Review: Skincare for the Whole Family with Mustela

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Mustela have sent me some products to test out on the Mini Cupcakes and as I have sensitive skin I have also been trying them out too. I wasn't expecting 3 large products to turn up but I'm pleased because they have so far been lovely to use on all our skin which means we will be using it every day and it'll last a lot longer than a small pot or tube of cream and those bath bubbles we usually pick up with goodness knows what in it but it has Spiderman or Elsa on so it must be good and fun to use...Mustela are committed to using natural ingredients in as many of their products as they can and each product is absolutely made:

- Without alcohol.

- Without essential oils.

- Without parabens.

- Without phenoxyethanol.

- Without phthalates.

- Without plant extracts derived from genetically modified plants (GMO).

- Without aluminum chlorohydrate.

- Without ingredients derived from animal products - except hive products (honey, beeswax, etc.) -, purified lanolin-based products or milk-based products.

- Without terpenes (camphor, menthol or eucalyptus).

- Without triclosan.

We still have a small selection of those bubble baths and shower gels because well, the kids are right; they are cool and as nice as the bath milk is, it doesn't give you the big bubbles a good squeeze of bubble bath does (especially my gorgeous chocolate orange bubble soak mmm) The bath milk is perfect for regular baths though and we use the novelty products on a weekend as they don't bother the children's skin either. 

The emollient cream has been amazing for Midge. She gets quite dry skin which she seems to have inherited from her Dad. A little goes a long way with this cream and because it isn't thick and doesn't have a strong or noticeable smell, Little A has even decided to start using it. For those who don't know, Little A has sensory processing difficulties and one of the things he struggles with is having showers, using gels, creams and anything else (only coconut oil has been allowed anywhere near him which is great because it is so good for your skin, he likes it because he smells like a Bounty bar!!) We have been using the emollient cream on A, actually I should say he has been using the cream because he applies it to his face and arms all by himself and quite willingly too. I was a bit worried about the children putting it on their faces but they don't seem to have had any problems and as this product is aimed at very young children and babies, I am pleased to see on my twos delicate skin the cream has caused no problems.

Finally we tried the cleansing cream, well I tried it, the children were happy with the emollient cream and milky bath oil so I have been using this in the morning and at night on my face (again, I was concerned I may come up with some blotches because that usually happens with any cream I apply to my face as it's the most sensitive area) but I have had no problems at all. As part of my new healthy eating regime I have noticed my skin clearing up and needing a little extra help so using this cream has been a much better option than the harsher creams on sale in beauty stores I'd previously used or considered. 

I was sent these products for the purpose of this review and have found them to be of great use to my family or to myself and therefore would recommend them to others wanting a product for those with sensitive skin and especially the milky bath oil for those who have very young children and those concerned about the ingredients in supermarket bubble baths. 

Cupcake Mumma 

Hannah & Hugh Rosehip and Calendula Baby Cream Review

For just over a week I have been trying out a brand new cream suitable for babies and beyond. Hannah & Hugh have produced a natural skincare range perfect for youngsters (and all those above too!) with any skin type, but most importantly to us, a range which is ideal for sensitive and delicate skin. The whole family can benefit from the natural ingredients and delightful aroma of Hannah &  Hugh rosehip and calendula baby cream.

Before I continue, here's a little bit about Hannah & Hugh:

*This skincare range was inspired by Hannah and Hugh’s founder and product developer Pamela Orji, whose desire to find a solution to her daughter’s eczema propelled her business.  Their mission is to educate people to make better choices when deciding on skincare products; especially for babies.

Hannah and Hugh’s skincare formulations have been carefully chosen for their safe and beneficial qualities and are free from parabens, sodium lauryl sulphate, PEGS, mineral oils, synthetic fragrances or colours.

Passionate about the ingredients she uses, which include natural butters such as Cocoa and Shea butter, and essential oils such as lavender and chamomile, Pamela said, "All our ingredients are proudly sourced locally and manufactured entirely in the UK which reduces our carbon footprint. Our children are our future and as such we owe it to them to preserve their world."

Midge has been my very willing volunteer for this review as Little A is pretty stubborn at the moment with showers let alone creams! Both of my children have sensitive skin and both are prone to dry patches in certain areas. Our biggest skin related problem has been their cradle cap and dry, dead skin on their necks. Myself and Midge were very keen to see if Hannah & Hugh's rosehip and calendula baby cream could help.

First things first, we looked at the product itself. We both loved the design thinking it was simple and fresh looking, exactly what you would expect really from a natural product in my opinion.

When we opened the lid I was pleased to see a second cover in place to prevent the cream from going all over the lid itself and causing a mess. Every cream product should have one of those I think.

The cream is a lovely consistency. Not really too thick but certainly not runny which means Midge could do all the applying herself and not make too much of a mess. I'm not sure if it was just us, but Midge couldn't really smell much just by taking a good sniff of the cream. I did get a feint whiff of calendula though. When we applied the cream however that beautiful scent really came out (it reminds me of something from my childhood but I still can't think what!) Midge wasn't too keen on the scent at first so I'm glad you don't get the smell straight away once opened because I don't think she would've applied it so willingly! Once she got used to the aroma (it is a great smell honest!) we found the cream was definitely a 'less is more' type of product which is ideal.

We've been using Hannah & Hugh's rosehip and calendula baby cream after showers and applying several times a day in between to Midges upper arms where the skin is a little rough and to her neck. After just a week there has been a big change to the skin on her neck. The dead skin is finally disappearing (other creams either haven't worked or have been wiped off leaving her skin red and sore) she's so pleased to not have a 'dirty neck' anymore! (Unfortunately I don't have a photo because Midge wasn't comfortable with me taking one.)

I've just started applying the cream to Little A and I think, as his is a little worse, I'll be giving it a little longer and update this review with the results which I know are going to be promising! 

I would definitely recommend this product to any parent (actually my Mum loved it!) and I'd be 100% happy to have this baby cream in my cupboard not just for my older two and myself, but also for even the most delicate newborn skin.

If you'd like to purchase Hannah & Hugh rosehip and calandula baby cream (£12.99) or any other product from their natural skin care range

I was very kindly sent the Rosehip and Calendula Baby Cream by Hannah & Hugh in exchange for an honest review of their product. All photos and words (except * which has come from a Hannah & Hugh press release) are my own.  

Cupcake Mumma

Dear Matilda Mae

I'll be lighting a candle for you tonight Matilda Mae. It's purple and in a heart shape. I made it last year and found it while I was searching for something today. You see, I never met you Matilda Mae, but even the smallest of things will make me think of you.

The Twinkle Twinkle Little Star song on Cbeebies. Pink and purple flowers, stars and hearts. I've thought and prayed about your beautiful family many a time. I'm not sure people always know whether to believe someone when they tell them they are thinking of them. So, in this letter to you Matilda Mae, I'm opening up my prayer journal and sharing some of those thoughts:

February 10th 2013

Please watch over the family of Matilda Mae as they come to terms with the loss of their beautiful baby a week today. May you hold them in your loving arms until they are ready to be reunited again.

April 10th 2013

I would like to pray for Jennie, her husband and their two children. Please help them whilst they grieve the loss of their little girl Matilda Mae. May they continue to be given strength, love and support. May they feel the presence of their daughter in all they do. Please guide them through this very hard time. May Jennie be successful with helping to raise awareness of SIDS and may other families be helped by her feelings and her experience. May they be blessed again.

May 2nd 2013

I pray for Jennie, David, Ester and William today. I pray they have felt the love and support from everyone who cares about them. I pray Matilda Mae is resting peacefully at your side and I pray that although every one of her birthdays is going to be so very, very difficult, that they can find it easier to get past each one in time with your love and strength.

November 30th 2013

I pray for Jennie and her family facing their first Christmas without Matilda Mae.

January 5th 2014

I pray for Jennie and her family that their pain can become less. Please watch over them as the anniversary of Matilda Mae's passing comes ever closer and the day which would mark her 2nd birthday draws nearer.

January 11th 2014

I pray for Jennie and her family as the 2nd of February nears. I pray they can feel less pain in time, although I doubt that is possible when you loose a child.

Dear Matilda Mae,

I think of you and your family every day. Your Mummy has done such wonderful things in your memory. But you already knew that didn't you? I will continue to think of you, continue to pray for your family especially at the times of year where everything should be about you. Your birthday, Christmases. I'll always be sorry you couldn't grow into this world Matilda Mae. You grew your wings instead. And what a beautiful angel you are.

Hannah Xxx

Happy Days with my Niece

I have 2 nieces. For the purpose of my blog they are known as 'G' and 'Little T'. They are two scrummy, lovely little girls. G is now in reception at the same school as her twin brother and Midge, so spending time with her is difficult. Spending time with all of them is pretty difficult to be honest! When we do see each other though it is precious and exciting.

On Thursday I woke up feeling really happy about 2 things. One, Midge was being dropped into school by one of her Aunties so I didn't have to get my lazy butt into gear as much as usual, and two, Little T was coming to stay for the whole day!

As her Mum drove off to get ready for a wedding, Little T was left with Husband and I for the first time in a long while. She sized us up a bit and then walked about the house to get an idea of her surroundings for the next 7 hours or so....the day started with this face:

But a bit of lunch, a shopping trip for groceries, some playtime with Little A and a bit of Max and Ruby later she was perfectly happy in our company: yey! She started to babble a bit, laughed when I played about with her and I just felt so happy to be with a little baby again! Later on we went out together (looking very pink!) leaving Little A asleep and Husband on the PlayStation.

We went for a scavenger hunt in the charity shops where I found a pretty sunhat for her and bought a new dress (may have handed over a biscuit teddy with chocolate feet to a one year old in some serious heat!) so it that was a nessecity. We then walked about town for a little while just enjoying the sunshine. It was nice to not force a child into a buggy for once!

We had such a lovely day together despite not really doing anything exciting. Once Little A had woken up we all went out to get the rest of the clan from school...six children and 2 adults! We sure got some odd looks on the walk home! All the children came back to ours, had a biscuit each and played until Nanny came to collect them.

I love watching all of them play together, it's so nice. I hope it's like this for a long time to come!

Do you want to see how the day ended?

With Smiles!!

CupcakeMumma

A Year in Gifts: February

Last month I started my Year in Gifts by sending a friend who needed cheering up a little surprise in the post. I don't like to just send things without people knowing they are coming but for this giving project of mine it feels so important that these are genuine surprises to my recipient and so any clue of their arrival would some how spoil it.

I knew in the middle of February who my next gift receiver would be as she had just had a beautiful little baby in December. As usual I was pretty late in sending my 'welcome to the world' gifts and then I felt my friend really needed cheering up, so I did a bit of re-jiggling and posted my next parcel off with success!

Who did I send to this month? The lovely and very wonderful fellow blogger Hannah of Make do and Push! Her gorgeous little girl was born right at the end of 2012 and I  just had to send something to mark her arrival. I also wanted to include some gifts for Hannah because she is a lovely lady and a wonderful Mother to her little girl.

What did I send?

A MiaMoo set for Hannah to enjoy a bit of pampering. I have a set of MiaMoo products which I won last year and all the moisturisers are still going. I hope Hannah gets to use all of these products and enjoys them as much as I did (and still do!)

For the Little One, a cute little pink elephant I just couldn't ignore. I know, who needs extra teddies? But it's sweet and very soft! My Little Man and Midge had tiny toys like this and when they started teething they never looked the same again! Poor teddies..
The purple wrapping said teddy is sitting on includes a very warm and lovely cellular yellow blanket for Hannah's daughter. I hope it keeps her warm or maybe becomes a comforter like my Little Mans. It really is the cutest thing I've ever seen!

And of course another gift for Hannah. A nice bar of Galaxy chocolate and some hot chocolate to go with it. Apparently this gave me away (along with my cupcake parcel tape!) because I love drinking my hot chocolate and goodness knows I go on about it enough!

So there you have it. Another gift sent out for 2013.I love the tweets or texts I get when my gifts reach where they're meant to be. Just to let someone know you're thinking about them is such a powerful thing don't you think?

I also sent another gift out this month. I won't detail the recipient of this gift but I hope it reaches its destination in one piece. I think it's fairly obvious who this gift is for and all I will say is this: I cried my heart out from start to finish packing this up.
CupcakeMumma x

Croup and Our 5am Wake Up

When Midge was a baby she had croup a few times. It wasn't pleasant but sounded worse than it actually was. A swift visit to the GP confirmed our thoughts and we went off to go back to our Olbus Oiled bedrooms and steamed bathrooms. A few days later she was right as rain and we never heard from croup again!

It was 5am this morning however, that we had a return of this here croup. Actually, at first it wasn't apparent what was wrong. The house was quiet then..Scream. My Little Man was screaming, panicking and it was terrifying. I calmed him down taking him into my bedroom for cuddles. It was then that we heard the oh so familiar sound of that seal-like bark. Something was different with this case of croup though and that was that Little Man was really struggling to breathe.

In the end we called an ambulance. As soon as the crew walked in they knew what was wrong. We sat with him in the bathroom and gave him some Anbesol to help his teething which was stressing him out. His temperature and pulse were high and the crew agreed that it was best to take him in. I was so scared it was unreal! I did feel bad at first, here I was with a baby with common croup when someone could be laying at the bottom of some stairs...I soon left that thought behind though, I know I was right and who really  likes calling out the ambulance anyway?

Poorly boy in the waiting room and fast asleep waiting
for Grandma

Once in the ambulance his temperature went up a little bit more as did his pulse. He had some more Calpol and was put on the nebuliser which was the same as sitting in a steamy bathroom just with the added benefit of saline to help his chest. I can't thank the paramedics enough, they were so supportive, helpful and kind. Even when I sprayed Calpol all over the place and had to have a whole syringe re-filled and passed to me!

With the steroid solution kicking in, he was more
awake and wanted to enjoy some games. Good, because otherwise
it would've been really boring!

The nursers and doctor at the hospital were just as lovely and helpful. Little Man and I waited in a fairly large room on the bed surrounded by Gruffalo wall stickers and toys. He was weighed and had his temperature taken again which thankfully had started to return to normal. Because he was still quite wheezy he was given a steroid solution which we have brought home for him to have over the next few days.

A nice big smile for the camera despite being
shattered!

He's on the road to recovery now! We've taken on board all the advice, some of which we already knew from Midge's encounter with croup, given to us by the nurses and paramedics. Both my precious babies are tucked up in bed. Hopefully Husband and I can go and stay in our beds a little longer than this morning!

CupcakeMumma

*Please go here for some Information on croup that I've found useful tonight x*

When Your Baby Just Won't Stop Crying

If you're here looking for answers, for an amazing new product or some revolutionary piece of advice, then I'm sorry, but you're out of luck. However, if you're here because you've just had the night from hell then please, take a seat, have a cuppa and know you're not alone.

Last night my Little Man (who is 20 months old) cried and cried and cried. He cried from 9pm until 3am. We watched Charlie and Lola 3 different times. He was offered milk which he refused and offered it again later which he drank. He had calpol. Lots of hugs, 'shhh'ing and pacing was done both by myself and my Husband. Neither of us could settle him.

He wasn't wet and hadn't soiled his nappy. He is teething and he was over tired. Actually he was past over tired in all honesty and just wouldn't let himself go. His head touched the cot and he screamed.

We tried the ever controversial control crying. That was useless with my Midge who didn't sleep through the night until she was 2 and a half years old (I know, hold me) but it has worked with Little Man in the past when he was being a little bit cheeky with his sleep. This time he wasn't being cheeky, or stubborn. There was something wrong and something I couldn't do anything about.

We got to the stage where the crying was too much and of course the Husband and I started to feel the stress and had a few cross words. Let me tell you something. When people are tired they can say the most horrible things but you must try not to bite back. Usually I'm pretty bad when it comes to arguments but last night I bit my tongue and knew it was just the heat of the moment, the awful stress and the crying just going through the both of us.

In the end, after Little man had sat up with Daddy once and then a second time being pushed too and fro in the front room in his stroller (after this all options were exhausted) he fell asleep. He woke up again however headbanging (which we're no stranger to).

At about 3am Husband finally came to bed after insisting I grabbed a few hours because I had to get  up with Midge for the school run. It was at this hour he asked me for a hug and apologised for anything he said. Of course I accepted this apology and told him it was all okay. Luckily, Little Man stayed asleep from that moment until 10am. I did the washing up, made Midge's Harvest Festival costume and tidied a bit before Husband got up at 9.30am.

We managed to have a good day today which makes everything better. I am absolutely shattered but have managed to do the housework, homework, blogging and even cooked myself a decent dinner. No I don't want an award, I'm just surprised at myself.

Last night I felt like leaping out of my window and running away (if I could, what with the broken ankle I'd be sure to end up with!) I hate that feeling of intense desperation that engulfs me when I hit a point of exhausting all avenues. I felt awful that my baby was crying at me and yet I couldn't do a thing to make him better.
Ultimately I know these nights are few and far between (at least I hope!) after being there with Midge I really don't want to go back there with Little Man. Lack of sleep reduces you to a miserable, anti social wreck. I'd go as far to say that when I was in that phase with Midge, I didn't even want to be here anymore. Honest.

Hopefully tonight will be a better night. We are calpoled and Anbesoled up, we are warm and cosy and clean. We have Vicks on the radiator and have had a decent routine to our day with a bit of fresh air too. Sometimes there's just nothing you can do. I wouldn't have been able to get through last night without my Husband. He really is my rock.

If you're having trouble with a sleeping child I can really offer you my full sympathy! You are not alone in the slightest.

CupcakeMumma

Pinaddicts in February! A Different Kind of Cake

Woo, another month of crafting down! I had great fun making with February's project but had a hard time keeping it a secret and an even harder time making it perfect. My project has been made as a gift for my sister in law (to be) and my new niece. Okay so more the adorable bundle but I thought of everyone whilst making my creation!
Below I give you the original Pin that I found whilst lurking on Pinterest (probably at the deep, dark unknown hours of the night.)

So pretty and pretty fabulous you're thinking right? It's not too hard to make, not really. Except I wasn't going to do this nappy cake the usual way (i think it's messy-just my opinion) so I decided to follow the pin and do my nappy cake the same way (the awkward but very neat and professional way-again, just my opinion!) If I was braver I would've made a nappy pram but I figured I got in too deep anyway!

Here is what you need:

Plus patience, and time, and skin of frickin steel! (which, by the way I do not have) 

And here is what I came up out with!

The girl done good!

At it's destination!

Very happy, very pleased and it went down a treat which was the best bit. My niece is already just over a week old and this nappy cake still hasn't been broken into. Although at the rate this little bundle poops there will be some emergency break ins pretty soon I should think!

If you fancy making a nappy cake I would recommend doing it this way. Most tutorials (if needed) take you through wrapping the nappies, i chose to pin the nappies flat instead. I had some lovely comments from lots of people about this cake, some even said I should make them properly! It cost about £25 to make this craft with nappies in the sale and pound shop items. I was impressed but I couldn't feel my finger tips for a fair few days (i'm a bit clumsy....and nappies are not easy to pin can I just say!) so I think i'll give the business a miss!

Please check out everyone else's #pinaddicts posts over at Melksham Mum's blog, tweet if you can, post on Facebook and spread some blog (and Pinterest) love!

Cupcake Mumma