A random link on a Facebook group of new mums and I’m on my way to recovering my overall wellbeing by exercising my pelvic floor via iPhone App (there’s an app for Android too!).
My Pelvic Floor Fitness (PFF) might sound like a joke, and its tongue in cheek reminder certainly has a sense of humour, but pelvic floor fitness to a new mum or in my case a second time mum, is top priority if we are ever going to sneeze and stay dry down there again.
Of course the last thing on a the post natal mind is exercise – we are too exhausted to think about much other than those precious little people who have turned us into wobbly jiggle bits. Having a toned pelvic floor is important: you may not feel like getting frisky with daddy now, but you will, and you’ll want to know that everything is still in good working order. You may think that holding your wee for hours on end devoted to a demanding baby is enough to keep you dry, but what happens when you sneeze?
Pelvic floor muscles are not just important for wee wee and nookie; your overall health and wellbeing is at stake. Since downloading this awesome FREE app – there isn’t a day that goes by that I forget my “tight schedule”. Tutorials to help you do it right as well as daily reminders, this app is genius!
It’s been quiet these last few days on here – I’ve had an annoying cold. You know the kind, bunged up and sniffly, and I’ve really fought it. However, I suspect it would have been a lot worse had I not been boosting my immune system with A. Vogel’s Echinaforce Echinacea Drops.
I always forget to take enough echinacea, especially at this time of year – and while I often forgot to take this three times a day, I did do several doses twice.
It’s nice and easy to take too – no tablets, just drops. Get your glass of water, add 15 drops (0.6ml) and drink.
(I should note here that children of 6-12 years can take this, but should only do 7 drops (0.3ml))
Echinaforce is a herbal remedy for the symptomatic relief of colds and flu – and similar upper respiratory tract infections. Given I’ve had this cold, I’m making sure I do at least two doses a day now – and I’d also say this cold has gone a lot quicker than previous ones.
A. Vogel’s Echinacea is produced using extracts of freshly harvested, organically grown Echinacea purpurea herb and root, picked fresh and used within 24 hours of harvest. The benefit of using freshly harvested herbs has been demonstrated in research – extracts produced from fresh plants contain almost 3 times more active substances compared with those obtained from equivalent amounts of dried herb. (Tobler M et al: Characteristics of whole fresh plant extracts. Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur GanzheitMedizin, 1994)
You can buy a Echinacea 50ml pack for under a tenner, and it’ll last a long time – in the month or so I’ve had this it has gone down by approximately 1cm – so you’ll be buying something which lasts all winter – plus it helps boost your immune system.
We were sent a 50ml Echinaforce bottle to try, all opinions are our own.
Following on from our previous review, we stayed at Hafan-Y-Mor near Pwllheli, a similar caravan/chalet type affair to the one in Devon we went to – where H screamed when she went in the shower – her only option to get a proper clean.
This time we had the Flexibath, and I’ll keep it simple – it’s BRILLIANT!
It fitted into the shower cubicle perfectly, there was no water on the floor, H had a bath every night, and it stored well away out of our way when not in use.
It’s ruddy brilliant – if you’ve a toddler who hates showers – even a tall one – consider this. It didn’t take up any space in the boot of the car and it was perfect for our needs.
Check out the Flexibath – it retails for £29.99
We have been sent a Flexibath for review – all opinions are our own.
H was in her baby bath for a long time beyond when she should have been though there’s a reason. She’s a tall girl, but we live in a house with a bigger-than-usual bathtub; It’s HUGE. You could fit two people in there comfortably – which is nice and all that, but when you’re trying not to use too much water, or occasionally need to just have your child have a quick bath, or indeed, your child has an irrational fear of showers, then the Flexibath would be what I’d recommend.
I’ve called this review Part One, as Part Two will come in a little over a month when we’ve had our second holiday for this year – in another holiday home with just a shower – and have had a chance to try it out properly in a much smaller space.
H is tall, as I’ve previously said. She’s almost three and well over a metre tall, so regular baby baths are too small for her, and quite frankly, would you want to take a baby bath with you on holiday anyway?
This is where the Flexibath works – it folds down flat, and has a handy hook which keeps the bath flat – perfect for storing in the car, plus it doesn’t take up very much space. My biggest concern was whether it would be too small for H. At a guess I’d say we’ll get a years use out of it (hopefully a little bit more) – so I’m hoping that by the time she’s four this irrational fear of showers will have passed.
You know what the best thing is though? Once your child outgrows the bathtub, the Flexibath can be used as a toy storage container! I think it’s fab – and I can’t wait to give it a proper test out.
Check out the Flexibath – it retails for £29.99
We have been sent a Flexibath for review – all opinions are our own.
I know it’s linked on the frontpage, but I’m sure nobody reads it – did you know there’s a Mum Friendly group where I end up asking tons of questions, and get loads of helpful replies? It’s over here.
I just wanted to bring this up, as H has had some awful night terrors lately – waking up and screaming. It all came to a head when we were at a friends house, just about to settle to sleep and she started – and it would go on for twenty minutes or so – sometimes longer. We were at our wits end, I was tired out as I was talking to her in her dream to let her know I was there (most of the screams were “Mummy! Mummy!” type ones) until her subconscious kicked in and she drifted off again. It’s not fun.
Sometimes she’d wake up and come into our room as there was a wasp in her room. We knew it was in a dream and she was still partially asleep, but try convincing a scared toddler of that.
Which brings me to the solution we’ve found works for us. Naomi suggested it, and although we didn’t make one, when we were staying with friends we were by the sea – and there’s loads of cheap shops where all the things you could ever want to buy (and the rest) are. Including a light up magic wand (as we now call it).
Every night I cast a spell, and every night H sleeps through, pretty much. We’ve not had a single night terror since I started casting spells (they’re obviously very sophisticated). We’ve also had minimal wakeups in the night.
So yes, thank you Naomi – I’m passing on your fabulous solution to whoever may read this now who could find it useful. Good luck!
We were lucky to be sent one of each type of wipes from Jackson Reece. The Kinder By Nature wipes are biodegradable, and use organic ingredients and are vegan. Read on….
We tried out the scented wipes, available in packs of 72 which came with a great seal – one which kept the wipes really moist and fresh too – we’ve found with some brands the seal will split and the wipes dry out. This was definitely a big plus point. They were kind to H’s skin, and we had no reactions to them – something we’ve had a problem with when using some well known names. Oh, and also – they smell so very very lovely!
We also tried the newly launched Natural Flushable Wipes which come in smaller packs of 10 – I’ve never been a fan of flushable wipes (as I’m convinced it’s me that clogs up the toilet), but these were lovely – and kept H so clean – it’s definitely something I’d consider over regular toddler wipes.
Jackson Reece’s unique mild and gentle balm soothes and protects babies delicate skin – and 99% of the ingredients are derived from vegetable or plant sources. Each pack of wipes contains Organic Aloe Vera (an anti-inflammatory, plus it’s healing and cooling), Organic Tea Tree Oil (which is naturally antibacterial), Organic Lavender Aromatherapy Oil (soothing and calming), High Purity Water and a vegetable based preservative system.
To quote Jackson Reece “Unlike many baby skincare products, our wipes do NOT contain any of the following potential irritants. Jackson Reece Natural Herbal wipes are free of alcohol, parabens, chlorine, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), Lanolin, phthalates, MIT, triclosan, propylene glynol, petro chemicals, benzonates, phenoxyethanol & Soap. ”
The wipes are suitable for children with eczema and sensitive skin, and is hypoallergenic and dermatologically approved – and of course the wipes are biodegradeable, and the packs degradeable. Oh, and they’re made in the UK, and not tested on animals – and are suitable for vegans.
I love that the company is named after their two sons, both of whom had eczema related problems which inspired them to create the wipes – read their story over here.
Jackson Reece wipes can be bought in Sainsburys (and several other retailers – check their site for more info!) – and they’re reasonably priced at around £2.99 per pack. The pack of 10 retail for just over £1.
While Tinnitus isn’t something that strictly falls under what Mum Friendly is about it is something I live with daily.
The 6th to 12th February 2012 is Tinnitus Awareness Week – and while it’s too late for me, it’s not too late for me to make sure that H grows up knowing that her hearing is something which should be protected and looked after.
I’ve been going to gigs since 1983, and only started using earplugs at gigs in the 2000’s – I know when my problems became permanent, and wish I’d had the common sense to deal with it sooner. Guided By Voices and Seachange played a gig at ULU, the sound was so loud for Seachange that nobody was in the main hall – and you couldn’t even speak in the bar area. It was horribly loud. I know when GbV were on stage was the first time I wore earplugs at a gig. Two days later the ringing started to calm down – again, that should have been a warning sign – but instead I went to Dingwalls and saw Mojave 3 play a gig, standing right down the front with no earplugs in. The ringing hasn’t stopped yet.
From the word go we made sure that H had ear protectors – without trying to be too paranoid about it (my mum, dad and sister have had hearing issues, so there could be something hereditary in there), so parties with a disco would have H with a nice bright yellow pair of Kidproof ear defenders. There’s several brands of these – and they’re not expensive, and definitely worth looking into.
Ultimately, the main way to protect your hearing is to have a sensible outlook from the start. Around 20 years of going to live gigs ruined my hearing because I didn’t pick up on the signs – so any loud events and I’ve got my disposable earplugs (or I just don’t go) – it’s really important to let our kids know they do need to look after their hearing – and there’s cases of people going to one loud gig and having problems – so it doesn’t even have to be a cumulative effect. Some people don’t go to gigs and still have tinnitus, so it’s not unique to one scenario.
The British Tinnitus Association have a Top 10 Tinnitus Tips, which are worth reading through; should you find yourself with this problem then show these to your GP :
1. At any point in time around 10% of the population experience tinnitus – both sexes are equally affected and although tinnitus is more common in the elderly it can occur at any age, including childhood. The perceived sound can have virtually any quality – ringing, whistling and buzzing are common – but more complex sounds can also be described.
2. Most tinnitus is mild – in fact it is relatively rare for it to develop into a chronic problem of life-altering severity. The natural history of tinnitus in most patients is of an acute phase of distress when the problem begins, followed by improvement over time. But for a minority of patients the distress is ongoing and very significant, and they will require specialist support.
3. Tinnitus is more common in people with hearing loss – tinnitus prevalence is greater among people with hearing impairment but the severity of the tinnitus correlates poorly with the degree of hearing loss. It is also quite possible to have tinnitus with a completely normal pure tone audiogram.
4. Tinnitus can be associated with a blocked sensation – for reasons that are not clear tinnitus and sensorineural hearing loss can give rise to a blocked feeling in the ears despite normal middle ear pressure and eardrum mobility. Otoscopy and, if available, tympanometry can exclude Eustachian tube dysfunction. Decongestants and antibiotics are rarely helpful.
5. Giving a negative prognosis is actively harmful – it is all too common to hear that patients have been told nothing can be done about tinnitus. Such negative statements are not only unhelpful but also tend to focus the patient’s attention on their tinnitus and exacerbate the distress. A positive attitude is generally helpful and there are many constructive statements that can be made about tinnitus, such as: most tinnitus lessens or disappears with time; most tinnitus is mild; tinnitus is not a precursor of hearing loss.
6. Enriching the sound environment is helpful – useful sources of sound to reduce the starkness of tinnitus include quiet uneventful music, a fan or a water feature. There are inexpensive devices that produce environmental sounds, and these are particularly useful at bedtime. They can be purchased online from the British Tinnitus Association at www.tinnitus.org.uk or by calling 0114 250 9933.
7. Hearing aids are helpful – straining to listen causes increased central auditory gain and this increased sensitivity can allow tinnitus to emerge or, if already present, to worsen. Correcting any associated hearing loss reduces this central auditory gain and thereby reduces the level of the tinnitus. Hearing aids are useful even if the hearing loss is relatively mild and an aid would not normally be considered. Recent Department of Health guidelines have emphasised the value of audiometry in a tinnitus consultation, and this is the definitive basis for decisions about hearing aid candidacy. If in doubt, refer for an audiological opinion. In our view, all people who describe tinnitus deserve an audiological assessment. Decisions on when to start using a hearing aid and what sort to use are up to the individual patient and audiologist.
8. Underlying pathology is rare, but be vigilant – in many cases tinnitus is due to heightened awareness of spontaneous electrical activity in the auditory system that is normally not perceived. It can however be a symptom of treatable and significant otological pathology, such as a vestibular schwannoma or otosclerosis. One should be especially vigilant if the tinnitus is unilateral, or if it has a pulsatile quality.
9. There is no direct role for drugs – although they can be used to treat associated symptoms such as vertigo, insomnia, anxiety or depression. There is also no conventional or complementary medication that has been shown to have specific tinnitus ameliorating qualities and there is anecdotal suggestion that repeatedly trying unsuccessful therapies worsens tinnitus.
10. Self-help is often effective – the British Tinnitus Association provides excellent information on tinnitus and common sense advice on managing symptoms. It runs a telephone helpline 0800 018 0527 as well as offering advice through its website www.tinnitus.org.uk
With thanks to The Line Of Best Fit for mentioning it in the first place, as I’d never have known.
I’ve wanted to do a feature on back pain for a while now. I’m in no way qualified to write about it from a medical perspective, however, I am qualified as I’m still in pain now, as I’m sure are many mums who have had back trouble.
Last year around August time I had a miscarriage, which started with back pain. A few weeks later my back went – I was unable to walk, to do anything – and was eventually taken to hospital.
I suspect the two issues are linked in some way which I’m not entirely sure how, but late January 2012 I attended an event held by Publicasity and the British Chiropractic Association, which went into issues a lot of mums (and dads) have relating to back pain.
I want to try to cover some of what I learned, and include some useful links so if you find yourself in that position, it might be of some help. All guidance came from Tim Hutchful and Louise Hampton from the BCA.
My first chat was with Tim – he told us how we often don’t pick things up from the floor correctly, putting extra strain on our back – and what we actually should be doing is raising a leg to give us balance. Try dropping a pen on the floor and bending down to get it – it’s not great – but if you try again raising a leg, you’ll find you have better balance.
Everything comes down to posture; to quote Tim “The ideal posture would allow for a plumb line to hang straight through your ear, shoulder, hip, knee and ankle. Try and stand in a relaxed way but gently contracting your abdominal muscles. When sitting, the same is true. The gravity line should pass thorough ear, shoulder and hip.” Did you know that when you’re sitting down, you’re actually using 150% strain on your back? (that is from memory, I need to double-check so am apologising now if it’s wrong!) As for slouching in front of the tv (guilty as charged, with my history, not good), that’s bad. A settee is not a good chair to be sitting in – it’s really bad for your posture. The ideal sitting position is to make sure your body has as much contact as possible with the chair, so it’s kept supported.
We talked about bags. Most mums have their lovely fancy changing bags, and actually they can often be bad for your back – ideally something like a rucksack which spreads the weight across your back is better – the same goes for laptops, and anything you’d carry in this way.
The one that surprised me was the potential for back trouble if you have a badly fitting bra. Most women don’t get correctly fitted and measured (from experience, the one time I did she didn’t measure me, she just kept bringing me bras she thought would fit) – there’s some tell-tale signs you’re wearing the wrong size – the underband rides up (lift your arms – and check if the underwire is still against the body), the shoulder straps dig in (the straps provide 20 percent of support – if the straps dig in then the underband may be too loose), the centre fold is lifting away from the body (possibly too small cup), or the back band is over stretched.
We were shown more practical situations we could all improve on – one was baby carriers – slings aren’t great for your posture (gulp) – try going for the ones which strap baby across you and criss-cross across the back, rather than go over one shoulder. When picking up your baby/toddler, hold them as close as possible to you and your hip, changing sides as often as possible.
How about playing? I had no idea what was going on with my knees, there were weird bits on them, but apparently loads of people get them – fluid on the knee, due to kneeling down playing with your little one. To help combat this and improve the line of posture, try kneeling on a cushion. I suggested sitting cross-legged, and was advised to sit on a cushion while doing this, as it’s an okay posture, as you’re evenly balanced.
When you’re sitting in front of a computer all day, I found that setting a reminder on my computer to check my posture every 15 minutes, and after three (ie 45 minutes) standing up, also helped a lot. I can get quite engrossed in my work… “Your seat should be adjusted so that your feet are flat on the ground, your knees bent, but with a slope from your hips to your knees. You should end up with your hips higher than your knees and your eyes level with the top of the computer screen. You may need to put the screen on a stand or even on a ream of paper to bring it to the right height.”
If you’re using a laptop, it’s worth investing in a separate keyboard and mouse to use when at home to use in a more back friendly manner.
As a knitter, I was told it’s good to sit in a chair which moves – like a rocking chair, as your posture wont be great while doing this, but with you moving around a lot, you’re getting support for the rest of your body – and take lots of breaks! My rocking chair is my feeding chair – and also with feeding make sure you’re giving yourself good support – your arms shouldn’t hold the baby’s weight. Try investing in a ‘V Pillow’ too, for additional support.
Exercise-wise, we were recommended one we’ve done in Pilates classes – the Star Exercise – I’ve linked to an article on eHow which explains it a little better, you essentially keep your back straight (core muscles at work – imagine you’ve a tea-tray on there which you don’t want to spill) and raise alternate arms and legs – our Pilates instructor liked to call it the Superman one (that seems to be another much more difficult one though) – but this works your abs to keep your pelvis stable.
It goes without saying, the one exercise they drum into you at ante-natal classes, the pelvic floor is extremely important. As someone who had a c-section, I’ve heard so many other mums who had one saying “oh I’m okay, I had a c-section, I don’t need to do them” and then have problems – everyone should do them, even dads. I’ve found I’m more likely to do my pelvic floor if I think of something to associate it with – singing nursery rhymes! It helps though, especially with the breathing, as if I’m not doing something I think about it too much.
One suggestion we had as far as overall balance goes was to stand on one foot when we clean our teeth, to help posture again. If we get pretty well-balanced, try doing it with our eyes closed – again, it’s helping the core muscles work and improving overall balance.
I have to say, I found the event really helpful – I got answers to things that other people hadn’t been able to give me. Six months after it all happened to me, I still have minor backache; it’s something I wish I’d done things to help strengthen and improve – everything we were taught was common sense. I met some other bloggers at the event, who all have their own accounts of the day – they’re all worth reading as we all had different issues, so where I’ve waffled, they may have said it in a far more coherent way!
I’ve gone on about this promotion so many times to people I’m making myself sick of it – but it’s a brilliant promotion, and one which if you time it right you can get amazing benefits from.
Schweppes Abbey Well bottled water comes with a cap which will get you a free swim. Not all pools are doing this, so you need to check their website. This promotion has been running for almost three years now, and I’m hoping is going to continue after January 2012 (as it has done for the last two years…) all you do is check your pool, check the times the pool will accept the swim bottle cap for (my local posh gym will only do from 12-2 on most days, whereas the regular pools are all day), turn up with your swimming things, swim.
Today I went to the Spirit Health Club at the Holiday Inn in Sutton, and with my free swim bottle cap I got my swim (very good for my back), a sit in the spa at the side of the pool (those water jets went right into my back, lovely!), a steam room session, oh and a sauna too. Oh, and if you’ve not brought a towel with you, it’s one of those nice gyms that will provide you with one – if you’re close to this gym, don’t forget to get a token for the lockers before you go in (I did).
Even better, these bottles are often on promotion – supermarkets will do two for £1. So strictly speaking it’s not a free swim, as you’ve had to buy a bottle of water, but heck, for the extra pampering I got today I’ll take it, thanks.
It’s an issue most of my friends have come across (including those without kids) – which blackout blind to use? So here’s a few we use, or have recently come across… read on.
We use the Gro Anywhere Blackout Blind which I’ve found to be great, though it does have it’s downsides – in that you can’t really open the windows when it’s up, especially on warm evenings. Having said that, now it’s darker I’m finding that it’s helping keep H’s room quite warm (we don’t have heating in her room). The biggest bonus with this is the amount of window space it will cover – and it can adjust easily too. It’s easily the cheapest option at £20, plus you can take it anywhere (hence the name…)
At The Baby Show for Trade recently I caught the Magic Blackout Blind which attaches itself to your window via static – it looks great, is tidy, and is something I’d definitely consider. They featured on Dragon’s Den too!
In our room we have an Ikea blackout blind, which are quite reasonable in price, and do the job, though light does creep in around the sides. The cord also needs to be fixed to the wall, as it’s a toddler hazard… H managed to pull one off the wall within a week. Fortunately Ikea gave me a free replacement.
Lightsoutblinds are a new company, and I’m liking how their blinds fit – from the side, so you can open your windows. They work using suction pads (as the Gro one does), which tighten – they’ll be at The Baby Show this coming weekend, so if anyone gets to see them, report back please! Find them over here – Lights Out Portable Blackout Blind.
So what do you use? Does it work? Comment below, and let us know!
Which brings me to the solution we’ve found works for us. Naomi suggested it, and although we didn’t make one, when we were staying with friends we were by the sea – and there’s loads of cheap shops where all the things you could ever want to buy (and the rest) are. Including a light up magic wand (as we now call it).
From the word go we made sure that H had ear protectors – without trying to be too paranoid about it (my mum, dad and sister have had hearing issues, so there could be something hereditary in there), so parties with a disco would have H with a nice bright yellow pair of 
