Babies and Toddlers on a Plane

Personally, I would rather have Snakes on a Plane - but then, as I have a pet snake, I would say that.

Long haul plane travel with small children is dreadful.  Let's not beat around the bush.  There is nothing good about the actual travel part.  It is means to an end - the end being travel, wonderful new experiences, visiting friends and family.  It's worth it, I think, but it's still dreadful!

The best case scenario is a baby or toddler who will happily sleep on the plane (in which case, a night flight is the way to go), or who is content to sit relatively still, with stickers, colouring, movies and the like as entertainment.  Many children are like this - I have heard from friends with incredibly easygoing toddlers who literally watched Peppa Pig for 8 hours straight, with the odd pause to snack.

My children aren't like this - Tabitha is a wriggly worm Class A.  She's never sat still through a movie at home - she likes to potter around, dancing and fetching dolls as she watches.  Zachary has been crawling from 4 months and has never stopped going since!  So clearly, I need to plan ahead.

I have always maintained that ages 12 months to 2.5 years are a International Travel No-Go Zone.  That is, if it can possibly be avoided, long haul travel for that 18 months is a bad idea.  Of course, this is a gross generalisation, and I'm sure there are kids out there who will travel just fine in that age range.  I just haven't met any!

With this in mind, we were keen to get a big overseas trip in before Zach turned one.  Zach is 7.5 months, Tabitha is 3.  Babies under 1 are relatively easy to distract, tend to sleep easily in new or strange places (wrapped up in a carrier or with a mouth full of breast).  Toddlers over 2.5 / 3 have far greater language and comprehension, and can (sometimes) be reasoned with.  They are also hopefully toilet trained, and capable of walking reasonable distances on their own.

I mentioned night flights - truly, this is the path of least resistance.  If you can spend the majority of the trip asleep (or at least, your child can), you have far fewer hours in which to provide entertainment.

Most babies will sleep fairly easily on a plane.  In the past, I (and other parents I've travelled with and alongside) have put the baby to sleep in carriers, wraps and slings, or on the breast or bottle, or by walking-and-patting.  The baby then either sleeps on the parent, or is carefully (and perhaps riskily!) transferred to a plane bassinet (if one is available, and if the baby fits in it, and if the baby will have a bar of it whatsoever - mine don't).

While the baby is awake, he or she can be entertained by scrunchy paper, new shiny toys, a rusk or snack, babbling to her parents or the passenger in the seat behind.  It can be tedious, but it is perfectly manageable.   If you have easy-going flight attendants (luck of the drawer) your baby can possibly crawl up the aisle with you every now and then, or sit and play on the floor at your feet if you have a bassinet seat (which has a little more foot room than regular seats).

If you happen to be flying business or first class, and therefore have a flat (or nearly flat) bed, you can hopefully just pop the baby on the breast or snuggle him to sleep, and both get a reasonable night of sleep.

Moving onto toddler sleep.  If you are travelling in the 12m - 2.5 year age gap I mentioned (The Mummy's Avoid-at-all-Costs-Flight-Zone), my thoughts are with you.  It might be tricky, as your munchkin is thrilled and stimulated by the new environment, break to normal bedtimes, new faces trying to chat and engage etc.  All you can do is your best.  Try to follow the bedtime routine - PJ on, night nappy or toilet, brush teeth, milk, a few bedtime stories and then perhaps some quiet guided meditation with either parent ("focus on your feet.  Think about how much they have walked today.  Feel the toes getting very sleepy.  Feel your feet getting tired and still" etc, for possibly an hour, until sleep appears - yours or theirs!)

Do prepare your child for the trip - talk them through what will happen on the plane.  Discuss what their meal might contain.  Practice laying still.  Let them bring a favourite stuffed toy.  Perhaps introduce some 'portable' elements to their bedtime routine in the weeks or months leading up to the trip (for example, a hand and foot massage with a lavender oil or balm).  Try some calming music or an audio book with headphones.

It may be possible to bring your car seat with you on the plane.  Many sources recommend this, as your child may be used to (and happy with) sitting for prolonged periods of time in their car seat, and it can be more supportive for sleeping than a regular seat for small children.  You will need to contact your airline, and it will depend on the type of car seat you have.  Also, bear in mind that once the seat is installed on the plane, you are stuck with it for the entire trip - you can't decide to stash it in the overhead lockers if it's not working out.

Certainly bring an extra squishy pillow, comfy clothes, a snuggly toy, warm socks, perhaps a favourite lightweight blanket, and likewise pack light clothes in case your child feels hot.

Speaking of clothes - pack plenty of spare, for the baby or child and for yourself.  Long-time readers of the blog may recall our flight to America when Tabitha was 10 months old.  She developed a stomach flu a few hours into the flight, and spent the rest of the flight to LA (and the 5 hour stopover in LA, and the 5 hour flight to Boston) with a 40 degree fever, vomiting non-stop.  From this I have learned two things:  firstly, pack lots of clothes, wipes, plastic bags.  Now add some more.  Certainly a full box of wipes.  You might not need them all, but if you do, you had better hope you have them!  Secondly, it takes a lot to deter The Daddy and myself from international travel.  Many (either made of weaker stuff than us, or else eminently more sensible, depending on how you view things) would have sworn off travel with children forever after that trip.

Apart from clothes, you will need an ample supply of nappies, wipes, smell-proof bags for nappies, a lightly padded change mat (those airplane change tables are rock hard), bibs, a small tub of nappy balm (pick one which can double as a lip balm or salve for dry skin, such as CJs

On the opposite end of stomach flu, we have eating and drinking.  Many children (and adults) become dehydrated on long flights.  Remember to drink plenty of water yourself, of course, but you might also need to remind and encourage your toddler or small child to drink as well.  I recommend bringing along their own familiar drink bottle - bring it empty (darn liquid and travel laws), then fill it up on board or once through security clearance, buying bottled water and decanting it into your child's water bottle.  Remind them often to drink.

Snacks and meals tend to be plentiful and regular on long haul flights.  If you have a child who eats properly, and happily eats the same food as you day-to-day, it might be tempting to turn your nose up at the children's meals offered on flights, and request a regular meal.  After all, you don't order from the nuggets-and-chips kiddie meals at restaurants.  I urge you to reconsider, and request the kiddie meal on the plane.  It comes out first (meaning that you can help them with their food if necessary, and they don't get hungry and ratty waiting), and it is includes a couple of fun treats that (if you are like us) aren't things they regularly eat, so the novelty adds to the entertainment.  If you are travelling with a baby, it might be worth ordering a 'special' meal for either yourself or your adult companion (such as a vegetarian meal, low fat etc).  This is because the special meals come out earlier, giving one of you a chance to eat your meal first, while the other adult holds the baby, then vice versa.

How about baby meals?  Infants under the age of two, who have not purchased a seat, can order a baby meal.  This differs between airlines, however generally includes some pureed and / or steamed veggies, meat and fruit.  You can try requesting a children's meal for your baby - we have always done so in the past when Tabitha was under 2, and the airlines always accommodated this request, providing her with her own children's meal instead of the standard infant meal.  If you are doing Baby Led Weaning, the children's meal is possibly a better choice for your baby.

Speaking of BLW - we all know it can be messy, these clever self-feeding babies!  Obviously, you don't want to have to sit in a seat covered in tomato puree and chewed up meat-and-veggies, dropped from eager baby hands, for the rest of your journey.  You could certainly try only offering your baby milk for the flight - nothing wrong with that at all - but most babies will protest once they see food, and demand their own.  I suggest packing your own food for a BLW baby - some sandwiches, perhaps some salad veggies, some cheese, things like that.  You can also use a bunny rug to cover yourself and the seat while your little one eats on your lap.  Cleaning up messy hands and faces can be done with baby wipes, of course, but I think that a proper wet facecloth does the job better, so consider bringing a couple of them in a snaplock bag, to wet and use as required (you could even get a cheap pack of them from the supermarket and dispose of them along the way).

Of course, if your baby is puree-fed, it’s probably a good idea to bring jars or pouches of food for him.  The infant meals on airlines vary wildly and are incredibly unpredictable.  They might include pouches of organic puree, with a rusk, some water and perhaps some applesauce.  Then again, they might not have anything pureed.  Then again, they might completely forget to provide your infant meal (it happens) so you really want to be prepared if your baby doesn’t eat regular food yet.  You can bring a stash of those pouch-foods, just show them at security, as long as they are properly sealed they do not count towards your liquids limit!

How about snacks for toddlers and small children?  Honestly, the airlines tend to bring out a reasonable amount of food.  Main meals, a few snacks, sometimes a pre-bed treat such as a Magnum ice cream or a hot chocolate.  Often pieces of fruit are available too, either offered or on request.  You can generally ask for other snacks, such as nuts, confectionary, museli bars etc.  Something about flying also seems to decrease the appetite for most people - perhaps the lack of movement and exertion, combined with increased pressure?  So you might find you're just fine without extra snacks.  But it certainly wouldn't hurt to throw in some of your own fruit, museli bars or a sandwich, particularly if you happen to have a fussy eater.  As I mentioned earlier, it is a good idea to bring your child's water bottle from home, and fill it up once you have passed security or boarded the flight.

If you think you will really struggle to get your child to drink enough water on the flight, consider some fun straws (those bendy straws are awesome for toddlers), or even a little juice mixed in.  I know, I know - but hydration is really important on flights and changing timezones.  Dehydration leads to all sorts of unpleasantness including irritability and constipation.  On that note - our lovely GP suggested administering lactulose in a low dose each day on the trip, to Tabitha.  We anticipate there will be a lot more refined carbs than usual (croissants, baguettes, cake...) and possible dehydration from the flights, so we want to prevent any possible constipation for her.  She's suffered from it before (not enough water was the cause) and it's so distressing and stressful for everyone.  If you think this could be a problem for your child, chat to your GP before you go.

Moving on to activities and entertainment.  The Big Topic for flying with kids.  Maximum entertainment with minimum carry-on luggage (bearing in mind that your carry-ons will already contain ample changes of clothes, baby wipes etc, right?  Right?).

The obvious first choice is an iPad or similar portable media player.  Load it to the hilt with movies, television shows, interactive games and apps, and picture books (this is an underrated part of the iPad - you can load up all your favourite picture books!).  Purchase some kid-friendly headphones (which prevent the volume reaching damaging levels for delicate little ears).  Let them go for it - it's hard to silence the Sensible Parent voice in your brain, "too much television!" but don't listen to it.  It's just one day, and if movies and games work, brilliant.

You will need other entertainment, however.  There are a good 20 minutes on either end of the flight where all electronic devices must be switched off, and, of course, you want to try to give those little eyes a rest from the screen.  Also, if your child is like ours, they simply might not be happy to sit and watch the screen for any prolonged stretches of time!

Here are my entertainment tips and ideas:

• Pipe cleaners.  They weigh nothing, take up no space, and can be thrown in the bin once everyone is bored of them.  You can bend and twist them into all sorts of fun things - little dolls, flowers, animals, jewellery.
• Drawing paper and crayons (obvious choice, but worth mentioning).  You can draw pictures of all the things you are going to see on the holiday, too, which is really helpful for small children, who struggle with the concept sometimes - that is, where they are going to sleep, where they will sit and eat their breakfast in the morning etc. can all be explained with crayons and a story.
• Stickers.  Then some more stickers.  I don't know what magical powers stickers possess, but give Tabitha a sheet of good-quality, raised and thick stickers (such as a sheet of dozens of little shiny cakes and lollies or animals) and she will stare at them for aaaaages.  Comparing them, peeling one off, finding a matching one, choosing her favourite.  I have packed about 10 large sheets, to be pulled out one at a time, every couple of hours.
• Sticker activity books.  These are often found at the bookstores at airports, actually.  They are large thin books, containing several pages of themed stickers, and 'scenes' on which to place them.  They are generally themed along a specific character, such as Peppa Pig.  Small children will need help with these, generally.
• Colouring in books.  You could even make your own by printing sheets off the internet - perhaps related to your trip?  Ditto for mazes, find-a-word etc. for older children.
• Magnetic dressup dolls.  These are great fun, though the sets can be a little heavy.
• Lego or Nanoblocks
• Small cars
• Small dolls - a family of dolls house dolls might be a good thing to tuck into the carryon.  Tabitha loves 'talking' these dolls to each other for ages.
• Some eye spy / scavenger hunt cards (possibly with pictures for small children).  Choose a bunch of things you would expect to find on a plane, such as a hat, someone in a red top, a bottle of water, a newspaper etc.  You could also play the game with the online magazine (an animal, a woman with brown hair, the letter P etc).
• Do you know Daiso?  It is a chain of Japanese stores where everything costs $2.80 (cheaper in Japan and the US, by the way, not that I'm bitter...).  If you have one near you, pay a visit without your child/ren, and fill your little basket up!  If you don't have a Daiso, you can try a newsagent or $2 store, but seriously, Daiso is brilliant and superior.  I bought stickers, erasers shaped like (startlingly realistic) cakes, biscuits and fruit, erasers shaped like animals and characters, notebooks of shiny, picture-covered drawing paper, pens with fruit-scented ink, pencils with a stack of rainbow leads (which you swap by pulling out the bottom one and inserting it back into the top), a little pinwheel, some miniature containers, sheets of origami paper, nail-art crystals (yikes, but if I get desperate...), some little dolls, a couple of toy cars.  Produce them one at a time, spaced throughout the flight.  If you can be bothered, wrap each one in paper and let your child 'lucky dip' every hour or half hour.  If each of these toys takes up 5 - 30 minutes of your child's interest, you will be a good way towards providing entertainment for the whole trip, if combined with some movie watching.
• If your child gets bored with the Daiso toys by the end of the flight, don't just throw them in the bin.  Put them in a cute bag and gift them to a random family you see at the airport, checking in or boarding a flight.  You might just have given them an additional hour or so of sanity!

How about getting around the airport?  From checkin, through security and customs, to the gate.  From the gate to the car.  With a mountain of luggage.  Your best choice is a carrier.  A good woven wrap is almost always my carrier of choice - it is the most comfortable and supportive of all carriers.  You can wear your baby or toddler on your front or your back.  Most babies and toddlers will nap in a wrap.  A wrap can also double as a pillow or blanket on the plane.  A wrap can be scrunched up and stuffed into the front pocket of a carryon.

The only disadvantage of a wrap is that it is not super easy to put on.  Yes, if you are used to it, you can wrap your baby onto yourself in less time than it takes to open a basic pram.  However, if you don't have someone else to hold your baby while you wrap (your travel companion, for example, might be wrangling other children or carrying luggage), you will need to lay your baby on the ground or a chair. Not ideal, particularly in a situation where there are loads of people and cases rushing past.

"Why would you have to unwrap your precious little sleeping angel?" I hear you ask.  Good question.  Bad answer.  Most security screening officers will make you remove them to pass through the metal detectors.  Yes, even if they are sleeping.  Yes, even if your wrap is simply a single piece of woven fabric without any metal.  Yes, you may want to attack them in anger.  It's no use - they are allowed to use their discretion, and if they ask you to unwrap your baby, you will have to.  Maddeningly, there are no laws around this - I've been informed by one supervisor that you do not have to remove your baby from a carrier, however most will ask you to do so.  It's incredibly frustrating.  I'm going to stop now, lest I enter a rant that reaches a thousand words.  You will also have to remove your (possibly sleeping) baby from a carrier or wrap once on the plane, for takeoff and landing - any time the seatbelt sign is on.  Again, so frustrating, because unwrapping a sleeping baby may cause them to cry and scream, which is not what anyone wants on a plane.  It is also annoying because the baby seems much safer and more secure in a carrier, rather than a flimsy, loose lap-belt attached to your lap.  The reason relates to being able to quickly release the child in the event of an accident, but I would hazard a guess that injuries are much more likely from poorly restrained babies and children, in the event of extreme turbulence, than by being 'stuck' to an adult in a crash.

So, I love a wrap, but appreciate the convenience of a quick buckle-on soft structured carrier (such as an Ergo or Manduca).  What to do?  I take both.  Neither are particularly bulky, both can be stuffed into the front pocket of a carryon suitcase.  If the baby is going to be in the carrier for any length of time, I use the wrap, or if we are needing to get the baby in and out quickly (security clearance) we use the Manduca.  This is the way we always travel, and it works well.  Also, The Daddy prefers a buckle carrier to the wrap, so it's handy to have both.

What about a stroller?  If your child is heavier, or prefers to nap in a stroller, you might find this a good choice (or a stroller in combination with a wrap).  Generally for international travel (and sometimes domestic) you can gate-check your stroller.  That is, you can take it right up to the gate, then hand it over when you are boarding, and they put it in a separate part of the plane.  There are even some strollers which fold up compactly enough to take on as carryon luggage, because they fit in the overhead lockers (Quinny Zapp Xtra with Folding Seat or Quicksmart or a few others).  We are taking an umbrella stroller (a Maclaren Quest), which we will gate-check, for Tabitha.  We also bought a brilliant universal scooter board, a Bumprider, for use while overseas, which will allow us to have Zachary in the stroller, and Tabitha riding along on the scooter board.  I would absolutely love to take our regular pram (a convertible single-to-double Bugaboo Donkey), however it is just too bulky to warrant taking with us, particularly as we are taking a few flights and trains within Europe during the trip.  It would also mean that our luggage would not fit into a hire car or chauffeured car for transfers.  So an umbrella stroller, scooter board, wrap and Manduca are our chosen methods of child transport for this trip!

There you go.  Travelling and carryon with little people.  If I have time, I'll write something about the rest of our packing.  Departure is around 48 hours away!

Salmon Patties and Toddler Babywearing

My mother's day chrysanthemums are still looking gorgeous, nearly a week on.

We're hooked on that chocolate banana cake I posted about last week.  Tabitha always loves banana cake because she gets to mash the bananas:

Speaking of mashed things - do you use a potato ricer to do your mashed potatoes?  I came to these rather late in life, but now I can't imagine doing without one.  You just boil the potatoes whole (in cold water to start), then you can put them in the ricer, skins and all, and out comes the finest, silkiest potato. If I'm feeling fancy, I will then press this mixture through a sieve for perfectly smooth, pureed type mashed potato (with unfathomable amounts of butter).

But these potatoes were destined for salmon patties.  Salmon patties are a real favourite in our house - freshly, crisply fried for dinner, then cold, the following day, in a sandwich with green tomato pickles and cheese.

I'm sure everyone has a recipe for the humble salmon patty, but I'll share mine - to start with, they are very light and silky, no hint of stodge.  But also, my 11 year old sister claims that these are the only ones she likes.  So I will share the recipe for her - indeed, they are so simple that a primary school aged kid could make them!

Salmon Patties

500g potatoes, boiled and mashed

A small brown onion, chopped quite finely

1/4 cup of parsley, finely chopped

2 eggs

A handful or so of panko or fresh breadcrumbs

420g can of salmon, drained (include all bones, skin etc - it's where much of the flavour and nutrition are, and you don't notice it at all once they are prepared)

Salt and pepper

Flour for dredging

Combine all the ingredients except for the flour and breadcrumbs in a large bowl, seasoning very well, and mix thoroughly.  Add enough breadcrumbs so that the mixture isn't sloppy. You want to be able to form a patty - keep in mind the mixture will firm up more still if you rest it in the fridge.

Sit in the fridge for 30 minutes or so, if possible, or overnight.  Form into around 10 quite flat patties, then dredge in flour.

Heat around 3mm of oil in a heavy based frypan, and cook over medium heat on each side until nicely golden brown and crispy.

Drain on a wire rack (like a cake cooling rack), and serve.

Note - you can use sweet potato instead, if you like (you'll need more breadcrumbs).

Note - these freeze just fine, uncooked.  Lay them flat on a tray lined with baking paper to freeze, then pop them into a ziplock bag and squeeze out as much air as possible.

I'm still wearing Zach in his wrap all the time.  It's so handy that he loves to nap snuggled up in a woven wrap, since we are frequently out and about during his morning nap time (for Tabitha's various activities and playdates).  Plus, in this freezing weather, it is lovely to have a soft, fuzzy-haired hot water bottle against my tummy!  I never need a coat.

Tabitha likes to wear her 'babies' (in this case, a pink corduroy cat) in a 'wrap' like mummy.  I use one of my long silk scarves to help her wrap her babies.  She stands and pats them on their backs gently, rocking, while she chats or plays with her toys.  I think she will make a marvellous mother one day!

Our watercress is coming along nicely:

Meanwhile, I have noticed that several of my wooden spoons are getting quite dry and a bit splintery.  I am going to oil them - does anyone have tips for this?  Should I just use nice olive oil, or a mixture of linseed oil or something?  The internet is providing me with many conflicting suggestions.

Saving Money with a Baby

In some ways, new babies do seem to eat money.  The good news is that babies don't really need much - a few grosuits, some nappies, a breast, a few homemade toys will do.  Of course, most of us aren't that frugal, and the temptation to buy loads of cute baby pieces can be strong.

Personally, I sat somewhere in the middle - I bought a fair amount of clothes (and was gifted lots), and I bought a fair few 'premium' products such as organic baby washes and creams, lovely organic bedlinen, a top-of-the-line car seat and pram, a number of excellent baby carriers, wraps and slings.

I also made a fair amount of stuff (all of the blankets are hand-knits, plus some coats, jackets and hats).

I completely avoided buying much baby 'stuff' - no fancy musical rocking chairs, walkers, jolly jumpers, no special baths, musical mobiles, baby monitors, special rocking feeding chair, infant swing, sleep positioners, wipe warmers, or lots of other stuff that some lists include as 'essentials'! Yes, all those things are common new baby items!  I think they would all add up to over a thousand dollars, easily, and we did without any of them.  Some are useful, for some people, but certainly I cannot imagine that any baby would need most of them.

Some things I bought as we needed them, rather than all at the beginning - this saves space (as you pack some things away, there is room for new things) and also spreads out the cost.  A playmat (with overhead toys and rails), some interactive toys, GroBags, these things waited until we needed them.

One area you can save loads of money is consumables - anything that you can buy disposible, you can buy reusable.  Reusable products save significant money, and are also generally much better for the environment (and often lower on chemicals, which is important to me for products against my and baby's skin).

• Cloth nappies instead of disposables.  Depending on where you buy them, good quality (non-leaking) disposable nappies can cost between 30c - 52c per nappy.  For a young baby, this can mean between $20 - $45 a week in nappies!  A set of top quality MCNs (modern cloth nappies) will cost you around $300 - $400, depending on whether you buy sized (e.g. small, medium and large) or one-size-fits-all.  OSFA nappies are more expensive to start, but will last the baby until it is toilet trained (up to 4 years).  We chose sized nappies - we started using MCNs when Tabitha was 4 months, and she went straight into Mediums.  Many slim babies toilet train straight out of Mediums.  So our entire nappy cost (from 4 months to maybe 3 years) might be only $380!  We do use disposables at night (around $110 a year) but many people use MCNs at night too.
  This really is a massive cost saving - if you're not convinced about MCNs, try buying one or two Itti Bitti d'Lish All-in-Ones.  I think you'll be sold!

• Cloth wipes - baby wipes are handy at times, but simple cloth wipes (cut up an old flannelette sheet or a couple of old towels) are soft, washable, and easy to use - either wet them with some warm water, or keep a spray bottle of water to spray on baby's bottom, then wipe.

• Reusable breast pads.  You can buy lovely, colourful, soft breastpads with a waterproof backing.  If you have a strong flow, like I do, you will need to continue to use breastpads well beyond the early days - I still can't go without, and Tabitha is 10 months old.

• Lunette cup instead of disposable tampons and pads.  Once you have passed the 6-week initial bleed, you can use a menstrual cup.  These pay for themselves after half a dozen periods, maximum, and are so much better for your body and the environment.

Of course, breastfeeding is a massive cost saver! Years of formula, bottles and teats, and steam steriliser units can add up to an enormous cost.  Spend $65 on an Australian Breastfeeding Association subscription (comes with the best breastfeeding book around, plus unlimited free breastfeeding counselling and support), and you could save hundreds or even thousands of dollars.  Having good support can be really crucial for breastfeeding - it can truly make the difference between being able to continue or giving up.  Breastfeeding is the ultimate eco-friendly, no-cost baby option.

It is certainly worthwhile buying a small collection of toys - some teethers, some baby rattles/moving/shaking objects, some blocks, some musical instruments.  Beyond this, however, you may find that joining your local Toy Library does the trick.  Most toy libraries are free or low-cost to join (many require you to volunteer just a couple of hours of your time in return) and you get access to LOADS of great toys - from puzzles and small block sets through to large things like slide sets and cubby houses.  I find Tabitha gets sick of most toys pretty quickly, so this is a great way to rotate the selection, and upgrade to age-appropriate toys regularly, with no cost outlay, and no need to store things!  Here is a link to the Victorian Toy Libraries, but similar things are found all over Australia and indeed the world.

Following that train of thought, the regular local library is brilliant.  I must admit that I am Library Obsessed!  I walk to our local library (5 minutes away) at least once a week - I have to walk, in order to limit the amount of books I can drag home!  Otherwise I end up with eight novels, three massive hardcover cookbooks, two oversized architecture books and a stack of DVDs and magazines...  I recommend the library for parenting books (they seem to all have great collections - and remember, if there is a book you want to read, and your local library does not have it, you can request for them to purchase it).  But most of all, the library is excellent for baby and children's books - there are hundreds and hundreds of great picture books, and my library has a few massive tubs of board books.  Each week, I borrow a few 'touch and feel' type books and a couple of other board books.

Baby Led Weaning is a cost saver.  No need for pre-made babyfood (almost every woman I know who feeds their baby purees uses some of the pre-made, fancy organic ones, even those who claim to prepare and blend everything themselves).  Those pre-made baby foods are expensive!  Even if you do make all your own purees, it must be a little time consuming.  Just feed the baby whatever you're eating, I say!

I don't like to use chemical-laden cleaning products.  They give me eczema, I hate the smells, and they leave a chemical residue all over your house - not great anyway, but with a baby who licks everything, even worse.  I use a combination of natural cleaners (bicarbonate of soda, boiling water, lemon juice and white vinegar) and Enjo products.  Enjo can cost a bit to start, but I find their products dramatically superior to the cheaper copies, and I find that they actually clean the house better than chemical products.  After the initial cost outlay with Enjo products, all you use is water, so you will certainly save money in the long term.  But even without Enjo, you can easily get by with just bicarb, vinegar and boiling water.

Try babywearing instead of the gym - it sounds a little trite, but I am slimmer and in better shape than I was before I had the baby.  With a good quality, well-fitting baby carrier (such as an Ergo or woven wrap), your back can comfortably support even a heavy baby or toddler.  I often walk 2 - 3 hours a day with my 10kg baby attached to me.  This means 2-3 hours of walking with a 10kg weight - great for fitness, legs and core muscles.  My arms get enough of a workout, lifting Tabitha up and down constantly during the day.

Although I spend a fair amount of money on food, I save money in some areas.  While I buy a lot of organic products, and things like imported bronze-extruded pasta, as well as Fair Trade ingredients, I save money by shopping in season (boring, I know, but true) and at Farmers' Markets.

More importantly, I have dozens of meals that I can cook large amounts, cheaply, then freeze.  I also have lots of meals that are quick and low-cost, feeding 2-4 people for well under $5 a serve, sometimes under $2.50 a serve.  Thick and rich lentil or bean soups, slow-cooked stews, meals made with cheaper (but tastier) cuts of meat like chicken thighs and drumsticks, chuck steak, and neck or shoulder of lamb.

Smart research will always save you money.  Jumping online to compare prices for nappies, toys, clothing, prams etc.  Buying on eBay.  Buying from overseas can save you loads of money, even considering international shipping costs!  THIS Dutch website sells Bugaboos, the accessories, and Tripp Trapp high chairs, for far lower prices than anywhere in Australia.  We bought our Tripp Trapp, its accessories, and a handful of accessories for our Bugaboo Cameleon (travel bag, sunshade, footmuff, sun canopy, cup holder, rain cover etc.), and even with international shipping of over $100, we saved over $300.  The saving would have been much more if we'd bought the actual pram from them as well (our pram was a gift from my parents).

Those are some of my tips.  I don't pretend to be a budget bargain queen (search out websites like Hillbilly Housewife for that!), but like most people, I like to save money where I can, so I can spend the money on fun things!

Sick baby

Tabitha has a nasty little cold - with a rattling chesty cough, poor little mite.

She is okay, sleeping fairly well (with long naps during the day), but she is all red-eyed and bleary and sad and coughing.

I tried to get a photo of her looking all sad and sick, but she continues in her quest to be the World's Happiest Baby and stubbornly refused to look poorly:

Despite photographic evidence to the contrary, she really is ill.  If I walk more than a few steps away from her she cries and cries - poor muffin must feel just rotten.

As a parent, you need to find the silver lining, or else it's easy to get down.  So instead of complaining about having a sick baby, here is my list of the not-so-bad parts of sickness:

• Tabitha is extra-cuddly.  When I get her up from her nap, she just wraps around me for a cuddle.  When she's playing on the floor, she keeps crawling over to me for more long cuddles.  She is happy to rest her head on my shoulder and just have a hug for a while.  It's nice.

• I have stayed at home this week, not going to our ordinary activities (Gymbaroo, swimming etc) because she needs to rest.  So we've actually had a really lovely quiet week at home, reading lots of stories, building block castles, and making up songs about cats!

• We have pretty much been in our pyjamas all week!  Comfy little Bonds PJs for Tabby, Peter Alexander baggy pants for me.  Lots of cups of tea, watching some DVDs and knitting while she naps.  A nice quiet week to stay at home (and get lots of washing done!).  Here is Tabitha mooching around in her PJs.  I got 5 pairs of cute Bonds cotton PJs for $10 a pair!!  Amazing!

• Finally, we have used this as motivation to have a super-healthy week.  Lots of fresh vegetables, fruit, and lots of baby pro-biotics for Tabitha (I take them too, and some does go through the breastmilk, but since she's ill I'm dosing her up).

Being a first-time mumma, I'm no expert on illness!!  But here is what works for us:

• Our nifty Vicks Vaporiser.  I have mentioned these before - they are brilliant, make a huge difference to chest and nose congestion, and allow Tabby to sleep well at night and during the day.

• Her chest cough was pretty bad this morning, so I sat in the bathroom with her (door closed) and put the shower on HOT and let it run into the bath (with a plug) until the whole room got steamy, and the bath was half full.  I then topped the bath up with a little cold water, to get normal bath temperature, and we both sat in the warm bath, in the VERY steamy room, for half an hour or so.  This helped to clear up her chest a little.

• Lots and lots of babywearing!  As long as she is firmly attached to me, Tabitha is happy.  She seems to breathe better, too, being upright, and having her against me keeps her nice and warm.  This pretty piece of fabric has been our saviour for the past few days:

• Tabitha has shown minimal interest in solid foods while sick, so she's been having lots of breastmilk around the clock - a good feed every couple of hours.  This is brilliant, because I know she is hydrated, getting a balanced diet (protein/fat/carbs/sugars etc) and lots of natural antibodies and vitamins.

Hopefully she starts to improve over the next couple of days...

Yum Cha

This morning we went to yum cha with our friends Stephanie, Amy and Shalini.  Yum cha is excellent for babies Tabitha's age - there is plenty of colour, sound and movement, new smells and tastes, plus pretty much everything on offer is easy for a baby-led weaning baby to eat - steamed dumplings, barbecue pork buns, pan fried dumplings, scallion pancakes, prawn and sesame toast, little chicken pies, Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce.  I think that Tabitha tried almost all of these things!

Here is a photo of Tabitha examining a piece of pork bun - sorry, no good photos of Tabby eating yum cha, since I was too busy devouring it all myself!  Next time I will remember to pause and take some photos.

And a few other pictures from yum cha this morning:

This week, I presented my first 'New Mothers' talk at the local Maternal and Child Health Centre, to promote the Australian Breastfeeding Association.  I was nervous, but it went well, and I'm looking forward to presenting many more.

During the week, I also managed to successfully wrap Tabitha onto my back in our Vatanai wrap, in a 'rucksack' carry.  This is mighty tricky to learn without someone helping you, and I think I nearly have it down pat - we went for a couple of 45 minute walks, two days in a row, and Tabitha was comfortable and secure.  It's nice wearing her on my back, as it leaves my hands free (for preparing dinner, cleaning, grocery shopping etc.) and the Vatanai wrap is lightweight and cool in the warmer weather (and mighty pretty!)  Here is a dodgy iPhone photo - I'll pop up a better photo soon, with a step-by-step tutorial on how to do a rucksack wrap, once I am a little more proficient at this particular carry.

This week, Tabitha also tried Feta cheese (so messy), a homemade spinach quiche (I love making quiche because it is much easier than it seems!), some vegetable curry, baby corn (a new favourite vegetable) and she really enjoyed sharing an almond croissant with my dad, while they sat together and people watched outside a cafe yesterday, while I was in an appointment.

Tomorrow night, The Daddy is staying home with Tabitha, because my best friend Amy is taking me out to dinner at one of my favourite restaurants, Yu-u!  I am excited - the last time I ate at Yu-u was with The Daddy, when I was 40 weeks pregnant - in fact, it was the day before my due date.

Less than 10 days 'til Christmas!

I cannot believe it is Christmas!  We have a busy one planned...  For the past few years I've done the Christmas cooking / hosting, which suits The Daddy and I just fine.  We like specific foods and certain ways of doing the Christmas meal, so having it at home gives us Ultimate Control!  And The Daddy loves hosting because it means we don't have to drive anywhere.  However this year, we are doing the 'drive around' style Christmas.

On Christmas Eve, we are having my parents, sister and aunt and uncle (my mother's youngest brother and sister, who are around my age) over to our house for lunch.  For such a small group, I think I'll do a rolled turkey-stuffing thingamajig, on the Webber, with roast vegetables and of course pudding and custard to follow.  I made 6 puddings this year (I make them traditionally, with suet), so there are plenty to go 'round during the season.

On Christmas Day, in the morning, my parents and sister (9 years old) are coming to our house to open presents and see Tabitha get confused by Christmas.  I suppose I'll glaze a ham the night before and do ham and cheese croissants for breakfast, and perhaps some egg nog.  Our local butcher, Glenferrie Gourmet Meats, stocks nice free range hams.

For lunch on Christmas Day, we are going to my uncle's house (my mother's slightly younger brother) to celebrate with mum, dad, my sister, my uncle, his wife and their two little girls, my aunt, her partner, her three children, my grandmother and her husband, and all of my uncle's wife's family too!  That should be fun, lots of little girls running around.  I am taking the pudding and the custard.  The largest pudding I do is 4kg and easily feeds over 20 people, but I think I will need approximately 6 litres of custard!  That is a LOT of eggs.

After the lunch, we are going to The Daddy's aunt's home for dinner, to celebrate with all of his family.  It will be lovely for Tabitha to get to see so much family in one day!

For Boxing Day, we are celebrating with The Daddy's father's family, and Tabitha will get to meet new parts of the family who she has never met before.  Believe it or not, the day AFTER Boxing Day, we are celebrating once again, with my father's mother and sister.  This time, we are going to Melba at The Langham.  The Langham used to be a client of mine, so I dined there quite a lot.  It really is a great place - it is an 'interactive dining experience' which basically means a buffet, but lots of dishes are cooked to order at chef stations, including a Japanese chef preparing sushi and sashimi to order.

In other news...

My gorgeous new woven wrap, my Vatanai Maruyama, arrived, and I am slooooowly getting the hang of it.  Apparently it's like skiing - tricky to get the hang of to start, but once you pick it up it comes naturally nice and quickly.  It was VERY hard to get a photo, since Tabitha loves trying to grab the camera, but I think it's such a pretty wrap:

To be honest, the photos don't really do the colours justice, it is a rainbow of beautiful purples, pinks and dusty shades.  How cute is my little cockatoo?!

In the mail today, Tabitha got some mail from Paris - her 'Great Aunt' Penelope, my mother's friend, a fellow ballet teacher, and a long time friend of mine, sent a very sweet postcard, wishing her 'a little kiss from Cupid':

Speaking of ballet - my parents gave Tabitha some sweet ballet slippers as a little baptism gift - I know there are a lot of adult women out there who would like a pair of these in a large size!

The aforementioned Penelope is trying to convince me that I ought to send Tabitha to ballet classes at her South Yarra school, instead of to my mother's school nearer to us.  Hmmm.  Well, if Tabitha really loves ballet she can do classes at both schools I suppose - although if she's anything like me, she will be dreadful at ballet and will be expelled several times for naughty behaviour!

Update

Ok so the dress is IN AUSTRALIA!  It cleared customs this morning at 8:27am.  Now who knows where it is?  Where do parcels go once they clear customs?  These are the Big Questions of my day today!  Will it arrive tomorrow (WOOOOOHOOO)?  Or will it arrive Monday (BOOOOOO)?  The Daddy very kindly went to the local post office and checked it if is there, which it is not, however they have promised to call him if it arrives tomorrow morning.  What suspense!  What a great start to a blog haha!

In other update news, I went to a florist in Camberwell, which is open Sundays, to ask them to make a small circlet of roses for the cake on Sunday.  The cake is 15cm across, tiny.  They quoted over $100!  I think that's ridiculous, so we found a less chi-chi florist who we trust and who quoted less than half that.  I just unwrapped the cake so that I can begin the re-icing process, and shaved a sliver off the top.  WOW delicious!  Despite (or perhaps because of) two years' storage.  Can't wait to have a proper slice on Sunday!  At our wedding, the bottom two tiers were chocolate mud and caramel mud, so this is the first time I've actually tried the fruitcake.

We had lunch with my mum and sister Q today.  Tabitha will call my mother Moosie, which I called her for a few years when I was younger (no one can recall why!).  My dad is Gra (short for Graham, and also a bit of a nudge wink at the fact that Grandpas are often Grey).  Lunch was lovely, Tabitha tried some chicken from my sandwich, a tiny taste of hash brown potatoes (which she really just mushed up in her fist, then wiped all over my pale pink silk Gorman skirt!).

Tabitha and I both had the chiropractor this afternoon, which was a great relief for me, since I have been wearing this little chubby butt of a baby around 8 hours a day lately!  So my back is a little wonky.  I love my Ergo baby carrier, it is awesome (and of course so much better than those 'crotch dangler' contraptions like the Baby Bjorn, see also LINK), but even the Ergo starts to dig in a little in parts after hour upon hour.  So, while I love it for quickly throwing on, I have ordered a woven wrap (a Vatanai, but other excellent ones include Storchenwiege, Didymos and Girasol), which, while more fiddly to put on, is easily the most supportive and versatile carrier around. And beautiful!

For dinner, Tabitha had a nice rare Frenched lamb cutlet.  She thoroughly enjoyed it, chewing and sucking on the meat while she held the 'handle'.  She also enjoyed using the cutlet as a percussion instrument, covering the table, chair and herself with lamb grease.  I suppose I had better go and clean up - and give the bone to the cats to fight over!  For dinner for The Daddy and I, I am going to make some Carbonara with lovely Fernleigh Farms freerange bacon, Parmigiano Reggiano, Martelli penne and local organic eggs.  No cream, of course!