Silent Sunday 29/9/2013

Baby Fashion - NappyKind Baby Leg Warmers Review

With Autumn fast approaching and a 9 month old who has learnt the art of crawling I've not only had to grow eyes in the back of my head but I've also been on the look out for something to protect Munchie's knees and to also keep her feet warm whilst wearing Bob & Betty. 

After posting a few tweets about Munchie and her antics I was contacted by NappyKind asking if I've ever tried baby leg warmers before, the answer was no I hadn't tried them so off I went to have a look at their website.  I was surprised by how many cute and colourful designs there were and how reasonably priced the leg warmers seemed, so after having a good look through all the different styles my curiosity got the better of me and I ordered a pair of green spotty ones for Munchie to try.

The leg warmers arrived within a few days but unfortunately they were damaged, so after contacting NappyKind via Twitter they arranged for a replacement pair.  The new pair arrived very quickly and to my surprise they had also included a second pair free of charge.  I washed the leg warmers (I wash everything before Munchie wears it) on a normal 30 degree cycle and they came up really well, they kept their shape and also remained nice and soft.  But the real test was to come.....

We had a very busy day planned on Monday so it seemed the ideal opportunity to give the leg warmers a try.  They are quite long at 33cms which for us is ideal as they fit comfortably over Munchie's BnB whilst still covering the tops of her legs.  After a morning of crawling and kneeing on a range of different floors the leg warmers hadn't slipped down and had also stopped Munchie from getting red knees. 

Later that day we had an appointment at the hospital,while we were waiting to be seen Munchie played on the floor with the toys, but like any active 9 month old she couldn't keep still for long so was off again kneeing and crawling all over the place.  The leg warmers started to get a little grubby looking but I blame the waiting room carpet for that more than the quality of the leg warmers but they did start to become a little bobbled on the knees which after just one wear I was a little disappointed about.  She wore them for the remainder of the day and had a number of people comment on how cute they looked.

 
Over all I was pleased with the leg warmers, they are a great idea and a fab fashion accessory. They are practical for little ones on the go and make nappy changes so much quicker but I have a feeling they wont last very long on babies who are crawling as the bobbling on the knees had gotten worse by the end of the day but for less mobile babies or those who are walking they are likely to last a lot longer.  This hasn't stop me from purchasing more though as I think these fun colourful leg warmers are perfect for Autumn, great for protecting knees and look super cute.

Silent Sunday 15/9/2013

Getting On With It

Its been 8 weeks since Munchie started wearing her boots and bar, the last two months have been one hell of a rollercoaster ride with so many ups and downs, twists and turns but throughout my beautiful, amazing, happy girl has kept smiling (with the exception of the first few days but we’ll forget about those).

During the run up to getting Bob & Betty I remember lots of people telling me how adaptable babies were and how after awhile the BnB would become a part of her. I didn’t believe a word of it, I couldn’t see past all the negativity I felt, all the anger I had inside and the frustration of not being able to fix the problem.  But I have to say they’re right, babies are adaptable they do accept the situation and move on.  Why can’t adults be more like this?

Munchie has accepted Bob & Betty and is taking them on her journey, she’s the one in charge not them and she won’t let them stop her doing what she wants.  She’s on the move and nothing is going to get in her way, we’re not talking the odd little movement here but full on crawling, with Bob & Betty being dragged behind her.  I’m so proud of my girl, so proud that it hurts at times, her determination and shear pigheadness is so apparent even at this young age. 

Watching Munchie trying to navigate a tight space is inspiring, she’ll be crawling full steam ahead then all of a sudden the BnB will get stuck, so she tries a few times to force her way through but if that doesn’t work, she regroups, backs out, and simply goes round.  No tears of frustration or shouts of anger she just gets on with it.  And this attitude is rubbing off on me, we just get on with things, we can’t change the fact that Munchie has Talipes but what we can do is make the best of it and to see the positives instead of the negatives.  I’m not fooling myself, I know that there are still lots of downs ahead of us but the ups will give me the strength to deal with those downs. 

Baby Lead Weaning - Tuna Croquettes

Munchie loves all things fishy especially tuna so when I found this recipe for Tuna Croquettes in the The Baby-led Weaning Cookbook I thought it would be worth a try.

 

2 large potatoes (I used the insides of 2 jackets potatoes we had left over from tea yesterday)
185g (6½oz) tin tuna (in oil or spring water)
Juice of 1 lime (approx 1 tbsp), or to taste (I used 2 tbsp of lemon juice, which we had in the fridge)
25g (1oz) unsalted butter
25-50g (1-2oz) breadcrumbs (preferably stale or toasted) (I used to slices of toasted wholemeal bread, chopped up in the food blender)

The recipe is simple, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 and lightly grease a baking tray.

Peel and boil the potatoes, once cooked drain (or in my case scoop the insides out of two jacket potatoes) and place in a large bowl, add the tuna and butter and mash together, next add the lime (or lemon) juice and mix well.

Shape the mixture into small sausages (wetting your hands will help to stop it sticking), then roll each one in the bread crumbs and put on to the baking tray. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until browned and cooked through.

Serve warm, with vegetables.  (I served them with sweetcorn, another of Munchie’s favourites)

Once cooked they can be stored in the fridge for a few days or frozen.

The croquettes are quick and simple to make, I made 16 from the above ingredients.  Shaping them is a little messy but wetting your hands works well to stop the mixture sticking to you. 

Munchie loved them, they were just the right size for her to hold and where full of texture.

I found them slightly dry, which would explain why they broke up so much whilst she ate them so next time I’ll either add more lemon juice or perhaps include a beaten egg in the mixture. I’ll also add sweetcorn in the next batch which I think will add a little more flavour.  But over all they were a big hit and I’ll certainly be making them again.

Silent Sunday 8/9/2013