With a baby that's gearing up to crawl, two indoor kitties & a very lovable fur puppy, our house is constantly in need of a little TLC, health wise. That's why I was really pleased with the selection of goodies we recently received to test out - they fit right in with our lifestyle with little effort on our part. The Mission for Health campaign from Dettol focuses on everyday healthy homes, but also has a goal to save the children in communities abroad, supporting hygienic practices in villages across Indonesia.

These are the products we've been using over the last few days - stay tuned on how to win some for yourself.

The Refresh Instant Hand Sanitiser is one I've used before - we grew very familiar with portable sanitisers after our time spent in the Special Care Nursery. I liked this one because it didn't leave your hands smelling like antiseptic - it's nice and fresh. I've decided to keep this one in my nappy bag for when we're out & about. It's great for using before I feed Georgia solids, particularly when we're in a busy food court or somewhere outdoors.

The No-Touch hand wash System is set up near our kitchen sink; ready to use when we come in from playing in the yard with Spencer, or from changing one of Georgia's nappies at the change table nearby. Hubby was sceptical at first, but I've caught him washing his hands at the kitchen sink in lieu of the bathroom a few times now. It came with batteries included, and it's really quite clever. Just hold your hands underneath & boom - hand wash ready to use. I find this handy while cooking too, since I'm not transferring gunky hands onto the top of the unit. This is my favourite of the products, because it's not something I would necessarily of bought for myself.

Spencer approves - more pats for puppy!

For keeping the kitchen clean, we received the Power & Pure Multipurpose Spray & some of the Surface Cleanser Wipes. My first job was to tackle the microwave and the stove with the wipes, which I loved. I was a little unsure at first, as the wipes feel really dry when you pull them out of the tub - but they seem to foam up as you use them, which was a nice surprise. I've also used the wipes for cleaning some lightly used books we were given for Georgia, and for giving some of her more toys a bit of a spot clean. The trigger spray is going to be a great all purpose one, and doesn't smell harsh like I would have predicted.

Now.... all that said, how would you like to win some for yourself? My favourite product was the No-Touch hand wash system, because it looks snazzy in my kitchen & works a treat. The kind folks at the Mission for Health team have two of these units to give away. To enter, simply leave a comment here at the blog telling me which product from the current Dettol range you would find most useful for your home. I'll enlist Georgia's help to randomly pick two winners from the comments! :) Please note this giveaway is for Australian residents only.

Just a few days after Georgia entered into this past month, she started bashing out the milestones. It was crazy!

I'm starting to reach for people with both arms now!

This month Georgia has:

• Said her first word - MUM. Or, more specifically, Mumumumum. Made my heart swell, such a special moment. :)
• Said her second word too! Dadadada. She likes to whisper this word, which is very sweet.
• Sprouted her first tooth! It popped out fairly quickly and caused a LOT of grief. It's a wee bit crooked. Tooth number two is still coming out, and it too is creating havoc. Stupid teeth!
• Had two colds - which we think are because of the afore-mentioned tooth is still an unknown. The poor thing is teething and snotty and sick and miserable all at the same time, and we are all exhausted.

• Cracked the 8kg mark! She weighed in at 8.3kg this week - but had a GIGANTIC nappy explosion not long after the appointment, which I swear weighed 200g by itself. ;) She's also 69cm long now and has crept up to the 50th percentile for height AND weight. 
• Started eating pasta and meat. We still purée over here for the most part, but she's experimenting with different textures now. She has also chowed down on some finger foods, like banana, toast & rice rusks. She's still not a fan of peas or broccoli on their own, but has eaten everything else. Such a good girl.
• Sat for two photoshoots! The first one didn't go too well {it was on the same weekend as her tooth/cold/swimming} but the second one produced many sweet family photographs.

You can see all of Georgia's week by week pictures by clicking here.

I was SO pleased that our sleep training had gone well last week. Five days in, and Georgia was able to get herself off to bed in her cot - sure, it took a while & I was still in the room {out of sight} but she was doing it! We even had our first sleep through again for the first time in months.

But then, things went haywire. Hubby got home from his interstate trip, and we got sick. It started with Georgia skipping her afternoon nap - which turned into up every hour, on the hour, and not much sleep for any of us. After that came more nap skipping & screaming like a banshee constantly. It's so heartbreaking to see all the good efforts you've made go flying out the window, when you're doing practically everything exactly the same.

I was at a loss - until I saw a little flash of white. Yep, I now know the culprit for all this chaos - her second tooth is jigging around under there, and hasn't yet cut through. Bloody teeth!

This time, we're well armed. Panadol, Nurofen, Bonjela & SM-33 creams. Lots of cuddles and a whole lot of deep breaths & patience. I'm hoping she'll get this tooth quickly, because the last few days have been a nightmare.

Oy, it's been a big week.

Georgia had her first swimming lesson this past weekend - we started off a little unsure of ourselves...

I'm a few days late with our month seven run-down. I can't even comprehend that it's November, seriously.

I'm starting to reach for people with both arms now!

This month Georgia has:

• Grown so much! I look at her pictures now and she looks more like a little girl & less like a baby.
• Become much easier to travel with. Apart from me being organised with the solids and what-not, she copes much better with being thrown in the car/pram & going with the flow.
• Had her hair keep on growing - but only at the front! The back is still super fine fuzz, and I'm hoping it catches up with her fringe mullet (aka frullet) soon. I can pull it to the side with clips, but I want to put some pigtails in that silky hair!

• Continued sitting up on her own - and lasts much longer now. She looks so pleased to be able to interact with her toys/people from a whole new angle. Still droops sideways after a while though.
• Scratched herself constantly - but not with her fingernails, as you might have imagined. No, being flexible enough to keep your toes in your mouth, means that scratches come from toenails too!
• Been much more comfortable on her belly - but only for short amounts of time. She still prefers being upright, and loves spending time in her jumperoo and activity centre.
• Started making crawling-esque movements with her legs and bum. There's a bit of effort into pushing off with her legs and wiggling her backside, but not a lot else happening yet. All in good time...

You can see all of Georgia's week by week pictures by clicking here.

Every night before bed, we follow a similar routine with Georgia.

If hubby is home, he starts it off with a bath - otherwise, it's all me. After the bath, we have a massage on the change table, get her dressed, and read her a book. Then we nurse & follow up with a top up bottle of expressed milk.

And before I put her into bed, while rocking her to get her drowsy, I tell her a few things - I love you, time for bed, night night - and this:

It's been insanely hot already this year, and Spring has barely just begun. I'm not looking forward to the warm days that are ahead of us, or the bushfire threats that they bring along with them, but they do bring back memories.