BUNTY

31.3.14

Mother's day

Good morning everybody! I wanted to show you what Eddy, Noah and I got up to yesterday in celebrating Mother's day. We ended up exploring the quaint town of Salisbury and wandering the streets in the early evening before settling down for a beautiful meal in Cafe Rouge. As the clocks went forward, it was considerably lighter for our evening stroll and surprisingly warm too! We had a great time exploring a new town, full of character and architectural surprises around every corner. Here are a few snaps of what we saw on our self-directed tour of Salisbury town centre!

Hope you enjoyed these,

Have a lovely monday everyone!

Love Bunty

xXx

Noah's 9 month update

Happy Mother's Day to all the mummies out there! What a wonderful occasion for us to remember all the mothers in the world who dedicate their lives to raising the future generations. This is my first official Mother's day, (as a new mummy) and I feel privileged to share in the joy of celebrating motherhood. It's wonderful to finally understand that unconditional love I had heard about for so long in the bond between a mother and child, and now to really live it with my son.

Without further ado, I would like to share with you Noah's 9 month update, what he has been getting up to recently and the milestones he has been making! I still can't get over the fact that we are heading closer to his first birthday!!

Eating: Noah is eating three meals a day, including formula milk and a few snacks. It does seem like tons, but he doesn't always eat a huge amount of what he is offered, particularly at lunch time. For breakfast he normally enjoys a mashed banana, Lunch normally involves 'finger foods' such as sandwiches and chopped veggies like cucumber and tomatoes. Noah will then sometimes have what we are eating for dinner, or at least an unseasoned version. However, if it is too rich I make him a puree of vegetables such as potatoes, broccoli, carrots, sometimes with plain chicken mixed in.

Sleeping: Noah is a brilliant little napper during the day time. He has a morning nap normally between 10AM and 11AM and this will normally last at least an hour, sometimes more! After lunch and playtime he also has an afternoon nap which can last up to two hours! Although his need for sleep does vary from day to day, I tend to let him lead me as to when to put him down because he always lets me know then when he goes from being a happy chappy to rubbing his eyes and getting drowsy! At both nap times I give him a bottle of formula which he always gets so excited about, it's so unbelievably cute!

Noah still is not sleeping through the night in that he wakes for a bottle feed normally around midnight and then around 4 or 5AM. We keep our night bottles ready to go by our bedside table so that when he wakes we can quickly prepare a bottle and give it to him. He is able to drink it and go back to sleep pretty quickly so none of us feel too sleep deprived. When we move into our new home though he will have his own room and I'm hoping the distance from us will help him sleep through...fingers crossed!

Movement: Noah has well and truly mastered sitting up and now he is exploring other means of movement. He can pull himself up to a kneeling position to reach things such as a sofa seat. He is beginning to crawl but at the moment he prefers doing an army crawl on his belly. It is quite impressive how quickly he can move when he wants to though: place a breadstick out of his reach and he will literally zoom towards it! He can also push himself to sitting up from lying down. Recently when I have been going up to fetch him after nap time I have found him sitting up in his cot grinning at me, I just can't believe he is no longer a tiny baby and is now becoming this little independent person who is making more decisions for himself, especially when it comes to getting to where he wants to be or choosing preferred toys to play with.

Talking: Noah is garbling and chatting away all the time these days. He can say "Dada" and sometimes he will say "Mama" too! Those are really the only words I feel that he sometimes uses in context. Often he will make noises that sound like words, such as 'doggy', but I think at this stage it's more of a fluke.

Playing: Everything is a toy at the moment and i'm finding myself increasingly paying more attention to him when he is playing because he is that bit more mobile now, wires and cables are just as exciting as his collection of toys. He loves exploring his surroundings and is very curious to know more about where he is rather than just whats in front of him. It's really cool to see him discovering the world around him!

Teething: Noah has about 7 teeth, definitely with more on the way! And my goodness they are sharp too! He has recently got into this habit of biting which we are trying to curb, poor thing has no clue when it comes to biting my fingers or arms! haha! I think his teeth are really making a difference to his enjoyment of food and textures in his mouth, he is gradually having more lumps to chew in his puree dinners and enjoys crunching breadsticks, veggies and fruits. He has had the occasional treat as well, for example, a few licks of Daddys ice-cream the other day. He got so overly excited about the novelty, it was adorable. He enjoys yoghurts too, Fromage Frais are his favourites, he LOVES these, so much so, that he often gets upset when he has finished a pot! We have started brushing his teeth too, he has his little baby brush which is so cute and it sits in the bathroom alongside ours, I always think there is something really cute about a 'family' of toothbrushes....sorry, I'm a bit sad like that! I have been brushing his teeth at night, and recently started introducing baby toothpaste, just a smidge!

Clothing: Clothing sizes vary from shop to shop, but Noah is definitely in age 9-12 months, although he does still wear a few items that are age 6-9 months. I love clothes shopping for him though, now that it's spring and the shops are gearing up for summer, its lovely to see the baby boy swim shorts and t-shirts...sooo adorable!

Weight: I haven't had Noah properly weighed for months! But recently I did plonk him on the bathroom scales, just out of curiosity and he weighed 1 1/2 stone! I'm not sure how accurate that is, but my goodness me, he has definitely put on some!

Anyway, that's about it for now, I will do another update at 10 months as he is changing a lot at the moment!

I hope you all have a lovely sunday- don't forget to spoil you mothers! :)

Love Bunty

xXx

Stay at home manicure

Hi guys, today I thought I would show you how I do my 'stay at home manicure'. Like many girls, I really enjoy painting my nails and when I get the chance to, I wait until the evening when I know I can be certain of having my hands free!

Now, I am by no means claiming to be any sort of professional manicurist! haha! But like I always say, I know what works for me and these products work well with the problems my nails often encounter!

The first thing I always do is moisturise my hands and a couple of hours before painting, I also file my nails if they need doing. Then I apply my cuticle oil to help keep my nails moisturised and happy. Nail polish does have long term drying effects on your nails and so it's important to counter that by keeping them as hydrated as possible! (Note to self: drink more water!) I flit between hand lotions all the time, but I'm currently really enjoying Soap & Glory's The Righteous Butter Body lotion. I picked up a small travel sized one that's perfect for fitting into my handbag. The cuticle oil I'm using is by Nail HQ, I think I picked this up in Tesco a few months ago. I use this before painting my nails and on the days where my nails are not painted.

For my base coat I've been using Essie's Help Me Grow base coat which I really like. It dries clear and looks great just on its own but it also makes a lovely base coat for coloured polish.

When the base is dry I apply my nail varnish. Today's is from Rita Ora's collection for Rimmel. It's a beautiful baby pink colour, perfect for spring! I've applied two coats for a more even finish.

To finish, I apply my Sally Hansen Double Duty base and top coat. This really helps to hold the nail polish in place and keep it chip free!

Et Voila! I really love this colour, i'll definitely be wearing a whole lot more of it! :)

So that is how I do my 'stay at home' manicure! Feel free to let me know how you guys do yours! :)

Love Bunty

xXx

Baby catches Chickenpox

Hi everyone!

So i've practically had to disappear from the world of blogging this week as I had my hands full with Noah who came down with the chickenpox! Poor thing, he had some nasty spots but coped amazingly well and it actually didn't seem to bother him too much at all. I know the severity of chickenpox does vary from person to person and sometimes babies really struggle with being uncomfortable and itchy. I was bracing myself for a week of zero sleep and a screaming baby, but actually it couldn't have gone smoother and I'm soo thankful that it did! Chickenpox is a funny one, I didn't really know what to expect or exactly how it would effect Noah, but I stocked up on Calamine lotion and ViraSoothe cooling gel, which both worked a treat. The ViraSoothe, although a little expensive, definitely helped soothe and cool the spots. I lathered it on twice a day, morning and night, and it really seemed to take away any discomfort or itchiness. Noah slept brilliantly at night time too, which Im sure is a result of the ViraSoothe working its magic!

It's not nice to see your little ones struggling with being poorly, but I'm quite glad we have ticked the chickenpox box, so to speak. It's definitely better to get it over and done with sooner than later and i'm so glad we have, for now anyway!

I had to laugh though, this week we were staying at my sister's house, and my 23 month old niece (whom Noah caught the chickenpox from) has a little friend who lives a few doors down. Anyway, the friend's mother rang up to ask if she could come over for a coffee in the hope that her two little ones would also catch the chickenpox, just to get it over and done with ASAP for their family. I can't say I blame her though!

Anyway, for any of you out there who want some honest, tried and tested mum to mum advice on getting your little ones through the worst of Chickenpox, these are the products I would highly recommend as they with out a doubt made a huge difference to Noah's coping.

Calamine Lotion: I applied this to Noah's spots using cotton wool, it does have quite a distinctive smell (took me straight back to my childhood!) but it is designed to cool and relieve skin irritations from sunburn to chickenpox discomfort. You can buy this at your local supermarket or pharmacy and it's extremely inexpensive at only about £1.

ViraSoothe cooling gel: This stuff is amazing! It was recommended by a friend and now I recommend this to any household with Chickenpox! It is a clear, scent free gel that instantly cools the skin. When Noah's spots were at their worst, I applied this twice daily massaging it all over his body. A little does go a long way but I found by lathering it on thickly, especially at night time, it really kept Noah out of distress. It is a little expensive, I paid about £10 for a tube, but it was well worth the money! I picked this up at a local pharmacy so it's quite easy to get hold of.

Oats and Salt bath: The other trick my sister recommended I try was to put a good few handfuls of oats into a stocking and secure the end. Whilst bathing Noah I would pop this into the bath and it would diffuse the oats gradually. Something about the creaminess of the oats really helps to soothe the skin and a good sprinkling of salt alongside the oats also helped to dry the spots up.

That's my best advice to anyone going through the Chickenpox at the moment,

I hope some of you find it helpful!

Love Bunty

xXx

What's in my make-up bag!

Hello everyone! Just when I thought the sun was out and I was about to go out for a nice walk...the heavens have opened and it's pouring down with rain :( So, change of plan today! I thought I would make use of my time by showing you what is currently in my make-up bag.

I'm such a nosey one and I love seeing other peoples posts of their current make-up faves, so I thought I would show you mine too! These are the items I have been gravitating towards in the last couple of weeks, I do rotate my lipsticks a whole lot, but generally I will always come back to the ones included here.

First up is Nivea's Daily Essentials BB Cream, i'm not going to do a massive review as I did one yesterday for this product. You can check it out here if you want to know my thoughts. I will say that i'm loving using it mixed with my foundation, it creates a perfect dewy glow without looking shiny.

Next is my go to foundation which is Estee Lauder's Doublewear in the shade Cool Bone. This is such good stuff! If you haven't tried it but think you'd like to, pop down to your local Estee Lauder counter where you can be colour matched and given a 10 day sample for free. The ladies are always really helpful and professional and hey, you can't knock a free sample, right?!

Then it's my concealer which is Estee Lauder's Doublewear in the shade light. This goes hand in hand with my foundation and really truly is a cut above the rest. If there was one make-up item I had to chose, foregoing the rest, hands down it would be this little beauty.

Next is my liquid highlight from The Body Shop. I repurchased this a few months ago, having used it several years ago and I fell in love with it again! The pinky tone really suits my skin and I always feel a little more bright eyed and bushy tailed wearing this :)

Soap and Glory Glow All Out Luminizing Radiance Face Powder: I use this as a highlighter whenever I'm not wearing my liquid one from The Body Shop. Again it has a beautiful pinky tone

which looks ace above the cheekbones, along the temples, down the bridge of the nose....in fact

anywhere! You could also use it on your shoulders and arms to create a little glow.

Rimmel Eyeshadow Palettes: These two together make some lovely combinations and the nude colours really suit me without being too dark on my eyes. I have been using these palettes non-stop this month and I still haven't satisfied my obsession for them!

The Body Shop Blush 04: This is such a girly pink I love it! I sweep this across my cheeks for a delicate glow.

Billion Dollar Brows Universal Brow Pencil: This is a great product with a handy brow brush on one

end with the pencil on the other. Its retractable so you don't have to worry about sharpening it or it

ever going blunt! This is a fab product though, I love it when it comes to how subtly it can perform! The beautiful thing is that a little really does go a long way!

Rimmel's Exaggerate Lip Liner: This is a great colour because it goes with all my favourite lipsticks! My lips are annoyingly very non-symmetrical, but thanks to this lovely helper, no one need ever know!....Apart from you guys now, oops!

Clarins High Impact Mascara: This is actually a sample I received a while back and it's nearly used up too! But I love how soft the brush is, it's so gentle on the eye area and lashes when you apply it. I will definitely have to repurchase this soon!

Compact mirror: I bought his on route to our Honeymoon a couple of years ago and it's still going strong! I think I got it in Accessorise- at the airport of course, haha!

Revlon Cupcake Lip Butter: This is so lovely I cant even tell you! It's a beautiful summery pink and I just can't put it away!

Revlon Matte Pink Pout: Probably my longest lippie fave, I always come back to this shade :)

The Body Shop Vitamin E Lip Care: I like to pop this on my lips when I begin applying my make-up, so when I'm all done and ready to apply my lipstick, my lips are moisturised and ready to go!

So that's what is currently in my make-up bag, i'll probably do another updated post during summer when i'm sure I will have changed it up again!

Hope you're all having a nice Thursday :)

Love Bunty

xXx

Nivea BB Cream Review

Hey everyone! Okay, so today I'm reviewing Nivea's answer to the growing trend of facial BB (Blemish Balm) creams. I personally am not the most adventurous when it comes to changing up my make-up routine. I know what I like and I tend to stick with it until something better comes along. My long-time favourite foundation is Estee Lauder's Doublewear which is just amazing stuff, but recently I've found myself wanting something a little lighter and a little less full on. Every so often I like to take a few days off from wearing full coverage foundation and just let my skin breathe. I always see good results when I 'dare to go bare' and this week I've actually really enjoyed the break.

So, whilst thinking about trying out something a little less heavy on my face, I picked up this BB cream the other day, it's Nivea's Daily Essentials 5 in 1 Beautifying Moisturiser in the shade light. Nivea promises this will even, cover, illuminate, moisturise and protect your skin with an SPF of 10. That's quite a claim I must admit! Selling itself as an all-in-one tinted moisturiser, I thought I would give it a go. I've always enjoyed Nivea products and find they work well with my skin.

This was no surprise either! Firstly, the packaging is clean and fresh: the cream comes in a handy 50ml tube which is easy enough to pop in your make-up bag for on-the-go. It has that lovely Nivea scent which I always associate with their moisturising products, so as I apply it, it really just feels like I'm giving extra hydration to my skin and not wearing make-up at all, which I love!

The only thing I will say is that their 'light' shade is actually too dark for my pre-summer skin colour, so I have been cheating and mixing it with my foundation. I like doing this though because firstly, it retains the lovely consistency of a moisturiser and secondly, it gives my face a lovely dewy look. I don't like my make-up to look too matte as it makes my skin appear rather dull. After applying it this morning, with the sun beaming through the window, I could really see how well hydrated my face looked, I didn't really feel the need to wear my highlighter after with this combination.

So, all in all I'm really pleased with this little BB cream. I'm not sure if this is the lightest colour they offer so I'm going to check back and see because I would definitely snap it up again if they have a super light version! haha! Its really very nice and affordable too, if you just want to try something a little lighter on your skin without breaking the bank, I definitely recommend this as a good place to start!

Hope you're all having a lovely day!

Love Bunty

xXx

Tempting the sun with sandals

Hi guys, on monday my mum and I spent the day in Exeter, we bought Noah along and had such a nice time mooching around the shops. Its rare I get mum all to myself these days so I really appreciated being able to spend the day with her. We looked into all our favourites, including John Lewis (where I mentally made a rather substantial summer wish-list!), they have such lovely spring pastel colours that flow through their home department all the way to the fashion department! I know I got a bit carried away admiring the Ted Baker bags and clothes that I almost had to be dragged away! Haha!

Anyway, I found these lovely sandals in this gorgeous bright fluorescent pink colour which I loved instantly! I noticed they also had them in white too and spent ages deciding between the two...until mum kindly treated me to both of them. She had me laughing as she described the pink ones as 'rather traveller chic'....I personally think that's no bad thing though- I believe us girls all have some traveller chic inside just waiting to be channelled! I'm not sure if the photos do justice to how fluorescent these sandals really are...they are a bit edgy, but so fun for the warmer weather, I can't wait wear them in the upcoming months!

Let me know what you think!

Love Bunty

xXx

A walk in the deep countryside

Just a quick post, my little sister and I went for a bit of a country hike the other day. It was lovely to catch up with her and be outside in the fresh air. We walked this route that our dad used to take us when we were little, I always remember those days! Pulling on our wellies, coats, hats and scarfs and racing out the door with the dog! Spring is definitely in the air, buds are forming on the trees and slowly the woodlands are turning greener! I love this time of year!

Don't you just love the old thatched houses?! 'Chittlechatter Stores' is our local village shop which has served our village for years! We used to pop down here with our pocket money as kids and spend it on their ever increasing array of sweets!

Not exactly glamorous footwear haha! But these boots totally saved me! One part of a field we have to walk through is always soo muddy, tempting as it s to jump in the big puddles...I did resist lol

Rosie hanging out at the stream...she's been doing her art project down here, experimenting with the effects of the raw elements. I love this spot though, we've spent many a happy afternoon playing in the stream and the fields beyond.

Hope you're all as excited as I am for spring!

Love Bunty

xXx

9 months postpartum

Hi everyone, today's post is something I have wanted to blog about for a really long time and its taken a little while to consolidate exactly what I want to say regarding my experience of pregnancy and postpartum. First of all, I have to say that the point of this blog is purely to be transparent and honest about my own experience.

During my pregnancy I found such confidence in reading blogs about other ladies pregnancies with the whole 'what to expect' question in mind. It really helped me to remain as open-minded as possible and I also found it highly informative to know some of the realities of child-bearing and bringing up babies- no matter how hard or un-glamorous!

With this in mind, I just want to say that I'm aiming this post at other new mummies, expectant mummies and people who are genuinely interested in topics surrounding postpartum, sorry, but if you feel there's a bit of 'TMI' going on...this probably isn't a relevant post for you! :)

I'm hoping to do Noah's 9 month update soon, so I will cover everything to do with his development then. This month it will be 9 months since Noah was born and I feel like i've really come through a huge transformation in myself, physically and emotionally. I can't quite fathom the fact that Noah has been on this side of the womb for a whole 9 months now- that's a whole pregnancy in itself! Its funny because looking back, I felt like I was pregnant forever but it only seems like Noah has been born for a few months!

I really loved being pregnant, its the best thing my husband and I have ever done! But one of the things I found quite tough was my weight gain which completely surpassed the ‘averages’ I read about online and my own expectations. I mean, it simply just seemed to appear overnight!

Just to put it into a bit of context, I have always been naturally quite skinny and I have never had to, or really sought to lose weight before. I’ve always fallen into that rather annoying bracket of people who could eat exactly what they fancied and never suffer on the scales for it! So when I fell pregnant, naturally, I did make some dietary adjustments. For example, gone was the beautiful soft cheese and the evening glass of red and I fully expected to begin to get heavier- but not four stone heavier!

During the first half of pregnancy my weight seemed to literally pile on at a crazy rate. Although I didn’t weigh myself all that often, I did notice my rounder shoulders, legs and face, as well as the stretch marks beginning to creep into the picture- uninvited! I remember weighing myself around 20 weeks, the halfway point, and feeling incredulous at the result. By my due-date I had put on just under four stone and although I had such feelings of excitement and joy, I also really struggled with worry about the other side of labour. It was lovely when everyone around me complimented my ‘bump’ and said how much I was ‘glowing’, but I started to feel worried that once the baby was out, I would just look like an overweight frump with no excuse! How was I ever going to lose four stone when I had never had to lose an ounce before, and I had spent the last few months in a near constant state of pregnancy induced hunger!? The odds did not look too good!

Needless to say, the weight didn’t fall off as quickly as the internet promised! Breastfeeding definitely helped, but I had a long way to go! During Noah’s first few weeks my attention was souly on him and our new little family unit. I really didn’t think too much about ‘glamorous me’ as I had a much more noble 'wind-covered', 'poop-splattered' job in-hand and I really just wanted to focus what energy I had on getting to grips with caring for a newborn. I had my own physical recovery to think about too, one which I was not prepared for! *TMI coming up!* Although thank God, my labour was very straightforward and I was lucky enough to get through it naturally with the help of my husband, I did have a small tear. I was offered stitches for it but told at the same time they weren’t completely necessary, so, rather confused at the time, I turned them down thinking it would be much better this way! But let me tell you now I wish I had them, the pain afterwards was unreal! Mummies, you know what I’m talking about! I can laugh about it now, but for about a week afterwards I had to pee in the bath because the stinging was just horrendous! Thankfully, this didn’t last and every day there was improvement. Swelling was reducing, tummy was going down, postpartum contractions were easing away too. It took me a few months, being completely honest, to feel like I had healed completely, but after the first month the worst of it was definitely over.

I had managed to escape getting stretch marks on my tummy area, but my hips and thighs definitely still tell what my body went through to bring life into the world. Though in the beginning they were quite viscous looking and did on occasion bring me to tears, they are now much reduced and faded and I look at them with more pride than dislike. They are a constant reminder that I actually did it! And right at the end of labour when I thought I couldn’t go on…I still did it!

I was breastfeeding Noah, but from about week three we supplemented with formula feed to help his weight come on and from this point he really thrived! I managed to keep breastfeeding him till he was 6 months old, when he really needed more than I could offer and so it was a very natural transition to begin solid foods and keep going with the formula. When I did completely stop the breast-feeding and my boobs went back to their almost non-existant, not quite on the alphabet, pre-pregnancy size, I felt like my old figure was beginning to return. Gradually, through joining a gym and trying to stay active I found I was losing weight too. Now, at 9 months postpartum, i’ve managed to shed most of my ‘baby weight’, and I just have a matter of pounds left to lose to be back to where I started. Obviously everyone has their own postpartum struggles, some amazing ladies probably get through without any! I read up on just about every concern out there, from changing figure, saggy breasts post-feeding, sex after babies amongst many other topics. They aren’t necessarily glamorous, but they are real issues for women and I definitely had my own worries amongst them, so I was hugely relieved to realise that I wasn’t the only one out there!

Here's my postpartum belly at 9 months- ahhh how I've debated whether to show you guys this or not! But, as I reminded myself, the whole point of this post was to be honest...so there you are! I know during pregnancy I was so curious to know what a postpartum belly actually looked like and if it would look 'normal'! I actually googled images at one point in pregnancy…like a crazy woman! I’ve always been quite body-conscous and started to worry that i'd never feel like myself in a swimming costume again! This is mine nine months after birth…its soft to the touch now and my old 6-pack is definitely still hibernating! haha! But I can definitely see my old shape returning, I'm fairly happy with where I've got to. :)

I think its important to share that although family life and babies are amazing, rewarding and beautiful, it's not selfish or worth feeling guilty, as I did for ages, for having concerns about your body after having a baby. I remember reading the old line ‘it takes 9 months for your body to make a baby, so expect it to take at least 9 months for your body to get back to its normal self,’ and feeling soo impatient! Everywhere I looked, women in magazines and in the media were having babies and snapping back into their figures the next day it seemed. It definitely made for a tough act to follow!

Whilst I spend my days in awe of my beautiful baby, I’m also very proud of myself for getting through the last 9 months. It hasn’t been easy or what I expected it to be. Negative body image has definitely been my personal struggle through the process, but i've been surrounded by support and motivation and I’m extremely grateful for that. My husband saw me give birth and everything that goes with it…. and he still thinks I’m beautiful and tells me so everyday!

If I could say anything to women who might be struggling with some of the issues I’ve mentioned, it would be to take your time with your journey. No, unfortunately, the changes you want to see might not happen overnight, but you will and can reach your goals! It’s okay to admit that having a baby is really really hard on your body and your new life as a mummy, but with time your new life does become the norm, and not only that but it becomes hard to imagine what life was before your little bundle of joy!