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Why we love toy rotation.
Rosie, like so many other toddlers, is very lucky to have a large family who love to spoil her with toys and books. I am also a serial bargain hunter and the majority of the toys and books I have bought Rosie have been second hand. As you can imagine, this means we have a lot of toys which can often be forgotten about. Toy rotation involves having a smaller amount of toys and books out at one time. Quite often they are displayed openly, on shelves or a bookcase to allow the child to freely pick what they want to play with. By having an edited selection of toys at one…
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Our Christmas Book collection (Toddler/Board Books)
I have loved books since being tiny and ever since finding out we were expecting Rosie, I was excited to read books with her. We are very lucky that we have a huge collection of books (thanks to a very kind Auntie Timmy and my charity shop addiction) so I store seasonal books away when not being used. We are still very much in the board book stage as Rosie is not only incredibly independent but also very heavy handed. These are a selection of our favourites that I would recommend that you add to your Christmas book collection. Dear Santa – Rod Campbell: I absolutely loved ‘Dear Zoo’ as…
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Mess free painting with toddlers.
I first made these ‘mess free paintings’ when Rosie was about 9 months old. It was a rainy afternoon and I was looking for something that would keep Rosie occupied, could be used as a gift for Father’s Day and used things that we had in the house so that I didn’t have to brave the supermarket. The great thing about them is they are completely customisable and dont take much time (or effort) at all – they would make a fab homemade Christmas present! You will need: Paper or Card Paints Glitter, Glitter Glue, Sequins etc Scissors Large Ziploc/Click and Seal bag Photo frame Sellotape To begin, trim your…
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Play: Update your puzzles with this quick step.
A while back I saw on Rebecca from northyorkshiremama (https://bit.ly/2IDPsH) share that she had put some photographs behind the pieces of one of her little boy’s peg puzzles. As they are a similar age, I made a mental note to try it for Rosie but then life got in the way and I completely forgot. I was having a browse in our local charity shop and spotted the Melissa and Doug Latches Board, in perfect condition for £2. I had been looking at similar busy boards previously but thought they may have been too grown up for Rosie, especially as they advertise being suitable for 3+. With it being such…
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The Essentials: Medela Swing Flex Electric Breast Pump.
Before having Rosie I hadn’t really even considered buying a breast pump. I naively expected that everything would come naturally to us both. But of course, it didn’t and I ended up in Boots at Meadowhall. So there we were, on the way home from the hospital, 4 days postpartum, scanning the aisles for a breast pump. On the advice from the countless support workers and midwives who had been guiding us, I ended up picking up the Medela Swing. I had been using the Medela Symphony in hospital so my attachments and bottles would all be compatible which saved a lot of hassle and expense. I used my painstakingly…