We LOVE Ella's Kitchen

Hello again!

When Reuben was discharged from hospital we came home to a nice box on our doorstep from our friends at Ella's Kitchen :)

It was full of yummy organic food pouches which Reuben already loves so there was no problem devouring them, it had such a nice selection of meals and they are such a handy size for when you are out and about which we always seem to be! I think Reuben's favourite was certainly the 'Bangers & Mash' - I admit I did have a little taste of each one and they taste miles better than most baby food, must be the organic!

Our Roo has never been a fussy eater and constantly has the other Ella's Kitchen range on the go from the Raisin & Spelt cookies to the Tomatoes & Fennel Cracker Bites - we go to Costco once a month so we can pick up the fruit pouches in a handy 24 pack which seem to last a lifetime alongside some yogurts and rice puddings.

I must admit I am very impressed with how customer friendly the team are at Ella's Kitchen, they are always one step ahead in the weaning game and willing to vary the tastes in their products with great success!

I am sure you are all aware of their product range and if like us you are constantly on the go then these pouches are a fantastic asset to any changing bag :) obviously you can use any of the products at home too without breaking the bank!

Thanks to the team for letting me try your product - it was SOO yummy! Lots of love Roo x
 
If you would like anymore info drop me a mail - jacktring@gmail.com

See you around!

New Year Fun!

I literally have NO idea where the last few months have gone, we have had Christmas, Reuben starting nursery with Katherine going back to work, a new year and we are soon to have a 1 year old :(

We have had a tough time recently as Reuben had a few weeks where his temperature was reaching up to 40 degrees and he was running a fever, we were admitted into Charlie's Day Unit for a night as he was severely dehydrated, we hadn't had a wet nappy for over 26 hours and he certainly wasn't himself. In the end we were told he had Bronchiolitis, Tonsillitis & a viral infection so we could see why! I managed to squeeze a knee operation in too so we have been in the wars a bit.

I will start off with our Christmas which was really fun, even though Reuben didn't really understand what was going on he had his favourite people around him. We started the day early and cooked our family some salmon, scrambled egg, bacon and bagels. Reuben even managed to rip open a couple of presents and got so spoilt, bless him! We have been working hard on making it a Christmas to remember and he seemed to enjoy every minute. His great nanny came over from Ireland aswell and it was the first time she had met him so a few tears were shed :)

Reuben has settled really well into nursery and is getting on well with everyone there, it would seem everyone loves seeing his cheeky face everyday and they were so sad when he was in hospital, bless them! He is still eating like a trooper and absolutely LOVES his food, we are starting to give him some cows milk in his diet and he seems to prefer it to formula so we are going to increase it steadily to allow him to move over to it easily.

We took a trip to London for our yearly Winter Wonderland trip, it's a special place to us as we went there with Nanny & Grandad for Christmas 3 years ago and we like to go and reminisce about that day, this year we had one extra and it still holds a very big place in our heart!

Reuben's room in our new house is really starting to look good, we have been purchasing a few extras to make it look modern and quirky but we are yet to put any wallpaper up, still a work in progress! What does your kiddies rooms look like?

I have a blog coming up soon about some goodies Ella's Kitchen sent us so watch this space!

Happy New Year....6 days late :)

In the meantime  have some picture spam!

Product Review - Ashton & Parsons Teething Powder

Now then as most of you are aware our poor little Roo has been teething for quite a while with not even a stump in site! We seem to find it harder for him to settle sometimes as he is constantly trying to chew on whatever is in his close radius.

That is until we discovered these bad boys! It seems to work instantly which is great for settling him down for bed, once in bed we don't hear a peep normally and long may that continue. We seem to have a mixture of Bonjela and Ashton & Parsons at the minute which is keeping him happy :)

Teething is a horrible process which as you probably all know includes LOTS of tears, red cheeks, temperatures and the best one of all - THOSE NAPPIES! I think the best way to get through teething trouble alongside powder, gel etc is to keep your child entertained. I often take Reuben out for a walk or play with him in his ball pit, it can be anything really but mainly I try to either distract him or make him laugh (which is far too easy). It certainly helps us!

There are lots of teething powders out there we have tried but it seems only Ashton & Parsons seem to ease the pain right away and keep a smile on his gorgeous little face.
 
I urge you all to say a prayer in the hope that our Reuben gets at least one tooth before Christmas please! 

And always remember #Dadsknowtoo :)

Thanks to Ashton & Parsons for letting me trial your product, it's awesome!

 Please feel free to share any #teethingtips :)

Where Have You Been?!

Well then - where do I even begin?!

This last few months have been so busy I feel like I have developed a head of greys (or one as Katherine keeps telling me) I have even grown a beard as time has been so limited.

We have recently moved into our first new place as a family so as you can imagine we have packed, moved, unpacked and tried to squeeze in all the other important bits you can't forget when you move house. I must say a HUGE 'Thank You' to my Mum & Stepdad for furnishing our place, they have been amazing and it has helped us so much!

Reuben has adapted really well to his new surroundings and we admit it was very strange having him in his own little room the first few days but it's so much nicer being able to communicate normally and watch TV when you aren't in the same room as him. Incase you didn't know, before we were at my Mum's house in my bedroom with Reuben's cot in with us.

If you remember I was supposed to start my new job on the 22nd September but things didn't go to plan on that front which is a shame but on the other hand my current company promoted me to Manager so I now look after the Technical Desk there, I am a lot happier in my new role and I have a lot more responsibility which is always a good start!

Reuben has changed so much since I last wrote to you all, he is now crawling and rapidly! I remember he was doing the downward dog (yoga move) and all of a sudden he just started going, what made it even more special is that most of our family were round and got to see him crawl for the first time! :)

The hardest thing now is we all have to watch where we put stuff and what he is doing as we have already had a few bumps to the head/face/you name it! He seems to have an obsession with EVERYTHING from the sky tv box to straps on Mummy's changing bag, bless him!

He is still eating really well and is down to 2 bottles a day now, we have tried to diversify his diet and mix it up so he has a taste for most things ranging from Mangoes to the more bland vegetables on the table. I can at least say he isn't fussy at all which is great! He is still suffering in the sick department and it is so random we have had to be referred to a paediatrician, after all of this we are hoping they can finally figure out what is causing it. We made it clear to the doctors that we weren't happy with them constantly trying to fill him with 'antibiotics' and we wanted something done. I feel bad telling you as I hate moaning about it but it is so draining having to watch what you are doing so he isn't sick or wiping it up and changing his bed and whole outfit several times a day. At least it doesn't affect Roo in the slightest, he just wants to play with his sick most of time! 

We still haven't got any teeth but the signs are all there, bless him! Most of the time the closest thing to him will end up being bitten and dribbled all over. We are hoping for at least one soon just to ease the pain for our little man :)

I have a review coming up about Ashton & Parsons teething powder so be on the lookout for that!

Reuben has also started to burble and talk to himself. We love hearing it each morning as he sounds like he is hosting a party with all his little friends in his cot, he will also say Dadda, Mumma, Nanna, Ta & Oh Dear. I must admit we say them quite a lot to him and he probably just mimics but it is so cute!

He is going to be 10 months soon (HOW!!) and we are all very much looking forward to his first christmas - YES I SAID THE C WORD! :)

We are so proud of our little man and the way he has grown so far - what is your 9 month old up to?

Reuben's Weaning Adventures!

Can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted, you all know how it is though :)

We are so close to moving to our own house but it seems to take forever going day to day week to week, hopefully we should be moved in by the end of the month and all completed!

It is only a flat but Roo will be in his own room so it is going to be so nice, me and Katherine can actually spend some quality time together, we even went on a date night last night to the cinema can you believe? Highly recommend going to see the Inbetweeners 2, although rather crude it is well written and so so funny.

So, Reuben is 7 months old and on 3 square meals a day, after a slow start to weaning he seems to eat anything that comes near him, from vegetable risotto to beef casserole. He doesn't particularly like water (not good considering how hot it has been) so we have been using Boots baby juice which he seems to take better to :) although we are chuffed that he is fully weaning he doesn't seem as keen on his bottles now and we have no idea what else to try as all he does during a feed is arch his back and try to look around. We have to lie him on the bed in a dark room and give it to him in 3 bursts so he actually takes it in. The morning bottle is NEVER a problem :) 

We went with the baby led weaning and Roo loves toast! We tried a few Biscotti and the Organix Sweetcorn Rings which have gone down well but it is always a learning curve and we love discovering what he likes to eat, blending up your food (providing it isn't full of rubbish) is a great idea too, so root veg and potatoes is a home winner here!

Reuben loves to roll over wherever you put him now or just stand up and be active which means we have to watch him all the time, nappy changes and getting dressed will never be the same again let me tell you. We have learned that each baby grows at their own pace and some parents almost seem in competition to have their little one's doing acrobatics before the other which is a shame really and puts so much pressure on their little bodies! We want our Roo to stay little for as long as possible and with some encouragement help him along the way towards his next big steps in life!

I will keep you all posted with regards to the house move and when we are looking to move in and try to make time for this more in my hectic lifestyle!

How is our Reuben 6 Months?!

WOW! 6 months old already and what a 6 months it has been. It has just flown by and our Reuben is turning into such a little boy! We can't believe we actually managed to make it this far and I'll say we have done a cracking job of it so far, he is still our little squish even if he doesn't want as many hugs anymore without trying to punch Daddy!

When people tell you to cherish the first 6 months I would listen - we have loved every minute of it so far and can't wait to see what is next for our little man! I admit it can be very stressful and emotional at times but the smile in the morning will always top that.

Weight - I have really noticed when feeding him how heavy he has got (poor boy) neither Katherine or I are particularly big people. His last weigh in was about 17lb 4oz and that was at 24 weeks old!

Routine - He normally wakes between 6-7am each day and will have a bottle straight away, after that he normally goes back down for an hour or so which is nice and gives us time to get ready! When he finally wakes AGAIN we give him some fruity porridge which he loves and seems to cry when it is finished :) normally he will sleep when Katherine does the school run for anywhere between 2-3 hours. We like to keep his dinner early then do the bath bottle bed routine and hopefully he will be asleep between 7-8 sometimes though we just want to play so it's more 8-9 :)

Bedtime - Reuben always knows when it is bedtime, although we haven't set in stone his actual bedtime yet he always sleep a good 11-13 hours a night without a peep! He makes Mummy & Daddy VERY happy with his current bedtime scenario. We have seen him wake up a few times like the below, bless him for taking his duvet with him!

Eating - We have been experimenting quite a lot with Reuben's food so far and I have heard that it takes a good 10-15 times before babies know if they like it. We have tried a few jars in the 4-6 months range with mixed results, he likes spag bol and lamb roast dinner and absolutely LOVES all fruit but it's the textures they don't seem to get along with. Soon enough I am sure he will adapt. Currently on two meals a day (Breakfast & dinner) so we will be looking to step that up soonish :) 

Teething is a nightmare for our little chap, his little cheeks are always red and he has been dribbling so much since he was 3 months old. He constantly wants to put anything in his radius in his mouth. Be careful if you go near him he seems so innocent then before you know it your fingers end up being bitten!

Reuben has set the benchmark for milestones so far

* He is slowly mastering the art of being able to sit without any assistance. He always wants to stand or be sat up so he constantly fidgets which is hilarious! 

* He takes his dummy out, throws it and somehow locates it back to his mouth. 

* The noises he makes are awesome, if I whisper to him he attempts to whisper back. We have a game called 'wah-wah' which Nanna invented where you tap your fingers on his lips and he makes an array of noises which make the 'wah-wah' noise!

* Reuben loves to hold his own food and can feed himself without choking (most of the time!)

We LOVE our little happy chappy and always get compliments on how smiley he is - apparently it is to do with us! 

I would love to hear about your 6 month old :)

The Future?

How's it going everyone? It's certainly been a bit of a rollercoaster recently here!

We are still here trying to save every penny to get a house but it definitely isn't easy when you don't earn a lot. We have already had to cancel our wedding and lose a fair amount of money on that which put us back quite a bit but slowly and surely we will get there! There are much more important things and putting a permanent roof over Reuben's head is numero uno.

I must admit I do worry about some silly things sometimes and I have good days and bad days but then coming home to my family certainly perks me up and I do realise how lucky I am. I just get frustrated with myself and feel like I have failed as a father sometimes because I admit our scenario isn't ideal as we still live with my parents and our Roo (They are amazing and a great help to be fair and we would have nothing without them!) We are just struggling to get anywhere as it seems to be one setback after another.

As a parent I guess you only want what is best for your kids. My Mum certainly gave up a lot to make sure Natalie (my sister) and I had everything we needed and it makes you realise a few things. You soon realise who is really there for you and not just for the attention of a scrummy newborn who they show some temporary feeling for! A lot has changed recently and sometimes I just want to take my family away and just stay there so no one can either bother us or let us down.

Reuben has been under the weather recently and suffered with croup which has made his breathing difficult leading to a disrupted sleep pattern. I have become a very light sleeper since he was born and also being in the same room as him leaves me on edge most of the night. The slightest noise I hear I am pretty much up and out of bed making sure he is alright (without waking him up of course!) I have had quite a few sleepless nights, not that I mind at all but when he is asleep it can become tiring rather quickly and start to seep into my working life. I admit I am not the most patient of people when I haven't slept well and I sometimes feel like I am doing a rubbish job at being a Daddy if he is sick or unwell as I blame myself!

I admit we do struggle from time to time but we do have a gorgeous smiley little boy to be thankful for and we certainly wouldn't change it for the world! I do feel EXTREMELY lucky for who I have around me and they are all amazing people!

I think it 100% helps to share your experiences and fellow bloggers have certainly given me some great advice recently. Remember having children is a life changer and sometimes you can't see beyond your own point of view so don't be afraid to talk to someone! I would love to hear from you.