Swimbabes
Now that T is getting older I’m starting to think about swimming lessons. The thought of pulling on a swimsuit to accompany T’s on her first aquatic adventure is less than appealing. However, it may prove necessary as I’ve noticed that T is anxious in water during “hair wash time” and a trip to the swimming baths may be in order.
A know some parents introduce their little ones to swimming at the first possible opportunity but I didn’t want to rush it and now I’m not sure what to do for the best.
Fortunately I was able to chat to George Molloy, the director of Swimbabes baby swim school in Yorkshire, who took time out to share tips on how to prepare for your first dip with your little one.
Tell me more about Swimbabes
We are a family run swim school dedicated to providing baby classes in over a dozen venues across the Yorkshire area including Leeds, Wakefield, Huddersfield, Halifax, Sheffield and Chesterfield. We now teach over 1600 babies a week to swim.
We specialise in running infant aquatic classes for babies from 4 weeks of age within the Yorkshire area. Our baby swim programme is designed to develop the key skills needed for water safety and water confidence. As well as the swim school we operate an online shop at www.swimbabes.co.uk selling swim, beach, snow and travel products for babies and toddlers.
Why did you decide to get into the swimming business?
We started the company in October 2003 to allow my wife and I more time to be with our son who was born with a serious heart condition.
Our previous jobs involved long days and lots of travel and after our son, Josh and daughter Eve was born we didn’t have the same passion for our jobs. Josh absolutely loved swimming; he enjoyed being in the water and we all found this experience very rewarding.
Josh is now at school and fighting fit, and we wanted every parent to enjoy helping to teach their child this important life skill.
What does a Swimbabes course cover?
Our course is a structured programme, which encourages each child to develop at their own pace. We teach them the key life saving skills and importantly, to enjoy the water.
Our little swimmers can join us from one month of age and they receive a course booklet detailing the four main levels to our programme which they can aspire to – preliminary, intermediate, advanced and swimschool. The little ones all receive certificates after each stage.
My daughter is 15 months and just recently she’s started to become really nervous if I lean her backwards in the bath. I don’t want her to develop a fear of water, what would you advise to help build her confidence?
You could try to relax her by play with toys and then gently introduce moving her on to her back whilst still using distraction techniques such as toys or song and give her lots of praise.
What’s the best age to introduce your little one to swimming?
Generally we find the younger the baby the more naturally they ease into the course and swimming. We take babies from as young as four weeks and up to 18 months on our new starter courses; the pools we use have warm water and are baby friendly.
What swimwear products do you recommend parents invest in?
All our swimmers have to wear a dual nappy system, which consists of a disposable swim nappy along with a specialist outer nappy. You can also have matching tops and swimsuits for the girls. Wetsuits are very useful to have as you can use them on holiday or at pool you may visit.
What advice would you give to parents who are nervous about introducing their little ones to swimming?
Many of our parents who bring their babies along are nervous initially but our structured lessons and experienced teachers will help guide and encourage the parent to have more confidence and fun in the water.
Our aim is for parents and children to have fun, learn this very important life skill and to enjoy the water.
For more information on Swimbabes visit www.swimbabes.co.uk. You can also find Swimbabes on Twitter.
T at 15 months
It’s hard to think of T as a baby anymore, time is flying and with each day that passes she’s learning more and more. While we were at the Time Warner centre in New York a lady blew a kiss at T and that was it. Now T blows kisses at strangers wherever we go.
My proudest moment came when I arrived at nursery last month just in time to see T take her first step. Since then her confidence has grown as she’s started figuring out how to use her feet.
T finds walking hysterical. She starts beaming and clapping her heads as soon as she sets off and after a couple of feet she’s laughing so hard she falls over. She still crawls super-fast if she needs to get somewhere quickly but she’s enjoying pushing herself up to standing, toddling around, laughing hard, falling over and getting back up again.
A few weeks ago T wrestled her feeding spoon from her Daddy and started trying to feed herself. Now at mealtimes she has her own spoon and feeds herself in between spoonfuls supplied by Mummy or Daddy. Generally, her spoon is upside down and has no food whatsoever by the time it’s reached its destination. Regardless, T is absolutely thrilled. She carefully taps the spoon in her food and then lifts it to her mouth with glee.
Much to her Daddy’s amusement, T has started trying to “dress” herself in clothes from Mummy’s laundry basket which she tries to put on her head while standing in front of our bedroom mirror (I’ve no idea where she’s picked that up from…)
Three weeks ago T graduated from her infant car seat into a forward facing seat for toddlers which she’s enjoying immensely. I haven’t a clue as to how it works, as her Daddy handled the selecting and installation, but it looks great.
My latest project is brushing teeth. It’s not going so well. At first T refused to allow me to put the toothbrush anywhere near her mouth. I soon realised it would only happen if she was in control and tried it herself. Now we brush teeth in tandem, I do mine while holding her in one arm. She watches and copies Mummy’s actions in her own fashion. It’s a start at least…
T’s favourite toys of the moment are the remote controls for the TV and Virgin box, the cordless home phone, Bug (a cross-eyed furry toy her Daddy picked up after she fell in love with it during a shopping trip they made to Toys R Us) and her dinosaur book.
Over Christmas T was captivated by the stairs at Grandma’s and scrambled up the staircase to play with her cousins again and again and again. She was less interested in opening presents; it was all about the stairs and playing on Grandma’s piano.
So far the only coherent words T loves to say over and over again are “Dada,” “Mama” and “Nanna.” I can’t wait to hear what comes next…
Photo credit: Leo Reynolds
Merry Christmas!
This Christmas is going to be a special one as we will be spending it at T’s Grandma’s home with her aunties, uncles and T’s ELEVEN cousins, all of whom are under the age of 12.
T has just started taking her first steps and she’s very, very cautious so I’m hoping she’ll be racing around by the end of the year after spending so much time with the other little ones in the family.
Wrapping all the presents took my husband and I close to three hours and all week long parcels have been arriving for T. I think she’s going to love tearing off all the paper…
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas too!
Photo credit – Kelp1966
The children’s ward
Shortly after our arrival back from New York T became unwell.
The first sign was when she wouldn’t eat her dinner and didn’t want to drink her bedtime milk. She went to bed without any other fuss though so I didn’t think too much of it.
Two hours later I went to check on her and she was writhing a little in her sleep. Shortly afterwards T called out for me and when I picked her up she started being sick, and it didn’t stop.
I put her in the empty bathtub while my mind raced. T was vomiting heavily and I was starting to get worried. I tried calling an out of hours GP service, it was almost 11pm and I was told it would take an hour to get a call back from a doctor who would assess T over the phone.
At first I thought that would be okay, but she was still vomiting and refusing water and I feared if it continued she would become dehydrated. My husband wasn’t home so, I decided to put my mind at rest and take T to A&E.
I packed up her things and we jumped in the car. I prayed she wouldn’t be sick while in the back seat as I was worried about her choking.
T was very good and waited till we got to A&E to be sick again. And again. And again. The poor little thing had nothing left in her tummy but she still kept on vomiting. My husband joined us there and T smiled for the first time when she saw her Daddy which made me feel better.
After a 3 hour wait we were seen by a doctor. They tried to give T some saline solution to settle her tummy but she couldn’t keep that down so the decision was made to admit her to hospital and put her on a drip.
I hadn’t expected that but I knew it was for the best. After the drip was administered I spent the night on the children’s ward on a fold out bed next to T’s cot. They had run out of blankets but fortunately I had one for her and I didn’t need one. The next day my husband took over and kept T company.
Fortunately T made a speedy recovery she only spent one day in hospital. The doctors and nurses were all lovely but the children’s ward was so bleak. My heart broke for all the little ones who were in a much worse state and were having to spend Christmas time stuck in hospital.
T is now back to her smiley happy self and eating everything in sight. It turns out she picked up a bug that was doing the rounds at her nursery. I’m so glad it didn’t happen while we were travelling, that nightmare doesn’t even bear thinking about…
Photo credit: Tahitian Lime
New York part two
T, my husband and I are popping back to New York again this week.
Last time I thought I was organised by packing T’s things the night before and that I’d have plenty of time to pack my things on the morning of departure. Big mistake.
This time round I’m determined to avoid last month’s fiasco so I’ve packed our things two days prior to departure.
I also called the airline to check we can take the car seat AND the pushchair. We can.
Feeling much better now. I just have to pack our carry on bags and we’ll be ready to go. I’ll do that while T is at nursery tomorrow morning and then we’ll pick her up on our way to Heathrow.
I’m so looking forward to four days of no cooking, no laundry, no cleaning…
The snow has arrived in London this morning so I’m hoping it won’t cause any flight delays…
Photo credit: Moonman83
Locked out
I learnt an important lesson today, never make assumptions.
T and I popped out to pick up a prescription and some groceries just before lunch. We got home 40 minutes later and I was eager to get T indoors out of the cold. I started looking in my bag for my keys. Of course, on the one of the coldest days of the month so far, they were nowhere to be found.
It suddenly dawned on me that my keys weren’t in my bag. Instead, they were on the dining table, next to my laptop and my mobile phone.
At first I didn’t know what to do. I don’t know my husband’s work or mobile number off by heart so I figured I’d just have to dump the groceries and make my way into central London to his office to borrow his keys.
I was really fortunate that T was very patient, despite the fact she was supposed to be eating lunch and it was so cold. We got to my husband’s office and of course he was out at lunch, without his phone either, but one of his colleagues was able to track the group down and pass on the message.
T was thrilled to see her daddy and didn’t want to leave but by the time we were on the journey home she had forgotten about lunch and fallen asleep.
I was exhausted but I guess it could have been worse. I have absolutely no idea what I would have done if my husband wasn’t around.
Photo credit: The Truth About
Meet the Baby Chef
Matt Hazell has a very important job. In his role as The Baby Chef, Matt helps parents figure out what, when and how to start weaning their babies.
The Baby Chef has created a series of DVDs, meal planners and books providing the perfect interactive guide to weaning, with great recipes to try and expert advice.
Matt very kindly took time away from his kitchen to chat to Not So Yummy Mummy and share how it all began…
So, how would you describe The Baby Chef?
We’re the simple alternative to reading lots of books on weaning. We use a fun and interactive way to show parents how, what and when to feed your young baby.
Sometimes we’ve been described as a cross between Annabel Karmel and Jamie Oliver, as we’re easy to watch and have all the information you’ll ever need for weaning!
When did you start the company and how was the idea conceived?
We started The Baby Chef in 2009, but the idea came when I was cooking food for Luca, our little boy, back in 2008. I was batch cooking some food, and in the background I had a celebrity chef explaining how to cook a perfect roast dinner.
I realised that no chef was out there explaining how to cook for little people, moreover that this is the most important time when it comes to feeding and sowing the seeds for good eating habits. So I started The Baby Chef, and two years later we launched our first DVD with meal planner and book.
How old are your children and are they good eaters?
Luca is now 3, and he eats just about anything I put down for him. He’s always been a good eater, and I like to think it’s because he’s been introduced to many varieties of food over the years. He has his days, but in the main he’s a great eater, and interacts well with food.
Tyler is only 3 months old, and she’s still feeding from mommy, but over the coming few months we’ll start the whole weaning process again with her. I can’t wait as I’ve a few new recipes I’m looking to try out on her.
I love watching cookery shows so I think the DVD is genius. Can you tell us more about what it covers?
The DVD has everything you’ll need to know for 1st stage weaning. When to start; what to start with; how to start; what about allergies; can you feed babies organic food and is non-organic safe?
It also covers cost effective batch cooking and why it makes sense and importantly what you should avoid. On top of all of this, we’ve lots of expert advice from Lucy Jones, our specialist dietitian and we’ve over an hour of Q&As for the viewer to watch and rewind if they need to.
Lastly, the DVD has some of the best and most refreshing visual recipes that are great to watch and easy to make.
As a first time mummy, weaning was hands down the hardest job I’ve had so far. My one year old daughter is now eating much better but she’s reluctant to try finger foods. Should I be concerned?
My feeling is no, don’t be concerned at this stage. As long as your baby is taking food and she’s healthy I would not worry too much.
I’ve always taken things slowly with Luca, and he eats well. He didn’t find finger food easy at first, but after a few months he was fine and started to really like playing and taking control of the food intake.
I would try to encourage any parent to relax and take it slow, this is a life-long skill you’re teaching, and you want them to enjoy the experience.
I love the idea of your online meal planner; I actually kept my own offline version when I first started weaning my daughter. What has the response been to your online tool?
The response has been great, with hundreds of parents logging on and tracking their child’s food intake.
What we we’re even more surprised about was the handy pull-out meal planner, as the number of people who have contacted us, and said they love it has been fantastic. This pull-out planner has a “food diary”, a “shopping list” and a “to do list” which are essential for any new parent as time and memory fades away. The other major plus is that it’s wipe-clean so 100% reusable!
Now my daughter’s one and eating well I’m finding it hard to brainstorm creative meals. Can you recommend any great recipes I could try?
If you go onto our website, I’ve created the most fantastic “Fresh Beef, tomato and Basil” sauce for little ones. It will also feature on the new DVD called “Tasty Textures” which I hope she enjoys!
What does the future hold for The Baby Chef?
At the moment we’re looking to complete our “Tasty Textures” and “Simple Solids” DVDs, and we’ve had such a good response to “Easy Weaning.”
In addition we’re looking to sign a deal with a major high street brand so we can sell all three on the high street and around the world. We looking at a potential TV deal whereby we would film an 8 part TV series all about cooking for little children and babies, I can’t wait!
The Baby Chef DVDs are available from Mothercare and Amazon.
For more information visit www.thebabychef.co.uk
T at 13 months
Now T is getting older she’s starting to become more confident. It’s really lovely to see.
My husband and I are enjoying watching T trying to stand without holding on to anything. She looks like she’s surfing – her knees are bent, her bottom’s sticking out and she’s got her hands ready to steady herself for when she tumbles. It’s amazing to watch. She likes to practise standing in her own space in her own time and often doesn’t realise we’re watching.
I’ve started reading T a longer bedtime story before she’s tucked into her cot. Right now we’re reading The Tiger Who Came to Tea and she absolutely adores it. As soon as her milk is done T starts eagerly stretching towards the chair where the book rests before story time begins and as soon as the story starts she hangs on to every single word.
During the day her favourite toys are the Big Red Talking Bus, the Thomas the Tank sit and ride, her building blocks and the tambourine. T loves playing her tambourine, especially if she hears a song on the radio she likes.
T’s top two teeth are coming through but she doesn’t seem phased by this for the time being. She’s eating really well and sleeping through the night again now she’s adjusted back from our trip to the States.
T is waving hello and goodbye to pretty much everyone now. If she’s feeling shy she does a tiny little wave and when she’s really happy it’s a huge wave and a grin.
I’ve been pretty bad at baby signing at home. We still do our weekly class but I love it for the sing songs and the educational stuff more than anything else. T does do the sign for “duck” though when it’s bath time as I think it’s the one sign I’ve consistently remembered to do.
T’s favourite songs of the moment are “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, “Baa Baa, Black Sheep” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”. T likes to do the “twinkle” actions with her hands and the other two songs make her burst out laughing for some reason every single time.
Photo credit: Katiescrapbooklady
T’s first fireworks
I hadn’t actually planned to take T to a Bonfire Night display this year as she’s still so little.
But, when I saw a poster at her nursery announcing their own private firework display for the little ones and parents I knew T would enjoy it.
It was really nicely done. The display took place in the nursery garden but we were warm and cosy indoors as the little ones sat in front of the floor to ceiling window in one of the playrooms to watch.
T was captivated, at times she squeezed my arm really tight but overall she seemed to really like it. Afterwards there was hot milk and homemade biscuits. It was fun.
T’s daddy’s been on a mission all weekend to take us to one of the huge night time displays in one of the big parks, as he missed out. The thought of standing in the cold for hours with nowhere to change the baby didn’t really appeal…next year maybe…
This time next year T will probably be able to say the word “fireworks”. I guess if she can ask for them she definitely should go!
Photo credit: Trp0
Transatlantic travel
T, my husband and I are now back from New York. We had a great time and managed not to miss our flights despite a few adventures at each airport.
This is what I learnt from our first trip as a family to the States:
• T is too big to fit in a SkyCot so until she’s old enough for a plane seat of her own she’ll be sleeping on Daddy’s lap moving forward.
• Next time we’re definitely carrying the car seat.
• Next time I’m definitely packing more nappy bags, who knew I wouldn’t be able to find diaper bags anywhere in Manhattan or Brooklyn?
• Nature Babycare nappies are cheaper here.
• American baby food tastes very, very different to the baby food in the UK.
• American milk tastes even weirder.
• The lightweight pushchair was invaluable, we used the sling only once when T was irritable, otherwise it was the stroller all the way.
• T adjusted to East Coast time almost immediately yet it took her a week to get back into GMT.
• When travelling long distance with a baby do as much research as you can and don’t make assumptions but it’s definitely easier than we had feared.
Photo credit: Foxy Coxy
