Clothing/Shoe Haul for Olivia

I can't believe how fast Olivia is growing, soon she will be out of her 0-3 months clothes and will be in her 3-6 month ones.  I was really lucky to have a girl as my sister (who has two girls) gave me lots of baby clothes so a part from a few items, I didn't have to buy a lot.  Before Olivia was born I went through all the clothes I was given and I divided them into ages and separated them into different boxes (this also kept me busy whilst I was on maternity leave).  There was enough clothes to fill three large plastic boxes which was amazing.  Recently I had forgotten what I had been given so I went through all the boxes and completed a checklist (like an inventory) of everything I had been given so that I knew how many dresses, trousers etc I had and what I still needed to get.

One thing you need to know is that all the following items (except one) were bought from Next.  I adore the children's clothes from Next and I often buy clothes for work from there too.  The clothes always wash really well and they last which is really important to me.  There might be other shops that you could buy cheaper clothes from but I don't think that the prices are extortionate and you can often pick up some brilliant bargains in their sales (which they always seem to have).

One thing that I didn't have was shoes.  I know you have to be careful about what you put on babies feet as they can damage the development of them but this is more important once they start walking.  I had bought lots of socks and had been given a couple of pairs of booties but it has been driving me mad that as soon as you put them on, Olivia manages to take them off.  I wanted a pair of soft pram shoes that would prevent socks from coming off and would stay on her feet.  This is what I found and I am over the moon.



Pram Shoes by Next £8.50

I think these shoes are so adorable.  They are made of soft leather with a soft padded bottom for the foot.  They have a strap which is attached by velcro which means that they are easy to put on as well as staying secure on the foot (no more losing booties - hooray!)  I decided to get two pairs as I thought the white would go with most outfits and I have quite a few pink outfits that the pink ones would go with also.  They are also so cute that I just couldn't help myself.  These are in 3-6 months but they also do them in sizes up to 18 months, and I thought they were quite reasonably priced.

Currently Olivia has been wearing a lot of leggings and tops which have proven to be extremely practical for during the day (as well as for changing her bottom in emergencies) and so I wanted to find some in the next size up.  The following pictures show two outfits (purchased as sets) which are both coral/pink and consist of leggings with a longer top and I thought they were both really pretty.  Olivia was also born with a lot of hair, which has been growing rapidly (she may need a haircut very soon) and I was able to buy matching hairbands which are fastened with velcro to wear with these outfits.

Two Piece Jersey Set £12 

Two Piece Jersey Set £12

Jersey Hairbands Two Pack £4.50

The following outfit is one that you don't need to wear a pair of shoes with and that's because the leggings have feet attached.  I really like pastel clothes and Mamas and Papas always seem to have a good range.  I thought this was a really pretty outfit and although the clothes are slightly more expensive than Nexts, they are still quite reasonable.



2 Piece Jersey Set - Approx £22

 The next dress was part of the Winter collection from Next so I'm not sure if you can get it any more but I thought it would be perfect for Sunday lunches out etc.  The dress is a corduroy material so it is quite warm, which is perfect for the cold weather we are having at the moment.  It also came with a long sleeve vest which is great as it means it can be mixed with other dresses and not just this one.

Cord Dress by Next Originally £18

Something that I don't think you can have enough of and that are sleep-suits or baby-grows.  Whatever you prefer to call them.  I already had a few of these (some which my sister gave me and a couple given as gifts) but I wanted to get some more.  Most places offer sets and I thought this pack of three suits were adorable.  Nexts current collection seems to consist of quite a lot of pinks/coral/orange colours which I happen to quite like but I know it's not for everyone.

Cat Sleepsuits Three Pack £14-£15

The final item that I bought was this dress from Next.  I bought it in the size 6-9 months as I thought it would be lovely for Olivia during the Summer months as it is a light weight cotton.  Plus it can be paired with a white cardigan if it slightly cooler.  

Dress by Next £12

I am always on the look out for things for Olivia and I know that when the sales next come round I'll be buying a few things that she can wear for this time next year so that I can start stocking up on the basics.

As children grow out of clothing and shoes so quickly I know that it is important to not get carried away with buying everything I see but perhaps I can get just a few things - just don't tell the hubby!

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The Comforter...to be or not to be?

Every baby needs a comforter don't they?  Well, I certainly think they do but perhaps that's because I had one as a child and I loved how it calmed me and helped me to sleep.  There are so many different kinds of comforters on the market today but I thought I'd share the two that Olivia loves.



Comforter Soft Toy £10.50 from Mamas & Papas
Pacifier £1.99 for a pack of 2 from Boots

 The Soft Toy:

Olivia is quite young at the moment to really hold this but we place Crumble (a comforter from Mamas and Papas) either next to her or under her right arm whenever she goes to sleep (day or night) as well as when she is in her car seat or in the pram and it seems to help to calm her.  This could be purely down to routine as it is something that we have done since birth and so now that she is 10 weeks old she may expect it.  We were bought several soft toys to be used as comforters but I have to admit that this is my favourite.  I like that it is made of several different textures which she can hold on to or rub as well as being a finger puppet which can be used during play time.

One piece of advice I was given with regards to comforters was to always have a back-up.  This was very true when I was a child as my first comforter (a pink material doll from Fisher Price) disappeared.  I think that it was in fact thrown in the bin as it had disintegrated quite a lot and was even held together with a safety pin.  Luckily my parents had the exact same one (brand new of course) which I too began to disintegrate over time.  I wanted the same for Olivia.  This was also proved right earlier on this week when Ben (my In-Laws dog decided to chew the nose off Crumble leaving him in a very sorry state - they quickly went to purchase a replacement, so no harm done - just proves that back-ups are so important.

At the moment Olivia hasn't become too attached to her comforter so it wouldn't be the end of the world if she lost it, however when she's older I didn't want her to be upset if her comforter became lost or disintegrated especially if she is still very young so I have purchased another one just in case.  As you can see from the picture, this is the spare one as it still has the tags on.   I will also get her used to having other comforters as well for example a muslin cloth (I have so many that she wouldn't know which is hers and they can all be washed) so that she always has something that can soothe her.

The Pacifier:

Some people agree with giving a dummy to an infant whist others are strongly against it.  I was always a thumb sucker (and as a result had to have a brace on my top row of teeth for a year) however I was very open minded about waiting to see what Olivia would want.  Very early on we gave her a dummy to help to calm her especially when she was overtired.  Whether or not you agree with this is up to you, but for us it was the right decision at the time.  We tried various kinds of dummies including ones that are suppose to be good for her teeth (when they arrive) but finally settled on the Cherry type soothers, mainly because these were the ones she liked. 

Does every child take to a dummy?  The answer is simply no, just as the same would be for children who suck their thumbs.  I have several friends who wanted their child to take to a dummy but they just didn't and no one knows why and the last thing you want to do is to force them to take one.

Does she have the dummy all the time?  Again the answer is no.  Usually we give Olivia a dummy after she has eaten and to help with wind, and as she is going to sleep to help to soothe her.  Most often she spits the dummy out of her mouth once she has had enough and if she does this then we leave her. 

How long will she have a dummy for?  I don't know the answer to that one.  There are pros and cons to both sucking a thumb and using a dummy.  She tries to suck her fingers and hands but at the moment they are so small that they just don't soothe her enough.  Also she hasn't quite mastered the co-ordination to keep her hand in place for very long.  I guess only time will tell.  At the moment she still sleeps in our room so it isn't a problem putting the dummy back in her mouth if she becomes unsettled during the night.  This will of course become a lot more problematic once she goes into her own room.  Maybe then I might have to re-think the whole dummy situation and try to encourage her to find her thumb but I don't know.  Also it's easier to ween her off a dummy than a thumb. 

It's a big decision for any new mum to decide whether or not to give their child a comforter of any kind, all I do know is that at this moment in time she seems to like her dummy and if Olivia is happy and content then that's all that matters.