Carbon Monoxide Campaign

Despite the constant adverts and efforts by the fire brigade, so many of us are rubbish about checking our smoke alarms regularly or even having them properly installed at all. But what about other health and safety essentials? While in Oman I lived in three houses, none of which had smoke alarms and trying to buy a smoke alarm was impossible. When we had the Mini Grumpy Egyptian I swore I would do everything I could to protect her, but while coming up with my lists of things I had to get done before her birth, I totally forgot about a carbon monoxide detector.

After moving back to the UK, we do have one in the kitchen, but I couldn’t tell you when it was last tested or shamelessly if it even works. And it is this forgetfulness that a campaign by Carbon Monoxide – Be Alarmed is trying to tackle by making people aware how deadly not having a working detector can be. According to Department of Health statistics, 50 people die each year in the UK from Carbon Monoxide poisoning and another 4,000 are treated in hospital, but the numbers are thought to be higher due to the symptoms of poisoning being confused with a bad flu or sleepiness.

I was unaware of this campaign until I came across it on CupcakeMumma, who kindly agreed to let me link to her post. Click HERE to read what she wrote. I have also included the useful infographic that she included on her blog within this post.

I am off to test mine now, what are you waiting for?

The Egyptian Mummy

Buying second-hand

When we found out that I was pregnant, The Grumpy Egyptian and I began planning what we were going to buy for our little one, but not once did the idea of buying second-hand come up. That was until we found out how much things for babies cost! It seems like shops take a cheap item, add the word baby to it and an extra couple of pounds. Where we were living in Oman, there was quite an active group on Facebook that allowed parents to sell baby/children items they no longer needed rather cheaply. However once we moved back to the UK I struggled to find a similar group in my hometown.

Some of my fave second-hand buys: (L-R) never used sleeping bag from Mama's & Papas, Stacking cubes and Animal Spinner

A Google search found me a group called Little Pickles Markets who organise markets for parents to sell their good-quality used items. I went along to one of these a couple of weeks ago in Winchester and despite only taking £17 ended up with numerous bags of toys, clothes, a musical mobile and books. To get across how good value this all was, I saw the same musical mobile for sale in a shop for £35… I paid £4 for this one and it looks as good as new. Aside from the usual stuff, people were also selling cots, pregnancy pillows, pushchairs, walkers and maternity clothes.

On my local NCT website, I found out about its Nearly New Sale that takes place twice a year so have put November 9 in my diary ready for that one.There are also a few websites I keep an eye out on and these include Preloved, Gumtree, Emmaus and Baby Swap or Shop.

Wooden Noah's Ark with a load of animals hidden away inside

I used to be a bit funny about going through charity shops as I remember them being musty places full of granny clothes, but that seems to have changed. A recent rumble through a couple landed me two Annabel Karmel baby recipe/weaning books, a Baby Gap coat for winter, a gorgeous puffball skirt that the Mini Grumpy Egyptian is going to look adorable in, as well as some sound books for 50p! I love wooden toys so much more than modern plastic ones so have snapped a few of those up as well for when MGE gets a bit bigger.

I am certainly going to be a lot less prudish about buying second-hand now and if anything quite enjoy searching through stuff for little hidden gems. What has been your best second-hand find? Any suggestions for other sites to keep an eye out for?

The Egyptian Mummy

Mummy friends

Picture the scene. Girl walks into room with other girls she doesn’t know – they all seem to already know each other – and inside she is screaming, “Please like me! Look I also have a Cath Kidston changing bag!” No I’m not talking about the first day at school, but my first visit to the baby weighing clinic after the birth of the Mini Grumpy Egyptian (MGE).

Yes we are all grownups, but there is still that little girl inside that doesn’t want to sit on her own and get picked last at sports. I had been away from my hometown for 3 years when I went to university and then abroad for 4.5 years so had grown apart from many of my old friends, while the remaining chums were spread out around the world. On my return to the UK, I got on great with my health visitor so when she suggested I visit the open clinic to weigh the MGE and make new friends I thought how hard can it be….

Oh. My. God. It was like being back at school, but mummy-style. There were the Yummy Mummys  on one side with buggies so fancy they looked like NASA made them, perfectly highlighted hair  and non-vomit covered clothes who sat there talking about organic baby food and how quickly they got back into their pre-baby jeans. And then there were the Other Mummys of which I am firmly a member of with hair all over the place, eyebrows that wouldn’t look out of place on Robert Pattinson, smears of who knows what on their shoulders, tummies that resemble jelly and eye-bags so big there isn’t enough make-up in the world to cover them.

I’d always hoped that after birth I would suddenly morph into one of these yummy mummys, but my genes and indeed my jeans seem to be fighting that transformation. So for now I will stick with my two normal mummy friends for now – you know the ones who consider cake a food group, carry sweets in their bags to bribe the kids and think dressing up involves changing their top to something not covered in sick - and leave those calorie counting ubermums to carry on together.

Were you one of the first in your group of friends to have kids? How did you find making new mummy friends? Any funny stories?

The Egyptian Mummy

New mum onboard

I moved to Muscat four and a half years ago from the UK with the intention of working two years and then moving back to the UK. A couple of months in and I met The Grumpy Egyptian (TGE) and things changed forever. Now we are married and life just got more exciting with the introduction of Mini Grumpy Egyptian (MGE) back in May 2013.When I was without kids I used to tease my friends that had children about how they were always the last one to turn up at the coffee shop, the first one to leave and instead of Chanel No 5 they were wearing Eau de Baby Powder (and that was the lucky ones!). They always smiled and I thought they were just humouring me, but now I know it was a knowing smile as they knew I was pregnant and soon I was going to be the one being teased.

When the MGE came into our lives she came with quite a spectacular bang and demanded to come out a couple of weeks early. As I recovered in the hospital room, I found myself staring at this beautiful bundle of joy that happily slept and woke almost like clockwork every two hours for a feed/change/cuddle and then dozed off again.

Despite reading the books and having younger siblings, I started to fool myself that perhaps I was going to be one of those yummy mummy types that you see other mums glaring at. Oh how wrong I was. The day after we got MGE home, the screaming and the sleepless nights began. Now I have competitions with people – when I manage to go out/talk long enough on the phone – about who has slept the least.

Now we have moved back to the UK and this blog is going to act as a way of me sharing my adventures as a new mum as well as hopefully helping some other new mums realise things never go to plan - and there is nothing wrong with that!

See you soon :)

The Egyptian Mummy (who isn't really Egyptian!)