Weaning while on holiday can seem scary. Will there be suitable food for my child? What will the highchairs be like? We also had the panic of how to make Parker's bottles - or more so how will we cope without the Prep machine haha.

We've been on two holidays with babies now though (Indie when she was 6 months and Parker at 9 months), and both have been a doddle when it came to feeding. I thought I'd share some of the weaning tips we've picked up along the way. These will be more aimed at the baby led style of weaning though, as that's the route we took with both of ours.

• If you're bottle feeding, take enough formula with you for the duration of you trip. You may be lucky enough to find formula at your destination, but it'll most likely be a different brand. Be careful with bottled water too - make sure to check the mineral and salt content, and it will still needs boiling too!

• If you've travelled to a hot country make sure to keep baby hydrated. Younger babies may want more feeds, although never put extra water in bottles. We made sure to get them used to a free-flow beaker before travelling so they could sip water throughout the day. 

• Definitely take advantage of all-inclusive packages! These are perfect for weaning as there is so much food to offer. Both kids tried so many new and different foods while on holiday, that we would never have at home. And if they didn't like a certain food you could just go back and get them something else! Just make sure all food is piping hot and always check that meat if properly cooked. If you are worried though, most local shops stock baby food, so there's no need to load up your suitcase.

• Make sure to pack your own cutlery, bowls, and lots of bibs. Most hotels won't have suitable things for little ones, so it's always best to take your own! We took a whole load of bibs too so that we didn't have to worry about washing them constantly. For day trips and the flights we used disposable bibs - so easy to use and can just be chucked in the bin after. If ever in doubt though, a muslin round the neck works just as well!

• If you're worried about highchairs, take your own! There are plenty of travel highchairs around but the one we love is the fabric chair harness by The Gro Company. It was so cheap and folds up really small (I keep it in the changing bag most of the time).  

These are just some of the tips we've picked up along the way. Weaning on holiday doesn't worry us at all now, and I do look back and wonder why I ever panicked! As long as you've packed the essentials and are prepared, weaning on holiday can be just as easy as weaning at home - we almost found it easier as we didn't have to clean up the mess haha.

I'd love to hear your weaning tips while travelling? 

Flying with Little Ones | Tips from the Bloggers

Flying with little ones can seem scary, and I know many people who avoid it altogether. This doesn't have to be the case though! We've flown twice now with babies and once with a toddler, and both times the thought of the trip has been worse than actually doing it. 

You can see what we packed for our toddler Indiana (2) here, but honestly the best thing we did was take the iPad and of course lots of snacks! Then for Parker (and when Indie was a baby) a bottle on take off helped to settle him, and put him to sleep for a short while too. We then found taking it in turns with the baby helped. He was constantly entertained, and it gave each of us a break throughout as well.


This is what worked for us, but I'm very aware that all children are different. I thought I'd ask some fellow bloggers for their tips too, so hopefully with this list you'll find something that works for you! 

We filled a Trunki with various new toys, books, colouring etc that we got from cheapy shops and every so often got a new thing out to keep him amused during the flight - Beth Twinderelmo

Check what the airport has on offer to entertain little ones, a lot offer a free play area which can help with the boredom whilst waiting. - Laura dearbearandbeany

Pack a dedicated activity bag and just cram it with anything that you think your kids will enjoy and be entertained by. I crammed the iPad with fun games and downloaded as much Sarah and Duck off BBC iPlayer, sourced some inexpensive toys from Poundland etc, plus water pen drawing books. If possible, secure the waterpen to the notepad as we found pens and crayons to fall down and roll away quite easily. - Sophie sophieandlily

Put spare outfits/clothes into zip lock bags incase of accidents / spilt drinks / illness. Make sure mum and dad have them as well as the kids. Clean clothes go on and dirty ones into the bag so doesn't ruin anything else in the bag. - Ellie havingababyandlivingathome

Feed the baby on landing and take off if you can. It helps their ears adjust to the pressure. - Naomi lifebynaomi

Something we used different on the way back from Australia just recently was the insert bag for the Trunki. You have to buy it separately but it was great as we packed core things in that such as iPad, small toys, colouring books etc. Then you can leave the Trunki in overhead locker and then the insert fits over the magazine pocket. Always think a calm, relaxed attitude from mum and dad is the best advice ever. - Kerry allaboutamininorris

Use all your hand luggage space to pack games, toys, books, snacks for them... Anything that will keep them busy! And use bags instead of cases so you can pop them underneath the seat instead of the locker - Heledd yummyblogger

We bought the Usborne travel activity cards, they were fantastic, my daughter loves them and in the end used them the whole holiday, not just for travelling. They are wipe clean so can be used over and over. - Vicki cake escapes

Little magnetic drawing boards are a godsend! Oh and sticker books! - Lauren belledubrighton

We took a little miniature toy plane and talked all about it during out journey. Even though he'd only 2, Eli was obsessed and enthralled by the fact he was inside a plane like the little one he had. Take a fully loaded ipad or tablet - it WILL be your best friend, especially on a long flight. Be friendly to your fellow passengers .. you'll appreciate their niceness if your little angel kicks off during the flight - Cat rockandrollpussycat 

Plan flight times well, we always aim for 6/7 am flights as the excitement of the airport combined with a ridiculously early morning means they conk out as soon as they get on the plane - Becky themummyadventure

Never ever ever forget to put calpol into your hand luggage with a syringe. The one time you don't is usually the one time you need it on the flight! - Taslima Notmyyearoff

I think the main thing is to not overpack. It's good to have a change of clothes, a snack or two and a sticker book or game but other than that little ones probably won't need much. - Lauren mummyisagadgetgeek

Travelling with little ones is always going to be trickier, but it doesn't have to be stressful -  I really hope this list helps and gives you some ideas for the next time you fly. Thank you everyone who gave tips, I know I'll be using these next time we fly!

Going on Holiday with Trunki | Review

From the second we booked our Familymoon we knew we wanted to get Indiana a Trunki. So I was over the moon when Trunki sent Indie one of her very own for us to try! We went for the new Gerry the Giraffe design which retails at £39.99, but there are 21 different designs to choose from, as well as a 'create your own' option.

If you've never heard of Trunki before, they're basically a ride on suitcase for kids. They've even be hand luggage approved making them perfect for any type of trip - be it a sleepover, a UK break or a holiday abroad. We took ours on our recent trip to Crete, and it made travelling at the airport so much more enjoyable for Indiana.

The cases have so many cool features that make them much more than just your boring suitcase. Firstly the designs are gorgeous. They're fun, bright and so colourful! If you did decide to put it into the hold you'd have no trouble spotting it when you collect your suitcases. 

They're also HUGE! I was worried at first that we wouldn't actually get much in there, and tried to pack as little as possible on the way there (just in case it broke from the weight). Honestly I needn't have worried though, and I was surprised at just how much I could stuff in there on the flight home! The strap keeps everything secure, and the case can also be locked when it's in use so there's no worry that it will all fall out.

Indie never complained that the Trunki was uncomfortable, and was happy to sit on it to be pulled along. Once sat on it and holding on I wasn't worried she was going to fall off either. Indie is 2 and a half (but quite short for her age) and was still a little too short to really push herself along. She is probably too small to pull it along herself too (especially when full), so these features were a bit lost on her.

The large shoulder strap made it easy for Jack and I to carry it when we needed to. This is the same strap that you use to pull it along, which did get a little frustrating. I found it quite fiddly to get the clip on and off when switching between pulling it and carrying it - which isn't ideal when trying to deal with a toddler and an airport!

Although I love nearly everything about the Trunki, I will say it does have it's flaws. Firstly the hinge opening is an issue. The way it opens makes it VERY difficult to actually use on the plane. I heard about this from others, so actually packed Indie a backpack full of things we actually needed with us, and kept the Trunki in the overhead locker for the whole flight. The hinge also came apart a couple of times, even when it was hardly full - this was easy to pop back together, but wasn't something I expected from a brand new item!

It is also slightly difficult to turn once full and your child is riding on it. This wasn't really an issue for us as we weren't it too much of a rush, but I wouldn't advice turning tight corners with a child on it haha. Overall it is easy to pull along, and it also dealt with the moving travelators well too!

Overall though we absolutely loved using our Trunki. Yes we did carry it through security and on and off the plane, but we would have had to do that with any carry on bag we had. Indie loved that she had something of her own, and the design is unbelievably cute! I know we'll be using it for years to come, especially as it comes with a 5 year guarantee and the unisex design means Parker can use it once Indie has outgrown it! I've included a video below that shows what we packed for our outbound flight in our Trunki. It really does hold loads!

Disclosure - I received this product for the purpose of this review. However all opinions are honest and my own

Wicked Uncle | Review

A few short weeks ago I was contacted by a company called Wicked Uncle, and asked if I wanted to review for them. I had never heard of them before, so of course did a little bit of research first. After just a quick browse my answer became a 'yes!'.

Wicked Uncle is an online shop full of fun, unusual and unique gifts for children. They don't just offer gifts though, they are unique in that they offer a present service for birthdays and other special occasions! These gifts can even be gift wrapped and sent with a handwritten card, and then you can choose to add a birthday reminder so you don't forget the next year!

The clue is in the name that they're not just for parents either - they're there to help uncles, aunts, grandparents, etc to find great gifts for children of all ages. This is made simple by their great categories, where you can pick a gift by gender and then age, by type of gift or just by picking from a selection of the most popular toys.

Even with the great categories I found it hard to choose. Not because I couldn't find anything, but because there was so much choice! I decided to get something for each child (although I knew Indie would claim everything anyway so tried to make it suitable for both).

The first thing I picked was this really sweet dinosaur push/pull toy. It also comes with a handle so once Parker can walk he can push it along - although as I thought Indie currently loves doing it for him! The toy is bright, fun and Parker loves pushing it backwards and forwards along the floor.

For Indiana I opted for a type of toy she hasn't played with before. These mini safari animals have been a huge hit already, and even came along with us on our recent summer holiday! They're hand-painted and excellent quality. Indie loves roll-playing with them and we've been able to teach her about a whole new set of animals which is great. I do wish you got more in a pack (especially for the price), but that hasn't seemed to bother Indie at all.

As a sneaky little treat for Jack and I, I couldn't resist these chocolate popping candy frogs. Jack seemed to approve as he ate most of them (he left me one haha), and I thought they were ok. I'm a Cadbury's girl so wasn't massively in love with the chocolate. I loved the popping candy aspect though.

Overall I was really impressed with the service and products from the website. They arrived well packaged, and it would have been easy for me to get them gift wrapped if I wanted to. Their range of toys is fantastic as there's some great products you wouldn't normally think to buy as a present! They do all seem on the pricier side though and gift wrap is £2.95 (plus £1.50 for each additional gift!), so do be aware of this if you are going to order.

Disclosure - We received £40 credit to spend on the website. However all opinions are honest and my own.

Weaning // Parker's Journey So Far

I haven't shared much about Parker's weaning experience, especially compared to Indiana's where I posted weekly. Just like with Indie we have followed the baby led weaning approach. Parker has always been a greedy little boy, so we started just shy of 6 months (23 weeks exactly) he's now 41 weeks (just over 9 months) and he absolutely loves food!

It has been a totally different experience from the first time around though. The main difference is that Parker is VERY willing to be fed. He's never really picked up the concept of pre-loaded spoons; he can do them, but most of the time he prefers to either launch himself towards the spoon, or lets us feed him.

There are many 'purists' (yes I know, this is actually a term I've heard), who would therefore say we're not technically baby led weaning then. But we are. Parker feeds himself every meal. He chooses what he does and doesn't want to eat. He's never had purees, and eats 'real' food. Yes we may feed him a yoghurt or weetabix, but if he wants to stop he'll shake his head and close his mouth - I'd say that's very baby led!

Although Parker loves food, it did seem to take him a little bit longer to get the concept of chewing and swallowing. I think this may be because we started a little earlier though. Once he got the hang of it though it made all the difference - the biggest being he actually started sleeping at night. He eats lots now and has dropped his morning bottle, and we're getting closer to dropping the afternoon one too.

His favourite foods include: pasta (he could eat this all day every day if we let him), potatoes, bread (sandwiches, toast, etc), fruit, cucumber, cheese, rice, tomatoes, yoghurts and anything 'treaty' such as the organix biscuits. He loves water too and will happily drink from his Tommee Tippee beaker - something Indie never did!

One of the most exciting things happening at the moment is that we're working with Babymoov, as part of their #stresslessweaning team! You may have noticed Parker's fab new highchair, which is just one of the fab products we'll be testing over the next few months. We also have the help of a lovely nutritionist to answer any questions - so if you have anything you want to know or ask, make sure to leave a comment below, and I'll pass it over!

Disclosure - We are working with Babymoov as part of their #stresslessweaning team. I have no been paid and all opinions are my own.

Chartwell | Days Out With The National Trust

This year we decided we wanted to get out and about more, and spend less time doing nothing, or wasting time shopping! With how rubbish the weather has been though, it's been so hard to do so. Luckily it seems like we may be getting a Spring after all, so off we went last weekend to explore a new NT property.

Chartwell is located in Westerham and was once home to Sir Winston Churchill. It features forest walks, beautiful gardens and of course the house itself. We didn't actually make it into the house this visit as we just didn't have time, but from looking at pictures it looks lovely.

We started off our visit with a quick pit-stop at the cafe - it took us ages to leave the house so actually arrived at lunch time haha. We picked up a couple of sandwiches and a kiddy lunch box for the little ones. You won't be surprised to hear they were VERY expensive, and I really wish we brought a picnic instead - lesson learnt for next time I think!

Then off we went to explore. With Indie in charge of the map, we headed towards the woodland walks and giant swings. These aren't buggy friendly though so we didn't actually make it that far. The swings are only up one small set of steps though so still quite accessible!




Indie loved the giant swings (and so did we haha), and it was so lovely to plonk the kids down on the grass and let them be free. From this side we had a gorgeous view of the gardens, the lake and the houses as well. Indie was picking buttercups and sharing them with Parker (I shared lots of pictures in my siblings post), and we even found some sticks which were perfect for use as wands!

Performing magic spells along the way, we wandered back towards the house itself. I will say it's very hilly (thank goodness Jack was on buggy duty!), but there are accessible routes this way. It's so worth it though, as the views from the top are beautiful, and we've already decided we'll be coming back for picnics on the grass in the if the summer arrives.

After wandering around the courtyard and the gardens, we knew it was time to go. Not before a game of pooh sticks with Indie though - a new found game for her which she really enjoyed! We didn't stay for too long, but Jack and I both agreed it was a perfect afternoon, and we'll definitely be back.

The Siblings Project | May

We've had a busy busy month since I last posted about my Peachicks! Two holidays, plenty of days out, and many teething disaster days that I'd rather not remember - thank goodness for chocolate is all I'll say. I thought I'd be sharing some holiday snaps for this month's siblings project, but if I'm honest we hardly captured any of just the two of them; and no way was I posting pictures of myself in a swimming costume online!

We took these snaps at the last minute yesterday, when we visited Chartwell (a separate post of our day will be up soon), and I absolutely LOVE them. They capture our two so well. Indiana's cheekiness (and her lack of sharing haha), but also her caring side. She absolutely loves her brother, and always wants to show him things, and get him involved. 

She's starting using this 'baby voice' to talk to him, which is so sweet! She'll comfort him when he's upset, and show him things when we're out. You can just tell how much she loves him - although as I've mentioned above, she 100% refuses to share, so he does get shoved about if he tries to play with anything in her radius haha.

Then there's our beautiful boy. He's at such a curious age now, and I don't think there's any doubt that he is Indiana's biggest fan. She still gets the biggest giggles out of him, and it's most likely because she's being silly to make him laugh! He watches her every move and even though she does shove him away he still comes back for more haha.

 

I sometimes can't believe how big these two are getting! They still look so different in my opinion, yet their development so far has been near identical. I cannot wait to see what these little blondies have in store for us this month!

Parker's 9 Month Update

39+1 weeks, 9 months old. The exact amount of time my gorgeous boy was in my tummy, and now the exact age he is now. How is it possible that it felt like so long we were waiting for him, yet he's grown up so quickly now he's here?

He's changed SO much this month, it's actually scary how much he's actually learnt! He's getting closer to the toddler stage every day and it's so sad. I haven't wished milestones away this time, but it seems they're coming just as fast!

Parker now weighs 19lbs 5oz and is in a combination of 6-9 and 9-12 month clothing. We're moving him into size 5 nappies and soon he'll have his 9-12 month development check. His routine is exactly the same as it has been previous months, although he now loves to sleeps completely on his stomach. He also holds his bottles himself and will drink more if you don't snuggle him in!

He's had a number of firsts this month including his first holiday, trip swimming, first go on a slide, and finally his first tooth!! It seems like more are on the way too so hopefully he won't suffer as much with those.

He's been in a development leap this month, and boy did we know it! He's been clingy, grouchy and sleep has been a bit unpredictable. He had a 4 hour nap one day, and I remember mentioning to Jack that he must be exhausted from learning so many new things... And I was right!

This month Parker has learnt to wave, he puts his arms up to you when you go to pick him up, he claps on command and he's practicing new sounds (I'm pretending his 'mmmmm' sounds at dinner are him saying mama haha). The most exciting milestone is that he's learnt to pull himself up, and constantly wants to stand! He started off pulling up in his cot, but now does it to everything and everyone haha. Nothing is safe now and I'm sure he'll be cruising very soon.

We're off on our first holiday abroad as a four this week, which we are so excited about! We've already decided to get the walker out when we get home though. I wonder if he'll walk early like his sister did? She was doing so many similar things at the same age it's crazy!

39+1 in - 39+1 out

What was your little one up to at 9 months?

What's In My Toddler's Flight Bag

We're off on our familymoon to Crete very soon, which is a four hour flight away. To hopefully keep Indiana (two and a half) entertained I've packed her a bag full of goodies - new things, her favourite things and of course lots of food!

We are taking her Trunki as a main bag, but as we'll have two kids and there won't be much room, I wanted to pack her a smaller bag which we can have to hand at all times. This one is just from Mothercare and is a perfect size! The Trunki will have spare clothes (essential for a potty training toddler) and back up snacks, as well as this bag while at the airport.

So here's what we've packed in Indie's travel bag:

Activity Book with Crayons

We picked up this activity book from Poundland. It's got things to do, colouring and included chunky crayons. Indiana loves these characters too so hopefully that will keep her amused for a at least 5 minutes haha. If not I'm sure she'll use it while on holiday too.

iPad & Headphones

We've downloaded Disney Life on the iPad which is absolutely fantastic! You need wi-fi to download things, but once on your iPad you can watch them without. We've downloaded Frozen and a couple of other films, which will definitely keep her happy for a while. She loves the CBeebies app too so between those I think she'll be very happy.

After asking around we purchased these JVC kiddy headphones from Amazon. These were an absolute bargain of £9.99 (the boy/girl specific colours were more expensive for some reason). They fit nicely so thankfully we won't have to listen to Frozen on repeat haha.

SNACKS

You can't go anywhere with a toddler and not have snacks to hand. Indiana is ALWAYS hungry, so we've got lots of her favourite treats packed. We love the Kiddylicious and Bear Paws snacks - they're so easy to grab and I know they're not as bad for Indie as adult snacks. We'll also have lots of Organix and Ella's Kitchen goodies incase she's extra hungry too.

Toys - Blind Bag, Playdoh tub & a toy of her choice

Of course we've packed a few toys as well; we don't want her on the iPad the whole time! She absolutely loves surprise / blind bags so I've popped one of these in. I may pop in a kinder surprise as an extra treat for the way home too.

I saw the playdoh idea floating around and thought I'd pop a tub in just in case. Although I may leave in the Trunki - it'll be good for on holiday at least haha.

Indie changes her mind on her favourite toy practically every day, so I'm going to let her pick one toy the day before to bring. Obviously nothing huge (although I fear she might try haha), but something she wants.

That's about all we're taking. Not too much, as I think she'd just become overwhelmed and want to play with it all if we did! Although do comment below if you think there's something we should definitely pack.