Winter may be very pretty, especially when the snow trickles down and covers the world in a white blanket, but the colds and flu that come with this season are not. Runny noses, damp foreheads and sore tummies are all part and parcel of parenting with germs.  However, I was fortunate to get in some new and interesting solutions for children, to ease their discomfort and help them sleep.

These products have all been reviewed by a panel of desperately tired mums who were willing to try anything to get their tots well and, most importantly, to sleep.

The first item on the agenda is from the Mum’s firm favourite, Calpol. There are few parents that haven’t heard of their syrup so you’ll be delighted to hear about their new saline nasal spray. Babies and young children get very grumpy when their noses clog up, they just don’t have the same sources of relief as we do! All of our mums liked this product.

It was easy to insert into baby’s nose and had a smooth control so you didn’t risk jerking it high and hurting the child. It was even used on a toddler that hates the idea of anything going near his nose and he loved it. He even asked to use it again when he was well.

The spray is non-medicated and so won’t affect any other medicines you may be using and is fine for babies from birth. It did work quite well, easing the little one’s discomfort to a recognisable degree. They retail for £3.99 which is really reasonable and should last you a while. Just make sure you wipe down the nasal injector after every use! 

The next lovely doodad to enter into our illness testing laboratory was the Baby Nose-Clear room vapour. I fell in love with this stuff, so much so I nearly didn’t let any of the other mums get a chance to review it. The smell is reminiscent of the days when we were looked after by our mums and is wonderfully easy to use.

Just throw a few drops onto a damp towel over the radiator or into a bowl of warm water and it starts working its magic. It also works with humidifiers and vaporizers. The vapour is made from essential oils that include lemon, tea-tree and pine oils.  I think it worked, my daughter loved the smell and it seemed to soothe her to sleep. I did notice a difference in her breathing and sleep once I introduced it.

It retails for £6.99 which is a fab price when you consider how long this one little bottle will last. You only need a few drops for it to completely permeate the air.

The final product that we examined was the Baby Nose Clear aspirator. This device is inserted into baby’s nose and is used to suck the snot out. Yes, the idea is horrifying. I have to tell you that it took some arm wrestling to get any of our review mums to try it out. It takes a stomach of iron to pick it up and start sucking.

Mums with active and fussy babies didn’t find it very easy to use as they constantly wriggled away from it. The others used it when their babies were asleep and said that it did work but they really struggled with the concept even though they saw a significant improvement in their child’s breathing.

The device itself was developed by a mum of premature triplets and retails for £6.99. I am not sure about this product. It definitely works, it removes the gunk and clears breathing, but the fact that it has a separate vacuum to catch the snot and that you have to do the sucking is a bit hard to overcome. Sturdier mums rated it highly though so, if you’re an earth mother in training, then this is definitely worth a look.

Johnson's products must have 'national treasure' status surely?  Their products have been part of my life for as long as I remember, and almost everyone  will have used, or been smothered with at some point in their lives, the ubiquitous Baby Oil or Baby Lotion!  Well Johnson's have done it again - BEHOLD, the Johnson's Baby 'Soothing Naturals' range!

• Click HERE for your free sample of Johnson's Baby Soothing Naturals Intense Moisture Cream

This cream is so good and is so well-used and loved by everyone in my household, it's practically a member of the family!  It has a fresh and clean smell that's not overpowering, it's light without being watery and quickly leaves skin feeling properly moisturised without that horrible 'heavy' greasiness you can sometimes get with intense creams.

I don't know if you find the same, but the constant in-and-out-from-cold-to-warm winter routine can really dry out my family's skin, especially on our hands, so a tube of this cream is never far away and it works wonders; it's also gentle and light enough to use on faces and moisturises for 24 hours.

The magic ingredients are a blend of olive leaf extract, pure vitamin E and essential minerals that, and I quote from the back of the tube, are 'proven to be more effective than each ingredient alone'; judging from the results of the rugged 'consumer testing' my family have subjected this cream to it's no word of a lie either!

Thanks to holly100 over at HUKD!

Did you know that the Government launched a free swimming initiative in April 2009 for the under 16s and over 60s?  I didn’t!

Four out of five local councils in England have signed up so far; if yours isn’t one of them don’t worry, you’re not restricted to using just your nearest local pool so there’s no need for anyone to miss out.

• Take the plunge, click to find out if your local council is taking part

There are so many benefits to taking your kids swimming - it improves confidence, is great exercise, allows real freedom of movement, gets everyone out of the house and it’s FUN!

My kids LOVED swimming when they were tiny but going as regularly as they would’ve liked wasn’t always possible because of the cost factor, so this FREE swimming campaign is fantastic news for the health of your bank balance too!

There’s no need to wait to take tiny tots until after they’ve had all their jabs but they will need to wear some sort of swimming nappy; if you shop with Tesco online, they’re offering 1/3^rd off Huggies Little Swimmers across the range of sizes until 10 February.

Happy FREE swimming!

Thanks to tronic on HUKD

When you have kids to raise you suddenly become far more aware of how important daily nutrition is and what it means for their growing bodies. Adults and children that eat their five a day are healthier, more active and are less prone to serious diseases. Also, children that eat their five a day from a young age tend to keep eating them as they get older and statistically are less likely to contract cancer as adults.

These are compelling reasons to strive for our five a day. However, life has a tendancy of interfering with our eating habits. When you’re tired, busy and stressed snatching a pizza on the sofa is so much easier (and comforting) than spending an hour in the kitchen preparing a wholesome meal. It’s a common trap but it can be avoided. Yes, you’ll still have to do some hard work but only in short bursts.

What counts?

Fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables, as well as tinned or canned fruit and veg stored in their natural juices. For the latter try and avoid those that have added sugar or salt. Dried fruit, like raisins, cooked fruit and veg, unsweetened fruit juice and beans and pulses. These are all viable sources of your five a day.

So for those of you, like me, who had this vision of eating through an entire setting of fruit and veg every day, this should come as a relief. You’re probably getting all or most of these anyway.

Tip: Potatoes don’t count although other root vegetables do, so put those chips down now.

How much?

The NHS has a very detailed list on exactly what constitutes a portion of your five a day. However, a general rule is to go for a fist sizes portion of fruit and veg. The site Healthy Eating Made Easy recommends that kids from 2-6 have five portions, 6-12 have seven portions and teenage boys have nine portions a day.

And on a budget?

It doesn’t have to kill you financially to stay on top of your five a day, although most fruit and veg do end up eating quite heavily into the shopping budget. There are some cunning strategies you can adopt in order to keep those costs down. Stay on top of the times and dates your local farmer’s market goes up and shop there. Often they are cheaper and you can buy in amounts that suit your household consumption. 

Consider buying loose fruit and veg, they are often cheaper than pre-packaged ones and less likely to be hiding a rotten friend at the bottom. Instead of buying your usual snacks consider swapping them with fruit or veg.

I know, the thought of saying goodbye to your crème egg and hello to celery isn’t hugely appealing but you will soon feel the difference.

Stay on top of specials, deals and bulk buy offers at your local supermarkets. You can do this by registering with them to get email updates or by visiting sites like HotUKDeals to see what offers other people have found for you.

Try and take advantage of this when getting frozen produce. Frozen veg can store for ages, take seconds to cook and taste delicious. It’s a myth that frozen foods don’t hold the vitamins and minerals; in fact the reverse is true, especially for peas.

A great tip from the NHS is to pop all of your veg that are about to go out of date into a stew or casserole. A slow cooker is a cooking saviour for this. You do your prep in the morning (when you still have some energy) and by dinner time there is a luscious meal complete with half your five a day. And you can freeze what’s left over for a comfort eating, lazy day. There are lots of great bargains on freezer storage containers at the moment so nab some of those too. Make the freezer your friend. 

Adopt a similar principle with fruit that’s edging towards the dark side. Smash those bananas and, using wholemeal baking flour, make wholemeal banana loaves or muffins. You get your grains and your portion of five a day when you snack on those. You can also make them into smoothies or ice lollies.

This is a great way to get that fussy eater to munch down fruit he (or she) would avoid at all costs in its natural form. What child can resist an ice lolly?

Cooking in bulk is a good way to save yourself long term hassles. Set aside one or two Sundays a month where the entire day is about cooking easily frozen meals. The web is packed with healthy recipes to suit your budget.

It sounds like a lot of work, and for one or two days it is, but when you can just whip out a container at 8am and that’s your entire dinner prep for 7pm it is SO worth it.

In a coming article, I’m going to be taking a look at cooking on a budget and I’ll be chatting to all sorts of mums for their top tasty tips.

It’s too easy to get disheartened about your weight, looks and hairstyle when you see hundreds of glossy post-baby celebs on the covers of magazines and newspapers. I know that I’ve thought “How on earth am I supposed to look like that when I only get five minutes to shower!” The thing is, us normal mums don’t have personal chefs, trainers, stylists, beauticians and all the other paraphernalia that go with a mega-million living budget.

It’s hard to stay cheerful about your post-pregnancy looks when your toes haven’t seen polish for weeks and you aren’t sure when you last plucked your eyebrows. Well, I’ve been on a mission to discover cheap and easy ways to get that yummy mummy look without spending lots of money or time on it.

Nailed

Problem: Hands and toes are pretty much the first to go when you have a demanding baby (or three) hanging on your arm. The constant hand washing takes its toll on your skin and your nails tend to get cracked and chipped really easily. There just isn’t time to grab gloves every time you need to clean up a mess or sort out a crisis and cleaning products dry out your skin. Plus the lack of sleep doesn’t help with the overall condition of your nails either...

Fix: Keep small, cheap tubs of aqueous cream or body butter in your handbag, bathroom(s), nappy changing bag and beside your bed. Whenever you get a spare moment just rub some in to your hands, even if it’s the last thing you do before you collapse into sleep at night. Soon your hands will start to show the change. Lather both feet in tons of cream and put them into a pair of woolly socks overnight. Sounds weird but works a charm.

Budget: Get nail and hand care products at sales and discount bins whenever you spot them doing your shopping. You’ll build up quite a collection and you’ll always have some on hand when you run out of cash or time. The Body Shop is having their January sale right now with body butter going for a mere £5.

Top Tip: Get a Momicure (TM) for toes and fingers in five minutes. You’ll need a nail care kit, nail polish, body butter or aqueous cream and a foot sized Tupperware container full of hot water. Give both feet a quick wash and soak for about a minute. Then dry, cut nails, buff, trim and paint. When polish has dried cover both feet with cream. Done and sorted. Do the same for hands. You can squeeze in a Momicure while they’re having a nap, watching TV or entertaining themselves and you’ll love having pretty toes to gawk at again.

Hairy Issues

Problem: You’ve gone from chic and shaved to closely resembling the neighbourhood yeti. Legs and arms are bordering on terrifying and your head is one big split end. Perhaps you’re returning to work or maybe you’re struggling to juggle babies, housework, career and errands but your hair is definitely looking the worse for wear.

Fix: If you, like me, have a special hair dresser that you’ve found through trial and error, then set aside £5 a month starting today. Use this Hair Budget once every six months until you either have more time or a bigger budget for regular hair maintenance. It’s a good idea to get a style that’s low maintenance for the interim and to avoid obvious tints so you don’t get that horrible re-growth line.

Budget: Amazingly there are special deals out there on hair cuts and trims. You can nab a cut and finish at a Hair Group Salon courtesy of Play.com for a mere £5.  Save money on shampoo and conditioner by taking advantage of special offers whenever you see them. Take the money you save and put it straight into your Hair Budget. Those little bits will add up and see you getting a lovely colour as well as your usual trim.

Top Tip: As horrifying as it sounds, most hairdressers recommend that you don’t wash your hair every day. Try washing every three to four days instead. Initially it will look awful and you’ll feel like everyone is staring, but soon your hair will adapt. This ensures that the natural oils have time to repair your hair, reducing split ends and holding shiny condition.

Flab Fighter

Problem: When you have kids it becomes increasingly difficult to find the time to go to gym. You also may find that you’re eating more thanks to finishing off their plates of food or being too tired to prepare decent meals. Weight goes on, you get unfit and you start to hate your reflection.

Fix: Buy yourself some ankle weights and snap them on when you get up in the morning. Those extra kilos will help your body burn more calories while you do the housework or sort out the kids. Another great way to add to the calorie burn and build fitness is to use the stairs around your house. If you are trying to comfort baby, why not walk up and down two sets of stairs instead of sitting on the sofa. The movement will relax them and help you get fitter. Use baby or toddler lifts to buff your arms and take long walks around your neighbourhood with the pram. The latter is brilliant for improving overall fitness, increasing metabolic functions and enhancing your mood.

Top Tip: Set one day a week aside to do a massive cook-a-thon of wholesome, healthy foods like stews and soups. Label and freeze them and whip them out whenever you’re too busy or tired to prepare a meal. It will also save you a ton of cash as it’s far cheaper than fast food. And you’ll lose weight. Bonus.

After the rather bad press McLaren received thanks to their buggy hinges cutting off children’s fingers, and their not recalling these products in Europe, they have decided to release free safety covers for those of you who own them.

• Get your free McLaren safety cover by clicking here

Most of the incidents took place in the USA which is where the product recall has taken place but to prevent any further incidents, McLaren have decided to provide these safety covers to worried parents. I’m posting this because I feel that McLaren should have done more from the outset but at least they are trying something now!

For those of you who spent a fortune on your buggy, you’ll be glad to know that these covers go over the elbow joints thereby limiting the danger. The concern was that when someone opened or closed the buggy and a child put their fingers near it then they could really hurt themselves.

So, you will have to have proof that you own one of these buggies before they will send you your free covers. Don’t worry, you don’t need receipts or anything else you may have lost or “put somewhere safe”, you only need enter in the 22 digit VIN number that’s on the base of your buggy.

Please get these if you own one of these buggies, even if for no other reason than to cover all your bases. If you’ll excuse the pun.

Thanks to ljfx at HUKD!

Beat the credit crunch with some crunching of your own!

It’s true, an unhealthy lifestyle will add to your bottom line - in more ways than one. A bad diet and a sedentary lifestyle affect your looks and your wallet. Healthy eating and regular exercise can improve your family’s immune systems and that adds up to fewer prescription payments in the expensive winter months and less down time at work.

The costs add up when illness hits your family. You spend what little time you have running to buy ointments and tissues and over-the-counter medications to ease their symptoms. You lose valuable work time and, usually, you lose sleep. Then your tired body catches their cold and the cycle continues.

Eating is everything

This doesn’t mean that you now face a life of staring mournfully at a lettuce leaf and a half tomato while a croissant calls your name. Instead all you need is a little moderation and a little more five a day.

This isn’t as much of a mission as it sounds. You can grab your fruity fives from juices that are low in sugar and crunch on carrots or celery to up your ante whenever you’re feeling munchy. Try to avoid any kinds of white breads and processed baked goods like buns and cakes. These are pretty much the big weight gainers. Transplant them with wholemeal breads, wholemeal pastas and brown rice and don’t let potatoes become an everyday occurrence. You’ll probably appreciate them even more if they’re allowed once a week.

The wholemeal variations of basic carbs don’t cost anymore than the white so your budget won’t have to undergo any kind of knock. Although, if you are planning on bringing more fruits and vegetables into your daily diet, try and stagger their expiry dates and to store them properly. Throwing away rotten food is a frustrating waste.

Stretch those muscles

When it comes to exercise you don’t need to join a gym and spend £100s on lengthy contracts that feel more like you’re paying rent for a house you never live in than an investment in your health. Walking around your neighbourhood for 40 minutes every other day will increase your circulation, improve your mood and help you lose the pounds.

Breathing in fresh air and discovering new areas of the world is proven to have a marked impact on self-esteem and health. Not only that, but you may end up finding a new park or play area for your kids that they’ll enjoy exploring and doesn’t cost you a penny.

If you don’t have the time or inclination to wander about outdoors then the internet is about to become your gym instructor. There are tons of free online exercise programmes that you can tailor to your own unique family needs and most of them will include a healthy eating plan too. They certainly do take the labour out of everything, especially if you’re not the kind of person who wants to spend hours learning about calories, carb counts and superfoods.

Read the fine print

Even when you follow a healthy diet and exercise regime it’s likely that a cold or two will slip through your defences. Also, there are plenty of times that you can’t avoid having to pay for prescriptions and medications, especially for conditions like diabetes and asthma. Check that you aren’t lucky enough to fall into one of the exemption categories that include Under16s, pregnant women and full time students.

If you don’t qualify for an exemption you should consider getting a Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC) from the NHS. Depending on the number of prescriptions you need every month (bear in mind that you can only use one certificate per person) you can potentially save some money. And, if you’re lucky enough to be in a region like Scotland that’s phasing out prescription charges, then you can get your certificate reimbursed if this happens while it’s still valid.

What about the counter?

Sometimes buying your medication over the counter is actually cheaper than buying it on prescription. If you’re lucky you’ll have a marvellous chemist who’ll point this out whenever you take a well-intentioned prescription to their counter, but there’s also a chance they won’t. Before you cash in that prescription ask how much the counter version will cost first. You may end up shaving off extra pennies and pounds that you could better use elsewhere, like that holiday to Majorca for example.

The final check

Being a parent is hard work and it’s likely that the long hours and extra stress (yes, there is extra stress!) will have a negative effect on your immune system. Try to get you and your family outdoors at least once a day, work up a sweat doing housework with ankle weights and eat fruit and veg instead of chocs and chips. It’s far too easy to succumb to fish and chips because you’re too tired to cook but good foods will improve your energy levels and you’ll save a healthy whack of cash not buying fast, instant meals. Besides, imagine how smug you’ll feel when number 32 looks over at your house at the end of winter and sees a slim, svelte you emerging into the sunshine in that favourite frock...