February baby favourites

How is it that time again? I'm writing this on the 1st of the month and can't believe that my baby is nearly 8 months old. Our favourites are starting to change as the baby gets more mobile; the activity mat (our one dud purchase) is firmly out of favour, and the jumperoo is the place to be. Facing the patio doors to the garden Harry has become a wonderful kitty scarer, and the local birdlife isn't quite sure what to make of him either. After a good bounce in it, he's ready for a nice long nap, which provides me with the opportunity to put my feet up with a much needed coffee do the hoovering. Ahem.

Waitrose Baby Bottom Butter, Bepanthen and Sudocrem Care and Protect

We've been using the bottom butter since birth, sadly Harry's inherited my horribly sensitive skin and after a reaction to something in NICU that ended up with him needing a prescribed cream under his nappy I wanted something fairly unreactive and having used Bottom Butter on my bump throughout pregnancy I thought I'd try that. Winner. However of late teething and weaning are doing unkind things and we've upped our game to include the Sudocrem and Bepanthen. The Sudocrem Care and Protect we use during the day, Harry hasn't reacted to it at all and the Bepanthen at night just to make things a bit more comfortable and to ward off that dreaded nappy rash.

Books

We joined the library a couple of weeks back, and at Rhyme Time Harry enjoys looking at some different books. Our favourites at home are from the That's not my... series - the combination of the sensory element with storytime (I love our storytime, Harry cuddles and reading are my idea of heaven) seems to really keep him interested.

Rice cakes and breadsticks

Like all new mums going through weaning, I'm permanently interested in finding things Harry can snack on that are a bit more portable. Breadsticks are the newest as I was afraid they'd be a bit scratchy, but Harry adores rice cakes. His face lights up when I get the little tupperware I keep them in out of my change bag. On a side note how sad was I to discover that rusks are basically sugar. I love rusks.

And one for me... Ole Henrikson Nurture Me

Pregnancy has left me with what I can only describe as ridiculously sensitised skin. I have one cheek covered in a red splodge, and the rest of my face is on the edge of being sore the whole time. Some research online led me to the above which I managed to find on sale with 20% off as my Maternity pay barely stretched to it. It does seem to be soothing my skin, although sadly not taking down the redness. I'm hoping it's just hormonal and will start to ease soon, but my ridiculous levels of vanity mean I'm whacking on the concealor like it's going out of style. Just as well Harry and M don't care really.

Reading material

Sorry for the lack of food posts, of late it's not that I'm not eating, but I am combining the running with some healthy eating and there's only so much you can write about salad. That said, I'm trying a new fruit cake recipe at the weekend, so hopefully that'll make it on.

So - I thought I'd do a post about what I'm reading at the moment, both on my Kindle and magazines.

Magazines

I try not to buy magazines, although Mark's mum is very naughty and treats me to lovely home magazines when we visit. I'm a sucker for these and cut out things I like and stick them into my scrapbook ready for the day I get to decorate our own home.

That said, I love love love The Simple Things. So much so I'm contemplating a subscription - I adore the fact that it's pick up and put down-able and the articles are interesting, recipes lovely and I know it sounds somewhat shallow but the layout is just so pretty and well thought out.

Books

I've got two books on the go on my much loved Kindle (quite possibly the best present ever for someone who reads voraciously and travels a lot).

Be awesome: Modern life for Modern ladies by Hadley Freeman

I'm loving this - it's funny and so, so apt (scarily so) for life as I'm experiencing it at the moment. Movies lie - damn it, woman, they lie! made me giggle out loud in the restaurant (grotty burger, it was either that or scampi) at the hotel yesterday. The fact that I don't want to put it down at bedtime is generally a good indicator that I'm really enjoying a read.

Running like a girl by Alexandra Heminsley

This is wonderful, fabulous and terrific. Inspirational it makes me believe that I can improve with my running and has pushed me to get out there. Alexandra includes sections on being a beginner and learning to run as well as being terrified trying to buy trainers - a section which I could be the illustration for when I went into the Nike shop on Saturday. All I wanted was some running shoes for someone who over pronates and I wasn't even able to get to the trainer display for the hoardes of teenagers buying trainers to wear with their skinny jeans. And yes they were, I was eavesdropping.

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald

I downloaded this a couple of months back and have picked it up and read a few pages but not really got into it. I love Baz Luhrmann and am keen to see his adaptation but as with all dramatic adaptations of novels I won't until I've read it

And that's it - those are the novels and magazines that are keeping me out of mischief, distracting me from the ironing, and helping with the insomnia (6 months and counting) What about you - what're you reading?