Monkee Genes; A Review

I have wanted a pair jeans from of Monkee Genes for a couple of years - ever since I discovered that such a company existed- but I assumed I would not be able to afford them. 

Monkee Genes makes organic, fairly traded unisex jeans and trousers. 

The Monkee Genes slogan and promise is: 

NO BLOOD

NO SWEAT

NO TEARS

This is exactly what I am looking for when buying fairly traded clothes. A company that cares about every part of the manufacturing process and can honestly say that every person involved in making their clothes is paid a fair wage. Something else I look for is good quality, good looking and comfortable clothes (also ideally not too hippyish). Monkee Genes fit the bill.

My photos don't quite do them justice (my photographer could do with going on a course - or he could buy me a tripod!)

My new jeans are purple, made of bamboo and fit really nicely. The bamboo gives them a nice stretch and a relaxed fit, they stay in shape all day.

Monkee Genes have a big choice of fit and colours. 

Prices range from £50 -£70 which is a reasonable for good quality jeans.

 My pair were a freaking steal! I shopped the sale- naturally. 

I paid £15 and £5 postage. 

I would buy another pair in another colour but I think I should probably wait until Autumn as I don't wear jeans that much over summer.

I got really confused about the sizing because the size is in man sizes, but there is an easy conversion chart on the website, I followed its advice and they fit great.

The only thing I'm not too keen on is the length of the front pockets. I think it's because they are unisex, my phone and change get lost half way down my leg. In the grand scheme of things this is just a niggle.

T-shirt- Wombat, Jeans- Monkee Genes, Pumps- Newlook

I hope that next time you want to buy a pair of jeans you will look at the Monkee Genes website and see if you can find a pair you like. If you are going to spend the money on jeans anyway, why not try Monkee Genes.

Fred 7 month update

This month my little baby has turned in to a tiny boy. 

I am stupidly sentimental about the little baby we were blessed with 7 months ago but I am also really excited about all of the new things he is learning daily.

Fred is now continually inquisitive. He wants to explore everything, it is amazing to watch him discover his world.

Fred now weighs 19 lbs, he has put on an impressive 2 pounds in a month!

He has suddenly got a little belly and deliciously squidgy thighs. 

We have been having so much fun with food recently, some meals Fred doesn't eat much, more food ends up on the floor then in his mouth.

One of the baby led weaning mantras is 'food before one is just for fun' I try not to worry about how much solid food he is eating but some days I put humous on everything just to make sure he eats some. 

As you can see from the pic below, food is most definitely fun.

This month we have had a few 'firsts'...

Fred's first Easter and subsequent Easter egg hunt 

(we had our exploring hats on).

Fred's First Wedding, Which was also the first time he has been properly embarrassed by Mummy.

Yes we took his highchair but forgot his bib, that's just how we roll.

Fred continues to Dance and has mastered clapping. In the last few weeks he has found his voice. He screams and yodels really loudly just to experiment with his voice. It is fun but sometimes I worry what the neighbours may think. 

Sleeping is still only OK, we are working on making it better though.

Fred loves being followed, every time we go upstairs one of us holds him while the other follows. It gives him so much joy. 

He also now gives us proper hugs and has started kind-of kissing me. 

An unexpected and welcome bonus of Fred dancing is that Jamie now plays his guitar more often.

We are really blessed to have a generally happy boy who is easily entertained.

First night out - What I Wore

Last Friday I got to go to my Friend Abbie's 30 birthday bash. I couldn't go to all of it because they went for a meal starting at 6.30pm and I had to be home to feed Fred before bed.

I did manage to have time to straighten my hair, put on some make up, choose my outfit and paint my nails. It was luxurious!

It was lovely to get out to see people I haven't seen for a while and do something completely unrelated to Fred. But of course everyone just wanted to talk about him. Its funny people often complain that mums only talk about their children and are very boring, but most people bought the conversation around to him!

Oh well it was still enjoyable, and I got to have a REAL cocktail!

My challenge to myself this year is to only buy fairly traded or second hand clothes. 

This skirt is from People Tree, it was in the sale before Christmas.

 I LOVE IT. 

There are so many good things about the skirt.

 I love where it sits on my waist, that I can manage to fit a cardigan underneath it, that it is the perfect length for picnics, it has lovely deep pockets, and it doesn't need ironing!

We don't have a huge amount of money to spend on clothes, so both Jamie and I try to buy things that we will keep and wear for years to come. 

I don't follow fashion too closely, I just wear clothes that are comfortable and make me feel pretty. 

The cardigan pictured I have had for 7 years (I know that is probably taking it a bit too far) I have had to mend hole in it and re-dye it. Finding the perfect black cardigan is so difficult that I gave up and mended the one I had. 

It has seen better days.

Fairly traded clothes can be expensive, for the obvious reason - everyone in the supply chain is being paid a fair wage. To make my money stretch further I often take advantage of the end of or mid season sales. I have just ordered some Jeans from Monkee Genes that I found in their sale section, they were a steal at £15!

These photos have made me realise I need some new pumps, they are a state.

Fred 6 months update

So Fred us now 6 months old! 

He is fun now, he giggles and dances, and is learning to clap. 

(he hasn't quite got it yet, but he is trying)

We got Fred some sunglasses, he loves them!

I went and got Fred weighed last week, he is 17lb.

His current favourite foods are crumpets, asparagus, mango, and apple.

In the last couple of weeks he has grown his two lower front teeth, which has completely knocked his sleep off kilter. He still has two naps, one longer 2 hour nap in the morning and a half hour nap in the afternoon. He is generally asleep by half 7 but has been waking up 3 or 4 times before he gets up between 6.30 and 7.30 am. Its tiring but it isn't half as bad as it was!

This month as well as learning to dance and clap (sort of) Fred has learnt to sit up, grab his feet and pull his socks off. He is happier now that he can sit up and look around.

Swimming lessons are going so much better now,

 He even swam under water last week!

 My parents came to visit last weekend, it was so nice to have extra help. We took Fred in his first boat trip, and we all went swimming. 

This month we made up a new game called baby fishing.

Thankfully we haven't had any illness this month. 

Lets hope it continues!

Ordinary moments:- Getting to grips with food

For a couple of weeks now we have let Fred play with some of our food. He isn't yet 6months but he was almost snatching the food from out plates so we decided that he was ready to have a go at eating. 

We are doing baby led weaning, this means Fred feeds himself chunks of food and we don't use purees. It is comforting to know that because Fred is in control of what and how much he eats, he wouldn't be eating unless he was ready.

He is definitely eating! We have even found some food his nappy. So far his favourite foods are cucumber, crumpets, apple, tomato and porridge. He is not such a fan of broccoli and cauliflower, he pulls some great faces as he gets to experience we tastes and textures.

Although fun, food is very messy! This morning he managed to get weetabix inside of his coverall bib, as well as all over his face, high chair and floor.

I have linked up with Ordinary Moments over at Mummy daddy me again this week.

Baby Fred at 5 months

Our cheeky little monkey is growing fast! I can't quite believe he is 5 months old already.

The last month has been a bit of a blur - thanks to the lack of sleep. 

Since sleeping more Fred now giggles a lot more and his balance has improved considerably! It may just be a coincidence but I think it's related.

Fred now sleeps loads better. He generally has two naps a day one much longer than the other. Over night for 4 of the last 7 nights he has gone to bed just after 7, woken once for food and slept until the morning. It is amazing! I feel like a whole new person. Although now that some of the fog of tiredness has lifted I am noticing how much I HATE my hair. (something I am going to be sorting out today!)

Currently Fred's favourite toy is Terry the Triceratops. Terry is bright, jingly, crackly, squeaky and even has a chewy ring. 

Last week we started swimming lessons. He hated it. He sucked my shoulder the whole time. I have been told we will like it better this week. We shall see!

He is nearly rolling over, but he would prefer to be able to sit himself up. He spends most of the time that he is on his back doing a baby version of crunches.

We have started letting Fred play with food, currently he just gums bits of cucumber and sucks out the juice, he is really enjoying it though. As we are going to do baby led weaning I feel it is OK to let him explore food now so that he will start eating when he is ready. 

I'm afraid that once again I have no idea how much he weighs, just more. He has nearly grown out of his 3- 6 month sleep suits. 

I am hoping that this month his sleeping continues to improve, we avoid illness and he learns to like swimming.

AWOL - Struggling

 Sorry I have been missing from this blog for a couple of weeks. We have been having a difficult time and suffering from a severe of sleep. We are now doing a lot better, but it is always hard to find my blogging mojo again after a couple of weeks off. I have many blog posts planned - I am nearly a week late with Fred's 5 month update! 

As I said we are now doing loads better. We have even managed to catch up on some sleep! I wrote the following post at the height of my sleep deprivation. I think it is important for me to publish it as it is part of my story and it is only right that I blog about some of the hard things of motherhood as well as the good things.

Struggling

So this is what sleep deprivation looks like. 

What it feels like is drowning in tiredness, exhaustion and emotion.

For 5 nights now Fred has been waking too many times for me to cope. He has never been a great sleeper. I have become used to a mild amount of sleep deprivation and a manageable amount of tiredness.

 Waking 4 times a night now seems a luxury compared to this week. Last night has so far been the worst nights sleep since Fred was born. He slept for less than an hour at a time. A few times his slept for less than 10 minutes before he needed settling again. It is soul destroying.

I honestly feel that if I don't get more sleep soon my body will stop working. How can an exhausted body feed a ravenous baby? 
How can an exhausted body rock him to sleep yet one more time? 
How can an emotionally drained Mum love him as much as he deserves?
How can an exhausted Dad help over night and still manage to go to work?
How can you help a baby to learn how to sleep when you aren't even sure you remember how?
How many times do I have to say if he slept life would be perfect for it to happen? 
How many times can I be expected to pray for sleep before giving up?
How can we make this better?