Frankie & Benny's Fort Kinnaird

When John was wee, we ate out a lot. Be it lunches 'just because' or coffee shops to pass the time, nearly every other day you'd find us out & about wining & dining. Then David came along. Bless him, it's not his fault he'll never truly know the pleasure in abandoning the house work and letting someone else do the dishes (partly because we don't really eat out any more but mostly because y'know, he's a baby...) but eating out with two wee ones is a whole different kettle of fish than eating out with just the one.

So when we were asked if we'd like to go along to try out the new Frankie & Bennys at Fort Kinnaird, I was a little apprehensive. Despite it making me all nostalgic of the old Frankie & Bennys that we used to visit at the Fort back when I was a child, I still had flash back of the times I had tried to eat out with two wee ones and those memories are not particularly happy ones that I care to repeat any time soon! That being said, I figured that they're both a bit bigger now and it might not be as bad as my permanently scarred mind recalls. Plus I've been desperate to try out some of the restaurants at the newly updated Fort Kinnaird so this was the perfect excuse!

Upon arriving at Frankie & Benny's we were met by a lovely guy who sorted us out with a table. We were sat right up the back by the kitchen, which John absolutely loved and it gave us plenty room to keep the buggy out the way. We did have a wobbly table but I think this is a curse of mine as it seems to happen everywhere I go! Our waitress was a lovely young girl who was very attentive throughout our visit, making sure the boys got their activity packs & that we were quickly sorted out with drinks.

The boys obviously chose their meals from the Kids Menu but in the interest of time, I chose from the Pronto Menu. I believe the Pronto Menu is for those in a hurry with the option of having your food & bill all within 40 minutes; perfect for those eating during lunch breaks or trying to make it to the cinema on time. But I liked it because it meant we weren't sat around waiting for food with two kids becoming increasingly impatient. You also get free refills on drinks, which despite being Diet Pepsi & not Diet Coke (I know, I know... I'm a Diet Coke snob!) is still pretty awesome!

I opted for the Bacon Cheeseburger (£7.95) from the Pronto Menu which comes with a good portion of chips and a delicious pot of tomato-chilli chutney. The burger itself was beautiful; so meaty & so juicy! And the salad inside it was lovely & fresh. The chips were also lovely, crispy and very fresh, which I was quite pleased about as I'm not a fan of soggy chips. My favourite part though was the tomato-chilli chutney! I love making my own chutney but this one is just exceptional - so tasty that I was even tempted to lick the pot clean.

John decided on the Sausages & Mash Potatoes (£4.25) which there was no way on this earth he'd ever have been able to finish. I kid you not, the sausages were the length of his arms; and there was two of them! The sausages themselves were lovely and didn't taste cheap & nasty which some sausages - especially those aimed at kids - can be. And to my surprised John did manage to eat a whole one, although after that he could only manage a few mouthfuls of mash potatoes, which was also lovely & very creamy, and his vegetables before saying he had a full tummy.

For David I chose the Kids Penne Pasta (£4.25) with a creamy cheese sauce. Again, the portion was massive but to be honest I wasn't quite as impressed. The sauce itself was quite bland; more of a white sauce with a very, very mild cheese maybe thrown in. Even a sprinkling of cheese on top would have helped perk it up a bit. That being said, David devoured it! In fact, I'm quite sure he would have finished the plate but I had to cut him off after a while as I had visions of him eating himself sick.

Despite feeling stuffed, we decided to go ahead and order dessert too. In the interest of giving a fair review, obviously! Not just because I'm a pie. We started with a brilliant Banana Milk Shake (£3.95) which the 3 of us practically fought over! It was so creamy & lovely - I'd go back to Frankie & Bennys again just to have milkshakes, really.

For myself I opted for the Cinnamon Waffle Crunch (£2.50) from the Pronto Menu. I'm a big fan of waffles & these did not disappoint. The ice cream lovely too, really creamy & beautifully topped with toffee crunch & toffee sauce. Best of all though, was the price!

And for the boys we went for the Ice Cream Candy Shop (additional £1.95), which I'd been eyeing up from the minute we first looked at the menus. It's two scoops of ice cream, 3 little bottles of sweeties, as well as marshmallows & popping candy, as well as some chocolate sauce for good measure! Basically any sweet-toothed child (or adult for that matter) dream! When the tray of goodies was placed down on our table, suddenly John's tummy wasn't full any more and two hands were grabbing at it, making getting a photo near impossible - which did make the staff & other patrons giggle.

Overall we were very impressed with our visit to Frankie & Benny's at Fort Kinnaird. The staff were lovely & very attentive and the food was fantastic, especially given the price. We will definitely be back again since we're just down the road from Fort Kinnaird and that it's the perfect location for a day out shopping or going to the cinema, with a stop at Frankie & Bennys for dinner or tea.

Disclaimer: We were provided a voucher for our meal for the purpose of this review.

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The Magic Fairy Door

I'll let you in on a secret... I believe in faeries. Just ask my Mum, she'll tell you all about the countless fairy ornaments, the houses made from twigs at the bottom of our garden, the Fairy Tale - A True Story video that I practically watched to death, the numerous dog-eared Flower Fairy books and even the fairy climbing wall I made too (child logic, right there!). Even now, I'm still pretty certain they exist. I mean, who else would do the tooth fairy's duties?

So when The Magic Door Store got in touch to see if we'd like to try out one of their Fairy Doors, I jumped at the chance! For the boys, obviously. Not just for me...definitely not just for me. As we're in a flat, access to our garden to go hunting for fairies isn't as easy as it was 'back in my day' so the Magic Fairy Door brings the magic of fairy hunting right into your own home. And despite having two boys, I will most certainly be sharing the magic of building twig houses, leaving cake crumbs & pink lemonade out, and staying very quiet as not to scare the fairies away, regardless!

I of course chose the yellow one but The Magic Fairy Door is also available in Red, Blue, Pink, Green & Purple. Best of all, each door comes with it's very own supply of Magic Dust to show that the fairies & elves have been and visited! What kid wouldn't love to wake up to that?

We started off by placing the boys new Magic Fairy Door in their room on the sly, with both being very intrigued when they discovered it. I was a bit worried about placing it at first, thinking it would need to be glued on which wouldn't be ideal in rented accommodation like ours but it is in fact secured with white tac, meaning it's secure enough to stay in place but not permanently fixed. Plus the nice little message of, "Please don’t handle The Magic Fairy Door roughly, or it might frighten the fairies away," means you can even convince your wee ones not to pull it off! The door doesn't actually open either so it's quite nice knowing that you don't have to explain why there's a wall behind it (which obviously there isn't) and it means the likes of David can't break it off completely.

After a little chatting about the fairies, John seemed a bit apprehensive about something coming out whilst he sleeps, being the sensitive wee soul he is. But once Iain told him that the fairies would come out and bite his willy whilst he slept, it was game over and time to move the door! (Thanks, Iain...). So now our Magic Fairy Door has pride of place in our hall, which in actual fact I prefer as it means I the boys can show it to everyone that comes to visit us. And John isn't so worried about losing his willy, especially since the fairy might bring him a car if he's particularly good.

At £20, the Magic Fairy Door would make a lovely gift for any wee boys or girls with an imagination like mine! You can even buy a step ladder for the fairies to get in (similar logic to my fairy climbing wall, that is!).

Disclaimer: We were kindly send The Magic Fairy Door for the purpose of this review. As always, all thoughts are our own.

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Vtech Toot-toot Animals & GIVEAWAY

It started with one wee police car at the boys Granny's house that had come in a bag of toys from a kind relative. That little Toot-toot Police Car started an obsession in John. Every time he saw any Toot-toot vehicles, either at friends or families or on TV & catalogues, he went nuts. We never actually bought him any as by the time any birthday or Christmas or Birthdays came around, we figured he'd perhaps be a bit old now, opting for the die-cast variety of cars instead.

Then along came David, who was never allowed a shot of John's cars, so a collection of baby friendly cars seemed ideal. His 1st Birthday came and as did a small collection of Toot-toot vehicles. Amongst them, one of the boys Aunties had gotten David a set of 3 Toot-toot Animals. Knowing how John already was with cars I expected David to follow suit and favour his new vehicles over the animals but boy was I wrong!

At only 1 year old I never expected David to show any huge preference in toys but ever since he received his little Hippo, Tiger & Monkey, they've been played with every single day and are now the go-to toy for calming down a grumpy baby. Each animal comes with a light up button on it's head, which when pressed talks (both English & each animals own mammal-language) and sings annoyingly catchy songs.

Given his love for this three little animals we then decided to ask Santa for the Toot-toot Animal Tree House, complete with a Toot-toot Panda; very apt for life in Edinburgh! The great thing about the Tree House and other items from the Toot-toot range is that the animals & vehicles come with Smart Point Locations, meaning that when you put one in the swing or at the top of the slide, they response accordingly with a, "wee, this is fun," or, "the view from here is beautiful!". Alongside the Tree House, with it's slide, swing, lookout & shape sorter (a real winner as far as David's concerned!), we also received some more animals from the boys other Aunty, including the Toot-toot Lion and Toot-toot Elephant.

We're overall very impressed with the Toot-toot Animal Tree House and love the variety of activities it has to offer. The only gripe I have with it is how easy it I to take apart. It's a real catch 22, as John loves to pull it apart and join it with the pieces of the Toot-toot Garage that David also kindly received from the boys Granny & Papa (every panda needs to see a mechanic from time to time after all!). But it also means David will pull it apart then be upset that his hippo has crashed into a pile at the bottom as opposed to whizzing right around under the swing. Thankfully, it's easy peasy to put together so John can do it for the millionth time when I've had enough of trying to explain to a 1 year old that it won't work if he pulls the thing apart!

We love the Toot-toot Animals so much that we've decided to give one way to a lucky wee one. If you fancy trying out the Toot-toot Animals for yourself, then simply enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win a Toot-toot Lion.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

T&Cs.

1. Open to UK residents only.

2. Winner will be announced on Facebook following closing date & informed via email. If winner does not respond within 48 hours another winner be chosen.

• • •

Disclaimer: We weren't compensated for this review, we just really love the Toot-toot Animal range. The prize is a duplicate gift I'd bought for David without knowing that their Aunty had already gotten him one.

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Chemist Direct

One of my first jobs was in a well known High Street chemist. It was great! Back then, at 17 years old, all my income was disposable; that teamed with a decent staff discount, I pretty much worked to spend my wages at work on skincare products, make-up & anything that smelt nice.

Fast forward a few years and suddenly responsibility & bills kick in. Disposable income becomes a thing of the past and that much loved discount is no more. Throw in a couple of kids to the equation and the days of buying nice smelling things just for the sake of it are just a distant memory. Partly due to finances & largely due to said kids not being up for entertaining hours walking around the shops whilst I decide which shower gel smells the best & which vitamins offer the best value.

So when Chemist Direct got in touch to see if I'd like to review their website & products, I of course jumped at the chance. If I can't physically browse a chemists, I can still scroll through one on my iPad for hours, right? And when I say hours, I'm not exaggerating! The selection of products available from Chemist Direct is immense, from soap & suncream, too vitamins & flea treatments. You can even order your prescriptions through Chemist Direct to be delivered right to your door. In the end I selected a few different products, with an aim of trying something from each department of their website. Here's what I chose...

Evening Primrose Oil Capsules
I first started taking Evening Primrose Oil last year in an attempt to regulate my hormones & help my Cystic Acne. I can't really say how it worked in that sense as not long after starting EPO, I also sought help from my GP but I did feel it had a good affect on my moods, nail & hair growth and keeping my time of the month regular & more bearable! I ran out a few weeks back and never got around to get any more so this was actually the first thing in my basket.

Bio Oil
I used to use Bio Oil a lot back in my teenage years, mainly to help with the stretch marks on my thighs that developed during puberty (the joys!). And since I'm done having babies for now, I decided to give it a go in my tummy. I only got a handful of stretch marks when pregnant with John, right at the very end, but with David my tummy resembled a road map by the time I was into the third trimester. I don't expect miracles but seeing as it help fade the ones on my thighs I'm hoping it'll improve the ones on my tummy too. I've also been trying it on the keloid scar on my collar.

Garnier Olia Hair Dye
My hairs been a little dull looking recently and seeing as it's nearly a year since I last dyed it, I thought I'd get a nice brown to freshen it up a bit. My hair has been behaving itself lately though so I've yet to actually use this, knowing that it'll end up in a transitioning period for a week at least afterwards. I have however used this range of hair dyes in the past and was so impressed that I didn't hesitate in choosing it again.

Haliborange Multivitamin Fruit Softies
Now we've finished breastfeeding with John, I think it is a good time to start him on a multivitamin for a little boost. He's got a good diet for the most part but these vitamins give me a little reassurance that he's getting what he needs on the days hat he doesn't want to eat anything other than cucumber & pizza.

Lil Lets Tampons
These are pretty self explanatory, no? Better delivered to the door than sending Iain at least.

Aqueous Cream
I remember when I used to work in a chemists in High School and you got someone in asking for Aqueous Cream on a daily basis. And quite rightly as this stuff is brilliant! It's the most basic of moisturisers but you can use it for literally anything. I love using it on my feet & hands and it's also lovely & gentle for using on the boys when they need it too.

Bepanthen Sun Cream
Again, quite self explanatory. I'm a bit obsessed with sun care and always looking for a decent factor 50 for both the boys & myself. Fingers crossed we actually get some sun for this though!

Palmers Shea Formula Moisture Rescue Curl Shampoo
Since starting he Curly Girl Method, I've become a SLS-free Shampoo junkie. This though, is my absolute all time favourite. It has very little lather to it so isn't drying at all, leaving my hair silky smooth, yet still feeling clean. Plus it smells gorgeous!

I'm very pleased with the whole experience of shopping with Chemist Direct, right from navigating their website, too how well packaged everything was when it arrived - which was very quickly also. I'll certainly be using Chemist Direct again in future, particularly as they often have good promotions on to boot. And although scrolling through a chemist isn't quite the same as browsing in store for hours on end, this at least can be done after bedtime, avoiding the inevitable tantrums in the shops!

Are you a fan of online shopping? Would you buy your chemist supplies online?

Disclaimer: I was provided for a voucher to use with Chemist Direct in return for this review. All opinions are my own.

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Everything is Awesome!

There's been an obsession brewing in our household. One which I think it common in most houses that home children. It started with a movie, one which features a whole lot of Lego! John seen it randomly on the TV one day and was hooked, with Iain even buying him the DVD for Christmas. Since then, anything he sees that's Lego related, he wants! So when we were asked to review some toys for George at Asda, it seemed like fate that John finally got some Lego of his very own!

I was surprised with just how many Lego sets were available at George; there online collection is outstanding, with over 270 to choose from! Knowing that I wanted the basics of Lego to start of what I have no doubt will end up as a growing collection, I opted for a couple of the classic sets (this one & this one), as well as a Lego Movie set which contained the all famous Emmet & must soul sister cat, Unikitty. And knowing that David is still just a bit too young for Lego (I don't fancy picking it out his poop, that is!) I also opted for a couple of Duplo sets, which one of which was unfortunately out of stock before the order was processed, although already having a decent collection of Duplo in our house, it wasn't a big deal.

Our Lego & Duplo arrived quickly and well packaged, delivered by Yodel. Having had awful experiences with Yodel in the past (think; parcels delivered to us at not only wrong house numbers but completely wrong street too, then being asked by Yodel to re-deliver them ourselves!), this did surprise me somewhat but it appears there's a new driver in our area now working with Yodel who was really quite lovely. The parcel itself as well packaged & organised and also contained a copy of the latest George catalogue and a Lego Big Ideas book, which John has already insisted I build everything from for him; a nice wee free inspiration inducing touch.

I let he boys loose with the Duplo Farm Animals first, thinking we'd have some nice shared playing before letting John get stuck in with the Lego when David was napping. But no, seeing as these two are Worst Friends & Best Enemies, that didn't quite go to plan! David was allowed only one animal whilst John snaffled the rest away. But really, I can't blame him, they're beautiful wee animals that don't deserve David's teething jaws around their heads! The set includes a wee white rabbit, a goat, a pig & a lovely little sheep, the perfect companions to our other Duplo animals.

As for the Lego, John couldn't contain his excitement when he seen it, particularly his own little Emmet. Seeing him grasp that little construction guy made me all excited for the years of Lego building & amazing creations that are to come, as well as belt out my very own spectacular rendition of Everything is Awesome. We started by putting together his Lego Movie set, including the double decker couch, followed by making various cars, dinosaurs and random creations. I was really pleased by the Classic sets as the offer such a variety of bricks & really are fantastic starting points for putting together a Lego collection. The only thing I didn't expect was just how upset John would get when something breaks, although we're working on understanding the point of Lego being that you can rebuild them! 

Overall I'm over the moon with our Lego & Duplo sets from George and I can't recommend them enough. In fact, I will most certainly be heading there for more sets in the near future and I'm pretty sure they'll be my first choice of birthday present ideas for both the boys and all the other children in our lives. Oh and in case you're wondering, yes I have already stood on numerous Lego bricks - ouch!

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Funky Girrafe & GIVEAWAY

In so many ways, John & David are very similar. But in others, they're polar opposites! The easiest example is in regards to teething. John sailed through teething with barely a whimper. One day he had a gummy smile, the next a mouthful of teeth. David on the other hand... Oh boy, when he's teething do we know about it! In fact, I'm pretty sure the whole of Edinburgh does!

Moaning, screaming, up through the night, red cheeks, chewing everything and of course, the dribbles. When David is cutting a tooth, multiple changes of tops daily is pretty much guaranteed. Usually, we resort to plastic backed bibs but David is comfortably in the habit of ripping these off within second of me putting them on. Bandanna bibs have risen in popularity in recent years, partly because their so cute(!!) but also because their so incredibly perfect for dribbly wee ones, be it due to teething or just that lovely developmental stage at a few months old.

Filling the gap in the market for practical but beautifully designed & incredible quality bandanna bibs is Funky Giraffe. The brainchild of Mum, Yasmin, who started Funky Giraffe whilst on maternity leave with her son. The idea behind Funky Giraffe was to make high quality, fashionable products that were not only reasonably priced but also had the element of longevity. What originally started as making bandanna bibs for her son & friends soon developed a range of hats, burp cloths, romper suits & other baby clothes. But still at the heart of Funky Giraffe & what they're best known for is their extensive range of bandanna bibs.

With David going through the dreaded teething again (does it ever end?) the opportunity to try some of the Funky Giraffe bandanna bibs could not have come at a better time. But the task of choosing what bibs we actually wanted to try was certainly not easy! With hundreds of bandanna bibs to choose from, including plain colours, festive prints, personalised & even satin ones for when you need something a little bit more formal, there really is something for every occasion. In the end we chose two festive print bibs & a lovely little bumble bee number; very apt for David given his recent Bumble Bee Birthday Party.

And boy, am I impressed with them! Each bib is made with high quality jersey cotton, backed with fleece and completed with nickle-free poppers (hurray for no fluff-filled velcro & not being able to be pulled off but uncooperative babies!). Unlike other bandanna bibs we've had in the past, Funky Giraffe ones also have a decent bit of fabric around the neck so they really do gives good protection against dribbly wee ones; plus they're super absorbent and we've yet to have any drool soaked clothes whilst David has had one on. Best of all, they wash so easily, although I'd recommend hanging them to dry as opposed to bunging them in the tumble dryer, as otherwise they can curl a little at the bottom; a cosmetic issue more than anything as it doesn't actually affect their use in anyway.

In terms of price, Funky Giraffe are very reasonable, with bandanna bibs starting from only £1.98 and even come the option to purchase sets of 5 or 10 bibs & save some more money too. But be warned! I think it'd be impossible to buy just one and you may end up with more than you'd originally planned to buy.

As you can guess, we're more than impressed with the Funky Giraffe bandanna bibs which means I'm extremely excited to be able to host a GIVEAWAY for one of the Sets of 5 Funky Giraffe Bandanna Bibs (pictured above). It's as simple as entering the Rafflecopter below & the winner will be announced next week, with the fantastic prize being delivered before Christmas. A perfect stocking filler, or what?

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

T&Cs.

1. The winner will be chosen by random via Rafflecopter, and announced on Facebook & advised by email.

2. The prize will be sent before the cut of for Christmas post providing address details are given before Saturday 20th December.

3. Open to UK residents only.

Disclaimer: We were kindly sent a selection of bandanna bibs from Funky Giraffe for the purposes of this review & giveaway. As always, all opinions are our own.

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Toddlebike

Before David was born, I was determined that John would walk everywhere and we'd bypass the whole double buggy phase. John though, didn't quite share my determination. He would lag behind, dragging his feet, his wee legs not yet ready to keep up the pace. We tried with a scooter for a while but that too just didn't work out as hoped. Buggy boards seemed to cause John to have a death wish, jumping off in the middle of the road. I did breifly consider letting him take his Jake & The Neverland Pirate ride-on out & about but it didn't seem particularly practical. So the double buggy it was. Oh how I wish I'd known about the Toddlebike back then!

The Toddlebike is a fantastic invention, designed to be a pre-balance bike for wee ones aged 1-3 years; perfect for when they're not quite ready for walking everywhere but already hating the buggy. We live in an area where we're constantly passing kids on balance bikes and John's attention is always drawn to them. And a balance bike really would be a perfect solution to our walking-woes, apart from John's small stature meaning his feet would barely touch the ground! So in that sense, the Toddlebike is the perfect first bike for our little mini! Plus at only 0.8kg, it's super light, so it;s easy to steer, taking no time at all to master. And the hole in the middle of the handlebars makes it ideal for hanging over the buggy handle when needs be (my most favourite feature!).

The unique 4-wheel design means that John could hop on straight away and scoot off with little effort. And boy does he get to some speeds! It's also great for those that are just mastering the ride-on, with David already trying his hand at using the Toddlebike whenever John's back is turned! I was worried that it would be a bit like some other plasticy ride-on toys & not be very durable but the Toddlebike is made of strong stuff, designed to be used on all types of terrain and it even comes with a 3 year guarantee.

Since receiving the Toddlebike, it's literally been used every day, both inside & outside the house; with John even coming through to our room on it at 4am, parking it up at the end of the bed before crawling in! We've had so much interest in the Toddlebike for family, friends & strangers in the street and I honestly can't recommend it enough. It really is one of those products that I think, "why did I not know about you before!" So if you're on the look out for a perfect Christmas present for a wee one who's now steady on their feet & desperate to get going, the Toddlebike really is ideal. It also comes in one piece so no stressed out parents building it together on Christmas morning! The best kind of present, if you ask me. The Toddlebike is available from Amazon & John Lewis, as well as directly from the Toddlebike website. It comes in 3 different colours & retails for just under £25; and it's worth every penny!

It won't be long until John graduates to a full blown balance bike (...providing his legs ever actually grow...) but I'm pretty sure David will then be more than happy to take over Toddlebike duties!

Disclaimer: The boys were kindly sent the Toddlebike for the purpose of this review. As always, all opinions are our own.

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Tiddley Pom

I've become a bit obsessed with using natural beauty products (aside from the prescription acne stuff...blah...). From coconut oil, to pure argan oil & silicone-free hair products, I'm sold on the idea that nature knows how to look after us. Given my new found obsession, I've been keeping an eye out for some lovely natural products for bath time with the boys. You could be assumed to be living under a rock if you haven't heard that the market leader of baby bath products isn't in fact so great after all, containing known allergens & skin-stripping sulphates - not exactly what you want to be washing your squishy new wee ones precious skin with!

Tiddley Pom is a welcome addition to the market of Baby Bath products (& our bathroom!), providing a beautifully packaged, natural & organic line of balms, lotions & oils, as well as various bundles & gift sets, perfect for both gifts & getting started with Tiddley Pom. And best of all, Tiddley Pom is a British brand, using quintessentially British ingredients such as Lavender & Chamomile.

The brainchild of British Mum & natural cosmetics guru, Emma Nash, Tiddley Pom first came about after the birth of her daughter Iris who like many babies, suffered from eczema. Emma took matters into her own hands & used her own knowledge of natural spa cosmetics and the sourcing of high quality ingredients and came up with Tiddley Pom, The Natural Baby Spa. Including Organic Baby Wash, Sooth Lotion, Baby Massage Oil & (my personal favourite) Nappy Balm, the entire Tiddley Pom range can be used together to compliment one another for a truly relaxing bonding experience with your baby. Tiddley Pom also offers a selection of bundles of their products, such as a Baby Massage Bundle & Baby's First Christmas Pack; both wonderful gift for either new babies or those who are approaching their first Christmas. And all their products are numbered, so you can make the most of them, using them in the order intended.

We were kindly sent the Tiddley Pom Organic Baby Wash & Organic Nappy Balm to try out on David and it's safe to say, I'm in love. I was already sold on the idea of natural baby products but have really struggled to find any that didn't cost the earth or that actually smelt of anything close to appealing. The Tiddley Pom Organic Baby Wash is a dream for bedtime baths, with a comforting lavender scent, plus the easy to use pump dispenser is perfect for when you're running a bath with only one hand free! It only produces a small amount of bubbles, so John much prefers his usual (sulphate-containing - ARGH!) bubble bath but for cleaning babies & leaving their skin soft of not-at-all dried out, it preforms perfectly. I also use it as a shampoo for both boys and aside from John's usual reluctance to hair-washing, we've had no tears as a result. And I'd also be lying if I said I hadn't sneaked a wee pump or two for myself in the shower...

The Tiddley Pom Organic Nappy Balm has been the biggest hit for me though. I'm always on the look out for a miracle cure for a sore bums and although I've found a few creams that have come close to their claims, there's yet to be one that really does the work of miracles. The Organic Nappy Balm has the lovely smell of lavender and is a more solid consistency than you'd expect from a traditional nappy cream. It melts onto the skin so although it can be a bit messy as you wrestle a wriggling baby, any bits that are still solid will simply melt away. The consistency also takes away the fear of the nappy balm bursting in your changing bag (we've all been there!). But best of all, it works! David has even had a runny tummy this past week, meaning we really got to try it out to it's full potential and let me tell you, if you cover your little ones bum in some of the Tiddley Pom Organic Nappy Balm before they go to bed, no matter how red raw they were the night before, they'll wake up with a beautiful clear bum! It's so good that I've even been rubbing a little on some of John (& mine!) dry skin patches.

Overall, we absolutely love Tiddley Pom. Not only are they great natural & organic products, perfect for babies delicate skin but the spa element also adds a little luxury to them, making them perfect gifts too. Tiddley Pom also offers a selection of bundles of their products, such as a Baby Massage Gift Set & Baby's First Christmas Pack; both wonderful gifts for either newborn babies or those who are approaching their first Christmas. And all their products are numbered, so you can make the most of them, using them in the order intended.

You can purchase the Tiddley Pom range from Boots (currently on offer online, so hop to it!) or the Tiddley Pom website.

Disclaimer: We were kindly compensated & sent the Tiddley Pom Nappy Balm &

Baby Wash for the purposes of this review. All thoughts & opinions are our own.

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Snufflebabe

Brace yourselves, folks! David has now started nursery. This means I'm dosing us up on vitamins & counting my available holiday days. If he's going to be anything like his big brother, the next year is going to be filled with cough, after cold, after sniffle (& in turn he will never actually be in nursery...).

There's nothing worse than a choked up wee one. Runny noses, trouble breathing, difficulty eating & not being able to get comfortable enough to sleep - it's the times that every parent dreads. You feel utterly helpless and whilst you do all you can to help, sometimes you need a bit of assistance. That's where Snuffle Babe comes in. When a cold set in, you might just pop a couple of decongestant tablets & get on with life, for wee ones though it's not so straight forward.

The obvious alternative to medicinal decongestants is a Vapour Rub and Snufflebabe have the perfect one for stuffed up wee ones. Whether it's used on the chest & back, or on the soles of the feet with socks (honestly, try it!!), vapour rubs are a tried & tested method of relieving cold symptoms. And the great thing about Snufflebabe is that it's not as eye wateringly strong as the well-known adult alternative, with the lovely combination of eucalyptus oil, menthol and thyme oil, making it is much better suited for wee ones. Plus it's suitable from only 3 months, so worth having on hand for that heart-breaking first cold.

The perfect accompaniment to the Snufflebabe Vapour Rub is the Snufflebabe Vapour Oil. A few drops on a muslin cloth, draped over a heater, or into a bowl of warm water, will give some lovely menthol vapours through the night to help wee ones get a good sleep. I also like to pop a couple of drops onto the boys sleeping bag/blankets when they're particularly stuffed up - just be sure to avoid getting it on pyjamas or wee ones skin, as like all essential oils it may cause irritation. The Snufflebabe Vapour Oil is also designed for use with the Snufflebabe Inhaler Dummy, which lets be honest, is a pretty clever invention!

Snufflebabe have a fantastic range of products for helping you get through the inevitable colds & sniffles that come with wee ones. Along with the Snufflebabe Vapour Rub & Vapour Oil, I can highly recommend the Nasal Aspirator for babies that can't yet blow their noses - something we bought for John before he was even born. In theory, it's pretty disgusting (we even call it the snot sucker!) but boy, does it work! As far as I'm concerned, Snufflebabe are by far the best on the market it terms of cold remedies for wee ones.

Have you tried any of the Snufflebabe range? What is your favourite product?

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