The Little Lilypad is a lifestyle blog mostly written by a mum to two beautiful, cheeky and entertaining daughters. It is sometimes written by the Man on the Pad or by one of our baby bloggers. Occasionally we accept guest posts too. There is frequently talk of sustainable living, saving money, lifestyle and travel. It is hopefully helpful, sometimes funny and always honest.
When your little ones are tiny, they seem to go through clothes quicker than you can wash them but what do you do with your favourite outfits that capture memories of a moment in time? Well the clever and talented folk from LoveKeepCreate decided to create sentimental keepsakes from your childs beloved baby grows.
LoveKeepCreate can take those old baby clothes and babygrows and turn them into gorgeous keepsake teddy bears and when we say keepsake bears, this can be anything from a bear, dragons, monkeys or a duck…they have a whole keepsake animal family!
So as parents ourselves, we know how precious those keepsakes can be and we want to give you the chance to win you very own from LoveKeepCreate. All you need to do is enter below! Good luck x
The Prize: LoveKeepCreate Keepsake Animal worth up to £49.50 LoveKeepCreate will require the winner to send the equivalent of four baby grows.The outcome of the final product will depend very much on the items that you send in, so please bear in mind that if they are particularly well worn/stretchy pieces of clothing the item may not look quite the same as the product pictures. By entering this competition, you understand that your details may be retained for future mailings. You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time. There is no monetary equivalent. Little Lilypad Co take no /responsibility for loss or damage in the despatch of prizes If the prize is unclaimed within 7 days we reserve the right to redraw the winner. End Date 05/11/2016 at 12am
We are big breastfeeding advocates but let's be honest, we all just advocate making sure our babies are happy, healthy and well fed regardless of who is feeding them (bottles are always nice bonding time for Dad's too), so our baby blogger has been putting the Tommee Tippee Complete Starter Kit through its paces for the past 6 months. We did an unboxing video on Youtube a little while ago, so you can see everything that is in the kit. Have a little look below;
After 6 months of intensive use, our baby blogger wanted to share her honest thoughts and opinions on the kit, so I shall therefore hand you over to Lynette .....
I had always intended to bottle feed my daughter. I did with my son, and always felt quite confident that I would with my daughter.It was important for me to choose a good steriliser, as I knew that it would be used a great deal. Possibly up to 4/5 times a day. I had an Avent one with my son, but after a few months it wasn't performing as well as it was previously. This may have been through over use as my son fed a lot.
We decided upon the Tommee Tippee starter kit steriliser. Not only did it come with the steriliser, it also came with a variety amount of sized bottles and other items that really did give us everything we needed to get "started". The set includes:
Electric Steam Steriliser
Travel Steriliser
Electric Bottle and Food Warmer
3 x 150ml Closer to Nature Easi-Vent Bottles with Slow Flow Teats
5 x 260ml Closer to Nature Easi-Vent Bottles with Slow Flow Teats
2 x Medium Flow Teats – 3-6m
2 x Fast Flow Teats – 6m+
4 x Milk Storage Lids
6 x Milk Powder Dispensers – 0m+
2 x Insulated Bottle Bags
1 x Bottle and Teat Brush
On first inspection the steriliser was nice and big, with room to fit 6 bottles. Plus extra space to fit the lids and dummies should need be. The design, although large on first appearance, is oval shaped and slim fitting on a work surface. I chose the white design, however the black design was lovely.
I found the steriliser is easy to use. It is clearly evident where the bottles, teats and kids need to go. There is ample room around the tears and lids for dummies.
As a result ofmy daughter having to spend time in SCBU, I also had to use the steriliser to sterilise my breast pump.There was lots of room here to fit all of the attachments from the pump, as well as any containers for storing milk.
The time for the steriliser to complete a cycle is about 15 minutes, a little longer my previous steriliser, however, the bottles come out feeling fresh and clean, although very hot, so do be careful.
My only down point to the steriliser is that sometimes when it is put on, it will switch itself off after a couple of minutes. I have still not discovered why? I thought this may be a fault with just mine, however friends of mine who have the same one have also had the same problem.So, you need to check once you have put it on after about 5 minutes. That it is still running, otherwise you may come to making up a feed and the bottles have not been sterilised.
Without gushing too much over a practical piece of equipment, in my honest opinion it is the best one I have tried, it is stylish and doesn't look out of place in my kitchen. I loved all the accessories that came with it. We are off on holiday in a few weeks and I will be taking the travel steriliser with me. The bottles, even after 6 months are still in excellent condition and look as good as new. The only thing that have been changed are the teats, and that is due to the need for faster flowing ones and not as a result of wear and tear.
If you are looking for a steriliser that is stylish and dependable then this is the one for you, it is available from all major retailers for around £99.99, although it is worth shopping around for the best deals. The health advice is that you can stop sterilising after 6 months but I intend to carry on using mine for the foreseeable future. If you are looking for more Tommee Tippee videos, take a little look at our Perfect Prep video that we did a few years ago.
We often hear of the benefits of swimming for a baby but how about the reasons why baby swimming is good for Dad's too?
Baby swimming is often a child’s first social experience out of the home that involves other children. They learn to relate and interact with each other and it is a great opportunity for dads to meet like minded people who share common interests.
Research has suggested that babies who participate in swimming are often more alert for their age and have better eating and sleeping patterns. So it is a great chance for you to enjoy time with your little one but also to know that you are aiding your child’s future development.
As a former swimmer for the county, the man on the Lilypad loves seeing his daughter swim and loves the chance to swim with her, which is a great bonding experience for them both (not to mention time for them to laugh over and over again about dunking daddy under the water).
Swimming together is not only a great weekly activity but when your baby is in regular swim lessons, it makes going on holiday more enjoyable and your little one looks forward to playing in the water and you get to enjoy the water too, without fretting about their water safety abroad!
With so many activities seemingly focused on mother and baby, swimming lessons are a great opportunity for the Dad's to get involved and as the man on the Lilypad is super competitive, he takes great pride in her achievements every week. Although he is not a fan of taking her into the mens changing rooms, so it is good to select a pool with family changing facilities.
There will become a time when we no longer get in the water with her for her lessons and that time is getting closer and closer. She no longer wants held in the water as she has confidence to swim on her own but she still looks for reassurance and approval. I see him getting wistful about how quickly she is growing up but I know that no matter how big and confident she gets, she will always be Daddy's little girl.
When was the last time you made a wish? What did you wish for? Oooh in fact, don't tell me as it might not come true (that is what my Mum always used to say anyway).
But what about making a wish that really can help make dreams come true? For 10 years the Pampers® and UNICEF partnership has had only one wish: to eliminate maternal and newborn tetanus everywhere! On the 10th birthday of the Pampers Unicef campaign, they are asking you to watch their "Wishes" video of babies making wishes around the world to help protect babies at risk from newborn tetanus.
For every view of this video, Pampers will donate 1 life-saving vaccine.
And every time you share the video on social media, Pampers will donate another life-saving vaccine.
Since the Pampers-UNICEF “1 pack = 1 vaccine” campaign began in 2006, they have helped to eliminate maternal and newborn tetanus in 17 countries. This means that an estimated 500,000 newborn babies have been saved and a vaccine has reached a mother and her baby every second. However, there are still 21 countries where the disease remains a threat.
It seems incredulous that in parts of the modern world, a mother and her baby are unable to get the medication they need to survive and whilst it is a different circumstance with my own daughter suffering from asthma, I know how desperate you can feel as a mother when you need medical intervention, so I cannot imagine not having the resources at hand to help my child survive.
So how can we help?
For every heart-warming picture you share of your LO’s birthday wish on social media using the #PampersUNICEF Pampers will donate the cost of one vaccination
For every time you share the Wish Film, Pampers will donate the cost of a vaccination.
So if you have never shared one of our posts, I ask you to share this one. Wouldn't you wish someone would do that for you and your child?
Just one small gesture really can make a huge difference to mothers and babies around the world.
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