Mr Eli and Mini Boden: Outfit #4.

Today is Mini Boden Outfit #4 Day* and today we have a poorly boy 🙁 Boo 🙁

Mr Eli had his 12-week immunisations this afternoon, so is enjoying a well deserved nap. I’m pretty jealous that Mr Rex is getting all the cuddles mind!

So what is Eli wearing today?
Click here to purchase>> Cosy Romper, Grey, £18; from Boden.co.uk

This has got to be the cosiest romper ever! So ‘Cosy Romper’ is definitely a very fitting product name. First of all, I liked this style because it’s nice and bright… but not *too* bright. It’s a trendy and grown up romper that is great for casual days out and about. I love the cute kangaroo pouch at the front, which is finished off with a contrast navy top-stitch. The poppers on the leg inseams make for easy nappy-changing access, while the cuffs all extend which means your little one will get quite a lot of wear out of it, before they’re too big. Best of all, this romper is fleece lined so I know that Mr Eli will be all cosy and warm when we’re off out for walks on those chilly days!

 

MM.

 

* I am partaking in a Boden Bloggers competition. Head over to the Boden Facebook page to vote for my blog posts as your favourite :)

Mr Eli and Mini Boden: Outfit #3.

Today is Mini Boden Outfit #3 Day* – and Mr Eli is dressed for Bowling!

I had ‘craved’ going bowling right throughout my pregnancy. Obviously, there is some danger attached to bowling, so this was off the cards for the duration. We had a free afternoon today so we decided to go to Hollywood Bowl! Beyond ecstatic, we arrived but soon realised how absolutely loud a bowling alley is…. not to mention the booming music from the speakers at each lane… the pins being hit sounded somewhat supersonic! We stood in the queue and debated whether this place really was *too* loud for a 12 week old baby. Then noticed that nap time was approaching! Eli was falling asleep, we couldn’t believe it. He slept the entire afternoon in there!

So what is Eli wearing today?
Click here to purchase>> Breton T-Shirt, Green, £12-£14; from Boden.co.uk

Click here to purchase>> Chunky Cord Dungarees, Red, £24-£26; from Boden.co.uk

How cool are these cord dungarees? The answer is TOO COOL! I absolutely love them. When we found out we were having a baby boy we said we’d just love him to wear red dungarees and stripey tops and Converse trainers! We had that entire ‘dream’ nailed in one outfit here! The dunagrees are made using a chunky cord and are lined with an awesome jersey star fabric; again, perfect for the colder days we have yet to come! The dunagree’s are easy to take off with the traditional workwear straps, but  Mini Boden have gone one further and added poppers for easy access when nappy changing too! These dungaree’s are definitely durable and great for anyone who likes a bright colour! Better still, I know these dunagrees will last Eli a while, thanks to the adjustable straps too!

MM.

 

 

* I am partaking in a Boden Bloggers competition. Head over to the Boden Facebook page to vote for my blog posts as your favourite :)

Mr Eli and Mini Boden: Outfit #2.

Today is my OH’s birthday 🙂 His first birthday as a Daddy and this is also Outfit number 2 of a week with Mr Eli and Mini Boden*!

As you can see, Mr Eli is holding up his birthday card, which he obviously wrote out himself, for his Daddy.

So what is Eli wearing today?
Click here to purchase>> Breton T-Shirt, Green, £12-£14; from Boden.co.uk

Click here to purchase>> Lined Cord Trousers, Cadet Blue, £16-£18; from Boden.co.uk


I love this casual outfit. The Breton Stripe t-shirt will go with everything I have for Autumn and Winter; it’s perfect for layering. It’s a nice cotton style, which would also work for Summer too. The chunky cord trousers are so lovely, as a trouser, they’re a heavier and thicker fabric – which I just know will be brilliant on those colder Winter days that we have to come. As you saw yesterday, I do enjoy a turn up! This style is so cool with it’s bright red contrasting lining.

Keep checking back to see what Mr Eli wore next!

MM.

* I am partaking in a Boden Bloggers competition. Head over to the Boden Facebook page to vote for my blog posts as your favourite :)

Mr Eli and Mini Boden: Outfit #1.

So let’s kick off a week with Mr Eli and Mini Boden*; today we start with Tuesday 23rd October.

I take Eli to be weighed at a local centre every fortnight. The past few times Eli has gained weight, but not as much as we’d ideally like. This week Eli had gained 11 ounces, which is spot on! I was both relieved and over the moon. Eli was both a little bit too excited and very cosy in his first Mini Boden outfit!

So what is Eli wearing today?

Click here to purchase>> Winter Jumper, Grey, £24-£26; from Boden.co.uk

Click here to purchase>> Lined Simple Trousers, Blue Ticking Stripe, £16-£18; from Boden.co.uk

The Winter Jumper is absolutely beautiful. It is made using a super soft cashmere blend; which also means it’s beautifully cosy. I love the cable knit and button detail to the shoulder. The simple trousers are just great, an absolute wardrobe staple. These trousers can definitely be styled for a casual outfit or for somewhere smart. You can also turn these trousers up to reveal the contrast green lining – this is how I styled them on Eli.

Keep checking back to see what Mr Eli wore next!

MM.

* I am partaking in a Boden Bloggers competition. Head over to the Boden Facebook page to vote for my blog posts as your favourite :)

The Mini Boden AW12 Baby Boy Essentials!

FINALLY, Mr Eli fits into actual Boy’s clothes and not just baby grow’s! YEEEEAH!

I’m a HUGE fan of Mini Boden, so naturally, I absolutely COULD NOT WAIT for Mr Eli to be just that little bit bigger so he could fit into all of the amazing and cosy Autumn pieces.

This lovely lot (a lot, a lot) of Mini Boden AW12 pieces turned up* recently and I’m going to show you how I styled Mr Eli for a week in these absolute essentials! The jumpers are so soft and cosy – perfect for this change in weather…Winter is definitely on it’s way!! All of the pieces are such good quality, all super warm and the Winter jumper with the snowflake on is my pick for Eli’s Christmas Day outfit!

First of all, here is the must-have check list.

Click here to purchase>>  Jersey Duffle Jacket, Navy, £22-£24; from Boden.co.uk

Click here to purchase>> Breton T-Shirt, Green, £12-£14; from Boden.co.uk

Click here to purchase>> Chunky Cord Dungarees, Red, £24-£26; from Boden.co.uk

Click here to purchase>> Winter Jumper (Snowflake), Red, £24-26; from Boden.co.uk

Click here to purchase>> Lined Cord Trousers, Cadet Blue, £16-£18; from Boden.co.uk

Click here to purchase>> Cosy Romper, Grey, £18; from Boden.co.uk

Click here to purchase>> Winter Jumper, Grey, £24-£26; from Boden.co.uk

Click here to purchase>> Lined Simple Trousers, Blue Ticking Stripe, £16-£18; from Boden.co.uk

Check back during the week to find out what Mr Eli wore and where! You can also follow the special Pinterest board I’ve set up, ““The Mini Boden AW12 Baby Boy Essentials!”.

MM.

 

* I am partaking in a Boden Bloggers competition. Head over to the Boden Facebook page to vote for my blog posts as your favourite :)

Our changing bag: The Mulberry Clipper Holdall.

This has been the sight next to our front door, for the past NINE weeks. These are all our hospital bags, ready and waiting! Suitcase is mine, and is filled to the brim with every essential you need for your stay at hospital – you can read what those absolute essentials are, here>>I’ve FINALLY done it! Hospital Bag(s) are packed! The amazing Mulberry Clipper Holdall is our changing bag (more on that in a second), the Barbour bag to the bottom left is OH’s essentials (iPad, change of clothing, toiletries) and the Borough Market bag is all our food supplies!

So, Changing Bag… we spent such a long time searching for the “perfect” bag. We wanted something that didn’t look ‘Mummsy’. We didn’t want something that was feminine, OH will be carrying it around too! During our search we found that there was nothing that was completely unisex – apart from the generic black satchel style bags… which to be honest, just didn’t hit the spot for us! This is going to be a bag that we’ll use every day, so we wanted to be really happy with it! All of the ‘Mummsy’ style bags are pretty expensive anyway, £250+!

We looked for actual Leather satchels as we felt this would be most universal for us both. But with Leather, comes a pricetag. We soon found that even just nice Leather satchel bags, that weren’t necessarily for our purpose, were coming up at £400+. When we would look into the details of these bags, we found that there just wouldn’t be enough space for everything that a babba needs on a daily basis – as well as what we might need to cram in for ourselves too! We also decided we wanted something that would be kind of waterproof – Britain is not renowned for it’s dry weather is it!

We went to all the usual high street stores in search of just a standard, but small, holdall that would meet all our demands. We almost settled on this one from Barbour – Barbour Wax Cotton and Leather Trim Satchel, £119: Style available from JohnLewis.com

But, this bag is actually a little too big for what we need it for! It looked massive against me and I just couldn’t see ME using it. OH on the other hand, was chuffed with it.

So on with the search!

I’m a massive fan of Mulberry. It’s my favourite brand. So, I said I wanted a Mulberry Alexa…

Mulberry Oversized Alexa Messenger & Shoulder Bag, £925. Style available from JohnLewis.com

But then we realised that the £795 size wasn’t big enough… and £795 is a ridiculous price for a ‘changing’ bag! OH also concluded that an Alexa was too feminine for him. I did email Mulberry regarding changing bags, as they’re clearly missing a huge audience by not offering a selection! They replied to me with:

We have taken on board customer requests for changing bags and our soon to be available Autumn Winter 2012 collection will include the Rosie Baby bag in Black or Oak Tiger Print Nylon as part of the range.

Pretty exciting! But a bit too late…

Then I started looking at their holdalls. We’d always said we wanted a Clipper holdall. They’re classic Mulberry. They’re perfect for trips away. They’re a style that just will not date – but will get better with age.

We went along to Westfield: Stratford City to take a closer look. The Simple Mulberry Clipper Holdall (£350), was the perfect size! Inside and out 🙂

So we said “sod it” and bought it 😀 It’s beautiful. We’re over the moon with it – and more to the point, unlike ‘real’ changing bags, we’ll be using this holdall for years and years and years and years to come. It’s a style that is built to last! So we were happy to pay the £350 price-tag, because it’s going to get so much more use than a standard changing bag. It completely meets our very niche criteria and OH cannot wait to get outside with it 🙂

MM.

Newborn Nappies: There’s so much choice out there, which did you go for?

We’ve pondered many-a-time over which Newborn Nappies to use. Which brand are best in quality, absorbency, fit and of course, which are lightest on the old purse strings?

As we live in a very rainy Britain and we currently do no have a tumble dryer (plus only electric heaters/radiators) going cloth isn’t really an option for us. We struggle to get our own clothes dry at the minute (definitely going to invest in a tumble dryer for Winter!!). So, we’re going disposable…. but what does that mean?! With so much choice out there, which are best for Newborns, based on my criteria above?

I asked my Twitter followers for their tried and tested recommendations… here is what the lovely people out there said.

 

From @CharlieMooswww.charliemoos.co.uk

 

From @NatGourleyreadysteadymummy.blogspot.co.uk

 

From @MummyAdventurewww.themummyadventure.com

 

From @Petitmewwww.petitmom.co.uk

 

From @BexandMicbusybeemummybex.blogspot.co.uk

 

From @TheMakeUpMentor – themakeupmentor.co.uk

 

From @CupcakeMumma11cupcakemumma2011.blogspot.co.uk

 

From @KiddyChartswww.kiddycharts.com

 

So there we have it… the consensus is Pampers Vs Own-brand.  Do you have a different opinion from experience? Or even just agree? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below or via Twitter @MaternalMusings and I’ll be sure to add your comment to the post above!

Thanks for all the responses so far!

MM.

Crave Maternity: The Outlet.

So it was recently brought to my attention that the lovely Crave Maternity website now offers an Outlet section!

You can shop all of their clearance styles by size – which makes it much quicker to shop. Also, each item is only available while the stocks last – so you have to be quick! No hesitating!

Shop now>> Click here to shop the Outlet section!