The Pink Lining - Yummy Mummy Bag Review

When I was pregnant one of the most exciting buys for me, cot and pushchair aside...was my changing bag. I wanted something that I would not be ashamed to take out and about with me, something that was unique and something that did not look like your everyday changing bag. 

There are so many different options out there, in different colours and styles but only one very special brand has the most vibrant pink, water resistant lining. 

Pink Lining.

The Pink Lining changing bags have always turned my head when I have seen them going past me in the street, draped provocatively over someone else's pushchair prompting that little green eyed monster to rear his ugly head. I dropped a number of hints to Luke in the hope that he may make one appear, but my not so tactile hints of leaving the computer screen open on the coveted Yummy Mummy bag did not work. 

Pink Lining must have got wind of my passion for their bags, as they kindly sent me their new Yummy Mummy Blue Bouquet bag from their just released Autumn Winter range. 

The Yummy Mummy changing bag is Pink Lining's most popular bag, and it comes in Four unique designs. 

The bag arrived really well packaged, in a official Pink Lining box giving a clue as to what treasures were to be found as I delved inside. Inside the box I was greeted with the trademark Pink. The bag had been wrapped up in vibrant Pink paper which I thought was a lovely touch.

With all the paper removed it looked like Christmas had come early, and I was now face to face with my new changing bag. 

I knew I would already love the design, there was never any doubt about this. It is sky Blue with colourful flower bouquets, tied with a Red ribbon. On the front you have the Yummy Mummy slogan and famous cupcake on the front pocket. Pink stars and Yellow hearts accompany the lovely colour's and make this a great bag for those winter's day's when we all just need a little bit of colour in our lives.

Aside from the beautiful design of the bag, I was instantly impressed by the bag's size. It is bigger than I first thought it would be, but not too big. It offers you a means to get everything you need inside while still being practical. In those early days when you cannot leave the house without the kitchen sink, you will be very thankful for all the room that comes with this bag.

The outer Fabric on the bag is a cotton canvas which is then coated in PEVA laminate which enables you to just wipe clean with a damp cloth. You would never guess that it was laminate just by looking at it, and I have to admit this is a feature I did not know about. From all the Pink Lining bag's I have seen whisk past me in the street, and that I have sat staring at online, I had just automatically assumed that it was an entirely canvas material used on the bag.

I could have jumped for joy when I realised that I could just wipe this bag clean, and keep it looking pretty. 

My old bag is now stained and has certainly seen better days after boasting just a material finish.  

The vibrant pink lining inside the bag is water resistant and absolutely perfect for carrying around sippy cups and bottles of milk. Leo's drinks are always leaking and the fact I have just been able to grab a towel and dry it out has made getting in and out in a hurry so much easier.

When it comes to babies you are bound to have spillages being as prepared as possible is defiantly the way forward.

Inside the bag are a number of different pockets for all of the many things that you need as a parent. There are 2 insulated bottle holders, which are absolutely fabulous. I still tend to take a bottle of milk out and about with me as sometimes Leo may just need a rare bottle of milk before he has a nap, and I just like to be prepared. The bottle insulators allow me to keep the milk cooler for longer and just keep the bottles out of the way so that they don't free fall around the bag. 

My old changing bag featured a separate milk insulator that I was forever losing. I much prefer having everything together and on hand for exactly when I need it. 

There are two long nappy pockets which allow me to put Leo's nappy's in standing up right. It keeps them neat and together and they don't come out looking battered and bruised as they usually do when you have squeezed them into a pocket.

Have you ever put your car keys in your changing bag, and then come back 5 minutes later and you cannot find them for love nor money? I know I have. So this next feature really put a smile on my face. There is a key fob on stretchy elastic, enabling you to always know where your key is. If I had a £1 for everytime I have lost my key in my changing bag on past occasions I would be a millionaire, hopefully this will now be a thing of the past...As I really don't have an excuse any more!

Now for anyone who has ever ooo'd and arrh'd over a Pink Lining bag, you will be very familiar with the padded cupcake changing mat and wet bag. The changing mat follows suit in being wipe clean and water resistant, which is exactly what you need from a changing mat. It is a great size as Leo fits comfortably on it (legs permitted of course) and if he does dirty the mat it is so easy to clean there on the spot with a baby wipe.

My old changing mat had to be machine washed if it got dirty, and this was not always practical and meant I had to bring it home with me dirty.

Of course if your little one is anything like Leo then you may still find yourself dealing with mucky pups. Leo is always dirtying clothes, and he is always dirtying my clothes. Having a wet bag with a zip is something that I would classify as essential. Somewhere to lock away those dirty clothes from the rest of the bag and the spare change of clothes that you always have to take out with you for such emergencies!

For everything that I have to carry around with me on a day to day basis, the Yummy Mummy Pink Lining bag keeps everything exactly where you put it and above all else organised. Organisation is exactly what you need when everything else about having a baby is so un-organised...Or is that just me!?

In all my time of admiring Pink Lining from a far, there were features of the changing bag that I did not know about. I based my initial views on a Pink Lining bag completely on the look of the bag, and never even considered the practicality value which has really stepped the Pink Lining range up even higher in my books.  

I can fit absolutely everything in this bag. Leo's juice, milk, snacks, spare change of clothes and I can even fit in everything that I will then need for me throughout the day. Stepping out with my Yummy Mummy changing bag not only puts a big smile on my face but it also reassures me that I have absolutely everything that I could possibly need throughout the day, and that I know exactly where everything is.

They say that beauty is only skin deep but Pink Lining changes all of that.

I would highly recommend Pink Lining to Mummy's to be, new Mummy's and Mummy's! Not only is this bag stunning but it has everything that you could possibly need in a changing bag, and I love that they have taken everything into consideration. 

When I was pregnant I gave my changing bag so much thought and that is because it is something that I was going to be using for the foreseeable future, so if you are looking for the perfect treat for yourself, or are very good at dropping hints to your better half....Think Pink Lining.

The Pink Lining Yummy Mummy bag retails at £79.00 and you can purchase your's here.

If you wanted to read more you can read another review by fellow blogger U Me And The Kids for the Mama et Bebe Changing Bag.

Disclaimer: I was sent the Pink Lining Yummy Mummy bag for the purpose of this review, however all views and opinions are completely honest and my own.

Oopsy Daisy...

As parent’s I am sure we have all shared similar moments at one point or another.

There are the moments of complete excitement when your little one achieves that next pivotal milestone, when pure happiness just washes over you. But then there are the moments that nightmares are made of, moments that will bind your body tight and you can do nothing but watch the scenario unfold.

Yesterday Leo was sat at the table in his booster seat enjoying a full English breakfast. Well a small sausage and hash brown anyway! He was sat on the opposite side of the table to me next to his Aunty, and he was having a great time using his cutlery and attempting to get the food onto the end of his fork.

Leo was doing so well, and was thoroughly enjoying his breakfast, but as usual he had soon had his fill and was getting fractious. He started to push his feet against the table causing him to teeter on his chair. I called out to Alice to grab the chair but she was oblivious to the goings on and continued to eat her breakfast.

I called out again, but it was too late.

My heart was beating so fast but at the same time it had stopped all together. I watched Leo’s chair falling backwards to the floor and I could do nothing to help him. I saw Luke lunge forward to try and catch the chair before impact, but everything had just happened way too quickly.

The chair continued falling in slow motion until it hit the floor, and it hit the floor with a bang, and the bang was followed by the screams of my little man. Daddy picked Leo out of the chair and the tears were falling down his little cheeks. A mixture of fear and pain.

I gave him the biggest cuddle as only Mummy cuddles would do at this moment in time. I could feel my heart beating over time, and I was shaking head to foot. I checked his head all over and felt a small lump forming on the back of his head.

My poor little man.

I felt awful that Leo took such a tumble in his booster seat, and I still do. He has been fine ever since and the not so great adventure had been completely forgotten on his part after a few minutes.

I have foreseen this accident happening for a while now, and that is why we always push the chair away from the table if we have to move away from him at any time. We never leave him on his own in it and we always make sure someone is sat next to him.

I usually sit right next to Leo and keep my foot firmly on the bottom of the chair, so should he kick away I can prevent anything from happening. On this occasion though, for some un-known reason I did not do this. I thought with his Aunty Alice there she would be able to grab him if anything was to happen, but sometimes accidents do happen and there is nothing that you can do to stop them no matter how hard you want to.

I hated feeling powerless and unable to help Leo when he needed me most. There was no time for me to get around the table and grab him, and Daddy was just that little bit to far away too.

Lessons have been learnt from this experience though, and we will be extra careful in future. Mummy or Daddy must be the one’s to sit next to Leo in case he decides to take another flying lesson, and hopefully Leo will not be so quick to repeat this in the future.

I think this will have to be chalked down to experiential learning on all parts. As at the end of the day, we are all still learning and we will all make mistakes.

The Little Life Day Sack Review & Giveaway!

Leo is at an age now where he is craving his independence but is not quite ready to branch off on his own, so I find myself struggling to give him the right combination of letting him fly solo topped up with the right dose of mothering.

When we go out and about now Leo will more often than not want to walk for a little while, he now has the strength to go for little walks around the local town, and he loves taking in every little detail around him. His innocent mind makes everything seem magical, even that crisp packet blowing in the breeze is ample reason to stop, bend down and marvel. Everything is new and exciting and when you are navigating the world around you with a toddler in tow, then you really need to know that you have them under control and that most importantly they are safe.

The biggest problem we have come across is that Leo will not hold my hand while we are out, if I am lucky enough to get him to do so for even a moment then that’s short lived and over in the blink of an eye. He loves to run ahead, stop when he wants and go where he pleases, but he couldn’t possibly do this by holding my hand.

With this in mind it has got me thinking of ways to combat this issue and ways of giving him what he desires while also being able to keep him in check. There are many different ways to keep your little one close, plenty of reign designs, from wrist straps to body reigns to choose from and now toddler bags that have a built in purpose reign. The beauty of a toddler bag is that as your little one get’s older they can carry the things they wish to take out with them, and you can still keep them at arms length.

Leo has been sent a LittleLife Dino Day Sack from the lovely people at Simply Hike. I loved the look of this little bag and wondered whether or not this would aid our experience while out and about. I am pleased to share that it did provide a very positive experience and allowed me to relax more while letting Leo gallivant about the town.

Day Sack Features:

- Top Grab Handle

- Removable Day Sack Reign

- Weatherproof Hood

- Zipped entry to main compartment

- Internal Name & Address Tag

- Adjustable Padded Shoulder Straps

- Chest Strap to prevent the strap from slipping

- Available in 10 animal designs – Ladybird, Turtle, Cow, Bee, Shark, Butterfly, Dinosaur, Spider, Clownfish and Giraffe

- Complies with safety standard EN 13210-2004 for children’s harnesses and reigns

What I loved about the LittleLife Day Sack range was that each of the designs had their own personality, and added that special factor in the child’s eyes. The Dino design is just great, featuring scales and even the ridges going down the spine of the bag, finishing on the tail, which really does complete the Dino’s look.

The reign attaches to a little handle on the back of the Day Sack, and once attached it is very secure and not going to be freeing any little monsters when you least expect it. Once the child outgrows the bag or you don’t have a need for the reign you can just take the reign off the handle and store it away in the bag, leaving you with a very characteristic back pack.

The Day Sack has a substantially sized main compartment, that we are not currently using as I don’t want to weigh Leo down with all of his bits and bobs, but as he get’s older it will be perfect for him to take along to nursery. It is big enough to house his drink, snacks and everything that he will need for a day out. There is even a separate compartment that hides away a weatherproof hood. It is within easy reach for Mummy or Daddy to whip it out at the first sign of rain, and this little hood completes the Dinosaur look. The hood has yet more ridges just as on the back of the bag that really allows your little one to get into character.

You can really feel the quality in this bag, and it is the perfect size and weight for a toddler to make use of, tipping the scales at just 200g. The LittleLife Day Sacks are suitable for children 1 year up to the age of 4 years old due to the padded adjustable shoulder straps that grow with the child. To make sure that the bag was set up correctly for Leo’s use I simply slipped the bag onto his shoulders and did up the front clasp. I then just adjusted the shoulder straps until I was happy with the fit and how it was sitting on Leo. With winter on the way it is great to know that we will be able to use the Day Sack with a winter coat, by just being able to adjust the straps to suit whatever Leo is wearing.

Last weekend armed with the Day Sack our little family of 3 decided to take a drive into town for a leisurely lunch and walk around the town. So that is exactly what we did, I strapped the bag onto Leo’s back and off he went. He looked so pleased with himself trotting along and acting just as he usually would. Only this time I was happy as I had the control and the knowledge that he could not run off.

On Leo’s travels around the town he came across a robotic talking Hippo named Harry, (No seriously!) who happened to be going around the streets signing songs and talking to the children on a trike ( I really am telling you the truth!). Leo was walking along as always ahead of me, when he came across Harry and he stopped right there in his tracks, staring at the unusual sight. I wasn’t sure whether he was going to cry and want carrying or would see the humour in the situation. Of course Leo being Leo soon loved this unusual robot and began to follow him as he moved away on his trike. Parents and children alike couldn’t quite work out how this robot was talking back to everyone and peddling his trike.

In the end I had to pick Leo up and carry him away from Harry, otherwise we would have been there following this mechanical robot around all day, lead of course by Leo!

Of course with the Day Sack reign I have the power to dictate where the boundaries are, if I don’t want Leo to go in a certain direction I can just hold the reign tight. In this situation though you do need to be careful that they don’t have a little fall on their bottom’s… but it allows you to assertively let them know where they can go and where the cannot. Leo likes to throw a strop if I stop him going where he wants to, but 9 times out of 10 I do have errands to run while I am in town, so sometimes he is just going to have to follow my lead.

The Day Sack gives Leo the freedom he wants, and compared to other reign choices on the market the Day Sack is less intrusive, just letting Leo get on with what he wants to, which of course is primarily causing trouble! The Day Sack gives me the reassurance that he is safe and accounted for, and provides a win/win situation for both sides. Not to mention that Daddy also loves the Dino Day Sack…I may have to look into an adult size especially for him!

You can purchase your LittleLife Day Sacks right here for £16.95.

GIVEAWAY TIME!

I am very pleased to be able to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a Little Life Day Sack of their choice. As I mentioned in my review of this fab little bag, there is a great selection for both boy's and girls.

The winner will be able to choose any one of these gorgeous designs:

- Ladybird
- Turtle
- Cow 
- Shark 
- Butterfly 
- Dinosaur 
- Spider
- Clownfish
- Giraffe

All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning the Little Life Day Sack of your choice is to enter the Rafflecopter form below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway



Competition Guidelines:

Please only enter this competition if you are a resident of the United Kingdom. If you are drawn as the winner please respond to the email notification within 48 hours. If no response is received within this time frame then another winner will be drawn at random, and your win will be void.

Good luck all!

Disclaimer: I was sent the LittleLife Day Sack for the purpose of this review. However all views and opinions are completely honest and my own.

Silent Sunday

Toddler See, Toddler Do - Week 9

This week has seen Leo turning 15 months old.

When I think back to that special day when he arrived into this world, it does not feel like all this time has passed already. If anything it feels like just yesterday that he came into our lives, but the fact is it has been 15 whole months or 65 weeks depending on how you look at it makes you realise just how far we have actually come.

So much changes in 15 months, so much growing, physical changes and learning occurs. I think it is safe to say that these changes have occurred on both mine and Leo’s accounts. I find it utterly amazing to watch my baby boy coming into his own, and how he marvels at everything he comes across, seeing the magic and wonder in the everyday objects that he encounters.

This week Leo caught my eye. He was doing something I had never seen him do before. Leo was spinning around and around on the spot, I could see him getting dizzier by the moment until he tumbled to the floor. So without even brushing himself off he stood back up and began to spin around and around once again. I don’t know where he has learnt this new trick but it is so adorable watching him.

He seems to become more and more active each week. Leo has re-discovered the pouf this week, he loves to push the cushion off and then climb on top. From here he will direct himself onto the television stand and touch the screen as though it is a giant iPad. As if he is waiting for his touch to signal some kind of change on the screen. And when he get’s bored of this he will try and open the French doors!

He is a right little climber…

Leo can also march these days, he walks along and if tell him to ‘stamp, stamp’ he will begin to march his feet up high and stamp them back down on the floor again one after the other. He marches all around the living room, and really does make me chuckle and he enjoys it so much that he often chuckles while he is marching himself all over.

What I really love is that he responds to the words ‘Stamp, Stamp’ which again shows his recognition of certain words and responds accordingly.

Leo has been shaking his head to symbolise ‘No’ for a long time now but he has never nodded to demonstrate ‘Yes’ before. Leo would shake his head for ‘No’ even when he really did mean yes. This all changed this week, just all of a sudden. I had been munching on a chocolate bar and I could feel little eyes watching me take every little bite, so I simply asked Leo ‘Would you like some chocolate?’ Then all of a sudden Leo began nodding. His head was going up and down and he started to tap his hand for ‘more’.

I just have to stand back once in a while to take in that special little man of mine and all that he has become. How he actually understands certain things that I say and ask him, even if sometimes he deliberately chooses to ignore me when the scenario is less than desirable for him.

There are course those incredibly sweet moments where he will just spontaneously come up to me and give me a kiss. He did this on a train journey this week completely out of the blue; he turned to me and just kissed me. He is so affectionate even though he can be a little terror, but he really is a Mummy’s boy through and through, and I love him even more for this.

I think maybe he watches me a little bit too closely at times, as Leo has suddenly started carrying my hand bag around the house, and very enthusiastically to say the least. He has taken a real shine to my lovely Louis Vuitton clutch bag. He holds it on his arm just as he has seen me do and he just walks around the house looking incredibly pleased with himself. My bag is such a big interest to him that it is usually the first thing he takes off me when I get in the door from work.

Leo was even taking Granny’s bag for a walk around the other night and you can see how much he was loving it below!

Leo associates my bags with us going out. As soon as I pick up Mr Louis Vuitton or the changing bag, Leo begins to wave. Of course this does not go down to well when I am heading out to work as he thinks that he is coming with me, and gets very upset when he see’s me go out, with my bag in hand without him.

Of course I always try and make the time we do spend together as fun and enjoyable as possible, but for those times we are not together I do feel like we are both missing out on each other.

Have you and your toddlers been up to anything exciting this week?

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The Great Cosatto Cuppa

Leo and I were invited along to the Great Cosatto Cuppa on Wednesday, and with such an amazing invitation to see all of their exciting products, while getting the chance to have a look around there show room, it was an event I could not miss.

The Great Cosatto Cuppa is a very special coffee morning for parents and their children to go along and see all of the new products such as the Giggle Travel System! Cosatto host these coveted mornings every couple of months and now that word is getting out about them they are becoming increasingly popular. If you are interested in attending the next one keep an eye out on their Facebook page. They announce the next Cosatto Cuppa dates directly to their Facebook fans, and pick a number of their lucky fans to attend.

So with the big day finally here, I was up before the sun had even put his hat on (not to mention that it rained most of the day!). My alarm sounded at 4:30am so I could prepare Leo and I for our 6:00am train to Bolton where Cosatto towers are based. Leo blinked the sleep away from his eyes and was luckily in a very bubbly mood as we set off for a very colourful day out.

Upon arrival we were greeted by the lovely Cosatto ladies and offered very much welcomed refreshments before being taken to sit down. Leo was over the moon to be presented with a biscuit and almost squealed with excitement when he saw the very yummy looking cup cakes. He almost bit my hand off when I offered to share one with him, and wasted no time at all in devouring the cake.

It was lovely to see such a great turn out, with a mass array of babies of all ages. There were teeny tiny newborns, curious 6 month olds and troublesome toddlers (insert Leo’s name here…) but regardless of the children’s ages there was one thing that we all had in common.

We all love Cosatto.

The owner of Cosatto gave everyone a very warm welcome and explained that as he no longer uses the products every day as his children have now got that little bit older, it is great to hear feedback from families who are actually using the brand and who can give real constructive feedback. This just shows that Cosatto are still pushing forward and wanting to improve their products further, and it us parent’s who can provide this valuable information.

As a bit of an ice breaker we each took it in turns to introduce ourselves, and of course our little ones, before trying to think up 3 words that best described the Cosatto brand. Of course the first thing that comes to my mind is ‘Fun’ and ‘colourful’ but finally I think that it is ‘exciting’. It was interesting to hear how everyone felt about the Cosatto brand and one lady even used her three words to say ‘Must. Have. Brand’.

I think that pretty much sums it up!

Cosatto have just announced their very first ambassador programme and I am very excited to be taking part in this over the next 6 months. With a few other members of the programme also in attendance, they took the moment to introduce us all to the rest of the group as their ambassadors and to also crown us! Leo was looking at me with curiosity in his eyes, wondering what on earth was on my head, obviously thinking how silly his Mummy was looking.

The ambassadorship is known as the ‘Cosatto Brand Buddies’ and over the coming months I will be bringing you more reviews from this very exciting, very colourful company! But more on this at a later date…

The Cosatto Show room is just fantastic and they have all of their pushchairs, car seats and furniture range on display. It is so easy to walk around making a mental note of everything that you want and somehow…need! I had no idea that Cosatto did nursery furniture. Did you? I can tell you now though that it is all beautiful.

One thing that caught everybody’s eye was the incredibly big slide that protruded out of the ceiling. This slide is for office members to use if they feel like by-passing the stairs for any reason! I think this tells you instantly what a fun place Cosatto head quarters is and I think this reflects the fun factor in the product designs, I mean how could it not?

The slide was out of use to us for health and safety reasons but we all stood and admired the very impressive slide none the less. It was blocked off to avoid anyone attempting to steal a go, but this obstruction just made Leo even more curious and given half the chance I know he would have been climbing it.

Leo was a little monster all morning, running around and onto the stages with all of the displays. One of the stages was right next to the table housing all of the very delicious cup cakes, and it did not take Leo long to reach up a hand to try and take one for his own.

Cheeky little boy!

We were given a product demonstration on the Giggle Travel System, and shown how small it folds. In comparison to my travel system this was really compact and would very easily fit in the boot of my Peugeot 206. We were even lucky enough to be shown a new highchair that is in development for next years range. As it is still in the development process it means that all of the feed back that was provided yesterday from the parent’s can be taken into account before the final product is put forward to the customer.

I found my morning at Cosatto Towers very informative and enjoyable. I have always loved the look of the Cosatto brand, with their bright colourful patterns and friendly usability but now I feel I know the brand it’s self and what they stand for, and that is providing families with fun filled baby products that scream with personality, with user friendly features at affordable prices. And the affordable prices are what really makes Cosatto… Cosatto!

Cosatto offer you complete packages where you can pay one price and get everything you need in one box. Take the Cosatto Pear Drop for instance, for £214.00 (depending where you purchase) you can get your stroller (suitable from newborn), cosytoes and rain cover all in one go. I find this brilliant as it all comes as standard in the box with a 4 year guarantee (Yes 4 years!) and all perfectly matches your stroller. With other brands you do have to buy the cosytoes and sometimes the rain cover at an extra expense to you.

I had a great day out at Cosatto and I look forward to working with them over the coming months as a Cosatto Brand Buddy. Thank you very much for hosting such a lovely morning and for not batting an eye lid at the mess Leo made on the floor (again I apologise profoundly!)

Disclaimer: I was provided with a goody bag at this event however all views and opinions are completely honest and my own.

A Big Disappointment

Over the last year I have become very confident in catching the train with Leo, and we have gone on many adventures together using the train as our preferred method of transport. You see although I drive, I don’t feel confident to drive on the motorway or to un-familiar surroundings, so catching the train solves these insecurities.

Yesterday I got a train from Worcestershire all the way to Moses Gate (Bolton) with Leo in his pushchair.

My train journey yesterday consisted of 5 changes to get to Moses Gate and then another 5 on the homebound journey. This is the most ambitious trip I have embarked on to date with Leo and one that took a turn for the worse on the way back.

I got into Birmingham New Street with time to spare, and had a look on the information screen to find out which platform my next connecting train was leaving from. I sourced the platform number and took the lift to get there. Getting down to the platform I could see it was already full of passengers who were to be getting on the same train as me. Leo and I still had about 10 minutes to wait for the 16:19 train to Worcester Shrub Hill so we kept an eye on the information screen and waited.

Suddenly at about 16:18 I heard an announcement, and that announcement is what turned our train experience into a spiralling mess.

With a minute left before the train was expected in to the station they had suddenly changed the platform for my train. Just like that. Meaning that I was now stood on the completely wrong platform with Leo and my pushchair with no way of quickly getting to the correct platform.

So now everyone was running to the new platform to catch the train that I knew there was no hope in hell of Leo and I getting to in time. I was still stood waiting for the lift doors to open at 16:22, 3 minutes after the train was due to have left.

Having a baby in a pushchair restricts me in how quickly I can get from one platform to another. I need the correct information on the screen so I can get there in plenty of time, as does anyone who needs to use the lift instead of the stairs.

When I finally got the lift back up I still had to check what platform I was supposed to get to, and the lady who worked at the station told me that I should now go to platform 12. Giving me false hope that the train had been waiting to give the passengers chance to get there.

She then advised me that there was no lift to platform 12, so I asked how I should get up to that level and she told me in no un-certain terms that I was going to have to find someone to assist me in carrying the pushchair up, not offering any help or assistance herself.

I found this so un-helpful, I was so over whelmed and by now feeling incredibly frustrated and angry.

I was now faced with the fact that I still had another train to catch at Worcester Shrub Hill in order to get home, and I was now going to miss that one too. Leo was getting tired, hungry and not to mention that he had consumed the remainder of his juice about an hour before, so we really were needing to get home so I could get him sorted.

The train station staff did not help me at all even though I asked reputedly for it. I felt that there was a complete lack of communication. The train station would have surely known about this platform change further in advance than the minute’s notice that I and everyone else received.

The only reason I got through this situation was because the kindest member of the public took me under his wing and helped me up to platform 12. We got up there only to find that the train had already gone, so there was no reason for me to have been directed up there anyway.

The man who had assisted me up then helped me back down again, he found out what time the next train was and then assisted me to it. He helped me with Leo on an escalator and joked about how much experience he has of juggling a child and travelling, as he had 2 in close age proximity. This lovely man then made sure I was at the correct platform for my train and just made the whole situation bearable for me.

I cannot thank this man enough for his assistance and all that he did for me yesterday. It is just a shame that a member of the public had to help me and that the lady I asked for help completely turned her back on me.

I caught the 16:59 out of Birmingham New Street and as expected missed my connecting train at Worcester Shrub Hill. My phone had died so I had no way of contacting my family to tell them that I would not be the arranged pick up point at 17:36 and that I was safe.

The next train from Worcester would not get me back home until gone 7pm and I needed to get Leo fed, so I got off at Worcester to get Leo some more juice and something to eat. I then used a pay phone to call the one and only number I know off by heart, my home number. I arranged for Luke to come and pick me up from there so I didn’t have to faff about on yet another train.

I feel completely let down by the station for yesterday’s occurrences and feel that there was a complete lack of communication, assistance and general customer care.

How on earth is a mother with a pushchair or a disabled person meant to adhere to such a short turn around between platforms?

How can staff idly not lift a finger to help someone who is clearly feeling distressed, struggling and in need of assistance?