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Raisie Bay

So Long Ago

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Here is my first born as a tiny baby.
It’s not very good quality as it was taken from a cine film recording which had been transferred to CD.

The video was taken by my older brother 24 years ago.

This picture shows my baby Craig, my mum who passed away Christmas day 2008, and Gordon the Gopher (remember him? and Philip Schofield) Gordon is being ‘worked’ by my younger brother who passed away New Year 2009. 
I only found the video last year and it gave me 4 minutes and 24 seconds of beautiful precious memories that mean so much. 
So maybe not the clearest, cutest or funniest of baby pictures, but one that means the world to me and now I’m sharing it with you. 
“This blog post has been written as an entry into the Tots100 competition in association with Boots Mother and Baby“

Would I Change My Children?

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I wrote a post on another blog about a tv program I had watched
about autism. It was in the Extreme Love series with Louis Theroux.
One of the questions that I was faced with after watching the program was would I wish my children to be different. My eldest son has Aspergers Syndrome, he was diagnosed at the age of 12 and he is now 24yrs. My 7 yr old daughter also has high functioning autism, she was diagnosed last summer. They are both verbal and live relatively normal lives. My son is currently in his third year of an accountancy degree. My daughter is in yr 3 and if she does as well as her big brother then I will be happy.
I can ring the changes in my two autistic children’s lives. With my son I found it hard to accept he was different, that’s why he was diagnosed so late. Sadly we got to the stage where I had to cry for help, even though it had been offered to me before and I’d rejected it. The most difficult years were from where my husband left us (my son was 9yrs old) to mid teens (about 16) My son was hard to control, violent, angry, un-cooperative and generally difficult. He couldn’t understand what was happening and neither could I. I didn’t handle any of it very well and I’ll put my hands up to that. It’s not been plain sailing since then, but things have improved and mostly my son is a wonderful, caring person. He’s different, yes, but he’s a good person who is trying to find his way in a complicated world. We are getting there slowly, I just hope he makes it. I used to fret that he didn’t have girlfriends, or even friends. I worried that he would never find a job. I accepted that he’d probably be living at home for all his life. Sometimes I see a glimmer of hope, a sense of change, a wistful thought that maybe things will be different for him in the future. Would I change him?
My daughter is about to face her most difficult years. Being in mainstream school with other children emphasises her differences. I hate seeing her sad because she doesn’t understand the rules of friendship. I know with a sinking heart that life is just going to get harder for her. The choices I face are keeping her in a mainstream school or finding her somewhere else to continue her education. With my son Mainstream didn’t work and he was transferred, it took a look time for him to catch up with his education but he persevered in the end. He did, however, find life much easier in his new school.
So would I change her?
Such a difficult question and one I can’t really answer with conviction. Yes, of course it would be easier if my children did not have autism, easier for me and for them. Life can be difficult for autistic children and adults, but hopefully with more awareness the future could be better. It would be nice to think my children will lead lives just like anyone else, get married, have children of their own, have jobs, all the things other people do.
Yet, I love my children just as they are. They are difficult at times but mostly just a little different. They are still my children and I would feel like I was betraying them or letting them down if I wished them to be different. So my answer would have to be, no I wouldn’t change my children, but I would do anything to change other people’s negative perspectives of them.


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My Thoughts…

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I’m sticking my neck out here as I know this is a sensitive subject and everyone has their opinion, but this is my opinion, my thoughts. Yesterday evening a five year old girl went missing in a Welsh village.
Today social network sites have gone bonkers with everyones wishes and opinions and even judgements. I hope it’s a good thing, surely with everyone talking about the disappearance there is more hope of finding her? I hope so. You have to hold on to that hope and pray that she will be returned safely to her family.
I have a five year old daughter. I would crumble if she went missing, it’s every mother’s nightmare. So why risk it? Why take chances? Because you do, everyone does at some point. My daughter is safely in her bed at that time in the evening, but what if she had asked to stay out with a friend just a little later? I might consider it, she might have older friends to look after her. My daughter only ever plays in our garden if she’s on her own, or with her sister. I don’t think it’s safe for them to play anywhere else. But I don’t live in a village where everyone knows everyone else, and most likely looks out for each other. The girl was taken from the street, but what if the person who took her knew exactly what he (or she) was after? They may have been brazen enough to take a child from their home or garden while mum was busy cooking.
So you may say the child should have been in bed, or the parents should have been watching her at play, or she should have been playing somewhere safer, but every parent has that time when the rules are not so strict, everyone gets called away, has something else they might need doing that only takes a minute, has heard the phone ring, no-one can be on the ball every second of every day. These things happen, no matter how careful you are. The situation may not be the same, but things still happen. Your child might be in the care of someone you trust implicitly while you are at work and something might happen. I wish these things did not happen, but they do.
Instead of assigning guilt we need to focus on supporting the parents and praying for the safe return of their child.


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Welcome to Kiddicare Nottingham – review and competition

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Yesterday myself and the Little Man took a trip to Nottingham to visit the new Kiddicare store which has just opened. Read on for a review of our day and the chance to win some baby goodies.
We went to Nottingham by train, which the little man found very exciting.

I decided that the best route would be a walk along the canal. It was a lovely sunny day and I was so glad I chose to go this way.

The Store:

 The store is bright and colourful and there are places for children to play. This is Little Man in the enclosed play area in the canteen. Keep them occupied while you grab a coffee and a bite to eat.

The choice of pushchairs is amazing with prices starting from just £19.99. They also stock the top brands like Stokke and Phil and Teds. You can also buy all the accessories you need and test your pushchairs out on their track. This photo shows them on shelves but they are also available around to the store for you to push or fiddle with and truly make the right choice for you and your little one.

 If you are feeling a little tired walking around then you can take a seat on one of these colourful stools dotted everywhere.
Then you can be off again to view the amazing range of car seats, nursery furniture, high chairs, stair gates and other safety items, nappies, clothes, bottles….you name it! Everything you need for baby!

 The car seat area has a fun area for kids to watch cartoons while you choose the best seat. You’ll find plenty of advice and they will fit your car seat for you for no extra cost.

If you are buying for someone else and in a hurry you can wrap your gifts up before you leave at this wonderful gift wrapping station.Kiddicare also offer a Very Important Baby service which is like having your own personal shopper for baby things. There is loads of advice on offer because choosing what you need for your first baby can be a daunting experience.
One Thing I loved is the wide aisles, you can easily manoeuvre your pushchair around without knocking things over. (I’m always knocking things over, such a bad driver!) Also, Little Man likes to grab things off the shelves (he’s that age!) as we walk around, so it’s good not to have to get too close. The store is all one floor and each section is well signed so you can see easily where you need to go. There are help desks everywhere and a welcome desk at the front of the door. It also has a canteen, a baby nursing area and a toilet area. 
I love this bib bunting, so cute.

The Canteen: 

I tried a cheese and tomato panini which was toasted and brought over to me. Little man had a goody box which you can fill yourself from the choice available. We chose fruit, carrot sticks and a drink. He also had a packet of crayons in the box, which was left blank for the children to colour in. The seating was comfortable and roomy and the children’s play area was available to stop the little ones from getting bored.

There were also two stations for you to warm bottles or baby food, they are happy for you to bring your own. Then there is a lovely cosy area for mum’s wanting a little privacy to breast feed their baby, complete with rocking chairs and foot stools. 
A blurry photo of the cakes available 🙂

Loo Lane:

Loo lane is what kiddicare lovingly call their toilet area. It really is a lovely place to visit, honestly!

 First up you have the colourful wall charts letting your little ones (and big ones) see how tall they are. I’m as tall as an ostrich!

The nappy changing area is bright and colourful

The loos themselves have enough room to push your pushchair in so you don’t have to leave baby outside alone if you are on your own. (yeah, no need to use the disabled loo) and each one has a mummy loo and a toddler loo. Ingenious 🙂

Events:

The store also has an event room which will be hosting Baby Signing, Baby Yoga and Baby Massage. We were given a trial of Baby Massage and Baby Yoga. They thoughtfully provided us with dolls and teddy’s to practice on. I had little man with me but he was reluctant to lie on the floor and join in, a little too old maybe? Although I did learn some useful techniques I will be able to use at home, on both little man and a little reflexology to help Big Girls knee problems. 

Competition Time:

now for your chance to win some goodies from Kiddicare. On offer we have a lovely Giraffe changing mat, a  teether from Born Free, a pack of two bibs, a pack of two dummies and a fabulous book, ‘What to Buy For Your Baby’ (a really comprehensive guide to everything you need from birth to toddler with useful pull-out shopping lists.) Total prize value £26.95
To enter this competition all you have to do is follow this blog (by GFC or email) and leave me a comment to say you have.
You can earn an extra entry by liking our Facebook Page where we will be holding more competitions in the very near future. Good Luck Everyone!
Competition open to UK entrants only (sorry!)
competition prizes


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Parenting Tips – Head lice and Linicin Reveiw

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I was sent a bottle of Linicin Lotion and Linicin Prevention Spray to review and am including this along with my tips for preventing and getting rid of those pesky creatures, head lice!
Most people with children will encounter and infestation of head lice at some point. Some even encounter them on a regular basis. They are nasty little mites that are difficult to banish.
First it’s handy to know about the life cycle of head lice.
The females lay eggs, nits, close to the scalp and these take 9-10 days to hatch. 12 days later these baby lice become adults and can start laying eggs themselves. When you get rid of an infestation, by whatever means, if there are any lice or eggs left another infestation will begin again. Empty egg cases remain attached to the hair but will move slowly along the length of the hair.

Head lice travel from head to head with close contact, this why they spread around schools. They can’t jump or fly, but do crawl really fast.

They have no preference to clean or dirty hair, boys or girls, or if hair is short or long, although, obviously it’s a little harder to get rid of them from longer hair.

Preventing Head Lice

  • Checking regularly is a necessity. It’s best to use a nit comb for this and should be done straight after washing the hair and it is still damp or wet. 
  • Conditioner helps the nit comb to glide through the hair, and also makes it easier to remove the lice and eggs.
  • All family members need to be checked for head lice as they will easily spread among family members. (this means adults too)
  • Having long hair tied up can help the spread of head lice, but is not fail proof.
  • Some people believe the use of hair products such as hair wax and hair spray helps prevent head lice. I have no personal experience of this so I don’t know if it works or not.
  • It is believed that head lice do not like Tea Tree Oil and you can buy shampoos and conditioners that contain this which may help. I have used Tea Tree Oil essential oil added to the final rinse water in the past on an older child and this seemed to work. 
  • You can buy specialised head lice combs, like the Nitty Gritty comb which are believed to be more effective at removing lice and eggs.



Getting Rid of an Head Lice Infestation



When you find head lice it’s important to treat the whole family.
There are two main ways of treating;
1. Wash hair and cover with conditioner. Using a nit comb remove as many head lice as possible before rinsing out the conditioner. Use the comb again before the hair is dry, wiping it between each comb through on a cloth or piece of kitchen towel. Repeat this at least 3 times in the next 14 days and providing  you do a good job of getting the lice out you should get rid of them.

2. Use a head lice preparation to kill the lice.

There are many available to choose from, some are pesticides some kill the lice by suffocation. If your child has a medical condition such as asthma it’s best to consult your GP first so you know which one to use.

I was given a bottle of Linicin lotion to try.

Linicin lotion is non-toxic and has not been tested on animals. It is a 15 minute solution that works by suffocating the head lice. It also impedes the development of eggs.
In the box you get a 15ml bottle of lotion, a metal nit comb and an information leaflet. The bottle is enough for two treatments on shoulder length hair.

My daughter has quite thick hair but I still managed to completely saturate it with only half of the bottle. The liquid goes on easily and leaves a coat along the hair. There is no strong smell, although it is obvious that the hair is coated. I put a towel around her shoulders to catch any drips but found that I made no mess anyway.
I left the lotion on for the recommended 15 minutes and then put the shampoo directly on the hair. I added some water to lather up the shampoo and then rinsed it out. I applied shampoo and washed the hair again. After the treatment I combed through the hair and found that almost all of the head lice that came out were dead. They are much easier to remove when dead than alive. When her hair dried it still looked greasy but not too bad when tied up. After a further wash the next day the greasiness was gone. I kept checking her hair regularly and after 9 days I found a few tiny head lice so I used the rest of the lotion exactly as before.

I found Linicin easy to use and liked that it didn’t have a strong odour. Although it was quite difficult to wash out, it didn’t leave the hair looking lank and dull like some other lotions do. In fact I found my daughter’s hair had a nice shine to it after treatment. As expected there were a few baby head lice (nymphs) which managed to survive in their eggs during the first treatment, but I actually only counted 5 so I was quite pleased with that.  After the second treatment I feel confident that the cycle has been broken and now it is time to try and prevent another infestation.

I am using Linicin Prevention spray on school days and tying up my daughters hair. One application is believed to last 7 hours. The spray is easy to apply and although it has a noticeable odour on application it does fade quite quickly and becomes barely noticeable. The spray contains natural plant extracts which are known to repel head lice. It is mild and non-toxic and doesn’t leave a noticeable residue on the hair. I have only been using the spray for a few days but I’m hoping it does it’s job and keeps the lice at bay. I will keep you informed.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions contained in this post are entirely my own. I was sent a bottle of Linicin Lotion and a bottle of Linicin Prevention Spray to test for the review. I have not received any other payment.

* Linicin Lotion 15 min is suitable for children from 6 months and pregnant or breastfeeding mums
* Linicin Lotion 15 min is the ‘Independent Community Pharmacist’ Product of the Year 2012 for Child and Baby Care
Linicin is the registered trademark of Meda Pharmaceuticals ltd