Covid Christmas

In 2020 we had a far more quiet Christmas than usual due to restrictions. It was just my dad, who was in our bubble, that came over. My gregarious dad is like having three people all at once so it still felt quite lively, but even he couldn’t come over this time.

It would be the first time we’d have Christmas just us five. The Boxing Day plans, which should have seen my brother and his girlfriend, my mother-in-law and brother-in-laws all coming over had to be cancelled. I won’t lie, it was hugely disappointing.

The kids took the news better than us. They were buoyed, no doubt, by the prospect of presents. They were also happy that I’d taken off the days running up to Christmas Day. Proof yet again of their resilience and positivity.

Thankfully neither had symptoms beyond a mild cough/cold; and that’s the main thing I had to bear in mind to help quell my disappointment. My husband and I felt rather deflated, especially Matt who loves cooking for people. We had all manner of culinary treats stacked up in the fridge, freezer and cupboards ready to feed a lot more than five people over the two days.

Getting busy in the kitchen (just for us)

In the run up to Christmas Day, we made some of the kids’ favourite nibbles of Pizzette and created our first ever gingerbread house (thanks Lidl). We even attempted our first ever ‘Cheat’s’ churros Nutella Christmas tree, which was fun, pretty simple to make and very, very tasty.

Games and puzzle

Isolation meant that the annual Christmas puzzle challenge was completed far quicker than usual. We played even more games than normal. The kids have stayed up really late pretty much every day of the holidays, which has meant we’ve watched loads of films.

Me time

What was meant to be a family pre-Christmas day out, which included the annual tradition of getting our Christmas cheese from La Fromagerie, meeting my uncle, and having a general mooch about London was cancelled. I ended up going to get the cheese on my own. After being in isolation for 10 days I decided to make the most of it and took myself out for lunch. It was surprisingly nice and I enjoyed it.

I was able to get some last minute stocking fillers and do other Christmas bits and bobs super efficiently. However, I felt huge remorse whenever I saw something Christmassy that I wanted the kids to see too. This dissipated when I was greeted with the below scene on my return. They’d spent several happy hours on the Nintendo Switch with dad!

Christmas Eve

Cleaning the house (for Santa?) was followed by more games and a fire outside in the evening where we had some nibbles by candlelight. Then it was linguine alle vongole (linguine pasta with clams) as part of my nod to the Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes.

Later the girls opened their Christmas Eve box, which included treats we could tuck into whilst we watched more films and Christmas TV! It also included a few little pampering items, cosy socks, BrainBox game and ‘Christmas dresses’ for them all to wear the next day. In the evening Matt and I treated ourselves.

Meals on wheels

My dad gets our annual Italian Christmas cake. He brought it over and we cut it in half as he was now going to spend Christmas Day with my brother.

In return, Matt provided pre-prepped beef Wellington, dauphinoise potatoes, and lobsters that he’d cooked that day. Alongside this he also provided some very good wine! It was nice to know that we’d still be a part of their day even though we weren’t going to be together. Matt was happy that he had cooked for people in addition to us five.

Christmas Day

The morning started off as usual with stockings opened in our room. We had a lovely breakfast and then began opening the main presents.

Lunch was fabulous as always. We took time to savour it and the girls remained sat down for over two hours. We interspersed with crackers with their silly jokes and games.

After lunch we took proper time out to play with presents and play more games and watch more films! We extended this into Boxing Day. Though we missed having guests, we filled the day with lots of fun and laughter. We also FaceTimed relatives Christmas was saved!

The post Covid Christmas – Festivities in Isolation appeared first on The Parent Social.

10 things I learnt during the weaning journey

Feeding fun.

1) Babies can eat prawns from six months

2) From one year of age your child can eat brie, camembert and other mould-ripened soft cheeses (made with pasteurised milk)

3) Raw kidney beans are poisonous (cooked kidney beans are fine)

4) Children can’t eat honey until they are one due to the risk of botulism

5) From six months babies can have cow’s milk added to their food and from one can have full fat milk as a main drink

6) Little ones can have eggs in any shape or form, as long as they are well-cooked, from six months

7) Think in terms of what your child has eaten in a week as opposed to during one meal or even during a whole day (easier said than done I know)

8) It’s fine to pep food up with herbs and spices from 6 months. I’m talking about aromatic spices as opposed to ‘hot’ spices.  That said, I introduced my twins to chilli con carne, which included 1tsp of chilli powder, at around 9-10 months. You can find the recipe I use on this post.

9) You can give pureed meat, chicken or fish from six months (I started with milder-tasting fish and chicken before quickly moving onto red meats)

10) You can give finger foods from six months. Large pieces/slices/chunks of steamed veggies, and fruits are ideal. As are sticks of cheese and grissini aka bread sticks (check for salt content though)

Check out: The first steps in negotiating the minefield of baby weaning

Common weaning and feeding problems and ways to resolve them

The post 10 Useful Facts I Gleaned from Weaning appeared first on The Parent Social.

I had a well balanced diet so had no worries about my nutrition and took Pregnacare pre-conception and throughout pregnancy (and whilst breast-feeding), so was happy with my vitamin intake and getting that all-important folic acid. However, the things to avoid seemed like an absolute minefield.

Initially it felt like I had to give up pretty much everything I enjoyed and I seemed to be forever Googling to see if something was on the banned list.

Cooked shellfish is fine

Foods to avoid

Following some research I reassured myself that not everything was a threat to an unborn baby. I differentiated between what could make me ill (it’s easier to get food poisoning when pregnant and the effects are exaggerated) and what could potentially harm an unborn baby. What follows are foods that are in the latter category.

Listeriosis

Anything that can contain listeria bacteria can cause listeriosis. This infection in pregnant women can cause severe illness in a newborn and can even lead to miscarriage or stillbirth.

To avoid this bacteria don’t eat mould-ripened soft cheeses or soft blue-veined cheeses. This includes: Brie, Camembert, Chèvre, Danish blue, Gorgonzola and Roquefort. All types of pate are off the menu for the same reason.

That said, you could have any of the cheeses above if they are thoroughly cooked through (ie piping hot). For example if they form a pasta filling or come as a hot sauce; you can even indulge in a baked Camembert.

Toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis, caused by a parasite, is fairly common and you may have already had it without even knowing it. However, if contracted when pregnant it can cause problems such as blindness and brain damage. The parasite can be found in undercooked or raw meat, so make sure meat is well cooked and, in the case of red meat, there is no pink showing. It can also be found in cured meat such as salami and Parma ham; and in unpasteurised goats’ milk.

Mercury

High levels of mercury can harm a developing baby’s nervous system. Therefore don’t eat shark, swordfish and marlin. Tuna consumption should be limited. However, anything up to four medium-size cans in a week is fine (or two steaks).  For the same reason you shouldn’t have more than two portions of oily fish a week (fresh tuna, mackerel, sardines and trout).

Vitamin A

Too much vitamin A can damage the development of cells in foetuses and lead to conditions such as Spina Bifida. Aside from not having any supplements containing vitamin A (Pregnacare doesn’t), you should avoid eating things like liver.

Peanuts – back on the menu

When I was pregnant with my first daughter I experienced an energy slump on my way back from work and devoured a Snickers bar in five seconds. I then realised with horror that peanuts were iffy at best and a no-no if there was a family history of allergies such as hay fever, asthma or eczema. No damage was done and now the advice to avoid them has been revised.

You might be interested in:

10 Useful facts I gleaned from weaning 

The post Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy appeared first on The Parent Social.