Winter Wonderland, London

This weekend gone, we ventured as a family to the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, London, to meet up with some friends.  Though it's been around for a few years now, this is the first time my hubby and myself have been.

And I can see why it's so popular too.  As we passed through the brightly decorated entrance, we were immediately welcomed by the inviting smells of sizzling frankfurters and spicy sweet mulled wine.  Walking down the corridor of log cabin-style stalls, we were constantly treated to a visual feast of glittery trinkets and all sorts of festive knick-knacks.




At the heart of the party, giant towers of slides, swings and thrilling rides called out to the adrenalin junkies in both the tots and their parents.  In our case, just the dad, a veteran thrill-rider, who strode up to the vertical drop rider with casual nonchalence... and returned on wobbly knees!

The ride that humbled my man

For some respite, there were several pubs strewn around, offering refreshing pints and fried delights to soothe parched throats and rumbling bellies.  We were also lucky enough to be at a lovely booth seat and got quite comfortable as you can imagine.

As it's going to be Nuria's first Christmas, I wanted very much for her to have her picture taken with Santa Claus.  The good news is, it's free!  The bad news is, it has a looooong queue...  But that's merely what we were told.  For what with filling the tummies, never ending toilet queues, rides for the kids and the adults and some good ol' dancing to live music, we never made it to that part of Winter Wonderland.  The night had fallen and the cold was now biting and the baby was snuggled up asleep in her mummy's embrace.  With a disrupted Tube service, hubby was eager to avoid a potentially long journey home, so we called it a day.

I still feel bad about not having made that photo, but I'm telling myself that our little girl will appreciate it better next year... right?

On another note, since we discussed this in my last post, we did get to test our Manduca baby carrier again.  Both hubby and I took turns carrying our 10kg baby for about 2-3 hours each as we traipsed around Hyde Park as well as braved a train ride, yet our backs were fine.  Very pleased.

The Manduca Baby Carrier

We recently bought a Manduca baby carrier to replace the Babybjorn one that our girl has now outgrown.  It took me a little while to convince my husband to agree to the purchase, as he was impressed by neither its looks nor its price.  He is, however, now a convert.  Some of our friends have also expressed interest in our carrier.

So, what of this carrier?

Weight-bearing  
Suitable for babies and toddlers up to a generous 20kg.

Aesthetics 
Not exactly oozing sex appeal, I'm afraid.  With just a few basic colours and limited patterns, the Manduca, like the Ergo, is not as stylish as the Beco.  Having said that, my hubby, who refuses to be caught dead in a ring sling, is happy to hit the streets with our espresso-coloured Manduca.

Comfort
With much of the weight resting on the hips, this is definitely easier on the carrier.  The straps are broad and well padded, great for the shoulders.  Because the carrier is designed to support the babies' thighs, Nuria is now sitting rather than dangling and has fallen soundly asleep many a time in it.

Design and Functionality
I like that the Manduca offers 3 carrying positions - front, back and hip.  Due to the shape, the baby cannot be carried forwards-facing, but so far, that hasn't bothered my rather nosy baby too much.

When front-wearing, I do find the across-top-of-back buckle a bit too fiddly for my liking.  I am able to unbuckle it, but for some reason, just can't buckle it on my own (hubby doesn't have this problem though).  This, unfortunately, makes front-wearing less comfortable for me than it should be when hubby's not around to help secure.

It would be nice too to have the wearer-transferability of the Beco, but that'll be a bonus, not a necessity.  According to the retailer who'd introduced me to Manduca, whilst the competitor brands of this category are all good for heavy babies too, the latter is just that bit better shaped for chunky ones like mine.

Other useful features of the Manduca include built-in, fold-away baby booster and support for sleepyheads, as well as an extendible body portion.  It also folds down to a fairly small size, making it quite portable.

Price
At £85 from Amazon UK, the carrier does not come cheap.  It is however, comparable to competitor brands here in the UK and is a good £40 lower than what it was being retailed for in Singapore where I first saw it!

Best for: Carrying heavy and chunky little ones

Overall, I believe the Manduca Baby Carrier will be excellent value for money given its sturdiness, particularly in the long run.

Stopping at just the gifts

I did it again.

With Christmas just round the corner, I'd been diligently applying myself to the art of shopping.  Today was another such day where I made the effort to buy gifts for some friends' kids.  So in I popped to ELC, tight lipped with resolve to grab only the gifts.  I already knew what I wanted to get, so this time we would be in and out in a flash.  None of that leisurely browsing.  After all, my girl already has enough toys.  For this Christmas, that is.

At the books section, I picked up a glossy number adorned with pretty snowflakes and cute animals all in a row.  I thumbed through the story of One Snowy Night, deemed it appropriate and added it to my basket.  Satisfied, I turned to go.  Hang on, what was that?  I'd caught sight of something peeking at me from behind another book.  I reached over, pulled out a small squarish board book and there was the cherubic man in red smiling back at me from the green and glittery cover of That's Not My Santa...

Oh! Nuria likes the other book I'd gotten her by this same Usbourne touchy-feely series!  Let's see if she likes this too.  I brought the book to Nuria and it was instant approval.  At this point, I hesitated - I have bought her quite a few books recently... However, the indulgent mum in me was adamant that I did not deprive my daughter of this particular sensory delight, so Santa joined the rank at checkout.

At the till, the nice lady kindly informed me that there was in fact a promotion on books at the moment, so would I like to grab another book and the cheapest will be free?  Free?  Oh well, why not?

Just like that, Nuria's book collection became two wider.

And just like that, I've ended up once again purchasing things for my girl despite my best intentions not to.

Loving motherhood

Nuria Q - daily provider of giggles and grins

I LOVE BEING A MUM!  More specifically, I love being a mum to our daughter Nuria Q. Call it maternal bias, but she really is the most incredible little thing and I couldn't ask for a better baby!  True, she's not big on the sleep department, but who minds that when she's just all smiles and cuddles while awake anyway?! So thank you Nuria, for making motherhood such a joy for me... I love you lots! xxx