Make It With Words - Father's Day Gift Idea

Anyone who knows me knows that I love nothing more than a personalised gift.

The effort and thought that goes into picking the right one, making the personal touches and choosing a design that's suited best to the person you are giving it to.

So of course I am delighted to be reviewing an item from the lovely people over at 

Make It With Words, who specialise in bespoke gifts, prints and accessories.

The packaging itself is so pretty and the gift came really well presented. All ready to give to my recipient without me having to make any final touches. 

I chose the Best Grandad coaster as it's perfect for Luke's tea drinking Grandad and I liked the message as it had meaning for both Dad and Grandad. It's made form cherrywood with a felt bottom to protect those surfaces. We got it personalised with mine and Luke's name. This particular one is €12.50. 

Delivery was super fast and my item was with me within 2 days. I was very impressed with the quality of the product and the short time frame it took to reach us.

There have a whole range of different gift ideas over on the website and the team have very kindly offered all readers of Tattooed Lady With A Baby a 20% discount code!. So if you are stuck for gift ideas for this coming weekend, why not check out Make It With Words and use the following discount code: MAKEITFORDAD17

4 Years Old

Today you are 4. 

Oh sweet boy where has the time gone?! 

You light up my world in a way that I never could have imagined. 

Every morning when I see your sleepy little head in front of my face, ready to start another day, my heart bursts with pride that little bit more. No matter what time of the morning, even those mornings when I can't even open my eyes, you make it that little bit easier. 

Your understanding of the world around you amazes me everyday, you are so clued in and there is definitely no wool being pulled over your eyes. You want the facts, straight answers, none of this fobbing you off with baby explanations. Your Nanny says I was just like you as a child. 

Once we explain something to you and not just spring it on you out of the blue, you are ok with it. This mostly applies to when I may have to leave you for a while outside of my usual work hours. You'll ask me if I have a meeting or an exercise class to go to, or if Dad is going out to football, it's very funny actually.

You have no idea how much I love your random bursts of affection, the kiss on the cheek or the hug out of the blue, the "I missed you" after I come home from work or the "I love you Mom" for no reason other than you want me to know that. You are such a loving boy and I hope it's something you'll always be. Of course you know this also gets you out of trouble sometimes too.

I love the excitement in your voice when you finally get a chance to tell me about your day, who you played with at preschool, what you learned that day and the utter pride in the pictures that have made that week. Sometimes when I ask you how was school, you respond with "I didn't make you a picture today" and a bit of a sad look but that's ok. 

I love our Sunday morning chills after Dad has gone to work and we climb back into my bed for a while, you watching your tablet, me just relaxing and enjoying the quiet time and we lie there in contentment. I relish those moments because I know that all too soon you'll be running out the door to play with your friends on the weekends, not chilling out with your Mama. 

Your new thing at the moment is, when I lie down with you at night time, you snuggle down to bring our foreheads together and you tell me that I have to stay there forever with you, you are a heartbreaker! 

We can't forget that you a total diva either, oh my can you turn on the hysterics when you want to. Just tonight it was because your Dad said he had to put your cream on your face, like we do every night and you had a meltdown over it. 

Your are brave but cautious, easy going but serious when it matters, happy but an emotional little thing. 

It seems like only a few months ago I was bringing you home from the hospital, totally unaware of what was ahead of us but d'ya know what? We are doing just fine.

Happy Birthday my little buddy

xxx

5 Essential Baby Items

Having a new baby around the house recently (well, my godson is 6 months now but he's still the newest baby!) got me thinking about items that came in useful to me when L was a baby. 

I definitely had way more stuff than necessary or some things that never even got used or items that were used a few times but were actually more of hindrance than anything. 

So I've complied a list of the 5 items that I found the most useful when having a new baby in the house. 

1. Cosatto Changing Unit  - This was a life saver for me. I suffer with a bad back form an old RTA injury and this made changing, washing, dressing etc so much easier as I didn't have to bend down. We kept it in the alcove under stairs and wheeled it our when needed. It's great for storage too. I have safely stored away in the attic just in case there's a need to use it again. This is the one we had and we actually got it for a absolute bargain second hand for €30.00 and it was like brand new.

   

   
   

2. Bath Seat - This made bath time so much easier and more relaxed. We were given one of these when L was born and I was little unsure at the start but it was much more convenient to bath him lying in this rather than trying to lean over the bath and hold him. Also I;m not sure about anyone else but holding a baby in water is quite stressful and I was always afraid he'd slip or something! Bath time was a nightly feature during the bed time routine so we got lot of use out of it. 
   
   
   
3. Tommee Tippee Bottle Warmer  - L was bottle fed and we would prep his bottles for the day every morning. I didn't like the idea of giving him a cold bottle so would just pop it into the bottle warmer for a minute or so just before his next feed and it would be the perfect temperature by the time he was ready for it. Was so handy to bring upstairs with us during the night too. We got ours in Mothercare with a voucher we were given when he was born. 
   
   
   
4. Pram Clips - A vital tool when shopping with a pram, there's only so much you can fit in the basket underneath the pram! My bestie gave me one of these, I'd never seen them before and they are so handy to clip your bags on to when you are out and about in the shops. 
   
   
   
5. Homeopathic Remedies - It's no secret Luke hit every regression with his sleeping pattern and  he had a hard time teething, as babies do and I swear by 2 homeopathic remedies that I've written about here and here. They made such a difference to him during these phases and helped get us through the tough days. Homeopathy isn't for everyone but I highly recommend it from personal experience. 

Hopefully some people may find this list helpful.

What are essential items when there' s a new baby in the house? 

*All thoughts and opinions are my own. I have not been asked by any of the companies mentioned to review these products and links are provided purely for convenience to find a product.*