Mamma Musings

It’s hard to believe its the time of year again, planning for Christmas and getting the presents sorted. I love this time of year and its only become more magical since having the kids.

Below I have set out part 1 of my Mamma Fairy Christmas gift guide where I give you a sneak peak into my purchases so far for Christmas.

Going from left to right above, ill set out some details of the products.

1 Baby Dapper onsies: These are fun little babygro’s which come in a range of styles from superheroes to rugby to seasonal santas and elves.  They are available on the website – here and retail at €20. Admittedly on the more expensive size but the quality feels great and they come presented in a lovely presentation box, no need for wrapping!

2 Kate Spade Dairy: I love stationary, I think you can’t beat a cool funky diary, especially for busy mums. I completely fell for this Kate Spade Diary.  Its a 17 month diary (from August 2015) and the quality is fantastic it comes with monthly and weekly pages, note pages and laminated dividers.  Its €46 and available from My Shining Armour – see here

3 WatchOver watch: This is a gift between a couple of my family members for the head of the Mamma Fairy family!!! He is almost 90 and the most amazing person you could meet. This watch we are hoping will assist him in continuing to lead an independent life as well as giving us the peace of mind for the times he is out and about or home alone.  In summary with this watch you can:

• Check the live location (via an App)
• Call/ makes calls from the watch
• Receive alert notifications through the App
• Set safe zones

I will do a full blog post on this after Christmas when he has tried and tested it. However I am hopeful this lives up to our expectations. For further information please see website – here

4 AYU Make up brushes: This is a travel brush set developed by Irish company AYU Makeup led by make up artist Suzanne O’Neill. It comes in a really soft leather pouch with five brushes in it.  It’s  hand bag friendly and reasonably priced at €35 for good quality brushes. Available from their website here

5 Agrikids books: I am a farmers wife!! And farm safety is something I feel incredibly passionate about. My kids love the farm and from a young age we instil the safety aspects of work and farm life in them. Agrikids was set up with this in mind, they sell a range of kids books and clothing all with the key message of promoting farm safety. I think books are a lovely present for young children and “Tales from Riverside Farm” is ideal for kids especially those who live or visit working farms.  There are 3 books in the series and they make the perfect Christmas present. See  here for more information and products. (ps – check out the fluorescent beanies!)

6 Sceál Handstamped Jewellery: You have to check out the amazing hand crafted personalised jewellery created by Sceál jewellery. The one pictured in the graphic above is my absolute favourite which can be personalised with family names or messages. The range includes pendants and bracelets and price wise is incredible value. The one pictured at the top of the post starts at €26. They are made to order, personlised and unique. They can also do totally custom made pieces. Check them out on Facebook here includes a link to their Etsy shop.

Part 2 next week featuring much more for the men in our lives!!

Take Care

~Mamma F

This phrase bugs me, I mean really bugs me.

I have two amazing little men, a three year old and a five month old. The littlest man was barely born when I first heard this comment, in fact it was one of the mid wives who said it to me.

I had two difficult pregnancies, which included lots of medication and lengthy hospital stays, resulting in two c sections. I am so thrilled that my little men are fit and healthy boy, girl or otherwise pales in insignificant. Each nine month stretch was marred by worries, endless appointment, tests, scans – I look at those two men and think wow, how are you so perfect – my tough little cookies.

Each time that comment is said to me, I smile and nod politely however inside im screaming “do you not know how blessed I feel, to have such a tough time bringing them into the world that it really does not matter”. When my husband was telling people about the youngest man’s arrival into the world, somebody even said to him “congrats, but is your wife disappointed it’s not a girl?” The latest variant of the comment was said to me last Saturday night in out in our local restaurant – “you need a girl to look after you in old age”. Really?? Is that so – to be on the safe said ill put a bit by now for my own nursing home care.

I remember another incident when my first was born my friend had a girl a couple of weeks previous and the following sentence after the initial congrats was “I’m delighted I had a girl as a son is only yours until he gets a wife where as my girl is for life”. It might have been the hormones but I cried, real big tears when she said that to me, sure I’d only just brought him into the world, I have no intention of giving him up – not ever.

As a matter of interest I asked a close friend who has three girls and it was never ever said to her…sure you have to go again for the boy. Why do people give one gender precedence over another, why do I have to have a girl??

Yes, of course, if it happens I’ll be thrilled and she will be loved unconditionally like her brothers. However, if the Mamma Fairy house is destined to be made up of male fueled madness that’s ok with me too.

Dont forget voting continues for the Maternity & Infant awards – The Mamma Fairy is nominated in Best Parenting Blog (See For the Family Section).  Link here to vote – just scroll down to the “For the Family” heading and there we are half way down. Many thanks

So excited to be a finalist for best parenting blog

1 – The build up

This is key in my mind. Long before the actually training was underway we spoke about him going to the toilet, being a big boy like dada. While I would be filling the bath id let him sit on the toilet minus his nappy and often times he would go but not really realise what was going on. We bought a potty closer to the time and left it in the sitting room. At the start he firmly believed it was his new chair!! We kept explaining to him the purpose of it and he began to understand. My sister bought him a book called Pirate Pete which tells the story of Petes potty training. He loves his bed time story so this was a winner in the Mamma Fairy house.

2 – The supplies

I think in relation to the supplies side of potty training getting the child involved is crucial. We went together to Dunnes and he picked out the big boy pants he wanted. He also picked out the step for reaching as he calls it the “big toilet”. He picked out soft toilet wipes and a seat insert. Armed with his supplies he completely unprompted told the cashier he was a big boy now no more nappies. I took my cue from that and when we got home we “binned” the nappies. (Not really – my sister in law got them and the nappy bin, i didnt even know I needed such a thing until I had the boys see link for  more details on best diaper pails!). By letting him get the supplies etc, it became his decision to ditch the nappies.

3 – The patience!!

Without question the hardest part of the entire potty training journey. You need patience and an abundance of it. What we did was spend three days almost entirely house bound minus nappies, trousers etc. Every 15 mins on the button I lifted him on the potty, explaining to him all the time what was happening. Day 2 was pretty much the same only I started noticing him sitting on the potty without me putting him there. Day 3 another big improvement he began to realise himself what was happening and would go without me lifting him. Remarkably on the night of day 3 we woke up and he was completely dry. We have not had one night accident since he started, if he needs to go during the night he calls us and we take him, no drama and straight back to sleep. During those first 3 days there were of course the odd accident but it is essential you do not give out to them for it, it’s a learning process and getting cross will only set them back.

One thing that I will say don’t try to train them too early my son was 2 months shy of his 3 birthday as I was waiting for him to be ready. Some of the cues I noticed were him asking to have his nappy changed, telling me he was dirty and asking more questions about the toilet. My own mother gave me a great tip and that was not to get him too used to using only the potty and only in a specific spot so once I felt he was established, I would take him to the “big toilet” or when he went to my mothers house she had a different potty. It meant he was comfortable going in any toilet as I have friends who need to take a potty with them anywhere they go!

Hopefully the above helps and let me know how you are getting on.

Take care

~Mamma F

Note: This article reproduced below was written by me originally for Family Friendly HQ – see here

When people hear I am a working mother I often get those pity looks as if …..poor woman having to work with a young family. The truth is I choose to work. I like my job, in fact I even enjoy my job. I studied Business and Economics at Trinity College and went on to become an accountant that was over 10 years ago. Since then I have married an amazing man – a fantastic husband and a loving father and had two beautiful boys now aged 3 and the youngest is 4 months. Being a working mother isn’t easy, it has many challenges, it has good days and bad days. The key is to be organised and I mean super organised, I have lists about lists! I set out every evening for the following day, from clothes for myself and the boys, to tasks right down to the breakfast dishes for the following morning. Appointments are scheduled well in advance, diaries are synced. Being organised makes it a whole lot easier as too does having a great support network around you. I am lucky to be able to have both.

Of course I do feel the so called “Mummy guilt” being away from my children, however I make the most of the evenings, the weekends, the holidays. Once I come in the door everything else can wait, that time is time with the boys, the same goes for the weekends.

Growing up with working parents instilled a very strong work ethic in all three of us, we all went on to professional careers. Becoming a mother shouldn’t mean a switch goes off and you sacrifice the hopes and dreams you once had, you may have to take a different path but you can still get there in the end. I know I haven’t given up the goals and career aspirations I have set for myself. I do however accept that it will take a lot longer to get there but that is absolutely fine. The road may be longer but taking my boys on the journey with me makes it all worthwhile.

Being a working mother isn’t for everybody, for now at least I feel it is for me, as there is some grain of truth in the old saying – “Happy mother, happy child”.

Take care

~Mamma F

When I was pregnant with my first son, my own mother said to me to have an emergency kit as it will be invaluable as kids have a habit of falling ill at 10.01 just as the late night pharmacy closes. I took this advice on board and created my emergency kit and if im honest it really is invaluable especially as when kids fall ill, teething etc, you cannot say to them – wait until the morning until the pharmacy opens therefore being prepared is key.
Below are the items I have in mine:
1 Thermometer – I have a Vicks one I received as a gift, it’s really easy to use.

2 Pain relief – my emergency kit contains both Calpol and Nurofen and a recent addition has been Paralink

3 Teething relief – Calgel and Teetha. I have found teething can be worse when they are lying down at night time which is why I keep this handy just in case.

4 The Sniffles – Snuffle babe is the baby version of Vicks and I find it great for rubbing on feet when either of my two are a bit sniffly.

5 The Falls – plasters and lots of them in all shapes and sized!!!

6 Nappy rash – Caldescene cream and powder, find both brilliant for nappy rash.

My emergency kit also contains a list of emergency numbers, just in case – such as regular doctor, out of hours doctor and local hospital.

Ps – I am not a doctor or pharmacist!! And make sure to keep all medical supplies well out of the way of teeny hands.

Is there anything else you would add to yours?

Take Care
~Mamma F

I actually cant believe I am writing these words, after a couple of months blogging – The Mamma Fairy blog has been nominated for an award and not just any award!! We are a finalist in the Maternity and Infant Awards under the category of Best Parenting Blog.

Click on image below and vote for me 🙂

This is the first year they have introduced this category for the awards and I am chuffed actually more than chuffed, im ecstatic to see my name listed next to bloggers I myself have admired and read throughout my pregnancies for support and guidance. I am really honored in my short blogging career to be considered in the same light as some my own favourite bloggers.

The Maternity and Infant Awards are great in that they are based on real parent reviews and views, making them even more rewarding and prestigious for the winners.

You can vote under three main categories, products, people and creche. Please do get your votes in to support your favourites under each of the above categories. There is also €1,000 to be won which would be an amazing prize!

We are listed in the Product category under “For the Family – Best Parenting Blog”. I would truly love your vote if you enjoy reading the blog.

I am looking forward already to the awards night where i will hopefully meet the nominees under the various categories of products I myself use and rely on, i do love putting faces to names!

Take care

Mamma F

Traveling with toddlers – my top tips

As a Dub married to a country man we spend a lot of time traveling up and down the country visiting family, the journey time without children is about 4 hours with them well…….that’s a whole other story!

My 3 month old is still relatively easy to transport, I just need to make sure I have the essentials with me – feeding, nappies and change of clothes. My 3 years old is a whole other ball game. However I have learned a few things over the last 3 years and have made the journey as painless as possible for us all.

1 – Preparation
Since becoming a mother I have developed a serious obsession with ziplock bags (ok I know!!!!). I get the Ikeas ones, my personal favourite!! I have them organised into snacks, changes of clothes in case of toilet accidents or travel sickness and little toys – my son absolutely adores little toys which he role plays with. They are handy for traveling as they are very portable.
Plan in advance the stops, I like to give the 3 month old a good stretch out after 1.5 hours so I time this to coincide with lunch with the bigger man. We go to the same place all the time as we know there are changing facilities, plenty space for kids and a decent lunch.

2- Distraction
A toddlers attention span is short, well mine is anyway! So I take plenty of suitable toys which I give to him over the journey, not all at once. What I try to do is give him toys he hasn’t played with for a week or so before hand, I get at least an hour out of the novelty factor! I store his toys in a roll up toiletries bag ( I got this in Dunnes but they are readily available) which I used while in the Coombe having the boys for my own toiletries! It’s so handy, it rolls up neatly and its clear pockets mean I can pick out toys handy for him. Another personal favourite of my big man is sticker books so sometimes on longer journeys I will let him pick one in the petrol station which he just loves. I on the other do not love scrapping Peppa Pig or Fireman Sam stickers off the car seats! However, it does really help pass some time. The key is to take the toys, within reason which will get you some quiet time.
More recently we have been playing games like I spy – but with colours or what has become known in Mamma Fairys house “Storytime” where we each have to make up a story based some details given by somebody else – my toddler loves this game, he loves to hear his name mentioned in stories.

3- Prevention
Travel sickness is really common and unfortunately my toddler seems to have developed this in recent times. What has worked for us lately has been:
· Very light breakfast before we go – no bread!
· Water only to drink – no milk and no juice
· No chocolate under any circumstances!
· Caldekids lolly – these have been great, I let my toddler chill with one while I am getting ready. Never in the car and always supervised.
Hopefully you find these tips useful and if you have any other tips please do tweet or facebook them to me.

Currently writing this from a very wet and windy Donegal…..post coming up about the beautiful South West Donegal for families.

Take care

~ Mamma F

Everybody kept telling me that going from 1 to 2 is no extra work and you might as well be looking after 2 as 1. Well…..I am reserving judgement on that for the time being, either that I just have particularly busy kids! This has prompted me to write a blog post about my top 5 products which have made my life easier. In some cases I would even say these were necessities (lagging behind food, clothes and shelter obviously).

1. Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine.

I bought this on impulse in the Amazon Black Friday sale for Stg£50. Well, I can honestly say it has been one of the best Stg£50’s I have ever spent!! The machine itself makes a fresh each bottle each time. HSE guidelines differed between my first two pregnancies and current guidelines I believe recommend making bottles fresh each time. This machine does that for you with little fuss. It releases an oz of boiling water first to sterilise the powder then once you add the powder it fills it to the required level. Many of the reviews on line complained about the loud beeping noise before it dispatches the water, I can honestly say it have never bothered me or the baby.

I can’t stress enough how brilliant this machine is, if you have ever tried making up bottles each feed at a time you will know exactly what I mean. Imagine a screaming hungry child while you wait the required 30 minutes for the kettle to cool. This machine takes away that wait altogether with a fresh bottle ready in a matter of minutes.

If you do purchase one, give yourself time for the initial preparation as that probably takes an hour or so between the initial cleaning of it and running the first batch of water through it. Also the smallest size bottle it makes is 4oz which isn’t ideal in the early weeks if like us you have a baby drinking a lot less.

This product is available on Amazon and most baby shops, have even seen it in my local Tesco.

2. A monitor

My oldest is crazy about his new little brother however sometimes a little too crazy about him in that he wants to kiss, cuddle and hold him all the time! While it is endearing and lovely to see the bond grow between them, I literally cannot take my eyes of them. For night time a monitor was essential as otherwise I couldn’t tell what was going on when the pair of them were upstairs asleep and us downstairs. They are in separate rooms but the oldest can be a little bit of a nocturnal wanderer.

We have a basic BT brand monitor which we received as a very welcome gift which is ideal but there are a huge number of them on the market with multiple features from temperature, video display to music.

Prices also vary considerably so my advice is to decide the features you want and shop around for the best deal.

3. Stair gates

This sounds incredibly basic but I have really seen the benefit of these since coming home with the newest man. I have one on the bottom and one at top of the stairs. The top is to prevent our nocturnal wanderer from injuring himself falling down the stairs and the bottom one allows me to escape up to the bathroom in peace for 5 minutes while the bigger man stays playing with his toys!

I received both from my neighbour whose kids are now teenagers and she hadn’t parted with them! One is Lindam brand and one is Hauck. There is no contest for me, if buying a stair gate go for the Lindam one. The Lindam one is far more user friendly with a baby in one arm and a toddler acting like spiderman hanging off your leg. I can easily open it with one hand. The Hauck one I cant and need to free myself from the grasp of one of the two of them to be able to do so. Being able to open with one hand is a deal breaker for me.

These gates are available in supermarkets and baby shops and prices don’t seem to vary too much.

4. Buggy Board

The oldest was 2 and 8 months when little man arrived so his buggy days were coming to an end but at the same time he still got tired walking longer distances. I decided to invest in a buggy board and I am certainly glad I did. He walks for the most part however it if does get tired he pops on for a bit until he recharges and off he goes again. I got a lascal buggy board for my icandy peach but there are other types on the market.

I liked the lascal as it clipped up when not in use which was handy as we weren’t using it consistently.

Again they are very readily available and you often see them second hand. Worthwhile rather than shelling out for a double buggy if your kids are of similar age gap to mine.

5. A distraction!

You might think I am mad but its true, in the early days of arriving home with the newbie, it is tough on the other child therefore a distraction or something they like is crucial. Well it was for us anyway. When I was caught up feeding the little man, the bigger man was allowed to watch his new Toy Story DVD. His brother brought him a Buzz Lightyear toy which went down very well. It meant until we established a pattern and both boys got used to each other the oldest man wasn’t upset and pulling out of mammy.

Thankfully 8 weeks in this is no longer as important as it was, he understands when need to feed his little brother or change him and ill be back to look after whatever he needs then.

Hopefully the above is of some help to parents expecting their second child.

~Mamma F

As most of you know by know – I am a mother to an almost 3 year old and 6 week old. The last couple of weeks have passed in a daze of sheer exhaustion between the return to night feeds and a toddler who seems to subscribe to the adage the “sleep is for the weak”. He is like a Duracell bunny, he honestly could go with no sleep for days.

Poor mammy on the other hand well….she is exhausted. Add to the mix a husband with the unique capability of sleeping through well….sleeping through practically anything!

In an attempt to pull myself to get, I have purchased a number of skin care products in the vain attempt to make me look somewhat human again and shed a number of years to hopefully make me like like a 30 something again!

First up is the Green Angel Eye Gel. Up to this point my eyes looked like a woman twice my age. The weekly shopping could find a home under them coupled with the dark circles, lets just say I was no oil painting.

3 weeks ago, I started with this product. I actually store it in the fridge which feels amazing and cooling first thing in the morning. I didn’t notice much difference for the first 2 weeks and then this week I can really see the difference. The dark circles have really diminished and the fine lines are much less noticeable.

I am honestly thrilled with this product. I love the consistency and the texture of the gel. I have, over the years tried many lotions and potions in the vain attempt to look like I stepped off the cover of Vogue but this one is a keeper. The jar is a great size and like most eye products a little does go a long way.

Another mega plus for me is that its Irish.I am a firm believer in supporting Irish where I can at all. This ticks all the boxes for me and I am hoping in another few weeks to see more improvement around my eye area. See pic below. I purchased mine in a pharmacy in Dublin City Centre, however it can be purchased on-line via http://www.greenangel.com/

Next product up for review is the Botanics Radiance Balm…..keep following for more updates on products for mothers and for babies, in addition to mummy life blog posts.

For now I am off to try and scrape about 30 fireman Sam stickers off the wooden floor in the sitting room!!.