It's funny how different each of my babies have been. Noah needed to be fed to sleep, Jude liked to be cuddled to sleep, but Essie? Well, she is my little miss independent! She likes to be put down after a feed and she likes it to be dark and quiet, then she'll suck her thumb and drift off to sleep. It's amazing having a baby who barely seems to need me, when her brothers were so needy by comparison. I feel somewhat redundant! 

Baby Loves: The Gro Company Ollie the Owl Sleep Aid | Review

It's funny how different each of my babies have been. Noah needed to be fed to sleep, Jude liked to be cuddled to sleep, but Essie? Well, she is my little miss independent! She likes to be put down after a feed and she likes it to be dark and quiet, then she'll suck her thumb and drift off to sleep. It's amazing having a baby who barely seems to need me, when her brothers were so needy by comparison. I feel somewhat redundant! 

Welcome to Happy Days!  Katy and I host this linky with the purpose of inspiring you to make the most of each day, no matter what you've been up to, and to find happiness in every day. It's where I share the little moments that have brought me joy.



Happy Days: Summer & Smoothies

Welcome to Happy Days!  Katy and I host this linky with the purpose of inspiring you to make the most of each day, no matter what you've been up to, and to find happiness in every day. It's where I share the little moments that have brought me joy.



One of the most exciting things about this summer so far as been the release of Despicable Me 3, the latest movie featuring the adventures of Gru, Lucy, Margo, Edith and Agnes - and, of course, the Minions! Both Noah and Jude are huge fans, especially Noah, and they had been waiting excitedly for months to see the new film. Ian made their wish come true by taking them to see it at the start of the school holidays and to continue the Minion-mayhem throughout the summer they were sent a big bundle of Despicable Me 3 merchandise to enjoy! 

Summer Fun with #DespicableMe3!

One of the most exciting things about this summer so far as been the release of Despicable Me 3, the latest movie featuring the adventures of Gru, Lucy, Margo, Edith and Agnes - and, of course, the Minions! Both Noah and Jude are huge fans, especially Noah, and they had been waiting excitedly for months to see the new film. Ian made their wish come true by taking them to see it at the start of the school holidays and to continue the Minion-mayhem throughout the summer they were sent a big bundle of Despicable Me 3 merchandise to enjoy! 

Life with a new baby has been a busy and sometimes overwhelming time, especially with two more young, lively children tearing through the house like bulls in a china shop! I don't have the luxury of being able to hold and cuddle Essie all day long, so having a comfortable place to put her down and know that she is safe is essential. Summer Infant sent me their new Laid Back Lounger to review and it has been invaluable in helping me when I need a hands-free moment! 

Baby Loves: Summer Infant Laid Back Lounger | Review

Life with a new baby has been a busy and sometimes overwhelming time, especially with two more young, lively children tearing through the house like bulls in a china shop! I don't have the luxury of being able to hold and cuddle Essie all day long, so having a comfortable place to put her down and know that she is safe is essential. Summer Infant sent me their new Laid Back Lounger to review and it has been invaluable in helping me when I need a hands-free moment! 

Welcome to Happy Days!  Katy and I host this linky with the purpose of inspiring you to make the most of each day, no matter what you've been up to, and to find happiness in every day. It's where I share the little moments that have brought me joy.


Happy Days: Girly Time & Summer Puddles

Welcome to Happy Days!  Katy and I host this linky with the purpose of inspiring you to make the most of each day, no matter what you've been up to, and to find happiness in every day. It's where I share the little moments that have brought me joy.


Welcome to Happy Days!  Katy and I host this linky with the purpose of inspiring you to make the most of each day, no matter what you've been up to, and to find happiness in every day. It's where I share the little moments that have brought me joy.

Happy Days: Full Hands & A Full Heart

Welcome to Happy Days!  Katy and I host this linky with the purpose of inspiring you to make the most of each day, no matter what you've been up to, and to find happiness in every day. It's where I share the little moments that have brought me joy.

Press release

On Thursday 17th August, discount supermarket Aldi’s hugely popular Baby and Toddler Event returns to stores across the UK! Returning for a third time this year, there is an amazing selection of products and new launches on sale at unbeatable prices for your little tots, including food, clothing, toys and nursery items.

Aldi Baby & Toddler Event returns to stores August 2017!

Press release

On Thursday 17th August, discount supermarket Aldi’s hugely popular Baby and Toddler Event returns to stores across the UK! Returning for a third time this year, there is an amazing selection of products and new launches on sale at unbeatable prices for your little tots, including food, clothing, toys and nursery items.

Essie turning three months old has been quite an emotional point in her little life for me. She isn't a newborn anymore. I no longer have a newborn baby and I'll never have a newborn baby again. It might seem silly and trivial - and believe me, I know I am so very, very lucky - but it's still a bittersweet milestone in my wonderful journey through motherhood. 

Essie at 3 Months Old

Essie turning three months old has been quite an emotional point in her little life for me. She isn't a newborn anymore. I no longer have a newborn baby and I'll never have a newborn baby again. It might seem silly and trivial - and believe me, I know I am so very, very lucky - but it's still a bittersweet milestone in my wonderful journey through motherhood. 

Essie is really fond of background noise while she naps during the day; it seems to help her sleep better by blocking out the sounds of her big brothers playing and the noise of me pottering about doing the housework. She's has a few different sleep aids and lullaby toys now and her latest one is the Fisher-Price Hippo Projection Soother which was sent to us to review. 


The Fisher-Price Hippo Projection Soother is a light projector which shines stars overhead on the ceiling and walls, as well as playing different calming lullabies and nature sounds. There are three buttons plus an on/off switch. One button activates the nature sounds and white noise, the second button turns on the overhead starlight projection and the third button activates the lullabies. You can use the buttons to scroll through the sounds to the one that you want and then it will rotate through them all continuously for 30 minutes or until you turn it off. The overhead starlight projection stays on for five minutes before turning itself off. 


The soother has a cuddly soft head and legs to help create a comforting bedtime or naptime routine and it is suitable for use from birth. I don't like to keep anything inside Essie's crib and find that it is better to have the soother placed on a surface nearby so that the stars can be projected above and she can hear the soothing music. She finds the stars so fascinating to look at, she seems completely mesmerised by them! 


I find that the 30 minutes of music is about right for her to settle with, but it would be better if the light could stay on longer as it would make such a lovely nightlight. You can't change the volume on this soother but I find that it is just about the right level for us and it has a soft start/stop so that Essie isn't startled by it being turned on and off. I also use this as a tummy time toy during the day with Essie as she seems to find the hippo's face and the pattern on its feet interesting to look at! 

This Fisher-Price Soother costs £22.99 and is also available in blue. It requires 3 x AA batteries which aren't included, so don't forget to pick those up too!


With thanks to Fisher-Price for sending us this soother to review.

Baby Loves: Fisher-Price Hippo Projection Soother

Essie is really fond of background noise while she naps during the day; it seems to help her sleep better by blocking out the sounds of her big brothers playing and the noise of me pottering about doing the housework. She's has a few different sleep aids and lullaby toys now and her latest one is the Fisher-Price Hippo Projection Soother which was sent to us to review. 


The Fisher-Price Hippo Projection Soother is a light projector which shines stars overhead on the ceiling and walls, as well as playing different calming lullabies and nature sounds. There are three buttons plus an on/off switch. One button activates the nature sounds and white noise, the second button turns on the overhead starlight projection and the third button activates the lullabies. You can use the buttons to scroll through the sounds to the one that you want and then it will rotate through them all continuously for 30 minutes or until you turn it off. The overhead starlight projection stays on for five minutes before turning itself off. 


The soother has a cuddly soft head and legs to help create a comforting bedtime or naptime routine and it is suitable for use from birth. I don't like to keep anything inside Essie's crib and find that it is better to have the soother placed on a surface nearby so that the stars can be projected above and she can hear the soothing music. She finds the stars so fascinating to look at, she seems completely mesmerised by them! 


I find that the 30 minutes of music is about right for her to settle with, but it would be better if the light could stay on longer as it would make such a lovely nightlight. You can't change the volume on this soother but I find that it is just about the right level for us and it has a soft start/stop so that Essie isn't startled by it being turned on and off. I also use this as a tummy time toy during the day with Essie as she seems to find the hippo's face and the pattern on its feet interesting to look at! 

This Fisher-Price Soother costs £22.99 and is also available in blue. It requires 3 x AA batteries which aren't included, so don't forget to pick those up too!


With thanks to Fisher-Price for sending us this soother to review.
Back in June I announced that I was teaming up with Graco as one of their UK Generation Graco bloggers for 2017 - exciting! At the launch event I got to take a peek at some of the products I'll be trying out and straight away I spotted the Graco Evo Avant Breton Stripe pushchair. I'm a huge lover of stripes; you've probably seen the photos of the boys and I in our matching stripes, and my stripy bump photos all the way through my last pregnancy! I immediately fell in love with the pushchair so, like the character from Little Britain, I said to the Graco team, "I want that one!" A few days later my very own stripy pushchair had arrived, along with a Graco SnugRide i-Size car seat to complete the travel system.

Review: Graco Evo Avant Pushchair & SnugRide i-Size Baby Car Seat

Back in June I announced that I was teaming up with Graco as one of their UK Generation Graco bloggers for 2017 - exciting! At the launch event I got to take a peek at some of the products I'll be trying out and straight away I spotted the Graco Evo Avant Breton Stripe pushchair. I'm a huge lover of stripes; you've probably seen the photos of the boys and I in our matching stripes, and my stripy bump photos all the way through my last pregnancy! I immediately fell in love with the pushchair so, like the character from Little Britain, I said to the Graco team, "I want that one!" A few days later my very own stripy pushchair had arrived, along with a Graco SnugRide i-Size car seat to complete the travel system.

Whenever we tell anyone Essie's name we always receive lots of wonderfully positive comments. People tell us how pretty and unusual a name it is. And we totally agree, it is such a gorgeous name! But unlike her brothers, there is a story behind Essie's name. We didn't choose it just because we loved it, which is why we chose Noah and Jude. There is something a little extra special behind our baby girl's name...

What's in a name? The story behind Essie's name...

Whenever we tell anyone Essie's name we always receive lots of wonderfully positive comments. People tell us how pretty and unusual a name it is. And we totally agree, it is such a gorgeous name! But unlike her brothers, there is a story behind Essie's name. We didn't choose it just because we loved it, which is why we chose Noah and Jude. There is something a little extra special behind our baby girl's name...

Yes, this is a post all about a nappy bin! But hear me out: it's actually a really useful and convenient baby product to have. Cheeky Rascals sent it to us as part of a bundle of baby goodies to help us adjust to life with a new baby again. A nappy bin might not seem the most exciting thing in the nursery but I think this Korbell one is great!


Korbell nappy bins are a hands-free way of binning your nappies! There are three sizes of bin available: the Mini 9 litre bin which holds up to 25 nappies at a time, the Standard 15/16 litre bin which holds up to 45 nappies at a time, and the 26 litre Plus bin which holds up to 65 nappies at a time. The Standard bin comes in four different colours (white, grey, pink or blue) while the Mini and Plus bins come in white.

I chose the Standard Korbell nappy bin in white, because white goes with everything! It stands at just over 56cm tall and just over 34cm wide, so slightly taller than a regular bathroom bin. It's a stylish design and looks so much nicer than other nappy bins; I find that most others tend to look a bit cheap and as if they won't actually be any good at keeping smells locked away, so I had never used one before.

Originally I had the nappy bin in our bedroom but Essie doesn't tend to poop at night anymore so I've moved it downstairs into our living room. It's tucked away discreetly behind the door and I don't think people would notice it if they weren't looking for it.


The nappy bin uses scented biodegradable liners to hold the nappies and trap bad smells. The lid is opened using the foot pedal at the bottom of the bin then the nappies can be dropped through the inner flap. The inner flap is lockable so creates a double seal to keep odours inside. And also stop pesky toddlers throwing toys and keys away! It really does do a good job at locking the bad smells away; I never smell a thing until it's time to empty the bin.

Emptying the Korbell nappy bin is so simple. As I mentioned, it uses liners rather than bin bags. The bin comes with a free roll already fitted. All you have to do is open the front of the bin and pull the liner across the little cutter that is built into the inside of the door. Then tie a knot in the bottom of the liner to create your next bag. Close the door and the Korbell nappy bin is ready to use again!


Korbell say that a roll of liners should last for 10-11 weeks based on seven nappy changes a day. Ours lasted much longer as we use a mix of reusable and disposable nappies, so aren't throwing away as many nappies as most other households would do. I actually want to see if I can work out a way of using it as a nappy bin for cloth nappies, perhaps by fitting a mesh liner somehow, as I'm now choosing cloth nappies over disposables more often. Either way, once the nappy days are over the bin can be used as a normal pedal bin using standard bin liners so it will last well beyond the baby years!

The Standard Korbell Nappy Bin costs £29.99 and you can find it here.



With thanks to Cheeky Rascals for sending us a Korbell Nappy Bin to review.

Review: Korbell Nappy Bin

Yes, this is a post all about a nappy bin! But hear me out: it's actually a really useful and convenient baby product to have. Cheeky Rascals sent it to us as part of a bundle of baby goodies to help us adjust to life with a new baby again. A nappy bin might not seem the most exciting thing in the nursery but I think this Korbell one is great!


Korbell nappy bins are a hands-free way of binning your nappies! There are three sizes of bin available: the Mini 9 litre bin which holds up to 25 nappies at a time, the Standard 15/16 litre bin which holds up to 45 nappies at a time, and the 26 litre Plus bin which holds up to 65 nappies at a time. The Standard bin comes in four different colours (white, grey, pink or blue) while the Mini and Plus bins come in white.

I chose the Standard Korbell nappy bin in white, because white goes with everything! It stands at just over 56cm tall and just over 34cm wide, so slightly taller than a regular bathroom bin. It's a stylish design and looks so much nicer than other nappy bins; I find that most others tend to look a bit cheap and as if they won't actually be any good at keeping smells locked away, so I had never used one before.

Originally I had the nappy bin in our bedroom but Essie doesn't tend to poop at night anymore so I've moved it downstairs into our living room. It's tucked away discreetly behind the door and I don't think people would notice it if they weren't looking for it.


The nappy bin uses scented biodegradable liners to hold the nappies and trap bad smells. The lid is opened using the foot pedal at the bottom of the bin then the nappies can be dropped through the inner flap. The inner flap is lockable so creates a double seal to keep odours inside. And also stop pesky toddlers throwing toys and keys away! It really does do a good job at locking the bad smells away; I never smell a thing until it's time to empty the bin.

Emptying the Korbell nappy bin is so simple. As I mentioned, it uses liners rather than bin bags. The bin comes with a free roll already fitted. All you have to do is open the front of the bin and pull the liner across the little cutter that is built into the inside of the door. Then tie a knot in the bottom of the liner to create your next bag. Close the door and the Korbell nappy bin is ready to use again!


Korbell say that a roll of liners should last for 10-11 weeks based on seven nappy changes a day. Ours lasted much longer as we use a mix of reusable and disposable nappies, so aren't throwing away as many nappies as most other households would do. I actually want to see if I can work out a way of using it as a nappy bin for cloth nappies, perhaps by fitting a mesh liner somehow, as I'm now choosing cloth nappies over disposables more often. Either way, once the nappy days are over the bin can be used as a normal pedal bin using standard bin liners so it will last well beyond the baby years!

The Standard Korbell Nappy Bin costs £29.99 and you can find it here.



With thanks to Cheeky Rascals for sending us a Korbell Nappy Bin to review.
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