Biggest Baby Shower LA 2015

I had the pleasure of attending the annual 'Biggest Baby Shower' this week and fun was had by all!

Filled with new and existing vendors of baby products, services and beyond! 

Gear was raffled off and Mocktails were enjoyed! 

Here's my pick of favorite items and services from the show: 

"Get Heal - The Uber of Doctors" as they so rightly put it! All Mum's know how hard it is to get to the doctor on our busy schedules. Download this app and under 60 minutes Doctor and his medical assistant are at your door to diagnose your baby or even yourself! 

Currently operating on the Westside but expanding and should you be outside of their coverage zone just give them a call and they can arrange for a Doctor to come out to you at a later.

www.getheal.com

Hatch Baby, Smart Changing Pad. A changing pad that tells you how much your baby weighs and how much your baby nursed that feeding! WOW! That is a new one and such vital information. So many Mum's will bottle feed just to know and ensure their baby is eating enough, but did you know a lot of times nutrients are lost once pumped and reheated if not done correctly! It can also cause nipple confusion, causing baby to not be able to latch on! This connects to an app on your Iphone or Android, input information such as, which side baby fed last, last diaper, and weight tracking. 

Hatchbaby.com Smart Changing Pad due this summer. 

Dr Smiths Diaper Rash Spray. If you hate getting diaper rash cream on your fingers and in your nails then you NEED this! Just a one touch spray and your are good to go (excuse the pun) 

Available at leading drugstores

Mama Mio. A luxury skincare line for Mums, delicious items such as Lucky legs gel - a cooling energizing leg gel for tired Mums legs, Goodbye Stretch Marks - name says it all. My favorite a Liquid Yoga bath soak, a moisturizing essential oil and epsom salt filled heaven in a bottle! Help tired aching bodies from working out whether from the gym or from running after active toddlers (my personal gym) ! Organic and free of parabens synthetic fragrance and all that yucky stuff. 

Available online, Space Nk and other boutique stores. 

Stay Tuned for my upcoming launch of mumsthewordmaternityconcierge.com and HUGE giveaways!!! 

Bonuage, Bon YUM!

Every Friday before Sundown I run around making sure we have everything we need. And by everything I mean food! For the next 25 hours, phones are off, TVs are off, no electrical items can be used, no driving and no computers. Just piece and quiet. It's not called the day of rest for no reason!

The sabbath is a day to truly spend time with loved ones, family and friends with no interruption. I cook a 3 course meal for Friday night and then another 3 course meal for Saturday lunch. I make sure we are stocked up on all our favorite treats and snacks loved by my husband and kiddies!

This Friday past I tried Bonuage, a french boutique patisserie for the first time. Their signature "Nuage" which means "Cloud" - and rightfully so - is a meringue filled and coated with shavings of different flavors.
I chose a hazelnut Nutella filled Nuage with white chocolate and chocolate shavings. It was an out of this world fluffy, sweet delight. I literally felt like I was biting into a cloud.

I enjoyed a chocolate chip "cloudkie" did I mention all the treats are dairy free and gluten free?! If you are like me and find most chocolate chip cookies to be too heavy and rich then this is the perfect cookie for you. I could finish whole box of these!

Last treat on my checklist, a Choquette, a soft milky pastry bite with sugar chips on top. It was hard to believe it was dairy free. These sweets are dangerously good!

I also picked up their freshly baked Challah (braided bread) which had just come out the oven and was still warm. The aroma was intoxicating! They also had mini chocolate filled challah rolls. The challah was the right amount of doughy texture and just the right amount of sweetness making it perfect for any type of sandwich. I bake my own challah weekly and this is the closest store bought bread to taste homemade.

Lets talk about how gorgeous and chic their store is. Timeless black and white decor accented with gold rimmed chairs and counters. I felt like I had stepped into a real french bakery and transported to Paris.

The lovely cashier that helped me packed up my treats in a cute and eco friendly tote, and wrapped up my Petite Nuage in baggy sealed with a napkin and fork. Its as if she knew I was the type to break into my treats once I got into my car!

I definitely recommend Bonuage for anyone who enjoys grown up cakes and treat. I would certainly use them for a party with their unique and beautiful desserts!

Go try it. Bonuage 8010 Melrose Avenue, 

Los Angeles 90046 

P: (310) 880 2065

Tonsillectomy document

The Morning of his surgery.....

Firstborn has been in my bed all night. Feet in my back, feet in my face, arms around my neck almost choking me. At 5am he said he wants to go back to his bed. We all know what that means... he is going to wake up the little one. Wishful thinking "ok but don't wake up your brother" (maybe I'll get 16 minutes of sleep).
5.16am baby brother is now crying. I go in to take big brother out of baby brothers crib. Baby brother actually is trying to go back to sleep. 5.45 baby brother is crying again. I repeat previous step. 6.30am crying to be heard again. This time baby brother has a bloody nose.
And so the day begins.
7.28am making coffee. Big brother wants cheese so we're taking him out for slurpees for breakfast.
........
His surgery was 3 weeks ago but I only have the stomach to finish my post now.
I don't care what they say, children do not have less pain, they just heal faster.
Adults take average 4 weeks to heal after this same surgery and between ages 2 and 3 its about a week. Once they hit 3 years old it can be longer.
We had 2 weeks of h***. he woke up from the operation a little hysterical. After we got home he seemed fine. My husband and I even asked each other "did they even do anything?" He was so exhausted he went right to sleep 7pm and even slept until 5am. They tell you to wake them every 3 hours to give them painkillers to keep the pain at bay. He refused to wake up when we tried this in middle of the night
The next day as i kept piling on the medicine, i guess, the stronger stuff they gave him in the hospital wore off....
He started to feel the pain and would hold his ears whenever he swallowed :(
The second night was when he started screaming through the night. Screaming and crying in pain.
He had popsicles for breakfast.
The problem was the more medicine i gave him then he would neglect to be careful because he felt fine, therefore would not take it easy and that wasn't helping the recovery.
Then the medicine made him overly constipated. That involved a trip to the ER.

All in all if you ever have to do this surgery, dont let it cooincide with any major month in your life. I spoke to so many people and read so many posts online of how the recovery really isn't so bad. My son was not in this category and only after this experience I found few and far between posts online of Mums who went through what I did.

Hes sleeping through the night now. 

Oh and he seems much calmer!

Did your child have a tonsillectomy? How was your experience?

Eat = Sleep??

From birth the schedule is pretty much, eat, poop, sleep... simple enough. If your baby is not sleeping through the night the main  concern is did they get enough to eat that day? And how can we change their schedule from eating in the middle of the night to getting their maximum nourishment throughout the day. I've  heard of jet lag babies who confuse night with day, sleep all day eat all night  etc. But what about a toddler. A child who is most likely sleep trained. Eats a well balanced meal most days, and can tell you when they are hungry. 

Even before we moved our almost 3 year to a bed, at the age of 2 1/2 when it came to bedtime he started to get smart about it, "Mummy, I'm hungry!!!" So, the first few nights we gave him extra dinner or a healthy snack and off to bed he went. Until after a few nights when he was aware that requesting for more dinner meant he could stay up later, it became a nightly occurrence. To the point that even once he ate he was "still hungry" once we put him to bed. Then he stopped eating dinner.  When it came to bedtime and he said he was hungry, "well of course you are, you didn't eat dinner!"
That's when I started the rule "if you don't eat by dinnertime then you go to bed  without dinner".
Which completely worked. Did my son wake up in middle of the starving for food ? Nope. Did my son  wake up running to the fridge in dire straights for a bite to eat? Nope.  Do toddlers need to have a full tummy in order to sleep well at night?

My second son at 18 months eats dinner daily at 3.30 and is ready for bed at 6.30 pm/7 pm. He mostly does not have an issue sleeping through the night. He does get some healthy snacks  between dinner and bedtime such as fruit and /or veggies. Which had me thinking if he can last that long AND is in the 90th percentile for weight, I know he is certainly not lacking nourishment.
So back to my elder child, who is also in the 90th percentile for weight and can eat pretty well.
Which brings me to my childhood where heavy meals after 7 pm were frowned upon. My mother said it was not healthy and that cheese before bed was a no no lest we get nightmares.
I realized that any nutritionist will tell you that its important to finish your last big meal at least 2 hours before bed. And that anyone on a healthy diet or regime will not eat past 8 pm or even 7 pm at night!
Having said all that, why don't we start this routine with our children. Yes they need nutrition but when the problem we are facing these day with childhood obesity on the rise, aside from developing healthy eating habits and teaching out children to go for the strawberries and not the chips, how about portion control?! And letting them know if they miss dinner at dinner time then there's no food after dark. When our metabolism  slows down at the end of the day and it is best to eat before 7 pm that should apply to our youngsters as well.

I have also read about studies that show children who finish their main meal 2 hours before bedtime sleep better.

How do you feel about the, "if you don't finish your dinner then there's no dinner at bedtime" rule?

And Then There Were Mum's

..... We all have it in us. That mothering instinct. As girls we played with dolls and dressed up barbies (well most of us) that need to care from the start. Even if, motherhood is not the path one might choose it doesn't take away that nature from within. I don't think anyone can imagine precisely what it might feel like to hold their baby for the first time. To cradle a tiny newborn, to nourish it, to love them unconditionally. 

There are definitely different types of Mum's, neither one better than the next (or there's just a bad mum in general but I won't get into that now). Just as there are different personalities, tastes and interest so is mothering your own little one. I have always been obsessed with babies. I remember as a young child, being the youngest of eight, my first niece being born when I was just four years old. Every time another niece or nephew was born I was so excited to seem him or her to cuddle and tickle and play! I still am that way, some people only have that special love for their own family, and other children don't necessarily mean as much. But not me. 

I started this blog as an outlet for all things "Mum". To possibly help, inspire and innovate others. And if all else fails to just to laugh. Because if theres one thing I've learnt on this journey as a Mum, laughter isnt just needed, its necessary.