Mini First Aid – the course every parent should take

It’s the stuff of nightmares, the stuff you don’t want to think about but if the worst were to happen you’re going to want to know what to do, especially when it can make the difference between life or death. I’m talking about finding your baby or child unconscious or choking or suffering a severe burn. Would YOU know what to do?

Then of the course there is the more commonly-occurring, almost everyday stuff; bumps and bruises, cuts, temperatures, nosebleeds, rashes etc. Are you familiar with the up-to-date advice on how you should deal with these things? Did you know that cold flannels will make a child’s temperature worse? That butter should never be applied to burns? That ibuprofen should not be used if a child has chicken pox?

Mini First Aid run 2 hour workshops for parents / grandparents / carers and cover everything you need to know. These workshops take place across the UK (there are 41 franchises) and cost just £20. I recently attended one in Devon run by the lovely Liz, a mum of three boys (like me!) and someone who has dealt firsthand with a number of a medical emergencies. Not only through being a parent of three boys but through 13 years spent working as cabin crew. She has dealt with everything from cardiac arrest to delivering a baby, all whilst 40,000 feet in the sky!

I cannot recommend doing the course highly enough, in fact I’d go as far as saying it’s probably the best £20 you can spend if you’re a parent, but for now, here’s some top tips:

FIRST AID KIT

• Get one for your house
• Make sure you replace items as you use them
• Make sure everything is in date
• Should include stuff like
  • Plasters, bandages, tweezers, safety pins, burn gel sachets, tough cut scissors, antiseptic wipes, calpol/nurofen, germolene, antihistamine, inhalers (if child has one).

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

• 111 – out of hours service
• 999 – emergency number in the UK
• 112 – emergency number in the UK and across Europe

CPR – CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION

Remember DR ABC:

• Danger – check the area and remove any danger
• Response – check for response by calling out, pinching earlobe, tickling feet
• Airway – tilt head back to open airway and check for obstruction
• Breathing – put your cheek to child’s mouth and look for chest rising – give it 10 seconds
• Circulation – no longer have to check for pulse, if child is not breathing, commence CPR

CPR always starts with 5 rescue breaths, followed by 30 chest compressions and 2 breaths. The 30 compressions and 2 breaths are then repeated continuously until the child starts to breath again.

Once breathing the child is put in recovery position – if you don’t know the recovery position just put the child on their side and hold them there.

If you’re alone, call 999 after you’ve given the first 5 rescue breaths and completed one minute of CPR as it’s so important to get breath into the child as soon as possible.

Babies and children are treated slightly differently. Babies are those under 1 year, children are those older than a year. It’s still 5 rescue breaths and then 30 compressions and 2 breaths on repeat but how you do these breaths and compressions differs slightly.

BURNS

Regarding sunburn and more importantly sunburn prevention, the advice is now to use a suncream with an SPF of 30 on children rather than 50. You may need to top up more often but it’s meant to be better for a child as it allows some sun through and children need the Vitamin D. When buying look for a cream with a high UVA rating.

Treating a burn

• Run under COLD water for a minimum of TEN MINUTES. This is the single best thing you can do for your child. They may kick and scream but persevere.
• If you have a burn gel, use it. Burn gel sachets are great to keep in your first aid kit and work as a painkiller and an antiseptic.
• Loosely wrap the burn in clingfilm.
• Seek medical advice if needed

NOSE BLEEDS

These are fairly common and in fact just after completing the course I was on the phone to a friend whose 1 year old had one. Luckily I knew what to do!

• Face down, hold bridge of nose.
• If bleeding continues after ½ hour seek advice.

KNOCKING A TOOTH OUT

If it’s a second tooth, put it straight back in and get the child to bite down on something to hold it in place! Then seek medical advice.

CHOKING

Every parent’s biggest fear when it comes to weaning is surely choking. Make sure you’d know what to do if it happened.

With grapes and cherry tomatoes, make sure you cut them in half or quarters. The texture of these makes them stick in the throat. Similarly marshmallows are sticky and can cause choking.

ALWAYS BE IN THE SAME ROOM AS KIDS WHEN THEY ARE EATING.

Choking is SILENT so you need to have your EYES ON YOUR CHILD.

Gagging is noisy, choking is silent. Gagging is ok and normal, choking is an emergency.

The gagging reflex in babies in particular is very far forward so they will gag quite a bit when learning to eat. There is no need to intervene if your child is gagging. This is their way of bringing up the food.

If your baby is choking…

• Put your baby across your knees, face down and tilted forwards so gravity is on your side.
• Give 5 hard slaps between the shoulder blades (hard enough to leave a mark). Use the base of your hand.
• If this doesn’t work, turn your baby over and place two fingers on his/her chest and push in an inwards and upwards motion 5 times.
• Repeat back slaps and chest thrusts until the object has been forced out. If they stop breathing commence CPR.

If you ever have to do chest thrusts, even if the baby seems fine afterwards, you need to get checked out by a medical professional.

If your child is choking…

• 5 hard backslaps between shoulder blades
• Wrap your arms around your child from behind, with your arms going under their armpits. Make a fist and then you need to do 5 thrusts inwards and upwards. Your fist should be above the bellybutton but under the ribs.
• If the child falls unconscious commence CPR.

Again if you ever have to do the chest thrusts then get checked out at the hospital afterwards.

FEBRILE SEIZURE

1 in 20 babies will experience a seizure so it’s pretty common and therefore important that you know what to do. Febrile seizures are the baby’s way of cooling the body down.

• Don’t pick your baby up if they are experiencing a seizure!
• Once it has passed, put your baby in recovery position.
• Take their clothes off.
• Open the windows.
• Use a fan if you have one.
• Aim to cool baby down but NO COLD FLANNELS!

(People used to use cold flannels to try and reduce fevers but now we know this can raise the body’s core temperature so is NOT recommended).

PAIN RELIEF

For fevers you can alternate between ibuprofen and paracetamol (OBVIOUSLY CHECK THE LABELS AND NEVER GIVE ABOVE THE RECOMMENDED DOSE FOR YOUR BABY / CHILD).

However, what I learnt was that ibuprofen should be avoided with chicken pox and asthma. There is some research to suggest ibuprofen can make matters worse in these cases.

I hope the above is useful but know that it cannot in any way replace actually doing a first aid course. On the mini first aid course I did we also covered breaks and fractures, immunisations, meningitis, head bumps, cuts and grazes, shock and of course how to actually perform life-saving CPR correctly.

This is not an ad but simply genuine endorsement. I believe every parent should do a course so they know what to do in a medical emergency. A 2 hour course with Mini First Aid costs just £20 and could quite literally save your baby or child’s life.

There are classes across the UK so if you’d like to do a course then here’s the link to find one near you: minifirstaid.co.uk/regions/

Food for all the family – My Little Piccolo

This is my first recipe-style blog post and most probably my last as I’m not much of a cook! This recipe however was not created by me (breathe a sigh of relief) but the folks over at Piccolo, who make the baby food pouches that I love. I decided to have a go at my making the ‘Sweet Tomato Ricotta Spaghetti’ dish and because it was a big hit with all 3 of my kids (ranging from 7 months to 9 years) I’m sharing it here…

 

Here’s what you need:

1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400g)

4 basil leaves, chopped,

fresh black pepper

1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

200g pasta (spiral or spaghetti)

100g ricotta

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 a red pepper – de-seeded and finely chopped

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

glass of wine whilst cooking (optional)

And here’s how to make it:

1. In a saucepan, heat the olive oil and add the onion and garlic and saute these until they are transparent (around 8 minutes). Add the chopped red pepper and carrot and cook for a further few minutes.

2. Add the tin of tomatoes, tomato paste and a few twists of the black pepper mill and stir. Increase the heat slightly and let the sauce start to bubble away for a few minutes, then reduce the heat.

3. Put on a large pot of salted water and bring to the boil, add pasta to water and cook until ‘al dente’ approximately 8-10 minutes.

4. Add the ricotta and basil to the sauce and stir through.

5. Either puree or leave as a chunky tomato sauce.

 

The verdict

It was a pretty straightforward / easy meal to make and cost very little to buy the ingredients. I was happy knowing that my kids had a eaten a healthy, freshly-made dinner with zero nasties. Most importantly, all three of the kids loved it and wolfed it down! I’m a big fan of a meal that everyone can eat because it makes life so much easier.

The piccolo pouches are great, especially when out and about or time-poor, but they can work out expensive if using for every meal, so it’s great if you’re able to recreate at home on the cheap. Also my baby (7months) will eat puree if hungry but he much prefers food he can feed himself and grab in his little fists! So this dish was a winner!

Tip: The recipe said makes 8 portions. I don’t know if my kids eat above average portion sizes but I’d say realistically it makes enough for 4 portions.

I’d love to know how you get on if you give this a go! Please tag me @the_double_mama if you share any photos so I can see 🙂

STEPH’S IN THE (MOTHER) HOOD

Today I am so excited to introduce a girl whose haircut I’ve been coveting since I first saw THAT fringe on Instagram. She rocks leather skirts and leopard print (what’s not to love), has an awesome blog, runs an ingenious business, has kids with amazing names (Hello Buster!) and is really bloody nice. Here’s what Steph has to say about Motherhood…

Name: Steph Douglas

Age: 34

Location: St Margarets, London

Number of Kids: 2

Names and ages of aforementioned: Buster (4) and Mabel (2)

Was motherhood planned, a lovely surprise or somewhere in the middle?

We’d been married almost 2 years and it seemed like the next ‘sensible’ step. Ahem.

Initial feelings on finding out you were pregnant?

Excited, and like we had the best secret. I also felt relieved – like lots of women I had a fear that I wouldn’t be able to get pregnant.

How did you tell your partner?

I came running down the stairs holding the stick

His reaction?

Lots of squealing and hugging and ‘woah, are we really doing this’. Oh that sweet naïve couple – we had no idea!

Did you glow your way through pregnancy or was it a complete bitch?

I had no health issues for either pregnancy aside from the usual (feeling a bit swollen and constipated) and I quite enjoyed having a big round belly until the last bit when you have to heave and grunt to turn yourself over in bed. I found the mental/emotional side of it more of a challenge. We once went out for dinner on a Friday night after work when I was pregnant with Buster – Doug had booked it as a romantic gesture – and it was this amazing Italian where they just bring out courses and it’s the longest most relaxed meal ever. Except I was hungry and tired and couldn’t neck all the wine so I sat opposite him weeping while he begged me to stop as it looked like he’d taken a heavily pregnant woman to a public place to dump her. We were better at carrying emergency snacks and having early nights during my second pregnancy.

Tell me about your birth experience?

I had no expectation about birth, which sounds a bit odd but my mum was a midwife and gave birth four times herself, and she always kind of underplayed it when I asked how painful it was, and said it hurt but you’re so focused and you hold this baby at the end of it so you just get on with it. So I was kind of relaxed, ready for the drugs if I needed them but aiming to see what happened. When it came to it, my body took over, I stayed home as long as possible (on my Mum’s advice) so with both I got to the hospital and was pretty much ready to go! Finding out you’re almost ready to push as you arrive at the hospital is a massive mental boost so I felt really focused and I did the rest with gas & air, which I LOVED. They had to prise it out of my hands.

Doug gets this funny look of awe on his face when we talk about it, like he still can’t believe what I did. He also remarks on the strength as I pushed down on him during contractions; apparently it smarted a bit…yeah, it did for me too! Sometimes I feel like I’m not supposed to say I had a ‘good’ birth as you hear about a lot of bad ones. But actually, it was really positive, the midwives were awesome and I feel pretty proud of myself. If I do it again, I’d hope for the same. I liked being in hospital and that is part of the feeling relaxed for me – I was on the natural birth ward but had the reassurance of staff and equipment close by if I needed it. It’s a really personal thing for everyone and at the end of it, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Describe motherhood in a few words:

A rollercoaster – with deep ‘what the hell is happening’ lows and utterly awesome ‘I AM WOMAN’ highs.

Can you share any highlights?

Just seeing these two babies that we made become funny, quirky little people and the four of us becoming a proper little unit, with our own traditions like toast in bed on a Saturday and fishfingers after swimming. Hearing them chat together first thing in the morning now they’re a bit bigger makes me feel weepy. It’s lovely.

Can you share any low points?

Those moments when you’re out and everyone is crying, no one is listening, you’re dropping stuff along your way and sweating profusely and feel like everyone is watching and judging you. Also, Mabel recently crapped on the floor in a pub and we only realised when Buster stood in it. That one is a mixture of a high and low point as it was grim, but very funny on reflection.

What do you do when the baby sleeps?

Alas, we’re down to a couple of naps a week as Mabel is almost 3 and not keen most of the time. When Buster was a baby I flapped about doing stuff from The List or divving about on social media. I know people roll their eyes at ‘sleep when the baby sleeps’ but with Mabel I was much better at napping. If you unpack the dishwasher and do a few jobs first, you’ll never do it as the baby will wake up and you’ve missed your window. The trick is to lie down as soon as you put the baby down. Even if you get 20 minutes, it will change your whole day and the world will be a brighter place. The washing can wait.

Have you got a blog?

I write Sisterhood (and all that) – it’s an honest account of motherhood and relationships with the idea that if we’re honest with each other about how things really are and the ridiculousness that life throws at us, it’s often funny and also less lonely. It was kind of a stepping stone to starting the business and I wanted to see if people felt like me. It turned out they did and it went really well, so gave me the courage to quit my job and start the business.

Have you got a business?

I run Don’t Buy Her Flowers selling thoughtful gift packages for new mums. 96% of women receive flowers after giving birth. When I had my first baby I was given eight bunches of flowers and it just seemed such a waste – people were really kind to send something, but flowers are actually another thing to care for. At a time when you’re feeling pretty spent, I thought there could be better gifts that let mum know she’s doing a good job and is loved. The Care Package is our best-selling package, and the idea is it encourages mum to stop and take ten minutes to herself – truffles, tea, flapjack, a magazine and a scarf. I’ve also teamed up with COOK food so their vouchers can be added to any package, so you can give new parents prepared meals delivered to their door. Those are always well received!

What’s the best bits of being a Mama?

Aside from the obvious i.e. two beautiful babies? Women are awesome. Resilient, determined, compassionate, often hilarious and for a lot of women I know, becoming a mother intensifies those strengths. You don’t realise it when they’re small, but you are now a lioness. On a good day, anyway.

What are the worst bits?

The tiredness combined with the feeling I should always be doing something. It can be pretty exhausting and I think that’s the same for most mums everywhere. We’re rubbish at stopping, let alone relaxing with our partner or doing something nice for ourselves.

If you didn’t have your kids for a week what would you do?

Oh SLEEP. And eat at a leisurely pace. We’re actually hoping to take a little holiday in January just the two of us. I know some people couldn’t bear to be apart from their babies, but we’ve been pretty good at having the odd night away and I think it’s essential to our sanity and marriage! We realise we really like each other when I’m not moaning at him for forgetting to put the bins out.

Have you got any advice for mamas-to-be/new mamas?

I recently wrote a list for Clemmie Telford’s blog which just about covers everything!

What’s do you reckon the most essential item mamas-to-be need to pack in their birth bag?

Snacks! I was very disappointed by the post-birth food on offer at hospital!

What’s been your best baby product?

The IKEA high chair. Forget your fancy ones, for about a tenner this thing wipes clean and has NO primary colours.

What’s your ultimate mum product?

OBVIOUSLY a thoughtful gift package from Don’t Buy Her Flowers… but also a changing bag from Tiba + Marl. Practical AND good-looking. And a buggy hook because you always have too much stuff to carry.

Huge thanks to Steph for taking part – be sure to check out her blog, it is well worth a read! And of course if you know somebody who needs a little TLC – Don’t Buy Her Flowers!

I’d love to hear from any other Mamas out there who’d like to feature as part of my ‘In the (mother) hood’ series – just drop me a line: thedoublemama@gmail.com

SUSIE’S IN THE (MOTHER) HOOD

I am super pleased to introduce the second mama to feature in my ‘In the (mother) hood’ series… she is a co-sleeping, breastfeeding, seriously hot, first-time Mama and the partner of all round nice guy and Olympic gold medallist Greg Rutherford… it’s * Susie Verrill *

Name: Susie Verrill

Age: 27 years old

Location: Woburn (Milton Keynes)

Number of kids: 1

Names and ages: Milo Rutherford – 9 months.

Was motherhood planned?

A bit in the middle. We discussed trying, then after 1 ‘try’ we found we were done and dusted.

Initial feelings on finding out you were pregnant?

Excited for an amazing new journey, desperate to drive to Mamas and Papas there and there and suddenly struck by the enormity of it all.

How did you tell your partner?

I wandered towards him looking dazed while waving the wee-stick. He was shouting for me to feed the dogs at the time so I had to bellow at him to shush and pay attention to me.

His reaction?

Utter amazement. I think we hugged and laughed at each other for the next few hours ‘til he annoyingly had to go out for the evening while I laid in bed alone (doing more laughing).

Did you glow your way through pregnancy or was it a complete bitch?

In all honesty I didn’t enjoy pregnancy and found it odd when people asked. I liked my body, I liked feeling fit, I liked being healthy and competent and I was suddenly struck down by sickness, sweating, being told I couldn’t do things, needing to rush off for a wee every few minutes only for a thimble-full to trickle out, finding nothing fitted me and packing that every ache and pain was a bad sign. Other than knowing I was solely in charge of my growing baby and feeling the kicks, I couldn’t wait for it to be over and merely saw it as a means to an end.

Tell me about your birth experience...

I’d love to say I have a positive birth story as I went in to it very positively, however sadly I dread the thought of having to do it again and still haven’t quite recovered, physically or emotionally. I prepared with some hypnobirthing (which was so wonderful, I highly recommend it), but otherwise had very few expectations and was actually really excited. My waters leaked for two days (and I should have been admitted to be monitored but sadly wasn’t), then they finally burst (just after I’d fake tanned) at home while I was watching a programme about a tsunami. Turns out I’d been in labour for a while (I thought I just had wind) and so when my waters properly whooshed, the contractions went to two minutes apart within half an hour. When I got to the hospital the pools weren’t working thus meaning my relaxing water birth went out the window. I had an epidural but sadly it wasn’t administered incorrectly by a sleepy consultant & just resulted in me having a wang leg. Then, after 3 hours of pushing while it became apparent Milo & I were back to back and he wasn’t budging; I was given forceps and an episiotomy. Turns out this was also done incorrectly, and 12 weeks down after birth I was treated to 7 injections and some silver nitrate matches burning away scar tissue on my gooch. Reconstructive surgery is next up. Future births: c-section!

Describe motherhood in a few words:

Life-affirming, heartwarming, exhausting. A real adventure.

Can you share any highlights?

Recent highlights involve Milo finally giving in and agreeing to eat (even if I did have to cover broccoli in strawberry yogurt). He also took his very first wobbly step and it was suddenly confirmed how quick the first year goes. But in all honesty, there are highlights every single day, and that’s no exaggeration. Even when I think things can’t get any more tiring or annoying, he’ll smile or cuddle up to me and my heart makes my head forget all the crap stuff. Beer also helps.

Can you share any low points?

I repeatedly find Milo eating dead spiders/flies/daddy long legs. We live in the countryside and if we have the windows open, all God’s creatures comes on in and carp it; our bathroom’s like a creepy crawlies graveyard.

What do you do when the baby sleeps?

During Milo’s morning nap I get dressed and do my make up (if I do this while Milo’s awake he tries to suck my make-up brushes). I also get a few chores done, watch one episode of whatever box set I’m in to & then finally; get some work done/answer emails. In the evening, Milo’s bedtime sadly is SO late, I often just go to bed with him. Sleep’s not his most favourite thing.

Have you got a blog?

My blog’s called My Milo And Me and is an attempt to make light of all the rubbish parts of mummy hood, with some fun parts thrown in. It’s about keeping your identify (for the most part), ploughing on through the hard times and then some reviews about all the baby boy leggings I’ve got my hands on (because putting a baby in jeans is like bathing a pissy cat). As a family we also travel a lot so I try to write tips/advice on how to handle flying and hotel rooms with a teeny tiny.

What’s the best bits of being a Mama?

Watching someone who you care for more than anyone else in the world, grow and explore things. All the hugs, all the kisses, all the smiles and all the funny moments. If you could bottle up how happy your child can make you, you’d make a fortune.

What are the worst bits?

Cold tea. Occasionally the realisation that a mini human is watching you attempt to have sex. Pooing while wrestling dangerous objects out of your child’s grasp. Stains on every item of clothing you put on; within seconds. Never sitting for longer than half a minute.

If you didn’t have your kids for a week what would you do?

Probably look at photos of him and cry (seriously). Teamed with lots of hot tea and lie-ins.

Have you got any advice for mamas-to-be/new mamas?

I wish I’d known not to read up too much, listen to too much advice and panic. Do whatever works for you and absolutely ignore what everyone else suggests because it’ll all be contradictory anyway. Then you’ll worry you’re doing something wrong and essentially, you know what’s making your child happy. Relax, enjoy and know that you’re doing brilliantly.

Anything else you’d like to tell me about/share….

If you’re breastfeeding and panicking about doing so in public, please know that either a) no-one will notice, b) if they do, they won’t care.

Big thanks to Susie for taking part and sharing so much about her experiences of Motherhood so far. Be sure to check out her blog for lots more –>>> My Milo And Me

If you’d like to feature please get in touch: thedoublemama@gmail.com

Keep cool and don’t lose your shit

Top Tips to Survive the Heatwave with Kids…

                        

                        

 

1. Binks binks binks – that’s ‘baths in sinks’… For the baby, obviously. After breakfast, after lunch, after dinner. All day long.
2. Frozen frubes – homemade fro yo on the quick and easy.
3. Fan – went and bought one (John Lewis click and collect = AMAZING). Dreamt of stylish silent Dyson – reality is a noisy white plastic monstrosity but, you know, it works… and it was like 30 quid, not 300.
4. Water melons – kids love them, adults love them, healthy and hydrating – everyone’s a winner!
5. On the topic of melons; Boobies! Having been neglected since I started weaning the Bear a few weeks ago, they’re suddenly back in demand. Feed on little one!
6. Water guns – they’ve been given the green light. Cue lots of noisy, naked children having a whale of a time.
7. Baby in a Bin (new entry) – yep, filled a bin with cool water and squished one hot sweaty baby in. He loved it. Also, couldn’t drown because he couldn’t move.***
8. Finally, unexpected entry: Bikinis! That’s right Mamas! Strip off and EMBRACE your hot, amazing, postpartum bod! Any residual Mum chubb is going to look a million times better tanned. You know it’s true. So go get #MUMBATHING

*** HE WAS NOT LEFT ALONE. NEVER LEAVE A BABY UNATTENDED IN/NEAR/ON WATER. THEY COULD FIND A WAY TO DROWN EVEN IF YOU THINK IT’S IMPOSSIBLE!!!