Why have a Car Caddy and What’s in mine

The first time I heard of a Car Caddy I thought “what on earth is that?” but now I wouldn’t be without it! Especially when you’re a parent it’s hard enough to remember everything you need when you go out anyway, so a caddy gives you a bit of piece of mind that you have some essentials in the car that are relevant to your family dynamic.

For example, if you’re a new parent you would put everyone a spare outfit, nappies, wipes and the usual baby essentials in your caddy, so that if you ever got caught out with a mess and not enough items in your changing bag you know you’ve got extra in the car!

If you have a slightly older child/children like I do, you would still put a spare outfit, usually a drink and a snack, an educational toy and any medications that are required if you are going on any kind of journey. Anti allergy and sun cream are popular choices for us, as well as tissues.

As an adult a Car Caddy is perfect for keeping your vehicle tidy, you will carry your sun cream, bottled water, a sun hat and maybe even a change of clothes in the summer. But in the winter you’ll need items such as an ice scraper, a blanket, winter clothing like hat and gloves and even things such as a torch. A caddy is excellent for keeping these items tidy and in one place so you don’t fumble around the back seats or boot looking for them on a cold winter evening.

Keeping spare clothes, blankets, bottled water and other essentials in the car is a necessity all year round, in case of emergency such as people being poorly or even if you were to be unlucky and your vehicle brake down. You can grab your caddy out the back and sort people out while waiting for help, most of them come with a built in handle for easy transportation.

I used to have several re-useable carrier bags in the back of my car, and I found that when I went out I had no space for groceries or picking up family members. So when I got my caddy I only packed in it what was required for that month. As the seasons change you can simply bring your caddy in to your house and restock it with different items instead. Obviously if it gets emptied on a long journey you will restock it as and when required too.

Large handles on my caddy mean that it’s easy to transport, take in and out of the car and also great for when we may need it for picnic moments or days out, such as at the beach. A caddy isn’t just great for the car though, I used one as a nursing station with nappies and muslin cloths in, I also put snacks and water in for when I was breastfeeding and I moved it from room to room as necessary. Setting up where I was most comfortable. It would make a great gift for any new parent as well I think!

What’s inside my Car Caddy as of October 2023

1 Blanket
2 Bottles of Water
1 Small Portable Toys Box
1 Plastic Zipped Bag of Medicines, First Aid etc
1 Box of Tissues
1 Spare Change of Clothes (per person)
1 Small Bag of Snacks
1 Bottle of Hand Sanitizer
1 Portable Wooden Toy Box (check out my Instagram for how I made one)

As Winter approaches I will be adding my window ice scraper tool and another blanket. Plus some winter items like gloves, scarfs and hats just in case we go out and find that it is colder than we anticipated.

You can get several types of Caddy and more than a few styles, some have pockets on the outer edge like mine and others just have one at the front. You can choose to keep your caddy on the back seat of the car or in the boot. Mine goes in the middle so my son is able to reach things in it while I am driving such as his water bottle or his “on the journey” toys to keep him occupied.

I hope this blog post has given you some food for thought today, and perhaps if you already have a Car Caddy you can tell me what you have in yours?

Have a great day and thanks for reading.

✩ Sabrina ✩

How I Helped My Child Fall in Love with Numbers

I am a huge believer in passing on knowledge to people when it might be useful to them, and for many years I had considered being a teacher. However my life took a different direction once I went off to university. It didn’t stop me from coming up with things that others may find handy though, it was just one of many reasons I decided to start my blog all those years ago.

After I became a parent I found I was coming up with lots of hacks and tips for my son that other parents might also find useful. This particular blog post today is all about NUMBERS! My son learnt his numbers 1 to 10 very quickly thanks to my tips and tricks, by the time he started preschool at 3 he could count to 31. He is now 4 and thanks to my encouragement he can count to a whopping 500!

The fab thing about my tips is that you may already have some of these items laying around in your home that you can use, and if not you can make your own cards like I have also done. Check out online second hand and local shops if you don’t have anything, as well as asking friends who may have slightly older children if they could have a clear out for you. Let me tell you about how I introduced and taught my son about numbers.

Child Clocks or Numbered Blocks

Your baby may already have toys with numbers on, things for age 6 month plus normally have various things on them, you may find a mix of nature and numerical combinations or well known characters with basic shapes and or numbers too. Toys and playmats also sometimes have numbers, those talking toys certainly will, but teaching your little one how to recognise a number visually is important.

You can easily get wooden toys that contain clocks on them or boards with numbers that can be removed and set out in a numerical order. These toys are great for learning the starter numbers (1-10) but also for starting with basic mathematics too. I bought my son a board of numbers and he has a wooden clock as well gifted by a relative. The blocks in my image above were bought online and are of the brand Infantino, these BPA free plastic cubes have an array of animals and numerical variations on them such as dots and actual written numbers. They were some of the first numbers my son saw as a baby.

My son would like to count things around him, so say I gave him 4 smiley faces for his tea I would ask how many I had given him, soon he started counting everything. 2 swings at the park, 7 birds on the fence, 5 sheep in the field. And so on, and lots of praise and encouragement when they get something right is also essential. Make learning a fun thing to do and participate in.

You can also begin time telling by showing them a phone or a watch and asking them to find the time. If they have a child’s clock they can match that time. A children’s clock may just have turn-able clock hands or some have the digits that are also removeable too. For example it might be 10.30am so you ask them what that would look like on their clock and see if they select the numbers appropriately. Making it fun means that it is more likely to sink in to their mind. If they have breakfast at 7.30am every day, you could ask them what the time is on the kitchen clock if you have a steady routine, or if bedtime is 7pm too.


The Home Calendar Block

My calendar block is also a clock! Many of us will have a Calendar block at home, these blocks rotate daily and allow children to understand the passing of days into months. When my son was two I introduced him to my block set, and every single morning before breakfast we would rotate the blocks. I started by giving him one and me the other, I would say something like “Today is the 17th so we need a 1 and a 7, I have the 7, can you find me a 1 please?” And his interest developed from there. Soon I could ask him to find any of the numbers from One to Thirty One and he could place them on the block correctly. For the past two years we have done this every day and he has learnt to count up to 31 just by doing the calendar. My son also asked me why the months were different numbers, why it didn’t go up to Thirty Two and such, it sparked an interest which lead to me making his flashcards up to 50 numbers.

Flashcards – Bought or Homemade

Flashcards are great, you can buy them from most online toy retailers, or if are creative and have pens, like me you could make them. My son has 50 of these homemade numbers now, and thanks to some games he can count up to 500. He does number work at school, and even got an award recently for how good he was with counting numbers. Making it colourful and fun is inviting the child to participate. Always encourage but never force your child to learn, do it on their own terms when you are at home. Plus if it is fun they will be more likely to want to repeat the exercise. My son is currently doing writing practice for his letters and numbers and coming on great thanks to wipeable board books which I highly recommend because they are reusable.

Originally I only made ten numbers but my son was soon asking for more, and the more he enjoyed counting them and laying them out in their order, the more I wanted to continue making and encouraging that growth in learning.

When my son turned 3 I also made a set of flashcards that had the number and the written word such as One and 1 on them, this was so my son learnt the word associated with the number in preparation for reading and writing them.

Other Fun Number Related Activities

Playing Dominoes is another fun learning activity which requires the counting of numbers, and games like Yahtzee, Playing Cards or Rummikub are also fun to start with children of a going to school age.

However you keep using numbers in your child’s life, know this, you are helping them learn through play.

✩✩✩

Thank you for reading this parenting related blog post today. I have tons of parenting tips and hacks across my blog and social media. I even do a Monday Mum Hack on Instagram.

Search #SevernSabrina and #SabrinasMondayMumHacks

Hope to see you here again soon.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Fantastic Quality Magnetic Weekly Whiteboard from Tesco allows you to Plan for the Week ahead with ease

Hello and Welcome to my blog!
Today I am writing up another product review for you from a recent purchase that I really felt the need to shout about.

The Tesco Magnetic Planner Board was only £3.00 in my local Tesco Extra store. Not only is that great value for money, but it is high quality throughout. As a whiteboard it’s both easy to write on and easy to see with the contrast in white board and black pen.

Inside the cellophane you get the white board planner with the seven days of the week and space to write on the other side. You find two magnetic strips with sticky tape attached so that you can align them and stick them down to suit your needs. Having this board on the fridge in the kitchen is a great idea for keeping track of meals. But you may want to use it for appointments or children’s activities, it’s so versatile.

I bought this to be a meal planner, and was pleasantly surprised when I opened up the pen to find that not only does it write well and smooth, but it has a sponge attached on the lid part so that you can use it to rub writing out once you’re done! That means no more wasting kitchen roll towels cleaning off the board! Another big tick for me!
You can also recycle the cellophane the board comes wrapped in at your local Tesco too.


Something else very useful is that the pen does have a designated stand and loop to go into at the top of the board, however there is also a magnet attached to the pen lid squared off part too! Meaning you can even have the pen anywhere on your fridge. Handy!

My final thought about this planner is how well it’s design has been thought out, it doesn’t take up too much space because it’s only 16cm wide by 23cm high. Even if you have a small kitchen like I do, it’s still ideal. The only way I would see you needing more of these would be if you had many children and you wanted to keep track of each one with multiple activities and appointments, which isn’t a bad thing at £3 a board you could get several.

As a mother who has a son with multiple food allergies I always write down the meals that we have had either together or separately because if any reactions were to occur I can refer back to the board that way. I have chosen to buy this so that I am not using as much paper, as I had previously written out my meal planners for the week on a Sunday and then clipped them to the fridge. This board is far more practical and if plans change it is easy to alter it too.

My Final Product Review Scores

Quality 5✩
Product Design 5✩
Product Cost 5✩
Features 5✩
Versatility 5✩


That’s a score of 5/5 and it means I highly recommend this product.

My TOP TIP would be to use this as a meal planner, you can also do one
board per child as an activities board, you can have one board as a family
board which looks at appointments and schedules. The list is endless but
you can decide what you would use yours for, and now thanks to me you
know where to find one!


Thank you for reading this product review today, I hope
I have inspired you to get a planner of your own.


Let me know what you would use yours for!

This product is my Monday Mum Hack for Monday 20th of February
too, why not check out my video on my Instagram.

✩ Sabrina ✩

How I Am Making the Return to School Easier for Everyone

Anyone who has ever put a child in school will know that there is so much to remember that it can make your head spin. For example, last weekend I labelled shoes, 37 items of clothing, 7 lunch boxes and a variety of other smaller items. Your child will have a Bag, a Lunch Box or Bag, quite often a Book Bag, a PE Kit and Bag as well as maybe other things to take in with them too. It’s a lot of work for one person (a single parent like me) to handle, and there are time saving ways of doing things and ways to make it easier on yourself too. Let’s see what ideas I have below and what I have done during these last two weeks in preparation for school starting up again.

Yearly Wall Planner and / or Yearly Diary
Get a year long wall planner and some little round stickers to keep track of everything, make a key at one side and then add any appointments, school trips, swimming days, special dates (like those where additional things are required like dressing up or concerts) and keep updating it every time you know a knew agenda item. This is useful as well for the non-school days and other important reminders too such as Dentist, Doctors or Opticians for example. I think I would be lost without my wall planner.

Weekly Planner
A weekly planner is also something that I have on my dining room table, it’s so that on a weekend I can prepare for the week ahead, read up on any paperwork sent home from school on a Friday and let my child know what is expected of them for that upcoming week. It could be school photo week or they are expected to bring an item in for show and tell, but we will know not to forget because of the planner. I can also arrange this planner in a way that has both adult and child organised, as well as meal planning if I have items to be used on a certain evening. A useful item and much better than a phone calendar you may forget to look at, but if you sit down to eat as we do together as a family, the planner is there for you to go through so everyone knows what is what and where and when.

Labelling – It is so Important!
Label all of your children’s items for school including their lunch boxes, clothing, bags and shoes. There is nothing worse than them going to school and losing something, and because it’s not labelled it’s unlikely to be returned to you. Schools tend to have lost property boxes that are checked at the end of every day or the end of the week and the items appropriately returned, but this cannot be done without labels. I used a permanent laundry pen to write on my sons clothing labels, and I used stickers for the more solid items. Consider using their full names or even getting their own personalised stickers printed as I have done. Especially if your child has a popular first name.

Use the halved sticker hack for getting your children to put their shoes on themselves and to ensure that everyone knows which shoe is who’s. The sticker inside hack allows them to put their shoes on the correct feet every time and it’s genius. Simply cut a large sticker in half and place either side of it into the shoes. When the shoes are correct the sticker will match and the child will know that they have the shoes the correct way to go on their feet. See my photo below for inspiration.

Clothes Piles per School Day
Fold up any school clothing into “day piles” in their bedroom on a weekend ready for the school week ahead. This hack of mine is so useful, I did it over the summer too with day clothes as I was getting my son to practice getting dressed by himself. It’s so that I don’t have to police every single item of clothing going on every morning. My son has pants with the days of the week on them, and because that’s the item he will put on first he then has a pile beneath that. So you start with a pair of pants with his daily school uniform laying under it. Pants, Socks and Trousers, then his Polo Shirt last and his jumper is always downstairs and the last item to go on (to save any breakfast getting on it). It’s also so much easier on a Sunday to just make these piles up and put them in the correct bedrooms ready for the week. If you have to wash midweek, even doing two piles of clothing is better than searching drawers first thing on a Monday morning for that missing sock.

Save On Washing – Remove at the Front Door
This is always a good one! Take off their school jumpers and any “still clean” uniform pieces as soon as you get home through the door before they have time to get messy and creased. Hang the jumpers up especially on hangers close to the front door ready for the next morning. This helps save on the clothes washing and the ironing by hanging them up safely as soon as they take them off. And it’s always a good idea that a school jumper be the last item to go on in a morning routine anyway, after breakfast and teeth brushing so that it stays cleaner for longer.

Something else you can do to save on washing is always wash with full loads, if that means you get to Thursday and it isn’t full yet then why not consider wearing those similar colours yourself so as to fill up the load space.

Mini Cool Blocks
Investing in some mini cool blocks so that the children’s lunch food stays fresh is important during the warmer months of the year. I place a block under a removable plastic section of his large Sistema lunch box, or I place it at the bottom of the small cool bag I send with him. It’s important if he’s wanting chicken for his lunch which should be maintained at a low temperature to prevent it going off.
These are great for adult lunches and days out throughout the year too.

Practice Makes Perfect and Less Stressed Children
Practice the opening and closing of lunch boxes, bags with zips and coats too. We are getting to that time of the year where bags need to be closed from the weather and our coats need to be zipped up. During the summer holiday we might not have used those items very much so it’s good to refresh your children’s memories by having them practice doing these things again.
Lunch boxes are another one, as they might have a new one this term and you’ll need to make sure they can safely open and close it in order to get at their food or snacks. It’s important that your children drinks enough water while they are at school too, so get them a reusable water bottle that they really like and will continue using throughout the day.

Thank you for reading this blog post today I really hope that you’ve liked it and found at least one of my ideas to be useful. By getting yourself and your family into good habits like these early on, it will make sure you have more time and energy to deal with anything else that happens. Because life nearly always throws you a curve ball when you just about have everything under control am I right?

I hope I see you again for another of my parenting articles, I hope you have a lovely month of September with (I also hope) minimal stresses.

Best wishes,

✩ Sabrina ✩

Great Apps and Websites for those who are Expecting or are New Parents

We live in an age where so much is readily accessible to us, but there can be so much information out there that it can often be overwhelming, especially for first time parents. With so many websites, forums and blogs that can sometimes be opinionated and not necessarily filled with the facts. Every person knows where they would prefer to get their information from, some of us like books and others like the world wide web!

Sometimes you can have a baby that is completely different to any before it or any you have known, and you may need additional help or advice. During these times you should always turn to a Midwife, Doctor or Paediatrician if you have concerns of any kind.

There were things I wished I had known more about before I had my son, and that was despite me reading both books and websites for hours at night when I had terribly painful SPD. I found lots of the websites and apps that I have listed below extremely useful at one point or another during the last four years. So I thought a blog post might help other expectant parents to see what information is available to them.

As a parenting blogger I often get asked about my personal opinion of which apps and websites have helped me since I became a mother. So in order to achieve this post I have gone back over four years of my browsing and researching and screenshot history, to bring you an alphabetical list of all the things that I have found the most useful. I have only included websites and apps that I used more than once and found them beneficial long term.

A Aptaclub Pregnancy and Birth
B Bounty App
B Baby Centre Apps and Email Newsletter and Website
B Baby Names App
B Baby and Child (British Red Cross First Aid)

D Duo ABC
E Ella’s Kitchen
E Emma’s Diary
F Free Prints (Photos and FP Cards)

G Get Creative (CBeebies)
G Go Explore (CBeebies)
K Kicks Count Website

N NHS Website
O Online 4 Baby Website

P Pokémon Smile (Teaching Toddler Teeth Brushing)
P PooGoesHomeToPooland (Teaching How To Use The Toilet)

S Storytime (CBeebies)
S Snapfish (Photo Printing)

Y Your Baby Club Website and Social Media

Let me now elaborate on a few of these now and the reasons why I found them so useful. Some of them are of course self explanatory, but others are really handy for tips and tricks. Some offer you freebies and others offer key medical advice or milestone information.

Bounty App
The app gives you information on the progress of your baby whilst in the womb, and then after the birth it gives you key advice on milestones and growth. An app that I found generally fascinating to look at every week as my pregnancy progressed. Now that my son is older he is still on the app as a 48 month old! And the app offers me developmental advice and articles to read. The articles can be read at any time of your pregnancy and usually the app updates what is relevant to you at the time you need it. There are also useful check lists on it too.
I score this app a 5.

Baby and Child (British Red Cross First Aid)
First Aid is such an important part of human life, however most people go through their entire pregnancy without knowing how to do life saving procedures on babies or young children such as, choking, allergic reactions and dealing with illness. The Baby and Child App gives advice as well as videos that people can watch at their leisure for a variety of situations. Just some of what they cover include; Asthma, Bleeding, Burns, Choking, Epileptic Seizure, Fever, Head Injury, Meningitis, Vomiting etc.
This app is one that I believe every single person should have on their phone, just in case.
I score this app a 5.

Duo ABC
I found this app while researching after my son had to start Speech and Language therapy. Due to the support being so sporadic due to the pandemic I did my own research, started my own lessons with my child at home, and created my own flash cards. But this app came up on a results search, and despite it being American my son found aspects of it to be beneficial. Writing the letters on the phone screen with his finger, sounding out letters and recognising upper and lowercase letters all helped on our journey. I did just 20 minutes with him a day for 3 months, alongside my other teaching and he soon knew his alphabet and could say all but 5 of the letters properly. If anyone is struggling with their child and they seem distanced from paper methods, try this app, just ten minutes a day with you, you may just see a difference as I did.
I score this app 4.

Ella’s Kitchen
Once your little one reaches the 6 month milestone and you consider starting to wean them alongside their daily milk amount, you may want some advice. Ella’s Kitchen App provide you with advice, recipes and you can sign up for a free pack with a journey poster, stickers and some vouchers for their snacks. It was fun when my son was little, but when he developed lots of food allergies I made my own recipes up.
I score this app 4.

Emma’s Diary
Emma’s Diary is a fun app where you can create all sorts of fun things to keep throughout your pregnancy, it also offers some information and it gives away bags of goodies at certain points of your pregnancy. It’s worth signing up to this as soon as you find out you’re pregnant to take advantage of all the items on offer.
I score this app 4.

Free Prints (Photos and FP Cards)
Free Prints have two useful apps, the first one is Photo’s and you get some free prints every month just pay the postage. And the second one is Cards where you get one free card a month like a postcard, just pay postage. Upgrade to proper cards for pennies and they offer lots of other fun affordable products throughout the year. The more you order the more deals you’ll get.
I score these apps 4.

Get Creative (CBeebies) and Go Explore (CBeebies)
Apps that I don’t know what I would have done without! When I became a single parent even taking a shower was tricky. Sitting my son on the bathroom floor safely on a bean bag when he was a toddler, my phone playing CBeebies programs and videos off the app were a godsend! Now he is older he is using the various parts of the app to learn all sorts of things like shape sorting, mathematics, role play like shopping and problem solving. The Creative app allows freedom in Art and expression using some of the CBeebies favourite characters, and the Go Explore is more about learning and fun, again with the usual friendly faces. Love these apps! In moderation of course.
I score these apps 5.

Kicks Count Website
Kicks Count is something that is really important, and all pregnant women should visit the website and learn about the importance of kick counting and the work this group do. It’s worth following them on social media too.
I score this 5.

NHS Website
When you have questions in the small hours of the morning the NHS website can have useful information or point you in the direction of help if you need it.
I score this 5.

Online 4 Baby Website
An excellent website for affordable baby items such as changing mats and muslin cloths. Worth a look when they have a sale on for certain!
I score this website 4.

Pokémon Smile (Teaching Toddler Teeth Brushing)
Whether you like Pokémon or loathe it, if you have a child that refuses to brush their teeth you will try literally ANYTHING to make that time of the day and night less stressful. For us it was this app that allowed my son to turn a corner! There is an icon of the mouth that follows them while they brush and indicates where to go next so they don’t miss any teeth.
I score this app 5.

PooGoesHomeToPooland (Teaching How To Use The Toilet)
Another app that is a little annoying but if it helps your child to understand that poo goes down the toilet and not on the floor then so be it! My son watched it every day for about a month and then got bored of it, but it certainly helped him realise that
I score this app 3.

Storytime (CBeebies)
Another CBeebies app and this one is all about books and stories. The app can read to your child or they can try and read themselves. The stories are often interactive as well, lots of fun.
I score this app 5.

Snapfish (Photo Printing)
Free photo’s every month just pay the postage, a great way to keep family up to date with how little one changes and you can make an album of their first year for less than £20.
I score this app 4.

Your Baby Club Website and Social Media
As a Blogger Writer for Your Baby Club I often provide them with useful articles surrounding parenting. These first hand experiences from parents go alongside their informative articles on the websites and on their social media platforms too.
I score this 5.

Thank you for reading this blog post today, I do hope that you have found it useful. Please pass the link to my website on to family or friends who are expecting so that you can share these excellent websites and apps with them. Hopefully they will be just as happy with them as you were today! (I hope).

Keep on visiting Severn Wishes Blog for Parenting related blogging, Product Reviews and general Lifestyle Posts! Thank you! Have a lovely day!


✩ Sabrina ✩

The Transition of moving my son from a Cot to a Toddler Bed, my Tips and First Hand Experiences plus Reviews of the Purchases I made.

If you’re reading my blog today you might be in the same boat that I was last summer, which is wondering if it were time to make the move for your little one. The transition to a toddler bed is not one to be taken lightly, it is a huge step for our little person, and they deserve lots of time, patience and assistance from us (as their parent/s) to help them feel safe and secure in their new upgraded space.

Hopefully this article that I have combined with my review of the toddler bed that I bought, can help you to make informed decisions on what is best for you and your child/ren. Is it time? Only you will know by the actions and dependence your child currently has.

When the bed was finally in place…

When my son turned two I wanted him to start using a toddler bed and there were several reasons why I thought this needed to happen now. The first reason was that it was difficult to lower him inside his cot when he had fallen asleep in my arms, and he was now tall enough to consider trying to climb over. I didn’t want that to happen, so I purchased his first toddler bed after measuring up the space that I had in his bedroom.

I bought the Argos “Ellis Toddler Bed” in Grey, to match my sons furniture, and then bought a mattress online. I had chosen this bed for three reasons, the first being its height from the floor, the second was that it came with a drawer for under bed storage, and the final reason was because of the three quarter sides.

My son moves frequently in his sleep and I knew that it would be quite a while before he could sleep safely without any sides to his bed. This bed was a great size for the price and I would hope it to last him two years at least due to the length. The handy draw keeps tidy all of the towels and bedding I use for my sons room and it is easy enough to slide in and out on its rolling caster wheels.

Bed Frame size L144, W75, H57cm.
Required Mattress size L140, W70cm.
Clearance between floor and underside of bed 19.5cm.
Drawer size H18.5, W139, D73.5cm.

There are now limited stock on this bed but it does also come in different colours. Here is what I would give it on my review scores having used it now for a whole year.


Quality of Paintwork 4✩
Quality of Manufacturing 4✩
Quality of Finished Product 5✩
Correct Specifications 5✩
Product Design 5✩



Overall this product is excellent quality and although it was difficult to put together, overall we have been very happy with it. A fantastic size for toddlers and small children and my son hasn’t fallen out of it due to the great design with those side bars. Although he is average height for his age (at 3) he still has plenty of room left to grow into this bed.

The Transition from a Cot to a Bed – My Tips and Tricks

The biggest thing about change for toddlers is that it can be unnerving to them. They get anxious and have to get used to something over time, so don’t worry if this alteration in routine and sleeping area takes a few weeks for them to get used to. The best thing that you can do for the first few nights is to keep the routine the same, but just place them in the new bed. If you have a routine that ends with them being placed into bed keep doing that.
Then on the second week add one new thing now that the child is older such as, can they now get into bed themselves because they are old enough to do so? It will make them feel bigger if they do it themselves and gives them confidence, but only when they are willing to get into bed on their own.
Don’t forget to use positive reinforcement when they are on the bed or in the bed so that the praise gives them positive ideals of being in the furniture.
Saying things as “What a lovely new bed you have!” and “Now that you are two/three you can sleep in this special big kids bed” and remember to let them know that this is a good thing, a positive step and not one away from you. Definitely praise little one when they get into bed without you having to prompt them too!

Getting the child to stay in bed is another matter though. Don’t worry if they frequently get out of bed or even tumble out of bed half asleep for the first few weeks, wondering where you are (especially if you have had them sleeping in your room up until this point). And the beauty of the toddler bed is its distance to the floor. They usually are only between 15 and 20cm from the floor.
Make sure to implement rules in their new bedroom, such as no toys after bed time. The child is not too young at this age to be putting their own toys back into a box or tub or basket, so why not start them off if you haven’t already done so (good practice for preschool).
I have found that it’s also a good idea to introduce a clock or show the time to a child at this age, and tell them that at “7 o’clock” (or whatever your bedtime is) their toys are put away and your bedtime routine begins.
Personally we are in the room for 7.30pm but it can take up to an hour to settle my three year old, some nights a story or two is enough and other nights I’m still reading at the hour mark. But it’s just imperative that you keep the routine the same, even if the time differs slightly, it’s still the act of doing things in the order that they are used to, and the act of then getting them into their own bed.


Talk About Their Safe Space

I tell my son every single night that he is “safe in his bed” and he is “safe at home with mummy” and this has reinforced him to stay in his bed. For the first few weeks if he woke in the night he would come and find me because he wasn’t sure on things. Now he’s more than happy to climb into his bed and choose the stories he wants at bedtime. He knows that I’m never far away now, but his bedroom is a safe place for him to be. He doesn’t always come and find me now that he is older either. He often wakes (and I hear him) but he presses his singing toy and lays back down or he will have a sip of water from his bottle and then turn over and go back to sleep.
Again positive reinforcement is key when organising their safe space. When little one wakes up they want to recognise where they are and that it is home or safe, favourite toys or items around the room will help.

If you find your little one is struggling initially with the bed transition then you could choose to sleep on the floor in their room for a few nights. Whenever they wake up in the night make sure they know that you aren’t far away and they are safe. It is totally normal for most children to find their new surroundings daunting, but remember to just keep praising and comforting, they will soon get there. All children are different and it could take a few weeks of patience to achieve the end goal, but everyone should sleep better once that is over with.


Ensure Comfort

Make sure that they are comfortable on a firm but soft mattress and that the room is an optimum temperature. I still use our Gro-Egg from when he was a baby to tell me the room temp! My son had sleeping bags until he was two and a half, he was happy to sleep in them until he got older then he kept trying to take them off. I gave him his own thin pillow at three years of age, and I now put him in Pyjamas and a blanket over him. I have bought a toddler duvet this summer ready for the colder winter months, now that he is old enough to be able to push it away from his own face.


Keep Stories Gentle at Bedtime

I have found that stories that talk about bedtime or going to sleep are best at bedtime, other books can just excite little ones too much. My son has an absolute favourite book about a bear and a baby bear and he’s on his way to going to sleep, and we read it every night. I can now recite it from memory while he falls asleep in my arms (that is how many hundreds of times I have read it). But it’s such a lovely and gentle book that talks about how much mummy bear loves little bear and she is never far away no matter what he is getting up to. Consider what you are doing during your bedtime routine and make sure that there is nothing that is causing your little one to become more awake as opposed to be falling asleep. The best books we have found come from The Works.

My sons favourite book that I highly recommend, we found it at The Works.

Thank you so much for reading this blog post that I have written today, I do hope that you have found it informative and if my lifestyle experience with my son can help you in some way then I am more than happy to share it.

✩ Sabrina ✩

My Son Starting Preschool and Things I have Purchased to Make Life Easier


Well look at that, three years have literally gone past in a blur, and I am sitting here trying to fight back my eyes welling up. My baby boy is no longer my little baby boy, and in fact he has grown up so much this year that it’s scary. Having just emailed in all of the many forms I am now sitting on my sofa writing this blog post as I prepare for him to go off to Pre-School this September.

Backpack – Ollie & Millie’s
Sistema Tubs – Tesco
Kids Shoes – Tesco F&F
Fox Cool Bag – Ollie & Millie’s


Going to school is like a right of passage and it’s a huge milestone in any child’s life. So I wanted to get my son some items to make that transition a bit easier. I had seen this gorgeous backpack on a page I follow on Facebook called Ollie & Millie’s. I had been looking at buying one for months, I looked around for a while, and then I decided to order one from them when I couldn’t find anything that looked as nice
as theirs.


Ollie & Millie’s Facebook Page


And because of Covid19 the School is not able to share some things any longer such as plasters, so every child must have their own in their bag. But that isn’t all, and my sons allergies also pose issues so he has to have everything he needs altogether in one bag. Luckily everything has fitted into the one I have chosen to buy from Ollie & Millie’s. Things such as a reusable water bottle (which we use already in my house but I bought my son a new one just for his school days), a (I chose personalised) backpack, snack pots, wellies for outdoor play and any medical items they require for the time frame they are at school are also included.


My Review of the Backpack

Appearance 5✩
Product Quality 5✩
Personalised Design 5✩
Versatility 5✩

I’m very impressed with the backpack because of its quality in both material and its features such as strong straps and zips. There are several colours to choose from but my son loves blue so I chose blue for him, and because it’s a light sky blue colour the writing for his name really stands out. I was impressed with the time frame between ordering the product and receiving it from Ollie & Millie’s. The backpack also has versatility because I was surprised by just how much I could fit inside it, once I had gently opened it out when it arrived. Overall I rate it exceptionally highly and would recommend it to any parents who are after a good priced backpack with their child’s name on.

The cool bag is also a lovely product and it is of excellent quality with a very cute fox design. Ollie & Millie’s have a wide range of products and also make personalised t-shirts and other clothing as well.


Other items that I have got to make things easier for both my son and myself are some fantastic plastic tubs from Tesco which are from the brand Sistema. The tubs are not only different sizes than what you would usually see in the supermarket, but they also have fun sections built in and have genius clips and lids too. Bonus points that I could get them in blue to match my sons bag as well!

Everything shown in my picture above is now inside the backpack, and with a handy bottle pocket on the side my sons drink is safe and secure too.

Thank you for clicking on this post, I hope you have enjoyed reading it.

Have you got any young children heading to School this term? I do hope they take it all in their stride! I will be doing a follow up post about how things went after the first few weeks too.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Sabrina’s Tips On How To Make Your Food Go Further

Chicken Stir Fry with Noodles and Peppers

If you’ve been following my blog for a while then you’ll know that food is a huge passion of mine. Coming up with new recipes and experimenting is a hobby of mine. But today, with all this talk about panic buying amidst this deadly virus, I couldn’t help but think, what can I do now to help others…

My epiphany was this! My Ideas On How To Make Your Food Go Further!

There are certain things that most of us keep in our kitchen during week to week shops or our larger monthly stock ups, so I wanted to focus on those to begin with. The issue right now is that due to bulk panic buying some of our staples are very hard to get a hold of. Take a look at the meals below to see if any of them would appeal to you or your family. Then see how you can make them go further with my recipe adjustments.

All of these recipes are my own, so if you wish to recreate one please credit me and notify me on where you have used it, thank you.

Keep those handy takeaway boxes ready to freeze any leftover freshly cooked meals, extra vegetables or leftover homemade sauces.

Author: Severn Sabrina
Prep Time: 45 Minutes
Cook Time: 40 Minutes
Serves: 4 to 6 people
Allergens: Wheat Flour, Barley and Soya in the Gravy Granules

COTTAGE PIE
Serves 4 to 6 people (sometimes with leftovers if its children’s portions)
Ingredients

1 or 2 Large White Onion – Diced
3 or 4 Large Carrots – Diced
500g Mince Beef – Cooked & put through a processor to make smaller pieces
1kg Potatoes – Cooked and Mashed
Gravy Granules – I use the Bisto Onion Gravy Granules
Additional foods to add to make it go further…
Baked Beans x 1 Tin
Mixed Dice Vegetables x 1 Cup
~~~
Most people will have a bag of frozen veg or veg that needs to be used up. Dicing it up small and adding it to your cottage pie gravy is a great way to get extra veg into children as well as help an adult get their 5 or more a day! Same with the tin of beans! Pour off a little sauce if there is lots in the tin, but the tomato sauce actually helps you to get a lovely gravy. The beans bulk out the cottage pie filling while adding your veg in take. You can even add all of this into a large casserole dish, and cook it in the oven for an hour, even the veg if cut small enough will cook in the gravy, locking in all the vitamins…

My Cottage Pie is a family favourite! If you cannot get fresh meat then using a tin of Minced Beef and Onion would work just as well!

Author: Severn Sabrina
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Serves: 4 to 6 people
Allergens: Dairy will be present in Naan Bread if you choose it as a side

CHICKEN CURRY
(You can use one of my Recipes already on my blog for the method)
Serves 4 to 6 people (sometimes with leftovers if its children’s portions)
Ingredients

2 Large White Onion – Diced and Chopped into two sizes
50g Tomato Puree (this is for your homemade sauce)
2 Tin of Chopped Tomatoes (for your sauce)
500g of Chicken cut into bite size pieces
100g of Yoghurt, I use Dairy Free Coconut Yoghurt
Serve with Rice and / or Naan Bread
Sauce – I prefer to make my own to my taste but you can use a jar of sauce, but if you do use a jar you only need 1 Tin of the Chopped Tomatoes. You then add curry spices like Cumin, Paprika, Garam Masala and Chilli. As well as Garlic and Coriander usually! (See my Recipes for more on making sauce and a method for the curry too).
Additional foods to add to make it go further…
New Potatoes x 1 Tin (They’ll cook in the sauce on a low heat for 20 mins)
1 or 2 Peppers Sliced thinly (fry these a little with your onion then add)
Cauliflower Diced up x 1 Cup (Chopped small it will cook in the sauce)

Here is one of my recent Curry dishes, this one was with extra Peppers and Potatoes

Author: Severn Sabrina
Prep Time: 25 Minutes
Cook Time: 40 Minutes
Serves: 4 to 6 people
Allergens: Check Jar if you purchase a sauce, otherwise none.

CHILLI CON CARNE
Serves 4 to 6 people (sometimes with leftovers if its children’s portions)
Ingredients

2 Large White Onion – Diced
4 Large Carrots – Diced
1 Tin of Plum Tomatoes (they are sweeter but you need to chop them)
1 Tin of Chopped Tomatoes (you could use 2 of these and no plum if easier)
500g Mince Beef or Pork or both – Cooked & then put through a processor to make the pieces of meat smaller – or use Quorn or Soya Mince
1 Tin of Red Kidney Beans
Serve with Rice
Sauce – I use a packet or a jar for convenience but you can make a sauce, you have done the basics with the tomatoes already. So add the tomatoes to a bowl, then add Cumin, Garlic and Chilli to your own taste.
Additional foods to add to make it go further…
Baked Beans x 1 Tin (some people don’t like Red Beans so you could use Baked Beans (Haricot Beans) instead.
Peppers – as many or as little as you like, if one needs using up do it!
Mixed Dice Vegetables x 1 Cup (You can add other basic veg if you don’t have enough or you want to do a vegetarian style chilli).

✩ ✩ ✩

Author: Severn Sabrina
Prep Time: 25 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Serves: 4 to 6 people
Allergens: Check the Jar of Sauce if you buy one.

SWEET AND SOUR CHICKEN
Serves 4 to 6 people
Ingredients
500g Chicken Breast (Diced) or a Vegetarian Alternative
Tin of Pineapple – Cut into Small Chunks – 1 Ring per person
Peppers – 1 Yellow and 1 Red Cut into Small Long Pieces
1 Large Onion – Diced into Small Long Pieces
2 Carrots – I Peel and Slice them with the Peeler into long thin shards!
Serve with Rice
Sauce – I always buy a cheap jar of sauce, the cheaper the better!
Alternatives
This dish is so easy to make and these flavours are quite specific, if you aren’t keen on that much pineapple then do one ring total or leave it out but then you should add more of the other ingredients.



Fresh meat, fresh fruit and fresh vegetables are hard to get hold of in my area right now. When I did a home delivery order most of what I asked for was either out of stock or I was given a substituted alternative closest to what I wanted. This was very inconvenient and I have ended up spending 4 hours in total, chopping, peeling and bulk freezing some of the fresh veg before it went bad. I created mixed veg bags including a stir fry mix!

TOP TIP: Only make a freezer portion size for what you or your family members would eat at a meal time! Then there is no waste when you defrost it to use!

Washed, Chopped and Sliced, Ready to Freeze. MY TOP TIP always squeeze the air out of the freezer bags before popping them into the freezer to save space!

You can make 6 portions of Vegetable Stir Fry using the following raw vegetables, washed, chopped and ready to cook or freeze:
3 Coloured Peppers – 1/2 a sliced pepper per portion
1 Broccoli Head – cut into thin stems
1kg Carrots – I use a peeler to slice mine into strips
1 White Onion for every 2 Portions – Diced into small chunks
~ Add any of the following to make it go further and become 8 portions~
Water Chestnuts – I use Tinned x 1
Bamboo Shoots – I use Tinned x 1

Adding Noodles OR Rice on the Day you make the Stir Fry for extra bulking out of your food. Either use 1 Packet of Stir Fry Noodles once your veg is cooked, or a packet of Microwave Noodles or a Microwave Rice (all down to your preference) and one of these makes this meal double in amount.

Using a bought Sauce or Making a Sauce?

Adding a bought sauce to this stir fry is great, but if you’re feeding more than 4 people then 1 jar is only just enough. TOP TIP: Make sure you add 2 cm of warm or hot water to the bottom of the jar, replace the lid and give it a good shake, add this to your stir fry, no sauce left in the jar and wasted!

Don’t be scared of not using all the sauce, you can you half, replace the lid and use the rest within 2 or 3 days usually (always check the label).

Alternatives for Sauce… Make your own!
You will need… Garlic fresh or paste, Ginger fresh or paste, Sweet Chilli Sauce or Chilli Sauce (if you like it hot!) Salt, Pepper and Chinese Five Spice! I prefer the pastes as it makes things so easy!

In a small bowl mix up a tablespoon of everything above! Less of the hot chilli though unless you like it spicy! Add more or less and experiment with the taste until it’s to your preference. Add this to your stir fry when you add the noodles. One of each paste does me around 7 or 8 stir fry’s or Chinese orientated meals. Chinese Five Spice goes a long way too!

A Pasta Bake is also a great way to use up Vegetables about to go stale and any leftover sandwich meats or leftover sausages for example. This is a firm fave of mine, bacon chunks, peppers and tomato!

I really hope I have given you some inspiration on some family favourites and ideas on how you can make them go a lot further during this difficult time. You can of course substitute the meats for vegetarian alternatives or swap out the vegetables you don’t like for others too.

Experiment with what you’ve got to use up and so long as you’re making healthy meals with vegetables in you’re already winning for the day! If you liked any of my meals after making them please leave me a comment, I would love to know how you got on.

Is there anything you would like to cook but need some help with? I’m an experienced cook and perhaps have experience of the dish, please comment and ask me 🙂 I’m happy to help!

Stay In and Stay Safe Friends. I might go do some baking now I’m done with my savoury cooking! If you’re after sweet treats check out those recipes that are on my blog already too!

✩ Sabrina ✩

All The Free’s From Chocolate Cake Recipe

It’s time for another Free From recipe!

As most of you regular Severn Wishes readers will know, my son was born with a number of allergies. I love to cook and baking is something that I am gradually getting better at. I wanted to make up a recipe that was easy and that I could use with what I usually find in my baking cupboard. But not only that, it had to taste like proper chocolate cake. There’s nothing worse than it not resembling what you know and love!

This moist and soft chocolate cake recipe is egg free and dairy free. You could even change the flour to make it gluten free too if you like. I made it normally first, and then with gluten free baking flour when my sister (she’s coeliac) visited us, and both times it still baked as a soft sponge. Delicious! A great treat if you’re doing Veganuary this year! Why not make this Vegan delight at the end of the month? Give you a treat to look forward to!

This cake serves 10 people, you only want a small slice as it’s rich!
Time to Prepare, Make and Bake is… 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Preheat your Oven to a Temperature of 180’c or 360’F
You will need baking parchment to line your 8″ Tin
You shall need a Jug for the Sauce, one Large Bowl and one Small
You will also need a Sieve, a Spoon and a Whisk
And finally a Cooling Rack

Ingredients

For the Cake:

175g Flour – I used plain or a mixture of Plain and Raising, or use GF
200g Caster Sugar
50g Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract – You could use Mint Flavouring instead
240ml Tepid Water
120ml Vegetable Oil

For the Sauce to pour on top:

4 to 6 Tablespoons of Tepid Water
2 Tablespoons of Golden Syrup or Maple Syrup
2 Tablespoons of Cocoa Powder
130g of Icing Sugar

Sabrina’s Free From Chocolate Cake

Method – Making the Cake

Step 1. Sift the Flour, Cocoa Powder, Caster Sugar and Baking Soda together in a large bowl. Make sure you mix them together thoroughly to combine.

Step 2. In a small bowl mix oil, water and vanilla together and stir until mixed.

Step 3. Gradually stir your wet mix bowl into the dry ingredients. Once you have combined them use a whisk or hand processor in order to make the mixture smooth. Mix until all the liquid is combined with the dry mixture.

Step 4. Pour your smooth mixture into the lined cake tin and shake gently from side to side to make it even inside.

Step 5. Bake in the Centre of your Preheated Oven, between 26 and 32 minutes depending upon oven type. Keep an eye on your cake so that it doesn’t over bake, use a knife of skewer in the centre, when it comes out clean it’s baked.

Step 6. Once cooked gently transfer the cake to a rack so that it can cool. You don’t want to pour on your sauce until it is cooled. Make sure the cake is completely cool before serving, you don’t want your sauce running off!

Method – Making the Sauce

Step 1. Sift the cocoa powder and icing sugar together in a bowl. Mix with a spoon until combined and a brown colour over all.

Step 2. Pour the syrup of your choice and the water into the bowl, make sure you stir it immediately and keep stirring until the ingredients resemble a smooth consistency. Start with 4 Tablespoons of water, if it’s not resembling a sauce that is pour-able then you can add more, one spoonful at a time until it’s how you want it to be. It can vary on the size of the spoon you use for example. TIP: Always better to start with less water and add it gradually, if it’s too wet to start with then you’re going to be measuring out more sugar which is a consistency much more difficult to get right.

Step 3. Cover this sauce until your cake is cooled and ready to serve, cut your cake slices, plate them up and then pour the sauce on to each piece. It’s easy to make more sauce if you need it and only takes a matter of minutes!



Thank you for coming to Severn Wishes today to read this recipe blog post. I hope you have enjoyed it. Can you please leave me a comment on this post if you try the recipe, and let me know what you think!

Have a great week!

Sabrina

Breastfeeding Your Baby, the Issues, the Infections and the Isolation. But it’s the Most Rewarding Thing I Ever Did.

In my article I’m going to be talking about the different issues and infections I have had during my current journey, in order to raise awareness for other mothers who, like me, may have been unaware of the seriousness of them. And I will also be touching upon the isolation too, it’s such a stupid thing in modern times for it not to be accepted by everyone.
It is however the most rewarding thing that I have ever chosen to do.
At the end of the day breasts are part of a woman’s body in order to nurse children. I will discuss lots of things in these 4000+ words! So grab a cup of tea and a biscuit and brace yourself for honesty and facts…

Breastfeeding is Incredible but it is also Hard Work

Breastfeeding my son has been one of the most rewarding yet hardest things I have ever done in my life. It was a choice I made while I was pregnant and I wanted to persevere and give it my absolute best, with the aim of feeding him for at least six months if it was possible. But then when we hit that milestone and after that other milestones too, I just kept saying “I will now stop when baby no longer wants it”. Now we are at 15 months and still going, yay for us! The bond we have is amazing.

Don’t get me wrong, it certainly was not the easy way of feeding my baby and I think that women who do breastfeed give up a lot, and this should definitely be recognised a bit more. Let me start at the beginning and explain how and why I chose to carry on, in the face of pain, problems and less than four hours sleep for many a night. And why I’m still breastfeeding… right now in fact! While I type some of this story!

It had been an uphill battle to establish the breastfeeding and the routines to begin with. We were plagued with problems from the outset but because I was determined I continued on. Our son developed jaundice a day after birth which required a lengthy stay in hospital in an UV incubator and I breastfed or pumped every ninety minutes for the first two weeks of his life. Tough was an understatement, because my milk was still only just coming in when we realised our son had some problems. So I ended up with sore and cracked nipples from the constant feeding one way or another. The lack of sleep and the worry caused me to get rundown too. I remember filling myself with food and drinking litres of water at the beginning, it really did help get me through. And I have to thank the midwife team and breastfeeding coordinators at my local hospital too for their support and kindness.

When we eventually went home, to stay, our son was cluster feeding, we encouraged this to get him to gain some weight. It was incredibly hard, with sleep time being few and sitting down time a plenty, yet I wouldn’t change the bond it allowed for us to grow. So many hours were spent just gazing at one another; sleepy feeding at all hours and burping sessions too! We were doing so well, our little boy was slowly gaining weight and we had turned a corner. Family were also supportive and I carried my pregnancy pillow with me everywhere I went… Then one day as we started to feed I got pains, and these increased over the course of the day, and it turned out to be an infection that I knew nothing about. Let me tell you about Ductal Thrush.

Lots of doctors misdiagnose this ailment as Mastitis when in fact it’s Ductal Thrush. And if you get a misdiagnosis like I did with this, then you can actually make your infection so much worse! Let me explain a bit more about my run-ins with the dreaded Ductal Thrush and then I will show you a list of the symptoms and give you some facts!

Ductal Thrush

My son was only seven weeks old when I got some bizarre pains as he latched on to feed. Previously my breasts had been engorged and that was painful, my nipples had been sore and cracked and they had also been painful, but this was different. It felt as though my son was drawing my milk out through the nipple, and as usual you can feel that gentle pull, except this time it was as though my nipple was being shredded from the inside out by glass shards. Yes… glass shards. It’s the best way I have of describing it, and it’s incredibly painful. At times during my experience with Ductal Thrush I would even say it hurt me more than the contractions of labour.

Now I’m pretty good with pain, I had my son naturally on just a little gas and air, and even my midwife took that off me almost ninety minutes before he was born to get me to focus more… so when I was tearing up and gritting my teeth through baby latching I knew something was not right. My son and I had such a bond already, but he was feeding frequently, usually fourteen to fifteen times in every twenty four hours. The pain of Ductal Thrush lasts for around a minute or two into the feed, and then different pains occur after baby has fed and you have your milk let down. That pain is a dull ache felt right in the depths of the breast tissue, mine was so deep it radiated around my back under my armpit.

I managed to get in at my GP quickly, the next day in fact. But I had hardly any sleep because of the pain during and between feeds that I was exhausted when I got there. The doctor took a look and listened to my symptoms before telling me that it was Mastitis. Having read about this condition and also having been given leaflets on it in hospital because it’s quite common in new breastfeeding mum’s, I just didn’t think he was correct. I went home with a box of antibiotics, and despite my reservations I took them for four days. The GP said that after forty eight hours I should begin to feel better and that the pain would get better. In fact by the fourth day the pain had almost doubled and I was crying my way through every single feeds. I was biting down on one of the baby teething rings we had bought for him just to get through the initial latch, and if he let go and had to start all over again I would literally be sobbing it was terrible.

After this night of debilitating pain I decided to call the breastfeeding coordinator number that I had been given, and they gave me some advice. They also sent a member of the breastfeeding team to my house to check me over when I described what a time I was experiencing. They checked to make sure baby was latching properly, and once I had told them about the pain they instantly knew it was Ductal Thrush and not Mastitis. I remember exactly how the conversation went, and how exhausted I felt. She also looked inside my son’s mouth because you can often see the thrush in baby’s throats and on their tongue. I wasn’t aware of this until I was told, but it’s white and often sticks to babies tongue and gums, and it was evident towards the back of my little ones mouth.

“You need to go back to your GP with this new information, and you need to stop taking those antibiotics because that type is feeding the infection not helping to get rid of if”.

I was devastated, it was now worse because of the misdiagnosis and my son was suffering too, I had to phone the GP up and ask to see them again. When I told him what the breastfeeding team had said he needed to look it up on his computer and find out what he needed to prescribe me instead. Not only did we require tablets but we also needed a nipple cream for me and a gel for my son for his mouth. They weren’t an everyday antibiotic, and my local pharmacy required a minimum of twenty four hours in order to get them in. So I waited, my husband picked up the prescription for me the following afternoon, and it was three days for them to enter my system and begin working.

During all of this time I continued feeding through the excruciating pain, and my poor son kept looking up at me wondering why I was so upset, his mind must have been so confused at the time, since I had always enjoyed our feeds and bonding since getting over the initial first pains and soreness that comes with new mothers feeding. Now he saw it as something that was upsetting me so I tried to not show him how hurt I was feeling and tried to smile down at him for reassurance.

But I was now in pain for minutes at every single feed, and this continued for a further week before it finally began to improve. It was tedious, I had to apply this fungal cream after each feed but remove some of it if it hadn’t been absorbed into the skin when he next wanted to feed. I also had to rub the gel onto his gums after each feed was over. I also had Lanolin for my nipples which were so sore from all the contact. But the antibiotics were finally starting to work, and I had a two week dosage of tablets which I thought was fine. It wasn’t. Due to it being so bad and embedded so far into my breast tissues I had to return to the GP and get a further repeat prescription of it. In total I was medicated for a whole six weeks, and it was a concern with my son being so young and the medication passing on to him.

For me Ductal Thrush at times was more painful than giving birth, and any mother who has had a severe case of it like I did will no doubt back me up. I’m not exaggerating with the pulling your milk through shards of glass description, or the burning sensation that radiates through your entire chest and into your tissue and muscles well into your back. I look back now and it’s a bit of a blur, I wonder how I even got through those weeks, but I did. I remember having to bite down on that teether at our three o’clock feed to stop my crying waking up the neighbours.

The GP even sent me to the hospital during my second dose of antibiotics to have an ultrasound scan on my breast tissues, to make sure nothing else was going on, luckily there was not and I was able to return to feeding my son. Although this was not before I was asked if I wanted to stop feeding him. When the thrush reoccurred without the tablets, well it never really left thinking back on it now, it was just starting to improve when I ran out of medication that first time and therefore it flared up again. But I recall telling every member of the health department that I came across, “No, I have worked too hard to establish feeding I want to continue”. I knew that I could beat this and carry on, not just for my son but for my sake as well.

As a sufferer of Endometriosis, I’m currently at Stage Four, so it was more beneficial to me to continue breastfeeding as long as was possible. When I explained the benefits most people could see why I wanted to maintain the feeds. But it was important to me because of how much I had already been through to even get to this stage of breastfeeding. For those few weeks that were debilitating and exhausting it felt never ending, but then we turned a corner, I woke one morning and the pain was there but bearable. I didn’t see the Ductal Thrush again, and if I never do again it would be all too soon. It affected the supply in my right breast, so much so that the left side became dominant and grew to almost double the size. I live with the constant lopsided reminder of how infection can really change your body. But I am a stronger breastfeeding mother because of what I have been through.

So many mothers are misdiagnosed with Ductal Thrush and it can have implications as well as creating painful feeding. Please speak to your local breastfeeding team if you are at all concerned that your GP might not be fully understanding to your needs. Get them to check inside your baby’s mouth because this is also an indication of where thrush lies. As a mother who has chosen to breastfeed you should be made aware of what Ductal Thrush and Mastitis are, so that you can make an informed decision if you should contract either of them.

Let us now go through the differences between the two of them. Ductal Thrush occurs when an infection grows among the breast tissues and is usually spread and passed from mother to baby and back again. Thrush can be an infection that occurs on several different parts of the body. Evidence of it in the breast can sometimes be seen on and around the nipple, or within baby’s mouth. Baby needs to be treated at the same time as the mother and it usually affects both of the breasts, but usually one side more than the other. Mastitis occurs in the breast when the ducts of tissue become blocked, it is usually associated with engorgement or when your baby is not feeding effectively and draining every part of the breast. Mastitis is accompanied with red, swollen and hot skin, then pain and redness that expands. Both of these conditions are serious, Mastitis more so due to the nature of the infection.

As explained on the NHS website, here are some more facts about Mastitis as a condition.

Mastitis only usually affects one breast and women feel unwell.
Symptoms develop quickly and can include a red, swollen and painful area of the breast.
Usually there is a lump or hard area to the breast tissue that doesn’t go after feeding baby.
There can be burning pains associated with feeding your baby or occurring continuously.
Discharge from the nipple is common including white or blood streaked.
Flu-like symptoms are the normal experience for people with this infection, aches and pains, fatigue, going hot and cold, running a temperature and a having a fever.

Mastitis in breastfeeding women is known as Milk Stasis, it is caused by a build-up of milk that has not been drained properly. This occurs when the baby hasn’t got a good enough latch, there is an abundance of milk and baby isn’t feeding effectively or when the baby is feeding infrequently or misses a feed. It is an infection most common in the first twelve weeks of breastfeeding; however it can occur at any time for breastfeeding mothers who have a change in their usual routine for example. Mastitis occurs when the build-up of breast milk that has become blocked becomes infected with bacteria. If the bacteria are not treated quickly then the milk can turn into pus in the form of a breast abscess which may then need to be surgically drained.

Luckily Mastitis is easily treatable with antibiotics and rest. As with any infection you need to rest and hydrate, as well as eat healthily and take the tablets you are prescribed. Pain medicine such as Paracetamol and Ibuprofen can be taken on the advice of your Doctor. Avoid tight fitting clothes and no bra if you think you may have Mastitis and while you are recovering. You must continue to breastfeed so as to remove any milk from the breast and avoid any further infections.

Is it important to remember that Mastitis can be a serious infection, and if you believe you may have it you need to see a Doctor as soon as possible. When infections spread it is more difficult to treat them and undiagnosed infections can lead to problems like Abscess’ or even Sepsis (Blood Poisoning). If in doubt see your GP and don’t be embarrassed about seeking help for something like this.


My Experience with Mastitis

I think I was in denial when I had Mastitis. I kept thinking, just one more painful feed and then it will be better, but this went on for weeks until I finally walked a mile and a half to the doctors on a really hot day because I could literally take it no more. I had a sore nipple after my son had accidentally bitten me with a fresh tooth he was cutting, and as he breast fed the sore kept reopening as a wound and became rather painful. This is what I attributed my pains to, and it wasn’t until I woke with an adjacent lump and red patch on my skin that I thought it was something more.

As I sat down to be examined with the doctor a chaperone was there too, and she was watching my son who was getting flustered at the sight of somebody other than him touching my breast, ha! Within seconds of looking at me he concluded it was Mastitis and told me I needed to start antibiotics immediately, I was told off for not coming in sooner. He told me to go to the pharmacy across the road and then go home and rest. He advised me to up my fluid intake, take paracetamol and stay warm. He even told me that if the redness spread any further across my chest to phone 111 and get admitted for IV antibiotics. It was quite scary…

My son was so flustered I had to breastfeed him in the Doctor’s surgery waiting room before I left the premises. That’s one thing people don’t realise about Mastitis, you actually have to keep on feeding despite the pain. Allowing the Breast to become engorged again would be dangerous and could further spread the infection.

So once my son was done I managed to get him back into his pushchair and I did what the Doctor said, I got my tablets, then I grabbed myself some Pepsi Max and Chilled Water from the convenience store next to the pharmacy too, it was so hot that day. Walking home afterwards I was getting more and more exhausted.

Once home I didn’t get the chance to rest, I took my medication then I fed my son both food and my milk. By the time I was sitting down to breastfeed I realised how hungry I was, but upon reading the antibiotic packet I saw it read no food for two hours after a tablet. So I then had to wait even longer to have my lunch.

By the time my husband got home from work in the evening I was sat on the sofa huddled in blankets watching my son play with his toys on his mat. I was so exhausted I just did dinner in the oven that night. One of the symptoms is fatigue because your body is fighting an infection. Another is the flu like symptoms that hit you like a train. For a moment you feel fine and then boom you’ve got shivering shakes and feel really cold. It was 28 degrees Celsius outside and 24 inside my house, yet I was sat with a heavy cardigan on and a blanket wrapped around me. I had these particular symptoms on and off for just over forty eight hours, and they were not pleasant.

I was on my antibiotics course for two weeks, one tablet four times a day. Luckily by the time I came to the end of the course I had noticed an improvement and my pain was now subsiding. I did however still had the open sore on my nipple which took another three weeks to heal completely. My son couldn’t help opening it every time he had an aggressive “I’m really hungry” feed.

The reason I got Mastitis was because I was away from my son for a few hours. Despite expressing some milk while away that day I still ended up engorged and in a lot of pain. Although I had encouraged him to feed more from my breast in the days that followed I could see my raised ducts weren’t going back down. If I ran my finger over my skin while he fed I could feel them, they were like tiny raised finger like shapes. A week or so later the pain and discomfort began getting a lot worse. One side of my breast was bright red and due to my encouraging more feeds to try and empty the breast, it had become sore and my skin was splitting where my nipple met my areolas. I gritted my teeth at the start of every feed.

My son prefers one side to the other… I hear most babies do! I recall the doctor asking me if he fed on the other side and I said he did do, but my right could never keep up with the supply and demand that the Left could. He commented that I was rather lopsided, and I asked him to tell me something I didn’t already know!

So the weeks past and luckily my Mastitis completely rectified itself and I didn’t need any further treatment. I’m one of the lucky ones, and I also have fairly small breasts as far as sizes go! I could imagine that someone with larger breasts where more infection could spread would be having a more difficult time of it! It didn’t reoccur at all although I have been careful not to have a spaced out feed since then, and my son has gone everywhere with me.

It took me a whole month to feel normal again, it was awful feeling so weak for a few days, but then the fatigue took a few days to recover from as well. I was grateful that I knew a bit about Mastitis due to my misdiagnosis when I had Ductal Thrush, so at least I was clued up on what to look out for. But some women are never told about these conditions and I think it’s important that they are discussed and recognised by the wider community.


Isolation

Finally, I want to talk about the Isolation that Breastfeeding brings.

Breast is best, and it sure is! You get to bond with your baby, get extra cuddles and even burn more calories and get your pre-baby body back more quickly! But breastfeeding can also be very isolating especially if you can’t express or find it difficult to get your baby to take milk from a breast and a bottle… this was us. We had always hoped to do combination feeding, but our son didn’t like multiple bottle types. That said, I have never had an issue with feeding him by my breast, wherever I was and whenever he needed me to, I did it. So far that has been sat on the floor in Primark and even whilst walking around Tesco supermarket doing the grocery shopping.

I knew of mother friends who went back to a date night routine when their child was twelve weeks old, they went back to work at nine months, they went on a family holiday around the little ones first birthday. Most of these friends bottle fed their children for whatever reason. But you could end up like me, putting your little ones needs ahead of your own, you could be breastfeeding them for a particular reason. Our main reason is allergies, specifically food ones. It was imperative that I kept feeding him when my son was diagnosed with a potential milk allergy, and now we know it is a serious one I was glad that I stuck with feeding and didn’t put him at risk by trying all sorts of random formula. We are now waiting to see a consultant about his allergies, so for now I am sticking with breastfeeding him and maintaining a free from diet for me. It makes things difficult but I am used to it now, and I know he is safe.

It’s been hard not to be the social butterfly that I once was, but I have enjoyed the time with my son, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Especially the teaching and learning for both of us, the bonding and the love. Teaching him has been an absolute joy so far and I hope that it continues.

Unless other mother friends have breastfed and know what it’s like to have a cluster feeding baby who feeds every two hours and for fourteen or fifteen times a day, then they don’t know what it’s like to painfully turn down social invitations because you’re so exhausted you can just about feed and clothe yourself and the baby. It does get better, and routines are the key. Now I can plan my day so that I can get in a short walk and maybe a grocery shop between breast feeds and even do things around the house without baby getting too grumpy by not being permanently attached to my chest! I know it’s been a good day if I have showered, have done my home chores and gotten a walk in all before four o’clock in the afternoon. At that time every day we cuddle up on the sofa so he can feed, with a packet of free from biscuits for me, and we watch our favourite quiz shows together until it’s time for me to cook dinner. It’s a great life to live, although it can sometimes be a little lonely in terms of adult interaction, though I have to say being at home with my son all day is one of the best decisions I ever made. I know it cannot be like this forever and I will make the most of the time I have with him before things change.

I am a proud mother bear to be still feeding my child now at fifteen months of age. I’m also quite glad looking back, all the hurdles we have beaten and all the issues we have overcome. And yes I have to maintain a dairy free diet for the entire time that I continue breastfeeding, but you know what, it’s what is best for my son, so I will do it.

I guess what you can say here is that breastfeeding is only isolating if you let it become such. During those first few months everyone is learning and discovering and it’s both wonderful and scary and also amazing. This little life looks to you for everything and that is a massive deal, but you also cannot lose sight of who you were before you were mother of the baby. I think for a few months that was what happened to me. I stopped being Sabrina and started being mum, mum for every occasion. When in reality what was really happening was that I was isolating myself even more. I got out of that rut by joining a baby class and having an afternoon out with other parents and their children every week. The isolation started to become less and less and I soon felt more like myself again.

Recently my son has been teething, in fact for the last month he has cut tooth after tooth and is ahead of the game in terms of a teething diagram! This is a good thing in some ways, but it has also meant that he has fed more. Partly out of comfort and partly out of the fact he is having an overall growth spurt. I am back to having between four and six hours sleep in every twenty four hours, I am up at least twice a night and it is quite exhausting some days. But the feelings I have when I am the one who can soothe his pain and calm him down, is very reassuring to me, that bond is irreplaceable. So for now I make do with the lack of sleep, because of all the positives our continued feeding provides us.

So, if you’re breastfeeding and feel a little bit alone here is my advice. Join a club or a group, get out for some fresh air, invite family or friends around and do something together even if it’s free! Just remember that you’re not just a boob on legs, although some days you think that that is all your little one sees! You are a person, a parent and a mother who is doing this amazing thing for their child, but you need to look after yourself too, body and soul.

Don’t let breastfeeding close you off, allow it to open doors to so much more, more friends and more life experiences.

Thanks for reading this lengthy article, if you got to the end in one sitting then I give you a pat on the back. I will be talking about more aspects of parenting very soon. until then, see you later.

Sabrina