A letter from Mama, A Year On..

Dear my darling, special boy, Jaxon.

Today is the 28th April 2018, and today is your first birthday!

Where did that year go? It has gone by so, so quickly, and it only feels like yesterday that you were in my tummy. That being said, as fast as this last year has gone, it is hard to remember what life was like without you in it, and in that sense, it seems like you’ve always been around.

What a year we have had together! From that day a year ago when I held you for the first time and felt your tiny hand on my cheek, to looking at you now with your mop of golden curls, a live wire, crawling, smiling, happy, little boy who is just about to walk!

This last year, Jaxon, has been the most fulfilling, rewarding, amazing year, I have ever had. A year filled with so much love and joy, and that is down to you. You have taught me so much about myself and about the world in general, just by being you.

They say a mother forgets the pain and the fright of birth, and its something I never quite understood. But since having you, I do understand. You gave us quite a fright and the doctors had to speed things up to get you out, it was very scary, I wasnt sure if I could handle it, but it is now a distant blur and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

There are so many reasons as to why you make mine and the rest of your family’s life more colourful, every day. Your constant beaming smiles and your overall happiness. It is hard to be sad around you! You dancing, tapping your feet and bouncing to your favourite songs. The way you communicate with me and speak in your own little baby language. How you get mad at me when we have to wait for your food to cool down before you can eat it. The way you make my heart melt every time you say “Mama”. The list goes on! No day is ever the same with you around, you make me laugh every day and make me feel like the happiest and proudest mummy in the world.

Its funny how in just a year we have gone from days of routine. Napping together, feeding throughout the day and nappy changes. To now having whole adventures each and every day. You have recently started to walk around with your walker, you have been pretty proud of yourself. I am sure it wont be long now until you will be walking on your own! The other week, you even dragged your toy bus to the window to step onto so you could reach for what you wanted! Your favourite hobby is swimming and you love to swim under the water. You kick those legs like no tomorrow and come up to the surface with the usual, bright smile on your face!

You wont remember any of this. Because you are only one! But I will.

You wont remember how happy you were yesterday at your cake smash photo shoot, having a huge cake out in front of you and being allowed to do what you wanted with it! But I will.

You wont remember your first stay in a hotel and staying up until god knows what time because you were so excited. But I will.

You wont remember the days you mastered clapping your hands and waving goodbye. But I will.

You wont remember your first Christmas Dinner, sat in your high chair at the table in your Christmas jumper. But I will.

You wont remember the times where the days turned in to nights and the nights turned into days, the days where we used to just stare at you in disbelief that we had made you, the most perfect little human. But we will.

You have filled all of our lives these last twelve months with pure magic, Jaxon. We will never forget the joy you have brought into our lives, and the future joys to come. 

You have made my life complete. And I am so very proud to be your Mama.

So my darling boy, enjoy your very first birthday and always remember that you are so very loved.

All my love,

Mum

 

 

Those First Weaning Steps

So we started weaning Jaxon on to solids from the day he turned six months old. With Jaxon having some reflux issues, people had asked me on numerous occasions if I was going to wean him early, however this is something I wouldn’t want to do. I have suffered with some horrendous stomach issues since I was a teenager, and the research I have done over the years is suggestive that it could very well be due to being weaned at four months old.

When bringing this up with the dietician, she explained that the reasoning behind the guidelines being not to wean until six months old is that research has shown that babies will very well be ready for weaning between four and six months old. Only there is an actual physical change in their digestive system, which makes their little stomachs capable of digesting food. Before this happens, food cannot easily or safely be digested. Research has shown that this physical change takes place after four months but before six months, however there is no way of telling when this has happened in any baby. For this reason, the line was drawn at 6 months old for safe weaning. She also went on to talk about how weaning early can cause baby problems, and usually these would be later on in life.

So, now the technical talk is over, how did I wean Jaxon? Well, after a bit of research, I decided to start out with home made, organic vegetable purees and I followed the Ella’s Kitchen Weaning Guide – “14 Days of Veg”. Apparently offering your baby different veggies for the first two weeks of weaning will give them a taste for the good stuff! I was given the book by a friend and it gave fourteen separate puree recipes to follow. I followed the guide and the order of veggies and Jaxon loved them all! They were really easy to make too. I just steamed or boiled the veg, (steaming is better as it preserves the nutrients better), popped it into the Nutri Bullet, added some water and blitzed the shizz out of it!

I bought some BPA free silicone ice cube trays from Amazon (Natures Little Cubes – Lovely bright colours available and really easy to pop the cubes out – £10.99, remember to always get BPA FREE!) and batch made the purees so I always had a good batch stored in the freezer. For the first fourteen days Jaxon ate a singular vegetable purée each day, but the next steps afterwards are when you can start mixing them up, so freezing the purees ahead and popping them into individual freezer bags made things a lot easier. Then I could just pop one of each out into his bowl and defrost.

So to start with, Jaxon only ate a few mouthfuls of each, except for potato, which is pretty typical seeing as his mum cant get enough of carbs. Thankfully, he got a good taste for carrots, parsnips and spinach though, to name a few of his favourites!

I really recommend signing up to the Ella’s Kitchen Weaning Journey online, you get a free Weaning Wall Chart in the post, along with “The Tiny Tastebud Journey” – These are super fun and helpful. The tastebud journey tells you where to start and how to change the foods and textures etc as the months go by. We have ours on the wall in the kitchen and now Jaxon is a bit older, we have fun together sticking his favourite veg and fruit stickers onto the chart.

So there you have it. The beginning of Jaxons weaning journey, in a nutshell! We are a lot further ahead now, so I will be posting regular weaning and food blogs from now on!

If I could give any advice to anyone just starting out with weaning, I would definitely encourage you to just chill with it and don’t stress if your little one doesn’t take to the food straight away. We had to try certain foods with Jaxon over and over again, and now he loves them! Also, remember, “Food before one, is just for fun!” So expect mess and have fun with it! Its such an exciting time to see our little ones trying new foods and tasting new flavours!

Happy Weaning!

 

 

My Best Baby Buys

So I have been wanting to share with you all, the best baby purchases I have made for Jaxon so far, and there are quite a few!

As I said in my previous blog, entitled My Worst Baby Buys, it can be a complete minefield when it comes to choosing the right things for your baby, especially if the child is your first!

I actually made the mistake of buying anything and everything, as I didn’t have a clue, but the one positive that came out of that is that I ended up with some absolutely amazing purchases, some in which I wonder if we would have been able to cope without!

So here they are, my best baby buys!

1. Sleepy Head Deluxe (Purchased at The Baby & Toddler Show, Manchester – £90)

Jaxon was in this from the day we brought him home, right up until he was around six months old. I originally purchased this after reading a lot of reviews, mainly for the reason that they are portable and they allow your baby to sleep comfortably, anywhere. Jaxon was always very snug and secure in there, and the pod shape seemed to resemble the feel of a cuddle, one reason why I think he was always a brilliant sleeper.  It also stopped him from rolling in his sleep which was something I would have worried about, had we not had the Sleepy Head. The pod could be used anywhere, so I could use it in different rooms of the house, or take it with us when we travelled. It was really easy to clean and fit into his crib perfectly, even when it got to the point where we needed to extend the bottom of the pod open for extra leg space.

2. Ewan The Dream Sheep (Purchased at The Baby & Toddler Show, Manchester – £25)

We still use this now and not only does it help Jaxon to drift off, but it also helps me too! I have gotten so used to the white noise option, we both find it very relaxing!

There are four settings to choose from. White noise, heartbeat, lullaby, hoover. We have always gone for the white noise option, apart from in those very early days we used to use the lullaby. I remember in the first week, Jaxon had just drifted off after a night feed and Ewan was playing the lullaby. I was going through the Baby Blues stage and the combination of staring at how perfect my baby boy was and hearing the song just made me burst into tears! I had to leave the room as to not wake him up!

It also has a red glowing light option which is meant to resemble the womb and different duration and volume settings which I have found helpful.

When Jaxon wakes now in the night, being nine months old, most of the time all it take is a click of Ewan The Dream Sheep to settle him again. 3. Chicco Next 2 Me Crib (Purchased from Mothercare – £179)

This was used from day one, all the way up until he was seven months old. This was the crib I had always planned on having, given it offers the safe co sleeping option. So we always used this crib attached to our bed with the side down, so Jaxon was always close to me, but we weren’t running the risk of rolling on him or him being covered with our duvet. It was a god send for breast feeding during the night too, especially after having an emergency C section. I was able to just turn on the lamp, sit up in bed, lean to Jaxon and lift him up on to me.

When transferring little one from the crib to the big cot, the Chicco Next 2 Me crib has a mesh side which came in handy. So when it was time to de attach the crib from our bed, we could put the side of his crib back up, but with it being mesh he could still see me and still feel secure.

I have sold a lot of baby equipment and will continue to in the future, however I think this is I something I will keep in the loft, just in case I have more children in the future as it was such a brilliant buy.

4.  Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine (Purchased from TESCO – £59.99)

Oh this machine is just MAGIC! I have always combi fed, and after those first few weeks of exclusively breast feeding and making that decision to introduce formula, I am so glad that Jaxons dad ran out and picked up one of these! The world of formula scared me anyway when I had, had other plans, so this machine eased me in, stress free!

The Perfect Prep makes your bottles quick time and you don’t need to worry about having a crying, hungry baby on your arm at the same time as boiling the kettle, using the right amount of boiling water to the right amount of fresh, cool, boiled water. To me, all of that is such a faff!

At the moment, I still breast feed Jaxon in the early hours of the morning, and when the time comes that this ends, I will be even more thankful for the Perfect Prep so I can make his bottle quickly in the dark!

5. Baby Einstein Activity Jumper (Purchased from SMYTHS – £89.99)

Such a great piece of equipment to keep your little one occupied and having fun whilst you get some bits done around the house! I started Jaxon in this when he was five months old. He loved it for a good three months, jumping around and screaming with delight!

The chair spins around and there are four different stations for him to play at, one including a little light show that plays music, Jaxons favourite!

Jaxon still enjoys this now, but not as much now he can crawl around. He would much prefer to be up to mischief, crawling around the house and pulling himself up on the furniture!

At the moment I can get away with popping him in it for five minutes at a time whilst I rush around cleaning like a mad woman!

6. Mamas and Papas Starlite Swing (Purchased at The Baby & Toddler Show, Manchester – £90)

This was used from birth up until Jaxon was around five months old. The swing plays lullaby’s, nursery rhymes and has a canopy with a star light show. It has different speed settings for the swing also, and was a great way to lull Jaxon to sleep for his naps. This is what I used when I had a bath or a shower in the day time. I simply transported it to the bathroom and let Jaxon be mesmerised by the lights or nap away.

7. Tommee Tippee Closer To Nature Electric Breast Pump – Purchased from Amazon – £45)

Now, as much as I hated pumping for hours on end every single day, so much so that I hated even seeing this pump in the same room, this has to be one of my best buys.

Once we made the decision to combi feed, I had to pump a hell of a lot in order to keep up my supply as well as wanting to stock up on breast milk for the freezer.

I spent about three to four hours a day pumping and I used to pump around 4-6oz of milk at a time. This was great as I was able to freeze a lot of milk and stock up. When I was happy with how much I had frozen, I started to pump a bit less and eventually my breasts adjusted to the combi feeding routine. It was also a god send when my boobs felt quite full as I could just pump some off for a few seconds if I every felt pain or full when Jaxon was asleep.

Breast pumps are AMAZING, however, as I say, I HATED pumping at the time. I felt very moody when the pump came out for the day, and I also felt like an actual cow. I used to be amazed at how far my nipple would draw out into the pump. So yeah… breast pumping turned me into a moody cow!

So there you have it! My top baby buys!

I hope you found this helpful, and please feel free to leave me any of your best baby buys in the comments!

xoxo

 

My Worst Baby Buys

I am sure that some of you can relate that when you are a first time Mum, it is easy to go a little overboard when it comes to buying baby things!

Sleep equipment and bedding, feeding equipment, different sized clothes, comforters, toys, baby carriers, nappies, wipes, travel systems, and lots more! It was all a total minefield to me, and extremely overwhelming. So much so, that I literally just bought the lot. And regrettably so. A lot of the things were a waste of money as we didn’t have a need for them, or they just didn’t work for us.

I was told time and time again throughout my pregnancy that I was buying too much, and that the baby market makes new mums feel as though they need EVERYTHING. And they weren’t wrong. I realise that now!

So here is a list of some of my worst baby buys! (Disclaimer: What didn’t work for us, may work for others. This is a list of buys that either we didn’t end up needing or didn’t work for us personally.)

1.Dummies

These are something we purchased after Jaxon was born. I had always planned on exclusively breast feeding for at least six months, however, that didn’t go to plan. That is  a whole other blog post entirely! So with breast feeding being the plan, and dummies possibly causing nipple confusion etc, we didn’t intend on using one. However, with me combi feeding, a dummy became an option. Jaxon took to them for around a month and then refused one very suddenly and hasn’t taken one since! I suppose you could call this a blessing, however there have been times in the early hours, or in the day time when he doesn’t want to nap, that I think back to the times where the dummy would be a god send and a real comfort to Jaxon. I purchased a silly amount, there are a lot more where these came from!

2. Blankets

There is just no need for the amount of blankets I own. Jaxon slept in a Sleepyhead Deluxe until he was 6 months old, with a blanket. I only used two or three at most. Once he outgrew his Sleepyhead, he was then in a sleeping bag. Now in his big cot, he is still in his sleeping bag. The only time he has a blanket is when he is in the car in his car seat, or out in the stroller. I mainly use two gorgeous crocheted blankets that were made for us, a lovely Aldi blanket which is beautifully soft or a fleece Laura Ashely blanket which we also received as a gift. All in all, I must have at least twenty blankets folded in a box under the bed… Oh, and some in the airing cupboard too for good measure! I am sure they will come in handy though over the years.

3. MAM Easy Starter Bottle Set

At one week old, Jaxon was diagnosed with reflux. When he was around one month old, we opted for the Anti Colic MAM bottles which apparently also work well for reflux. We got the Easy Start Set that came with:

• 4x 260ml anti-colic bottles.
• 4x 160ml anti-colic bottles.
• 1x 0-2 months soother.
• 1x soft spout.
• 1x bottle handle.
• 4x sealing discs.
• 4x slow flow teats.

For £35, I think that this was really good value for money and we did make good use of the smaller bottles, however we did find that compared to the Dr Browns bottles, they didn’t help Jaxon with his reflux symptoms. I have heard amazing things about these bottles though, and they have helped reflux babies I know, however for us, they didn’t benefit.

4. AngelCare Nappy Disposal Bin

I could fit in 8-10 nappy bags at most, and with it being advertised that it eliminates odours, I was disappointed to find that it actually didn’t. We used this for about a week and just started using our bin in the kitchen! This actually did eliminate smells better with using fragranced bin powders and with obviously taking the bin out every evening.

5. AngelCare Heart Monitor

This is such a brilliant idea for a product and I was adamant that we would need one. I really do love the thought of being alerted if baby has stopped breathing in the night. It is great for giving a new mum that peace of mind that she needs. However, I purchased this on one of my crazy baby shopping sprees, without thinking about the fact that we were using a Sleepyhead Deluxe AND a Next2Me Crib!

For those of you that don’t know, The AngelCare Heart Monitor is a sensor pad that goes underneath the mattress and detects when there hasn’t been any movements from baby in a certain amount of time. It is very sensitive so it picks up the baby breathing etc. This wouldn’t work with using a Sleepyhead though as that is essentially two mattresses when used in a crib, and the Next2Me Crib being attached to our bed meant that it would pick up our movements too, so would not be accurate and would falsely alert us all throughout the night. I was actually confident after the first couple of nights that with sleeping so close to Jaxon, with how lightly I slept in those early days and with good old motherly instinct, that I would know if something was wrong. So this was never used and is sat in a bag in the wardrobe!

6.  Wireless Video Baby Monitor – Amazon

This has to be the worst buy so far. I could charge this over night and the battery would still run out after half an hour. I could deal with that though. The main reason why I recently sent this back is because it would constantly beep very loudly for the whole time it was on, saying that the temperature is too hot. The temperature in the bedroom is always 18 or 19 degrees, which I feel is not too hot for baby, and is the suggested temperature on the SIDS guidelines. Unlike other monitors, there is no way to turn the temperature notification off, nor is there as option to set up your own temperature setting on the monitor.

 

So there you have it, a list of my worst baby buys! I hope that you found this useful. If you are currently expecting ladies, please don’t feel that you have to buy EVERYTHING! The baby market, I feel, makes you feel that way.

Have you any baby purchases that you regret buying?

Thanks for reading fellow Mamas

xoxox

 

My Pregnancy Memories

It is a funny feeling, thinking back to when I was carrying our beautiful boy. I remember once, someone told me to appreciate every second and enjoy every kick, because I will forget what it feels like eventually. And she was right! Jaxon is nearing four months old now, and the feelings and memories of being pregnant for all that time are certainly starting to fade.

I loved every minute ofbeing pregnant. I have always wanted children and feeling my boy grow and move around was so, so special. However, before I was pregnant, and when I had friends that were expecting, the thought of a child moving around within you made me squirm. I remember seeing a video on youtube of a pregnant woman’s stomach moving vigorously and it freaked me out no end! I used to say that part of pregnancy would be hard for me to handle as I’m such a squeamish wimp when it comes to things like that. But I couldnt have been more wrong! Feeling and seeing those kicks, rolls and jabs was the most amazing and fascinating feeling. This was the most memorable and special part of my pregnancy, for sure. I started feeling Jaxon move when I was around 19-20 weeks. His movements started as the tiniest flutters. They gave me the feeling of having butterflies in my belly. Then they of course got stronger and stronger. I used to rest things on my belly and watch Jaxon kick them off. Our dog Charlie used to rest his head on my belly and a lot of the time Jaxon would give him a swift kick in the jaw! Charlie was not amused to say the least. Poor thing. Whenever I rested my hand on my belly or gave it a stroke towards the end of the pregnancy, I was always greeted with some kind of movement in there, and I loved it. I think the most special memory of feeling him move is when each morning I would wake up and say “Morning Jaxon” and I would always receive a huge kick from our boy.

I felt totally body confident when I was pregnant. I felt beautiful, empowered and proud. I would embrace and show off my baby bump with every chance I had. Obviously my body is totally different now to what it was before, and being totally honest, it still takes some getting used to. I’ve surprised myself though in the fact that I don’t let it bother me too much. My body has given me, my partner and our families the most amazing gift. And my scar, stripes and extra wobbles are my pregnancy battle wounds. I’m thankful to my body for allowing me to create and grow a perfect little human and I count myself lucky. 

We had some great times whilst I was pregnant. Me and Jaxons Daddy visted York in my final trimester where we created some funny memories. Such as me walking around York City having Braxton Hicks. My swollen feet and achey joints meaning we couldnt visit all the sights, but my huge appetite meaning that I would get a stomp on to get to the best restaurant in the city! We bought Jaxon’s “Coming Home Outfit”, took a boat ride, explored and had lots of giggles. Our last trip together as a childless couple, if you will!

My mum took me to Liverpool for an overnight stay too. I am spoilt, aren’t I! We appreciated a final time together as just me and her. I am an only child and was brought up soley by my mum, so this was extra special, given that our little munchkin was soon to be joining us! I went to University in Liverpool so it has been a home from home ever since. We ate out and we went to see Beauty and The Beast at the cinema. I’ll never forget Jaxon kicking me in the ribs all the way through to the music! He loved to have a little dance in my tummy. I wonder if he’ll follow in his mummy’s footsteps and be a dancer?

I had the most lovely baby shower. A day where my family and friends all came together to celebrate. It was lovely to see everyone together. We played lots of games, had chats and gorgeous food and everyone took guesses on what his name would be, his weight and time of birth etc. It was a glorious sunny day too. A day I won’t forget!

I could be here forever writing down my memories of pregnancy. It was a whirlwind of excitement, happiness and joy, with the odd hormonal mood swing thrown in for good measure! Its a strange thought, to be writing my memories of when our boy was all cosy and warm inside my belly, where as now, as I write this, I look at him fast asleep in his crib next to me, looking happy and content. I still cant believe we made him!