Ulla’s Amazing Wee Blog

Last Sunday the episode of “The Secret Millionaire” which is situated in Pilton, has been broadcast on Channel 4 [ Episode guide ]. I found it quite intriguing to see Pilton portrayed by an outside TV production crew.

They really managed to get the worst shots of the areas, mainly by going over to Muirhouse and filming the empty houses marked for demolition, which are still standing because of legal problems with some owners.  The TV crew managed to take shots of the shopping centre without the audience being able to see any of the  new buildings like the North Edinburgh Arts Centre or even the library or the super Craigroyston Community High School surrounding it and managed to portray the area worse than it really is, although the protagonist  stressed that the area has got a really good community feel with a lot of the residing projects and charities.
I also never had heard of CCLASP (Children with Cancer and Leukaemia Advice and Support for Parents) before, which actually seems to be situated in Leith,  the TV crew seems to have extended the area bounds quite liberally again.

I vaguely remember the filming here, marred with an  heightened activity in PEP’s garden at that week, which usually lies about rather ignored. The TV crew were actually quite unobtrusive as only two people or so, I actually could not see them taking outside shots with the “secret millionaire” although it seemed at one point they were having a piece to camera but it seemed more like a news crew at that point rather than filming a documentary.  As I waddled through the background of the picture with my stroller I was very inclined to shout – if you move half a metre to your left you get the new houses in! And the gorgeous view to the Forth estray!

Anyways people are used to Pilton video zooming about the area with their cameras although the big black van with the dark windows obviously made everybody very curious and got everybody talking. That was also the week when the window of one of the cars in front of PEP was put through. I guess the kids have been acting up a bit for the camera, too.

Pilton is usually having a bad press treatment by the Edinburgh Evening News/Johnston Press and is ignored by the rest of the media unless there is a murder or so.
So it is quite nice that actually a positive side is portrayed of this area, and the local groups and the community spirit in Pilton  are definitely the areas biggest attractions. [ Scotsman article ]
In a way it is sad that the issue of the big funding cuts to the local community have not made the way into the documentary, especially the NEN, the North Edinburgh News is sadly missed. Somehow I would also be keen to know how the charities were selected, if the “secret millionaire” tried others but were turned away because of organisational issues like lack of references or because of time/planning constraints within projects. And they never seem to have to fill in one of these looooong volunteer forms on the programm.

I was also astonished that none of the community centres  made it into the documentary as there are so many activities going on there, and none of the childrens groups either, which are quite big and good in this area. A pity the North Edinburgh Trust with had gone that much downhill it wasn’t mentioned in the documentary either, with all the good work they had done to empower the people in the community out of poverty.

I wonder if the documentary will have any lasting effect on Pilton;  I guess the initial portrayal of Pilton as a run-down place riddled with drinks and drugs will set it back again for a while. Dunno about the councils reaction, it would be good if they would put more money into the area, but so far, all they want to do is to take the roof of the shopping centre!

So, one advantage of living in Edinburgh is the huge offer of activities, especially cultural activities like the Festivals. Having looked at the  Festival Fringe program, I decided to go to some children’s shows with the little one. As he is still just about one year, I tried to find something appropriate for his age range, and came up with “Stickman”, especially after looking through the book in the library. Which I have to add at this occasion a complaint about the totally smelly and blocked toilets, the little one started crying because of the bad stink,  last Friday in the MUIRHOUSE library! The flushes did not seem to work hardly or at all, the toilet paper was out, the soap dispenser broken, all three toilets blocked with poos and there was no hand drying facilities either. It was just horrible.

Stickman was sold out and when I tried to get into “Bagpuss”, the lady asked me if I would be here for the Scotsman offer. I asked what it was about and she said there was a voucher inside for free tickets for the festival, including “Bagpuss”. So after I got the newspaper, I realised I got 4×2 tickets from different shows to choose from.  But after going to the “Pasta Maccaroni Show”, where DS started crying when the Mozzarella entered the stage with a loud MOOO and as he was afraid of the T-T-T-T in TOMATO I left early.  I also had difficulties getting the little one interested in “Bagpuss” at all, it seems I would have to wait for another year or more before it actually works out taking the child into shows. The “Pasta Maccaroini Show” was a little bit too loud in volume, but he loved the movement and lights of the show and the music was most of the time wonderful, too. But very few visitors. Few visitors in “Bagpuss” as well, despite the free tickets offer and school holidays ending. Good ideas by the company to bring the pasta shapes to life – I particularly loved the flying-like-a-bird al-dente Lasagne sheets. But the show was too long with a duration of 1 hour. Half an hour is enough for our little one. With “Bagpuss” he was whingeing a lot, with his nappy full and he wanted to have a snack and a sleep and he did not see the stage properly, but he liked the songs and the disco light. Its quite weird that a lot of children’s shows take place in absolutely inaccessible places, with stairs up and down and no baby changing facilities. At least “Bagpuss” had two exits, right and left of the stage, because there is nothing worse than scrambling through a row or more of toddlers in the dark whilst trying to keep hold of a baby and the nappy changing rucksack, a handbag and all the other items such like snacks, hat, jackets and other necessities you need during a show to keep your kid additionally happy (dummy, favourite comforting toy…) .

Strollers have to stay outside the buildings, so if anybody is interested in nicking a pram, there are some really expensive buggies and prams for grabs during shows! I was promised somebody would look after our  15 pounds stroller, but of course, when I went out of “Bagpuss”, nobody was there. I still remember when my buggy was nicked when I was a child in the 70ies. Had to walk home all the way!
Now, most prams usually cost several hundred pounds, so having almost no provisions for prams outside the venue buildings is quite careless. Luckily, as you can imagine, ours was still there after the show, and hadn’t been exchanged for a better one.

Me and our little one have started potty training.  Most conventional books say potty training can only start when the baby can walk and pull up and down the trousers and put the timing at about 2-3 years of age. But our darling son just always hated wet nappies and so he started to pee whenever we changed him or put him on the changing mat.   Or he cried when he wet or dirtied the nappy. First we tried holding him on the toilet and it worked sometimes, but I was worried it would be too uncomfortable for him. The old potty was just too unstable for our 9 month old.

After quite some search I bought the Baby Bjoern potty brandnew from John Lewis.  It was quite expensive for a potty and I doubt there are any more expensive potties out there, but it was really worth it. Our baby just loves his potty. He is so proud of himself whenever he manages to pee or poo in it. I thought it would take a while till he got to grips with it but he took to it immediately.  After the second or third time trying him on it, he even pooed in it straight away.

I have also found the book for potty-training babies, it is called diaper-free baby and the method is based on elimination communication. So the parents learn baby body language or teach the baby sign language for taking them to the potty or toilet. [ Born Ready Forum | Yahoo email group | Nappy Free Baby UK ]

Its very common in Africa and Asia to do nappy free elimination communication, like in China [ Tribal Baby ].  Leg warmers, like BabyLegs, Huggalugs or Mikihouse are recommended to get the little ones as successfull as possible with their EC as are split crotch trousers [ DIY ].

Which? the consumer rights group, has an excellent baby section. Amongst the latest research are the most useful and the most useless baby products parents advocate.  Amongst them baby carrier, baby sling, bumbo seat and nappy stacker.

Actually, I have to say that most of the most useless items are actually quite important in our household. the nappy stacker is brilliant if you use reuseable, washable nappies to tidy them up all in one place, but I agree that if you use disposables nobody would find the time taking these out of the plastic bags and putting them into a nappy stacker jut because it looks a little bit tidier.
I am still finding the Bumbo seat brilliant for my little one to learn to sit upright and train his muscles and play in it.. Babies only seem to use it for a very short time though but I find it invaluable for that very short time.
And the door bouncer he just loves but I am just starting to use it now in between learning to sit and walk at 8 months. The fabric sling has the big disadvantage that you just need to spend time on learning how to use it, and then my little one does not like to ave his legs spread apart for sitting on my back, The baby carrier Baby Bjoern is very good and gives us real close- and cuddleness and the little one the feeling of being safe and secure, he never cries in it when we go out, as we loosely do the attachment parenting.
My pram however was the most useless item so far, as it did not fold so the baby could lie flat securely and now that he is sitting up he is unable to properly sit in it either but  slides around to such an extent that I fear his back gets damaged if I use it.
As the little one sleeps in our bed the cot and the sleeping bags have been pretty useless so far, too. Advantage though is that we always have a good night sleep for at least 8- 10 hours daily, and in my opinion its more natural for the babies to sleep cuddled up with us.
The baby feeding essentials, like freezer trays, are also pretty useless in our household as we do the baby-led weaning.

Me and little one were off to the National Museum yesterday.  The Science Festival is on at the moment, and the wonderfull North Edinburgh CREATE Team organised an event there. The under 5es were able to handle some Roman exhibits, one of the artists dressed up as a Roman, and we had some song and dance activities in the Museum, too. Afterwards the kids were making a mosaic.  Our 8 months old just loved exploring the feel of materials and the lights and the architecture of the place.  He handled a Roman mortar and a little cutting tool and mouthed a soft toy rat.
The museum even provided some lunch and he totally mashed up the strawberries when eating and came out all pink – even behind his ears and up to his knees. He was very very tired afterwards as it was so exciting. There are some real good free activities locally for kids, toddlers and babies.

• North Edinburgh Arts Centre has Play at Home with creative activities and physical games for 0-3 year old
• Craigroyston Community High with Early Learning Centre and PEEP Early Education Partnership sessions
• Muirhouse Library Rhymetime on Fridays and West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre on Wednesdays: Bookstart sessions
• Pregnancy and Parents Centre with  Baby Music and Laura’s Motherspace
• Baby Massage at Pilton Community Health

Our little one used his potty today for the first time! He is sooo clever and such a well-behaved boy (most of the time). He is having his “G” phase now loving the “Ging Gang Gully” song, the Googlies books and everything “good”.
Also he loves baby-led weaning, he is munching away anything he can get hold of.  However we are all having a bit of a bad cold at the moment and our little one had extremely flushed red hot cheeks and swollen eyes on Thursday and Saturday in particular we are wondering if that is his first allergy too? We tried to find the allergen but as he puts everything into his mouth now it could be just about anything.  I have the slight impression that it is a bit better now but could be because we have been out and about a lot – it seems to be something in the house unless it is connected to this bad cold we have which is going round at the moment.

I have got such a blocked nose I find it hard to sleep so got up for a lemsip and a blog entry.

I just love being a mum. Its so much fun as our little one (lo) is a star.  He gives such excellent hugs and cuddles! And he likes going out and about and watching people and daily life from the comfort of the sling.

We have been trying out different things to see what works best for us and our darling son (or ds/dd as they are known on websites like mumsnet or netmums).
One of the recommendable issues for us are the Real Nappies we have been trying out. There is quite a controversial debate as how ecological these really are in comparison with disposables (see Wikipedia). For us though I like the positive effect  on toilet training and its encouraging elimination communication and also they seem to prevent nappy rash.
In Britain the cloth nappies have been becoming increasingly popular over the last years with big chains like Boots selling the Bamino Mio and big stores like Mothercare producing and selling now their own brand.

I have been very impressed with the Bumgenius all-in-one nappy, which I first got for free in a trial pack. They are quite expensive though – the sized ones from XS to L are about 14 pounds each.  They dry fast, look and feel comfy, are pretty small, have velcro fastening,   come in different colours and don’t need a wrap nor stuffing and are easy to wash. They are pretty much like disposables but get thrown into the washing machine instead of the rubbish bin/nappy bucket. They also have a nappy system which grows with the baby from birth to potty. A disadvantage though is that the elastics around the leg give way with time and then the nappy can be prone to leakage. But personally speaking our little one sleeps better with a Bumgenius on than with a disposable, it seems to me the Bumgenius can hold more liquid and makes him feel dryer.

We are still using my favourite real nappies, bamboozles and cotton from Glasgow-based totsbots, which have the disadvantage to triple bottom size so little one needs its clothes to be several sizes bigger with real nappies than he really is, but the totsbots hardly leak and are easy to maintain and are pretty much indestructible. The fleece wraps are just so nice and colourful and soft and are of breathable material; I prefer these to the plastic ones.
Originally we got a starter pack from the Real Nappy Project – it did not help that much but their initial workshop helped a lot – I got all my nappies second-hand from the recommended used nappy website and also decided for the totsbots nappies when they were recommended in the workshop.
As I do not like the real nappies with poppers that much nor the ones with nappi nippas as I tend to loose these.
I was quite disappointed that there is not a shop in Edinburgh which sells the nappi nippas or has a wide selection  of real nappies. (Seesaw is closed now and when I was there they hardly had any good stock left.)

Napisan quite sold out often at supermarkets. It is said it can damage the fabric, but its good for “big business”.

I gave away the stuff I don’t use from the introductory pack like the Bambinex or the Motherease Sandys, which is similar to Popolino in Germany (Haipa Daipa/Baby Lucy) . I still use disposables every now and again.  For examples  when we go out or visit relatives or when the little one has a tummy bug as I don’t like carrying about dirty nappies with me especially when filled with liquid poo.

However when we stay at home we use only the real nappies. They became a bit hard with washing a lot without softeners or tumble drying over time,but are now softer again, now that my mum ironed them all.

I do think the real nappy incentive pack would need upgrading/modernising a bit, to have a Bumgenius in instead of the nippa nappy version and a bamboozle from totsbots instead of the folding terry nappy, as they are quite cheap and
you can get them in Boots anyways – otherwise it gives an outdated impression of real nappies and the items are not really useable nor used that much in future.

Thank you very much for the interest, good wishes and presents for our little one and our new family. My baby is now over a month old and is doing really well and growing really fast – at his birth he weighed 3 600g/7 pounds and 15 ounces and now he is already over 4kg.  He is starting to show cute facial expression and tries to learn smiling. He has recently developed a huge visual interest in colours.
He loves dancing with Daddy and going out with him in the baby sling. He likes meeting new people who all adore him, so he is putting on extra cheeky charm.
He also likes seeing more vibrant and exciting colours and he is always very well behaved when we go out.

For car journeys we added a dummy in case of crying spells on busy roads and traffic jams. He likes driving though he loves his milli (milk) much more.

Our baby still retains his love for music, in particular harmonic, calming classical music for falling asleep. He also quite likes the Baby massage course and from next Monday, we start Baby Music, too, where we’ll be singing nursery rhymes and later on add some instruments like drums or rattles. End of October, when the massage is finished, a new course for Baby and Parent Yoga is starting, which we are interested in too.

As we had a brilliant water birth, we continue to enjoy big splashy baths together. Baby swims are starting here only for over 4 months age at the local swimming pools, but we are looking forward to trying it out when we are old enough.

We are now becoming a complete family home in our little flat. The little one also likes watching the fishes and the guinea pigs. His favorite toy is at the moment the little rocking baby swing.

He is also quite good with sleeping, he nearly slept through tonight.
He is an absolute baby star so far,  I am very proud of him.