Babies, Children, Competitions, Family, Lifestyle, Mothers

Win a Mom and Baby Hamper

This Competition Has Ended

Hi everyone as you see we have a new name and a new logo! To celebrate this I am giving away two Mom and Baby Hampers! They are both crammed with lots of goodies for mom and baby, with a few added surprises which you will find when you receive your hamper. The two hampers are different as one is aimed at a “mom 2 be” and the other a “new mom” they contain stunning products which I have reviewed or featured in the past, including baby goodies, creams, special journals, baby books, Cd’s and more! As I said lots of great goodies.

Please share this competition with your family and friends! Its too good to be missed 🙂

How to enter:

Follow Inspired Living on Facebook or Twitter (you must do either one to qualify for an entry)
Leave a comment below telling me which hamper you would like to win (if you are entering for a friend or family member tell me who they are)
Sign up for our new monthly newsletter below

Babies, Children, Events, Family, Lifestyle, Mothers, Out & About

Just Engage Moms Morning

Last Saturday I was invited to attend a Mom’s Morning hosted by Just Engage, at the stunning Banksia Boutique Hotel and Spa, in Cape Town.

Just Engage is an online but interactive antenatal course, created to assist those who are preparing to become parents. The amazing thing about the course is that it does not matter where you are located, whether it is Cape Town, Gauteng or Durban or some tiny village or town in between, you can have access to one of the most comprehensive courses this country has to offer.

Upon arrival at Banksia Hotel, each mom or mom to be received a wonderful goodie bag, filled with an array of products, vouchers and information leaflets. We were then given the opportunity to mingle and explore the beautiful Banksia Hotel – what a stunning location! A variety of yummy eats and gorgeous teas, were elegantly displayed and begging to be sampled 🙂 who could resist!

Sharon, the founder of Just Engage then invited us to take our seats and gave us a brief run down of the mornings events. She then introduced the guest speaker for the morning, Dr. Bavi Vythilingum, who is a mom, as well as a qualified Psychiatrist in private practice and an honorary senior lecturer at UCT. She previously held the position of the head of the Woman’s Mental Health Unit at UCT. Her clinical research interests are in the field of Women’s Mental Health.

Dr. Bavi Vythilingum’s talk focused on a mothers well-being post birth, high-lighting the very real issues surrounding Postnatal Depression(PND) and dealing with motherhood as a new mom. PND is something that can affect anyone after birth and the most important thing is to seek help! The amazing thing is, despite all her accreditation’s, even Dr.Vythilingum, was not immune to suffering from PND, once again illustrating that it can happen to anyone. As a mom you slowly realise, as you get older and wiser that “good enough” is often more than enough, so remember to not be so hard on yourself and simply enjoy the journey because no one is perfect!

Thank you to Sharon and the Just Engage team for a wonderful morning and spoiling us with wonderful prizes! I received a stunning baby bag from Living and Loving, which I will definitely be passing on to a new mommy 🙂

Just Engage is offering 10 Expectant Mommy readers a chance to receive 50% Discount off an antenatal course before August 2013. All you need to do is leave a comment below this post with your details and a contact email address and the first 10 readers to do so will receive an email with the code to secure your 50% Discount from Just Engage.

If you would like to find out more about Just Engage and the courses they offer please pop over to their website by clicking here. If you would like to keep up to date with future event dates you can also follow them on Facebook.

Babies, Be Inspired, Children, Family, Product Reviews, Reviews and Features

MooMoo Kids Crawlie

I am always amazed at the array of fantastic goodies that are available to parents! There is definitely so much more on offer for moms and babies, than when my kiddies were small!

The MooMoo Crawlie is a super cute, functional outfit for crawling and cruising babies. The grippy kneepads facilitate crawling on slippery floors (such as tiles, laminates, wood) for babies that are struggling to crawl and also provide protection and durability for the knees of those speed-crawlers!

MooMoo Crawlie dungaree and T-shirt sets are definitely one of the things I wish were around when my tots where crawling! Especially for my second baby, as she had the strangest crawling style and we ended up with many onesies with holes on the knees!

The Crawlie also comes with a matching long-sleeve T-shirt, they have (nickel-free) poppers for nappy changing ease, and a front pocket for dummy storage. Above all they are super soft and comfy for your little one and come in such cute designs. If not for your little one they also make a wonderful baby shower gift!

We are proud to be able to say that ALL MooMoo products are made locally, here in Cape Town. As part of our “local is lekker” philosophy, we make a point of using local fabric mills (sadly this is often no longer possible owing to mill closures), local print designs and local labour. We are proud to say that each MooMoo product is a genuine “South African original”! ~ MooMoo

If you would like to find out more about the MooMoo Crawlie and the other fantastic products they have on offer then pop over to their website by clicking here.

*Disclaimer: The MooMoo Crawlie was sent to me for review purposes but views and opinions are all my own.

Babies, Children, Family, Mothers, Parenting, Parenting Advice

Tips on Creating Healthy Sleep Habits for Your Child

How is your child sleeping? Give him the gift of a Good Night’s Sleep!

Sleep. We all need it, and we don’t know how important it is until we can’t get enough of it? Are you a mother? Then you know EXACTLY what I’m talking about.

Can you still remember what it feels like to look into your partner’s eyes? To have time to read a magazine, take a long bath and just generally have a life? Or are you constantly on pyjama drill? Wondering when this “punishment of motherhood” will end.

Sleep is vital for all humans to be healthy: it’s when we recharge so we’re at our personal best. Bad sleeping habits are linked to issues such as obesity, poor performance, ADHD, car accidents… to name just a few! If your child is not sleeping well, you’re likely not to either and this could be detrimental to your health as well as your child’s! However, if addressed early on, sleep problems can be overcome. The bad news is bad sleepers do not just “grow out of it”. But the good news is there is a lot you can do about it!

Here are a few myths about sleep that you need to be aware of:
Myth #1 ~ All soothers are good for my child’s sleeping habits.
Unfortunately not all soothers (be it a dummy, taglet blanket, moms fingers, milk) are good for your child’s sleeping habits. It depends on your child’s age and tendency’s, but chances are that he can use some of these to aid him/herself in falling asleep which never teaches him the skill of self-soothing.

Myth #2 ~ The later I put my child in bed and the more tired he gets during the day, the better he will sleep.

Actually it works the other way around. The better rested your child is, and putting him/her to bed at an appropriate bed time, actually makes them sleep better and longer.

Myth #3 ~ Some children are just bad sleepers and they will grow out of it eventually.

Did you know that studies have shown that adults who tend to have insomnia and bad sleeping habits were actually bad sleepers as children? Sleeping is actually a skill we need to teach our children, just like walking, eating and drinking. Your child will not grow out of it! The earlier you address it the better!

Myth #4 ~ I can wait to start teaching my child the skills to sleep when he is older or on solids.

The fact of the matter is that we as parents interfere with our children’s healthy development of good sleep cycles. There is so much that we can do better from the day they are born to implement healthy sleep associations and awake-sleep cycles.

Myth #5 ~ The only way I can teach my child to self sooth is to leave him to cry-it-out.

Teaching your child to self sooth is not just a matter of leaving him to cry. There is so much that you can do as parent to follow a structured sleep plan that will give your child’s this skill. Sleep is influenced by so many things; stimulation, routine, feeding habits, bedtime, health, discipline, and a trained professional can help you to implement changes in your child’s life that learn him the art to self sooth. Remember that crying is your child’s way of protesting change, and not all crying is bad.

Myth #6 ~ It is selfish of me to want to have my child sleep through the night.
Remember that teaching your child self soothing strategies are not about you! Consolidated, uninterrupted 11/12 hours of sleep is what your child needs.

By taking the necessary steps to achieve restful, consolidated sleep for your child you will be giving them a skill they will carry with them throughout their lives. And this is truly a gift.

The Author Petro Thamm is a mom, and founder of Good Night Baby, a certified Sleep Sense Consultancy. For more help on sleep related matters for your baby and/or toddler, contact Petro via email at: [email protected], or you can visit their website by clicking here or join their Facebook fan page.

Source: Information & Images from Goodnight Baby

Babies, Competitions, Family, Fathers, Lifestyle, Parenting

Castrol New Dad Baby Pack Giveaway

Castrol Magnatec is a product synonymous with protection and safety, “it is the engine oil that protects 24/7 with its intelligent molecules”. As Castrol protects your car’s engine, so too do we as parents need to protect the ones we love!

Parenting is an amazing, magical time in your life but with your new arrival comes greater responsibility and often there are changes that need to be made, to keep your bundle of joy safe. From covering wall sockets and the pool, to strapping them in safely in the car. With this in mind Castrol has put together a wonderful “New Dads Baby Pack”, with a new dads guide giving you great tips on all the things you need to know about parenting and safety, as well as plug safety covers and a few other fun items!

One of my goals for 2013 is to have more of a spirit of giving! So you can imagine my delight when I was approached to giveaway 1000 Castrol New Dad Baby Packs but this is not just any regular giveaway, you have the opportunity to nominate a worthy cause to receive the New Dad Baby Pack. It is great to always be on the receiving end but my challenge to you is to start the new year off with a spirit of giving!

So all you have to do is post your suggestion of a cause(it can be a hospital, a clinic) and help us reach our target of giving away 1000 to people in need! What an awesome way to start the New Year!

Once the giveaway has ended Castrol will pole the suggestions and choose who will receive these New Dad Baby Packs, based on your suggestions.

You Need To:

Visit the Castrol Facebook page and leave your suggestion of a worthy cause to donate the New Dad Baby Packs and remember to tag @Supermomblog in when you post your suggestion.
Give a shout out to tell others about this giveaway and help reach the target of giving away 1000 New Dad Baby Packs!

Competition Details:

This Giveaway will run from 14th January 2013, until the 31st January 2013.
Please leave a comment on this blog, below the post, stating that you have completed the above, along with your details in the comment section below this post (please use a valid email address).
By entering this giveaway you agree to all the rules and regulations stipulated on the Super Mom Lifestyle Website.

Babies, Children, Competitions, Family, Lifestyle, Parenting, Parenting Advice

Babies In Mind

Having a baby is a beautiful and wonderful thing, but it can sometimes feel traumatic, depressing and even frightening. Everyone has their own birth experience and stories to tell but very often they will neglect to mention the ‘best kept secret’, that babies are sometimes hard and parenthood – particularly motherhood can be gruelling but at the same time, of course, it is the best thing in the world.

I thought I would share some facts on motherhood and parenting with you:

• Women are more likely to become depressed in the first year after having a baby (and the last trimester in pregnancy) than any other time in their lives.
• 10-15% of mothers develop postnatal depression (PND), and in developing countries and poverty-stricken areas, the figures are much higher.
• Research has shown that 1/3 of Khayelitsha moms suffer from PND.
• Suicide is the leading cause of maternal death in developed countries.
• The new father can also get depressed. Dads often feel left out and unwanted when babies come along.

As a new mom, it’s so hard to feel frustrated, disappointed, confused, depressed and anxious when you’re expected to be blissfully happy. The media contributes to this problem by perpetuating a lie about motherhood and babies by publishing only pictures of young, beautiful, skinny, model mothers, and bouncy, smiley, contented babies. There are relatively few pictures in baby and parenting magazines of the graveyard shift, mothers looking and feeling like hell, trying to soothe an unhappy baby, trying to breastfeed a screaming baby who can’t seem to latch, etc. In the context of this fairy tale, idealized image of how motherhood and babies are supposed to be, the reality can feel like a huge let down. It can even feel like a betrayal.

The truth is that real babies can disappoint their parents sometimes …especially sick babies, colicky or reflux prone babies, unplanned babies, high need babies who cry a lot and are irritable and difficult to soothe, babies who don’t feed well, and babies who are abnormal or handicapped in some way. It’s very disappointing when you realize that your baby can’t meet your own unmet needs and he won’t be everything you want him to be.

It is vital to have a support system during parenting, especially in the first few months. The loving support of a spouse is really important! Part of the dad’s role in the beginning is to look after the new mother. Support from friends and family is also protective, as long as it is the kind of support that empowers rather than controls. Often your own mother can be the most powerful factor that either strengthens or undermines your ability to cope as a new mom. Connecting with other people, especially other new moms, is extremely important. New mothers are often socially isolated, and being alone with an unhappy baby is not easy.

If you find yourself struggling as a new parent or if you need emotional support or guidance with your baby, contact one of our Babies in Mind practitioners in your area, either to join one of our workshops, attend one of our talks, or for individual consultations. All our practitioners are mental health professionals with specialized training and expertise.

Babies in Mind, written by Jenny Perkel, is all about staying sane during the wonderful but challenging first year of your baby’s life. It is the guide to help you understand both yourself and your baby from a psychological perspective. Feeding, sleeping and crying usually bring the most stress to parents and their babies. They are the classic sanity wreckers. Read about these and other sanity wreckers like high need babies and postnatal depression.

We are excited to let you know that we have three copies of the Babies In Mind to giveaway! Babies In Mind, written by Jenny Perkel, author of Babies in Mind and Streets of Jewels, she is a clinical psychologist, a mother and a trained nurse / midwife who has published numerous articles about babies, children and parenting for South African magazines.

All you need to do to win a copy of this wonderful book for yourself or a friend is show us some Facebook love! Follow the simple steps on the entry form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Competition Details:

The Babies In MInd Giveaway will run from 2nd December 2012, until the 10th December 2012. The winner/s will then be selected via the Rafflecopter form and announced on my blog and on Facebook. The winners will also be notified via email.
Please leave a comment on this blog, below the post, stating that you have completed the above, along with your details in the comment section below this post (please use a valid email address). Your details will be used to validate your entry if you are selected as a winner.
Conditions of entry: Anyone may enter this giveaway but please be advised that the various companies sponsoring prizes on Super Mom Blog, are based in South Africa and therefore prizes will only be shipped within South Africa. The prizes may not be exchanged for cash.

*This Competition Has Ended*

This Competition Has Ended