Twinkle Twinkle

Today the Twinkles created some star pictures using ELC glow in the dark paint and home made star shaped sponges.

Spud thoroughly enjoyed printing with the sponges, after a while he asked for a brush so he could do some painting.

Sprout used the sponges in a different way, smearing the paint onto the paper. He also had to check out how the glow in the dark paint tasted, apparently it's rather nice because no amount of telling him not to eat it would stop him from doing so.

The 170ml bottle of glow in the dark paint cost £1.75. The paint is quite translucent so for best results it does need to be painted on quite thickly.  I will definitely be using this paint again but when the twinkles are a little older and can fully appreciate the glowing paint and  also so Sprout doesn't consume the rest of the bottle.

When we had finished painting I put the star pictures in the the sunlight for a few minutes before closing the curtains to see the full result of our glowing paintings.

Unfortunately, photographing the finished paintings has been a little problematic. Here's the best I can do :(

 This mornings messy play was in memory of Matilda Mae. 

As you will probably know, Baby Tilda sadly died of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) when she was just 9 months old. Since then her mummy Jennie has been working closely with FSID (The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths) who today have changed their name to The Lullaby Trust.

The Trust work with families like Jennie's who are dealing with the loss of a baby and they also raise awareness of SIDS.

They have changed their name in the hope that it will encourage more families to approach them and access the services and information that they provide.

Please visit Jennie's blog Edspire and help spread the word. 

For Baby Tilda

                                                                 Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

     How I wonder what you are.

     Up above the world so high,

     Like a diamond in the sky.

     When the blazing sun is gone,

     When he nothing shines upon,

     Then you show your little light,

     Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

     Then the traveller in the dark,

     Thanks you for your tiny spark,

     He could not see which way to go,

     If you did not twinkle so.

     In the dark blue sky you keep,

     And often through my curtains peep,

     For you never shut your eye,

     'Till the sun is in the sky.

     As your bright and tiny spark,

     Lights the traveller in the dark.

     Though I know not what you are,

     Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

     Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

     How I wonder what you are.

     Up above the world so high,

     Like a diamond in the sky.

     Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

     How I wonder what you are.

     How I wonder what you are.

Breastfeeding has changed my life

Well, the last couple of months have been crazy to say the least. The Twinkles have turned two and as well as celebrating their birthdays we've celebrated two years of breastfeeding. I'm so proud of myself and I cherish every moment we spend breastfeeding. I can truly say breastfeeding has changed my life in so many ways. I have met new people and discovered an amazing online community of breastfeeding bloggers and support groups. 
I'm a trained breastfeeding peer supporter and then came Breast Milk Keepsakes, born from a need to have something tangible to say Yes, I've done it! 

After their birthdays Spud and Sprout started preschool. Thankfully they thoroughly enjoy themselves there, I'm lucky if I get a kiss and a wave goodbye.

As usual Sprout has been causing chaos, he removed all the children’s coat peg name labels which had been attached to the wall with Velcro and stuck them to his jumper. On two occasions he has had a change of clothes because he’s been found playing in the sink and he’s sussed the soap dispenser too! When I go to collect them it’s a struggle to get them to leave and when they finally give in, I leave not only with a child in each hand but a bag of wet clothes and a huge pile of paintings under my arm.

The other big change has been that Sprout is now in a bed. After he somersaulted out of his cot bed we decided or should I say The Beard decided it was time to take down the sides of the cot. This has had a big impact on nap times and my sanity to say the least. The first couple of days nap times were fine, I just lay him in bed as usual and he just settled to sleep but then he realised that he could leave the bed, the trouble started and nap times became a rarity. I’d be sitting downstairs breastfeeding Spud whilst Sprout was upstairs empting out the washing basket, the wardrobe, the chest of doors, all the toys would be out and he even switched off the boiler.

I've had some success this week now that all the toys and washing basket have been removed, the wardrobe and airing cupboard have been bolted, a safety gate installed and the light bulb removed!

On a different note Breast Milk Keepsakes has taken on a life of its own.

Lactivist hosted a Giveaway throughout February, their most successful giveaway to date with 1847 entries.  Big congratulations to Jessie for winning a Breast Milk Pendant and a huge thank you to Lactivist.

The Breast Milk Keepsakes Facebook page now has over 1200 likes which is steadily growing everyday thanks to all the fans liking and sharing the page.

I've extended the range of available breast milk beads to include baby hand print and foot print shaped beads, these are now available with the other beads in the plated and sterling silver pendants and silver plated bangles.

A huge success has been the launch of the sterling silver breast milk charms these are available with a Pandora style bead or a lobster claw clasp and you can have them engraved too.

I'm hoping to extend the range to include a new style of pendant and a locket. I will be working on these over the coming month and I’ll keep you informed on the latest developments on Facebook.

I'd like to thank Karen at BoobieMilk for all her support and advice. 

To celebrate all us wonderful Mums this Mother's Day weekend, I'm offering £5.00 off when you quote MUM13 when placing an order. Offer ends midnight Sunday 10th 2013.

Two Weeks In

I've taken a bit of a break from blogging, to be honest I've just been too busy what with the Twinkles, Christmas, work and Breast Milk Keepsakes. I thought it was about time I updated you with what's been happening, well with Breast Milk Keepsakes anyway. 

Pure breast milk dove embedded
 in resin with a navy background
 set in a gold plated 25mm
 pendant £40.00

I launched Breast Milk Keepsakes on the 1^st January 2013. I’d been dabbling about with the website for weeks, now feeling brave and full of hope I hit the publish button. I bet you can guess what the first thing I did was……Yes I Googled the website. Did it come up? NO! A little disappointed but unperturbed I logged into Facebook and set up a page for Breast Milk Keepsakes. To celebrate launching my new business I offered 10% discount for the first week. The internet is amazing, somehow lots of lovely ladies discovered the Facebook page and took advantage of the promotion and the orders started to come in.

It was also in this first week that I was approached by a freelance journalist who wanted to interview me about the business. We arranged a chat so I could learn more about the process. With mentions of The Sun, The Daily Mail and well known women’s mags I soon realised that this was going to be a bigger story than I intended. I would have loved to have given a positive story about breastfeeding but as I’m currently breastfeeding 23 month old twins Spud and Sprout, I feared the worst. Breastfeeding sadly is controversial and it carries a stigma so deciding that there’s more than enough negative press linked to breastfeeding I declined the interview.

I was also contacted by Kate who blogs at Life, love and living with boys. She’d heard about Breast Milk Keepsakes and wanted to write a blog post about it. Kate wrote a lovely post and I'm very grateful. You can read Kate’s post here.

One 10mm & two 6mm breast milk
 star beads embedded in resin with
 a purple background set in a
vintage copper 25mm pendant.
£45.00

Now I must admit it was a little strange the first time that an envelope containing breast milk landed on the doormat. It was my first unofficial order, I carefully opened it and there it was 30ml of breast milk double bagged and carefully labelled. Of course everyone’s breast milk is different, I knew this, it’s tailored to your own baby or in my case babies, but up until now I’d only ever seen my own breast milk. I was a little shocked to see thick creamy milk, mine in comparison is watery and kind of green looking (after further research I realise this is the foremilk and to get creamier milk it’s best to express in the evening or after baby has fed). I felt a little envious of the mummy that created milk with such substance. I placed the milk in the fridge on the especially cleared shelf and closed the door. Five minute later I was back excited and eager to start creating. It was a proud moment when I carefully took the completed breast milk pendant and placed it in the gift box. I took one last look then closed the lid.

As the orders began to come in so did the money. I was able to order some more supplies, gift boxes, leaflets and the well needed resin. I contacted a local wood artist to commission maple pendants and tiny wooden boxes perfect for baby’s memory box. Several ladies requested breast milk charms for charm and Pandora bracelets so I’ve ordered more supplies and I await them eagerly.

It’s been a busy two weeks. I’d like to thank those of you that have ‘liked’ and shared Breast Milk Keepsakes Facebook page, for all your support and kind comments. I’d especially like to thank those of you that have entrusted me with your breast milk.

Many thanks

Claire aka Twinkle Mummy  x

Breast Milk Keepsakes

I'm just sharing the wonderful post about Breast Milk Keepsakes written by fellow breastfeeding blogger Kate over at Life, love and Living with boys. Check it out here

Weird or Wonderful?

When you see people walking down the street you don’t know who was breastfed or bottle fed.

I was breastfed for 7 months my Mum told me as much when I was fairly young.

Because I was breastfed I assumed that I would breastfeed my baby. What I hadn’t bargained on was having two babies at once. Being very stubborn in nature I wasn’t going to admit defeat so I put my head down, my boobs out and got on with it. I shan’t lie at times it’s been unbearable but more often than not it’s been a pleasure and the feeling of love is overwhelming.

Spud and Sprout will be 22 months next week and yes we are still breastfeeding.

I’m not making the decision to wean them but I know that the time will come when they will no longer want Mummy’s milk and I feel I need to prepare myself for this. Breastfeeding has become a huge part of my life. It’s changed the way I live, my philosophy on life and the way I bring up my children.

I’ve read about other people’s experiences of weaning, of weaning rituals and ways to commemorate the breastfeeding journey coming to a close.

So how do we feel about preserving our own breast milk as a way to celebrate and remember this time?

Well, I’ve got the Twinkles umbilical cord stubs and I’ve got locks of  their hair from their first haircuts safely tucked away in a memory box. 

Is it so strange to have a keepsake made from the milk that has nourished and comforted them?

As I wear my keepsake pendant no one would know what lies embedded within the resin but knowingly I wear it proudly for it symbolises what I have achieved, how far we have come along this journey and when my babies have weaned I will cherish it as a memento of the time we spent together nursing. 

Breast Milk Keepsakes

Mummy Wrapped Around My Lil' Finger

Mummy lays me down in my cot and covers me over with the duvet. She kisses my cheek and then leaves the room. I listen to her go downstairs.

He’s blooming heavy and he pulls my hair as he twists it around his fingers. I lower him into the cot, my back feels like its breaking. I root around in the dark for the bed covers which I carefully pull up around his shoulders. I lean even further over the side of the cot to give him a kiss and then pulling myself up as quietly as I can I then tiptoe out of the room, carefully closing the door behind me. I then tiptoe the rest of the way downstairs. I sit down and a wave of relief washes over me.

All is quiet downstairs.  I dart out of bed and reach for the door handle. Pulling it up and down I can’t quite open it. I begin to cry.

Dread, I wait 5 minutes. He’s still crying. I go upstairs pick him up, give him a cuddle and dry his tears. Eventually he starts to go heavy, his breathing shallow. I lower him to his pillow.

Not a chance I cling on for dear life wrapping my legs tightly around Mummy.

I try and peel him off me but with no joy I relent and embrace him again. My arms and back ache, I slowly rock back and forth in the dark waiting for him to drift off to sleep. Dribble runs down my arm. I place him in his bed, cover him over and then stealthily leave the room. As I flop down onto the sofa I hear his cries. Three times we go through this rigmarole until I can bear it no longer.

Tears roll down my face as I stand clinging onto the side of my cot. The door opens and I hear a voice “What do you think you’re doing, lie down?” It’s Daddy….I turn and makes my way to my pillow. I climb into bed and pull the covers up. Daddy closes the door as I close my eyes ZZZzzzzz.

Silent Sunday