One of my friends let me know about these when Miss NHM was only a few months old.
They are made from 99.9% purified water and are, apparently, the only wipes suitable for newborn babies. (You’ve gotta love marketing!)
You can buy them from Amazon, Boots, Superdrug, the NCT Shop, Ocado and a couple of other places.
They are quite expensive but I felt that they were worth while for the first 9 months of Miss NHM’s life. We couldn’t afford them after that! :-D.
I’ve been trying to write this post for nearly three years! It was one of the reasons I started NHM, but I was too inexperienced at the beginning to use my own words. I know this is the cardinal sin of blogging, so I’ve finally got around to putting this down in my own words!
I discovered the joy of Treasure Baskets when my little one was very small and I joined a Baby PEEP class at a local Children’s Centre. The PEEP class was by far the best class I attended and I learnt an awful lot. I’m so disappointed to see that baby PEEP is no longer on the Children’s centre timetables.
Treasure baskets and boxes are such a simple idea, but so effective. Miss NHM was 10 weeks old when we were both introduced to treasure baskets and I was amazed at how enthralled she was with them, even at 10 weeks old!
I still remember vividly how absorbed she became with each of the items and how she was leaning into the basket, at 10 weeks old, to see what she could find. It was one of the defining moments for me, of the first few months of her life.
Apparently Treasure baskets have been used for decades by childcare professionals as a means of teaching young babies how to select, touch, taste and feel. They are closely linked to the Montessori teaching method.
You don’t need to spend any money on your treasure baskets and boxes. After the PEEP class, I remember getting home and going through the house finding things that I thought would be suitable. I found things that were too big for Miss NHM to swallow but had lots of different textures.
The items in the basket changed over the months as Miss NHM’s understanding grew. She still plays with several of the items now, including a plastic hand held juicer that I’ve never actually used!
Over the past three years, I’ve read a lot about treasure baskets and spent a lot of time putting them together. Below are some ideas for treasure baskets that I’ve used. I hope you find them useful, especially if this rain continues!
Here are some tips to enhance the experience:
Etsy treasure baskets (you can buy an already made treasure basket from here…but where’s the fun in that!)
Treasure Basket Play (American website but still has some good ideas)
Netmums: treasure baskets (a great list for treasure baskets with themes)
I love going to the cinema (as long as the people in the cinema don’t talk or eat loudly all the way through – yes I’m old and yes the eating and talking thing reaaaaally bugs me) so I was delighted to find out about the newbie cinema sessions when I was pregnant.
Miss NHM first went to the cinema when she was 3 weeks old. I remember the film vividly, Chalet girl, I think because the whole experience reminded me that I could still retain a very small part of my pre-parent life. It hasn’t quite worked out that way once Miss NHM got to six months old and was too wriggly for the cinema but I was back to work by then so couldn’t have gone to the newbie session on a Tuesday anyway! Lol.
My Ante-natal friends and I used to try to go to the newbie session every Tuesday. It started at 11.15am which was just the right time to get up and get mobilised without feeling like you had to rush. Many, many times I had a breakfast of popcorn at the newbie session :-D.
I liked the sessions because the sound was quiet and nowhere near as loud as the cinema normally is and because the lights were dimmed so you could breastfeed without judgement and still see what you were doing.
Plus it felt good to be doing something adult and grown up and not something that was all about my baby, like everything seemed to be at the time.
My husband even managed to come along once or twice. He even took Miss NHM on his own, when I had to go back to work, for the two weeks when he was off work and she wasn’t too wriggly for the cinema.
Another benefit of newbie cinema was the cost. It’s much cheaper to go to the newbie cinema than the regular cinema, no one cares if your baby cries and you get free tea or coffee if you would like it. Generally none of the free biscuits though as you could guarantee that the gerriatrics for the senior session, which start 15 mins before, would have scoffed them all.
If you have a newborn or a baby and like going to the cinema, I really recommend going to the newbie session. If only to pretend you have a small semblance of your old life left 😉
This weeks theme is “Babies”.
I only picked up on how important skin to skin is when my little one turned a month old. We didn’t have a very easy time with breastfeeding, for several reasons, but it was only when I went to see Lorraine, one of the breastfeeding counselors at North Hampshire Hospital, that it became apparent to me how important skin to skin is. I am eternally grateful to Lorraine for her pearls of wisdom.
I made sure that in the morning I spent as much time as possible skin to skin with my little one. This was fairly easy to do as it was summer time (this was last year, so nowhere near as much rain!) but I can imagine that in winter time it can be quite difficult to do this. My husband also found skin to skin very rewarding and whilst we spent our first few days as a family in hospital, he spent a lot of time with our little one on his chest. The nurses at the hospital were all cool with it as I’m sure they’ve seen it all before!
Even if you aren’t breastfeeding, skin to skin is still very important. Once my little one switched to bottles I had to make a conscious effort to make sure that skin to skin still happened.
My little one is now 17 months old and if I am not dashing to work in the morning I always make sure that the first feed of the day is skin to skin. My little one has always had her milk first thing in the morning so it’s worked out pretty well to be able to do this. I’ve noticed that my little one always needs to touch my skin when I’m holding her now. She puts her hand on the edge of my top or around the back of my neck. It makes my heart sing when she does this and reminds me of when she was really tiny. I’m sure that the skin to skin approach has helped us to bond as I really miss it if we haven’t been able to make time for it.
Whether you agree with skin to skin or not, and based on my experience, I would really recommend trying to do this as much as possible, especially in the first few months. I can imagine this is really difficult to do with your baby if you have more than one child. Does anyone have any suggestions about to manage this complexity?
If you would like more information about the importance of skin to skin, please check out some of the links below:
http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/jack_newman2.html
http://www.nhs.uk/Planners/breastfeeding/Pages/skin-to-skin-contact.aspx
Obviously! :-D.
The best way to ensure that you receive each post is subscribe using the “Email Sign Up” box” on the right hand side of the home page of NorthHantsMum.co.uk. Every time there is a new post on NHM you will receive an email in your inbox.
I get the most interaction on” Louise NHM Smith” on Facebook . The best discussions and comments are always via “Louise NHM Smith“, so I also recommend adding me as a friend. Don’t worry, I don’t ever look at anyones’ profiles. I don’t have the time or interest! lol.
Also ask to join the secret “Newborn” (or “Pregnancy”) facebook group that I have set up on “Louise NHM Smith” for parents of Newborns. It’s a great way to meet other Mum’s who are in the same stage of babyhood as you.
Click for more details about what a PEEP course and Baby Sensory.
Go swimming with your baby (after 12 weeks old) at the Sports Centre in the week or QMC swimming pool at the weekend. See Swimming with Babies for more details. You can check out other baby and child friendly swimming pools. Or maybe look into structured classes with Water Babies.
Go to The Nest at Chineham Church on a Monday morning. I always found the cafe area to be lovely as everyone was very friendly and willing to chat to each other, even if you didn’t know them beforehand! You can check out other baby weighing clinics: Baby Weighing Clinics in Basingstoke.
Visit the Little Roses Coffee Shop in Elm Tree Garden Centre for coffee and cake with your friends who are also on maternity leave. You can find other baby friendly tea and coffee shops: Reasonably Priced Afternoon Tea‘s and NHM Recommended Children friendly Coffee Shops. I also recently reviewed The Parlour TeaRoom which also comes highly recommended.
Go to Newbies cinema on a Monday morning at the Odeon. It’s specifically for parents with babies. The sound is reduced and it’s half lighting so you can still see your baby. Much cheaper than normal cinema tickets and includes free biscuits and tea and coffee (if you get there before the Senior cinema oldies demolish the lot at 11am!). Also recommend signing up to their Odeon Club as you get points and it’s amazing how quickly they rack up and convert into free tickets or free food! Miss NHM went to the cinema every week from 3 weeks old till 6 months old!
You can book independently here or investigate whether one of the local children’s centres has a course. (this tends to work out much cheaper!) Gail who often does the courses is lovely and a real calming influence.
Go to a Baby RhymeTime session (normally hosted at one of the libraries).
Visit “Coffee and Chat” on a Friday morning. This group also host a “Sling Day” on the 1st Friday of the month (see Slings for previous posts about slings) and they also do bra fittings on the 1st and 3rd Friday of the month.
You can click Family Photographers in North Hampshire for a list of family friendly photographers in the area. Some do specific newborn packages, so have a look through.
There are LOADS going on in the area (Tots Play, Buggy Fit, Baby Signing and Baby Sensory are just a few). To find more details about which classes are available have a look at the Activities Page on NorthHantsMum.co.uk which lists classes by day.
Get a head start on those all important first Christmas presents at Pots2Paint. Perfect for creating keepsakes from your baby for your loved ones.
I found it really important to get out and about with my little one in those first few months. The house became thoroughly neglected but it was totally worth it for my sanity!
If you have any friends who have just had a baby, don’t forget to share this post with them!
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Putting you and your baby first.
Find your nearest course now at: https://www.nct.org.uk/courses/antenatal