If you have trouble reading this email, view it in your browser.
Specialising in babywear, kidswear and accessories.
I wanted to share with you the amazing birth of my gorgeous little Girl Laila. Although she is 2 now I still think her entrance into the world is a good one.
On the 10th July 2008 2:54am I was woken by pains in my tummy, I whacked my husband after an hour of wondering if "the" time had come. "Honey, I think it's time" sleepy and confused his reply was "Oh crap ok I won't go to work today!" At 6am I rang my mum and my sister who were to be my birthing partners along with my husband and they came with breakfast.
We walked the streets stopping every so often for a contraction and this went on for hours. I suddenly got the urge to go shopping! We went to the supermarket to get some foods that I thought I wanted to eat and as I turned into the shelf to contain myself from a contraction I looked down to see a little girl staring at me in sheer horror! The poor thing had no idea what was going on.. By 6pm that evening I had well and truly had enough, the contractions were anywhere between 8-10 mins apart and I was exhausted. I finally managed to talk the mid wives into allowing me to come in for a check-up as they had declined previously and told me I would be like this for days (OH MY GOODNESS!!!)
The examination proved that the baby was well and truly there but I hadn't dilated at all. So we went home and I sent mum and sis home too, my husband and I shared the lounge and every 8 mins I rolled off and pushed.. At 4am I told him to go to bed and I would try and sleep too. come 5:30 the contractions were so strong I jumped in the shower for some relief, I stayed in there for a good hour and a half (thank goodness for a massive water tank) and by this time it was 7am, we called the mid wives again who had said I wasn't in labour and I was only experiencing "pre labour" (OH MY GOODNESS AGAIN!!!)
I begged them to let me come in and they refused saying I hadn't even dilated but I knew deep down something was going on.. By this stage I was quite cranky and threw the phone at my husband and kept on pushing. My morning sickness had come back so I was sitting on the toilet leaning over the bath vomiting at the same time. they had told him to give me some panadol and sleep the pain away!! (Ha-ha anyone who has gone through labour would know it is impossible to sleep in THAT much pain) so I took the panadol and walked back to my room to hear a big "pop" something sounding like a water balloon breaking and the trickle of water down my legs, almost instantly I needed to go to the toilet so I tried walking back to the bathroom but couldn't close my legs, I said to my husband "I can't move, it's coming". He replied, "Get in the car." "But I can't move I can feel its hair". Again, "Get in the car don't be ridiculous" By this time I was sitting on the toilet pushing my baby girl out,
I begged him to call the ambulance which he did and they told him to get me off the toilet and put me on the bed with some sheets and towels, We did this and whilst on the phone to them they told him how to deliver a baby, He freaked out when he saw her little head popping out and said, "Bub you're doing a really good job, now just hang on a minute." He ran into the hallway and said to them, "Oh my god I can see its head." We had full length mirrors so I could see everything that was happening also!! So I kept pushing and with four big pushes this absolutely perfect, alert, healthy little girl entered our lives...
For five minutes it was just the three of us. He put her on my belly, she had a tiny cry, sneezed and then sucked her fingers and we looked at each other in total awe of the perfection we had created. Laila Joy born 9:35am 11th July 2008.. The ambulance turned up five minutes later; I managed to deliver the placenta in the ambulance on the side of the road in front of a work site which happened to be having their morning tea break. There is no stranger feeling than pushing out a placenta, legs in the air with three men leaning on their shovels smoking cigarettes! I turned to my husband who was smiling down on his baby girl and said, "You have done such a good job today, you can name her whatever you like." He replied, "Can I call her Laila??" Absolutely! She looks like a Laila and is the absolute apple of her daddy's eye. The bond that was made that day between the three of us is one that will never be replaced nor duplicated. We are all so happy and love each other with every little bit of our hearts. We will soon welcome another little person into our lives and Laila is super excited about being a sister.. I would give anything to experience that feeling again with this new little person but know it will have its own story to tell... I hope you enjoy my story, I love reliving the moment and sharing our joy with whoever will listen.
%%companyname%% | %%companyaddress%% | Ph: %%companyphone%% If you no longer wish to receive messages like this from The Bees Knees, you may unsubscribe at any time... but you'll miss out on lots of fabulous goodies!
Monte and Tex Kaftan
Monte and Tex Tea Dress
Welcome to our newsletter - 'The Buzz': the newsletter of The Bees Knees Kids. We aim to assist parents in the nurture of the children in their care.
In this edition of 'The Buzz' we will be featuring the Retailer of the Year!, how to get kids to sleep, a Mum of the Month who describes her amazing birth story, What's New in our online store, grabbing the latest Bargain, Book Recommendations, Useful Videos, a child friendly recipe, mumtrepreneurs and the opportunity to show off your child on our Fan Photos Wall of Fame!
As an Early Childhood Teacher I really believe that by providing our children with the best start to life with as many fun filled learning experiences in their own home we can nuture a real passion for learning!
HOORAY! We are so happy to share with everyone that we won The Best Online Retailer for Kidswear in Australia for 2010 with Kids Fashion Review. This was conducted in an Independent Kids Fashion Review Survey that was done by the Public and many customers. We want to just say a big thank you for you support and without your votes we could have won the award!
Monte& Tex is a NEW addition which we are so excited to have added ready for pre-ordering stock arriving early to mid September!!
Here's a wonderful article that may help you with your little treasure (and you!) to find sleep.
I remember being pregnant with my first child almost feeling overwhelmed about what was about to come although I was so excited and thrilled to meet my new baby I was also quite anxious about things like feeding, sleeping and coping with being a new Mum. It is a big role to fill and I don't think anyone can prepare enough for what comes with the demands of being a new Mum. I was fortunate enough to be watching Dr Phil at the time featuring Dr Harvey Karp who has such an incredible way with calming babies! As soon as I watched him in action I didn't even hesitate I bought the DVD The Happiest Baby on the Block and we watched a few times before Eli was born and then a few times when he was born and we used it all the time!
I remember people commenting on how calm he was and they would look at us puzzled with us holding him on his side totally content! Oh of course Sean would beam quite proudly and demonstrate to people all the 5's this was also great for him as he could give me a break from all the feeding and could be an active participant in helping as well as bonding with the children. I honestly don't know how I would have coped without the information that I had. Dr. Harvey Karp is a nationally renowned pediatrician, child development specialist and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the USC School of Medicine.
The Miracle Blanket is also a GREAT product that we stock to help with swaddling of new babies! We used these ourselves and LOVED it easy to used and it works! Watch babies go from crying to calm in seconds!!
This is a great recipe which I got from high school from our Home Economics class and still has an use to this day!!
Ingredients: 4 eggs 200ml sugar 250ml flour 1 ml salt 10ml baking powder 25ml water / 12.5 ml lemon juice
Method 1. Beat eggs and sugar until thick and creamy 2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt 3. Fold in dry ingredients 4. Use lemon juice / water to thin mixture down if necessary 5. Pour mixture into greased into a greased lined swiss roll tin 6. Bake at 200 degrees on the top shelf for approximately 10 minutes 7. While the swiss roll is baking wet and clean a dish towel and sprinkle it with sugar 8. When golden brown turn onto a damp cloth and carefully peel of baking paper trim off edges. 9. Roll it up and allow to cool 10. Unroll once it has cooled down and spread with your chosen filling. Our favourite is caramel YUM!
Mumtrepreneurs Meet Mumtrepreneurs of the Month Catherine and Michelle of Cushie Tushies!! As any expectant mum, Michelle Fowler wanted to provide the best for her new baby. After researching all the options available to clothe her baby’s bottom, she decided that Modern Cloth Nappies were ideal. The birth of Shell’s first son in 2005 provided the inspiration for the very first Cushie Tushies nappy: “I wanted the benefits of cloth with the ease of disposables – I was looking for all-in-one that was absorbent, easy to use, in fun, brightly coloured fabrics. At the time, there weren’t too many options within my limited budget that covered all the bases, so I created my own!” Cath (right)
It was such a fun and effective product that word spread. Pretty soon, Shell was making nappies for friends and strangers alike and, with the help of our customers’ feedback, the Cushie Tushie developed into the popular All In One cloth nappy that it is today. One friend who got into these early Cushie Tushies was Catherine Langman. Now business partner, Cath’s background is in corporate advertising. But the ethical dilemma of designing packaging for a tobacco company and the boredom of creating advertising for a bank drove the mother-of-two to seek a more professionally satisfying and family-friendly role. So, after having used Shell’s nappies for two years, Cath jumped at the opportunity to join her in business!
The Cushie Tushies team now includes two partners: founder Shell, as Design and Production Director and Cath as Marketing, Sales and Financial Director. We are both mothers who wish to strike a balance between work and family – spending quality time at home with our children whilst nurturing and challenging our professional, creative and business interests. Shell (left)
Shell and Cath are joined by a small staff, including Shell’s brother Damien, mother of four Belinda, and mum of one Rachel, in the warehouse. Helping out Cath are Heather in graphic design and mum of two Cecelia looking after wholesale accounts. We are also supported by a growing team of sales women – our Cushie Tushies Consultants are all mothers and former customers who are now spreading their love of cloth all around Australia! A typical day at Cushie Tushies is fairly hectic… The warehouse team are usually flat chat packing and dispatching orders, checking and receiving stock, refilling shelves and telling Cath that we need more brochures, bags or boxes.
Cath and Cecelia have been working hard at finding retail stockists to take on our range. We feel it is very important to make modern cloth as equally available as disposables – the customer demand is certainly there, but retailers can be very conservative and take some convincing! In amongst this hive of activity, we hear from a lot of customers, which we love! Many lovely comments and testimonials, and others who are still getting the hang of using cloth and who have various questions. We love helping them all out and take so much pleasure and pride in getting as many people using cloth successfully as possible!
We also enjoy and take seriously our role in our community, and as such we frequently run fundraising activities, for example our recent Jeans for Genes campaign where we donated 25% of the profit of every Denim nappy sold to the charity. We also have an ongoing commitment to the Working Wonders Foundation , where we donate 25% of the profit from each Dude nappy to help raise funds for much needed research into childhood illnesses.
GRAB A BARGAIN! We are HUGE fans of Cushie Tushies and use them ourselves! We have found it has saved alot of money and is so easy to use and is even more convenient than disposable nappies in that you save money it is easy care and you get to use them again and again! THIS MONTHS SPECIAL PROMOTION! GREAT OFFER FOR THE MONTH OF SETPEMBER ONE NOT TO BE MISSED!! BUY any 3 of the Basix Cushie Tushies and get the 4th FREE!! The Winter Range for 2010 is on sale and has been flying out the door. With discounts up to 40% off be sure to check it out and more at the The Bees Knees Kids! Until next time, keep your kids buzzing.
Kind Regards, Bernice
The Bees Knees Kids www.thebeeskneeskids.com.au
Dear %%First Name%%,
In each edition of 'The Buzz' we will be featuring a retailer of the year?, Th e Bees Knees Kids Story, a Mum of the Month highlighting pregnancies, birth stories, the first few weeks of the new arrival and more, what to do with a fussy eater, what's new in our online store, grabbing the latest bargain, book recommendations, helpful videos, and the opportunity to show off your child on our Fan Photos Wall of Fame!
As an Early Childhood Teacher I really believe that by providing our children with the best start to life with as many fun filled learning experiences in their own home we can nature a real passion for learning!
FIRSTLY we are very excited and honoured to announce that we have been nominated for Australian Kids Wear Online Retailer of the Year 2010 PLEASE support us and cast your vote if you haven’t done so already there are FABULOUS prizes to be won!!
Click on the link to vote and be in the running to win some great prizes!!
Sosooki, Sooki Baby and Chino Kids Summer 2010 have arrived and are excited huge range limited stock!
I would also like to say a HUGE thank you to my gorgeous sister-in-law Lorraine for standing in and helping out with all orders and deliveries while we were on holiday and whenever I need and extra helping hand! THANK YOU. You are AWESOME!
Bernice (on the left) and Lorraine (right).
When we conceived the idea of The Bees Knees Kids we wanted more than an online Boutique store where we could provide customers with great stand out of the crowd items. In our personal lives we have always loved to give and help in some way and this did not change in our Business venture. Before beginning The Bees Knees Kids we already had 5 sponsor children with Compassion and wanted a way to provide for even more and help those in need. I think because my roots are in Africa (I am a former South African) I have seen extreme poverty and have a real passion in helping in some way especially those babies and children without a voice...
Those babies and children that have been orphaned through aids, war or tragedy and don’t have any hope. We are really honoured and proud to be connected to Compassion and Feed the Children. These organisations help and save babies and children one and a time and give them a hope and a future and give them worth as a human being. As we at The Bees Knees Kids goes from strength to strength we get so excited because this means our giving increases and more children are rescued and that makes The Bees Knees Kids all worthwhile to us and we couldn’t do it without our valuable customers so for this we want to Thank You!
Compassion As we know here in Australia, early childhood is an extremely critical time for our children and sets the stage for their future well-being. Without a healthy start, a child’s chances of normal development are limited.
Tragically almost 9 million children die each year from preventable causes before they reach their fifth birthday. More than one third of these children die during the first month of life, usually at home and without access to essential health services and basic commodities that might save their lives.
The United Nations Millennium Development Goal number 4 aims to reduce the global under-five mortality rate by two thirds by the year 2015. Since 1990, the international community has reduced the number of children who die each year from preventable causes from 12.5 million to 8.8 million, but there is still a long way to go. We want to see another 5 million children alive and thriving each year by the year 2015. Compassion seeks to be a part of this through the Child Survival Program.
Compassion’s Child Survival Program directly addresses the issues of child mortality, malnutrition and preventable disease which needlessly threaten the lives of young children born into poverty by providing early interventions. Compassion works with mums from conception, providing pre-natal care, assisted child birth, post-natal care and income generating activities.
The Bees Knees Kids is partnering with Compassion by supporting the mothers of these children to help them to not only survive until they turn five, but to thrive in a healthy, happy environment. We invite you to work with us toward the goal of another 5 million children alive and thriving by 2015 by supporting Compassion’s child survival program.
If you would like to find out more about the ‘5 million more’ campaign, please check this our Compassion’s website to get more involved:
About Feed The ChildrenFounded in 1979, Feed The Children is consistently ranked as one of the 10 largest international charities in the U.S., based on private, non-government support. Feed The Children is a Christian, international, nonprofit relief organization with headquarters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that delivers food, medicine, clothing and other necessities to individuals, children and families who lack these essentials due to famine, war, poverty or natural disasters. In FY 2008, Feed The Children distributed more than 133 million pounds of food and other essentials to children and their families in all 50 states and internationally, supplementing more than 760,000 meals each day. Since its founding, the organization has reached out to help those in need in 119 countries around the globe. For more information, please visit:
Birthday Tutu’s Ages 1 to 3
Petti Sets
New range of Legwarmers!
Ruffled Tights
Summer ApparelSooki Sosooki BabyChino Kids
Tank Tops
Coming Soon!
I am not sure if anyone else out there feels like me but at times when it comes to cooking and preparing meals I feel so unmotivated especially when I go to all of the effort of making something really great and the kids won’t touch it!! Is there anyone else out there with fussy eaters? Here is some great tips from Raising Children’s Network to help us Mums out!
Recipe Ideas and Tips
My Birth Experience – Becci Holloway Barry John – 3lb 6oz and Rachel Anne – 2lb 12oz (born 30th Jan 2009 gestation; 30wks)
19th Jan 2009: I had been flown to Perth (from Geraldton) at 28 weeks due to ruptured membranes (scientific way of saying my waters broke). I had had the most relaxing enjoyable pregnancy so it was very much a surprise however we did know there was a risk of early delivery seeing as we were having twins. It was very much a waiting game. No one could tell me when I would be giving birth it was just a matter of waiting and trying to keep them in as long as possible. The first 2 days I received 2 Steroid injections to promote lung development so that if our twins were born at 28 weeks they would have a better chance of having good lungs.
The next 10 days involved a lot of lying down, ultrasounds and blood tests not to mention the twice daily heart rate checks that involved me lying completely still while being attached to a machine that read their heart rates and breathing patterns. It was pretty boring and after a week they finally let me out for one hour it was bliss... But then it was back to bed rest... Needless to say I watched a lot of Foxtel over those few days Thanks to my Grandparents who hired me the TV instead of buying flowers... It was a Godsend...
Thursday 29th Jan 10: 8.30pm I had had a sore back the entire time I was in Hospital. The beds were not very comfy and being bed ridden for 10 days had made me quite stiff not to mention the impact 2 babies was having on my back, so when my back pain got a little worse I thought nothing of it. It was obviously just the bed I thought. I decided to take a hot shower... that always helped if I had a sore back while pregnant... This brought no relief so after nearly 2 weeks of saying NO to Panadol I called the nurse and asked for some. This raised alarm bells with her as they had offered me panadol while I had been there and I kept saying No for fear of hurting the babies they assured me it was safe but I still had my reservations. I assured her I was not in labour... I didn’t even have contractions, how could I be? I had spoken to my mum (who lived near King Eddies) not long before and had told her about my back pain. I could almost hear the smile in her voice as she said ‘I think you’re in labour darling’. The nurse laid me down and felt my stomach and sure enough much to my surprise I was having contractions. I called my husband who was in Geraldton at the time and told him to keep the phone nearby as I was heading to the labour ward and he would get a call if we needed him to make the 4 ½ hour journey to Perth. I was taken to the labour ward where a nurse (and student doctor) checked to see how far I was dilated. After a manual check they realised I was 4cm. That was it... it was all on from there. I called my husband and he started his journey. Mum was 20 minutes away although it felt like a lot longer.
10pm: In the labour suit, after 6mnths of saying I would never have an epidural, I was begging for it. There was a wait while the anaesthetist attended to the lady next door. While waiting I was given the gas which was not quite the blissful experience I thought it would be. I felt drunk (which is a feeling I actually don’t like) so it seemed to not help the way I had planned it to. Pete had called once and after hearing me willowing in pain and self-pity in the background he decided it best not to call again and to just drive as fast as he could. I was now well and truly in labour and feeling every contraction more intensely then the last. And to be honest I have no idea how far apart they were... I was leaving the timing up to the nurses. By this point there were 2 Midwives, 2 student nurses, 2 Paediatricians, 2 student peads, 1 Surgeon (just in case), my mum and me. Not to mention the 3 students that kept popping their heads in to have a look throughout the night. We were quite the circus act. After what seemed to be about 12 hours (which was really more like 1) the anaesthetists was finally here...
We opted for the hour spinal block which allowed me to feel contractions and know when to push without the intense pain. He did get it in the wrong spot the first time but at the second attempt it was in and almost instantly I felt relieved. It was now 12am 30th Jan 2009.
12.15am The contractions were coming fast and strong... no pain but still I felt them. All of a sudden I had a massive urge to push. The nurses had their back to me at that time. One turned ‘did you just push?’ she asked. ‘I can’t help it. I’m trying not to’. That was a clear sign that something was about to happen so they told me to push when I felt the urge... It felt like only a few minutes of pushing and our first babies head was out... ‘One more big push’ the nurse said..... It’s a girl... She was so tiny and yet so perfect. There was no time for the baby on the chest moment. She went straight to the peads to be checked. This was 12.35am. Not long after Rachel was born, Peter called he was only half way to Perth. He had missed the first baby would he make it for the second.
Believe it or not I managed to get in about 10 minutes sleep (light sleep but sleep none the less). There was one nurse sitting beside me holding my stomach to prevent our second baby from flipping as he was head down and we wanted him to stay that way. He was quite high up so one of the doctors decided to manually pull him down... That was it I lost all my dignity then... lol While she was trying to get a grip of him, she popped his waters and all of a sudden I hears ‘Quick! Get the stirrups’. After our babies waters had been popped its heart rate dropped so it was all hands on deck to get him out. They assured me this was fine and that it would just help encourage the baby and then it could be monitored properly. Again it was only a few pushes and the ‘one more big push, here it comes...’ Our little boy... He was beautiful. They put him on my chest for all of 5 seconds... it was the best 5seconds id ever experienced. He was again so tiny and yet the most perfect thing I had ever seen.
They were both taken to the Neonatal Care Unit (NCU) and I had a chance to get cleaned up and showered while I waited for Pete. Sadly he missed both births. I chose to wait for him before I went to see them so we could meet our babies together. When he finally got there we made our way to the nursery to see them. They were so small. Newborn nappies were folded in half to fit them and they were wrapped in bubble wrap to keep them warm. They were both on oxygen. It was very easy to become intimidated by all the machines, cords and beeping in the nursery but we quickly learned what all the beeps meant. Barry and Rachel were in Hospital four weeks (Barry) and 7weeks (Rachel) which very little setbacks. There was jaundice and Rach had some issues putting weight on but over all they did amazingly. They were tube fed for 6 weeks and then were slowly introduced to breast/bottle feeding. A few extra tests and a couple of extra doctor’s appointments in the first year but other than that they are no different from any children born full term. It could have been a lot worse we were very blessed to have 2 healthy happy babies.
GRAB A BARGAIN!Our Winter Rangefor 2010 is on sale and has been flying out the door. Check it out and more at the The Bees Knees Kids! Until next time, keep your kids buzzing.
Kind Regards,Bernice
The Bees Knees Kidswww.thebeeskneeskids.com.au
%%companyname%% | %%companyaddress%% | Ph: %%companyphone%%If you no longer wish to receive messages like this from The Bees Knees, you may unsubscribe at any time... but you'll miss out on lots of fabulous goodies!
Welcome
Welcome to our newsletter - 'The Buzz': the newsletter of The Bees Knees Kids. We aim to assist parents in the nurture of the children in their care. In each edition of 'The Buzz' we will be featuring practical parenting strategies; a Mum of the Month highlighting pregnancies, birth stories, the first few weeks of the new arrival and more; child friendly recipes; what's new in our online store, grabbing the latest bargain; book recommendations; helpful videos; and the opportunity to show off your child on our Fan Photos Wall of Fame!
We would like to welcome our newest member of the team on 'The Buzz': Lori Levin, our resident lifestyle and fitness guru. As an Early Childhood Teacher I really believe that by providing our children with the best start to life with as many fun filled learning experiences in their own home we can nature a real passion for learning!
Taming Terrible Tantrums by Bernice Greenacre (Bachelor of Education - Early Childhood Studies) I have found this a challenge to deal with especially recently with our Miss 22 month old. I find that these occur more when: * She gets frustrated if she is unable to do something by herself * Is trying to communicate something * Is over tired, hungry or thirsty * Her brother takes something off her
Usually her tantrums can last from 2-5 minutes and this can be VERY tiring and frustrating for both of us! I definitely believe that temperaments have much to do with tantrums too as honestly I cannot recall Eli (our son) being this challenging!
Something that I have used and find really works is the Happiest Toddler on the Block by Dr Harvey Karp we also used his The Happiest Baby on the Block for when the children were newborns and it saved our life, sanity and sleep! That is why we thought we would give the Happiest Toddler on the Block a go too. Using these strategies I have found have reduced the time and frequency of tantrums which is a huge relief!
The Raising Children Network also has an excellent article on Taming Terrible Tantrums. We have found this to be most beneficial. Have fun being a lion (tantrum) tamer!
Lifestyle and Fitness for Mums by Lori Levin
What do you do? As an accredited Fitness Professional and contributing Holistic Lifestyle & Fitness Expert on Australia’s Leading Beauty Destination, beautyheaven.com.au – I walk and talk women’s wellness. By understanding the connection between mind and body, and its relationship to strength, weight & stress management, ageing and healing we can empower ourselves to make the right choices each day that count. Join me, enjoy this journey of wisdom with your sisters, mothers, daughters, and friends, and most of all - celebrate you along the way. I am all about empowering women to feel fabulous – losing weight, gaining wisdom, and stretching their confidence! I help women to maximise their workout (we do small things to jeopardise our hard work without knowing it!), and empower them with handy nutrition and lifestyle tricks. Setting goals and reaching them is the best way to fabulous! Mums the Word! Keeping mum happy is where is all starts, and critical to the happiness of the whole family. Although I am yet to be a mum, I see it with my sister whose bub Jayda is now 6 months, with friends, and of course with my mums & bubs clients. Both pre and post pregnancy is such a wonderful time, but also a time when our bodies change so dramatically. Motherhood is a crazy busy time - so a little self love goes a long way! And I have seen this little love (in the form of exercise and self nurturing) make a dramatic difference to mums stress levels, weight management, and most importantly self esteem. Go on - nurture yourself to nurture your family! What’s the one thing you can’t live without? I am an absolute tea fanatic (herbals of course)! Sencha green, ginger, liquorice, ginseng, Rooibos and Black Adder tea - my favourite! Hot water and a tea bag - easily satisfied huh? What do you do to relax? My two favourite things are yoga and chilling out at home. Yoga is time out from the stresses of the world – leaves me feeling relaxed, rejuvenated and energised! Sometimes just lying on my comfy couch with tea and a DVD is on the relax agenda too! My Gift to You - Get Moving for Half Price! I would love to help mums feel fit and fabulous in person! Your time is now Sydney mums (fortunately or unfortunately I work in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs!) so grab your runners, put your best foot forward and let’s move to change! I know mums have lots of expenses – so I’m giving you a specially discounted gift rate (HALF PRICE INFACT!), making it more affordable than ever. For a short time (first come first serve!) contact me through my blog) for more details about one on one and small group training. Grab some friends and swap food for fit - time to have a laugh, de-stress, and maybe even burn some calories! Bubs and mums classes are available too!* *Conditions Apply.
What's New?
Further Reading
Useful Videos
Book Recommendations
Mum of the Month
Jessica's birth story of Taelynn - 17th June 2008. The right picture is at birth and below is a family pic at 3 months old (Sept 08).
I went to our overdue appointment at the hospital on the 16th June 2008. At this stage I was 40+5 weeks and ready for my baby to come. I was monitored for an hour and then received an ultrasound to find out amniotic fluid levels were low, and I needed to see a doctor to discuss whether an induction would be done now or tomorrow. Luckily we were booked in for the next day, at 6.45am. At this stage my cervix was soft but no dilation so I would be hooked up to Oxytocin to get things started.
On what seemed like a long trip to the hospital we arrived did all the paper work and were checked into our room at 7.15 am and I was hooked up to the CTG. At 8 am a midwife attempted to break my water. At this stage due to low amniotic fluid she was unable to to so. After 40 minutes of trying a head doctor came in and finally broke the sack. There was no water al all, but she showed me my baby's hair on the hook so she knew she had broke it.
In the meantime contractions started slowly and things started moving by themselves after my water was broken. At 2.30 pm I was checked to be 5 cm dilated already and was placed on Oxytocin to get things moving a lot faster. I tried the gas which didn't work and I didn't like it so I moved to the exercise ball. With the support of my partner and lovely parents we got through this tough part. After pain started getting worse and not having any time between contractions I was told to stay on the bed as I need the CTG left on unless I went to the toilet. Sadly I had to stay in the bed and not move. At around 4 pm I asked for the epidural. After 2 attempts this was done and I was surprised by how little it hurt!
After the epidural was inserted I told them I was feeling really bad pressure. They checked to find out I was at 10 cm dilated. I was very surprised and shocked they were by how quickly this had happened and I was told I shouldn't have received the epidural this late towards the end. If only they had known. So I was left with the medication for the epidural in my back and was advised I would not be hooked up to the machine for more medication. It would last for about 45 minutes then I would have my baby naturally. All I thought was no, how am I going to do this?!
Still hooked up to the CTG my baby's heartbeat started to drop. I was advised the baby was in distress and needed to come as soon as possible. All of a sudden the room went from me, family and a midwife to 4 midwifes and 3 doctors. They were all saying push you can do this. They wanted the baby out. The heartbeat was down to 75 bpm, and I was told the baby needed to come out now or I would be taken up to theatre for an emergency C-section. My partner and Mother looked at me and said come on you can do this, you know you can, your so strong! This meant the world to me I had there support and my midwife was great!
At 4.45pm I started pushing. They used the vaccum to assist in the birth and at 5.35 pm after a very painful scream from me our beautiful daughter, Taelynn, was born weighing in at 5lb 14oz and 46cm in length. She was immediately placed on my chest and the special bond began. I then delivered the placenta and received stiches. After 5 local anaesthetics and a lot of pain it was all done. I remember looking down at my daughter thinking I did it, and you were the little baby kicking me inside. You were worth it all!
Bees Knees Kid for July
Congratulations Genevieve!
Playtime Pizza
Ingredients: 1x store bought pizza base or pita bread 2x rashers of bacon 1/2 cup pineapple chopped 6 cherry tomatoes halved 6 mushrooms slices 1/4 chopped Spanish onion 10 olives chopped 2 cups of cheese 2 tablespoons of jar pasta sauce
This recipe is "child's play" and can be adapted to make it harder for older children. We have everything chopped ready to go so the kids just pile it onto the base. Its great for hiding lots of vegetables as every child loves pizza. But when they make it themselves they eat even more. While we made it, we talked about making yummy healthy food that's good for your body and makes you strong and healthy. We also named each ingredient as the kids piled them onto the base.
1) Spread pasta sauce on the pizza base 2) Sprinkle with grated cheese 3) Add toppings of your choice to the pizza base 4) Add the remainder of the cheese to the pizza 5) Place in the oven until golden brown and the cheese has melted. 6) Serve the pizza with cheesy toast cut into "soldiers"
Thanks to mums Rochelle and Felicity for sending in this great recipe. Pics (above) is Annabelle and Luke getting into it!
GRAB A BARGAIN! Chino Kids is a highly fashionable clothing line and it happens to be on sale. Our Winter Range for 2010 has been flying out the door. Check it out and more at the The Bees Knees Kids! Until next time, keep your kids buzzing.
Kind Regards,
Bernice
Gingerbread Biscuits by Bernice Great things to keep you busy this Winter!! Well winter is upon us and many of us like to be indoors keeping warm! I am not sure with you but with my kids if we are inside for too long they can become quite restless and board so why not keep them busy with great activities? A great activity to do around a story is The Gingerbread Man why not make great Gingerbread Men as well as make some play dough where the children can rein act the story or make your own gingerbread men and story characters out of paper! Ingredients: 1/3 of a cup of golden syrup Two eggs 125 grams of butter One teaspoon of cinnamon One cup of self raising flour 1/3 of a cup of brown sugar One teaspoon of ground ginger One teaspoon of vanilla essence Two cups of plain flour Instructions: 1. Place the butter, the brown sugar and the golden syrup in a saucepan over a low heat until the ingredients have melted and allow the mixture to cool. 2. Sift the ground ginger, the self raising flour, plain flour, the cinnamon and place into a large bowl, make a well in the add the eggs, the vanilla and cooled syrup mixture. 3. Mix together well. 4. Knead the ingredients to form a soft dough, then roll the dough out on a floured surface and cut out gingerbread men shapes. 5. Place the cut out gingerbread men onto greased baking trays and bake for about fifteen minutes at 160 degrees. 6. Decorate your gingerbread men with icing and chocolate buttons and whatever you like.
