H&M Haul

I'm a huge fan of H&M, the vast majority of clothes come from there. I like their style and most of all I like the prices. I also love their children's clothes which are also much cheaper than most on the high street.

So when I saw they had a great sale online and someone gave me a code for more off (I think it was 20%) including the sale items, I went to see what I could get.

Boy did I do well!

Firstly for me;

I got a yoga top, sports cropped trousers, a sports bra, a white slug tee and another plain white tee. These cost £43.17 all together - the sports bra was the most expensive at £17.99 but I really needed another one now I'm doing more exercise. Even better was I actually ordered another pair of trousers, a top and a dress which were all too big. The dress I love though so I'm getting the smaller size of that. The others were a bit meh. 

For Thomas I got two pairs of trousers and a plain white tee all for £16.19.

I didn't get huge amounts for Judah as I kept all Noah's old clothes. His wardrobe and drawers are already busting. I just got two white long sleeved tops, a denim shirt, a grey sweater, the bat man tee and the cute badger outfit. These came to £26.34.

For Noah I got so so much. I went for trousers and shorts in the 3-4 size as he has lots of 2-3 that fit him now. The shorts are obviously for next year but they all came with a belt which makes them even more of a bargain! The above picture came to £53.52, the most expensive pair being £8.99.

Lastly for Noah I got, a checked shirt, 3 long sleeved tees, a zip up hoody, two white tees, a grey jumper and not pictured 7 pairs of 'Planes' pants. All totalling £35.5.

So all in all there is 31 items for £174.72. If that's not a bargain I don't know what is. What's even more amazing is ordering online and having so little to return.

You'll also notice the abundance of white tops, I'm about to get my tie dye on again. Suppose I should do a post about that too!

Bx

New Mum Essentials

I thought I would do a little post about the things I can't live without as a new mum. Some of these I figured out last time round, others I am totally kicking myself that I didn't have them. This may not seem an interesting post if you aren't expecting a baby, but I reckon some of the make pretty good gifts.

So first up is a nursing pillow. This one is made by Baroo, they do lots of cool prints. I don't actually have one made by them. I liked mine as it came with two covers. I actually bought mine when I was pregnant to help with the pain in my hips at night, it really is comfy to sleep with. I didn't really think I would use it afterwards as I coped perfectly well without it last time. I was wrong. Once I used it for feeding I found it was so much easier. Especially when I'm trying to wrestle with Noah, it's good to know Judah is being largely supported by the cushion. I also use it as a back support now and when I was pregnant and my back was killing me, and I sit Judah on it, lay him on it (here's where I need that spare cover, spit up, blergh), use it to stop him rolling of the sofa. You name it, I use it. It follows me around the house!

Next up is my wrap! Boy I love this thing. I was given one from Liberty Slings so I can't say I did any research into buying them, they are pretty much just a piece of fabric though so there can't be many differences. New babies just want cuddles. End of. New mummies just want to cuddle their babies! Unfortunately though, there are other things that need doing sometimes and this is a great solution. Judah particular loves to be held and I use my wrap way more than I actually use the buggy. I still use it for my bags of course! I'm looking into a Mei Tai to use as he gets bigger.

Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate. I actually can't read that little quote there without drooling! Now I know once you've had a baby you are meant to be all about the weight loss, but I say give yourself a couple of months. Unless you eat all the worst foods in the world you will just start to loose the weight anyway. When you are first breastfeeding the sugar cravings are crazy, well they were for me anyway! Chocolate is the one thing I really wanted to eat, and still do if Judah has a bit of an evening feeding frenzy. I was given so many beautiful bunches of flowers, our house was over flowing, BUT I had this deep dark desire someone would bring me amazing chocolates and no one did (how ungrateful do I sound?!). I have decided I will always include chocolates along with cute baby things in future gifts. These particular chocolates are made by an old friend of mine Jane, I highly recommend her beautiful treats as gifts for people.

This one is another one I wish we'd had last time. I put some aden and anais swaddles in my RNIL....001 post and my Granny was kind enough to buy them for me. They have been amazing and I'm pretty certain I will go on using them lots even though Judah's getting a bit strong for actually being swaddled. We still put him down in them every night but he's not really in them by the morning. When Noah was a baby he spent a lot of nights sleeping on Thomas' chest, I kind of wish we had these, although with a first baby you don't mind so much. This time we are more like 'I need the best quality sleep possible!!!'. Using the swaddles has really helped Judah settle in the crib and not need to be held quite so much.

              

This I consider my own personal little bit of wisdom. I happen to think it's pretty great! It's safe to say you wont want to ever see your maternity clothes ever again after giving birth. You are also not likely to fit into all your old clothes just yet. Going shopping for an interim wardrobe is the best idea, don't leave yourself feeling rubbish about how you look (believe me tears followed by emergency Bluewater trips with toddlers are not fun)! These things I think are KEY if you are breastfeeding ..... buy jersey vests that are low cut and stretchy enough that you can pull them down under your boob, then buy pretty sheer blouses. A blouse like the one above will not only make you feel nice but will helpfully skim over that saggy baby belly! Both the above tops are from H&M which is nice and cheap and they have lots of these kind of things. Then, and here's the important bit, when you feed, pull the blouse up and the vest down, exposing only one boob which will be completely hidden by your baby's head and the fabric of the blouse, and voila, no need for carrying around extra feeding covers or making anyone feel uncomfortable. No one will be able to see any flesh and you'll look awesome!

I hope you have found this useful. There's a tonne of other things I use all the time but these are my top picks!

Bx

Right now I'm loving......002

This edition of RNIL is a mostly selfish one! In my post pregnancy state I'm looking for lots of things to make myself feel better. Not many of my clothes fit very well, I've purchased a few items but I'd like to fit into my old clothes sooner rather than later. So generally I'm using other make up and accessories to perk me up a bit.

Firstly is YSL's Touche Eclat. Despite having loads more energy than when I was pregnant, I am still super tired. Judah isn't a lot of trouble at night but he does wake up 3 or 4 times so my black bags are something special. I'm hoping this lives up to it's reputation as it's quite lot to pay!  

Next up is something I have been wanting for quite sometime, a leather jacket. I've finally decided on this faux one from H&M, it's only £29.99 and I have a 25% discount voucher. The only light jacket I have is a denim jacket, but the only trouser I have that fit are jeans. I am very anti double denim so I need something new for spring. 

This bag is from one of my favourite brands JuJuBe. I already own two of their nappy bags, they have such attention to detail and come in great prints. Their new 'Legacy' collection is my favourite so far. This bag is the SuperBe which is a large tote bag, would be great for swimming, the beach or picnic. I think the black and white stripes are fun and classy all at the same time!    

One entry not for me! Easter is on it's way and obviously Judah is way too young for chocolate. These bunny ear soothers from Archie's Boutique are so cute and would make much better gift for him.

As I said, I have been using make up to make me feel better about myself. I've just got into wearing lipstick but I don't like the maintenance that comes with it. I'd like to give this lip primer a go, I already have some Urban Decay make up and I love it! Reviews I've read say it helps lipstick last a lot longer. I also hope it will stop my lips drying out so much.

So that concludes this edition of RNIL, of course maternity pay is going to fund very few of these.

Bx