Walking wonder

He did it.

At a few days off 15 months, we finally have a walker. 

For a few weeks now he has been taking a couple of steps here and there, but has become really proficient at walking holding just one of our hands, as we do it at every possible opportunity. 

Then we were at stay & play last week, and I was just sat down watching him, and he took about 8 steps. Then he did it again. But then at home he wouldn't do it any more. 

Fast forward to a visit to the inlaws, and in his frustration at not being allowed to do something he was trying to do, he stormed off walking 16 steps! But then didn't do it again at home.

A couple of days later though, he walked from the sofa to the table, which is quite a way, probably about 20 steps! 

Since then he has been walking a lot more. When he's already stood up doing something and wants to go somewhere else, he will walk, though if he's down on the floor doing something, he will still crawl. 

He makes me chuckle though when he walks as he's still at that waddling stage, but it's so cute! 

Silent Sunday

Messy drawing fun

A few months ago we received this set of fabric crayons and a bag in a giveaway.

I've been meaning to get it out for ages for little man to have a draw on, but only just got around to it today, after purchasing a tuff tray which I saw over on Ruby + Lottie and their messy play activities! 

He's only 15 months, so not really into drawing much at the minute, but I thought we could build it up over a while. I set him down in the room and a smile lit up on his face when he saw something new to play on, bless him! I obviously had to show him what to do, as he's never used crayons before, but at first he was more interested in knocking on the tray as it was a new sound:

And then he decided to draw on himself and his nappy!:

He finally got around to attempting to draw on the bag:

I had to show him what to do with them other than eating them... I might have also added a couple of bits to the bag:

And this is little man's final masterpiece for today:

I don't think it's bad for a first timer! 

Guest blog: Balance Activ Conceive

5 top tips for preparing for a baby 

When it comes to preparing for a baby, nine months is a long time to wait. You can never fully predict how a baby’s arrival will change your life, but you can ensure that your body is as fully prepared as possible. Here are our top five tips for getting your body ready for a baby: 

Stop smoking - your body needs to be a shrine of health when trying to conceive, in order to maximise your chances of getting pregnant. By starting to quit early on, you can slowly ease yourself off your addiction and get help if needed. Smoking is extremely harmful to a developing foetus, and therefore vitally important to give up smoking when trying to conceive. 

Stop drinking – your body needs to be as healthy as possible, and it is well known that alcohol is harmful to a growing foetus. Alcohol can potentially damage the baby’s developing organs and can lead to Foetal Alcohol Spectrum disorder. You can remove these harmful substances from your life prior to becoming pregnant; this gives your baby the best possible chance of healthy development. Women who drink less than 5 units a week have been shown to be twice as likely to conceive within 6 months. 

Use a sperm friendly lube! -  Vaginal dryness is common in couples TTC and ordinary lubricants are toxic to sperm.  Balance Activ Conceive Fertility is not harmful to sperm and is at a pH which creates an environment that may enhance sperm survival. Balance Activ Conceive Fertility Gel contains Hyaluronic Acid (HA) a very clever little molecule which binds to healthy sperm and can increase their survival, this is very handy when you consider how small the window of opportunity for conception is - an egg can only be fertilised 12-24 hours after it has been released from the ovaries.  Hyaluronic acid can help the sperm to survive for up to five days – which in turn may increase the chance of conception. Balance Activ Conceive Fertility Gel is a light, non-sticky, sperm friendly lubricant which has been show to improve the motility in poorly motile sperm.  It can be used as a routine aid when trying to conceive. 

  

Balance Activ Fertility Gel 

Change your diet – now is the time to focus on preparing your body for a healthy pregnancy, so cut the cravings for cheeseburgers and ice cream and start replacing them with healthy alternatives. You should eat a healthy, well balanced diet focussing on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and calcium and drinking plenty of water. Folic Acid is particularly important and can be found as part of a prenatal multivitamin. Also, if you have low iron levels, you may want to help with an iron supplement, which should help boost energy levels through pregnancy. 

Take regular gentle exercise – exercise is a great way to relieve stress, reduce body fat and make you a healthier and happier person. It’ll give you more energy as well as helping aid with getting a good night sleep, which you will definitely need in the months to come!  A healthy body is more receptive to becoming pregnant, so start the habit now to ensure that your body is ready for pregnancy.  

Disclosure

This is a guest post. No payment or product was received for this post. 

Weight loss - week 4

I'll start with my weigh in from last week. I lost half a pound. Not great, but better off than on. 

Sticking to my plan hasn't gone so well this week, in fact over the weekend it was a total write off. On Saturday we went to Birmingham Zoo with friends, and had a picnic, and then a pizza for tea, and then on Sunday we were at a Christening with a BBQ for afters! And then there was yummy cake of course, of which I had some there and then brought some home too, oops. Apart from those episodes though, I've been rather good. This is also considering that I'm having a bit of a downer at the minute with our mc due date looming, and am constantly in one of those moods where I just want to eat chocolate (the unopened bar of Creations is still in the cupboard, along with a Maltesers bunny which I bought last week!).

My goals for this week have been to exercise more, and drink more water. I have done both, though exercise = walking in my case, and I have drank more water but still not as much as I should be doing! It's something which I need to work on even more. 

So in general, I'm not really expecting a great loss come Friday, but I'm going to try my hardest next week! 

I'm joining in with The Naked Mum's Wobbles Wednesday linky.