Babies

Top Tip: Weaning Food (Frozen Fruit in Porridge)

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Babies, Mum "Top Tips", Weaning 0 Comment

As a busy Mum (what Mum isn’t busy?!??!) I try to listen out for hints and tips to make life that little bit easier.

One of the things I’ve picked up on is using Frozen Fruit.

When Miss NHM was first weaning I would use frozen blueberries in her Ready Brek in the morning.

It helps to cool the porridge down very quickly and she seemed to enjoy eating them although the faces she pulled were hilarious.

They do make an awful lot of mess though and blueberries stain so make sure you put down a ground sheet if you have carpet.

Top Tip: Water wet wipes

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Mum "Top Tips", Newborn 0 Comment

http://waterwipes.com/us

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.

Treasure Baskets

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Babies, Games, New Parents, Newborn 1 Comment

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!

Ideas for Treasure Baskets

Natural objects

  • Pine Cones – make sure all the seeds have been removed/shaken out
  • big shells
  • Large walnuts
  • Pumice stones
  • Fruit

Wood

  • rattles
  • spoons
  • bowls
  • napkin rings 

Metal

  • Spoons
  • tea strainer
  • bunch of keys
  • garlic squeezer

Here are some tips to enhance the experience:

  • Place the basket close to your child so they can reach each object and move things around easily
  • Pick a time when they are well fed and alert – their enjoyment will last longer.
  • Whilst it’s really an experience for them to indulge in by themselves, it’s important to be close by so you can step in if they need help.
  • Change and move the items around in the basket to keep the activity fresh.
  • Check the basket regularly to ensure all of the items are still intact and therefore, not dangerous for your child to play with.
  • Once your baby becomes mobile, place baskets on shelves low to the ground so they can help themselves to different objects.

Treasure Box Resources

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)

Do you have any other suggestions for treasure baskets for other Mum’s to use?

Baby & Toddler Dance classes in North Hampshire

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Babies, Classes, Health, Sport, Toddlers 0 Comment

I’ve been meaning to put this post together for a LONG time…

I’ve finally got around to it. Yay! 😀

Active Life Centre – Houndmills

Basingstoke Academy of Dance – Houndmills

FitMama Mummy and Baby Dance –  Stroudley Road, Basingstoke

Jeannine Greville Dance Academy – The Vyne Community School and Aldworth Science College

Lisa Beaumont School of Ballet – Cliddesden

Marina School of Dance – Whitchurch

Mini Movers Dance Class Spotlight – Popley

The Lynden School of Dance – Basingstoke Sports Centre, Kingsclere & Overton

Related Posts

Dance schools in North Hampshire

Ballet/Dance classes for 2 year olds

Newbie Cinema at the Odeon

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Babies, Classes, Newborn, Outings, Theatre 1 Comment

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 😉

Newbie Cinema at the Odeon

Swimming Pools in North Hampshire suitable for Babies and Children

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Babies, Children, Swimming 2 Comments

I can’t believe I haven’t done a post about swimming pools in the area yet!

Let me know if I’ve missed any.

Public Swimming Pools

Private Swimming Pools

I’m putting together a list of swimming schools and classes in the area, and hope to get it published before Christmas!

Things to do/Places to go with a baby when it’s raining

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Babies, Rain 2 Comments

Claire sent me a message asking me if I could do a post on things to do with babies in the rain: ” I’m finding it hard when the weather is bad to find things to do that are baby friendly and fun for me? ”

Great suggestion for a post, especially with the weather as it is! Hopefully this is helpful!

Check out this post first: http://www.northhantsmum.co.uk/activities/baby-classes/

Softplay

Softplay – Bouncing Tots and Active Tots have areas for small babies.

Swimming

Swimming – Basingstoke Sports centre has a small pool that is kept at 32 degrees and open between 12 and 1.30 on a week day and is an open session.

I would also check out the QMC pool as we swam in there last year and it was really warm! Also check out my recent review of Basingstoke Aquadrome.

Pots2Paint

Pots 2 Paint – Viables Craft Centre

A great way to get some special Christmas (or birthday) presents done. Handprints or footprints of your little one whilst they are tiny, will be treasured forever!

Baby Massage Classes

We did a baby massage class through our local children’s centre and I really enjoyed it. It was a great opportunity to bond with my daughter when she was tiny.

There are also several Mum’s in the area who run their own Baby Massage classes. I posted a list of them recently HERE.

Find some Mummy friends!

There are lots of Mum groups in the area who are on Facebook.  It’s a great and easy way to keep in touch. If you are feeling a bit lonely, then post something up and you will be overwhelmed with the response. You can find some of these groups HERE.

North Hampshire Mum’s are VERY friendly and supportive :-D.

Grab a coffee and cake

There are LOADS of little cafe’s in the area which are very supportiive of new parents. My favourite for new parents is Elm Tree Garden centre (which I haven’t been to for ages!) which even supplies wet wipes in emergencies!

I also really love the Parlour Tea rooms, but it’s very popular now (for a good reason!) so you need to book in advance. It can get VERY busy.

I still haven’t been to the Tea Bar at the top of town either, which looks lovely too!

Go for a walk

Yes, I know it’s raining. Sometimes though, it’s just good to wrap up and get out of the house. Put the waterproof cover on the pushchair and just go out of the house and get wet. It’s not going to hurt either of you to get some fresh air, just make sure your baby is well covered.

We love Basing Wood and the Lime Pits (as I’ve raved about before!) but there is a great list of local walks suitable for pushchairs HERE. You can also see a reviews I’ve done recently on Alice Holt and Farleigh Mount.

Go (window) shopping

There are lots of local independent shops in the area. You can find a list of them HERE.

Also, you can’t go wrong in Festival Place. It’s mostly covered and sometimes it’s nice to just wonder around or people watch.

Debenhams cafe has a bottle warmer and microwave if you are weaning.

Places to Go

This is actually a tough one. Especially when it’s raining. These are some of the places that I went too when I had a small baby, that I found were supportive of Mum’s with tiny ones.

  • Milestones Museum
  • The Vyne – although watch out for the gerriatrics who can get upset over buggies being in the way :-D.
  • RHS Wisley Gardens – yes, this is a bit of a trek, but they are very baby friendly and even have a discreet baby feeding area in their main restaurant.

Do you have any other suggestions for new parents who want to get out and about with their little ones when it’s raining?

24 things to do during the summer holidays with young children in Basingstoke

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Babies, Children, Summer Holidays, Things to Do, Toddlers 0 Comment

This is an incredibly long overdue post, but as it’s the last week of the school holidays you might be desperate for some inspiration, so I thought I would post it up anyway!

Many of these suggestions are free!

1. Swim in an outdoor pool.

You could investigate rivers, reservoirs, lakes or canals with towpaths as this will be a new landscape for your child to take in, e.g.:

Fleet Pond

Frensham Ponds

Basingstoke Canal

Lido’s in Hampshire

Splash pools

Or you could just play in the water at Festival Place (the big green phalic things!! lol) or check out the baby swimming pool and the stepping stones in Eastrop Park.

There is also a new splash park which was opened in May 2016, near the Spotlight centre. We are hoping to visit it soon!

2. Walk through the Woods

A trip to the woods can also be exciting – see the woodland trusts nature trails for inspiration – or bike rides. Don’t forget to check out my Basing Wood, Farleigh Mount, Basing Lime Pits, Micheldever Wood and Alice Holt reviews.

3. Visit an Ice Cream shop

We have some friends who live in Birmingham which has a fantastic ice cream parlour in the city centre. We always make a trip here, as the children really enjoy it. It’s become a bit of a tradition.

Sundaes Gelato is in Basingstoke and is perfect for an ice cream or sorbet!

4. Fly a kite

Crabtree has to be the best place for this in Basingstoke.

5. Pretend to be a pirate

My little one is obsessed with pirates at the moment. When she’s bigger, we hope to take her to the Historic shipyard in Portsmouth.

She was christened on HMS Victory, so I want to see if they have finally sorted out her plaque!

6. Play ball games

I never realised how much fun you can have with a football till my little one started kicking one!

7. Go on a bear hunt (or a Gruffalo hunt if your little one has read the book)

We are very lucky because we live very close to some little wooded areas which are perfect for bear hunting.

If you don’t live close to some wooded areas, have a look at this post HERE.

8. Go to a Country show

You may be just in time for the New Forest Show this year (it was in July), but maybe something to think about for next year.

It’s a great opportunity to see shiny tractors, lovely animals and yummy things to buy and eat. Or check out some other country shows that are coming up HERE.

9. Go to the Zoo.

Marwell is probably the closest zoo to us, but I went to London Zoo in April 2014 when she was three years old with my little one and can thoroughly recommend this too. Just don’t walk it from Waterloo like we did!

10. Sleep under the stars

We are going camping next weekend and I’m looking forward to doing this!

11. Build a sandcastle or have a sand Castle Competitions

Fleet Pond

Frensham Ponds

Or go to the Beach! The Nearest “Beaches” to Basingstoke are Fleet Pond on the way to Fleet and Frensham Pond, just past Farnham. Otherwise, head to West Wittering, which is great for toddlers.

12. Run through the sprinkler

Not particularly environmentally friendly, but great fun!!!

13. Create your own perfume

I was obsessed with doing this when I was about 8 years old. All I needed was a jar with a lid, some water and a rose bush. My poor parents had to clean out the remnants! lol

14. Roast some marshmallows

“Burning Nights” are a big thing in our house. We have a chiminea and Miss NHM loves it because we can roast marshmallows over it. We recently learnt something new about counting to “50” after you’ve roasted your marshamallow to ensure you don’t get burnt.

15. Go on a train adventure

For a proper train adventure, check out the Watercress Line or Exbury Gardens and Steam Train. Otherwise, just a trip from Basingstoke to Winchester or Farnborough will probably be exciting for little ones.

16. Rainy day card making

Click HERE for some ideas

17. Explore art and music

There are lots of music classes in the area or maybe just a trip to the Anvil or the Haymarket will be inspiring.

18. Learn a new language

Borrow some books in a different language from the library. There are even children’s books in different languages at the Basingstoke Discovery Centre.

Or maybe investigate Linguatastic, the local language school.

19. Fruit Picking – Local Pick Your Own’s

Check out my previous post on local Pick Your Own farms HERE.

20. Climbing Trees

Basing Wood is perfect for climbing trees.

21. Painting Rocks

I want to do this next year with my little one, as I think it will make less mess then! lol.

22. Have a BBQ

You can’t beat a BBQ in summer! Check HERE for a previous post about outdoor BBQ facilities in the area.

23. Daisy Chains

All you need is an area with daisies in. Hours of fun!

24. Go to a farm

Try Finkley Down Farm, Miller’s Ark, Manydown and Bucklebury Farm.

Don’t miss out on future posts like this – you can receive updates directly to your inbox by email by adding your email address to the box on the top right of this page and hitting subscribe. You can also follow NorthHantsMum onTwitter,Google+,Facebook Page, Facebook Profile, LinkedIn and Feedly. I hope to see you there! 

11 Songs and Rhymes for Babies and Toddlers

Posted by Louise NorthHantsMum on in Babies, Games, Toddlers 0 Comment

Nobody warned me that once you have a child you have to suddenly start singing and be good at Nursery Rhymes! I’ve had to borrow some books from the library to learn the words of rhymes that I knew as a child but had forgotten since then.

I have been so amazed at how quickly my little one picked up trying to do the actions and copy the sounds. Watching her singing/speech develop has been so awesome.

1. Pat a Cake

2. Round and Round the Garden (my little one used to giggle at about 4 months old when she was sung this)

3. The Wheels on the Bus (a particular favourite in our house as the actions keep our little one occupied so she doesnt try to crawl/sprint off the changing mat. She started doing the sounds when she was about 9 months old)

4. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

5. Baa Baa Black Sheep (My little one started signing this week and can get as far as “Baa baa blaaaa sssss”)

6. The incy wincy spider

7. I’m a little teapot

8. Old Macdonald had a farm (We sing this on the way to Nursery. Great to keep my little one occupied when she’s in her car seat)

9. If you’re happy and you know it

10. Wind the bobbin up

11. Row, row, row your boat

Row, row, row your boat, extra lyrics:

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
If you see a crocodile
Don’t forget to scream

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the river
If you see a polar bear
Don’t forget to shiver

Row, row, row your boat
Gently to the shore
If you see a lion
Don’t forget to roar

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the creek
If you see a little mouse
Don’t forget to squeak

Row, row, row your boat
Across the reservoir
If you see a farmer
Stop and say ooo-arrr

Row, row, row your boat
All across the puddle
If you see your mummy there
Give her a lovely cuddle

Row, row, row your boat
In your bubble bath
If you see a spider/ tall giraffe
Don’t forget to laugh

Row, row, row your boat
Gently to the beach
If you see a dinosaur
Don’t forget to screech

Row, row, row your boat
Gently up the brook
If you catch a little fish
Let it off the hook

  • Row, row, row your boat
  • Gently to the lake
  • If you see something green
  • It’s probably a snake (Mr NHM made this one up! lol)

Row, row, row your boat
Out into the bay
If you see a pirate ship
Sail the other way

Rock, rock, rock your boat
Gently to and fro
Watch out, give a shout….
into the water we go… SPLASH!