Following on with the milk....

As part of The Insiders Team I was selected to participate in the SMA® PRO campaign. As my daughter was still on first milk at the age of 8 months, I wasn't too sure if I had wanted to move her over to follow on milk and wasn't sure of the advantages in doing so.

When I had my son over 5 years ago I followed the advice set out by midwives and brands, and as my son hit 6 months moved him onto follow on milk without actually knowing the reason or difference as to why I should. As my daughter had been exclusively breastfed up to the age of 6 months, I had intended to just go straight onto follow on milk but by speaking to other mum's had made the decision to go onto First Milk.

I started on Cow & Gate as that was the brand I ended up sticking with last time and decided there was no reason to switch so when this campaign appeared I thought I would look a bit more into it.

Within my pack I received the following to sample and offer feedback

• 1x 800g tin of SMA® PRO Follow-on Milk with NUTRI-STEPS®
• 1x 1l carton of SMA® PRO Follow-on Milk with NUTRI-STEPS®
• 1x campaign guide
• 1x market research booklet
• 4x 200ml cartons of SMA® PRO Follow-on Milk with NUTRI-STEPS®. 

To share with other interested parents:

• 10x Baby Food Diaries with £2 money off their next purchase of 1x 800g tins of SMA® PRO Follow-on Milk with NUTRI-STEPS®.

So what is SMA PRO?

The PRO in SMA® PRO range symbolises a progression in their formulations carrying a sense of Progress, Professional and a change in process. It represents some of their most advanced formulas yet.

SMA claimed to have something different, they claim to have an exclusive Protein Process BUT what does this actually mean?

After scrolling through all the FAQs I am still not completely clear. SMA are not giving anything away, they simply claim it is an innovative protein technology that is not found in any other UK Formula. They stated that the exclusive process modifies the whey fraction of the protein found in cows' milk and creates a better amino acid profile.

Now one of the reasons I was keen to stick with First Milk was because I had heard that Follow on Milk contained more sugar, after comparing like for like with SMA First Milk and the Follow on Milk this is simply not true. There is less sugar in follow on milk.

Overall the nutritional information appears to be pretty similar so for me that theory was thrown out, it was almost identical to first milk.

We have now been using the Follow On Milk for over 2 weeks now and my daughter seems pretty happy with it, she drinks it with no bother and seems to not have as much wind.

As for her stools we have not recognised many changes since switching as we were suffering with stubborn stools on the previous formula and since switching we have noticed a difference. 

So are there benefits from switching from First Milk to follow on milk?

I have to be honest and say that I haven't really noticed that much of a difference with my daughter. She is taking less milk now and is eating more solid foods and as the follow on milk has been formulated to complement the weaning diet. As a baby still relies on milk, SMA aims to help leave room for solids so that the milk doesn't fill baby's tummy up restricting the amount of solids that the baby takes in. Based on this theory this is probably why we are seeing a drop in the level of milk she is now consuming and her interest in more solid foods.

Now we are on Follow on milk, I think we will stick with it now as it does seem to work well with my daughter. 

Boost your skin for hydration.

Do you have a skincare routine? No me neither, quite frankly with two young children looking after myself normally comes a little lower in the pecking list so I am often lucky if I can manage to get out of the house in the mornings with a brush put through my hair!

As a Bzz member, I often get the chance to try products for free or for less so when the Neutrogena HydroBoost Campaign Invite arrived I snapped it up!

Lack of sleep goes without saying when you have a baby and well, for the past 5 years I haven't always had the best sleep routine and as we all know that can leave the skin to become imbalanced and causes it to become dehydrated and along then come the redness and spot breakouts, something that for me had started to return a few months after baby no.2 had arrived.
We all know that drinking water is great as it keeps you hydrated and is good for the skin so discovering the HydroBoost range has been great as it promises to lock in hydration.

I was fortunate enough to receive the Hydroboost Gel Cleanser to sample, a full size bottle that I started to use when I was brushing my teeth, two birds with one stone.
The gel comes in a pump dispenser to it was quickly dispensed, mix with a small amount of water and lather onto the face before rinsing off. Job Done. A quick but simple change to my morning routine that was easy to manage and what was more it really helped my skin.

The gel is non sticky and lightweight so there was no residue left on your hands after lathering and rinsing off and your skin doesn't feel tight and greasy, my face just felt, well hydrated!

After using the gel for over a week, I did become aware that so many people commented how well I looked and one person even said how fresh faced I looked!

I have managed to more or less stick to this routine and on occasion would use the gel in the shower in addition to the morning routine after a work out.
Since using the water gel, I have not suffered from any breakouts or dry patches and feel confident to go out without any make up on, even if it is just on the school run.

As mentioned I received this product free of charge as a Bzz Campaigner.

RRP £7.99