Last Valentines day, was a good one for me. I was a new mum, I had this new found love for my husband after he cared for us exclusively for the first few weeks of Luke's life.
I went back through the years, and dug up my last post about Valentines Day (you can find it here). Pizza and beer has been mine and Greg's tradition since day dot. This will be our 7th Valentines together (wow..) and I can't see the tradition breaking now!
Well.. Apart from now we both won't be drinking nearly as much as we will be looking after Luke.. And I am sure we will share the pizza with him, too!
Valentines is definitely the season of giving.. And as you all know, myself and Luke are a little obsessed with MAM UK products.. SO, I have teamed up with MAM UK to do another soother giveaway! We are giving away an exclusive MAM Style Soother with Valentines in mind!
All you have to do is head over to my Instagram page (here) for how to win!
GOOD LUCK!
In the mean time, check out the gorgeous Valentine inspired Style Soothers on their website and receive 20% off with the code "LOVE20"!
This week is MAM Oral Care Week! YAY! MAM have some fantastic products to help look after your little one's mouth.
Go to the store here and enter "ORALCARE25" for 25% off oral care and teethers! (excluding MAM Friends)
For your chance to win a teether of choice, keep reading!
Oral care is so important for your little one. I always thought that it was simple when you had a baby. They don't have any teeth, so why do I need to worry about their oral care?? Ohh Rowan, how wrong can you be?
When Luke's first tooth came through, I was so excited. I had the toothbrush at the ready! Luke had other plans. He would not let me brush his tooth. In fact, if the toothbrush went near him, he would gag and clamp his jaw shut. Even when he started to accept the toothbrush (just holding it though..) he would scream if it went near his mouth. Oh man.
His first tooth came through on the 1st August, followed by the second on the 12th August. Two adorable bottom teeth to take care of - but no way of him allowing me! So I tried to make it fun. I let him basically just have one toothbrush at all times, and showed him throughout the day, every day, how to brush his teeth. Eventually, it worked! Now, if I hand him his brush, he brushes his teeth (and then I step in and make sure they are sparkling!).
Growing up, my baby teeth were a real problem. I had an addiction to fruit juice in a bottle and would not let my parents brush my teeth. The result? Painful tooth extractions and adult teeth growing where they shouldn't. This really motivated me to make sure that Luke would never have this problem. But where to start..
MAM have some incredible products to ensure your baby has the best oral care from day one. I honestly could not recommend them more.
This product can be used from BIRTH! Yes, birth! It is so important to keep gums clean.
This is a product I am so glad I had before Luke's teeth came through. I was a bit late to the party though, and got it when he was about 4-5 months old. It helped him get used to having his gums brushed. And when he refused the toothbrush at first, this helped keep his brand new little tooth clean!
You simply put the ears over your fingers and gently rub over the baby gums!
I do let Luke just hold and chew this too. He loves it.
MAM Bite and Relax (Phase 2)
Hands up if your baby started teething ridiculously early, but no teeth appeared for a while?!
Luke started teething at about 7-8 weeks. It was hell! He would chew everything, mainly blankets, and cry all the time. He was too young for pain relief and only just old enough for a tiny dose of teething powder which didn't work for long.
I bought a couple of teethers to relieve him, but the issue I had was sterilising them. I threw them in the steriliser and then... Well and then what?! How was I supposed to take them with me and keep them clean? I actually resorted to putting them in a sterilised bottle, which meant more to carry.
These teethers come with a sterilisble case - YES! YOU READ THAT RIGHT!! Just like the MAM Soothers, you can sterilise this teether in the microwave in the case, and take it with you. The case keeps them sterile for 48 hours.
Luke chews on every part of this teether. I attach it to one of our soother clips and he favours it over his soother!
MAM also sell the Bite and Relax Phase 1 from 2+ months - it also comes in a sterilisable case and you can find it here.
MAM Friends
Meet Bob and Lucy. They are Luke's MAM Friends.
They are made of 100% natural rubber, making them 100% baby safe.
These guys are brilliant. Luke actually talks to them - not too sure what he is saying, but he looks right at their little eyes and talks! After he has had a nice long chat with them, he tries to eat them. Just as well they are perfect for this!
Both can be secured onto a dummy clip so Luke can take them everywhere with him (and I don't have to worry about them getting lost!). Luke points and pokes the little bumps and patterns and found them incredibly easy to pick up from very early on. They are extremely squidgy with no squeek - that means I don't have to worry about stepping on one when Luke is in bed - result!
These can't be sterilised, but I personally just give them a quick once over with the bottle brush and some antibacterial washing up liquid and dry them thoroughly.
Lucy is suitable from 2+ months and can be found here.
Max is suitable from 4+ months and can be found here.
Ellie is suitable from 4+ months and can be found here.
Bob is suitable from 5+ months and can be found here.
MAM Massaging Brush
The MAM Massaging Brush is a life saver. When Luke's gums are causing him pain, the last thing he wants me to do is brush his teeth. The MAM Massaging Brush not only cleans his existing teeth and gums, it brings a great deal of comfort to those sore gums!
One thing I adore about the MAM Massaging Brush is that it is long - long enough for Luke to hold, and still room for me to help!
MAM Learn to Brush Set
This brush set does exactly what it says on the tin. It helped Luke learn to brush his own teeth, and hugely helped my piece of mind at the same time!
Like the other one, the MAM Learn to Brush Set comes with a long brush. Luke can hold this and I can help him! The smaller brush is perfect for little hands.
The reason this brush saved my piece of mind is that little round plastic piece that comes with the brushes. This clips around the neck of the brush to stop Luke from shoving the whole brush down his throat! It is such a fab idea and it really works. Luke cannot take it off which is even better! He uses it as a handle, too.
The Giveaway is now closed!!
MAM have kindly offered a fantastic prize of a choice of teether from their website! The range can be found here. Giveaway closes on 20th October 2017 (winner selected and announced on the 21st). All you have to do is enter below! a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good Luck!! The fine print: MAM have sent me this product for the purpose of review. All views are my own. The giveaway is for UK residents only and will be drawn at random on the 21st October2017
A few posts ago, you would have seen that one of my essentials for every baby are MAM bottles - we love them! Since that post, MAM have got in touch and sent me some soothers for Luke to review, and asked us to hold a giveaway! Here is the verdict, and giveaway details below..
The characters on these are totally adorable - a Rhino and a Lion! Luke loves animals and I have always bought vibrant soothers with animals or characters on them.
The MAM Crystal Soothers are my favourites because they are so bright and cheerful. Every single pattern I have seen has been fun and I love the shiny finish!
Luke has a habit of scraping his two (and only) bottom teeth along the patterns of these soothers - and the patterns have not shifted! I am more than impressed. I expected the finish to at least wear, but it hasn't!
MAM Nature Soothers As Luke was born on Christmas Day, I adore the winter patterns on these. I LOVE them! Luke is currently obsessed with dogs - not overly sure why as we don't have one! But he has pointed to the fox on the blue soother and waved a few times, just like he does with dogs. It is incredibly sweet!
I have grown a strange attachment to these soothers. Part of me only wants to take these ones with us when we leave the house, but the other part of me doesn't want to risk loosing them!
Again - the finish on these is fab and hasn't worn at all, despite Luke trying to eat them.
Why we love these soothers..! The shape of these soothers are the best. Other brands have a different shape to them and from very early on, Luke just didn't get them. The MAM Soothers, he just took to immediately.
This is probably because the teats are incredibly soft and the soothers fit so perfectly in his mouth. With other soothers, he seems to really struggle to keep a hold of it in his mouth - he even pulls them out and looks at them with a really puzzled look on his face.
Luke has never been that good at putting his soother back in his own mouth until these - I think it is because the back is perfect size for Luke to hold. He always holds one in his hand.
We always keep a stash around the house, the car, the changing bag.. The fact that they come in a box that you can throw in the microwave and sterilise them in, seals the deal for me!
The Giveaway is now closed! MAM have kindly offered a fantastic prize of a choice of soother from their website! The range can be found here. Giveaway closes on 28th September 2017 (winner selected and announced on the 29th). All you have to do is enter below!
Good luck! The fine print: MAM have sent me this product for the purpose of review. All views are my own. The giveaway is for UK residents only and will be drawn at random on the 29th September 2017
Hey all - you might remember my post, "Personalised?", well since then, I got my items through the post - you have got to check these out!!
Wrappz are just amazing - the process is so simple and easy to use. Let me tell you about my experience..
So, first of all, I needed a new look for my iPad - so I took full advantage of their Skins. However, I hit a total wall when it came to the design! Luckily, as I said in my last post, they have a gallery full of designs you can use - and there is so much to choose from! When I stumbled across these monsters, I needed them in my life. I added my blog name to the bottom too. The result...
It was so easy to apply and it looks great!
This is how I received the skins in the post
HOW cute?!?!
Because the people at Wrappz are so generous - they are giving all of my readers a FREE Skin for your phone or tablet! All you have to pay is postage.
Second up - this was something I could not resist. I saw this design when I was trying to figure out what I wanted on my Skin and I loved it! I was wracking my brains as to what I could get that would do this justice.. So I chose a tea towel!!
I love tea towels - you can never have too many!!
How adorable is this? It is such great quality - and part of me doesn't want to use it as a tea towel.. I want to frame it in a big glass frame!!
The 20% off for all of my readers is still valid with the code "FBFAN20" so please do check it out!
Let me know what you get :)
Disclosure: Paid post - all opinions stated in this post are my own. I only post reviews about products that I am passionate about and think you should all know about! Thank you for reading :)
I am a total sucker for phone cases. I have so many, mainly because I am so fussy. They have to be exactly what I want! That is why I got so excited when I discovered Wrappz!
They are an incredible company that personalise all the things in life that need personalising! What really caught my eye was their phone cases. They cater for Apple, BlackBerry, Google, HTC, LG, Samsung AND Sony phones! How amazing?? All you have to do is design your perfect case, upload it to the site and taaahdah! They even allow you to import pictures from your social media accounts (Facebook and Instagram).
I really enjoyed playing around with the design as it is so easy to do - it did however make me want to get 10!
On the site, they have a gallery of other peoples designs, just in case you get an artistic block. You can also add text!
Now, the other things they do are well worth checking out too! They do laptop skins, photo cushions, wall art, mugs, and more!
They are offering all of my readers 20% off with this code "FBFAN20"
1. Select what type of phone you have (make and model)
2. Choose your case template
3. Select "Start Design"
4. Do your thaaaang
5. Finish and pay!
When my gorgeous case gets here, I will share it with you all!
Disclosure: all opinions stated in this post are my own. I only post reviews about products that I am passionate about and think you should all know about! Thank you for reading :)
Now, being English - I LOVE TEA! So, I thought it was only fitting that I do a give away relating to tea! I know that a lot of you that read my blog are in fact from the USA, so I have decided to make this one available to the USA too! More info about the giveaway will be at the end of the post.
The key to good tea:
A good mug I have so many, but all of them are selected because they are nice to drink out of and look good too
A good, clean kettle If you live in an area that has hard water, your kettle will get full of limescale. Other than descaling your kettle, the best way to prevent this is to empty water that has not been used, but has been boiled and start fresh. I never boil the same water twice. It doesn't taste as good!
Filtered water Filtered water prevents limescale and tastes a lot better
Water at the right temperature One thing I have found is that some people don't make their tea with water that is hot enough. I always make sure the water I use for tea is boiling or as close to boiling as possible! (Obviously, be super careful)
Brewing the tea Tea needs to be brewed. I personally hate the tea bag being kept in the water. Saying that, with some herbal teas, I do leave the bag in. With black teas, it does have an impact on the taste and makes it too strong or even a little gritty.
Now, let me talk you through my favourite teas and how I drink them...
My all time favourite tea is made by Tesco. It is their Vanilla Chai. This is the tea I drink all day, every day! My mum is also addicted because it is soooooo good!
This tea smells deliciously sweet and spicy - but I don't think it tastes sweet. As I don't take sugar in tea or coffee - it is perfect! Let this one brew - I leave it for 2-3 minutes to brew, then I add a little milk - done! I always have this in a big cup :)
Cup Cake Tea's Sweet Banana Honey
Sadly, I cannot find a website for them anywhere - do let me know if you have! I see these in TK Maxx all the time - which is where I got them from!
This is a nice black tea with the most gentle honey scent - I personally cannot actually smell or taste banana. Although the packaging says to brew for 2 minutes, I feel this is too long - I leave it for about 1 minute, then I add just a drop of milk to it - it is just so yummy! I also find that the Cup Cake Tea's are nicer in a small cup - no idea why - obviously just my crazy preference!
Cup Cake Tea's Strawberry Cream! Also got from TK Maxx.
This is also a black tea with quite a strong strawberry scent. This one I like to brew for around 3 minutes. It smells so creamy - it is great with and without milk. The taste is just incredible, like strawberry cream cupcakes (ironically..!)! Now this is a sweet tea - so if you do take sugar, taste it first!
Cup Cake Tea's Chocolate Mint. Also from TK Maxx!
This is kind of a herbal tea. I say kind of because it has got chocolate in the title! It literally smells like mint chocolate - like an After Eight! I let this brew for about 3 minutes - I like mint teas strong and this tea doesn't really get too strong - but it is lovely! The after taste of this is very chocolatey but not too in your face. It is quite nice after a meal when you don't have a pudding!
Cup Cake Tea's Vanilla Cherry, guess what? Also from TK Maxx!
Now this tea is odd - I love it, but it is odd. Now this black tea, when it is brewing has a horrible smell to it. Almost fish like! Let it brew for 2-3 minutes and add a little milk then taaahdah! You have a yummy vanilla cherry tea!
Twinings Spicy Chai!
This tea is just amazing. There isn't a single thing about it that I don't love! This smells spicy and amazing. This doesn't need to brew for too long for the flavour to be there - but I recommend a 3 minute brew, then a little milk. YUM!
Twinings Camomile and Maple!
Now I normally don't like Camomile tea. I think it tastes of flowers..! But this, tastes like pancakes and fills the room with an amazing scent! I leave this to brew for as long as possible - in fact, I normally leave the bag in the cup as I drink it!
Clipper After Diner Mint
This is my favourite mint tea - it is so yummy! I leave the bag in with this one :) Not much to say about this one - nice and simple!
PG's Vanilla Redbush
I love redbush tea - it is so great with or without milk and it smells amazing! This tea is so good. I love vanilla tea - it is brilliant! This is great with milk and left to brew for about 3-4 minutes.
SO! Now for the give away! I am giving away each of the teas I have sampled (and some added surprises!) - and I will send these to who wins - despite your location! There will also be a small runner up prize :) All you have to do is to comment on this post with your favourite tea and why! Can't comment on here? I will take a Facebook/Twitter comment happily - links on homepage :) Make sure you include an email address or a way for me to get in touch if you are the winner! The winner will be drawn at random on the 31st March - good luck! Disclosure: all opinions stated in this post are my own. I only post reviews about products that I am passionate about and think you should all know about! Thank you for reading :)
