Monthly Archives

January 2017

Mamma Musings

Its what I wish for…..

This post was prompted by a discussion on a parenting discussion board, when somebody asked what is that we want for our kids.  For me the answer was easy the doing not so much.

Just over a year ago our family lost an incredible person – Granda by name but so much more in reality. I’m the oldest grandchild – he was my best friend, my confidant, the person I asked for advice, the person I trusted unquestionably, the person I loved more than I express in words.  In some ways I was incredibly lucky to have had him for 34 years, but on the flip side having had him so long meant the good bye was incredibly painful and a pain this still strikes me out of the blue on the bus to work, doing the shopping often when I least expect it.  We had an unbreakable bond.

At 88 healthy years old, he knew his time was up and in his own words he was ready to go. He told me not to be sad that he was ready to go because he lived his life, he saw the world, he had a family who loved him, he was happy.

He used to brag about seeing every country in the world during his navy days, something many of us can only aspire to have done. He had many different jobs, he loved his family and everybody who knew him knew just how much. He loved life, he really did. I was sent a poem the evening he passed away entitled “Miss me but let me go”, the words were exactly what he would have said to me.  I have a chain engraved with these words and his initials, it means the world to me.

From that day I have vowed for mine and my boys sake to live our lives.   Sometimes that means just ignoring the pile of washing on the floor while I play with the boys, saying no to that work event, giving the kids the requested fish fingers and waffles rather than stressing about their greens. It means being present, ignoring my phone, the work emails, the calls when its our time in the evening after work.  Its easy to get caught up in the cycle of work and bills etc.  That’s always going to be there but its how I deal with it thats changed.

Its all about perspective and I can honestly say I have a lot more of that now.  So in honour of a great man, what I really wish for  my kids is that they too can say they lived their lives. Life is after all for living.

 

Brilliant blog posts on HonestMum.com

Mamma Reviews

Neebo- the next generation in baby monitor

As a blogger my inbox gets flooded with press releases, products updates etc.  While I do genuinely read all that comes through my inbox only a handful generally spark an interest that leads me to do further research myself. One such product is Neebo.

Neebo is an infant care system which purports to provide parents with the most accurate infant data stream on the market including monitoring of baby’s heart rate, oxygen saturation, thermal state and audio environment, as well as a smart alert system. The graphic below gives a great summary of its key features.

My youngest little man was sick quite a lot as a baby and I worried (and still do) so much about him.  We travel a lot and going anywhere meant tonnes of different products however something like Neebo for us at the time would have been amazing, rather than having to take the mat for the cot, the thermometer, the monitor one device would have done.

Background

Neebo is the first product of technology start up Daatrics.  Its founder and CEO Andrey Khayrullaev was inspired to start Daatrics when he became a father two-and-a-half years ago. Nothing like practical experience to inspire a new product.

The product itself is a cool sleek wearable system for baby, an app for parents and a minimalist charging station. The uniqueness of this product is that is it one product which covers the full spectrum of functions any parent needs to give them peace of mind.

In summary it can:

  • Check temperature
  • Monitor sound
  • Enable listening remotely via the app
  • Check oxygen saturation levels
  • Check heart rate

 

The associated app will be available on both iOS and Android and the device itself will be available in a number of matte colours including Green, Blue, Pink, Grey and Yellow.  I love the cool matte colours it comes in, fun for baba too.

 

The device will also be waterproof so no fussing with taking it on and off during bath or playtime. This will be a huge benefit save forgetting to put it back on or leaving it behind somewhere after swimming etc.

 

The Product itself – the technical bit!

According to manufacturers specifications the product itself is safe with encapsulated electronics, delivered in a durable and heat resistant case.

The materials used in Neebo’s enclosure are soft, breathable, eco-friendly and BPA free, meeting the highest standards of child-safety. Neebo’s wearable unit is built from a medical grade plastic (the same as Lego™), a medical Silicon band and includes no paint. The logo is engraved in a matte finish. Unlike most Wi-Fi/Bluetooth alternatives, Neebo’s autonomous operation and use of propitiatory algorithms prevents it from emitting high or chronic electromagnetic radiation. The specially designed childproof clasp prevents the band being unlocked by a baby without adult supervision. Ideal for my youngest or Houdini as we call him he can literally escape anything!

 

The verdict

I am really excited to see this product when it is officially releases in 2017, in my view this will be a game changer for me, being able to incorporate so many functions in one small device is a huge benefit.  Particularly for those early days when you are home from hospital with a new baby.  What is even more exciting is that I really think the above is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of functionality.  The ability of the manufacturers to update the devices firmware remotely mean you will have a product that continues to evolve and be market leading in terms of functionality.

For my youngest who was sick so much as a baby this product would have been the ultimate game changer for me, essentially one product versus the 3 or 4 that I would have carried with me when travelling is huge plus.  The ability to use it through an app on your phone is a brilliant feature, as lets face it most of us carry the phone/ tablet with us for most of the day anyway.

 

Note: This is a collaborative post

( Image Sources: Daatrics)

 

 

Reviews for Mama & Babas

The kids current Netflix picks

We have finally escaped from a never ending cycle of Peppa Pig and Team Umizoomi! The boys have found some new Netflix favourites! Finally!!!

Tayo

Tayo is a popular pre school cartoon which follows a playful blue bus on its adventures around the city with his pals. I believe it originated in South Korea and has now become popular all over the world. We used to watch it on You Tube however it must be a recent addition to Netflix and a popular one at that in this house anyway!

Lego

The boys love their Lego and have recently become interested in the Lego programmes on Netflix. They are ideal for kids in that they are short and colourful and hold the boys attention. Favourites are the Lego Superheroes and Lego City.

Monster v Aliens

The four year old has taken a shine to this one! Its a Dreamworks offerings about a woman who is struck by a meteorite on her wedding day and subsequenlty becomes part of a team of monsters sent to defeat an alien mastermind trying to take over the planet.  He has been on the hunt for meteorites since!!! It contains the names of lots of big named voices. I hadnt heard of it the film before this but its actully not bad at all.

 

Note: We are part of Netflix Streamteam, for which we receive a montly subscrption to Netflix. However all views are the boys (or mine) as lets face it they dont really care who pays the montly subscription!!
Mamma Musings

Uniforms – do you love or loath them?

My friends give me a hard time about this, I most definitely have a uniform.  I spend 37.5 hours a week (and sometimes more!) in an large corporate office for my work as an accountant so day to day I usually wear some combination of suit, smart trousers top or skirt/ top/ jacket combo. This has spilled into my personal life and I more often than not find myself reaching for the work trousers or work tops when going places. I am drawn to these types of clothes spending so much of my time in an office no doubt has done this!

Interestingly I went to both primary and secondary school in uniform wearing schools and I am sending the boys to a uniform wearing school.  I know not everybody does but I like uniforms in school. I like the way the kids are dressed the same, there is no pressure on kids to be in branded gear, there is no pressure to be in different clothes every day, it promotes a more equal social environment in my view anyway.

The Research

I was sent an info graphic by 4imprint which contains some interesting statistics on wearing a uniform see opposite for more information and findings.

I did have a little chuckle about red colour in uniforms reducing performance.  My secondary school uniform had an all red tracksuit for P.E but blue school jerseys for hockey and soccer, obviously this was the main contributing factor to my less than brilliant PE performance over the years!!

Having been a uniform wearer I would definitely subscribe to the claim that it helps contribute to a sense of community and shared values, in some ways it reinforces why we were all there – while we all may have wanted different things at the end, we shared a journey to get to our own goals.

Quite interestingly is the very last part of the inforgraphic which shows how the colour of uniforms affects perceptions. In reality what this shows to me is how social norms have developed over time as they were the colours historically used by certain professions. For example if the police arrived at the scene of a crime a pale pink uniform it would create quite the stir. We expect them in blue, same as we expect the consultant in white coat. Some interesting findings above and it reinforces my own positive view on the use of uniforms in schools.  Our kids wear what their school tells them. In time, a few of us will have jobs that require certain clothes while some wear printed t-shirts as a uniform.

Do you have a subconscious uniform like me? Do you favour the schools with uniforms or are you the total opposite like the individuality the non uniform displays?

Would love to hear your thought.

Take Care

~Mamma F

Note: This is a collaborative post