Come join us over on my self hosted blog

http://mummytologan.com/ see you there 🙂

– Self hosted –

In the process of going self hosted so if i dont write any more posts thats why.

See you all on the other side! *NOTE- my new blog will probably look alot different to this one*

Super simple 2 ingredient banana pancakes!

This morning I thought I would make Logan his favorite banana pancakes and while I’m at it I may as well share with you what I do to make them so yummy scrummy and finger licking 😉 If you make these for your little ones, please do tag us on Instagram, I’d love to see your efforts.

The first step in making your banana pancakes is to get your 2 ingredients those are 1 egg and 1 ripe banana, which you need to mash into a bowl using a fork, or if you wish an electric whisk/blender, then just crack open the egg and mix until some sort of batter emerges. (At this stage if you want to add some fruit like blueberries, mashed strawberry or anything you like really, you can do so here)

STEP 1

STEP 2

 

STEP 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next thing you need to do is heat up some oil or butter into a pan, i personally use this flora low calorie fry light oil which does the trick, and all that’s left to do is spoon the mixture into the frying pan into any size pancakes you wish.

 

 

 

 

 

STEP 4

Finally turn them over until they are lovely and golden on both sides, and that’s all there is to it, you have delicious banana pancakes for your baby to enjoy, just be sure there cooled right down but you can freeze these and defrost as and when you want to give them and just pop them in the microwave to warm them up.

Get your baby to sleep – In under 10 days

*In this post I will be talking about sleep training methods, but I am in no way promoting it as not all babies take to the same way, so use what I say with a pinch of salt/try a few methods to see which one works for you and your baby*

I don’t know about you but I thought the whole process of getting your baby to fall asleep on their own would be a momentous task, especially if you’ve always rocked/hushed/sang them to sleep, so when I started sleep training with Logan I was very surprised with the results and how quickly I saw an improvement in the amount of sleep he was getting at night.

What is sleep training – from what I read; it’s the process of helping a baby learn to fall asleep on their own and stay asleep through the night (however there are several methods to choose and it’s important to pick the right one for you and your partner/family)

The reason why I wanted/needed to start the whole sleep training process with Logan was because, well for one I had just moved him into his own room and I didn’t fancy waking up and going back and to several times a night just to cuddle him back to sleep, and secondly because I wanted him to learn to fall asleep on his own as it is an important skill for all babies to learn.

What sleep training method did I use – I actually didn’t use just one method I use a combination of methods, but I like to call it the “Gentle cry it out method” rather than me explaining and making a complete tit of myself I’ll just bullet point exactly what I do with him that helps him fall asleep.

• Bath/playtime/bottle
• Story/song
• Turn on ewan the dream sheep
• Put Logan down awake, say goodnight and walk out of the room
• Wait 5 minutes to see if he starts crying if so go back in and replace dummy, and walk back out again (at the beginning I had to go back in a good 5/6 times until he fell asleep independently but now about 3 weeks later I only have to go back in once or not at all)
• If Logan wakes up during the night – usually about 1 or 2 am I go back in comfort him/replace dummy and turn ewan the dream sheep back on (this usually takes about 5 minutes before he’s resettled and then I walk out and he’s back to sleep until 3 or 4 am for a bottle and then he goes back down until 6/7/8 am depending on how he’s slept that specific night.
• And that’s it! (Using this above method, it only took me about 1 week until I saw instant changes/improvements in logan’s sleep)

That is what I have been doing, and it has worked for me, it isn’t nice hearing him cry but honestly its worse for us than it is them, I mean I don’t leave him to cry if he’s hungry or got a full nappy but if I know he’s fulfilled then there’s no harm in letting him try to settle himself back to sleep (I mean that’s the aim here!)

It’s now been nearly 1 month of sleep training and I’m proud to say that I have noticed a significant improvement in both mine and my fiancés sleep and also more importantly Logan’s sleep has improved too because we’re not disrupting each other. I’m not gonna lie, it’s not perfect and Logan has had his nights where he just wasn’t settling and I did bring him into my bed, but that was when he was teething, even now 1 month on he still hasn’t slept through the night and you know what I’m still alive and coping and still getting through my day without feeling like a failure, I just think of how lucky I am because most older babies still wake every 1 or 2 hours.

If you are currently in the process of sleep training, what method do you use and how long did it take you to get your little ones to fall asleep on their own?

The (Not fat or big) quiz of the year TAG!

I was tagged by the lovely Lisacowan in this tag to celebrate all that was great in the year 2016! I don’t nominate anyone in particular, so if you are reading this then BOO your tagged!

What was your highlight of 2016?
My obvious highlight of 2016 was the birth of my son Logan Robert Jones who was born on the 19th of May, it feels like he’s been here forever – can’t see a life without him now, he’s my world!

Name one thing you are most likely to remember about 2016 if asked in five years time?

My labour and the year of logan’s birth, or could be the year Robbie proposed to me, there is quite a lot that has happened in 2016 which i could have remembered.

Sum up 2016 in one word.

Rollercoaster

Name one pearl of wisdom from 2016 that you will carry with you through 2017. 
One piece of advice that i will definitely be bringing with me into 2017 is this very famous quote, “don’t worry, be happy” because life is very precious and you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Do you have any new years resolutions
Yes but whether or not i will be able to stick to them I’ll never know, but here goes;

• Eat less, do more (that one is self-explanatory but will make a blog post)
  • On the same lines as that, drink more water
• Read more books to Logan (I’ll admit i have been slacking with reading but i do want to incorporate reading into his bedtime routine)
• Manage my money better (Get a piggy bank)
• Go on at least 1 date night a month with Rob (Get babysitter)

How are you seeing in the new year?

Not doing anything particular, Logan’s already fast asleep and me and rob are watching the telly, but new year’s day i am cooking us a chicken dinner with all the trimmings!

What would you most like to do in 2017?

 Bloody hell, there’s loads, realistic and more dreams.

1. Save money up towards our wedding/holiday
2. Go away, even if its for a small break to somewhere in the UK
3. Take Logan to Chester zoo/Sea life aquarium
4. Go self-hosted on my blog
   1. Keep posting consistently and hope to maybe make a few quid along the way
5. Do more fun stuff with Logan and cherish everyday

What are your main goals for 2017

• Lose this mum-tum once and for all
  • I’ll be honest ive been lazy and been in my own bubble, just from being so exhausted with waking up multiple times a night with night feeds/cuddles
• Go on a holiday
• Keep blogging

Thanks everyone for reading – HAPPY NEW YEAR! X

-Blogmas day 25!- Logan’s 1st CHRISTMAS!

I cannot believe just how quickly Christmas day has come around, and I just want to say I am sorry for how slow I’ve been with blogmas, I didn’t realise how difficult it would be blog every single day, I know not all my blogmas posts have been Christmas related, so I hope you can forgive me.
Christmas morning was just like any other really except we got to open presents and an excuse to eat chocolate at 10 in the morning, Logan didn’t have a clue, I think he felt the excitement that me and his daddy were portraying but he didn’t understand about presents or father Christmas with him only being 7 months old. Opening his presents was fun though, I think he would have preferred have wrapping paper for Christmas as he wasn’t interested in the toys, well until all the paper was well out of sight!

As you can see in the pictures I had him dressed in his Christmas outfit, seeing as it won’t fit him next year, well unless I have another boy down the line, but he did get very overwhelmed and didn’t know where to look bless him.

After all, the presents had been opened and Robbie had opened him, and I had opened mine we got dressed and watched some telly, can’t remember what was on but there was some Christmas movie on. For Christmas off Robbie I had a £20 tattoo voucher for Wrexham Ink and a pack of Pokémon cards, and not forgetting he paid for me to get the Logan tattoo I had back in November. And I got Robbie a new pair of work shoes, some sonic the hedgehog socks, a £20 ps4 voucher, some pyjamas’ and some other necessities.
About half 12 my brother picked us up and we went over to my mum’s house, and we had a lovely Christmas dinner, and brandy snaps for desert (Yummy!) – Why is it no one ever gets enough pigs in blankets? They’re the best part!

After all the food was demolished and everyone full up, it was time to open the presents off my mum, logan had some nice clothes and toys and we got some money which funnily enough we spent on an Iceland food shop!

Then later on in the evening, it was monopoly time, I didn’t play because logan was tired and he was more important so I and rob just sat chatting and feeling knackered, as we were used to going to bed at 10 pm these days!

Hope everyone else had a good Christmas and you had everything you asked for off Santa.

-Blogmas day 24- Logan’s first Christmas Eve

Christmas eve, wow that’s come around rather quickly hasn’t it, today started like any normal day, to be honest, me and Logan went into town, met Robbie after he finished work and had some lunch, we then split and did our Christmas shopping for each other, we had a budget so neither felt guilty for spending too much or too little etc.

When we got home all we really did was watched Christmas movies, one being 101 Dalmatians (now that film takes me back to my childhood), Robbie wanted to open the Christmas chocolates, those were pretty much demolished by rob!

Because logan is still only very young he obviously didn’t understand the whole Christmas spirit, so was just like any other day for him but with the obvious decor changes like presents under tree that Santa brought, with tinsel and lights everywhere.

That’s pretty much all that happened really, Christmas eve really isn’t much different to our usual days, well until logan gets older and can understand,

 

-Blogmas day 23- Ewan the dream sheep *Review*

Before I decided to move Logan into his own room, I was thinking about how I can make that transition a bit easier and less stressful for him, I had heard about Ewan the dream sheep from another mummy and some online reviews and they all praised it for helping their little ones sleep easier/better at night, so I took the plunge and bought myself one of these little sheep, well I won it on an eBay auction for £19 so I saved myself a few quid.
When I received in the post I wasn’t sure what to expect as I never really knew how big or small it was going to be but it was a decent size, Ewan was a lot rounder than id imagined but it does add to the cuteness factor! On first glance I noticed four purple legs, each one with its own soothing sound and when one is pressed a subtle red glow light emits from within Ewan the sheep, on inspection of the inside of the sheep there are 3 switches, one for volume and the other 2, I’m not yet sure what they do as I’ve not really messed around with them.
The 4 sounds are:
• heartbeat + womb
• heartbeat + vacuum cleaner
• heartbeat + harp music (This one is Logan’s favourite)
• heartbeat + rain
On Ewan’s tail there is some Velcro which you use to tie around the cot bars, to keep it from being a loose toy, this I love because Logan is very grabby and I know for a fact he would not leave it in one place had it not been for the Velcro strap on the tail.
Overall I am really impressed with Ewan’s effectiveness, I just wish it lasted longer than 20 minutes as I do have to pop back in to turn it back on if Logan wasn’t in his deep sleep state, but other than that I do really recommend it, I only wish I had bought it sooner when Logan was a newborn to help settle him and to create positive sleep associations to the sheep and not being fed/rocked/cuddled etc.

-Blogmas day 22- Logan’s current feeding schedule

Logan has been really enjoying all the foods I have been putting in front of him, he’s gotten pretty good at gripping the more slippery foods like pasta which I cooked up for us tonight, it contained mushrooms, spinach, chopped tomatoes and penne pasta, I gave Logan a bit of everything I was eating excluding the mushroom just because I didn’t feel confident giving him them just yet as they are a fungus. Earlier today he had sliced cucumber and easy peal clementine, he enjoyed both.

Logan’s current feeding schedule is as follows:

• 8 am – Banana porridge for breakfast
• 30 am – Bottle
• 12/1pm – Lunch (Toast/Banana/Pancake)
• 3 pm – Bottle
• 5/6pm – Tea (Puree/BLW)
• 7 pm – Bottle

That is a rough guide to what Logan is currently eating in one 24 hour period (Not including the snacks he has during the day which are finger foods like banana rice cakes by Organix or Heinz biscotti which are is current favourite)

 

-Blogmas Day 21- Sassybloom *unboxing & Review*

**Disclosure: I have not been paid or reimbursed in any way to provide this review. I paid for the Sassy Bloom box myself, and all opinions are my own**

I received my November Sassybloom subscription box about 2 weeks ago now, so I am a little late on doing the review, but as most of you know it’s hard to find the time to just sit down and record a video when you have a demanding baby who’s going through a clingy/crying and fussy phase.

You can watch my unboxing video here: Sassybloom unboxing video

I heard about the Sassybloom service via Facebook and loved what it was about and wanted to get my very own box for Logan and so I emailed the company and asked if I could review one of their boxes on my blog and so the lovely Nicole at Sassybloom replied saying yes basically, and gave me a special discount off my first box to review.

What is Sassybloom? Sassy Bloom is a subscription box which you can receive monthly or as a one off box, in every box there are baby/children’s products inside. The box is suitable for pregnant mums from the 3rd trimester to baby/toddlers of two years old. Each box is tailored and has handpicked items for your child.

How much are these subscription boxes? Memberships start from as little as £23 per month (Free shipping too on every box!) You can also purchase a one-off trial box for £40. They also do sassybloom gift cards, so you can give a mummy a very special gift.

So let’s get into the review

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Bright Starts Safari Beats – Drum

– 2 modes, drum mode and melody mode

– three colourful lights which baby can tap

My opinion – I’ve got to say I was so surprised to see this toy in the box, and my son loves the bright colours and the flashing “disco” lights, it’s, even more fun to play with in the dark. Love this!

RRP – £14.99

Munchkin soft tip spoons (6)

– 6 bright coloured spoons

– ideal for weaning

– Soft tips gentle on baby gums

– BPA free

My Opinion – Tried these out with Logan’s desert earlier and they were actually really nice to use, they felt really good quality and Logan seemed to enjoy the colours too.

RRP – £2.49

Munchkin Fresh Food feeder

– Reduces the risk of choking

– Comes in many colours

– Simple and easy to use

My Opinion – I have done a review on another net food feeder on my blog, however, that one didn’t work very well and broke after 1 use so I will be interested to see how this one stands up.

RRP – £3.20

 

Munchkin Shampoo Rinser

– Helps to keep water and soap out of eyes

– Easy grip handle

My Opinion – I’ll be honest I wouldn’t have thought this would be in a box tailored for a 6 month old just because i don’t tend to shampoo my boy’s hair (what little hair he has got) as i find its very drying and i bath him every night just because it’s part of his bathtime routine, so I’m not sure if I will use this product, maybe in the future I’ll use it, or might just be another bath toy for logan to chew on.
RRP – £4.59

MAM First Toothbrush

– Round head is gentle on baby’s mouth

– Short and compact handle

– Soft bristles, perfect for babies first teeth and on gums

My Opinion – Pretty self-explanatory really, but like I mentioned in my youtube video Logan already has a couple of toothbrushes and 1000 ppm toothpaste. You can’t have too many toothbrushes, and will probably keep this one for when logan is a bit older and can brush his own teeth.

RRP – £3.50

 

 

My Son Logan modelling the Personalized Bib 

– Super soft quality

– 100% Cotton

– Personalised for that special touch

My Opinion – What can I say, I love the fact that the bib has got his name on, and now everyone we meet will know how special and amazing my son is ❤

RRP– Unsure

 

My overall opinion on the Sassybloom Box: Overall I absolutely am made up with this box, considering it was my first time ever using this subscription service, I saw all the wonderful items other mummies and their babies received and I just knew I wanted a piece of that sassy cake, so yes I am happy with this box, there were a couple of items which I was a tad disappointed with, one being the shampoo rinser, just because I could just buy a normal jug and it do the same thing but other than that it’s all fab quality stuff and I would definitely reccomend this service if you have any children aged newborn to 2 years.

If you enjoyed this review and would like to get your hands on your very own Sassybloom box, then you can use my referral code MTOLOGAN, you can earn £10 off your first box.