Review of Stokke Sleepi Mini

We have been using the Stokke Sleepi Mini crib for about 4 and a half months, and as we have just converted it into the cot size I think it's time for a review.

The crib is the smallest size of the Stokke Sleepi which can extended into a cot with the addition of an extension kit, making this a very versatile piece of furniture.  We have not had any sleep problems with transition from crib to cot which you may get when transferring from a Moses basket to a cot.

The oval shape is great as the extra width compared to a Moses basket allows my baby's arms to stretch out in the night.  The bars also create good airflow and I am not paranoid about her getting her nose too close to the edge of any lining. The bars also make it really easy to see that she is ok without having to get out of bed.

Although it looks really exposed she slept quite well in it, however I think night waking is related more to the individuality of your baby rather than the cot they are in.  If the feeling of being exposed was a problem I think you could fit the Sleepyhead into it to make it a bit more cosy.

The crib is on wheels which is great for moving out the way during the day, or it would be easy to move between the bedroom and living room if you live in a flat. We found it fitted through all our doors except one. The wheels do allow you to rock the cot however they don't really work on carpet so best for a hard floor.

Although the crib comes with a mattress we used a Little Green Sheep Coir mattess which is really firm and fantastic quality. Although it's an extra unnecessary expense on top of an expensive cot I would very much recommend the Little Green Sheep mattresses. 

Although the crib is wide in comparison to a Moses basket it's not any longer, and with the bars being solid wood rather than material, we have only managed 4 and a half months before having to convert it into a cot, and our daughter is of average weight and length.

While this crib looks great and is fantastic quality there is one frustrating drawback (apart from the cost) and that's that the highest setting for the base is actually quite low and I was often cursing the crib in the middle of the night when my baby would constantly wake up due to the falling feeling every time I put her down!  It is also annoying that for the cost you don't get drop down sides.

It's very much style over substance with this cot, and when you are faced with an awake baby in the middle of the night you don't care about style!

So whilst this crib has in-built flexibility,  I wish I had bought a bedside crib which was super easy to put a baby down in and then a seperate cot with drop down sides, and then maybe my nights would be more restful!

The perfect pram for small cars - a review of the Baby Zen Yoyo 0+

I have an Mazda MX5 (2 seater open topped car) and there was no way that I was going to get rid of it after having my daughter!  So the challenge was on to find a pram that would actually fit into the boot, and after a long search I finally found it, the Baby Zen Yoyo 0+, and it's amazing, I would recommend it even if you don't have a small car.

The pram can be used from birth with a flat lying baby nest consisting of a padded base with a five point harness and a foot muff.  It can then be transformed into a stroller called the Baby Zen Yoyo 6+ with a separate conversion kit.  I have been using the pram for the past 4 months so here are my thoughts:

Most obviously it's super small and seriously easy to push around shops and cafes without getting in the way, the lightness means you can push and manoeuvre one handed which is really useful in the supermarket.  It turns on a pin head which is great in tight spots. 

The wheels are small but do have suspension on the front.  This is a pram for normal pavement walking and while I do take it down tracks and on bumpy ground without too much of a problem it isn't that suitable for serious off road usage.

The fold down and up mechanism is super easy.  It's not technically one handed as to fold the handle requires pushing two buttons in at the same time but everything else can be done with one hand. To fold down you just pull a lever under the base and it collapses, to unfold you just unclip and shake it up.  It does take a bit of practice and sometimes the wheels spin round to get in the way when putting it up or down, but compared to other prams the folding mechanism is amazing. 

It folds with everything intact so there is no need to remove the seat or parasol. 

Once folded the pram clicks shut and has a carry handle that you can put over your shoulder. It is super light compared to other prams.

The baby nest is fleece lined so great for winter, for summer it is a bit warm but is easy to roll down. The only downside to the pram is that the seat is low down and I do get a bit nervous when I come across dogs that are not on a lead, however I haven't had any actual problems.

The hood has two positions, one which allows you baby to see out and one which provides more coverage when sleeping. However the hood doesn't go a long way down so you will need to get the parasol for sunny days.

Hood fully up.

Hood on lowest setting.

The handle is a fixed position, I am 5"2' and it's fine for me, my partner is 5"10' and it's fine for him.  The handle folds in half which is great for bringing the pram close to a table in a cafe, or for using as an impromptu changing mat.

Picture showing handle folded

The rain cover is easy to use and stores in the pocket beneath the seat.  The basket is small but easy to access so is actually more useable than it looks, however I also use a buggy clip attached to the handle.  I use a Longchamp Le Pilage Medium as my nappy bag and can squash it in the basket even when it's full of stuff, however you would have a problem with a more rigid bag.

Picture showing the front of the basket with easy access.

Picture showing the back of the basket with easy access.

Picture showing buggy fully loaded on an impromptu walk in the woods after a trip to Sainsburys. 

The main thing though is the size, stored in the boot of my MX5 it only takes up a third of the space so there is plenty of room for shopping and changing bags.  

When I am using it I get loads of comments about how nifty it is.  Before I found this pram I tried the Bugaboo Bee3, iCandy Raspberry, and the Mamas and Papas Armadillo City, none fit. Even if I could have squeezed them in there would be no room for all the rest of the kit that comes with a baby.

I would recommend this pram to anyone, not just those who have small cars as it is so easy to use!

The Pros and Cons of Breastfeeding

As a new mum of a 4 month old my life has been dominated by feeding so I thought I would write about my thoughts so far on the pros and cons of breastfeeding.

My breastfeeding beginnings were not as advertised in the antenatal classes, she didn't just magically attach and start feeding after skin to skin, in fact she point blank refused to open her mouth! My first day and night consisted of a midwife hand expressing tiny drops of colostrum and sucking them up with a syringe. It took a great Health Care Assistant who spent a good couple of hours showing me and my daughter how to latch on before we got the hang of it.  

I do breastfeed but I am not part of the breastfeeding lobby; the choice of feeding is entirely personal and I do not want to add to the guilt which surrounds feeding choices. 

In England there is a drop off from 84% of mums breastfeeding at birth to 24% of exclusive breastfeeding at 6 weeks, then a further drop to 17% at 3 months.  When I asked the reason for this drop off at the antenatal class I didn't get a real answer and was left worried that the hormones wouldn't work and that I wouldn't be able to produce milk.  I now know that the body does its thing and produces milk, the reason for this drop off is that breastfeeding is hard and not always enjoyable. I think it is important to be open and honest about these difficulties so that new mums have realistic expectations. It took me nearly 3 months to be really happy breastfeeding, so in a bid to be open and honest here are my pros and cons of breastfeeding:

Pros
All the health benefits which are widely known and drilled into you during pregnancy - no need to repeat here.

Night feeds. Everyone needs to feed in the night but breastfeeding is so much easier than having to warm up bottles at 2am! Just get baby up, feed, burp, settle, then back to bed (ok this is a massive oversimplification!). Not sure I would have been able to cope if I had to mess around with bottles in the middle of the night whilst having a screaming baby.

Daytime outings. You don't have to remember to bring sterilised bottles, formula, and hot water with you everywhere you go! It must take so much organisation to leave the house if you are using a bottle!

It is lovely thing to do once feeding is established, although I only really understood this after I gave my daughter a bottle of expressed milk which was such a sterile experience!

It's an easy way to get your baby to sleep. This is controversial as feeding to sleep is supposed to create bad habits but the fact remains, feed and they relax and go to sleep!

The 300 - 500 calories is it supposed to burn! Like doing a boot camp every day without trying! Just don't eat loads of cake to compensate like I did!!!

Cons

You are the only one who can feed which means you are always on call, you will find it difficult to leave the house without your baby in toe, and it will be you waking up every time in the night! I found this was the biggest difficulty, I felt as though all I was good for was as a pair of udders, especially with all the hormones in the first weeks. I hated breastfeeding in the beginning because of this and it took me a good three months before I felt that I could continue to breastfeed for a year.  From talking to other mums it is totally normal to dislike breastfeeding in the beginning, it doesn't mean that you are a bad mum. To add to this you also feel a load of guilt for contemplating bottle feeding when you are having these low points.  Just know that it does get better if you have the energy to persevere. 

You will be constantly feeding especially in the early weeks is really tough. I was cluster feeding constantly between 11pm and 4am and was absolutely knackered. It does get a lot better after about a month or so, but during the early weeks it is hard to imagine that it will, and the allure of a bottle of formula is really strong! The thoughts of bottle feeding where particularly strong in the middle of the night when it is easy to think 'if I stick a bottle in her mouth, fill her up, and then she would sleep for ages!'. You may also find that people around you comment on how often you are feeding making you think that you are not producing enough milk or are doing it wrong, however it is totally normal to feed a lot, and it does get a lot better with the feeds getting shorter and more spaced out.

It doesn't hurt but in the early weeks when they are feeding all the time and their suck is really strong it can make you feel very sore. It does get better, and in the end is totally painless, but it is hard to feed through this pain in the first weeks and to believe that it won't hurt in the end.  Use nipple cream after every feed and warm cloths on your breasts.

I don't like the thought of exposing myself in public so I was really worried about feeding when out and about, and in particular in front of friends and family. I started using a scarf but I found this annoying as it would fall off my shoulder and it was difficult to see what I was doing.  I ended up getting a feeding scarf from Babe au Lait, which has a hoop that allows you to see what you are doing and has made things so much easier! 

Breastfeeding is easy but sometimes the advice makes it seem as though it is a technical process, lots of talk of fore milk / hind milk, attachment, feeding positions, length of time on each side, always offering the second side but also having to 'drain the breast' and going back to the same side after an hour, milk supply, foods to avoid etc it can be so confusing! I just keep it simple start with the side she last finished on and continue until she comes off, burp then offer the next side. This works for me and she is growing well.

Mastitis and blocked ducts. I haven't experienced these but when they occur they are nasty and painful and even though you have painful breasts you still need to feed from them. Plus the thought of mastitis makes me feel like I am a dairy cow!

Nursing bras are the fastest way to look matronly and for your boobs to hide your waste!!! 

Your boobs will leak which is super embarrassing when you forget to use a breast pad! Plus breast pads are super annoying, every time I feed the pad detaches and ends up scrunched up in your bra! At night your breasts will leak, the first time this happened to me I thought I had wet myself!!! This means sleeping in your bra and breast pads or a waterproof sheet, not very dignified!!!

So these are my pros and cons of breastfeeding, and even though on this list there are way more cons than pros, and it is totally normal to dislike breastfeeding in the first few months, perseverance and support means I am now really happy with this feeding method.  What I don't want to do is put people off breastfeeding, instead for those who are contemplating breastfeeding I want to provide realistic expectations so that new mums go into it with their eyes wide open and don't get put off too early. Hopefully this post helps to do that!