Holly's First Steps

She has been threatening to do so for some time but this weekend at the ripe old age of 9 and a half months, Holly took her first real steps.

Holly has been mobile for about 4 months and over the past month she has desperately wanted to get walking.  Last week saw her learn to stand up from the floor unaided and to just stand there...waiting.  She waited until Thursday when she first started taking a single step or two tiny steps and then would collapse on her bottom.

On Saturday she showed off her new skill to her grandparents and that afternoon when we got home she had obviously had another boost in confidence because two times that evening she attempted four or five steps across the living room before collapsing.

I'm pretty certain that Holly will be walking more and more with each day that passes.  She delights in trotting across the living room holding her big sister's hands.  Yesterday evening I loved watching her holding on to Daddy with just one hand and walking through the house - she looked SO grown up.

That's all.  I just wanted to record it here on Mellow Mummy so that I can look back in awe at my little superstar.

Leapfrog Scout and Friends Baby Walker Review

Lara, her cousins and her friends have been putting the brand new Leapfrog Scout and Friends Baby Walker to the ultimate test - a direct comparison with the popular VTech First Steps Baby Walker. It makes for a very interesting review, mainly because Lara and her cousins have been using a version of the VTech walker at their grandparent's house ever since their first days so it is a product they recognise and have grown up with - a challenge for any new product to compete with.

The Leapfrog Baby Walker boasts 5 features that make it stand apart from the VTech walker and they are all things that make me, as a parent, very happy. Wide legs, lockable wheels and non-slip wheels are all things that I've felt are lacking in the VTech product for years.

The wide-legs of the Leapfrog Scout and Friends Walker mean that it is noticeably more stable than the VTech model when one of the children is physically walking with it, or when playing with the activities from the front.

The lockable wheels are a stroke of genius. I have always thought it weird that a baby walker would be constructed in such a way that it moves the very second your crawling baby tries to lift themselves up on it and walk. The Leapfrog walker has two small red clips on the wheels which allow you to lock or unlock them. This makes the walker even more stable and is ideal for babies who are just finding their feet and attempting to lift themselves up.



On our living room carpet (which has a very shallow pile) we found the VTech walker to slip rather than roll. The wheels on the Leapfrog Scout and Friends Baby Walker have a small textured strip around them which makes them a lot more grippy and so the movement is far more natural. On Nanny's VTech (which is many many years old) the wheels have worn and become shiny with age so it only moves cleanly on a carpet that offers quite a lot of resistance. I think the textured wheels would really help in a house with hard floors too.

The activity plate on both walkers is removable. The clip on our VTech didn't work properly so the plate kept falling off (Nanny's one doesn't behave this way); on the Leapfrog walker the plate clips off and on from the sides (very easy to do). These days Lara is more interested in the activities on the plate than the walker itself so she likes to take the plates off and sit with them on the floor.

I noticed that Lara enjoyed the activities on the VTech walker more than the Leapfrog and would spend more time playing with them. I personally prefer the look of the VTech activity plate too as the primary colours make it look more appealing. The large amount of white on the Leapfrog walker seems to detract from the colours of the activities themselves. I find the music and noises less annoying on the Leapfrog activities - I think the full alphabet song is great but I wish that the a,b,c,d light-up keys were more like the VTech in that they would benefit from having an image association such as ' b for ball'. The range of music on the Leapfrog Baby Walker is wider and of a higher quality too.

 

The Sunday Review – Cotswold Outdoor Children's Products, LittleLife LadyBird Backpack

Now that spring has finally arrived, its time for us to get outdoors as a family and start making the most of our weekends with Lara. Lara has been reviewing the Little Life Ladybird backpack from Cotswold Outdoor.

Quite often Lara gets a bit grumpy when we suggest going out for a walk (this is probably because she knows it means that we're trying to wear her out for a nap!) but this toddler's backpack seems to have changed her mind – see that cheeky smile!



She doesn't like to put anything in it normally but it does have a 3 litre capacity which is plenty of space for a toddler to put their prized possessions such as a plastic comb, a half-eaten biscuit and a toy tractor.



The backpack has a clip at the front to strap the bag on so that it doesn't keep slipping down off their shoulders and the straps are adjustable. It has a zip compartment that contains a lightweight water proof hood (Lara looked very silly wearing it and much preferred to wear a hat). It also has an internal tag onto which you can write your child's name so you have no worries about letting them take it to nursery or pre-school.



The best thing for me, as a mum, about the Little Life ladybird backpack is the attachable toddler strap. I've resisted toddler reins for Lara for as long as possible because until now, she has been incredibly well behaved when walking with me, but the other day Lara and I attempted to cross Waterloo Bridge by foot together in the freezing cold and she insisted on running off away from me, into the crowds and towards the traffic. I decided I had to do something, and the Little Life backpack is the perfect solution. The safety strap is pretty sturdy and is easy for me to hold in my hand or around my wrist. I clip it on to a tiny little hook just behind the bag and then let Lara do her worst. It does sometimes feel a bit like I'm waking a dog but in terms of letting Lara feel like she has her freedom, it has done wonders for our weekend walks.



I've heard people complain about the strap of Little life animal bags pulling the bag down and it not being a strong connection to the bag but I had no problems with the bag at all. Perhaps they've improved the design a little?

Cotswold Outdoor have lots of appealing products, clothing and shoes designed for little adventurers.

Lara Walks - A Proud Mummy Moment

I hope you will indulge me just this once in a purely motherly show of pride!

About 6 weeks ago, a fortnight before her first birthday, Lara first showed the signs of wanting to get up and go. In the past week she has mastered it! You can tell that her brain is now telling her to walk in the first instance and crawl if all else fails.

I took this video at the weekend. It makes me smile. I know every parent goes through it, but I think we're biologically programmed to have that wave of pride when it happens. Enjoy.