Some great Christmas ideas for a 17 month old

posted by Thandi

Wow! It really has been forever since I last posted anything, but with Christmas around the corner, I figured it might be a good chance for me to jot down a couple ideas for anyone struggling to find gifts for their 17 month olds out there!

Noam has become even more curious and has resorted to trying to take most objects apart using his super-human strength little digits - but I managed to find a couple of things that can challenge this young man and here they are:

Walter Toys - another awesome German brand of toys

Walter - Schrauben und Muttern (aka Nuts and Bolts)

The website above is for Walter, yet another German brand that makes wonderful wooden toys for kids, this time the Nuts and Bolts toy we got Noam is keeping him well and truly entertained. He is trying to figure out how to unscrew the bolts from each other and trust me, this can offer you up to a good 10 minutes of respite - if needed. (Approx €10)

Tomy - Aquadoodle

Tomy - Aquadoodle (Classic)

This is a definite must have, I think, for when you go to the childless friend’s house, as this has helped to keep Noam calm and even made our friends believe he is a very silent and well behaved boy (!). Awesome!

It is so easy to pack and the pen, never runs out of ink, because it is filled with water. The best thing about this (for me) is that if your kid feels like picking up the pen and drawing on your carpet (ours is white!!), it is all ok - there is simply NO MESS! (Approx £20)

I have no doubt that I will be posting more here as the days leading up to Christmas get closer, but I hope these help to give you some ideas - if you are stuck!


Ladybird Touch and Feel Fairy Tales - awesome!

posted by Thandi

I don’t know if you have struggled with this, but Noam is in an ‘in-between’ phase with reading right now. He is just about to turn 14 months old, and I can’t get him to focus for very long on any story that is longer than 5 or 6 pages.

We were at the O2 Centre’s Waterstone’s over the weekend and I came across some of my favourite Ladybird classic fairy tales, but told for ages 1+. I must say, these are awesome!

They are the ‘Touch and Feel Fairy Tales’ collection by Ladybird and they are just the right length to keep Noam entertained before bedtime and during the day, when his energy is burning low and you can grab his attention. He has the Three Little Pigs and Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

He seems to love them, well at least he loves helping me turn the pages. So, fingers crossed he will learn these by heart, just as I did as a kid, and surprise my grandparents before too long with his new found skill of ‘knowing how to read’. :)

If you are searching for something to read your little ones, these are it! Enjoy visiting that magical land of fairy tales all!

Baby TV - acceptable or evil?

posted by Thandi
 

Since going back to work, I truly feel like there isn’t a moment to step back and breathe. I mean, I felt that way when I was on maternity leave as well, but now I feel like I am rushing at work, then rushing home to be with Noam and then rushing to get everything ready for the next day and then kicking it all off again each morning.

I keep thinking that at some point, this new routine will get easier, but I see no sign of that on the horizon yet. Amidst all this rush, there never seems to be a moment to sit back and have a coffee for instance or to relax and watch some news or other mindless TV.

So, I don’t know about you, but I am finding it incredibly easy to plop my little one in front of the television to watch a bit of Baby Einstein, which instantly chills him out for around 15 minutes. Perfect, or is it?

In the not so distant past, I have been so worried about the length of time I let him watch TV, but I have to say I have become a lot more lenient on that lately.

Perhaps, it is because I have found some more baby-targeted TV, which I feel he is enjoying watching and learning something in the process, even if it is how to jump.

Enough of the intro, I am talking about BABY TV.

If you haven’t heard of it, look into it. That is, only if you don’t mind having your under 2 year old watch a bit of TV. It is, in my view, great for letting your baby chill out and not scream solidly for half an hour. Gives me a break to make a quick dinner or to sort out some laundry and it really makes Noam laugh. I would recommend it too, as it doesn’t contain any commercials and is simply drawn using everyday objects - such as vegetables - to tell great stories and sing nursery rhyme favourites. Very clever and very good. Great option if you too need a short break!

Is it odd that my kid LOVES to sort things?

posted by Thandi

At first, I just thought it was a quirky thing Noam was getting up to, then I started to get worried about it being an obsession and now finally, after reading up on it, I realise it is perfectly normal. If you are wondering what I am talking about it is Noam’s new desire to do nothing but sort stuff out. 

It really is incredibly fascinating to watch and I was on the verge of thinking he was developing a sort of OCD-type thing. However, much to my delight, and thanks to the guys at Baby Center, I am totally relieved as I know it is perfectly normal.

If your baby is doing this A LOT, apparently they are trying to figure out the similarities and differences between objects. The grouping, sorting and arranging actions are apparently all necessary tasks for these little ones to undertake with their hands before they can begin to do so with their brains. Fascinating! I can really watch him for hours while he cracks on with laundry, muslin cloths or playing cards. Funny thing really, but boy am I glad this is a PERFECTLY NORMAL activity.

I am neurotic to the bone.:)

Yes, I am back on teething :)

posted by Thandi

Back from another fantastic trip to Germany, this time to visit friends in Berlin, and I have found yet another fabulous teething product. This time it is by Nuk, a German company of course, and it is called the “Nuk Training Toothbrush Set”. 

Noam now (at 13 months) has 7 teeth, and his gums seem to be driving him nuts, again. So, I thought I would give this brush a chance. Though, I must add that the Mam Training Brush is still very much in use. 

What is unique about this set? (I hear you ask :))

Well, this training brush set helps massage the gums, and I think this is perfect for those in between moments when the brush can be too harsh along the gum. 

I am totally sold, and I hope you will be too. Who would have thought, another brand which I love…Nuk!

What on Earth is going on?

posted by Thandi

This wave of rioting that has hit London since Saturday is ridiculous. I cannot believe that we live in one of the largest metropolises in the world and that people within it can behave in this manner!

As a parent, I am worried about the extent to which all this will spread. I mean it started in Tottenham, in North London, and it has since spread to Enfield, Wood Green, Oxford Circus, Pekham, Hackney and Brixton. Where next? 

And what about our children, are we likely to experience something like this every twenty-five years when we next reach recession? This is pure madness. What do these kids find exciting in destroying property and burning their community members’ homes?

Where are all the parents? What are they doing to keep their kids indoors? I know it is the summer holidays, but parents have to exert some authority over their kids. Or at least over their blackberries, take those away at least so they can’t keep organising more meet ups.

This is totally off the normal fivemums topics, but that is simply because I am sitting here in disbelief, wondering just what on Earth is going on? 

Pots and pans, what next?

posted by Thandi

Noam, as you know, recently had his first birthday. And though he received a range of exciting, engaging toys, it just seems as though more and more, he wants to play with ‘real’ objects. 

This was highlighted to me most recently when I was cooking (yes, I do cook - surprisingly, occasionally) and Noam was walking over to the hot gas stove, tugging at my legs for me to either pick him up or give him a pan to play with. So, for a while, I entertained the lad. I passed him our pots and pans to play with until of course an incident occurred where he got a bit hurt (nothing awful, trust me, just knocked himself with a colander and cried a bit). That was the end of the passing of pots and pans to him. Or, so I thought, until he cried and cried and made me cave so I had to give ‘em to him to play with; essentially I needed a solution. 

I relayed this incident to my parents and they decided to get down to Toys R Us and find him a wonderful set of colourful, plastic “Just like home” pots and pans (baby sized, of course), which he loved. He played with this set for about a week, before he was back at my pots and pans again. I guess the plastic ones just weren’t a convincing replacement. We then had to search for something else, so one afternoon when we were shopping in Ikea, my mom found these incredibly ‘real’ looking play pots and pans (DUKTIG), in a set and she virtually ran to the tills to get them rung up.

We got home and finally, Noam is happy. :) He can now stir fry those tiny rubber duckies to his heart’s content, scrape the lids across the floor, bang the pan and wok together and best of all MY pots and pans remain firmly in their cupboards, where they belong. Phew, success!

Jonathan Adler Nightlights.

posted by Kimberly




EM doesn’t have a fear of the dark (yet) but if she did I would love to put one of these adorable nightlights by Jonathan Adler in her room. The shapes (elephant, lion and giraffe) are fun enough for a kids room but the matte white porcelain is sophisticated enough for use in any bedroom.  I am not sure if the nightlights would work in the UK, due to plug socket differences, but if we lived in the US, EM would most certainly have one of these! The description online “guaranteed to banish monsters” is great! I wonder how they honour that guarantee?