Paignton Zoo is without doubt one of the best zoo’s in the UK and I’m not just saying this. We’ve been to many zoos, conservation centres and safari parks and there are several different things which make Paignton Zoo a must visit.
First of all I have to commend the beauty of the grounds. Set in the beautiful county of Devon the expansive grounds took us the best part of a Saturday to explore. We didn’t get to see everything because Arlo at 22m old was insistent on walking and this meant going at his pace and stopping to absorb everything, so we will definitely come back again.
The view from the far end of the zoo, past elephant house and across the camel enclosure gives you an incredible view of the sea and it’s well worth the hilly hike just for this.
En route the grounds are stunning, with botanical landscaping throughout. We visited at just the right time of year to see the bluebells making an appearance, and I was delighted to see wildflowers planted and “bee hotels” throughout – there’s no aspect of conservation untouched.
We always take the time to read the information around the enclosures about all of the animals, and being a passionate animal lover we visit zoos in an attempt to teach Arlo about all of the animals which exist, in the hope that when he is old enough to travel the world there will still be wild Rhino’s and tigers.
Their extinction is a very alarming and real threat and pausing to read about the work the zoo and the trust is involved in is fascinating.
We spent a long time in the giraffe and elephant house, I had read some online reviews about the solitary elephant, however having stayed for the keeper talk and learn about Duchess, and the obvious passion the team have for her, I am entirely satisfied that she is living out her golden years in the best place.
I couldn’t possibly give details about every animal we encountered, but there were many species which we hadn’t come across before. So many varieties of birds, but Arlo spent a while following peacocks around as they roam the grounds freely, and was delighted to be surrounded fed by hens as we stopped at one of the many play parks dotted around grounds.
There were lots of picnic stops, benches and refreshment stores all clearly sign posted for our regular snack stops, even on a busy Saturday during school holidays we never felt crowded.
A couple of stand out experiences include the desert walk through – this vast indoor space was full of birds flying around us, which gave us a chance for some really close encounters, and was a truly unique experience.
My personal favourite was the monkey area – I’m no an expert but the enclosures looked well laid out, lots of enrichment, very clean and the whole area was full of information, educational and interactive displays about issues such as palm oil deforestation, difficult for anyone to miss.
There’s also other environments to explore – we spent a lot of time with the crocodiles, the reptiles, the lemurs and then also wandering through an outdoor wetlands trail/aviary.
It’s certainly worth keeping track of time to follow the animal feeds and talks – the keepers are extremely knowledgable and happy to answer any questions you may have, and all extremely patient with children.
I think aside from meeting all of the new animals – the highlight of Arlo’s day was the little train ride which took us around the lake across to the big cat enclosures for a view you wouldn’t get from the pathways. After a chat with the driver we learned about the local steam railway which we squeezed in time to visit on the last day of our holiday.
We also learned about another site run by the trust in Torquay – “Living Coasts” and manages to visit whilst on this mini break. There are opportunities to receive discounted entry tickets between these attractions if you speak with the teams at reception.
Thank you Paignton Zoo, we will be back again very soon and highly recommend as a must visit to holiday makers in the area.
Daffodils are a must have at home to make if feel like spring. Love that you can pick up a bunch for less than a pound to brighten up a windowsill
We love to celebrate in our family… any excuse for a gathering and we will all get together and start planning the food. Easter is quickly becoming as commercial as Christmas, and I don’t see this as a bad thing. We aren’t religious as a family but having been bought up in a multi cultural city I think it’s important to acknowledge all cultures, (we have also enjoyed celebrating Chinese New Year, Diwali and Pride recently) – an easy way to learn about others is to join in with festivities and it’s also an opportunity to spend quality time together as a family.
This bank holiday weekend we have done so much I’m going to have to split this up in to several blog posts – we kicked things off with a trip to a local children’s farm “Hatton Country World” on Good Friday – a glorious day spent meeting lots of baby animals, and running around in the sunshine.
On Saturday we went to a not so festively themed “Ice Age” walk at the Botanical Gardens for some quality time with Nanny. This is another beautiful local attraction we have been visiting as a family since I was a child and it was lovely to see Arlo running around outdoors and marvelling at all the new sights.
On Sunday I hosted the egg hunt to end all egg hunts, with four children aged 1-6 years I knew we had to try and make it fun (and fair) for them all. I also wanted to make them earn their treats, and focus more on fun and festivities than the sweets and chocolate.
This beautiful wreath was from Hobbycraft, and with a little bit of home made bunting, and some garden signs the kids knew they were in for a treat walking up the pathway! Welcome to my Easter egg hunt!
I purchased a fabulous little set of clue cards from an Instagram store A little bit vintage and the simple rhyming clues led the kids to locations all around the house.
The first card was a welcome and I attached this to my front door wreath, and with personalised egg hunt bags left in the front garden, and the clue led them to “the place you leave your shoes” and here they each had a little parcel to open (bunny ears, tails and bow ties).
I made these little bags for the kids to take along on their journey to gather up all of their treats. A simple little design with their names and a bunny in Easter colours
The clues then them to “the place you cook” – of course Logan the eldest ran straight to the kitchen….. however we predicted this would happen and so actually the treats were hidden inside the play kitchen, and Logan quickly realised he had to pay attention, taking on the role of “clue reader” like a pro!
The first challenge to complete for the Easter bunny was to decorate some real chocolate Easter Eggs. Surprisingly the kids all completed this task with their chocolate eggs intact, keen to earn the next clue card.
 “Head to where you brush your teeth” – the kids all rushed upstairs to the bathroom, and of course I had to include one messy play activity so I had pre filled the kitchen sink with shaving foam…. they had to dig in, fetch all of the eggs and count them correctly for their next clue, which led them downstairs to the dining room table.
Here they all had to paint a wooden bird box, and again they all rolled their sleeves up to get stuck in, really focusing on the activity before proudly placing their finished items in the garden to dry and getting the next clue, which led them to “where you fetch the mail” We thought it was time to get some treats out now and so the kids all got a jellybean filled carrot shape along with a brand new nature trail clipboard and the next clue which sent them to under the sofa to find some bubble wands (a firm family favourite) and a clue card which told them to head outside. We stopped for a refreshment break before getting back to work for the Easter Bunny….. and the next challenge was to plant some sunflower seeds.
They did this task really well together, all getting stuck in and helping share the tools and fill each other’s plant pots with soil and so they earn their next clue pretty quickly – which led them to my bookshelf with a basket filled with strange items…They went back outside and here it was revealed that they were to use the items in the basket to make cress hair for potato heads. This one delighted Lincoln because I bought curly cress to match his hair.
With our bird boxes, plant pots and potato heads all proudly on display after a couple hours of activity we felt like they really had earned their rewards… and so the final clue led them all charging upstairs to find the “good stuff”
They all received a personalised “champion egg hunter” top and more chocolate than they could carry – you’d think that this would spoilt their appetites, but not this family – with the hot weather we decided to break with tradition, cancel the formal roast and set up a buffet style array of food.
We then went back to the garden to enjoy the sunshine with some ice excavation, the older boys enjoyed a good old fashioned water balloon fight, Arlo splashed around in his tuff tray and Paloma bought her play doh outside to make the most of the sunshine.
Every blogger out there has a nemesis of a story they want to share. I never intended to share this one because it’s not a fun and positive experience – I am known for being optimistic and enthusiastic, full of energy – but in all honesty there’s not much I enjoyed about the experience of pregnancy. I went from posting copious amounts of selfies regularly to hiding myself away – so there’s not many nice pics to fill this blog. This is going to be a long one as I have a lot to tell.
Me climbing a structure in Coba…. it’s even higher than it looks
Being somewhat addicted to social media I often come across posts from pregnant women experiencing the same kind of thing and I can’t scroll past without offering some support or advice and I figured that someone somewhere might find it useful to read about my pregnancy experience and then glimpse at some of the fun things we get up to now and realise that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
The Tulum ruins – we visited on the Autumnal Equinox
So let’s turn the pages right back to September 2016. Arlo was a “happy accident” – Lee and I flew to Mexico for the holiday of a lifetime, and whilst out there we visited lots of “off the beaten track” places, had some Mayan blessings and also happened to be at one of the most auspicious places for the Mayans on the autumnal equinox. It was a magical fortnight, and we came home with lots of tequila, some happy memories and unbeknownst to us a little stowaway.
As soon as we landed back home in England it was back to normality. I went and completed a “mud run” – I’d been hooked on these crazy sport events for a couple of years and made friends with a group called the “mud queens” online – I would head off with my running shoes most weekends and take part in 5-10k obstacle/endurance events for fun – and end up covered in bruises and aching for a few days but hang all my medals up on the curtain poles in the front room.
Business as usual for me, I was a field based sales rep driving all over the south east to visit my accounts – and I remember the sickness feeling took over on a work “team building” trip mid October – We headed up to the Lake District for a 5k, building a raft on a lake and I was busy getting stuck right in…. diving under the cold water to tie ropes around cold barrels and drinking shots of tequila and telling everyone all about my Mexican adventures during a meal.
The hangover the next day – I didn’t think I’d had thaaaat much to drink but I felt shaky, nauseous and the smell of the bacon cooking for breakfast made me heave. The headache stuck and it was debilitating. I couldn’t eat or drink, saliva pooled in my mouth and I couldn’t concentrate on anything.
I tried to shake it off. We were car sharing so I slept most of the way home, and then over the weekend I felt as though cold/flu like symptoms were kicking in. I also used to freelance as a mobile bartender – I loved cocktails / drinking and it was fun to work for a couple of events companies on the odd occasion and earn some extra money. Prior to the HG experience I was literally always busy. I’m not one of those people who can ever sit still for long.
The smell of some of the ingredients I loved suddenly overpowered me, the lychee and passionfruit flavours which were my favourites suddenly were really offputting, and causing me to heave. I hadn’t eaten much that day so there was nothing for me to bring up. I struggled through the shift, I had really low energy and didn’t feel like myself at all – I spent the rest of the weekend resting and told myself I’d been burning the candle at both ends.
I pulled myself together for work on Monday, had a couple of ibuprofen and then whilst chatting to one of my close work friends she said that I really didn’t seem like myself and that I should stop being so independent and go to a doctor …. half joking that I could have contracted that virus from Mexico.
So off I went to the doctor, after googling my symptoms and diagnosing myself with zika my GP suggested that I take a test (a pregnancy test 😱)…… and that was that. A positive result which was a surprise, a pretty cool surprise and one which we were both delighted about…… but then came the dismissive comments almost immediately.
“It’s just morning sickness”
I was about four weeks pregnant when the symptoms started and six weeks when I found out I was pregnant. By eight weeks I had lost half a stone, but I was told to eat ginger biscuits. Mumsnet and google reassured me that the morning sickness fades at the end of the first trimester – little did I know.
By 25th November I was in hospital experiencing my first IV drip. I was so dehydrated my Ketones were +4, and I was unable to drink or eat anything without being violently sick. The only positive is that I had a very early scan to see our little dot flickering away….. although I didn’t realise that I would be getting a scan when I was ushered into a side room so Lee missed out on this experience whilst sat in the waiting room.
They said they always check for twins with extreme sickness cases, but didn’t mention HG at any point. As soon as my ketones were back up to a normal level I was allowed to go home, so this first time it was only one night admission and I left after just some fluids.
No-one understood – at this stage we hadn’t announced the pregnancy but I was avoiding social situations so some people had guessed. My favourite roast dinners with family every Sunday were suddenly something I avoided – having experienced the gagging sensation after bringing up some beautifully cooked meat I spent the rest of my pregnancy avoiding meat. I sat through various family meals feeling miserable, jealous and hungry. I wasn’t very good company at all.
Work was becoming impossible. I was pulling over on the hard shoulder of the M25 to heave up, so I had to tell work I was pregnant and call in sick a lot. Cancelling work appointments and avoiding social events was extremely isolating. People were used to me being the social butterfly, I would travel across the UK to visit friends and suddenly I was trapped indoors. I couldn’t manage the drive home to Birmingham to visit my family either.
I spoke with my sister and my mum often – they had both experienced HG symptoms, although my mum back in the eighties went undiagnosed – there is some research out there to suggest there is a genetic link so I think she must have had it. Empowered with the knowledge I spent my time researching….. yes I googled and went to chat forums, but I also looked at the NICE guidelines and local prescribing policies. I prepared myself fully expecting the GP to give me the brush off.
These images were taken six weeks apart green pants before Xmas at 10 weeks and white pants the end of Jan 16 weeks.
I went to my doctor armed with a ream of Information and asking for medication to relieve my sickness and I still remember him reaching for the BNF in his office and scratching his head about what to do. He suggested that he refer me and I move to a consultant led pregnancy…. I was not prepared to leave that office without a prescription – he did attempt to fob me off with recommending ginger and holistic therapies….. “try sipping water” is the most frustrating piece of advice to hear repeatedly but I was extremely assertive.
The first solution offered was Cyclizine. These were a game changer for me… these tablets literally knocked me out, so I would take one when I woke up and then sleep through the feeling of sickness… until I woke up. I quickly realised how long the anti nausea effect lasted and would dread the 4 hour post tablet mark as it meant I’d have to wait two hours and feel sick.
I planned my days around these tablets. I learnt that I could handle coca-cola from McDonald’s – the coldness was something I could manage and their fries were also something I could eat without bringing them back up. The sleepy feeling wore off after about two hours so that gave me a safe window of about two hours to get stuff done. I used to choose foods which I knew I could digest quickly, and which wouldn’t hurt if I was sick – cold soup was okay. I couldn’t heat it up as the smell lingered behind.
It had been so long since I’d eaten properly that I had start to become afraid of food. My partner is a chef and we had just moved into a new home and bought a brand new oven. He didn’t use the oven until after my pregnancy. He would eat at work, and only eat cold foods at home because I couldn’t handle the smell of anything indoors. Our life revolves around food, we would eat out often together and all of this stopped. I was a pretty miserable date and he felt uncomfortable eating in front of me, as I refused to order and felt awful being sat at a table alone for half an hour or more if I was being sick in the toilets.
Not many selfies from my pregnancy – I look Exhausted
Most mornings would begin with my head down the toilet. I’d be sick until my chest hurt and then I was worried about my teeth and breath so I’d brush my teeth and then be sick all over again. I’d think I was safe, then try to walk towards the front door to leave the house but feel the urge to vomit again and again. I’m not exaggerating when I say that x20 times was “normal” for me at this point.
I’d be upset because my hair would fall into the sick, or I’d splash vomit onto my clothes and I’d have to get changed – I was lucky to be if I could manage three days out of five at work, it was easier to take the medication and sleep all day.
I would take a tablet at around 5am, wait for it to kick in and for the drowsiness to wear off. Head out, brave the driving and my meetings, take a tablet as soon as I’d finished, sleep in my car for a few hours and then wake up and drive home.
This was not sustainable and I found myself back at the EPU on a drip for rehydration pretty quickly. They would use an IV to give me anti sickness medication, and once I was back to a normal ketone level I would feel amazing, fresh and energized for about 4 days, I bought urine testing kits from amazon to test my ketones at home and quickly learnt to recognise when I was struggling, and the trips to hospital were so frequent it was as if they had a revolving door.
The 12 week scan came and went – we’d told everybody by christmas and I was starting to get excited, but spent most of Christmas Day asleep. It’s all a bit of a blur really. Trying to put on a brave face and be positive about a pregnancy was a challenged especially for me. When people asked how I was feeling I wanted to say “really shit” – but I soon realised that this wasn’t the response people were expecting to hear.
I insisted in January that the doctors give me another option and this is where Ondansetron entered my life. As if everything I was experiencing wasn’t bad enough, the constipation side effects from this were crazy….. suddenly I wasn’t feeling sick at the sight and smell of food and I could eat!! This was amazing and I certainly overindulged….. and then the cruelty of the side effects kicked in. Every 4-5 days I would spend a whole night wide awake in severe pain with stomach cramps.
I can’t even describe this in detail as it’s embarrassing and gross – but the pain and the experience for me was worse than labour. (I’ll share that story another time). I would lie in a bath, I’d try gentle stretches and yoga poses, stomach massage etc. I’d be sweating, tired and felt like I was going crazy.
I remember feeling really excited with this pic as it was a proper “bump pic” but this was mainly me being bloated and constipated.
The psychological impact of feeling like this is something which I didn’t realise at the time, but I’ve no idea how my partner put up with me. I’d been a nightmare to live with. The lack of sleep, the constant hunger and the underlying fear of the medications affecting my pregnancy took over my life. If I forgot to take one of my tablets at the right time the sickness reared it’s head with a vengeance but for a few weeks things started to feel good. One crazy thing was seeing the first visible movements – after being constipated and bloated, when things cleared it was like there was a party going on inside me because of all the extra room the baby had.
We did our gender scan at a private venue for a “Mother’s Day” experience and I managed to get through it without being sick…. we found out we were expecting a boy and suddenly I got some focus. I was starting to shop for the new arrival and focusing on things like booking the NCT course….. And then boom!!
St Patrick’s day weekend I spent the entire time in hospital. Something strange happens in pregnancy, where at around this 26 week mark you suddenly get a baby growth spurt and the symptoms which I thought I’d managed to get under control overwhelmed me….. and then the nightmare was back. There’s not much known about HG but it seems as though it is related to a reaction to the surge in growth hormones.
Every single morning was like waking up with that hangover feeling, but without the excitement of having had a night out. By this time everyone else was sick of me being sick too…. my partner had run out of sympathy, the doctor had run out of options and I spent most of my time curled up in bed and chatting to other women online experiencing the same thing – moaning about the constant “have a ginger biscuit” comment and sharing tips….. get a cup of ice and just suck the cubes, try salty crisps because they trick you into feeling thirsty….. I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have some of these women to talk to.
We all had the same fears….. and funnily enough it was quite common to hear that the “safe foods” for many included McDonald’s Coca-Cola – which meant that we were all facing the dreaded gestational diabetes glucose tolerance test. (How on earth could we even do the test if we would be sick after drinking?) We were all worried about our babies growth rates and having extra scans booked in.
I tried to tough it out….. the days where the medication worked were “fluffy” so there were some good days but reading back some of my posts in my support group on Facebook are crazy and I barely recognise myself. Towards the final stretch the heartburn was just another symptom made to make my life hell. I was tired, uncomfortable, hungry and angry. Every night I would try and prop myself up with pillows to sleep, and had a bottle of gaviscon next to the tablets at my bedside.
My last proper hospital admission was the end of May for rehydration and IV meds – I was gutted because I was trying to hold on at work, but calling in sick meant that my maternity leave started a bit earlier than I wanted it to – however this was a blessing in disguise because Arlo decided to arrive three weeks early. I spent that entire bank holiday weekend stuck in hospital, they didn’t let me go home until the Tuesday and I sat in my bed feeling so bitter that everyone was enjoying the glorious sunshine as a heatwave started.
My waters broke one evening at home – I went into hospital but because labour hadn’t started they decided to send me home with a plan to induce me later on. I was so physically exhausted and weak, feeling the effects of dehydration I went back after a few hours and one of my regular midwives put the IV fluids into me at a faster speed than usual. Some how my body managed to find an extra gear, I got myself through labour / childbirth and despite all of the worry Arlo was absolutely perfect.
Tiny, but perfect.
The amazing thing is that I was able to start eating almost immediately. I’d slightly overdone the gas and air so swallowing was tough at first but the cloud of nausea lifted almost immediately. My post-partum weight was exactly two stones less than my weight pre pregnancy (I’ve had no trouble putting all of that back on).
One thing I will say is that I still get a fear of nausea. I don’t know if this is being a parent or a side effect of the HG but I haven’t wanted to drink alcohol and invoke sickness and a hangover in two years. When my monthly cycles reappeared, I knew they were coming because I was suddenly more sensitive to smell and certain foods would make me feel sick.
Was this really me?!?!
It’s two years since my HG pregnancy experience and I can finally look back at the pictures and be proud of myself. At the time I felt robbed of the “glow” and so angry with everyone and everything looking back at some of the things I wrote I barely recognise myself….. but I got through it… I’m a tougH Girl.
Here I am taking a selfie at go-karting just to show that I’m back!!! 💪🏼
For support if your are suffering right now:
Pregnancy Sickness Support is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting women and their families experiencing Pregnancy Sickness and Hyperemesis Gravidarum. We are also working to train and support Health Care Professionals across the UK and Ireland and research into the cause and treatment of the condition.
We receive no funding from the government. Most of our funds come from individual supporters.
I don’t know what I was thinking yesterday but I decided to take Arlo and two of his cousins to “Kidtropolis” on my own – and what in theory should have been a fabulous day out almost turned into a disaster.
Before we even entered the event they were all playing chase in the queue, Literally a minute after I took this picture Arlo knocked Logan’s glasses from his face, Logan dropped Arlo. The glasses broke and Arlo then projectile vomited over all of us, whilst surrounded by thousands of people eagerly counting down 10…9…8 until the gates opened.
No big deal, I swiftly got everyone changed into clean clothes (I always carry lots of spares because these things happen)….. a member of staff quickly came over to help clean up the mess and as soon as the kids saw the soft play section all was forgotten.
The under 4’s section was the first we visited, and all the kids ran off in different directions – it was at this point I realised I probably shouldn’t have gone alone with three wildlings….. but it was too late to back out. There was a huge variety of attractions but it was quite difficult to manage the kids expectations, as there were different age restrictions for everything and it wasn’t immediately obvious and the map in the guide book didn’t have clear labels.
There was a huge inflatable assault course, I think this is one of the best I’ve ever seen and the older two went on this one several times. Each of these attractions was managed by an independent company with their own staff, and it seemed as though some were more professional and child friendly than others.
Logan was happy to join Arlo on a mini version in the under 4’s area and he quickly tired out so had his afternoon nap in his stroller whilst we explored some other areas for the older two.
The fair ground ride was a big hit – the boys were so excited and nervous at the same time! The roller blading arena was a fabulous idea – a really slick set up with skates and protective gear available in abundance. They had ten minute sessions and didn’t over fill the space so the kids had a really good time trying this activity out and have asked if we can go to a roller disco again.
I also have to take a minute to praise the bumper cars – I’ve never seen this style of car – the kids picked up the controls quickly and were delighted to discover the big red button with inbuilt water pistols.
Lots of high octane activities, most of which we had to queue 10-15 mins for and only lasted 3 minutes – as a side note I think allocating fewer tickets for each session would have helped to manage the queues and deliver a better experience for all guests – it was a nightmare trying to contain the excitement of the kids on my own, and the queues were a little bit on the stressful side for me.
There were some fabulous promotional areas, the big brands really pulled out all the stops with kinetic sand, messy play, wooden trains and tablets all providing lots of entertainment and this was something we could all participate in – the floss challenge with Phillips was fun and we all received a goodie bag full of surprises which I won’t spoil.
I would love to give the NEC a shining review as it is on my doorstep, and I love to support local attractions but there a few things which really do let the venue down. As this was an event specifically geared towards an audience of children and families it was disappointing to see a lack of catering options inside the event space and also to have to eat our snacks on the floor because there was no seating – next time inviting a kids brand and setting up a pop up cafe (like Ella’s kitchen at the baby event) would solve these problems.
I would also add a child/baby friendly feeding and changing area – one baby change toilet inside the event space was not adequate.
In a timed event session, wandering around the huge NEC concourse to find a subway sandwich or another toilet would have meant missing out on play time so I just made do with what was available.
We didn’t manage to get around the whole event in our four hours, and chose to leave queuing up to “meet and greet” characters, the kids preferred to play on the activities instead – I’m grateful that they made that decision for themselves (phew).
I think this event on paper is literally the stuff kids dream of, but for adults it’s the stuff of nightmares. I think I would probably brave it again, but would have to travel with back up adults and pack more food/drink supplies to avoid paying over inflated prices.
We have been visiting Leeds Castle in Kent since Arlo was quite tiny. For the first year of Arlo’s life we lived in Maidstone before relocating and so I bought an annual pass for £25 (babies are free).I would pack up the car with a picnic and head out for a stroll around the grounds – whatever the weather. There’s always an abundance of things to look at whilst walking. The grounds are so beautiful and with local parks charging for parking then I felt the pass was excellent value for money.
14th January 2018January
Throughout the grounds are various sculptures and beautiful things to discover. I made a point of stopping at this carved rest stop every time. During the school holidays they create little trails for children to follow along with an activity book and then exchange as they leave for a chocolate treat. Arlo was fascinated with the ducks/swans and from quite early on he would notice them and point – and one of the first animals he ever mentioned was duck – you can buy food at the entrance for £1 if you’d like a really close encounter, but be warned they are used to being fed and can gather around very quickly. You can also explore the interior of the castle – prams are to be left outside so I would pop Arlo in a sling for this and wander around indoors on a rainy day as there’s lots to learn about the local history – and some of it is not quite what you’d expect.
There’s a lovely restaurant about half way along the walking route, along with a Costa, and refreshment stores – and if you keep going through a beautiful kitchen garden there’s a brilliant play park, a cafe, the birds of prey display arena, a maze and a Battle of Britain presentation.
Arlo’s first ever experience playing in a park was at Leeds Castle – we had the place to ourselves one weekday morning.
Every time we visited there was more to discover. Our annual pass also gave us entry to special events happening at the castle, including the classic car show, medieval jousting event as well as the beautiful Christmas fayre – I’ll share our experiences at these events in another post.
This is one of those things as a new parent you feel obliged to do because everyone else does it….. but also hate the idea of parting with so much cash. I decided to find my own local photographer rather than go for one of the hospital shoots. I had a very clear idea of the costs involved and also of the style of the photographer and we visited when Arlo was just under a week old.
By this time I felt like I had figured the parenting thing out and was quite happy for him to be handled by our photographer. I remember this was literally in the middle of a heatwave and the studio was kept warm for the babies comfort – we were there for just over two hours and Arlo slept through most of it, only really waking up for a feed and then for the last shot with his eyes wide open.
I ended up buying a complete digital package, and am so pleased I have captured all of these memories and am able to revisit them, these three shots in particular are “so Arlo” and I love sharing them.
Here’s a really simple idea for finger foods which are ideal for baby led weaning – once you’re satisfied that babies are comfortable with the ingredients (mainly eggs you need to be confident with) it’s great to start combining things and making it more interesting.
All you need to do for this is beat eggs and then add in some ingredients of your own – I often find that I buy eggs all the time and end up wasting them, or baking a cake – so this is a great way to use those leftover eggs to make a healthier savoury option….and use up random ingredients leftover in the salad drawer too.
At this stage we had covered all of the basics and were starting to introduce stronger flavours – these might look a bit on the strange side but I can assure you they are extremely tasty – the flavour combinations were cheese/spring onion, red onion/pepper and pea/ asparagus.
I think we also added in some Parsley and Chives at this point too.
I whisk up all the eggs in a jug and then pour them straight into a normal muffin tin (well greased), before adding in the other ingredients to ensure they are distributed evenly. These frittatas are then baked for 10-12 mins -and left to cool- In the early days I would slice these up to serve, so that Arlo could hold them more easily. These days he will make these disappear in two seconds.
These ice lolly moulds from Nuby are perfect for little hands to hold. Last summer broke temperate records and with a teething one year old it was a nightmare trying to keep him hydrated and happy.
I tried other lolly moulds – but they were quite often far too big and Arlo couldn’t manage to hold them, everything melted and made a huge mess before he was finished because portion sizes were too big.
It just so happens that one Mamia fruit pot from Aldi divides perfectly between the four portions of the Nuby moulds – and because Arlo loved the strawberry flavour I knew it would work and mean that he wouldn’t be left out when all the older cousins were enjoying their treats full of sugar.
They are so tiny they don’t take long to freeze either – an hour tops so it’s minimal prep and keeps them busy for a little while.
If you want to be a bit more adventurous then try adding in your own mixture of ingredients – yoghurt works wonders and I’ve shared one of our favourite flavour combinations in another of my posts. Let me know how it goes in the comments!
Arlo woke up at 6am this Sunday and had me playing and running around after him all morning. As per usual he started singing “old Mac Donald” so I packed him and our supplies in the car, planning to go to our local child’s farm but he fell asleep en route.
I decided to continue a couple of junctions up the motorway so that he could get his forty winks and turned off at Stratford thinking we could have a little wander around as it was such a lovely day – and I ended up heading to the sports club for parking.
We had a wander over the bridge to get a bite to eat (I can highly recommend The Cox Yard for lunch) before heading to the butterfly farm.
Entry is free for under 3’s and adults are £7.25. I decided to ditch the stroller and head through to the flight area on foot. I was quite surprised at Arlo’s reaction to all the butterflies -he was very interested but also cautious and unsure a first – he wasn’t keen when they landed on him or if they flew too close to his face.
The flight area is like a huge greenhouse full of plants and flowers which the butterflies must love, and every so often there’s a feeding table set up so you can get really close up to look at the colours.
We went through into two side rooms to look at the chrysalis collection – Arlo is way too young to understand the life cycle of a butterfly but for older children this could be a fab learning experience. Arlo watched with wonder as one emerged.
As we continued along the pathway, we encountered a waterfall area and a bridge – it 20p to purchase a handful of fish food from a little machine and Arlo stood blocking the pathway for half an hour as he spotted one of the biggest koi carp I’d ever seen. Butterflies kept landing on him and he was blissfully unaware, until this little one must have tickled him. He stood still so patiently without me having to say “gentle” so he’s finally learning to respect animals and not touch them.
In another side room there were some insects and other creatures to encounter – I won’t ruin the surprise if you plan to visit but don’t forget to look up! Arlo was fascinated with the fish and snakes and kept running back and forth to the tanks….. and then he spent quite a long time watching a dung beetle do its thing before rushing over to a frog and saying “fwwrog” for the first time.
As always you exit via the gift shop, so after a couple of hours we emerged into bright sunshine and Arlo chose a little wooden snake. We sat in the sensory garden outdoors and ate our snacks before bidding our farewell to the butterflies.
If you’re visiting the area it’s certainly a memorable experience to add to your trip – you wouldn’t spend a whole day there, but there is plenty to do in Stratford Upon Avon – you’re a couple of minutes walk away from the boating area, you can get an ice cream, feed the ducks and wander down to the markets in Stratford too. I’ve picked up some leaflets and hope to take Arlo for a theatre experience in the summer.
We thought it was time to get some treats out now and so the kids all got a jellybean filled carrot shape along with a brand new nature trail clipboard and the next clue which sent them to under the sofa to find some bubble wands (a firm family favourite) and a clue card which told them to head outside. 
We stopped for a refreshment break before getting back to work for the Easter Bunny….. and the next challenge was to plant some sunflower seeds. 
They went back outside and here it was revealed that they were to use the items in the basket to make cress hair for potato heads. This one delighted Lincoln because I bought curly cress to match his hair.
The fair ground ride was a big hit – the boys were so excited and nervous at the same time! 
The roller blading arena was a fabulous idea – a really slick set up with skates and protective gear available in abundance. They had ten minute sessions and didn’t over fill the space so the kids had a really good time trying this activity out and have asked if we can go to a roller disco again. 
I would pack up the car with a picnic and head out for a stroll around the grounds – whatever the weather. There’s always an abundance of things to look at whilst walking. The grounds are so beautiful and with local parks charging for parking then I felt the pass was excellent value for money. 
Arlo was fascinated with the ducks/swans and from quite early on he would notice them and point – and one of the first animals he ever mentioned was duck – you can buy food at the entrance for £1 if you’d like a really close encounter, but be warned they are used to being fed and can gather around very quickly. 
You can also explore the interior of the castle – prams are to be left outside so I would pop Arlo in a sling for this and wander around indoors on a rainy day as there’s lots to learn about the local history – and some of it is not quite what you’d expect. 
This is one of those things as a new parent you feel obliged to do because everyone else does it….. but also hate the idea of parting with so much cash. I decided to find my own local photographer rather than go for one of the hospital shoots. 
I had a very clear idea of the costs involved and also of the style of the photographer and we visited when Arlo was just under a week old.
Here’s a really simple idea for finger foods which are ideal for baby led weaning – once you’re satisfied that babies are comfortable with the ingredients (mainly eggs you need to be confident with) it’s great to start combining things and making it more interesting.
I whisk up all the eggs in a jug and then pour them straight into a normal muffin tin (well greased), before adding in the other ingredients to ensure they are distributed evenly. 
These frittatas are then baked for 10-12 mins -and left to cool- In the early days I would slice these up to serve, so that Arlo could hold them more easily. These days he will make these disappear in two seconds. 
