The 3 C's - Colds, Congestion and Coughs

This week I have been suffering from the three C's - a cold, congestion and the resultant cough. Poor little Lara has been suffering too, with a fever to boot. In the past I would have tanked myself up on decongestant tablets or night-nurse and hidden away for 24 hours to get through the worst of it, but during pregnancy there are few effective congestion medications you can take so I have been extremely thankful for my Sterimar spray.

You may remember that I first discovered Sterimar Baby this summer when I reviewed their natural seawater nasal spray for babies and young children. Towards the end of last week, when Lara's cold was at its worst, we really got a chance to test the Sterimar Baby spray. The effects were so good that I decided to try one of their adult products myself.



I have been using Sterimar Congestion Relief which is also a natural seawater spray with a high salt concentration so it really helps to unblock my nose and relieve the symptoms of congestion in my nose. Because it is simply 100% natural seawater and has no known side effects, it is a great remedy for me as a pregnant lady but I can see myself using this as a non-medicinal remedy many times in the future too. I've found it to be most effective last thing before I go to bed, which is when I suffer most with a blocked nose.



Lara's Sterimar Baby spray is a much more dilute spray that is suitable from birth. A baby or toddler really just doesn't understand what is happening when their nose is blocked and it is so hard for them to communicate their inability to breathe. At several points over the last week Lara has screamed and screamed herself into oblivion because she has had a blocked nose. It has taken quite some doing to get the nasal spray into her nose past the flailing arms, screaming mouth and upset tears but within minutes of using the spray, Lara has calmed down. It feels so good to not have to turn to the medicine cabinet unless Lara actually gets a fever.

You can find out more about Sterimar at www.sterimarnasal.co.uk.

This post was written as part of the Sterimar Ambassador Scheme for which I was re-imbursed. I stand by all of the statements in this post and wouldn't have elected to become a Sterimar Ambassador if I didn't genuinely rate the product.

The Sunday Review – Mummy Mitts

Over the last few days, I've had plenty of use for my new Mummy Mitts and they've done their job well. Mummy Mitts (as featured on Dragons Den!) are mittens which attach to the handle bars of your pushchair or pram.

As Mr. B. pointed out to me, motorcyclists have had something similar for years. A pair of mittens which you simply slip your hands into and which, being attached to the handle-bars, you know won't fall out of a pocket, or off the roof of the buggy. I found the Mummy Mitts most useful when shopping... it drives me mad that I NEED a pair of gloves on when pushing the pushchair as otherwise my fingers turn blue and drop off (ok, nearly drop off), but that when I go into a shop, I need to faff about taking the gloves off to open my purse or look at things on the shelf. With the Mummy Mitts I simply slip my hands out, do my thing, then slip them back in again, exactly where I left off.

I found the Mummy Mitts a little less useful at the park where I wanted to keep them on all the time and had to take one hand out in order to undo the velcro around the buggy handle-bars. I think I'd revert to normal gloves in this scenario. I also found that the mittens didn't work so well on the Maclaren compared to the Mothercare Mychoice because of the location of the handles. When the handle-bar is directly in front of you then it is dead easy to slip your hands in and out but on the Maclaren, the handles are actually at an angle and it doesn't feel instinctive to slip your hands into the Mummy Mitts at this angle.

I like the Mitts themselves. They look smart and not too girly. They are made from a wind-proof fabric that keeps my hands really toasty warm and I am pleasantly surprised (as a lady with very long fingers) at how spacious the mittens are. I would say they could do with being a tad tighter around the wrist to help prevent nasty draughts, but that may just be BECAUSE my hands are longer than most.

At £17.99 from www.mummymitts.com they would make a great Christmas gift for a chilly mummy (and there is free P&P until December 10th)! You can also buy matching Bubby Mitts so your little one can look just like you!

Images courtesy of Mummy Mitts