by iamcrabstix | Dec 29, 2016 | general parenting, rlt
So, RLT’s first Christmas has been and gone! As usual I got massively anxious about everything, such as having people dig at my parenting methods, RLT getting overwhelmed and out of his routine, the state of the house and the cat feeling left out. Turns out, it wasn’t all that bad (with exception of the state of the house, that got pretty bad).
RLT has been sleeping soooo much better for the past three nights – it is a Christmas miracle! Last night (28th), he didn’t wake once between 7.30pm and 7am. This has never happened before in his 27 weeks and 5 days on this earth!
He has been so brilliant over the Christmas holidays, he is so nosey, he has skipped a few naps, but I’ve tried to be quite strict in putting him down at 10am and 2pm to try and keep some kind of routine for him. I’ve also tried to keep his meal times as normal as possible too. Even as an overtired baby, especially on 27th when we went to Mark’s mum’s for the afternoon, he didn’t create he simply just rubbed his eyes alot. He definitely has a brilliant temprement (although, I have seen a different side to this when he has eaten all of his chocolate pudding).
Christmas Eve was lovely spend as a family, we popped round my Mum’s around lunchtime as she was doing the annual making mince pies for Santa with the kids. We got the table set early and Mark prepped the birds for Christmas Day (as in following Jamie Oliver’s recipes, not giving them a team talk). We couldn’t find anything we wanted to watch on TV so after browsing Netflix for an hour as we do most days, we settled on some film about a blended family with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, it was alright – I cried probably more than I should have at a comedy film! We got RLT’s presents prepped, stocked with batteries and ready to go for Christmas morning. Christmas tradition dictates that you have to have new pyjamas for Christmas Eve, so we all looked very festive (my Home Alone ones are from the men’s section of Tesco, don’t tell anyone). RLT is sporting my ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS YOU FILTHY ANIMALS’ hat which I bought from Urban Outfitters in New York, last Christmas.

Christmas Eve
On Christmas morning, the house seemed freezing, so when RLT woke at about 6:45, I brought him a bottle upstairs and we all snuggled in our bed until the heating had kicked in at about 8am! I went downstairs to take a video of RLT’s face when he saw his presents, in true RLT style, he wasn’t phased! But he’s six months old, we’ll let him off with that! As i’m on maternity leave, Mark and I decided not to buy each other gifts, he did however, surprise me with a night away at Rudding Park on 7th January, which was in a card from RLT. So now I feel terrible for not getting him anything!
Back to RLT – most of his gifts seemed to be made of yellow plastic, which made us laugh. As grandparents came over, the living room was getting packed with the stuff, so we decided to designate the conservatory as his playroom, however, we haven’t quite worked out how this will work over the winter months as it is freezing with that door open!

Christmas Haul
As RLT’s toys are being stored in the conservatory at the moment, foam mats seem to be a good shout on how to keep the cold out – the floor is ceramic tiles and freezing! We have an electric heater in there, but are very conscious of the electricity bill from having it on all of the time.
We even managed a night out on Boxing Day, was nice to get out. Probably shouldn’t have drank so much in such a short space of time, but I thought we may regret not going as we haven’t really been out as a couple since September 2015! Was nice to see friends too.
Here is our Christmas in pics.
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by iamcrabstix | Dec 15, 2016 | general parenting
Note to self – to me six months ago, knowing what I know now.
I’ve decided to write a post to myself six months ago, to get down the things I’ve learned and to encapsulate what a journey the past six months have been!
Hi Crabstix
So your little boy is due about now, these are the things you will never believe about the next six months:
- You will be happier than you have ever been and laugh more than you have ever laughed.
- You won’t be as anxious, as you are not at work.
- To date, you have not had notice of redundancy, which you feared.
- You appear to still have a job to go back to.
- You will ask for more time off as your maternity leave has gone too fast despite your concern about changing your job, because baby is more important.
- You will be as bad at housework as you’ve ever been.
- The cat hasn’t moved out.
- The baby is happy and healthy.
- He is an incredibly happy, smiley baby.
- You will not be phased by the magnitude of the task of parenting.
- Mark will continue to breathe loudly in your ear when trying to sleep.
- You are actually surviving on maternity pay.
- You actually like to shop in next for baby clothes.
- You like your baby to be in rompersuits – he may start looking like George Dawes soon if you don’t let him wear clothes.
- You will continually get annoyed at little comments people make and them trying to fix the agenda – just ignore them and enjoy maternity leave.
- You won’t make a batch of mum friends and meet up in Starbucks for chats.
- Mark will get offered a job opportunity, which will make work/life balance that little bit harder.
- You will have spent almost 30 grand on house and baby within that time (GULP).
- You will go out with sick on your top because you don’t even know it is there.
- You will continue to hate the smell of bananas and popcorn, despite no longer being pregnant.
- Don’t got to B&Q on bank holiday weekend in August – some idiot will crash in to your car and you’ll be in agony with your back and shoulder – but don’t panic, baby is not hurt but at that point you will know what is like to be a worried parent.
- You need to get a plumber in before you get new carpets as the idiots you’ve bought the house of have neglected to tell you that the radiators in the kitchen or dining room don’t work due to a pipe issue which will involve a lot of floor board ripping up and holes in walls – you don’t want to find this out the week before Christmas with a six month old baby and 10 people to feed on Christmas Day.

by iamcrabstix | Dec 14, 2016 | Misc
What do you buy a six month old for Christmas? If someone asked them what you actually wanted for Christmas, it would probably be to FINALLY get that dummy in your own mouth, or your foot!
Having a June baby is great as you can split the wants and needs in six monthly intervals! So Christmas 2016, RLT will be six months and one week old, therefore we’re looking at what he needs/would like aged 6-12 months, until his birthday!
Here are a few things that we’ve put on his list!
- Fisher Price Dance and Move Beatbo – Ok this one may be for me as much as RLT. I think it is the greatest toy on the market! We love the Beatbo boogie, as do my two year old nephew and five year old niece!
- Fisher Price Laugh and Learn smart stages chair – this one probably could have waited until his birthday, as it is 12 months plus, but it was on the 3 for 2 offer at Argos, so couldn’t resist!
- Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Smart Stages Car – This should keep him going for a while as it is suitable from 6 months until 18th months with the various stages. My two year old nephew has already had a go and he is a big fan too! So it even keeps the visitors happy!
- Fisher Price Rockin’ Tunes Giraffe – this just looked cute and most of RLT’s toys are the Fisher Price rainforest animals, so decided to keep it going!
- SmartTrike – As he will be 10 months old as the better weather as here, a smart trike was the ideal choice!
Extra things I’ve managed to get him that weren’t even on the list!
- Fisher Price Musical Lion Baby Walker – I managed to get this for £17.50, so it is a nice little extra present!
- Amazon pampers monthly subscription – cheers mum!
Something that we wanted to get #rlt, which we can’t find anywhere is an Elmo toy! He loves watching Elmo, as do his cousins and I bought them rock n roll elmo’s etc when they were young, but unfortunately I can’t find anything on sale! So he’s going to have to make do with the Elmo he already has from H&M.

RLT and his beloved Elmo from h&m
by iamcrabstix | Dec 4, 2016 | Reviews, rlt, Travel
We chose Kielder as the destination for a winter break and the first holiday for RLT at aged five and a half months. Kielder Waterside is a development within Kielder Water and Forest and within the Leaplish Forest Park, which is also where the Winter Wonderland is based.

We opted to go for 4 nights Monday – Friday as my OH is starting a new job on 5th December, so he wanted some downtime before he started. We couldn’t quite fathom out formula, nappies and baggage allowances to travel abroad with a baby, so when my friend Nikki, mentioned that she was looking for a winter break in the UK and we should come along, we jumped at the chance.
We opted for the Otterstone Superior lodge which was lovely and incredibly homely. The added touch of the Christmas tree added to the atmosphere. The lodge was very well equipt and the bed, furniture and fixtures were all extremely high quality, we were extremely impressed.

RLT chilling by the Christmas tree in living area
The swimming pool was small but ample for our requirements, the changing rooms seemed to be brand new. The coffee shop and bar restaurant were all decorated to an extremely high standard too. The food was also very good and I didn’t feel over priced for the quality considering they had a captive audience. The draft ale was Wylam too, which is a very well respected brewery in the North East – little touches like that go a long way.

Kitchen of Otterstone Superior Lodge
The lodge had a hot tub, I’d never been in one! A man came every day to check the levels etc, it was extremely well maintained. He advised it had been drained and fresh water added for our visit – as you never know who and what has gone on in those things! I went in once for around 20 minutes, the lodges are pretty close together so if you’re thinking of a break with friends for hot tub parties, I don’t think this is the place for you. It’s more for families to enjoy, in my opinion.
The bath was also a jacuzzi one, basically, everything to do with water was an optimum experience, which is no surprise given that the lodges are owned and operated by Northumbrian Water, who own Kielder Reservoir. EVEN THE TAP WATER TASTED AMAZING.
We didn’t set out to do anything but go on a few walks and relax, so when we saw the Winter Wonderland stuff, we felt obligated to participate for the two-year-old that was with us, thankfully it was only a weekend thing so the park was pretty empty. Things seemed to close on 30th November, half way through our stay such as Kielder Castle etc, but we still managed to do the Stickman Trail and we were fairly laid back about what to see and do anyway, so we didn’t mind.

Winter Wonderland was closed but you could still access the lakeside way for walks, which was ideal with a baby.
Even out of season, this place is pretty great. We picked a good place to go on our first holiday with our baby. The lodge was like a home away from home. They even provided a high chair (which was brand new with the tags on) and a travel cot. We got it for a rate cheaper than advertised on the website due to the time of year, but at full cost and compared to what you’d pay at Centre Parcs, I’d 100% recommend this place for families to consider. We had a lovely time.
Things to look out for…. Northumbrian Water seem to use Hoseasons for their bookings… We were looking for a Hoseasons logo on site, so thought we’d taken a wrong turn. So if you see signs for Leaplish, just keep driving!

by iamcrabstix | Dec 3, 2016 | general parenting
Thank you to the lovely Nicola at Mummytodex for sharing the # RockingMotherhood tag with me. I have decided to take part as Nic is so kind as to have sent me a few things now and I’m a bit scared she’s going to stop if I don’t stop being lazy! . I have listed the rules and shared the ten things I believe make me a good mother, below. I hope that those of you who have been tagged will take part and and continue the tag.
RockingMotherhood Rules
- Thank the blogger that tagged you and link to their blog.
- List 10 things you believe make you a good mother (this is just a guideline. It can be more or less than 10. I really don’t mind.)
- Tag 3 – 5 bloggers to join in the #RockingMotherhood Tag.
- Grab the #RockingMotherhood badge and add it to your post or sidebar.
Things that make me a good mother
- I want my baby to grow up to be a citizen of the world. I will not be selfish and try to keep him close. I will allow him to travel and experience different cultures at the earliest opportunity.
- My baby laughing or smiling is the most important thing in the world to me right now. The house may be a tip, but he has a smile on his face.
- He teaches me how to be a better person. I’m a much better person for being a mother both mentally and spiritually. I’m learning just as much from him as he is learning from me, we are growing together (him in height, me width ways)
- I don’t mind making an idiot of myself to hopefully show my baby that life should be fun. Singing and dancing down the aisles of Sainsbury’s may get some funny looks, but if he’s smiling I don’t care. I don’t want him to think life has to be serious for a very long time yet.
- I picked him the best father he could possibly get. Kind, humble, intelligent, good looking with a heart as big as a country. With genes like that, this baby will go far.
- Having experienced pregnancy loss, I will try to never take being a mum for granted. I will be forever grateful and eternally terrified that something will go wrong as I am not sure what I have done to be so lucky, but having experienced the lowest of low, this is the highest of highs, and I constantly tell myself that I am the luckiest person in the world. My life has totally changed in just over three years and I am happier than I ever thought was possible.
I am tagging:
Liska at New Mum Online
