Teething Bling Review

To say I was excited to be sent a Teething Bling necklace through the post would be an understatement. I've eyed up other people's pendants with a worryingly envious look for a while now, and I had to take off all my pre-baby jewellery when Squeaky arrived as she was very quick to master the art of pulling and hurting me.  The fact that they're a Cardiff based company was also a big appeal - I'm a firm believer in supporting local businesses, and I'm almost always one to go for the local option over the big chain.  The identikit High Street scares me.

Smart Mum UK are the sole distributor of Teething Bling in the UK, stocking pendants and bangles for both mums & younger daughters.  The pendants are made of the same silicone used in teething toys, and are soft and chewable, but they look like the more rigid jewellery available in fashion stores.  The pendant is hung on a silky soft cord, with a breakaway clasp at the back.  Squeaky does tug hard on the cord, and the clasp doesn't give way under normal use, which means your pendant isn't in danger of getting lost, but I've tested out the clasp, and it does release given a pull, which is an important safety feature. The jewellery is also non-toxic, phthalate, BPA, PVC, latex and lead free, designed with teething babies in mind, and putting parents' minds at ease that there's no nasties waiting to jump out.

My pendant came beautifully wrapped in an organza bag, and when I opened it I found a Mother-of-Pearl pendant. There was a tiny bit of me that would have loved one of the bright coloured pendants, but in reality I think Teething Bling have been reading my blog, because the Mother-of-Pearl matches my wardrobe beautifully.

Squeaky demonstrates "chewability"

I've worn my pendant every day since I received it, to compliments from all sorts of sources.  The staff at Squeaky's nursery were very impressed, especially as she chose to demonstrate the pendant's chewability for them.  They said they'd never seen them before but it seemed such a simple & sensible idea.

Squeaky very quickly got the hang of the pendant.  She's very interested in lanyards & ID badges (both Daddy & I have to wear them for work), and so she was pleased to be able to play with one without being told to leave it alone.  As you can see, chewing comes easily, though we often have to take it in turns, as she also enjoys making me chew the pendant before taking it off me.

Teething Bling pendants are £12.95, and bangles £8.95.  You can also choose from a range of pre-matched gift sets, choose your own set, or give a gift card to let people choose their own colours.  I think they'd make a great gift for mums, big sisters,or grandparents, maybe even from baby themselves.

Disclosure: I was provided with a Teething Bling pendant free of charge for the purpose of this review.  I was not told what to write, and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for your convenience only, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.

You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

No, don't panic, nothing like that.  Just that we're off on our jollies in a couple of days time, and I'm not planning on spending my precious time on foreign soil trying to find a free wifi signal for long enough to update.

I'm slightly dreading the flight.  Princess La Squeaky refuses to sit still for 2 minutes at the moment, never mind 2 hours on our laps.  Oh dear.  I have a selection of new toys, old favourites, books & assorted junk foods to keep her occupied though, so hopefully we will survive without being lynched by the rest of the plane.

She's also got a second molar coming through.  And as a result is a) grumpy, b) off her food, c) shitting up a storm, and d) full of a horrible cough, which for some reason all seems to be related.  Poor mite.  I've got a whole branch of Boots' worth of medical shit to take with us, Calpol, Dentinox, Bepanthen, Tixylix, Snufflebabe, Teetha, you name it!

So, see you in a while folks.

Weekend Round-Up

Only a quick post for you today, internet.  This week has been busy, one way or another.  Not how I'd've liked it to be, but busy all the same.

After our trip to the NCT sale last Saturday, we went into Cardiff, where Squeaky managed to catch a stomach bug (THANK YOU people with the ill child and very smelly nappy in St David's Centre - if your child is that ill, don't take them out!), which has kept us all being sick & smelly all week.  The washing machine has been on overdrive.  Squeaky's fine, but still a little bit lacking in appetite (as we all are to tell the truth), but we've had a whole week off from our normal activities, and she's bored at home now.

We've also grown a new tooth.  Not the other top front tooth that I was expecting, but the one to the other side of the existing top front one (the one dentists would call 2).  The one we're still waiting for is visible, just not breaking the surface yet.  I wish it would get on with it, though obviously the 6th isn't going to be far behind. Does teething ever actually stop?

She's also learned this week how to put a ball into a stacky cup, and tip it out again, which is hours of entertainment, and that baths can have bubbles in them!  Did you know that?  Squeaky thinks it's very exciting and you should all know all about the bubbles!  She's a little bit unsure whether they're a good thing or not, the principle is ok, but actual bubbles on her hands are a bit strange and she gets very concerned.  But they do go away when she splashes the water about, so that's what we have to do.

Oh!  And we saw a Christmas tree for the first time!  We went into town yesterday afternoon, just as it was getting dark.  The lights were switched on on Friday, and there was a big tree in the shopping centre, all lit up with little silvery lights, and covered in big silver baubles.  So we had to spend a good ten minutes looking at our funny reflection in the balls, and the twinkly lights, while wrapped up like a snowbaby in our spotty snowsuit.

One, Two...

Guess how many teeth Squeaky has got now?  Three!  Three whole teeth in her mouth!  This is the child who whinged & whined for nigh on 3 months before her first tooth came through.  Then about 4 weeks later the second one followed it.  And now, less than 2 weeks after that, and without me even realising another tooth was imminent, she's cut her first top tooth!

Bitey joy!  Thankfully it's literally only just cut the surface, so she can't actually use it to grind against the bottom one & draw blood from me, yet.  But I'm sure that day will come.  Time to move to formula?

Time Off!

Last week, SqueakyDaddy surprised me by saying we were off to Torquay at the weekend, to a lovely guest house we'd visited the previous year on his birthday.  And better than that, we were going to be adults!  Squeaky was booked in to stay with my parents.

Now, I've got to admit, I wasn't sure.  She'd been a pain when they were babysitting for the evening a couple of weeks ago, so a whole night and day? Whoa!  But I swallowed my concerns, if they were happy to be kept awake, then it's their choice.

As it turned out, I went over a couple of days before, thanks to visiting Trunki, and catching up with old friends, which meant Squeaky could get properly settled in before we left her.  And settle she did, like a trooper.  Played merrily with her toys, was asleep earlier than normal, woke only once for a cuddle at 6a.m., and was a little gem, by all accounts.

Me? I went swimming, drank more than I've done in 18 months, ate curry, shopped, and didn't sleep because my boobs hurt!  24 hours is a long time away from a breastfeeding baby.  I expressed a few times, and it broke my heart to have yo pour that precious milk away, but I had no way to store it, and complete strangers don't take kindly to you wanting to grab their baby & shove your nipple in its mouth.

We're home now though, and had a rough night.  Squeaky's got a cold, and tooth number 2 has finally broken through the surface.  Calpol is our friend.

(The guest house don't know about, and didn't request this link. I just like them, and wanted to tell the world.)

Eeeee!

I was going to do a post about how Squeaky's finally moved into her own bedroom like a big girl, but!

Something more exciting!  Finally, after a couple of months of moaning, her first tooth has broken through the gum!  Not enough to really be visible, but enough to hurt when she bites you.  Now to break out thebaby toothbrush & toothpaste.

A couple of announcements

As I've signed up to a multitude of newsletters & the like, and am always on the hunt for something for nothing, I've been lucky enough to land myself quite a few free samples. Nothing too exciting as yet, sadly, but free is free is free, and that's good enough for me.

I haven't been asked by any of the people who've sent me free stuff to review it, but I figure, what the hey? So, coming soon, reviews of free stuff. Not only baby things, but the other stuff I've had free of late (tea bags, hair dye, etc). Consider yourself warned.

And secondly, the biggie! We're TEETHING! Oh, I am just so happy about that (where's the sarcasm tag on this thing?) Actually, so far, she's not doing too bad, I just have a mildly grouchy and very dribbly Squeaky on my hands, and Calpol & Calgel within reach at all times.