April Digital Sampler - Mother&Baby

APRIL 2018
THE UK’S BEST-SELLING MAGAZINE FOR MUMS
www.motherandbaby.co.uk
THE No.1 PREGNANCY, BABY AND TODDLER MAGAZINE WWW.MOTHERANDBABY.CO.UK
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Hello
Mum!
Our step-by-step
plan will help him
sleep in ’til seven…
CROWN RULES
Genius birth tips you
can learn from Kate
Free!
15
FUN THINGS TO
DO TOGETHER
ON MOTHER’S DAY
How to get your confidence
back – and then some!
WIN A NURSERY MAKEOVER!
Pregnancy
Reviews
TRIED
AND
TRUSTED
Advice
giovanna
fletcher
takes over
the mag!
44-page guide to the
best baby buys in 2018
£3.99 APRIL 2018
21 FEB TO 20 MAR
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Contents
Upfront
6 News and views
Our round-up of the latest
essential parenting updates,
key trends and fun stuff!
16 Over to you
All your letters, photos, emails and
Facebook posts
p47
Win!
Win a nursery
makeover from The
Gro Company!
See page 120.
On the
Cover
Bump&Birth
23 Smart move, Kate!
Clever birthplan ideas to pinch
29 Sorted!
Beat pregnancy allergies
April
30 Will you choose a genderneutral
name?
Follow the biggest trend of 2018
35 Dress my bump
Fashion for work and play
36 Birth stories
‘My baby was born on
Mother’s Day’
47
Beat your little
one’s early rising
and enjoy a lie-in
Baby&Toddler
40 Hold on!
Snuggle up, and boost your baby’s
health and development
47 Get your mornings back!
Say goodbye to 5am wake-ups
52 Happy Mother’s Day
Have a memorable 11 March
57 Mixed feelings
Help your toddler manage
his developing emotions
68 Time to ditch that nappy?
Spot the signs that she’s ready for
potty training, and make it easy
82 Jean-ius!
Dress up your little one in
our pick of adorable denim
Life&Kids
88 You’ve got this, Mum!
Get your confidence back with our
tried-and-tested ideas
95 Spring clean your
mum-life
Zap those household chores!
96 Retro brights
Step back into the ’70s with
rainbow-bright nursery buys
p23
57
Here to help
COVER GETTY IMAGES
p52
p120
p88
Understand your
toddler’s feelings
Our experts answer all your questions
75 Sleep
76 Pregnancy
77 Behaviour
78 Eating
4 | April 2018 | motherandbaby.co.uk

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23
Discover smart
ideas for your
birthplan
88
Celebrate you this
Mother’s Day!
98 My baby’s got a job
already!
Meet five little stars of the screen
102 Get cracking!
Celebrate Easter with these
delicious egg dishes
Shop!
110 Easter treats
Arrange for the Easter Bunny to
deliver some fun…
Join us online at
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112 The big test
All-terrain pushchairs reviewed
118 Llama drama
The trend that’s toppled the unicorn!
119 Six ways to…
Bond with your newborn
120 Giveaways
Worth over £2,554!
123 20% off at M&Co
Exclusive offer for M&B readers
124 Supermarket buys
What’s new down the aisles
130 Now I’m a mum, I know…
Kiss FM DJ Neev Spencer shares
her motherhood journey so far
112
All-terrain
pushchairs tested
by mums like you
motherandbaby.co.uk | April 2018 | 5

SNUGGLE UP
WORDS LOUISA PRITCHARD PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES, SHUTTERSTOCK
40 | April 2018 | motherandbaby.co.uk

Baby&Toddler
Hold on!
New research has revealed that simply holding your baby can
change his genes for the better. Time to snuggle up…
As mums, we all want to give our
babies the best start in life.
And all this striving to be
the best mums we can
be can get tiring!
Great then, that
you can now simply snuggle up
on the sofa with your little one,
and know you’re being a damn
good mum. Because you can
boost your baby’s development
and health, and even impact his
genes, by simply giving him a
cuddle. Remarkable new research
from the University of British
Columbia in Canada has revealed that
the amount of physical contact babies
receive can affect them at a molecular level,
and these beneficial effects can last for years.
The study of 94 babies looked at how
cells function and mature in ‘high-contact’
While you’re both
snuggled up close, just
think about this: you’re holding
your baby, and stimulating his
pressure receptors. This is
increasing the activity of one of the
largest nerves in his body – the vagus
nerve – which is slowing down
his heart rate and reducing
his blood pressure. And
this relaxes his brain
and body.
youngsters who were cuddled and held a
lot, and in ‘low-contact’ babies. And the
result? Although the scientists say more
research is needed, it seems that close
contact and cuddles somehow
changes your baby’s body at a
genetic level, and help with his
biological development. ‘This
study looks at how you can
leave traces on a baby’s genes
by stimulating the pressure
receptors under his skin,’ explains
professor Tiffany Field, director
of the Touch Research Institute in
Miami. ‘Touch affects your baby’s
brain waves and immune system, so as
parents, it’s a good thing to hold him as
much as you can.’ So ditch the mum-guilt
that quietly nags you to get out and do more
with your baby, and discover all the lovely
ways that simply having close body contact
with him can set him up for life.
‘When Eyla was
small, we’d spend cold
autumn mornings cuddled up
in bed and I’d take selfies and
make videos of her gurgling at
me so I could share these moments
with her grannies and grandpas
who live South Africa.'
Dee Drysdale, 37, from
Stirlingshire, is mum to
Eyla, 17 months
MEET THE
EXPERT
Dr Tiffany Field is
the director of the
Touch Research
Institute, which
is dedicated to
studying the effects
of touch therapy, in
the department of
paediatrics at the
University of Miami
School of Medicine
CHEST-TO-CHEST
You’re probably relishing those early cuddles,
but the way you hold your baby can make
a difference, especially in those first few
months. ‘The best way to hold your baby
is with his chest to your chest,’ says Tiffany.
‘A study carried out when babies were
vaccinated at two months found that the
youngsters held chest-to-chest cried less and
were less irritable than those held with their
back to their parent’s chest. You’re able to
provide more support and pressure to your
baby’s whole body in this position.’
And this gentle pressure, which you’ll be
applying without even realising when you’re
holding your baby, is absolutely vital for his
motherandbaby.co.uk | April 2018 | 41

Birth stories
‘My baby was born
on Mother’s Day’
Meet Caroline Pears, who became
a mum on this extra-special Sunday
Edward having
a well-earned
snooze!
Caroline and
Edward, back
at home
WORDS RACHEL TOAL
Clutching the card and
chocolates I’d bought for my
mum, I waddled around the
shopping centre. There were
just a couple of days to go until two
significant events – Mother’s Day and
the date I was due to be induced with
my first baby. And it was only then that
I suddenly made the connection. ‘Ooh,
I may have a Mother’s Day baby,’ I thought,
excitedly. But I still didn’t really think about
me being a mum.
When the day arrived, I popped round to
see my Mum as my husband Ben packed my
hospital bag into the car. We’d recently moved
CAROLINE
PEARS, 34, AN IT
PROJECT MANAGER,
LIVES IN YORK WITH
HUSBAND BEN AND
SON EDWARD,
EIGHT MONTHS
to a house just nine doors down from
Mum’s – we’re really close, and she’d
been there for me every step of the
way through my pregnancy. As I kissed
her goodbye and wished her a happy
Mother’s Day, I felt a pang of excitement
at the next job on my to-do list.
We arrived at the maternity ward at midday.
I was 12 days overdue and had been hoping
for a natural start to labour. But it wasn’t
to be, and I put my apprehension about the
induction process to the back of my mind. It
was important to stay positive, I knew. And
seeing all the people carrying flowers and
cards on their way to visit their mums in
36 | April 2018 | motherandbaby.co.uk

Bump&Birth
hospital reminded me how lucky I was to
be expecting a Mother’s Day baby.
After being shown to our own room,
a midwife examined me and inserted a
prostaglandin pessary to try to artificially
dilate my cervix. The process was fine, and
not painful at all. After that, it was a waiting
game. Ben and I went for a wander round the
hospital and I tried not to get impatient when
contractions didn’t start immediately.
That afternoon, a midwife placed a monitor
onto my bump to measure the baby’s heart
rate. It was surreal watching the lines on
the trace – they showed I was having minicontractions,
but I couldn’t feel a thing.
The midwives reassured me that this was
quite common in the early stages. It wasn’t
until teatime that I felt the first twinges.
They came on slowly, like mild period pains,
each lasting about 30 seconds. Gradually,
they became more intense, until I had to
breathe deeply to manage them.
There was only one thing for it – I
messaged my mum for reassurance. ‘Relax
and keep breathing,’ she texted back. It felt
good to have her advice. By now the intensity
was ramping up, and I gratefully accepted
the gas and air that was on offer. When I
was examined, I was told I was 5cm dilated
and in established labour. It was exactly the
news I had wanted to hear. Despite being
uncomfortable, I reminded myself that each
contraction was part of the process, and every
one would bring me closer to the end.
It all started to become a bit blurry after
that. I remember being on all fours on the
bed, swaying gently through each contraction.
I’d done pregnancy yoga, so I remembered
the breathing techniques we’d practised. Plus,
I’d been fit and healthy before I got pregnant,
and I’m sure my strong core helped me cope
with the contractions. Ben busied himself,
offering me sips of water and dabbing my
brow with a flannel. It was almost as if he
was part of the midwife team! Later in the
evening I opted for a Meptid injection, which
is a bit like the painkiller pethidine. It was
really effective: I knew it was working because
I started chatting and joking with Ben again,
in between contractions.
By 7pm, I’d reached 9cm, and the midwife
said she’d leave us to it for another couple
of hours. She seemed to know instinctively
how long my labour would take. And one
moment I was thrilled that the end was in
sight, and the next I felt overwhelmed by
the feeling I couldn’t cope. ‘I can’t do it!’
I cried. Ben squeezed my hand, I focused
on my steady breathing, and moments later
felt calm again. It was lovely being on our
Three things
I’d tell my
friends
I drank two cups
of raspberry leaf
tea each week from
the 36th week of
my pregnancy. It’s
supposed to help tone
your uterus and make
contractions stronger,
and I’m sure it helped
with my labour.
Always follow the
instructions, though,
and don’t try this until
the end of your
pregnancy.
Everyone talks
about slow, calming
music helping labour,
but I found familiar
upbeat tunes helped
my stamina towards
the end. The Dirty
Dancing soundtrack
gave me just the
boost I needed.
Try milder
pain-relief methods,
such as gas and air
and Meptid, as a first
step. They really had
an effect, and I still
felt totally in control
of my labour.
The perfect
Mother’s Day gift
own after that. Ben turned on the television
to discover that my favourite film, Dirty
Dancing, was on! I love the soundtrack and,
although I was too distracted to concentrate
on what Patrick Swayze was saying, the music
gave me a real energy boost in between
contractions. As I swayed to the beat and
puffed on the gas and air, I willed the baby
to arrive before midnight. I really wanted
my Mother’s Day baby.
The midwife came back in after two hours
and, as promised, announced that I was ready
to start pushing. I was so impressed at the
accuracy of her timing! Still on all fours,
I mustered up all my strength, determined
to put everything I had into the task. I felt
a massive low-down pressure, as if a giant
ball was trying to escape from my body.
‘OK, push,’ the midwife said. It was the
hardest thing I’ve ever done, but at last the
contractions felt productive. Knowing I was
almost at the end felt so good.
It only took eight massive pushes before
I felt an overwhelming pressure. ‘You’re doing
so well,’ Ben whispered. Squeezing his hand,
I gave another almighty push and the baby’s
head came out. After a break of a minute or
so, I pushed hard again and the shoulders and
body followed. I lay back on the bed, eager
for a cuddle, and the midwife handed me
baby Edward. As I held him close against
my skin, relief flooded through my body.
Inspecting each and every one of his tiny toes
and hands, I felt so happy.
Once we were settled, I called Mum to
tell her the good news. I was a mum, with a
Mother’s Day baby, and despite my concerns
about induction, all baby Edward needed
was a little kick-start. I’ll never have a better
Mother’s Day present.
SHARE
YOUR
STORY
Tell us
about your
birth experience
facebook.com/
motherandbaby
motherandbaby.co.uk | April 2018 | 37

NAME GAME
Will you choose
WORDS HATTIE GARLICK PHOTOGRAPHY GETTY IMAGES, ADOBE STOCK
A GENDER
NEUTRAL
NAME?
What do Cheryl, Beyoncé
and Facebook founder
Mark Zuckerberg all
have in common? No,
not wardrobes bigger
than all our bedrooms
combined: they have all recently given their
babies gender-neutral names. And little
Bear, Rumi and August are far from unique.
A roundup of last year’s most popular baby
names reveals that gender-neutral ones are more
popular than ever, both in the UK and the US.
‘There has been a revolution in naming,’ says
Laura Wattenberg, who has spent the last
decade studying the names we choose to give
our children and what those trends tell us. ‘And
the rise of the unisex name tells us a huge
amount about the futures that 21st-century
parents are aspiring to for their children.’
So where does today’s sudden rise in genderneutral
names have its roots? You might
assume it was in the 1960s that gender-neutral
names first rose to prominence, introducing
hippy names such as Rain and Sunshine. Not
so, says Laura: ‘A lot of the hippy names
that emerged in the 1960s came about
through adults changing their own
names. The vast majority of babies
being born were still being given
very conventional, gendered names.’
Parents were only prepared to
break the mould when it came to
nicknames: ‘We’ve always been
comfortable with nicknames that
boys and girls can share,’ says
Laura, ‘such as Chris.’
The first signs of a real shift towards
gender-neutral names came in the
It’s the biggest trend of 2018 so far…
MEET THE
EXPERT
Laura Wattenberg is
author of The Baby
Name Wizard
(Harmony, £11.18);
babyname
wizard.com
moment
in time
Past events have inspired
gender-neutral names. Data from
The National Archives shows that
901 babies were given the name
Verdun between 1914 and 1919, a
nod to one of World War One’s
longest battles. Post-war,
‘Victory’ enjoyed
popularity.
1990s. ‘Two things happened,’ explains Laura:
‘Baby-name statistics came into being, so for
the first time, people could see what the most
common names were, and began looking for
more unique ones. And then we have the rise
of the internet. Suddenly, you could Google a
name and see straight away that, no, that
one’s taken!’ From here on in, the number of
babies who only share their name with a
handful of others has risen year on year.
In the search for more distinctive names,
surnames or places were adopted as first names
– think Brooklyn Beckham. ‘They were unusual
baby names, and sent out a message about your
cultural interests, but everyone could still spell
and recognise them,’ explains Laura. That
they were unisex was neither here nor there.
But the most recent flood of unisex names
are all about having no assigned gender,
reflecting the different way that today’s
parents are thinking. ‘There are two groups
of unisex names prominent at the moment,’
says Laura, ‘and they stem from very different
places. First of all there are names that start
out with no gender association at all, such as
River. And then there’s a trend for boys’
names being used for girls.’ Hollywood
stars Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively,
for example, have a little girl called
James. Here in the UK, Frankie and
Ray are among the most popular
gender-neutral names so far this year.
And there are advantages to
choosing such a name, as it might
just give your little one a competitive
edge in the future. ‘There’s still a
perception that giving a girl a more
masculine name makes her appear
30 | April 2018 | motherandbaby.co.uk

Bump&Birth
Chosen by
Mila Kunis and
Ashton Kutcher for
their daughter
WYATT
Chosen by Frankie
Sandford and
footballer Wayne
Bridge for their son
CARTER
LYRIC
Chosen by
former
Backstreet Boy
A J and his wife
Rochelle for
their daughter
motherandbaby.co.uk | 2017 | 31

POTTY TRAINING
PHOTOGRAPHY ISTOCK, SHUTTERSTOCK
Time to ditch that
NAPPY?
Wait until you see these signs that your youngster
is really ready to potty-train, and it’ll be much easier
for both of you, says Sarah Ockwell-Smith
Like getting a lovely new tooth,
ditching the nappies is a little sign
your child is growing. But while
teeth emerge when they’re good
and ready, and need no help from
eager mums, knowing when to
potty-train is a little trickier. Children do not
develop at exactly the same pace. And gaining
the physical and mental abilities to be able to
manage without nappies is a gradual process –
there’s no internal switch that clicks ‘on’ at some
magical date. So the reality is that the ‘when’
of potty-training will be different for each
individual child. Ultimately, there is only one
way to decide when it is time to begin pottytraining,
and that decision should be made by
one person and one person only: your youngster.
This doesn’t mean that you have no
involvement in the timing of potty-training.
Your role is that of watcher and waiter.
You watch for certain signs and behaviours,
and you wait for the right time. And it’s
an active, purposeful wait: you need to be
prepared to go as soon as your child is ready.
WHEN’S NORMAL?
● Research suggests there’s
a window between 24 and
30 months that makes for
easy daytime potty-training.
● Night dryness doesn’t
happen until later, usually
between three and five
years, and it’s still normal
for there to be accidents at
MEET THE
EXPERT
Sarah Ockwell-
Smith is a parenting
expert, mum of
four and author of
The Gentle Potty
Training Book
(Piatkus, £10.99)
the end of this time scale.
● These are just averages,
so it’s perfectly normal
for your youngster to
fall outside of these
figures. Some children
will train much earlier and
some much later than
the scientific ‘norms’.
GET SMART
You might be
waiting for a
huge ‘pennydrop’
moment,
with streamers
and fanfares, but
it rarely happens
like that. Knowing
when your youngster
is ready to start pottytraining
isn’t always obvious.
Many of the physical signs are
invisible, and she needs to be emotionally
ready, too. But there are usually subtle, often
overlooked, behavioural signs that she’s
ready. And you can use these quiet cues,
along with her age and what you’re about to
learn about her physiology – and, of course,
your own instinct – to make a decision.
But just before we look at what these
behavioural signs of readiness are,
we need to have a chat about what
aren’t. There are many ‘signs’ that are
commonly believed to indicate pottytraining
readiness, but are simply normal
childhood behaviours, with no direct
link to potty-training. These include
your youngster telling you that she has
done a pee or poo while she’s doing it or
after she’s done it – but potty-training is
all about her knowing that she needs to
go before she’s done anything. So while
awareness is a good start, she’s not
quite there yet. Other mistaken ‘signs’
include taking her nappy off, which is
great fun for many children, or playing
with poo, which is generally regarded
as an excellent source of play-dough
she’s found all by herself! Following you
68 | April 2018 | motherandbaby.co.uk

ARE GIRLS
EASIER?
In a word, no! There is no
difference in the physiological
maturation of the bladder or
bowel between girls and boys,
and no behavioural reasons why
girls should be easier and
faster to potty-train
than boys.
Baby&Toddler
KEEP
THE NIGHT
NAPPIES
Youngsters usually need to be dry
in the daytime for at least six
months to a year before the nappies
can come off at night, and often it
takes a lot longer. So think of
potty-training during the day,
and taking the nappies off
at night, as separate
tasks.
I jumped the gun with Buzz
because I had so many other
people commenting, ‘Oh, is he
not trained yet?’ He wasn’t
ready to ditch the nappy and
it made us all miserable, so we
gave up. Six months later, Buzz
was running around the house
and shouted, ‘I need a wee!’ so
to the toilet we went. Now he
was ready!
Giovanna
x
motherandbaby.co.uk | April 2018 | 69

Get
Cracking!
If your little one turns up her
nose at eggs, it’s time to get
clever with these irresistible
treats, says Annabel Karmel
MEET THE
EXPERT
Annabel Karmel
is a children’s
food expert,
bestselling author
and mum of three
French toast
with berries
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Makes: 8 triangles
Method
1 Mix together the egg, milk, icing
sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl.
Cut each slice of bread into triangles
or, if you wish, use cookie cutters to
make fun shapes. Dip the bread into
the egg mixture, coating both sides.
SUITABLE
FROM
1 YEAR
2 Melt the butter in a frying pan,
and then fry the bread for about
5 minutes, turning halfway through,
until golden brown and slightly fluffy.
3 Serve with the berries and a dusting
of icing sugar and cinnamon.
Ingredients
● 1 egg, beaten
● 1 tbsp milk
● 2 tsp icing sugar, plus
extra to serve
● A good pinch of ground
cinnamon, plus extra to serve
● 2 slices of bread, crusts
removed
● A knob of unsalted butter
● Raspberries and
blueberries to serve
102 | April 2018 | motherandbaby.co.uk

Ham & cheese
soufflé omelette
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 5-10 minutes
Makes: 2 portions
SUITABLE
FROM
6 MONTHS
● 2 large eggs,
separated
● 4 tbsp milk
or cream
● A little salt and
freshly ground
Ingredients
black pepper (for
babies 12 months+)
● A knob of butter
● 2 slices ham, diced
● 50g Cheddar
cheese, grated
Method
1 Preheat the grill. Mix
the egg yolks and milk
or cream into a mixing
bowl, and season.
2 Put the egg whites into
a bowl and beat using an
electric whisk until stiff.
Lightly fold the whites into
the yolks until combined.
3 Melt the butter in a
frying pan. Add the egg
mixture to the pan and
swirl around until starting
to set around the edges.
4 Sprinkle with ham
and cheese, then place
under the grill for about
4 to 5 minutes, until
just set in the middle
and lightly golden.
5 Carefully tip onto
a plate and serve
in wedges.
Tuna tortilla tartlets
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 15-18 minutes
Makes: 12 tuna tartlets
SUITABLE
FROM
9 MONTHS
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/
350°F/gas mark 4 and grease a
12-hole mini muffin tin with oil.
2 Stamp out 12 x 7cm circles
from the three wraps. Push the
tortilla discs into the muffin tin
holes to make 12 little cases.
Divide the tuna, sweetcorn and
tomatoes between the cases.
3 Mix the egg and sour cream
together in a small bowl or jug,
season lightly with salt and
pepper (if using), and divide
it evenly between the cases.
Sprinkle with the cheese.
4 Bake for 15–18 minutes until
golden on top and set in the
middle. Remove from the oven,
and serve with cooked chunks of
carrot, broccoli or sweet potato.
Ingredients
● A little sunflower oil
for greasing
● 3 mini tortilla wraps
● 25g tinned tuna in
oil, drained
● 25g tinned
sweetcorn, drained
● 3 cherry tomatoes,
quartered
● 1 egg
● 3 tbsp sour cream
● A little salt and
freshly ground black
pepper (for babies
12 months +)
● 2 tbsp finely grated
Parmesan cheese
● A little cress, to
garnish
Recipe suitable for freezing
motherandbaby.co.uk | April 2018 | 103

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