Not doing it properly...

Am I breaking a cardinal rule but not fully embracing the commercialism of being a new parent?

My car does not display a "Baby on Board" notice, I use a backpack rather than a bag which states how scrumptious a mummy I am. I refuse to spend money on any designer clothes for Little Man (LM) - supermarket clothes are perfect for the job and reasonably priced (he is growing so quickly and nothing last for many weeks let alone months).

Due to LM refusing a dummy I can't indulge in the personalised beaded dummy fastening device (see I don't even know the correct term for it!) - not that I think I would if he did.

Am I missing out on some fun by being an old Scrooge who refuses to buy items which I don't think a baby needs? Should I let my hair down and indulge or are there other parents out there as miserly as me?

A round of applause for my breasts....

Well we have happened upon a temporary solution to stop Little Man (LM) from attacking me as he breastfeeds. Further to my earlier post about the failure of the feeding necklace we now have a way to keep LM's hands busy.

As I shared yesterday LM has perfected the art of clapping his hands and this is now what he does when he feeds. It was quite amusing that every time he fed yesterday he clapped his hands for the duration.

Its nice to get such positive feedback about my breastfeeding skills ;)

If you're happy and you know it......

...clap your hands!

This morning Little Man (LM) has perfected the art of hand clapping - which of course led to much hand clapping by mummy & daddy :)

LM seemed quite bemused by the fuss and played it cool as always. As the perfect showman - he also left us wanting more by halting the hand clapping and turning to do something else (play with a nearby label).

LM is obviously nipping in the bud any signs of me turning into one of those parents who brag about how clever their child is and insisting on showing you! He chooses if and when he performs!

What new things has your little one recently started doing?

Bleurgh I am run down! - continued

Continuing on from my "I am poorly" post I thought I would share the breastfeeding friendly cough remedy which my husband found for me when I was suffering before Christmas.

• Juice 5 lemons
• Add 1 and a quarter cups of raw organic honey 
• Add half a cup of organic extra virgin olive oil
• Steam in a pan
• Wait to cool and have a tablespoon as required

Bleurgh I am run down!

I have been battling a cough for the last week which sadly Little Man (LM) has now got :(

I didn't realise how run down I must be until a cold sore appeared on my lip last night in a matter of minutes. One minute it wasn't there and the next it was there in all it's ugly glory.

As I am breastfeeding I am very limited as to what I can take, but the last time I was troubled with a cold sore I used Manuka honey as my saviour. As well as taking several teaspoons of it a day I also applied a liberal blob to the sore.

Within a matter of days the sore had gone :) Normally untreated my cold sores linger like an unwanted house guest, I am hoping that the honey works it magic again this time.

Are there any other tips out there for battling colds, coughs and cold sores in an au natural way?

Feeding the wolverine

So nearly 8 months and still breastfeeding - yay! Little man (LM) no longer just feeds he now likes to regularly check any dry skin and moles he can reach whilst drinking his milk. To do this he likes to use his razor sharp nails and tries to pick and pull off the mole or dry skin (it doesn't matter how often I cut his nails, they grow at such a pace).

I thought I would cleverly bypass his issue by buying a nursing / teething necklace.....this would be a great idea.....

In reality not only am I picked, prodded and pulled at but I am now being hit with the necklace as well. He is always two steps ahead....

How do you other mums keep your little ones hands busy whilst feeding?