Wilderness Wonderland

We arrived back from our escapism of Wilderness Festival on monday morning, however upon returning home Sam and I both had really bad colds. Looking after a baby when both of us were ill was no fun at all. In fact, it's impossible to really be sick when you have a baby. We felt so guilty that we could not take her out or play with her much. But at least we knew that she'd had a blooming good amount of fun at the festival.

After recuperating this week we finally feel much better, though Eve seems to have caught it, but not too badly thankfully. I'm glad her immune system is good. I put some mild baby vapour rub on her chest and back in the evenings after baths, and then a few drops of baby Olbas Oil around her cot whilst she sleeps. This seems to be helping though the poor girl is slightly grizzly with a runny nose.

Our time in the Wilderness at Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire was incredible though. We were so lucky with the weather, and enjoyed four glorious days there with our friends.











We met up with some old buddies en route to the festival and drove in convoy to the site which was great fun. Both Dads drove the motorhomes with their captain hats on!

The first evening I was really tired as Eve had not slept at all well the previous night, so I chilled out by the motorhome with Sarah and our two babies whilst the rest of our gang went out for good times. During our daytime sessions we had lovely meanderings around the festival, eating tasty food, watching cricket, swimming in the lake and generally having a great time.

I went off for complimentary yoga at The Sweat Lodge on the second morning. I took Eve with me in her pram as everyone else was asleep back at the ranch. She was such a good girl. She fell asleep not long after we arrived at yoga and thankfully stayed asleep, only waking up just before the end of the class, and made lovely little oo-ing and aaah-ing sounds.

It was the first time I had done a yoga class since having Eve, as I've just not had the time to do so before, or anyone to look after her. It felt so good.

Usually I do yoga five times a week at home, and am making a mental note to try to get back on track with yoga and pilates once we are in our new house. Mama's need some time to themselves - sometimes...

The Sweat Lodge was great, at the end we were given a warm flannel soaked in essential oils to wipe down with. Oh the little touches!







After yoga I headed back to meet everyone at base camp. We got dressed up and headed into the festival - this time as 'The Flintstones'!

Barney and Betty, Fred and Wilma

We dressed up the babies too - Eve of course was Pebbles with the bone in her hair, and Jake was Bam Bam...

Dear Eve suffered with her teeth the majority of the time that we were there, though she soldiered through and really enjoyed being shown the wonders of the playground garden that is Wilderness. It was lovely seeing her face light up as she saw new, exciting things.

Nature's best teething toy - Corn on the Cob!

More baby buddies - Anne with Huey and Torgo with Jake

It's such a lovely family festival. It's really well organised, the food stalls and various events and happenings are fantastic, with great music being played all around. Looking about people-watching was enjoyable; no matter what age everyone was having a good time.

The babies just had too much fun - all worn out! Eve, Huey and Jake

I was in bed pretty early with Eve on three of the nights whilst the others went out partying, but I didn't mind as I was tired by 7pm anyway. I got to let my hair down on the Saturday night which was the most fun I have had in ages. It was the perfect evening; still and beautiful with everyone revelling under the setting sun.

Photo by Samantha Milligan

As the sun started to go down we saw a huge hare and horse with people parading behind them. As the evening wore on we somehow got swept up in the crowd walking behind the horse through the festival, around the lake and up the hill toward the helter-skelter castle.

Photo by Sebastian Barros

It was a fantastic celebration of life, nature, paganism and the ending of the summer.

The most amazing thing about the burning of the helter-skelter castle was at it set on fire the throngs of people watching all around the hill started calling up to the people at the top to sit down. As we looked back everyone started sitting down so that all could see the majesty of the burn. It was a powerful reminder of communal consciousness and what we can do if we put our minds together.










Photo by Danny North

The night before really had been the 'calm before the storm' because we woke up on Sunday morning to torrential rain. It was kind've nice though, Eve and I stayed in bed and caught up on some sleep. I was surprised at how well she slept in the motorhome and definitely recommend it to anyone thinking of a different type of holiday.

Sleeping in the motorhome

Thankfully the skies cleared a bit in the afternoon so we had a final wander about and said cheerio to friends who were heading off that evening. Autumn now seems to be upon us, the temperature has become cooler and I'm already thinking about packing Eve's summer dresses away. It's nice dressing her in little dungaree dresses though. 

Beagle with baby Jake and Olivia with Eve

A couple of days after returning home, Eve's first tooth finally appeared - hurrah! At last! We can feel the second one under the skin of her gum. Our next mission is our house move, which we are all excited about....

Motorhome trip to Canterbury

This time last year Sam and I went to Wilderness Festival whilst I was 5 months pregnant. We had a wonderful time wandering around in the wilderness and decided that we just had to go back with our baby this year.

We have always wanted to do a motorhome holiday and figured that it would be the perfect occasion with our 8 month old baby, as it would make 'camping' so much easier.  I started planning this trip at the beginning of the year and booked our festival tickets and hire of a motorhome.

I searched the internet for quite a long time, trying to find a suitable company to hire a motorhome from that had a pick up location close to Bristol. In the end I found Unbeatablehire.com.  I've got to say that they have been brilliant from start to finish; from giving me a quote, to answering my many questions by email and finally collecting the Chaussen Flash 04 model from the pick up address on Junction 18 of the M4. The chap that showed us how to work the motorhome was great, professional, knowledgeable and above all, very nice.

The initial drive was slightly stressful as we both had to get used to being in a large vehicle driving down some very narrow country roads on the way to Sam's aunt's and uncle's house near Salisbury. Thankfully we had borrowed our friends sat nav - don't think we could have done the trip without it, it was such a blessing.

Sam, Hugh and Henry playing cricket at Wake House

I have heard a lot about the Vicarage, Wake House at Ebbesbourne Wake for many years from the Fergusson family and have always wanted to visit. Our trip to Canterbury gave us a great excuse and we had such a lovely time there with Sam's aunt Jane and uncle Hugh. Sam's cousin Tom's three kids were there for a few days seeing their grandparents, and we really enjoyed catching up with them all. Eve certainly had fun playing with Josephine. Josephine is three years old and is such a delight, she took us on a magical mystery tour of the gardens, which ended with us all jumping about like crazy on the trampoline. Sam also played cricket with Henry (age 5) and Hugh whilst Rosa (age 8) was over at a friends house for tea.

Josephine, Eve and Sam in the garden

Henry, Josephine, Jane, Hugh, Eve and Me 

We loved having a proper catch up with the Pelly family. Sam's cousin Claire joined us in the evening and told us what her four brothers are currently up to.  Jane cooked a very yummy roast chicken dinner for us adults and made up a lovely baby-friendly room for me, Sam and Eve to sleep in. Eve slept through the night in a beautiful old-fashioned cot next to our Dyson fan. This was fantastic as she had only just got back into her sleep routine, 2 weeks after we returned from Greece. 

Our trusty Dyson fan works wonders, we take it everywhere that Eve is going to sleep. I cannot recommend it enough, it keeps her cool during warm summer nights and it was also really useful when she was a newborn. We decided last summer to buy a Dyson Hot+Cool AM05 which we could turn on to regulate the temperature in our bedroom where Eve slept in the early days, without having to turn the heating on in the rest of our flat. It was also a god-send during labour. As for most pregnant women I went through stages of being really hot or really cold. Instead of having to wait for the heating to come on Sam just turned on the Dyson to blast me with hot air, which really helped during contractions.

Dyson fans are expensive and we took a while to decide to buy it. I bought it straight from Dyson with a £70 discount which made it more worthwhile. At the time I thought maybe I shouldn't have bought it but now I'm so glad as we've used it so much. It's been incredibly useful. 10/10 for sure!

Daddy and Eve standing on the bridge over the river Arun, with Arundel castle in the background

The following morning off we went in the motorhome, the country roads towards Salisbury were slightly hair-raising but once we were on the main roads driving got a lot easier. Eve was great and fell asleep for the majority of the drive. The great thing about the motorhome was being able to pop into the back and feed Eve meals or give her milk or water whilst we were driving along. She was strapped into her car seat with a spare seat next to her so I could buckle myself in whilst taking care of her. It made driving so much easier than in a car.

We enjoyed wandering about Arundel castle. It was overly expensive as those kind of tourist places tend to be, but we were glad to have seen it. The Earl's gardens in particular really took our fancy - they were absolutely exquisite.

It was a hot day so we headed off to our first camping stop in the late afternoon - just a field a few miles away. Wild camping - no electric hook up. Just us in a field watching the sun setting behind a hill. Bliss!

Eve's new found love - the foil backing on our picnic blanket, she couldn't get enough of it

Eve's first sunset, drinking her milk before bedtime

After Sam gave Eve her breakfast the following morning we set off towards Canterbury, via Rye.

We have wanted to visit Rye for many years and felt that this was the perfect time to do it. The drive took us twice as long as the sat nav told us due to traffic and narrow roads, however, when we arrived we were so pleased. All the people that we spoke to were really friendly and helpful. Sam and Eve were both scared climbing up Rye's church tower - as the Vicar told us beforehand 'the climb up the tower is primitive!' - but the view from the top was stunning. We could see for miles, right out to sea. It gave us a real feel for Rye and the surrounding area.

Me at the top of Rye's church tower

Sam and Eve at the top of the tower

It was quite a fun drive from Rye over to Canterbury, the roads were really bendy like a touring car rally track with lots of livestock in the fields which were very flat.

We arrived at Canterbury touring park late afternoon to find my sister Claire, her boyfriend Jody and my mum waiting for us. Jody and Claire cooked up a storm on the bbq, and Eve enjoyed munching on her first corn-on-the-cob.

I cannot recommend Canterbury touring park enough - it was definitely our favourite place that we stayed at. They had a family room which had brand new baby bathing equipment in it. They gave me the key for the duration of our stay which made it so easy to look after Eve. 

http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/campsites/uk/kent/canterbury/canterbury

The happy couple - Jon and Liz

The reason for our trip to Canterbury was for my brother's wedding. He married his bride, Liz at a lovely outdoor ceremony at St Edmunds School.

My mum - aka Granny T with Eve

Me and Claire with our mum

Jon and Liz's wedding day was so lovely, the weather was good and it was so nice to catch up with family.

It was also really nice to chat with Jon's military pals.

It was a shame that we had to leave the wedding celebrations early, but it was already past Eve's bedtime. I guess these are the small sacrifices you have to make as a parent.  We were so proud of her, she slept so well in the motorhome each night. A couple of nights she slept right through until 7am.

The next morning we had a short drive to Horam manor touring park, this was a good thing as Eve poked Daddy in the eye by mistake which made it a bit difficult for him to see for most of the day.

Making lunch at Horam manor touring park - as a parent you cannot be with a picnic blanket or two

We stopped for a drink at an amusing bar by the fishing pond and then went for a walk along a nature trail through the woods.

It was so nice to breathe fresh country air, walk under the dark canopy of trees and then come out the other side of the woods into a beautiful meadow.

Eve standing, holding only one of Daddy's hands. She is getting more and more confident.

The last night we stayed at Stonehenge touring park. The drive was long and boring as we went on the M25 so we felt pretty knackered when we arrived.

We ordered a curry delivery - not probably the best re camping etiquette but so good not to have to cook.

It was the smallest of the touring parks and didn't have many facilities but it was fine as we left early the next morning. We were so lucky with the weather, the rain only came the morning that we departed for home.

Eve loves camping!

Tomorrow we are off to Wilderness Festival, it's going to be so much fun, we have two set of friends who are also coming along with their babies and I just can't wait to see our little ones having a good time together.....

http://www.wildernessfestival.com/

Summer fun

Hurrah! At last, Eve slept through the night last night, for the first time in about 6 weeks. What with teething pain, an unusual bed in Greece and hot weather creating sleepless nights I think (and hope!) that we've just come through the other side.

It was a couple of degrees cooler last night, plus the fan was on an even higher setting - this seemed to have done the trick. Or maybe it was due to Eve eating three good meals yesterday, who can say?

We have good and not-so-good days with her meals, but it's definitely coming together slowly but surely.

We are off on a motorhome extravaganza later this morning for some Fergusson family fun times. I'm really hoping that sleeping will go ok. Fingers massively crossed. We've bought a new Peanut shell baby Sling (Tkmaxx £17 - can't go wrong, eh) for our adventures. Whilst getting our holiday supplies in Asda yesterday I wore Eve in the sling in the hammock style, so she was lying across me. It was very cute and she looked really comfy. Nicer for her to sleep lying down rather that upright.

To have a look at the Peanut Shell company:

http://www.thepeanutshell.com/Products/Baby-Carriers/Adjustable-Baby-Sling

I think that the new sling is going to be a bit hit for the next couple of weeks as we wander about camp sites and festival fields.

Eve and Jake

Eve and her baby buddy Jake had a lovely time in the park together last week. It so nice to see her interact more with other babies. Already she seems to be growing up very fast.

Daddy and Eve at The Lido last week

Yesterday we took the big decision to move house. We'll be leaving our lovely flat of 11 years, going to a 3 bedroom house in Totterdown. Finally we have become real adults it seems. A baby and a full size house. We're moving out in a couple of weeks time, which seems like a bit of a whir but the time is definitely right.  We both felt a positive attraction to the new house and area of Bristol which is the opposite side of town to us at the moment. We're feeling very lucky and hopeful about our move. 

One thing that will have to change is the Lido pool. We've been members there for about 4 years so we'll be really sorry to say goodbye to it and all the wonderful people who work there. However, I reacon we'll try and have a 'date' there occasionally!

Eve enjoying a strawberry in the park

To bump or not to bump?!

Eve now tends to sleep on her side which is very cute, she wriggles around all over the place.  I keep worrying about her getting her legs stuck in between the cot bars during the night-time whilst I'm asleep. She loves flipping herself over at the moment - I can never be sure which direction she will be facing inside the cot when I go in to see her. 

Even though it's really warm weather I've put her back into a baby sleeping bag, after finding her with her legs stuck on a few occasions. She only wears a nappy inside the sleeping bag with the fan in her room on full blast. The fan is definitely helping, she slept through for 6 hours last night - a revelation - as it's taken a week and a half to get back towards her normal sleeping routine since coming back from holiday.

I'm fairly sure that I won't go down the route of bumpers, however some friends told me about a couple of 'safe' designs that I thought I would look at.

The Wonder Bumper

The Wonder Bumper by American company 'Go Mama Go Designs'

http://www.gomamagodesigns.com/

Vertical padding protects the baby. Each vertical pad is zipped on to individual cot rails. The zip design is out of reach of the baby. The padding is 100% polyester with cotton flannel design. Reversible mix and match options, with designs for girls, boys and neutral.  You can order a sample from their website (above) to try before you buy a full set.  Apparently the average amount of rails on a cot are 38. In the UK on Amazon they offer a 24 pack which is £144 plus shipping. 

Please click the link to look at the Wonder Bumper on Amazon UK:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Designs-Wonder-Bumpers-Chocolate-Products/dp/B00EC6MV5K

Personally I think these are incredibly expensive.  I wouldn't be able to justify spending that amount of money on some polyester padding. I'm also not keen on there being too much man-made fabric around my baby.  However, I'm sure that the Wonder Bumper probably does work wonders for lots of parents out there!

Airwrap

Airwrap 2 or 4 sided bumpers

I think that I prefer this idea by Australian brand Airwrap; they are mesh fabric bumpers that can either go on all four sides of the cot or just on cot beds with solid ends. 

The velcro attaches on the outside of the cot ensuring that little hands cannot undo them. As the Airwrap is a mesh it allows the air to flow around the cot, making them breathable, and reduces the risk of the baby over-heating. They are designed to squash down if stood on by a baby in the cot, and will then spring back up after the child has moved away.

There are many different varieties and designs, or you could buy simple white. They range from about £15-£40 depending on the type that you require. 

Airwrap can be bought in quite a few places online - so I would recommend searching to find a company that is closest to you.

Of course if you prefer to use a normal padded, fabric bumper that is completely your call - the main thing that I've learnt as a new mum is to just go with my instinct and do what I feel is right. Everyone has different opinions - that's what makes the world go round.

A few tips for holidays with your baby

Eve is generally very good at falling asleep by herself in the cot after she has had her evening milk. We put her mobile on the 'jungle sounds' setting when we put her to bed and she often sings herself to sleep. Thankfully I thought of taking 'Sammy the seahorse' with us on our trip to Greece. 

Her seahorse was really good, because of course we didn't have the mobile or a cot, so the seahorse which plays lullaby's and lights up was useful. It was something that she could associate with sleeping, is a toy that she's used to and was small enough to fit in the suitcase.

It also comes in blue and green too.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fisher-Price-Pink-Soothe-Glow-Seahorse/dp/B002ECE5IU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406013884&sr=8-1&keywords=fisher+price+pink+seahorse

Eve didn't like being left in the room where she was sleeping as it was alien to her and very dark, so this little night light did a good job!

The most handy thing I took on holiday was a small bottle of laundry washing liquid, it really was invaluable.

Just pour some of the hand-wash liquid that you use at home and put it in a small travel bottle - it worked wonders. As I couldn't take Eve's washable nappies (wouldn't fit in the suitcase and I didn't want to bother our hosts with washing clothes each day), I just took two of them with one wrapper and enough nappy liners for the week. Eve wears a double washable nappy during the night-time, so I put one on her each night and washed it out each morning. Being able to wash some of Eve's clothes was good too so that food stains didn't set in.

I've read a fair bit that says babies should not be given mineral water - due to high levels of sodium (salt) or sulphates. However, when we were in Greece we were told not to drink the tap water and that we should use bottled water to make up formula. I didn't stress about it, it was one of those things that we could not avoid, and at least we were lucky enough to have clean water to drink in the first place.

Of course, I wouldn't give her mineral water unnecessarily, but I felt that for a week we could break the rules a bit. 

Another thing that was really useful were baby liquid medicine with syringes. If you squirt a bit of medicine in their mouths as the plane is taking off or coming down it helps to pop their ears. Alternatively you could try a Vicks vapour stick. Hold it under their nose, when they breathe in their ears should pop. I've not tried this but it sounds good.

I knew that the air stewards would fill up the baby bottles for formula, so I took milk powder ready to go in clean bottles. Thankfully I also took a couple of 'ready-to-feed' bottles of formula (unopened through customs is fine). When we were on the plane the trolley was blocking the aisle for the majority of the flight so it would have been quite difficult to ask them for water anyway. If you're going on a long haul flight I would think it will be easier to obtain water for bottles though.

During the last few weeks we have started to really notice how much Eve is developing. She tries hard to communicate with us to let us know what she needs or wants. She's a real Daddy's girl and adores playtime with him.

Eve strumming her ukelele, rather than hitting or biting it like she used to do

Wearing her big girl pyjamas - a gift from her Aunt Jayne and Uncle Peter. She looked so proud the evening that we put these on her. She had such a big grin for about 20 minutes before going to bed.

This week Eve has started flipping from her back to her front whilst she is in her cot and keeps getting her feet stuck in between the bars. She usually sleeps in a sleeping bag, but at the moment it's so warm that she just sleeps in pyjamas. I've never used a bumper in the cot, and am very strict on having nothing inside the cot with her. We went to the weigh in at the baby clinic yesterday (Eve weighed 16lb 12oz) so I asked the midwife what I should do. She told me that I shouldn't use a bumper and that I should try to place some rolled up towels around the edges of the cot. To be honest I don't really see the difference between this idea and a bumper, so I think we're just going to leave Eve to wriggle around and learn what to do.

Eve at Bristol Harbour Festival

If we hold Eve's hands whilst she is in a sitting position she easily moves into a standing position which is fun. Daddy is teaching her how to get a better grip on crawling which as yet she's not quite managing, but is definitely getting closer to.