Andrea Zanin
My name is Andrea. I have a Bachelor of Arts Law Degree with English as a major. I then went on to complete an Honours in English (literature) for which I achieved a cum laude result. I have worked as a secondary school teacher and more recently an Online Content Editor for a B2B publication. I currently work as a Freelance Writer, News Editor and Music Journalist. I also manage two personal blogs that provide an outlet for my creative writing passion. I am a qualified professional but I am also a mum; a working mum (no mean task). I am madly in love with my daughter, I adore my husband and not only am I passionate about art, literature, music, culture and writing, I am passionate about motherhood. I am a mum with attitude and while I put the wellbeing of my daughter first, I wish to remain independent and assertive. I am certainly no ‘font of mummy knowledge’ but I love to entertain and to share my experiences as a mum, whether it is writing about children’s books, baby products or dishing out advice. I write from my own experiences in the hope that other mums will relate and perhaps learn something new.
I have this theory: that products made by mums for their children are totally reliable. I love it when mums decide to take the bull by the horns and create something for their children when they feel like nothing out there will do the job in question.
That’s what Joanna Jensen, mum of two did.
After looking for natural or organic products to manage her girls’ fine hair, and finding nothing that could satisfy, Joanna decided to make her own toiletries. The result is natural bath products for toddlers, Child’s Farm – “As natural as your countryside.”
Childs Farm children’s toiletry products contain natural and organic ingredients, and are mild and gentle because they are designed specifically for children’s skin and hair. Products are paraben free and have no SLS’, mineral oils or artificial colour.
Shampoos, conditioners, body washes and bubble baths are flavoured with organic essential oils including tangerine oil, sweet orange, strawberry and mint – all for their natural properties:
Tangerine Oil: is calming, soothing, relieves tension and makes you happy.
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My family is big on breakfast cereals for breakfast – not necessarily because cereal is amazing but because it’s quick, easy and affordable. We do pancakes on a Saturday and something eggy on Sunday but Monday to Friday is milk and oats (pretty much).
So what exactly are healthy cereals?
When I shop for cereal, I look at the sugar and salt content as well as fibre level, whether it’s wholegrain and what preservatives are used. A winner will be a wholegrain cereal that is high in fibre but low in sugar and salt, with no preservatives.
Nutrition expert Catherine Saxelby, author of “Catherine Saxelby’s Complete Food and Nutrition Companion”, recently posted her list ten healthiest cereals online and because her list is similar to what I buy for my family (and based on similar standards to the ones I use when cereal shopping) I thought I’d share it with y’all:
- Sanitarium Weet-a-Bix/ Uncle Toby’s Vita-Brits
- Traditional oats (Uncle Toby’s, Brookfarm, Lowan, Carmen’s)
- Kellogg’s All Bran
- Kellogg’s Sultana Bran
- Kellogg’s Bran toppers/Flakes – good for boosting the fibre of low fibre cereals
- Kellogg’s Mini Wheats, Plain or Apricot or Blackcurrant
- Kellogg’s Guardian – good for boosting the fibre of low fibre cereals
- Uncle Toby’s Shredded Wheat
- Kellogg’s Sustain Goodness
- BarleyMax Digestive 1st
We do Weet-a-Bix, All Bran and oats in my house.
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Children are creatures of habit (aren’t we all?) – they like routine and they like repetition; it makes them feel secure. How this translates when it comes to story time is that you usually are asked to read the same story… about a billion times. Okay – it will never be a billion but thirty times sure has the knack of feeling a whole lot like a billion!
My three-year-old goes through phases. I have read her masses of different stories but within that mass she will pick favourites. Favourites usually last obsessively for about a month, sometimes three or four (if I’m very unlucky).
Here’s the thing: I love reading to my both of my children but there is only so much enthusiasm I can muster when it comes to reading the same story a hundred times over. How does one do it? – Feign enthusiasm, that is. And trust me, it can be done!
Enthusiasm is all about eyes, body language and tone of voice. Children get excited about a story if you’re excited about it. Reading is quite a lot about acting – exaggerating and over emphasising for effect. How do stage actors bring enthusiasm to the script they have repeated a million times?
After consulting with Google, it seems true that stage actors do sometimes get bored with the sameness of the script and most say that one has to find a way of staying in the moment and not zoning out because this is usually then something will go wrong.
The number of times I have zoned out whilst reading to my daughter are too numerous to count, and I have even done the ‘skip sentences’ trick when I am reading a book for the hundredth time – usually to my detriment because my daughter knows the story so well that she’ll call me out.
The way I stay in the moment and psych myself up for reading the same story yet again, is to concentrate on my daughter’s love for the tale; her happiness really does make me smile and it makes mustering enthusiasm so worth the effort.
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New mums! Are you panicking about germs, sterilising and all round cleanliness?
A new study coming out of Northwestern University in Illinois found that women who have recently given birth have a much higher rate of obsessive-compulsive symptoms than the general population.
The study into post-partum OCD, which is described as large scale and longitudinal (in other words; qualified to have an opinion), found that 11 per cent of women at two weeks and six months postpartum experience significant obsessive-compulsive symptoms compared to 2 to 3 per cent in the general population. It’s not a large percentage of new mums but is certainly more than normal!
So firstly, what defines an obsessive compulsive disorder?
OCD can be described as repeated or unwanted thoughts or images that stimulate an anxious feeling. According study senior author Dana Gossett, M.D., chief and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (so again; qualified to have an opinion) OCD can interfere with normal day-to-day functioning, and in the context of parenting, meddle with appropriate care for the baby so much so that for the parent, the OCD becomes maladaptive and pathologic.
In simple terms, if the compulsive behaviour affects a mum’s ability to function as a mum, it may be classified as a psychological disorder.
OCD is usually triggered by stress, and the things mums are most likely to worry about are dirt or germs followed by compulsions to check that they did not ‘make a mistake.’
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In celebration of the Will and Kate’s royal baby, Krispy Kreme has announced plans to roll out a Bite and Reveal doughnut filled with blue or pink cream that will determine your baby’s gender with a bite.
How cute is that!?
And…
…with every Bite and Reveal doughnut you buy, you’ll have a chance to guess the sex of the royal baby, which will be marked on a Krispy Kreme prediction board.
There are a million cool scenarios that can be thought up with this swanky little Bite and Reveal doughnut at centre stage: send a special delivery to your partner (perhaps family too) at work; take a bite and post a pic; have a party (baby shower) and let the doughnuts to the talking; how about a ‘doughnut pile-up’ cake; or get friends and family to guess the sex by doughnut (baby needs calories, remember!).
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