On holiday with Baby
Packing to go on holiday with a baby can feel like taking everything and the kitchen sink with you. Here at Coombe Mill we know just how stressful packing can be with the worry of a journey ahead too. We do everything we can to ensure when you arrive to everything ‘just so’ for your family break. All our properties have built in stair gates top and bottom. Extras from cots and highchairs to blackout blinds and more are no trouble to order. We even have a borrow room with toys games, potties and trainer seats and even baby bottles and a sterilizer kit. But there is only one steriliser here to borrow so we advise you to bring your own.
The Milton Solo Travel Steriliser
The baby sterilising experts Milton, have come up with the perfect portable lightweight steriliser for Mums on the go. It is a 2-in-1 microwave or cold water steriliser, ideal for sterilising when travelling or away from home. It cleans and sterilises bottles, teethers, plastic toys, breastfeeding equipment and other small baby equipment. It takes from 2 minutes in the microwave and in 15 minutes for cold water.
Its unique ‘lay flat’ design fits in most microwaves. Just as well all our properties have a standard size microwave. There is no waiting around after a fun day out on the farm or at the beach.
The Milton Solo Travel Steriliser is a practical way to sterilise that works at home, for a day trip out, an overnight stay or packing for that special holiday away. The patented vent technology means the Solo retains more heat for better sterilisation, automatically releasing excess steam gently and safely.
Need to know details:
RRP: £10.99.
Available at John Lewis, Kiddicare, Ocado and Superdrug
The Travel Steriliser is just one from the Milton Product Range
Win your Milton Solo Travel Steriliser with Coombe Mill.
The lovely folk at Milton are giving Coombe Mill readers the chance to WIN one of two travel sterilisers. If you are a parent on the go and would like to be in with a chance of winning just follow the instructions below.
Disclosure
I have not tried or seen this product myself; all information regarding the product is from Milton. However I did use Milton tablets to sterilise bottles and breast pumps with my own children. I would recommend them as a trustworthy brand.
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No more airing your dirty laundry in public!
Long ago our new boot room was a laundry room and a hive of activity here on the farm. A meeting point for parents as washing machines whirled and tumble driers spun at the end of a day on the farm. However the room has looked very sad and unloved for the past 12 months since we decommissioned all our remaining riverside lodges. The cottages and Scandinavian lodges all have their own washing machines and tumble driers which much more convenient for our guests than carrying washing out to an onsite laundry.
Pondering a new use for the laundry
It has taken us a long time to work out how best to use the space. It was always going to be a big job to make all the electrics safe in the room after the machines were removed, but as the log cabin stands in a prime spot in the middle of the Coombe Mill estate we were keen to come up with a new use that would be beneficial to our holiday guests.
- We considered a games room, but found a better space for this
- We thought of moving our storage room here to make it more convenient for our cleaners, but decided the steps weren’t ideal with heavy Henry Hoovers and log baskets.
- Finally we agreed the area currently most cramped was the borrow room. This space was impossible to keep tidy with everything from welly boots to dressing up clothes fighting for space.
The games, toys and dressing up clothes all moved over to a spare corner of the new Games Room. Now you can see the books clearly and collect a game without them all toppling down on you.
DIY SOS to create a boot room
Farmer Nick took professional help in making all the electrics in the new boot room safe before getting the family team involved in painting, cleaning and re-flooring.
With a clean fresh room we began to plan our displays. I was keen to hang the wetsuits rather than have them all jumbled in a bucket and create a hanging wall rather like in the utility room of Tree Roots Cottage for farm overalls. There was also the question of what to do with wet items.
Nick used old sections of roof from the play barn which he cut to size, glossed, hung with pegs for the overalls.
For wet items he plumbed in an old shower tray with one of the roof panel boards above and attached a hanging rail. This made a perfect place for wet wetsuits to hang or farm overalls to dry. With a tap right outside our vision was taking shape.
Finally with all the remaining items carried over I wasn’t happy with the clutter still in buckets on the floor. Nick put up shelves for me for the wellington boots. Now it was possible to clearly see sizes and pairs just at a glance.
Badminton rackets and cricket / rounders sets were hung on more pegs along with baby carriers.
Finally we removed the old Laundry sign and added a shiny new one so everyone would know what was inside.
Our boot room makeover complete
At last we have a boot room to be proud of. One that could really be used without undertaking a giant hunt in the hope of emerging with the item you needed and a separate games room with everything from scrabble to ping pong.
Swapping soap powder and dirty laundry woes for beach tips and the best farm puddle gear seems a much better way to socialise on holiday.
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We’re Going on a Deer Hunt
June is the month where we start our baby deer hunt in earnest. It is a highlight of the morning feed run to go trekking through the beautiful Jurassic age field with its granite outcrops, old oak trees and bracken patches. The deer stand at a distance watching us.
We stay in a group so as not to frighten the flighty deer and hunt up through the field into the undergrowth. Deer hide their newborns in camouflage locations to keep predators at bay, returning just couple of times a day to feed. The youngsters know to keep very quiet and still and this is their best means of defense. Only when you go too close will they jump up and run to find their Mother.
We only want to take a peep and not disturb them so we have a system of being very quiet and putting our hand up from a distance if one is seen. This way everyone can look in without scaring the fawn into bolting. Despite this Mum still seems to know we have been around and the following day they have been moved to a new hiding place leaving us searching once again.
Baby Deer
Baby deer are called fawns or fowls depending on species. Ours are Fallow Deer and they have fawns with a singleton known as a calf. Animal Corner has a wealth of information.
The photo below is from last week and the clearest I have. It was so temping to move the bracken for a closer look but I knew that would be wrong.
This week we found a younger deer with darker markings. I’d say this one is under a week old and even more hidden by bracken making it very hard to focus the lens or move in too close, Mum was doing her job well!
By the end of the week the little one from the first photo was up and spending parts of the day out with Mum. It is not until they are all up that we will know for sure how many we had this year. Birds of prey, foxes and dogs are a constant hazard in the early weeks; we are keeping our fingers crossed for the two we have seen.
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New Runner ducks were a hit with the children here at Coombe Mill this week.
Welcome to Country Kids from Coombe Mill
I have been running this linky for over 4 years and would love you to join in. The objectives today are the same as they have always been:
“Encourage family fun outdoors, in an age where technology and screens are such a draw to a sedentary indoor life”
Welcome back if you are a regular to Country Kids and if you are new please join in. You will find plenty of inspiration for enjoying outdoor space and please do share your own adventures. We support the #30DaysWild challenge and National Trust 100 things to do before you are 11¾ along with all other ideas for family fun outside.
Guidelines for Joining in:
- Post must be predominantly outdoors such as in the garden, the park, the woods or the beach with crafting, learning, exploring or playing.
- Despite the title, both countryside and urban outdoor adventures are welcome.
- Large unheated covered areas like a barn or tent count as outdoors.
- Comment on my host post and a minimum of 3 others of your choice.
- If you use #CountryKids when commenting the post owner will know where your found them and hopefully come back to visit your post.
- Please take my badge, without it you won’t be considered for winning the lovely Rockfish Wellies.
- Link posts should be written and made live within the last 2 months.
- I understand sometimes you need to do catch up posts and write about something from a couple of months ago but the publish date should be within 2 months.
- By joining in with Country Kids you’re giving me permission to email you weekly as a reminder.
- There is no restriction on the number of posts that can be linked up, however please be sensible, if you have more than 3 consider linking over a few weeks.
Thank you to my top 3 commenters from last week:
1st Merlinda from Glimmer of Hope who commented on 20 posts
2nd Sarah from Boo Roo and Tigger Too who commented on 13 posts
3rd Becky from Lakes Single Mum who Commented on 9 posts
Do check out their posts too.
My top commented post will automatically qualify for a chance at the Rockfish wellies below provided other giveaway criteria are met.
Thank you for interacting more again this week, ‘link dump and run’ culprits dropped again this week from 6 to 3. Please pop back here to rectify if this was you last week.
Welcome to our new members joining Country Kids for the first time last week, lovely to see you here and please join in again.
Squidge and Boo enjoy water play in the summer sunshine
Chocolate and Wine I’ll be fine enjoyed some fab adventures despite the rain.
Introducing Rockfish, the Country Kids Sponsor
Win a pair of wellies from Rockfish Monthly
I am delighted to announce that Rockfish have joined with Coombe Mill to sponsor the Country Kids link up. Rockfish are a local Cornish company specializing in stylish Wellingtons for all the family. We have been offering their country wellies in our borrow room here on the farm for over a year and they are always popular for their style, comfort and durability.
Each week my favourite #CountryKids posts, which include my badge or a link back here, will be considered for a free pair of Rockfish Wellies at the end of the month; the perfect way to enjoy the outdoors whatever the weather throws your way.
For more more information on the Rockfish Wellies on offer with us and terms and conditions to win see here
Post from last week in with a chance of the June Rockfish Wellies:
My most commented post from Glimmer of Hope about meeting an idol not far from home.
Herne Hill Mum enjoyed an unusual day out exploring Nunhead Cemetery
Would Like To Be enjoyed a picnic in the countryside.
Country Kids Communities
I’d love you to join me:
Pin on the Pinterest Board Just ask for an invite to pin and include Country Kids on your pins for me to stop by on your boards too
Follow Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays’s board Country Kids from Coombe Mill on Pinterest.
Join the Google Plus community page for Country Kids and add #CountryKids to your tag elsewhere for a +1 from me
Share your posts on Instagram and Twitter with #CountryKids for a like or a re-tweet
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With Father’s day almost upon us Father’s day crafts felt like an obvious choice for a theme to our Activity hour this week. The children were all quite young so I wanted to keep things as simple as I could whilst still creating something worthwhile and fun to make.
Father’s Day Crafts
We began by making cards. Each child chose from my lovely stash of colours paper and then glued on their choice of Father’s Day Messages. From here it was into the paints for a spot of colour play and creative designs.
What Daddy doesn’t appreciate a Number I Dad Medal? The children set to work painting and colouring our pre cut circular medals. I had a plan for these but we needed to allow the paint to dry first.
While our medals and cards were drying we set off on a nature hunt through the fairy gardens. Farmer Nick had just finished trimming back the overgrown branches and mulching them for the fairy garden pathways. It was looking very green and spacious in there. The children were able to easily pick out some fallen purple Rhododendrons and their choice of leaves for the next Father’s day crafts.
We worked our way along the river bank picking daises, red campions and buttercups. The children compared their favourites and held up the buttercups under chins to see who liked butter!
When we reached the Mud kitchen we set to work making Father’s Day pies with some of our collected treasures.
With pies safely cooking in the oven for the Daddies the children took the opportunity for a little free play. Clambering aboard the tractor, they re-enacted the feed run each claiming they were Farmer Nick. They would jump off, telling us which animal they were feeding next, have a little play and hop back aboard the tractor again. This was all quite spontaneous and not in my plan, but I was happy to go with the flow and watch their game develop.
Finally the last imaginary animals were fed and we continued with our remaining nature treasures back to the craft table. Here we made nature ties with pretty flower designs.
While the children finished their ties I laminated the Medals and threaded wool through. They each finished up with a fine set of gifts from our Father’s Day Crafts and enjoyed their afternoon out in the fresh air making them.
