New Excitement For Toddler Bathtime

Before a first baby arrives, it seems a perfectly normal state of mind for parents to seem a bit daunted by all the ‘stuff’ they seem to need.  The lists are endless.  And they have to be believed because you wouldn’t want to find yourself without a bottle-warmer in the middle of the night, would you?

Mummy and Daddy did their best, but there are things they’re not planning on using when my sister arrives.  Like a nappy bin.  Seemed like such a good idea originally, but unless you’re emptying it really frequently, you end up with a really stinky nappy sausage when you eventually take the lid off.  And how heavy!  We empty the kitchen bin most days anyway so I think they’ll just go with that this time round.

One thing we didn’t have when I was tiny was a Flexibath.  In all honesty, when we first heard about it, we thought “gimmick.”  When would we ever use that?  How wrong we were.  It’s fantastic!  We were given a shiny red one to review (which is what you’re reading now) and we can’t praise it enough.

So what is it?  Essentially, it’s a baby bath.  But it’s one with a difference.  It folds flat for easy storage, and therefore easy transportation.  It would easily fit into a suitcase, to avoid those nasty baby/basin bathing dilemmas, like my holiday in France when I was just six weeks old.  Taps are sore!  And so are plugs!  I was just too small for the big bath in those days, but your standard, non-collapsible baby baths just don’t fit in a car full of suitcases, pushchair and other associated baby paraphernalia.

With everything that’s going on this year, we don’t have a holiday planned so we won’t be able to test out the bath abroad with my baby sister, but I’m sure we’ll use it here.  And in the meantime, I love it myself, and I’m conducting extensive testing most nights.

It measures 66.5cm x 38.9cm and it’s 23.8cm deep.  It has no nasties in terms of what it’s made of either (no PVC, no heavy metals, no phthalates – think new car smell – or any other potentially hazardous materials).

The other points we think are worth mentioning are:

• -          It’s light and easy to clean
• -      It has its own flat, rubber plug (like a piggy bank) so it’s easy to drain
• -          It uses far less water than the big bath, so it saves money
• -          I sit in it in the shower cubicle, which means I can splash as much as I like, or in the Flexibath in the big bath, again so I can tip water over the sides without repercussion
• -          We fill the Flexibath from the shower, so we don’t need to put the hot water on.  Again, saves money, and think of the environment!

Neither I nor Mummy received any payment for this review and all opinions expressed are our own.  We think it’s a fab bit of kit!  It comes in lots of different colours and is available online from the lovely people at Whitestep, who supplied us with ours and also do some other rather handy little things,  at £29.95.

So, there's my tip for a "can't live without" product - any more we shouldn't be without?

Happy splashing!

CB x

A Disgraceful Lack Of Posts!

Yikes, it’s been over a month since my last post! (Nearly two, if you look closely!) I’m slacking in my old age!  In that time, so much has happened.  In brief summary, and not in any particular order:

• -          It was the Jubilee!  I spent a lovely weekend with friends and family, dancing, eating and laughing – is there a better way to celebrate?
• -          My friend got herself a baby sister.  I want one!
• -          Mummy said I’m getting one.  A baby sister, that is.  No sign yet.  I want her NOW!
• -          Hairy Dog nearly died.
• -          Perhaps the biggest news is that I had a birthday.  How cool are they?!  I spent the week after the big day trying to persuade Mummy and Daddy to prolong the festivities, pleading and sometimes demanding, “More Birthday!”

It’s been a really exciting month, all in all.  Fuelled by the lovely people at Plum Baby, I’ve taught myself to do roly-polies, much to Mummy’s dismay.  The Plum crew sent me some really yummy Oaty Chomp bars – strawberry cheesecake flavour!  They don’t have any nasty added salt or sugar (just strawberries and raisins to make them sweet) and as the name suggests, they’re made of organic oats and quinoa.  At 20g, they’re a perfect snack size, although I often try and hold out for a second – a growing girl needs plenty of energy, after all – and although I can’t manage the wrapper yet, I have no trouble holding the bar and shovelling it into my mouth.

Speaking of shovelling, that describes perfectly how the multigrain crispy rings pass my lips!  Cheddar was my favourite (in fact, there is also Gouda in there) but I was rather partial to the Tomato rings, too.  Again they use quinoa, but also corn and rice, and something called ‘teff,’ which is rich in fibre, iron, protein and calcium – perfect for helping toddler gymnastics!

So, about the gymnastics.  I couldn’t really tell you where I got my inspiration, I just fancied giving it a go.  I’m not ready for Olympic Roly Poly competition yet but there’s still time.  I get a bit lop-sided every now and then, and I have a tendency to go over on my head rather than tuck it in, but it’s another pretty fancy move to my repertoire.  Oh, and I got a trampoline for my birthday so life is pretty energetic around here these days!

You can buy Plum products direct from them online at www.plum-baby.co.uk, or from the major supermarkets, as well some other retailers.

Hairy Dog nearly drowned in next door’s pond because he fell in and hadn’t told anyone he was going out.  Thankfully Daddy noticed he was missing and went to look for him.  Everyone was frightened, not least HD and the fish in the pond!  I hear about the pond and how dangerous it can be A LOT at the moment. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

CB x

Pregnancy Hormones

I’m not exactly sure what “pregnancy hormones” means, but it’s Mummy’s excuse for everything at the moment.  It’s why she left my coat in the car the other day and I got wet running into nursery. It’s why she left her own shoes in the nursery when she left to go to work.  It’s why she’s laughing hysterically one minute and bawling her eyes out the next. She’s becoming a bit of an embarrassment, if I’m honest.


I discovered a new meaning to “Terrible Twos” yesterday, too, and for once, it wasn’t me misbehaving.  I think it’s quite accurate to use it for the second trimester of pregnancy, if my experience is anything to go by.  None of this “blooming” I’ve heard rumoured, and Daddy’s been looking out for that very keenly.


She walked into the kitchen door (she’s so clumsy at the moment!) and dropped her mug.  It smashed into a thousand tiny pieces, but Mummy’s meltdown was even more spectacular; the wailing, the tears, the ensuing sobbing!  I was quite impressed for a minute.  Then I got bored and left her to her grieving and clearing up, and went back to what I was doing.  So, it was her favourite mug, but really – did it warrant such a scene?


I think all three of us are desperate for the transition to blooming.  I’ll keep you posted!


CB  x

Big News From Chatty's House!

Word on the street is that Mummy and Daddy are getting another baby!  I don’t know for sure because they haven’t told me, but it seems I’m the last to know.  Why would they tell me?  I’m only their beloved daughter!

But everyone else seems to be talking about it.  We met friends over the weekend and they were asking Mummy things like “Have you told Chatty yet?” as if I weren’t in the room, or my ears don’t work.  And then yesterday, we had lunch with my rellies and my cousin asked me about being a big sister to the new baby.  Now, I don’t know what a “sister” is, but it was pretty clear about a new baby.

We don’t need one, surely?  Am I not challenge enough for Mummy and Daddy?!  Note to self: Must up my game a bit, quickly!  We have a dog, we have chickens, we have my baby dollies for goodness sake.  No need, if you ask me.  Which they haven’t.

I think the New Baby must be coming from a long way away because we’re not getting it for a while.  I guess it’s one of these fancy mail order things that Mummy likes.  Apparently we’ll have it before I get to dress up as a witch for Halloween, and that’s ages away.  On the plus side, that’s plenty of time for me to persuade Mummy to cancel the order.  In the meantime, I'm practicing my best 'surprised' face for when they think to mention it.

CB x

Remember Sacramento!

A few weeks ago, I promised you a story within a couple of days.  It didn’t happen, sorry.  I guess you could still call a fortnight “a few days” . . . maybe?

Anyway, here’s the story.  I’m going through a bit of a rebellious stage at the moment.  I won’t do a thing I’m told, and I am constantly testing the boundaries.  Daddy’s refusing to take me out on his own at the moment since a trip to the supermarket yesterday.  I ran away and hid and I think I scared him a bit. 

Mummy took me today and told me that I had to sit in the trolley, or wear my reins.  Yeah, right.  I refused, so she manhandled me into a trolley.  I hate the fact my size is such a disadvantage to me!  What I do have in my armoury is a great set of lungs, so I was still screeching by the time we got to the pay-the-cashier bit.

The Story goes back a couple of weeks, when this phase was already alive and well.  I’ll admit that I was trying very hard.  No, wait: I was very trying.  According to Mummy at any rate.  I whinged all day, I cried and screamed.  In the end, Daddy was in charge by bath time.  I’d been wailing for my bath all afternoon.  I didn’t want to eat, I wanted a bath.  I didn’t want to play outside, I wanted a bath.  I didn’t want to draw, I wanted a bath. 

Bath time came, Daddy ran me a lovely, bubbly, warm bath.  I wouldn’t take my clothes off, and I most certainly would not get in the bath.  More screaming, more kicking of feet and banging of fists. Then the unthinkable happened!  Not that Daddy lost it but that he put me in the bath, WITH MY CLOTHES ON!  Incredible. 

It has echoes of an incident with Mummy and Grandma many years ago.  Mummy was only small, and they were driving on the west coast of the US.  Grandma doesn’t like driving on the wrong side of the road at the best of times, and certainly not when she doesn’t know where she’s going, but Mummy cut her no slack at all.  She wailed for juice for hours when there was no way for Grandma to get her any.  Eventually, they arrived in a town called Sacramento, checked into the hotel, and the first thing Grandma did was give Mummy juice.  Mummy said she didn’t want it any more, so Grandma picked her up, stood her in the shower, and tipped it over her head!  “Remember Sacramento” is still a very real threat in the family lexicon.   Love that story!

CB x