Child Friendly Businesses
I read over on the Business Opportunities and Ideas blog about a ‘Child Friendly Business Ideas Week‘ that the author is running. That is, businesses that cater for children or families with children.
The posts so far have been about:
Wedding Crèches - This sounds like a great idea to me. Some people choose not to have children at their weddings and this would save the hassle of trying to find a child minder / babysitter for such an important event.
Child Friendly Restaurants - I have come across a few child friendly restaurants like those suggested in the article, but they seem to be few and far between and limited to cities and large towns. The imminent smoking ban in public places in England is a step in the right direction to becoming a more child friendly Britain.
Children’s Nurseries - As the author rightly says there is currently a shortage of nursery places, and this is certainly true of the area in which I live. A friend recently advised us to put our child on the waiting list as soon as he or she is born in order to be in with a chance of gaining a place at our local nursery.
It will be interesting to see what other child friendly business ideas are suggested over the next few days.
Do you have a child friendly business idea? If so, why not leave a comment about it here, or on the Business Opportunities and Ideas site.
My Mummy Told Me…
With the imminent birth of our first child my husband and I have recently been discussing how we are going to bring him or her up in terms of what morals to instill in him or her, what kind of advice we are going to give, what we will encourage him or her to do in life etc. We both thought back to our upbringings and what advice was given to us by our parents.
The advice that always sticks in my mind is that which my mum gave to both my sister and I about men during our teenage years. She always said them tongue in cheek, with a hint of humour, but with a glint in her eye that she meant it too!
Here are the pieces of advice she gave, along with a comment about whether I have achieved them:
“Make sure you live with a man before agreeing to marry him” - yep, I definitely managed on that one (albeit living together for only a few months).
“Date many men before you find one to settle down with” - I dated enough to be able to appreciate what a gentleman my husband is and that I was on to a good thing when I met him!
“Don’t get married before you are 30 years old” - almost, but not quite, I got married when I was 29 (and a half).
“Don’t get pregnant by accident - wait until you want to have kids” - yep, managed this one. Our first child is due any day now and was planned like a military operation.
I’m not sure how my husband will feel about me passing this advice on to our daughter in years to come if we have a baby girl!
This post is my entry in to a group writing project that is being run by The Weary Parent. The theme is summed up by the author as:
I want to know what advice your parents or another influential adult gave you as a teen that you took to heart.
Read The Weary Parent’s post to find out more about the project.
Babylune Group Writing Project Results
I recently mentioned the Babylune group writing project that was running last week. Many congratulations to the winner - The Weary Parent, who wrote about one mistake she has made with each child.
I enjoyed reading them all but here is my pick of the bunch:
I particularly enjoyed the entry by Mama Zen who wrote about the mistake of allowing someone else to make her feel bad about the decisions she has made for her daughter. It really hit home, what with all the different and contradictory pieces of advice there are out there about parenting.
I found the post by Hamelife about co-sleeping with your child really interesting. Co-sleeping is generally discouraged here in the UK and although I am not personally in favour of it myself (at the moment at least) I find it very interesting to read about the different arguments surrounding the issue.
‘The F***ing mistake’ entry by The Doc is in makes very amusing reading.
You can read the full list of entries on the Babylune blog.
The winner, The Weary Parent, is now running a new group writing project, for which my entry will follow soon.
‘Waiting for the Baby’
As I prepare to become a Mum for the first time I was recently thinking about the hopes and dreams I had had for this last part of my pregnancy; what I was hoping to achieve with my free time on maternity leave, and how different it actually is in reality. Oh how naïve I was!
I thought: On maternity leave I would have loads of time to complete all those household chores that have needed doing for ages.
In reality: Who was I kidding, I am too tired, have very little physical energy to do much and need to lie down regularly.
I thought: I can drive lots of places - go shopping, meet friends and try out all the local coffee shops.
In reality: Driving is uncomfortable and the way the seats are designed they do not encourage the baby to get into a good position for birth.
I thought: I can get a load of my filing and home paper work done and learn more about the accounting side of business (which my husband currently deals with).
In reality: I have no mental energy and can’t focus on anything else except for the baby and its arrival.
I thought: I can go on nice long walks with the dog, in the warm summer weather.
In reality: I can’t walk for more than about 10 minutes without needing a sit down or to go to the toilet. And this is British summer weather we are talking about.
I thought: I could go to the cinema to watch some of the latest films.
In reality: There’s no way I can go that long without going to the toilet, and as for sitting in one position for more than about 30 minutes - forget it.
So instead, I seem to be spending my last few weeks in a state of boredom and my whole life at the moment can be summed up as ‘waiting for the baby’.
The Great Ormond Street New Baby and Child Care Book
This new edition of the book was fully updated and revised in 2004. It contains a wealth of information for parents of children ages 0-5, from conception and pregnancy to babies, toddlers and children.
The book is divided into chapters and laid out in such as way that you can read it cover to cover or use it to dip in and out of at your convenience. Chapter titles include: Labour and Birth, Feeding Your Baby, Play and Education, Toilet Training, Common Health Problems, Relationships, and many more.
The book is written with the co-operation and backing of doctors, psychologists and other specialists at the world-renowned Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, and the Institute of Child Health.
Throughout, the book gives unbiased information based on the latest research, (which makes a refreshing change from some other books on the market), and the language is easy to understand with vocabulary well explained.
The book is well written with sub headings and helpful diagrams at appropriate points and a comprehensive index, making it quick and easy to find specific information.
I found the book most useful for the amount of detail it goes into, particularly regarding labour and birth and starting out with your new baby. There is a great section on child development and what you can expect at certain ages plus invaluable information about ill health in babies and children. If you are a first time parent I would definitely recommend this book.
eMoms at Home
Whilst recently searching for other blogs about pregnancy and babies I came across eMoms at Home, written by Wendy Piersall.
The site is clearly very popular and is about starting, running, and succeeding in home business and blogging. Although it is aimed primarily at Mums, many of the posts will be relevant and interesting to anyone involved in or looking to start a home business.
Here is what she has to say about herself and the site:
Site author Wendy Piersall has over 6 years’ experience working in a home office.
eMomsatHome.com is Wendy’s third home-based business, and her first entrepreneurial adventure into online marketing.
Blog topics on the site include: Business Tips, Mom Blogging, Newbie Blogging, Online Marketing, The Home Office, Work and Kids, Work Life Balance and many more.
The blog is particularly relevant to me as I have been working from home for nearly a year now and will very soon be a Mum too.
Some of her articles that stood out for me include the Top Ten Working From Home Mistakes, which makes a great read for anyone considering or currently working from home, and her Top 10 Obstacles to Success as a Work at Home Mom.
I Can’t Wait To Be A Granny!
My mum and mother-in law have, for months now, been very excited about the prospect of our new arrival. At a recent gathering both of our mums, having not seen each other for a while, were in their element. The topics of discussion revolved around baby clothes, baby furniture, baby toys, whether they thought we were going to have a boy or a girl, how desperate they were to know our choice of baby names, and whether they were going to be called ‘Grandma’, ‘Granny’ or something else, along with a whole host of other baby related topics.
Later that day I commented to my husband about how excited our mums were and how they seem to have nothing else going on in their lives at the moment. Don’t get me wrong, my husband and I are excited too, but also feel overwhelmed and apprehensive about what we will do and how we will cope with such a life changing event, and for both our mums it will be their first grandchild. But still, anyone would think they were about to win the lottery!
My husband’s reply to my comment hit the nail on the head:
Being a grandparent is like getting all the good bits without the pooey bits - literally. They don’t have to go through the 9 months of pregnancy or a long, drawn-out labour and birth; they don’t have to endure sleepless nights and endless nappy changing and face parenting dilemmas for years to come. But they do get a gorgeous new baby which they can visit anytime, buy it stuff, look after it, give it treats, take on daytrips, then hand back at the end of the day.
So I am now looking forward to the time when I am a Granny!
Umbilical Cord Blood Banking
Umbilical cord blood banking is a relatively new technology but one that is becoming steadily more popular. It seems to be more common over in the US at present, but there are various companies that specialise in it over here in the UK, and the market is growing.
Cord blood banking is where stem cells are collected from a baby’s umbilical cord and placenta at the time of birth. The cells are frozen and stored for a period of time - often 25 years - with the hope that, should the child develop any illnesses or diseases in the future, the cells may be used to cure them.
At present it is quite costly with prices usually starting from around £1,000. However, the price may fall over the coming years as the technology is improved and more companies set out to offer the service.
The dilemma probably faced by most parents is that currently only a small number of illnesses or diseases can be treated in this way, so the chances of the stem cells being used are small. However, no one knows what the future may hold and, with future advances in science and technology it may be that, in a few years time, this method can be used to treat a whole range of illnesses and diseases.
Babylune Group Writing Project
I read over on Babylune blog about a group writing project that is taking place this week.
Here is what the author has to say about it:
Tell us all about a parenting mistake you’ve made, what you’ve learned from it and how you’re trying to make sure it will never happen again.
By entering the project you will benefit from additional links to your blog plus the chance to win Amazon vouchers or virtual cash to the value of $24.95. The deadline for entries is midnight on Thursday 14th June.
The idea for the project was inspired by the likes of the Problogger project that I entered with my post - How To Budget For A New Baby - 5 Top Tips.
Unfortunately, as I am not yet a parent, I am not able to enter the competition. That is, unless baby decides to put in an appearance within the next few days and then I make a mistake which I have time to write about!
Good luck to all entrants. I will be summarising posts from the competition at a later date, so watch this space.
Natural Induction of Labour
I am now at the stage in my pregnancy where I am feeling totally ready, both physically and mentally, for the baby’s arrival. I am getting increasingly tired, can’t walk too far, or do too much around the house, and to be honest the waiting is getting rather boring!
So I decided to take positive action to find out what I could be doing to encourage the baby to put in an appearance.
The following sums up my findings of natural ways to induce labour, although it seems that none of them are truly scientifically proven and may just be old wives tales. But I’m prepared to give anything a go and don’t believe any of them can do any harm, so here goes:
- Having sex - semen contains prostaglandins, which can help to ripen the cervix, and stimulating your nipples releases oxytocin, which is the contracting hormone.
- A bumpy car ride and walking - this results in the baby putting downward pressure on the cervix.
Curry and coffee - Food that may give you a slight stomach upset is believed to help bring on contractions by stimulating the uterus.- Relaxation - taking a bath or having a massage will help you to relax and may encourage labour to start.
- Eating fresh pineapple and papaya - These contain a natural substance that may encourage labour to start. However, you would need to eat a lot of them to have any affect.
- Raspberry leaf tea - I have read differences of opinion about whether this actually encourages labour. Instead, it helps to tone the cervix to make the pushing stage shorter many believe.
