

While I was pregnant, I was convinced I would not be using dummies.

2 weeks after delivery, I was using dummies. Regularly.

The truth is, babies like to suck. It comforts them and makes them happy, it would almost be mean to stop them from doing it.

To be honest though, after a couple of weeks of sleepless nights, the Other Half and I were staring at our wonderful little girl wondering what the hell was wrong with her. She was fed, dry, warm. What else could we do to stop her from screaming the house down?

We tried the dummies we received in a hamper just after she was born. Thrown in the nearest drawer because we would never need them. Ha!

We tentatively put the dummy in her mouth. Silence. 

Blissful, amazing and wonderful silence.

We're still using them, and so glad we are. Sometimes, the Little One is perfectly okay, but just needs to be soothed.

I'm very aware that dummies have a had a bad rep, but they have kept me and the Other Half sane, and the Little One quiet. A very happy family indeed.

Mum's birthday

Happy Birthday Mum!

And so, last weekend I went home to North Wales to celebrate my Mum's 50th birthday - there was plenty of food and more than enough cider and wine.

I couldn't decide for months what to get my mum as a gift - I wanted something special, but also something she'd use. Buying her a star to commemorate her 50th didn't really appeal.

In the end I decided on 3 separate gifts. The first one was a Spode Italian Blue cake stand. My mum collects Spode plates and the like but they tend to be for display purposes only. I wanted her to have something beautiful she could use - and so I chose this.

And she used it this weekend for her pretty pink birthday cake.

                                 

The second gift was a box full of goodies. It began as something small to add to the main gifts, but actually, it turned out to be a large box full of luxurious creams and serums, a romcom DVD, pretty stationery, chamomile tea and many more things. My mum was like a little child - oohing and aahing at every new thing she found. I'd definitely recommend anyone to do this - it seemed so personal, and the smile on my mum's face was priceless.

And then, my last gift was a photo album full of photos of me and my brother in chronological order - from the day I was born to an outing we all had in Portmeirion last year. My mum loved it and spent hours flicking through it. It was basically a pretty photo album from Paperchase and around 50 photos I managed to find in old albums and on facebook. Simple but very effective.

Mum, I hope you had a good one!