OTIS' STOKKE 'JUNGLE' NURSERY

This is finally happening! I'm finally sharing Otis' finished nursery. Okay, technically it will never be finished because a room never is, and that's why I bloody love interiors. But this is where it's currently up to so far.

Wallpaper- Jungle palm by milton and King, Gold canopy from Molly meg

When I started looking at nursery furniture, all I saw were rectangular white cots and white changing tables. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with white nursery furniture, but I just wanted to be more excited by the offer. After all, interiors are my thing, and I wanted bub to have something a bit different.

So let's start with Otis' cot. This is the Stokke sleepi bed in Hazy grey. What I love about the sleepi cot bed range is that its one of the only cots that can transition from newborn baby to toddler by adding the extension kits. We've gone straight to the 'middle' size, but it's good to know I can extend it and take the middle panel out when Otis gets bigger and can climb in and out of his bed himself which means I shouldn't have to buy another new bed for another four/five years. How many other cot beds can take a baby from infant to childhood?

The stokke sleepi doesn't compromise on style or quality. The 360 degree cot bars mean it's easy to see Otis from every angle and the lockable caster wheels makes it easy to move to clean around, although you don't need to add the wheels. The cot can just sit on the floor on the frame and the sleepi has four mattress height positions to choose from. We currently don't have it on the lowest,  but we'll soon move it down once Otis can pull himself up. 

It's style, longevity and quality make this a perfect cot bed which should see Otis through to his childhood years.  The sleepi cot bed is available in three colours; white, grey and natural. 

Now let's talk about the changing table/ dresser which is also from Stokke. These come as two separate pieces.  The home dresser is handy storage for all of Otis' clothes, spare nappies and blankets and the soft close features on the drawers means you shouldn't wake up baby.  The style and colour compliments his sleepi cot bed and is also available in the same three shades of hazy grey, white and natural. 

The top home changer can be added to make it a changing table, but also easily removed to leave the dresser in perfect condition. 

Extension kits and bigger mattresses are all available on the Stokke website. Click here to view. 

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Leopard rug is from Cotswold trading £149.99

Lion and Elephant felt heads by Fiona walker London.

**Otis and I were very kindly gifted the cot and changing table from Stokke for his nursery. Regardless of this, I would still recommend these items and would purchase them again.** 

THE SLEEPYHEAD, AND WHY EVERY NEW PARENT NEEDS ONE

I added the kids & baby sub category to the blog to help other first time parents. Not just because I wanted to give you a list of must have baby items, but I also wanted to help inspire other parents or parents to be that you don't need to loose your homes identity just because you've had a baby. And that highly practical and tasteful baby items do exist, and you don't have to succumb to a house full of brightly coloured plastic tat quite just yet. 

Today I want to talk about the miracle baby mattress, aka the Sleepyhead Deluxe+. A portable sleeping pod/ mattress suitable for newborns from birth and up to 8 months, depending on how fast your baby grows. (They also do a sleepyhead Grande for when they grows out of Deluxe+). 

You may have seen them all over instagram, and if you haven't, then where the heck have you been?  There's been a lot of hype about this parenting must have item, and quite rightly too. Easily transported around the house, car, or even on holiday, this miracle mattress can go anywhere your baby goes.

After returning from hospital we have used our sleepyhead all over our house; on the sofa in the lounge, inside the cot at night, on the bed co-sleeping, bedside the bed, on the bathroom floor and even on the dining table when we were having dinner. Okay okay, I know you're not suppose to put them on a table in it, but when Otis was only a couple of weeks old, there was zero chance of him rolling and it meant I could have some dinner for a change. Plus having a cat made this option safer than leaving him on the floor in those early weeks. 

The reason the sleepyhead works so well is pretty simple but so effective. The bumper shape around the side of the mattress creates a cosy nest for bubba to get snuggly in, which is far better than putting baby down in an expansive cot with just a blanket to rattle around in. It also prevents babies from getting a flat head on a hard flat mattress, as their little heads are still soft and mouldable. 

As Otis has grown bigger I've undone the clip at the bottom, allowing him to spread out more, and the pod has handles on the top and sides, which make it easy to be transported. 

The covers are easily whipped off to be machine washed if theres any puking or poop explosions, and we've even used our sleepyhead for tummy time and nappy changes, which was super handy. *You can even use it as a play-mat by adding a mobile toy arch which Sleepyhead also sell *

So, THE covers.... Not only is this sleep pod a miracle worker where sleeps concerned, but they also come in a variety of gorgeous prints, so it doesn't look out of place in your home.  I have the marble deluxe+ sleepyhead and the nightfalls cover. Both are dreamy. But to be honest I love all of the sleepyhead cover designs. They're available in a variety of prints from florals, geos, animal and leaf prints, so its worth taking a look at the range before deciding on which one to purchase. 

The only downside is the price. 150 EUROS for the plain sleepyhead deluxe+ and 170 euros for the printed, and additional covers are available at 85 euros each. Although it was nice to have the extra cover, I wouldn't say its a necessity. 

The second down side is sadly bubba will grow out of it, and then comes the next cost if you want to purchase the Grande which start at 200 euros + depending on which print. But this is the same for all things baby related. They don't stay babies forever. 

I was very kindly sent the Sleepyhead Deluxe to review. Regardless of being sent this, I would put the sleepyhead deluxe in my top 5 must have items when having a baby. It certainly helped Otis sleep which in turn helped me out. Happy baby, happy mum. 

INTRODUCING OTIS ....

Otis William Cotton - 0 days old

Its June and my baby is already six weeks old. Where has the past month and a half gone? The good news is I'm back into the swing of things on the blog. Well, sort of. 

Otis arrived on Monday 7th May at 12.10am, after a very long (48hour) labour which resulted in me having to being induced, and have an epidural, which wasn't something I had planned. It just goes to show that having a birth plan is great, but be prepared that it can all change. When you've been 6cm dilated for over 18 hours, with no pain relief, and nothings changing, you have to take the recommended advice.  He was 6 days late (due date was the 1st May) and weighed a very healthy 8lb 7oz. 

The past few weeks have gone by in a flash, as we're currently settling into our new life as a three, and getting to know one another. 

There's so much more to having baby that I never understood before. Terms like engorgement, mastitis, and how your tits swell up like a couple of bricks after you've had a baby and continue to hurt if you're breast feeding/ expressing. How breast feeding can hurt and be fecking painful if the latch isn't nailed. The night sweats, the need for a padded ring to sit up at night, and how having a cot attached to the bed isn't practical when you've had stitches down there, and you need to slide down the bottom of the bed to go to the loo. And, just how long the recovery takes from an episiotomy. I'd say about six weeks actually. 

The tearful moments. The crazy hormones that make you cry because your husband drank your favourite bottle of chablis that you'd been waiting nine months to drink (I don't think that was just the hormones), but couldn't, because you're on another round of antibiotics for the mastitis. Or, because you don't think you took enough photos of your baby as a newborn, and now he's six weeks old. Seriously, this has happened. 

The amount of unwanted advice you get from other mothers. Mothers who had their babies ten, twenty, fifty odd years ago, when gripe water was actually made from alcohol and when smoking around a baby was OK.  And this isn't just from the older mothers. The look or disapproving radio silence when you tell your mum friends about your parenting methods.  Or, when you say you've bought a canopy for your babies nursery, to be told it will be the death of your child.  Everyones an expert eh? But it will look great on instagram, yeah? 

Every day is a life lesson in parenting, and if I've learnt anything, its that we're all just winging it like each other, and a mother should never judge another mother. 

 Now speaking of canopy's... Lets get back to the fun stuff. 

Otis William Cotton - 2 weeks old.