And the winner is....

If you are a follower, you will have known I was running a 'Guess the Weight' competition.

So I gave birth to my beautiful baby girl 15 days ago on the 27th of July at 4.03am. We have called her Grace Lily Olivia and we love her very much. You can see her at the top of the page. Here she was only just over an hour old.

 Like I expected she is a tall baby, as i could still feel her pretty high up even when she had 'dropped'. At birth she weighed 7lb 10oz.

The original winner was only 1oz off the correct weight, however they never got back in touch after emailing them. The next closest guess was shared by two entrants, however again one of them didn't get back in touch, and if I keep the sweets any longer my boyfriend will snaffle them all (he has already sneaked some of them)! 

So the other person who's guess was 7lb 1oz was MEL MATTHEWS!

Congratulations Mel you are a WINNER! 

Here is what Mel has won: 

Big pile of sweets and chocolate

I didn't go by the exact list on the competition post as I ended up having to get most of it in an order from Tesco's as I didn't realise how hard it would be to get about the first couple weeks after having a baby and stitches! (Well I tried to think optimistically that I wouldn't be having stitches and I didn't know how much they would hurt afterwards).

So here is what is in the pile:

Sherbert

Chewy Bars

Chewy Sweets and Love Hearts

Chocolate

Bit of a mixture and millions mmmmm :)

Sweetie Bags

Mega Lollies, Haribo etc

Rainbow Drops etc

Fizzers, Maoam

Marshmallows

Despite her having a painful tummy :( I managed to settle down Grace for long enough to pack these all up, so hopefully I will get the parcel sent off tomorrow. So look out for the postman Mel =)

To avoid not being able to get in touch with winners next time, and them missing out and me wasting my time, I will ask for fb contacts as well in my next competition.

I am sorry to the original winner, but I waited over a week for a reply so I couldn't wait any longer as either my boyfriend would have continued to eat his way through haha or they would have got lost amongst all the baby items!

Thank you to everyone who entered my first blog giveaway! My next will be a jewellery one as promised. The prize will be from the site most of you voted for. So look out for it in a couple of weeks time.

                                            x - X - x

Urban Decay Naked Palette Giveaway

Ellis at EllyBellyBaybee Blog is giving away a gorgeous prize - an Urban Decay Naked Palette.

For your chance to win, click on the caption below the picture and it will take you straight to her blog and you need to become a follower to enter.

Urban Decay Naked Palette

I found her blog today and saw she was a fellow mummy to be and doing a beauty blog so thought I'd take a look and I love it. She even has a hello kitty cursor when you are on her site. I'm quite jealous!

Anyway what are you waiting for......go and enter! 

                                   Good Luck!

                                      x - X - x

Guess the Weight - My First Blog Giveaway (CLOSED)

After entering a few people's lovely blog giveaway's and winning two, I was getting the urge to do one myself. So inspired by lovely Rachael over at Rachael Marie-x-Mummy to be I too am doing a 'Guess the Weight' competition, soon to be followed by another giveaway which will be jewellery themed. There will be more details about the second giveaway in my next blog post tomorrow.

I'm starting off small, but its still a prize I think the majority would be pleased to win, unless you are one of those crazy people without a sweet tooth :p 

So up for Grabs for my first blog giveaway is: 

A Huge Pile of Sweets and Chocolate

Not actually the one pictured as I will go and buy the sweets and chocolate once the winner has been chosen just in case any dietary needs need to be met e.g if you are vegetarian or have a peanut allergy.

But it will probably contain some of the following and more:

• Flumps
• Love Hearts
• Rainbow Drops
• Reeses Pieces and Peanut Butter Cups
• Fruit Pastels
• Snickers
• Sherbert Treats
• A range of other chocolate bars
• Strawberry Laces
• M n M's
• Skittles 
• Haribo
• Jelly tots
• Malteasers

So here's what you have to do to enter:

1.  Be a follower of my Blog via GFC or Twitter, and leave your GFC name
2. Leave your email so I can contact you if you are the winner
3. Guess the weight you think my baby girl will be when she finally pops out
4. If you want to guess the date and time she will arrive and get that right I will send you out a few packets of sweets in the post. 
5. This is open to old and new followers, providing you don't just follow and then un-follow when the competition is over. Otherwise you will be barred from future giveaways. 

Here are some clues to help you out.....although they may be completely useless.

Here are some pics of my bump at 37 weeks gestation:

 

I'm now 38 weeks and 2 days and Due on July 27th

* If two or more people guess the correct weight, then I will use a name generator to pick a winner. If no one guesses the correct weight I will pick the person who was closest to the right answer.

So please pass the word on and get entering =) I'm due in 12 days, but she could be early or late and the competition will close when she has been born. I will notify the winner and get the prize out within a week of announcing it. Good Luck =)

                                                         x - X - x

Product Review: MabyLand Peg Rattles

So I mentioned in my Pregnancy Advice Post that I had won a prize from MabyLand's Facebook Page several weeks ago and was going to do a mini review soon (this blog post) and then a proper one once my little bundle of joy is here and of the age where she will appreciate the prize most.

MabyLand have a range of gorgeous baby products based around four main characters, doggy, teddy, kitty & bunny. The soft toy items in particular are friendly, soft and colourful so your baby is bound to love them. 

My MabyLand Prize

The prize up for grabs that I was lucky enough to win, was a choice of a pair of their peg rattles; either Doggy &Teddy or Bunny & Kitty. With me being a cat lover and due to have a little girl I went for the latter, and with submission of my address my prize arrived the very next day!

Appealing packaging

     The packaging of the product itself is very appealing and promotes all four of the peg rattle range.

The characters are a lovely design with friendly bright faces and the colours are warm and appealing. My only criticism is that the kitty could be mistaken for a teddy if not for the whiskers, if the ears were more cat shaped (but still soft so not a hazard to the babies eyes) then it would be perfect.

The rattles seem easy to grasp, although to have a proper insight into this I will have to see how my baby girl does with them at 3 months (the age range this product is suggested for). They are soft and make a pleasing sound on movement, not to harsh but noisy enough to entertain a young baby.

They normally retail at a price of £8.99 and their site sells a range of other products as well, from changing bags to towels and baby carriers to buggy accessories.

Soft, happy, colourful and easy to grasp.

Overall I am very pleased with my prize and will be following this review up with one from my little girl, judging her opinion from her facial expressions and gurgles :)

Mabyland now do regular competitions, the current one can be found by clicking on the 'competition time' image on their homepage and is to win a puppet doll from this wonderful range. So sign up and enter and good luck!

                              

                                          x- X - x

Product Review: Clinica Tissue Oil and Vitamin E cream

After entering probably over over a hundred baby & pregnancy competitions, I actually managed to win a few. Out of the four I won, two were for Clinica products; one run by Bizzie Babies Facebook Page and the other by Mumstreet.co.uk.

The prize from the former arrived fairly soon and was a 200ml bottle of Clinica's tissue oil and the latter, which was sent by Clinica itself, took a while to arrive but was not only a 200ml bottle of tissue oil, but two tubes of their vitamin E cream as well.

My mumstreet.co.uk prize

I was obviously keen to try out the tissue oil due to being pregnant so it was a great product to win, but not only that, I have sensitive skin. Its a lot better than when I was younger, but I often suffer from dry skin, and in general it just needs a bit of extra TLC, so I was very pleased to receive the vitamin E cream.

The packaging of any product says a lot about it, and especially in shops is what grabs the customers eye and makes them first consider it or just pass it by. The Clinica packaging is convincing in making you believe its a successful product, and tells you clearly on the front of the tubes (for the cream) and the side of the package (for the oil) its stand out active ingredients and what the product is useful for.

However at the moment, as far as I'm aware they are only currently on sale online, in particular on their own site Clinica UK.

 Clinica tissue oil:  

As the packaging and website tell you, it "contains a blend of natural oils, which soothe and nourish the skin and nails."

It can be used for:

• Helping to prevent the formation of stretch marks
• Skin containing scar tissue
• Before and after pregnancy massage oil
• After skin nourisher
• Dry skin conditions
• Moisturizing bath oil
• To assist in refining the skins natural oils and moisture

Extra info:

• The oil is rich in Vitamin E, Evening primrose oil, Almond oil and coconut oil extracts
• Its a non greasy & non staining formula
• It's safe for all ages

So its not only extremely useful for pregnant women to care for their skin whilst its under a lot of strain, but it can be used for those who perhaps have had operations and accidents, those with skin conditions (i.e eczema which I had as a child) and those just wanting to take good care of their skin.

It contains the all important ingredient of Vitamin E, found in many good skincare products, the benefits of which can be read about here: Healthy Skincare and evening primrose oil, which among its many medicinal benefits its great for the skin due to its: "gamma-linoleic acid, linoleic acid and other nutrients" which are "essential for cell structure and improving the elasticity of the skin."

My BizzieBaby Prize

  

When using the product I have found it to have a pleasant fragrance and only a few drops are needed to cover and massage into the areas you are treating, and with a bottle this size it means it won't run out too quick even with every day use. Which is handy as it advises you to use it morning and evening. I have used my first bottle a few times and as you can see, there is still plenty of the product left.

I've been lucky and don't seem to have any stretch marks apart from one on the top of my thigh, and a few old ones have become a bit more prominent from when I was on steroidal treatment for an illness, but without this my skin does become dry, tight and itchy due to it being stretched too much, so I have no doubt this oil is helping my skin stay in a better condition. Its a quick relief from the irritation and its long term affects are protecting my skins components and helping me avoid any further skin damage.

The 200ml bottle retails at £10.80, with a smaller option of 60ml also available at the price of £5.40.

Clinica Vitamin E Cream:

From their site, a 100g tube of this cream retails at only £3, which is a great price for such a beneficial product, and I received 2 of these. If buying myself I would go for the even better value of the 500g Jar which is only £4.80 ......five times the amount for less than £2 more.

Again the clearly labelled packaging tells you all you need to know, that its is " B5 and Evening Primrose enriched".

Ideal for: 

• Dry skin
• Sun Damaged skin
• Scars
• Stretch marks
• Wrinkles
• Ageing Skin

On the back: The cream "is a specially developed hypo-allergic formulation for dry, damaged and ageing skin. Vitamin E is not only responsible for repairing damaged skin and enhancing elasticity, but also as a potent anti oxidant. /with regular use, your skin will have the ultimate anti-oxidant protection". 

So again this isn't just useful for during and after pregnancy, its great to take care of your skin if it needs that extra bit of TLC if you're not a teenager anymore, which sadly I'm not. I struggle to deal with the fact I'm 25 now but at least I won't have to struggle looking after my skin now I have these products! 

As I'm nearing the end of my pregnancy I'm pretty sure my tummy is as stretched as it can be (so knowing my luck even thought I think I've escaped without stretch marks, they are all going to turn up in these last 3 weeks), and I have developed some dry skin (my eczema still occasionally flares up) by my belly button, and this cream has been great to settle it down, stop the the itching and soreness and keep the area well moisturized. I'm also extremely prone to sunburn, and although I'm sensible and usually remember to put my sun cream on, this is great for extra protection and recovery after you have been out in the sun.

Its also non greasy and easily absorbed into the skin.

There are many great skincare products out there being advertised to pregnant women and those who have skin worries, but this is one of the makes that stands out to me. A lot of these treatments can be pricey, but because of the great value and good experience I have with these Clinica cosmetics, I would definitely recommend them and they are a great competition prize!

                                               x - X - x

*Update: Sadly when I next used the oil I did suffer a reaction to it and my skin became extremely itchy and I couldn't stop scratching my belly! Resulting in something what would fit in well in a horror film. As your skin is so stretched and tight when you scratch it leaves blood like brusies.
However I used the vitamin E cream and it soothed and calmed my skin down. I would still recommend the oil to anyone with a normal skin type though, as mine can be very sensitive. The Vitamin E cream worked a treat.
 

A Charming Giveaway from a Fallen Angel

Lovely Emma Louise: From Fallen Angel to Yummy Mummy has made a few changes to her blog recently and as a result has been running a couple more fantastic give aways for her lucky readers. 

There are two currently on, one ending today at 6pm and the second ending tomorrow at 2pm to win an amazing charm bracelet of your choice from a selection at the Charm factory, like the one pictured below:

From FallenAngel to Yummy Mummy: A Charming Giveaway!

  

To enter just click on the caption and follow the instructions Emma gives you. Good Luck!

Also if you weren't already a follower, I'd recommend having a good browse around. Its the blog I read most often and is regularly updated with fun, interesting posts you can often relate to and at the moment she is having guest bloggers give their view on several topics. 

                                      x - X - x

Fantastic Blog Giveaway's

Looking for some great new blogs to follow and some competitions to enter? Then I have two suggestions:


The Product Whore
-This blog features regular useful reviews on many beauty products and are currently doing a fabulous giveaway, which you will be directed to if you click on the blog name above. 

The Fruity Giveaway - win the pictured products

Powder, Paint & Pout
- A blog for those who love their make up, hair and beauty products and everything girly, and the lovely girl who writes it is doing an incredibly generous giveaway to celebrate her increasing number of followers. To access her blog, click the name above.

Fabulous beauty giveaway

So have a browse of both of these blogs, and if they appeal become a follower and get these lovely competitions to enter as a bonus.


                                                 x-X-x

Pregnant for the first time? Read on.....

When I first found out I was pregnant, I was a bit clueless about, well, everything! 
I had pretty rubbish or a complete lack of antenatal care for the first half, so a lot of things I had to do and find out or sort out myself, such as blood tests, scans, what I was entitled to, all sorts.
I was lucky though, as one thing I did get help on was what useful sites and clubs to join up to to get free gifts, samples, vouchers and advice. Thanks to my other pregnant or new mummy friends, such as Mel Matthews  Kirsty Croston and Emma Louise 

To help out a friend, who is thinking of trying for another along time after their first, I'm writing a list of the many places I have signed up to (and perhaps also to help myself due to pregnancy brain making me a bit forgetful) and I thought writing a blog would be a good idea if anyone else out there would like some pointers. Plus loads of the sites I will mention do loads of fab competitions which is always a bonus!


So for those of you who are in a similar position to what I was, or already got a little one and looking for some more useful sites to join up to, here's some useful lists linked to the sign up pages: 


Mother and Baby Clubs:

•  Tesco's baby and toddler club -they save you money by sending you lots of handy vouchers, for example one for 50% off Johnsons baby starter pack and also a mother and baby parking permit so you can use the spaces close to the store up to your child's 3rd birthday. Selected Johnsons products are also buy one get one free currently.

• Boots parenting club -another club to send you lots of handy vouchers for money off products and also start out by giving you an amazing free changing bag with separate compartments, a changing mat and a bottle warming pocket. Not only that but for every baby product you then buy, you will get 10 points on your Boots card for every £1 spent, instead of the regular 4 points. Bigger Boots stores have a wide range of baby products including a lovely clothing range, which has a 2 for 1 deal on selected items currently. With the use of one of the vouchers they sent me, just for buying a Philips Avent product i got this: Future mother must haves free!

•  Toys R Us Mother and Baby club  - Babies R Us have a fabulous range of products and often at cheaper prices than other baby product retailers, so this is a great one to sign up to. If you don't already have a Gold card (which will get you loads of points from your purchases, and points mean prizes! Well vouchers for money off toys, which lets face it you will need with children) you will be signed up automatically when joining this club. They send you vouchers off Babies R Us products or money off when you spend a certain amount in store and keep you up to date on their latest offers, which often involve half price goods, which is pretty handy when babies cost so much to stock up for. I got three half price bedding sets from here (two for the cot-bed and one the crib) and my fisher price baby bouncer at £10 cheaper than other retailers.

• Sainsbury's Little Ones - I've only just joined today. Found out about it on the Huggies forum. It offers a free gift of baby goodies worth £9.99, money off vouchers and they have loads of handy healthy recipes on the site. Looks like a good one.

Hospital Linked Clubs:

As long as your midwife isn't totally useless like my current one, she should offer you either the Emma's Diary Magazine or the Bounty magazine which also acts as a pregnancy diary. Both are full of useful articles and advice, vouchers and cards to get your free packs from them at different stages in your pregnancy:
ED 3 Free Packs 
Bounty 5 Free Packs 
I got Emma's diary from my first midwife, so I asked at my hospital antenatal department about Bounty and they gave me my first free pack there. The cards then generally ask you to go to Argos, Lloyds or Boots to pick up your packs depending on which club. 
The magazines are very useful, but also its a good idea to check out their websites as they have competitions, give you a chance to talk to other mother and mums to be and help you keep track of your pregnancy, giving you detailed updates appropriate to your stage, if you select which week you are on their time lines. They also have fun apps such as baby name generators or suggestions, if you are struggling in that area and advice on relationships, managing money and useful information on labor and giving birth.

Nutrition Clubs:

•  Aptamil Baby Club   As well as receiving a free cute cuddly polar bear for your growing bump/future bundle of joy, you will receive plenty of advice on nutrition and pregnancy. Their site is very informative and you can talk to someone directly if you need to. They advise you on baby and toddler nutrition, and your own diet as well as useful articles on morning sickness and regular emails updating you of your stage in pregnancy.

• Cow and Gate Similar to the above, except you get a free cuddly cow (although I did have to ask for mine as it didn't turn up to begin with) and a free pregnancy diary. Also apparently money off vouchers. Now I know these companies produce formula milk, but they are not just for those bottle feeding. They give great advice on breast feeding, do follow on milk and other baby and toddler food products and give handy nutritional, pregnancy and parenting advice and support if needed.

• Hipp Baby Club  For advice during your pregnancy and after for your growing baby, and free food samples, and occasional competitions, this is another good one to join.

• Heinz Baby club Money off vouchers, free samples, advice and competitions and a friendly looking easy to use, informative nutrition site.

• SMA baby club You will have probably seen the adverts for this. I'm going to join today as I've not got round to it yet, but it looks a great site and with free recipe ideas for weaning etc I'm thinking its going to be pretty useful!

*Most of these companies also have FB pages so have a look and join.

Websites:

• Made for Mums - the website linked to the fabulous Practical Parenting and Pregnancy Magazine.
• Ask A Mum  - the website linked to the very useful & informative Pregnancy & Birth and Mother & Baby Magazines
• Baby Expert - the website linked to the brilliant Prima Baby and Pregnancy Magazine

These first three ^ are probably my favourites, along with the middle two of the ones below

• Great Competitions -Both Mother & Baby Magazine and Pregnancy & Birth magazine use this for people to enter their competitions.
• The Baby Website
  
• Baby World
•  Mum Street
• Gurgle  - fab site also with loads of competitions

Most of these are fantastic websites which along side tonnes of great competitions, host forums where you can chat to other mums and mums to be and have your say or ask any questions you need to, write and post your own pregnancy blogs (Baby World etc), find out about local events, get advice on your pregnancy, labor, birth and baby's/toddlers stages, get advice on breast feeding and weaning and handy recipes, expert advice if you are trying to conceive, handy reviews and product suggestions and more! Baby world also have some fun games you can play to pass the time.
So they are well worth signing up to! 

I recently won a 200ml bottle of Clinica stretch mark tissue oil from Mumstreet.co.uk and I never win competitions, so that's worth a look too! 
Again Many of these have Facebook pages, so keep a look out! All of these sites and clubs ask for your babies due date so can send you pregnancy stage updates which are nice to read to see how you and your womb dweller are doing and developing.

Huggies Club - A fun site to join, with amazing competitions, such as the massive Early learning center bundle available to win now. Also features pregnancy journal, one of my favourite forums, a due date calculator and fun things to print off for your child.

Facebook Groups/Pages:
  

• MAM UK  - A well known brand who have fabulous products such as orthodontic approved soothers and self sterilizing bottles (which were recently on special offer at Mother Care), so obviously they have their own website. But for a chance to chat to other mums and enter weekly competitions they have this Facebook page. 

• Bizzie Baby - Again they have their own website as well, both the site and fb page are fab for reviews on baby products, so you are well informed before your buy and know what other people think. You can also sign up to be a product tester/reviewer yourself, which I will be doing once my baby is here and old enough to try things out =) They also regularly post details of any other baby/child/pregnancy related competitions which you can enter, e.g this weeks Hauck competition to win one of their fabulous pushchairs. I was lucky enough to also win with Bizzie Baby, coincidentally another Clinica tissue oil which I received today =)

•  Nuby UK   - check out their website for their award winning products, and their Facebook page for fabulous competitions and friendly chatter with other members. I was lucky enough to get a free microwave sterilizer and three bottles from them for participating in their baby scan program and simply commenting on one of their posts.

 

• Baby Swap or Shop - this and Rascal Babies both have their own websites and FB pages. They are fantastic sites which allow mothers to sell or swap their previously used or unused baby products from prams to toys, cots to clothes, bouncers to maternity items and therefore other mums and mums to be to get discounted affordable items in great condition, often like new. With how much gear your little one needs, especially if you are a first timer, or if you are on a very low wage like me, or are just money conscious, these sites are a life saver. Whats even better BSOS have regular competitions and allow you to sign in through facebook to save any extra hassle of signing up.

Comp Prize: Mabyland Bunny&Kitty Peg Rattles. 

• Mabyland - check out their website to see their gorgeous products, with four main characters, doggy, teddy, kitty & bunny, friendly, soft and colourful, your baby is bound to love them. They do regular competitions on their Facebook page and somehow I won with them too. All my life I win nothing then win several at once! This baby must be a lucky charm! Although I have entered hundreds of baby comps over the past few months, so I think i was owed at least a win or two. Back on topic I won two of their lovely peg rattles, which I will be doing a mini review about soon, then another once my baby has had her chance with them. 

So as well as those that I have mentioned there are other FB pages including one for Mamas and Papas and multiple other baby retailers and gift shops.

My final mentions for today will be Mother Care who I wish I could buy everything from (inc their early learning center section) who do have a club but you have to spend a fair amount of money for the vouchers to be of use to you, but if you have the money then sign up! I have brought several things from there however and right now they have a massive sale on.
Also Philips Avent  and Tommee Tippee also have their own fb pages (only fair since i mentioned MAM and Nuby, and also have the Philips Avent newborn starter pack ....was half price in Asda's most recent Baby Event).
Also Asda who do gorgeous, extremely good value baby clothes, towels etc and my above mentioned friend Kirsty's little business Princess Millie's Boutique, if you click on her name at top of the page it will take you straight to her. Also Mel and Emma's names will take you to their blogs.


So if you have managed to hang in there and read through all of this, or even just note down the site and club names, I hope you check them out and that this has been useful to you. I'm off to go have a bubble bath as after being sat at the computer for all this time, I'm a little achey!

                                                   Lots of Love
                                                                     
                                                     x - X - x