If you’re in town and need something to do, GoMA (the Gallery of Modern Art is perfect for a wee indoor run around with the toddler. We were meeting a friend in town for some grub & decided to let my little lady roam free for a little while before we headed to the restaurant where …
Sporty Kidz Thornliebank
We met a friend at Sporty Kidz soft play over in the South Side the other day. Having been to the one in Maryhill (and thinking it was great) I thought that the Spiersbridge Rd Sporty Kids would be much the same. Well, it was and it wasn’t… The Play Area The first thing I …
Review: Mummy Massage Meetup
A lovely mummy friend organised a Mummy Massage Meetup last week. It was my first Mummy Massage Meetup experience, and man, was it nice! Firstly, you might ask what on earth a Mummy Massage Meetup actually is? Well, it’s basically a playdate: a regular playdate for the babies/toddlers/kids, but with a half hour back, neck, …
Pigeon Chasing
George Square is always good for a run around if you’re in town & at a loose end!
Note: The pigeons are pretty gallus & will definitely follow a toddler around if said toddler has a biscuit in his/her hand!
Happy Mothers Day!
It’s Mother’s Day! I never fully appreciated Mothers Day until I became one myself. During my lie in until 9am (I remember when that was early) I started thinking about all the mums in my life… I’m thankful for my own mum. I wouldn’t be who I am today without her, and I’m so grateful …
A little bit of charity shopping
We popped into Birth, Baby & Beyond on Dumbarton Rd in passing a few days ago for a wee look. We only had a few minutes, but managed a pretty decent haul: laptop & guitar toys, converse, shorts & leg-warmers. All for £14. They are a non profit who help families in the Greater Glasgow …
Dad’s are the funnest
Since it is my wonderful husband’s birthday today, I thought I’d post something in honour of all the amazing dads out there.
Most of these made me laugh a lot!
Gambado Glasgow – CLOSED
We’ve been meaning to go along for a while to Gambado soft play at Braehead, as we’d heard lots of great things. So we went to try it out at the weekend. The play area It was smaller than I expected (especially for the price). Toddler area was good (and gated) – it had a …
Truth
Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body.
Elizabeth Stone
Jo Jingles
We checked out the Jo Jingles class in Partick this week. It was numbers week & so we did lots of numbers songs (obviously!) with castanets, tambourines, pom poms… It felt more educational and maybe slightly less fun than other classes we’ve been to. Not that it wasn’t fun, because it really was; my little …
The Glasgow Science Centre
We took our first (long awaited, in my case) trip to the Science Centre at the weekend. Full disclosure: I worked there when I was a student, and I loved it, and I’m also a tiny bit of a science geek, so my review may not be entirely unbiased. But anyway, the review. Where do …
Science Here We Come!
I was so excited to cash in our vouchers for our science passports at the weekend; a very thoughtful Christmas gift from my family.
Our science passports mean we can visit the Science Centre for a year at anytime, for free! They’re £24 for the year for adults & £18 for kids 3-15 yrs. Under 3’s are free.
Go 3 times in a year & you’ll have paid more than that so they’re very much worth it!
Review of our first visit coming soon…
Best Article I’ve Read In A While
I never understood the significance of 1st birthdays until last year. But my husband and I kept another (totally dependent – on us) human alive for an entire year, whilst not knowing what the hell we were doing most of the time.
That is something worth celebrating!
What It’s Like To Have Kids
Do you want to know what it’s like to have kids? All you need to do is follow these instructions. Truth.
Debenhams Cafe – CLOSED
If you’re ever in need of a place to feed your little one in town, Debenhams Cafe is a good shout. They have a microwave, bottle warmer & plenty of high chairs. Next to the microwave & bottle warmer, they also have little tubs with lids for baby’s food containing a spoon, a disposable bib and a …
People’s Palace & Winter Gardens
We checked out the People’s Palace & Winter Gardens a few days ago.
The Museum
Apart from being a place to run around in, the museum itself doesn’t really cater for young kids. There isn’t much for them to do & we didn’t come across any interactive exhibits or anything at all aimed at young kids.
However since stomping around on her own little mission is my little lady’s favourite thing in the world, it didn’t really matter.
Her favourite thing in the museum was the giant Clyde mascot which she attempted to climb a pillar to get to, and had a tantrum when she was unsuccessful.
The Winter Gardens & Cafe
The Winter Gardens are really nice. It’s warm, there are a lot of plants for a toddler to sniff and there’s a good bit of space to run around in.
The Winter Gardens are my new favourite place to meet up with mummy friends & their babies/toddlers. It’s reasonably central; there’s so much space (plenty space for a bunch of prams), loads of high chairs; and loud toddler voices get lost in the vastness of the giant greenhouse!
The food is decent & they have a nice selection of cakes. And their scones are pretty damn good.
Turtle Tots Baby Swimming
It was certificate day at our Turtle Tots swimming class today. That’s us completed the level 2 toddler course, and we’ve been going to Turtle Tots for over a year, so I figured it was probably about time I did a review.
The Class
It was almost 16 months ago we started going, but I remember our first Turtle Tots class like it was yesterday. The Little Lady was about 12 weeks old and I wasn’t allowed to go in the pool yet (section took a while longer than it should’ve to heal) so her daddy took her instead whilst I sat and watched. There was lots of singing, with Hickory Dickory Dock where the baby goes up the clock being a definite favourite.
She was slightly nonplussed with being in the pool, but our teacher, Kim, was great. I enjoyed watching it, and my husband enjoyed the one-to-one time with her in the class, even if the Little Lady wasn’t overly enthused herself!
Her first submersion, about 4 classes in, was quite traumatic (for me) but again, she wasn’t that bothered. By the end of the term (and into the second term) I think she was the only kid who still cried after been dunked, but she was still happy to be in the pool.
As the classes and levels progressed you do a lot more with the babies, and use lots more equipment. Her favourite was always chasing the squirty fish around the pool, and in the earlier classes chewing on the foam mirror! She also always loved the singing.
In our most recent block she was jumping into the pool, holding onto the edge and monkey-monkeying (shuffling along the pool using her hands), kicking her legs, and we were doing submersions with her on my back holding on round my neck. She was also happy to be on her front in the water, kicking her legs with me just holding her hands.
The Venues
We’ve been to 4 of the venues over the past year and a bit. Some are better than others: some are in state of the art leisure centres and some are in schools – the facilities are obviously going to differ.
The Cost
It recently went up to £120 per term of 10 classes. That is pretty costly, but since the little lady and I (or the little lady and her daddy) have enjoyed the classes so much, and she has learned so much from them (and gotten lots of confidence in the water) I really think it’s been worthwhile.
The Verdict
It’s truly amazing seeing the progress of these tiny tots: jumping in, kicking their legs, using floats, holding onto the edge, going under water for a brief swim (and being happy about it) and really enjoying being in the pool! Not only has it given my Little Lady lots of confidence in the water, but it’s given me lots of confidence in taking her into the water too.
Her nursery recently took her swimming and they reported back that out of the 4 or 5 kids who were there that day, the Little Lady was the only one who was happy to jump in, who was kicking her legs and who was happy to be on her front in the water. Obviously I don’t know what she would’ve been like if she hadn’t gone to Turtle Tots classes, but I certainly wouldn’t have taken her swimming anywhere near as much.
As I said above, the classes are pretty costly – they’re the most expensive classes we’ve ever done, by quite a margin. But she and I, or she and her daddy have enjoyed them so much, and learned so much from them that I honestly think it’s been worthwhile.
Highly recommended.
The Details
Turtle Tots classes take place all over Glasgow and the surrounding areas. There’s bound to be a class near you. You can find more info on their facebook page & website.
Whale of a Time
The little lady and I took her Auntie to her first ever soft play the other day to let both of them have a run around! We took a trip to Whale Of A Time in Shawlands to try it out. The play area The toddler area is great. There’s a ball pool, a bunch …
Feeding Rooms Part I: Out of Town Shopping Centres
A brand new mummy friend asked me the other day about feeding rooms in shopping centres. I used them for the first little while I was out & about (until I realised that people don’t really care that you’re breastfeeding) so I thought I’d write about those I used: the good, the bad and the …
