Blog : Little Lilypad Co

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The Little Lilypad is a lifestyle blog mostly written by a mum to two beautiful, cheeky and entertaining daughters. It is sometimes written by the Man on the Pad or by one of our baby bloggers. Occasionally we accept guest posts too. There is frequently talk of sustainable living, saving money, lifestyle and travel. It is hopefully helpful, sometimes funny and always honest.

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Category: Reviews

  1. Learn to read in 5 weeks for FREE with Reading Eggs

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    For as long as I can remember, I have read stories with my girls, (I am not sure whether this is linked to my eldest being the biggest story teller around) but reading is a big part of our every day routine. My youngest daughter is at the stage of loving stories that rhyme while my eldest loves stories that she can read by herself. So when we were introduced to the Reading Eggs Great Literacy Challenge, we were a little intrigued as to what it was all about.

    We found that your child can join thousands of children across the UK taking part in the Reading Eggs Great Literacy Challenge – which is a nationwide effort to inspire children to read! This FREE event will give your child 5 weeks FREE access to Reading Eggs – the online reading programme that teaches children aged 3-13 the literacy skills needed for lifetime reading success.

     Reading Eggs Little Lily Pad

    We have supported Tommy's and raised money through the Water Babies splashathon, so are thrilled to be able to continue this support through Reading Eggs.

    We also love that there are games, songs, golden eggs and other rewards which, along with feeling proud of their reading, can motivate children to keep exploring and learning. We were also interested to find that over 90% of parents found a noticeable improvement in their childrens reading after using Reading Eggs. So we are delighted to be able to share a FREE trial for Lilypad readers!

    Click here to sign up for your free trial and see for yourself how your child’s reading improves by using Reading Eggs!

    Happy Reading!!

    Sponsored post

  2. Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Microwave Steriliser Review

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    As part of our baby blog series and after the safe and gorgeous arrival of our new nephew, we are delighted to show a review of the Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Microwave Steriliser from our baby blogger, Suzi .....

    As a first time mum and having not been around many new born babies, I must admit that I did not have a clue about where to start when it came to feeding and sterilisation.

    My first reaction to the abundance of sterilising products on display at a baby show I attended was; does a little person really require all this equipment?! So I was extremely relieved when my sister in law asked me to review the Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Microwave Steriliser and assured me it was all I needed to get started.

    I began motherhood breast feeding my new born baby boy and after a few days, also started to express and combine feeds with formula bottles. From this day on the Tommee Tippee steriliser has not left my microwave and I can honestly say it really does what it claims; sterilises in super quick time, is easy to load and provides a great sterile surface for making up the feeds. It took a few attempts at reading the instructions to work out the steps required to ensure sterilisation, but this was most likely to do with my ‘baby brain’ from lack of sleep than anything else, and once cracked the process is actually very simple. 

    Tommee Tippee Steriliser 1

    A great feature of this product is that it keeps the items inside sterile for 24 hours and it can therefore hideaway in the microwave with all the sterilised bottles, saving on all important kitchen work surface space. Whilst it’s designed to hold four Tommee Tippee products, another plus is that it also works perfectly with other brands of bottles and accessories, including breast pumps. My only  wish is that it would hold more than four bottles, but in all honestly if the container was any bigger it wouldn’t fit into most microwaves and I think Tommee Tippee have probably used all the space possible for this type of steriliser.

    Tommee Tippee Steriliser 2

    In summary, this steriliser is practical, efficient and is serving my baby’s need for sterilised bottles perfectly. To top it off Tommee Tippee include a soother in the package which came in very handy at 3am the other morning when nothing else seemed to be working! I will definitely be recommending this steriliser to my sister who is due in January with her first baby, and like me hasn’t had much prior practice!

  3. Things we love this month

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    We often do reviews on the Lilypad of great products that we are sent to try but sometimes there are products that we buy, are given or have always used, that deserve a mention or credit for being generally fab! So we have decided to start a things we love series and this is what we love this month ....

    Aqua Maris Junior Nasal Spray

    We have had this sitting in the cupboard for months and thankfully have had no reason to use it but with the change in temperatures lately and being back at school, it came as no surprise to find that the cold bug would be back too! I loved the nasal spray for babies so I knew I would love the junior version, the only problem this time is having a "junior" child wrestle with you to try and stop it going up her nose. The whole family ended up doing it to prove that it didn't hurt and it became quite hilarious to watch. So this gets a big thumbs up from the whole Lilypad family for clearing your nose and making us all laugh too! ( and at £4.50, it has got to be cheaper than a constant use of tissues!)

    Aqua Maris

    Johnsons Foaming Baby Shampoo

    Everyone has their preferences as far as shampoo's are concerned and Johnsons is the name that resonates with most parents, so we were quite excited to try their new foaming shampoo. Bath time is a big deal in our house, it is the part of the day where everyone seems to end up in the smallest room in the house, getting soaking wet, drinking imaginary cups of tea (with added bubbles) and having our hair done in the bathroom salon! The good news is that it has the exclusive JOHNSON’S® Baby NO MORE TEARS® stamp of approval, which means its gentle and mild for delicate eyes and won’t cause stinging and tears. The girls thought the foaming shampoo was brilliant, even more so that they could use the pump themselves, the bad news is that it didn't last all that long because they kept pumping it.

    Johnsons Foaming Shampoo

    Munchkin Bentos Box

    Back to School means back to packed lunches (which I dread) but was quite excited to receive the Munchkin Bento Box to review. Inspired by the Japanese ‘Bento’, create a lunch box full of variety for your little one with the Click Lock™ Bento Mealtime Set from Munchkin. At £7.50 it is not cheap but it keeps food separate and fresh so sandwiches, fruit, yoghurts and other items can all be stored neatly and compactly in one place. Unfortunately as we have a growing girl, the lunch box seems more suited to younger children as the compartments are relatively small ( although this will be great for the little one going to nursery). My daughter generally likes plain and simple lunches (she is a creature of habit) but we have seen some great bento lunch box ideas here.

    Munchkin Bento-Green

    Weleda Wild Rose Day Cream

    I recently bought some of the Weleda face products. Over the years I have tried all sorts of different skincare products from high end to high street but after receiving a sample of the Weleda face cream, I knew I needed to buy some. The sales blurb told me that that counteracts fine lines, dryness and dull skin (which is a bonus for me) but it made my skin feel amazing and is fabulous under makeup, so is perfect for busy mums like me!

    Weleda

    We also love .....

    Autumn ...... you can't buy it but you can feel it all around us. Autumn makes me think of warm cozy nights in front of the fire, of gorgeous colours everywhere from leaves on the ground to woollen scarves. We may be saying goodbye to Summer but Autumn is pretty fabulous too!

    What do you love this month?

     

  4. Back to School ..... extra essentials

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    It seems ages ago since the children all went back to school, even though it is only a couple of weeks and typically in our house, we are already chasing missing cardigans! For some reason, my daughter and her friends have an inane ability to lose parts of their school uniform and at first I thought it was just my child but apparently it is a common complaint from all the parents. On one sports day last year, another child apparently went home with my daughter school polo shirt, never to be found again and she came home in her PE top.

    I don't deny that I can occasionally misplace items but my daughter lost a grand total of 4 cardigans in one term last year, this is not only frustrating but expensive too, especially when you buy the school branded clothing. So this year, we have been a little more savvy. We have bought a small number of school branded items but we have mixed this with the supermarket brands too. Asda have a great range of affordable and great quality school uniform, which washes really well and is easy on the purse strings!

    Back to School Essentials


    This year, in an act of rebellion, I bought a "Hello Kitty" PE bag from Asda this summer, rather than the standard issue ..... again mainly so that there was no chance of mixing it up with anyone else's

    Some schools want all of their children in the same uniform, not a mixture of different styles (this is a whole other blog post tomorrow) but when they are smart and hard wearing, I really don't see what the issue is. The range from Asda gives us an affordable option when parents need them and who can argue with that?

     

    Disclaimer : We were sent a couple of items of school wear from the Asda back to school range but the views are honest and true.