Bluewater Baby & Toddler Show and BoobieMilk Giveaway

BoobieMilk is exhibiting at the Bluewater Baby and Toddler Show on April 19-21.

They will be fitting and selling nursing bras, sleep bras and nursing vests from Emma-Jane, Carriwell and Hotmilk all weekend at stand J36.

If can pre-book a fitting appointment before the 19th April and receive 15% off your purchase at the show which is a great offer so please share with pregnant and/or breastfeeding friends and family.

BoobieMilk will also be running a competition throughout the weekend with a fabulous prize for the winner, so pop by the stand to enter.  To book an appointment email Karen at karen.mccully@gmail.com

The very, very lovely Karen is giving away a free pair of tickets to the show. 

You can enter by first commenting on this blog post ‘Which Company are you most excited to seeing at the show?’ AND you MUST also click on the link below which will take you through to the Rafflecopter. You have until midnight on Wednesday 18th April 2013 to enter.  Please ensure you have ticked the Rafflecopter box confirming you have commented otherwise your entry will not be counted.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There are also extra entries to be earned.  Please ensure you have a valid email address on your Rafflecopter Account and check your emails on Thursday 18th April as Karen will need to email you the code in order for you to purchase the free tickets.

Karen has also given me a code to purchase 2 tickets for £12. Enter BS49 when purchasing through the Baby and Toddler Show website.

Miamoo Skincare Review and Giveaway

A little while ago I came across Miamoo Skincare on Twitter and Facebook. Miamoo was founded by Saira Khan who you might have watched in the first series of ‘The Apprentice’ and more recently a documentary showing her family’s journey to adopt her daughter Amara.

Spud has very dry skin and outbreaks of eczema and has had steroid and paraffin based creams on prescription since he was born and his eczema was first triggered (I will elaborate on what I believe did this at a later date). It was getting close to Christmas 2011 and there was a great offer on the Miamoo range using a code publicised on the Facebook page. I hopped over to the main website and was intrigued at the tagline ‘No Nasty Chemicals’ and ordered the Splashy Wash, Fresh Locks Shampoo, Huggy Lotion and Baba Oil.

I can honestly say, we haven’t been back to our GP for any lotions and potions since December 2011 when our Miamoo products arrived.

We actually only used to bathe Spud once a week and no more because even with the bath oils from our GP, it would completely dry his skin out.  After each bath, we would slather him in the tub of thick, greasy prescription stuff and his skin would still be dry and itchy by the next morning.

Poor Spud.  Pooh Bear has avoided eczema thus far and his skin has always been silky smooth.  I could quite happily sit and stroke his soft belly all day and I am really glad to report that after regular use of the Miamoo wash products, lotion and oil, Spud’s skin is actually really soft now too!

A brilliant attribute of the Splashy Wash is that you get lots and lots of lovely bubbles in the bath :)  Prescription bath oils do NOT make ANY bubbles and I was quite sad that the boys were missing out on this simple pleasure.  A bath without bubbles is like tea without cake!

We had a week or so when we ran out of Miamoo products recently and you could really tell the difference with Spud’s skin.  After a couple of baths in just plain water, his skin and his legs especially were rough and dry.

The range smells lovely too and the Fresh Locks Shampoo leaves the boys hair so shiny and soft.  Spud is always getting comments on how gorgeous his strawberry blond hair is after a bath :)  You only need a tiny amount of the shampoo at a time and I like to wet the boys’ hair, massage the shampoo in then leave it on for a few minutes.  Both boys had really bad cradle cap which still recurs if we don’t use the Fresh Locks Shampoo so we can’t live without it.

I have concentrated mostly on the bath products for the pictures in this post but the Huggy Lotion and Baba Oil are also important additions to Spud’s skincare regime.  We don’t usually use them all over Pooh Bear but he has a patch of dry skin on his face which is kept at bay and just bathing him in Miamoo products seems to suit his skin for now.  The Huggy Lotion is really thin and very easily absorbed especially when compared to other creams we have used.  You might wonder at first whether it will actually work if you are used to the thick creams like we were but it really does and it doesn’t leave your hands feeling all sticky and horrible.  Spud’s skin condition isn’t so severe that we have to use the Baba Oil every night but we do use it after baths, which we now have every other night thanks to Miamoo.  His skin is still soft the next day.

I actually think that not using steroid creams and replacing it with twice daily applications of Huggy Lotion has vastly improved Spud’s skin and we now only cream him once a day.  My sister has suffered from eczema since she was little and I remember her being covered in cream and my parents putting boxing gloves on her hands at night in an attempt to help stop her scratching!  I had envisaged this future for Spud too but it looks like we might have avoided that outcome and I truly believe it is with the help of Miamoo and Saira’s crusade.

The Miamoo website is a wealth of information as is the Facebook page.  Saira tweets and updates facebook personally and she is really passionate about skincare and really knows her stuff.  There are lots of skincare tips which take the form of bullet points meaning that they are easy and simple to read and follow.

Customer service is lovely and very personal and it is so nice to buy a product that not only works for us but is produced by such a lovely lady and her team.  If you have any questions, Saira is always very enthusiastic in her response and suffering with sensitive skin herself she genuinely cares about yours and your baby’s skin.

You can buy the Miamoo range from the website and the price has just been lowered making it really affordable.  It is also available on the highstreet at Boots (and on their website) and on Ocado.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

***GIVEAWAY ENDED***

So, how would you like to win a fabulous Travel Goodies set to see for yourself how brilliant the Miamoo range is????

The Travel Goodies set contains miniature:

Splashy wash, fresh locks, huggy lotion, baba oil, spritz and wipe , cheeky cream and a cotton cloth are in a clear plastic wallet.

It’s a great way to try out the range without buying the larger bottles and it would also make an amazing gift for pregnant ladies and new mums too.

Carrie – was picked at random using the number generator Random.Org

If you would like to be in with a chance of winning, please visit the Miamoo website here and comment on this blog post telling me:

Why you think Miamoo products are kind to skin and which product you would most like to try.

For extra entries:

‘Like’ the Miamoo Facebook page here

‘Follow’ Miamoo on Twitter here

Tweet ” I would LOVE to #win a @Miamooskincare travel set with @Scattymumofboys #kindtoskin #nonastychemicals #babies “

If you are using an extra entry, please leave a comment telling me which extra entries you have taken advantage of.

The giveaway will end at midnight on Wednesday 12th September and will be drawn shortly after.  Any entries made after this date will not be counted.

The giveaway is limited to UK residents only.

Please ensure you have provided an email address when you comment (it will only be visible to me) and I will contact the winner before announcing on the blog.

The prize is non-transferable and will be posted direct to the winner by this blog as soon as contact it made.

Immediate family of employees of Miamoo skincare AND relatives of Life, Love and Living with Boys will not be permitted to enter this giveaway.

Please also refer to the T&C’s page at the top of this blog page.

N.B. We were sent products for the purpose of this review and also the Travel Goodies giveaway prize but we had already fallen in love with the Miamoo brand and this review has been written honestly.

A Kickboxer, An Air Stewardess, A Speech Therapist and A Wannabe Playboy Bunny!

Before you read this post, please go over to The Mule  and have a look at the huge list of women and their photos.  There are older women, younger women, curvy women, slim women, blondes, brunettes and even blue-haired women, women with one child, women with more, women with degrees, blogs, their own business, stay-at-home-Mums, and volunteers.

With the furore on extended breastfeeding recently caused by the photo on the front of TIME magazine, The Mule has brought together all kinds of women, normal, every day women, some of whom feel the need to harbour a secret from their nearest and dearest.

They ALL have or still do breastfeed their toddlers.

When you scroll through you might recognise me doing my best (not very good) Playboy Bunny impression.

Such an inspiring post especially the stories where breastfeeding has helped Mums coping with bereavement and also special needs children.  It really helped me when I started to doubt if I was doing the right thing in continuing to breastfeed Pooh Bear.  When you are surrounded by a society which believes that you should stop once they get teeth, start eating solids, can walk, talk, and verbally ask for a feed, it is hard not to be influenced whether it’s what you believe is the right thing or not.

The World Health Organisation recommends that you breastfeed for at least two years.  This recommendation is for women living in the western world NOT in Third World countries.

Women are sexualised every day in the media.  Topless modelling is seen as normal and we have forgotten that actually, women’s breasts’ primary function is to nurture their young.  It is not seen as normal to have walking, talking toddler with a mouthful of teeth suckling from their mother but it is perfectly acceptable for children to see topless women in tabloid papers every day of the week.  Until we stop viewing the female of the species as sexual objects before anything else, breastfeeding babies and children of any age will never be the norm.  I’m not sure whether posting me wearing bunny ears helps show that women can be confident, sexy AND breastfeed or if it further fuels the point that society has a skewed view of women???

I met a family today who when I mentioned breastfeeding to them, replied

“He’s a bit too big for that now!” and “we’d have to pull his teeth out first!”

Judging by their son’s wobbly toddle, I’d say he can’t have been much older than a year and perhaps the same age as my 15 month Milk Monster and I laughed along with them.  I wasn’t offended by their comments, they had their own ideas of ‘normal’ and perhaps I should have told them that I still feed my toddler and that it’s completely natural to breastfeed babies with teeth.

As with most choices nowadays, there is always someone quick to judge due to ignorance.  It doesn’t matter how long you breastfeed for or if you do it at all as long as you make an informed decision and are happy that you were able to raise your children the best way for you and them.

KellyMom has a great article about feeding toddlers and the website has a wealth of information on this topic and all other breastfeeding topics.

This post was part of the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt which took place during June 2012.  The Grand Prize Draw and the chance to win a pair of Mamma Pads are now closed.

The winner of the Mamma Pads has been drawn and contacted.

I am pleased to have joined up with Theraline and offer one lucky blog reader the chance to win a pair of Mamma Pads.  Mamma Pads are reusable, silicone breast pads which means that if you leak at night, you can ditch the nursing bra as they stop the milk flow.

No more wet patches!!! :D

To enter this giveaway (and add another entry to the Grand Prize), please comment below telling me if you have enjoyed taking part in the Scavenger Hunt and if there was anything new you learnt about breastfeeding.

For an extra entry, please tweet ”  #Win a pair of Mamma Pads with @Scattymumofboys @TheralineUK and @KeepBritainBF Scavenger Hunt  
http://wp.me/p1Mski-p
h ”

and leave an extra comment below.

You have until midnight on Wednesday 4th July to enter this competition which is only open to UK residents.  The winner will be drawn using Random.Org and notified on Thursday 5th July.

 

You might like to pop over to these lovely blogger’s and see what they have written as part of the Scavenger Hunt for National Breastfeeding Awareness week…

Life, Love & Lollipops 

Mummy Constant

Radical Ramblings 

Breast 4 Babies 

Where Roots and Wings Entwine (Bumps 2 Babies) 

Mixed Bag of Allsorts

Dispelling Breastfeeding Myths 

Mama Geek 

You can win a Carriwell Nursing Bra in the Grand Prize!

Breastfeeding Awareness Week 2012

Today was the first day of 2012′s Breastfeeding Awareness Week and I think that we celebrated in style today.

Breastfeeding Friendly Chester had been planning a Picnic in the Park for a while now and a couple of weeks ago started tweeting and facebooking to raise awareness and get some support from local businesses.

Emma and I were really pleasantly surprised and very grateful to the overwhelming response and random tweets we received.  We had companies seeking us out and offering to support the event in any way they could.

Fast forward to a few days ago and we started to panic.  The weather forecast for this weekend was not good.  How many families were likely to brave the wet weather and sit on soggy blankets eating soggy sandwiches in a soggy park?  I am willing to guess that it would only be the poor NCT volunteers and their other halves who would feel they HAD to be there no matter what and the picnic would quite literally be a washout!

Fortunately, one of Brio Leisure’s Venues, The Northgate Arena, had an available sportshall.  Deciding that an indoor picnic which could go ahead in the rain was better than a cancelled picnic or one with no picknickers, we booked the hall and facebooked and tweeted like crazy to make sure everyone knew of the change of venue.

Emma had the brilliant idea of starting the day with a ride on Chester’s Heritage Bus.  She had a banner made and we piled on with the little ones announcing over the loud speaker who we were, what we did and that we were proudly celebrating Breastfeeding Awareness Week.

The little ones loved it!  Spud was really taken aback by the fact that the bus had “No roof Mummy!”

Although it was a little windy at times, the black clouds which threatened to rain on us the whole way round Chester thankfully held on to their load and we didn’t get soaked.

The driver and tour guide were absolutely lovely and the driver was honking his horn at appropriate times during our commentary to the unsuspecting Chester public :D  I would highly recommend that you hop on the bus next time you visit Chester or even book the bus for a wedding or birthday.

I wanted to get a photo of everyone who came and supported us and say thank you on here but if you have ever organised something and had the distraction of your own children too, you will know that things never quite go to plan.  Thankfully the extremely lovely Julie Smith volunteered her time again and took lots of photos so I can’t wait to see those.

Here is a little montage of photos I did manage to take and logos which if you click on them, will take you to the company website in question.  Without the support of these companies, we wouldn’t have been able to make it such a fun afternoon and we really are grateful for all the support.  It made for a lovely afternoon which families could enjoy without spending the earth which is so easily done when you have little ones.  At one count we had over 80 people in the hall and overall well  over 100 people came during the two hours.

Spud loved decorating his own cupcake with Little Bell Tent Events

Scatty Aunty enjoying a froyo from Yogart

Spud and H enjoying their Mad Hatters Tea Room’s cupcakes

WaterBaby Pregnancy Care Water

Blissful Baby Gifts

Blacon Children’s Centre (SureStart) also joined us and entertained the little ones with some parachute play.  I can tell you know, you need biceps and triceps of steel to waft a parachute about!  It’s been over 48 hours since I did it and my arms are still aching.

Also, another extraordinarily lovely lady Lynda Coulter spent her day surrounded by little ones and showed her support from our brilliant local Milk Bank. In fact, would be lovely if they had a few more likes on their Facebook page too ;)

This post was part of the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt in June 2012.  The Grand Prize Giveaway is now closed as is the Prize Draw to win a Babybeads Necklace as detailed below. 

 

In addition to having your entry added to the Grand Prize, you can also win a Harlequin Jingle breastfeeding necklace from Baby-Beads UK.

 

We still use the necklace I bought for Pooh Bear and reviewed here when I first started this blog.

To enter, please leave a comment telling me if you have done anything to mark National Breastfeeding Week and if not, what you would like to do next year.

For an extra entry, tweet… ” Its #NationalBreastfeedingWeek #NBAW12 Win with @KeepBritainBF @Scattymumofboys & @babybeads_info http://wp.me/p1Mski-t7 ”

Good luck x

 

The winner was Cornish Blonde on Twitter as drawn using Random.org.

Here are some fellow bloggers and companies who are also taking part in the scavenger hunt so be sure to visit them for more competitions and interesting posts on breastfeeding…

Smilernpb

Circus Queen

Really Rachel

Fi Peacock 

Pobbing Along  

Tales from a Cornish Blonde 

Edspire

Twinkle Mummy 

My Gorgeous Boys 

Related articles

• Breastfeeding Friendly Chester – An Update, A Guest Post AND A Competition!!! (lifeloveandlivingwithboys.wordpress.com)
• The Key to Breastfeeding Success (lifeloveandlivingwithboys.wordpress.com)
• The Ultimate Convenience Food – Keep Britain Breastfeeding 2012 (lifeloveandlivingwithboys.wordpress.com)

Breastfeeding Friendly Chester – An Update from Emma

Today’s post has been written by a friend of mine, Emma.  I never imagined back at the beginning of 2011 that the lady I met at my local breastfeeding support group would become such a huge part of my life.  It’s funny that although we speak practically every day, it is usually not face to face but through social media, texts and emails! :D

Emma has thrown herself into volunteering for our local NCT branch.  In addition to being the driving force behind Breastfeeding Friendly Chester, after suffering her own loss, she set up and runs a local ‘Rainbow Babies’ group and is currently on a fundraising mission for Chester Childbirth Appeal.  She does all this whilst bringing up her two gorgeous children and really is an inspiration and I am really glad to know her…

I’m really excited to be involved with the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt, and to be doing a guest post for Life Love and Living with Boys! I thought it was a good opportunity to look back at the first year of Breastfeeding Friendly Chester, a parent run scheme highlighting good places to breastfeed.

A couple of NCT Chester volunteers first started thinking about a Breastfeeding Friendly scheme in June last year. We wanted to create a scheme that helped families to lead a full life while breastfeeding. Our aim was to launch a scheme by Chester parents, for Chester parents, tailored to local needs.

We initially had a small budget from the local NCT branch of £200. The first thing we did was write a questionnaire to see if the scheme was needed – no point in going to lots of effort if there was no need for it in Chester! We wanted to find out what parents thought made somewhere good for breastfeeding, as well as asking them to recommend places that were particularly good or bad. The questionnaire also asked what times of the day parents were out and about with their babies, and how much money they were spending in cafes, restaurants etc. We hoped that this information would help businesses to see the financial benefit of joining our scheme.

The survey showed us that when deciding where to go, the most important things to local parents were

1) Generally feeling welcome

2) Comfortable seating

3) Discreet seating

4) Baby changing facilities

We used this information to build the Breastfeeding Friendly Chester scheme.

Each venue joining the scheme signs our commitments:

- We will welcome breastfeeding in any public part of our premises

- We will display the Breastfeeding Friendly logo to show we belong to the scheme

- We will train our staff to make breastfeeding families feel welcome

The venue is added to our directory and map, which both show the facilities available at each location, including comfortable and discreet seating, baby change, highchairs and baby food / children’s menu. As Breastfeeding Friendly Chester is run and financed by the local NCT branch, we felt it was important that the scheme was useful to all families with young children, however they chose to feed their babies. Parents can access the interactive map from computers or smart phones, so they can easily find venues when out and about. We also post regular updates on Facebook and Twitter so parents find out about new venues as they sign up.

We started to contact businesses about the scheme in October, and found the best approach was to call in and speak to the manager or owner. We were pleasantly surprised by how receptive most businesses were – Starbucks signed up on our first day and within 8 weeks we had 20 venues! The most difficult thing is finding the time to get out and speak to people as all the volunteers involved have young families. We’ve only had 2 outright refusals (we’ve made it clear to those businesses that mums have a legal right to breastfeed) but we’re starting to realise that some businesses are being very evasive! The fact that some people are reluctant to sign up has made us more determined to promote the businesses that have joined us.

We’ve recently trialed signing up by email, but the success rate has been much lower than face to face, only 10% of businesses replied to our email. As Breastfeeding Friendly Chester is run by parents, for parents, we’ve always been very keen to get regular feedback and ideas from local parents. We regularly conduct surveys to find out how effective the scheme is, and ask for ideas on how we can improve the scheme. We also ask parents to recommend good places to breastfeed, and thank those parents when their recommended venue signs up.

In January, we started monthly meet ups, meeting at a different venue each month. Its a good way for parents to meet other breastfeeding families, and also for our venues to see the main benefit of joining our scheme – new customers! We try to have a Breastfeeding Peer Supporter from the local hospital at each meet up too so they can provide support if anyone has any problems or questions.

Official Breastfeeding Friendly Chester Photos Courtesy of Julie Smith

As of 31st May,we have

63 venues signed up,

255 Facebook likers,

408 people following us on Twitter,

and have spent £400.

We hope to continue to build the scheme in 2012, and would love to have a Breastfeeding Friendly Chester App! But the real success of the scheme is shown in the feedback we’ve had from parents.

In a recent survey 94% said BFF Chester had made it easier for them to find places to feed their baby, and 100% would recommend us to a friend.

Here’s a few of the lovely comments we’ve had from parents:

“Its an excellent idea and gives you so much more confidence to breastfeed whilst out and about!”

“Great service, enjoy the regular updates on fb and great being out and about and able to use the BFF venues. Thanks!”

“I’m not currently breastfeeding but think its a great idea. Would definitely be visiting the venues if I was, will recommend to bf mums.”

“I think this is a vital resource, I became aware of it just after I gave up breastfeeding but I would have found it really helpful at the time and have since used it to pass on to other breastfeeding friends.”

“A really great scheme and I personally find it reassuring to know that when I go out I know if a place is going to be welcoming to breastfeeders. Well done everyone involved!”

“It’s great to know there are places that encourage breastfeeding, making outings a lot easier.”

If anyone is thinking about launching a Breastfeeding Friendly scheme in their area, I would highly recommend it! Setting up this scheme has been a fantastic experience, I’ve learnt lots of new skills and starting using old skills I’d forgotten I had after 4 years out of the workplace! I’ve also met lots of lovely people, and the feedback from mums has made all the hard work worthwhile. If you’re thinking about setting up a scheme, please feel free to get in touch with breastfeedingfriendlychester@yahoo.co.uk. We don’t have all the answers, our scheme’s not perfect, but we’d be happy to chat!

This post was part of the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt which took place in June 2012.

The Grand Prize Draw and the chance to enter a Bib-Bob from Babi-Mam as detailed below have now ended.

Babi-Mam is run by a lovely lady, Erika who hand makes the designs which are described as ‘Breastfeeding Modesty Garments’.  Now I know, there are mixed feelings about breastfeeding covers but I think that if a cover ensures a Mum feels confident feeding in public and extends her breastfeeding journey then I am all for them.

Babi-Mam is unique in that the covers DON’T cover baby but actually adapt your everyday clothing for breastfeeding in public.  I wish I had found these covers before our journey was in it’s final stages as Pooh Bear rarely feeds out nowadays :(  It would also have extended my wardrobe somewhat as I always tend to wear clothes I can pull up and never down for fear of exposing too much flesh up top.  A Hip-Bob or Bib-Bob would have solved this problem for me. Please pop over to the Babi-Mam website to see how the covers work.  They are also really reasonably priced and you save money by not having to splash out on expensive bursing clothes too!

I have a Beach Flower Bib-Bob to giveaway and all you have to do is leave a comment below telling me the strangest place you have fed your baby in public.  If you are pregnant, and haven’t yet breastfed, why not find out if you have a Breastfeeding Friendly/Welcome Scheme in your area and leave me a comment.

 

For an extra entry, please tweet ” I’m on the @KeepBritainBF Scavenger Hunt with @scattymumofboys @BFFChester and Babi-Mam ” and leave an extra comment to let me know you have tweeted.

Good Luck!!!

 

This can’t be a condition of entry but if you would like to ‘LIKE’ Babi-Mam on Facebook, it would be great.  Erika has also donated a Polka Dot Hip-Bob for the Grand Prize :)

The competition winner will be drawn at random using Random.Org on Thursday 5th July.  Entries MUST be received by Midnight on Wednesday 4th July and is only open to UK residents.

Here are some more lovely bloggers also taking part in the Scavenger Hunt so make sure you pop along, have a read and enter their competitions too :)

Diary of a First Child  
Life Happens So Smile
MyMummysPennies
Edspire
A New Addition

Disclosure:  I received a Bib-Bob and Hip-Bob for the purposes of the competitions but have not received any payment or products for myself.  I truly think they are fabulous products and did not need an incentive to promote them.