Ella's 2nd Birthday - 17th Oct, 2015

Ella's second birthday turned out to be Elmo insead and it was a hit even with just us, the inlaws and few friends like last year. 

What toddler want a crowded house anyway. Ella started off the day not knowing what was going on while we were setting things up for the party.We made the cake the day before while she was at preschool so she had no idea what was coming. The party started at 11am when everyone arrived we were playing with balloons. Once we were all settled in we went straight to giving Ella some presents to open up. 

She needed a bit of help at first but once she got going we couldn't stop her. Wrapping paper was scattered across the floor. Toys, games and noisy books surrounded her not showing much of the floor beneath her. Ella was to interested in her Peppa Pig noisy book she had a break from opening presents and such so we all had some lunch. 

The highlight of the day was Ella's cake. Boy she loved it. We made her an Elmo cake we used her Elmo teddy as a mold ( dont worry Elmo teddy was not harmed in the making of the cake ) and It came out surprisingly good. It was a red sponge cake with red icing and marshmellow eyes and nose (orange food colouring) and the black of the eye was done with liquorice and as well as the mouth. 

Ella was soo excited she couldnt wait to have her cake. We sang Happy Birthday to Ella, Happy Birthday to Ella, Happy Birthday to you. Hooray!..Ella blew out the number 2 shaped candle in one go. She enjoyed eating the head part as it had the yummy marshmellows. I am glad she ate some of cake this time unlike her 1st she didnt even touch a crumb just the icing. We played a game of pass the parcel and Ella got the last one and it was a mermaid doll. After that we watched her open more presents and enjoyed our food and good chatter amoung us all. 

As on Saturday 17th of October 2015 it was a succeessful party. I cant wait to see her face for her 3rd birthday cake.

Ok the floor wasnt fully covered!!

Preparing for her 2nd Birthday

Preparing for a birthday party is a crazy time for parents as we got to fork out money for decorations, food and presents and most of all the cake. It makes it even harder when you need to look around for the theme of the party too.

Looks like this is what I am doing preparing for my daughter 2nd birthday. My plan is to fill the house with Peppa Pig. Okay not completely but I'll try and make it festive with Peppa Pig toys and decorations. I'm going to buy the birthday theme sets that you can get with cups plates party hats and table cover. I'll be doing a bit of shopping online for the Peppa pig and George pig soft toys and the Grandpa pig locomotive train and Peppa pig swimming togs and clothing. I am currently looking for the cake design on pintrest and google of Peppa Pig cake so I just need to find a cake decorator to make what I want. I'll need to decide on the party food. I thinking i'll do all her favourite foods and treats plus a few adult faves too.

some pictures below

One Step Closer To Potty Training

Nothing like the feeling of seeing your baby grow up with the many milestones. Talking about Milestones. Our evening was running as usual and suddenly out of the blue Ella tells me she needs to poo and asked me for her potty with shock and amazement i rush to get her pink potty and placed it on the floor even though she didn't make it in time she sat on it anyway. She ended up peeing in her nappy before I got the change to strip her pants off. Such a proud moment for this mumma my girl is one step closer to using the potty. 

I introduced her to the potty about a month ago and just told her she does pee and poo in the potty and well I just left it at that. She plays with and sits clothed on it and knows to make a poo noise of pushing. It feels like forever that she had watched me got toilet and know I do poos in it and she helps me flush the toilet and know toilet paper is for wiping. Although she cannot wip or pee or poo anywhere but in her nappy and wiped by mum i know she knows a little bit about potty training.

I borrow book from the library for her and she loves the pictures and most of all me reading them to her. So I got the book Baby bear goes potty and she loved it and asked for it every night so I have re issued it a few times now. 

Overall I happy that my baby girl is growing up and is exploring and learning about this big world around her and it brings me joy that she can make the most it.

Byes for now 

Baby Obstacles, April

My toddler 20 month Update

Now that my daughter is now 1 year and 10 months old I have gotten into a quite constant routine and have been flying through the days enjoying almost every minute of it all.

She is a typical terrible two and she isn't even 2 yet as she is only 20 months. She is climbing anything and everything she can get sher feet and hands on. My dressing table draws are her preferred area at this moment so toddler proofing was needed ASAP. Oddly enough she still cannot climb in and out her cot so that a big bonus for me. She has grown into a srweet polite girl with many words to say. She can speak four to five word sentences, can recognise the primary colours (red blue yellow) and purple too. She loves to sing in her cot or where ever she is. Baa baa black sheep and twinkle twinkle are she favourites and she like some of mummies music too. Over this month she has been trying so hard to dress herself but she is confused by all the different hole part so I found her in her room with one shoe on and her two legs in the collar part of her t-shirt. She looked so proud of herself and gave me the cutest smile and said mummy look. Moments like those are priceless. My love for her just grows more and more each and every day. Although my heart ache knowing the one day she will be all grown up and will not need mummy as much as she does now. A part of me also is excited to see her grow into a woman and mother like myself.

Back in my past blogs I had lot of problems with breastfeeding and most of all SLEEP! To my amazement this has all sorted itself out with consistency following the same bed/nap time routine (slightly altered as she grew). I read the most help book two books and i recommend these to any first time mum or a mother needing a reminder. The no~cry sleep solution by Elizabeth Pantley. The New Contented Little Baby Book by Gina Ford. These books created a even more content baby and saved this mummies sanity. It took me a long time to get where my daughter and I are at now but I keep to it because I wanted her and I to have a good night's rest and to a smooth running day. I dont stick to the strict routine but I do make sure my girl gets her nap at 1pm-3pm everyday and stick to her night routine of shower time at 6ish and in her room to read book before 7 so she is tucked in and alseep by 7:15pm. I have my routine in a previous blog if you want it in detail. Do a routine that works for youself and your family remember that it is only a guide.

It just so lovely now to read a few book to my daughter then lay her in her cot and sing her twinkle twinkle and kisses goodnight then lights out and she either rolls over and closes her eye or she lays there smiling back at me saying nun nite mummy and plays quitely with her soft toy til she fades into dreamland.

The gentle approach of weaning her off breast before bed was a whole year process but I finally got there so there is hope at the end of the tunnel I thought I'll never get there BUT I DID.

My Baby Night Time Routine

My night routine starts off with me cooking dinner at 4:30pm and give my daughter bite size snack to chew while she waits for dinner.

5pm = Dinner Time

5:30pm-6pm = Playtime 

6pm-6:30pm = Shower time

6:30pm = Get dressed for bed & say goodnight to Jonah (our dog) and Daddy even though he at work, 

6:45pm = Drink of water and storytime sing twinkle twinkle

7:20pm = Bedtime

My night time routine for my daughter has been pretty much the same since she was born and I like it to stay how it is as it works so well for her and the family. Once in a while we do go out for a family dinner at a restaurant so she goes to bed a little later and may not have bath/shower time but it only a one off and we usually get back on track quickly. 

She settles to sleep on her own now so I lay her in bed sing twinkle twinkle give her kisses as I walk out of room shutting the door as I say shhh. Not long after that she talks herself to sleep. All my hard work has paid off. It all worth it in the end

Baby and Life Update

It feels like forever since I've posted on here so I thought ill catch you up on a few things. Life couldnt get any better.  My daughter is now 19 months old only 5 months away from turning 2Years old. She is doing amazing and we still breastfeed mornings and in the afternoon after naptime. Talking about naps she now has a nap every day at 1pm-3 and goes to bed at 7pm and wakes at 7am. Yay full nights sleep is amazing. Most nights I'm naughty and stay up late but sometimes I feel I need my alone time. Thats usually spent watching YouTube Videos about families, artists and do my new found hobby of drawing portraits of people & anime and the odd animal here and there.

Since November last year I decided to get back into drawing as I have always loved it but I was never quite as serious about it as I am now. Im seeing my improvement in my art day by day. I am self taught and I borrow books from the library to study drawing human anatomy which has help. My inlaws have their own gallery that hold weekly sketching and painting classes so I have been attending them and they have inspired me to draw everyday when my daughter is with her grandparents or is at daycare. I don't work but I do need a break like all mums so she goes to daycare twice a week for 3hrs in the morning. That give me enough time to myself. Doing art is a great outlet for me as I find motherhood difficult especially now that my cutie is a toodler. All mums need a hobby. We need something that make us feel like ourself. Art make me feel like me April not just mummy.

My lifetime goal was to study hard to become a Vet Nurse and care for animals. This year my goal has changed a little and I was conflicted between becoming an Artist or a Vet Nurse. After a good hard think I decided I'd do both. Although I havent started studying yet as I have been so wrapped up in my art hobby. I didnt get the courage to sign my enrollment form to the distance learning animal course so I miss the intake. I am thinking ill wait for next year, a fresh start, to start studying animal care again. I have a level 2 certificate in animal care so that should help.

It going to be very busy for me next year. Studying to become a Vet Nurse, Doing my mothering and creating art in my spare time and also updating on here more regularly. Well I best leave this here as im rambling on. I have high hopes with my future and I am ready for the many more obstacles to come.

Bye for now
Baby obstables, April

My Baby 12 Months Nap Routine

Don't we love the new ages and stages that our baby goes through. My daughter was at the stage of refusing morning naps but clearly still needs it. She can't deside if she wants a late or early morning nap. But she is still quite consistent with her afternoon nap. Routine is changing a lot round this age.

To be honest I do not always stick to routine. A lot of the time we have days where she only has one nap a day and other she has two. It varies day-to-day and depend on activities in the day also. My daughter has times where she sleeps right through the night and times when she needs a breastfeed to get back to sleep 1-2 times and other times when she wakes up, has a moan then falls right back to sleep few times in night.

I have always breastfed her to sleep. I find it is best for us less stressful. 

Don't get me wrong though sometimes breastfeeding to sleep doesn't work so I do have to put some effort in by comforting her at interval the 5mins - 10mins -15mins so on til she relaxes to sleep or holding her til she sleepy enough to put in cot. Sometimes I hum along with her lullaby music machine. 

I cannot control and make my baby sleep but I can make the environment relaxing and calm. Having a naptime routine is great to have, which is slightly different to night routine. (Night routine blog coming soon). This is what works best for my daughter and may not work for anyone or at any baby age & stage. This is only a guide to help a mother out!! 

Here is my method to naptime

By the end of playtime things we usually quiet down and she brings me books to read her. She like the animals alphabet picture books. Once I see the tired signs (eye rubbing, eye bags, red eyes - (sleep cue blog coming soon) I'd tell her naptime and carry to her room, turn on music machine, change her nappy, start breastfeeding til she is asleep & place her in cot when i notice her fast asleep cues ( snort, lazy arms & legs and light latch or unlatches from boob). 

My method does not work from time to time due to fussiness, over active arms & legs and playing the latch on latch off game, while having a conversation to my boob and also aching of the back, Most of the time I have to hold her tight to control her mini tantrum and guide her back to suckling breast.

If that is unsuccessful i'll lay her down in her cot wait rougly 10secs if she gets up i'll offer her water from sippy cup then offer breast again and usually she settles and falls asleep. If she is too wound up with the activeness and fussiness I'd do the same thing lay her in the cot but wait in the room and let try and settle and if she stands or sits ill lay her down and quietly say "it's nap time". I repeat this 3 times and the 4th time I say nothing til she is staying laying down and is a bit quieter i'll leave the room. I then check her in 10 mins and usually she is asleep by 20 minutes - 40 minutes at most.

Although other times she is simply done, finished, with the breastfeeding session so I let her get on with her activities and just wait til she is ready for a nap. (wish I didnt stress so much in the early days but that a novel to tell). Like I said you cannot force a baby to sleep or let alone anyone, am i right?

What is your babies/toddler nap time routine?

One Year Baby Update

It's has now been ONE year since the day I was in the hospital in giving birth to our daughter. The year has gone by so fast yet I still remember most of the lovely milestones and her first-ies.

As of this day she is a great walker and is well on the way of running around. Ella is a busy girl she is into everything and bringing me all her books to read. I can ask her to bring me whatever toy I ask her to get like i ask her "where's your elmo, bring mummy elmo?" and she will look around and walk to it pick up elmo and pass him to me. It's the same with books. Such a clever girl.  She eats food that I eat so well now although she has been teething quite bad for the past few weeks so she has not eaten that much so she been snacking now and then. Ella still loves good breastfeeding sessions 4-5 times a day, even with teething.

Within almost 3 months Ella has cut almost 6 teeth. Her to top front teeth are fully out. i'm not looking forward to getting bitten with those bottom teeth coming through but she has pretty good so far (knock's on wood). Night have been rough but we slowly getting back onto our normal night routine. I usually put her to bed at 7pm and then breastfeed her once at round 2am and she sleep through to 6:30am.

Ella has reached all the milstones either early or on the mark. She started crawling a 7 months then not long after that she was using everthing to pull herself up and then at 10 months she was using her walker trolleys and before I knew it she was taking steps on her own at 10 and a half months and at 11 months she stood up and walked on her own. Of course I had encouraged & praised her a lot and held her hands. Praise helps, it gives them a sense of achievement and they feel really good.

Not much to update on as she has reached the 1 years old. She sleeps better, eat better, gets around the house better and gets into everything. Now the joys of having a toodler and tantrum will be on my way. The joys of parenting.

Little Swimmer

Swimming is so fun with a baby. I have been practicing blowing bubble with her and her has not quite got the idea as she just bobs her open mouth in the water but to my surprise she blew a bubble. I so proud of her all this practice is paying off. She made a 7 year old friends pity i forgot her name but she was playing peek a boo with Ella and did lots of high fives. Ella favourite thing was the fountain. We were splashing about at the pools for an hour. That was Ella record she didn't want to leave for lunch she wanted to keep on swimming. Yet again another awesome day with my cutie pie. My great little swimmer.

Ella First Birthday

Ella first birthday was a blast. Can't believe she is a whole one years old!! My baby grew to fast! If only I took more photo I was living the moment. She opened up lots of presents from friends and family and not long after the candles were blown out the pink icing was all over me her the table and the other 1 year old kids. Ella got me good. I was pink on my face, shoulders, legs and arms. In the end she didn't eat any cake but did enjoy the other snacks which were. The rest of the day she was playing with her new toys and lot of laughter and giggles. It was a beautiful sunny day so we were outside just hanging out and chatting and so on. All and all we had a great day and we all slept well that night. 

My sweet little angel

       My Sweet Little Angel

My sweet little angel, when we first meet, you engraved my heart with pure love that I cannot regret.


 I held you close with the umbilical cord still attached. You washed all the pain away when your skin touched mine. I was flooded with joy and happiness flying on cloud nine.

When you opened your puffy eyes mine filled with tears. Your my little girl and you were finally here. Time has flew by and now you growing up and will be turning one years old soon

OMG She's Walking

I couldn't believe what my eyes were showing me. My 11 month old did something new.

From crawling position Ella put her head back reached her arms up and balanced standing up right on her two feet then began to take a few unsteady steps towards me with a huge smile on her face as if to say mum look at me I'm so clever.
That she is, clever!

Ella started off with walking along furniture and then eventually moved of the furniture and sort of swung to the other furniture. After 2 months of using her wooden trolley she finally let go of the trolley and started to walk. It was not long until she took one step to get somewhere then before i knew she was taking 2 steps and eventually 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 steps within two weeks after that she was taking all those steps but she could not stand up on her own she needed to use something to pull her little body up.

Many days went on and Ella was getting better balance on her two feet with the help of mummy and daddy and other objects in her height to get her up and about

Finally Ella pulled her body up from the floor and began to balance on her two feet with no help at all and walked unsteady towards me..LOOK ELLA IS WALKING!..I swear all the neighbours would have heard me. I yelled out to her daddy in the other room so he could see this wonderful milestone of the many of Ella's journey to growing up.

That moment is forever embedded into my memories just like all the other milestones and first moments.

I am a proud mum and now I need to have eye at the back of head to keep up with my little walker.

6-11 Months Baby update + Postpartum

It has been awhile since I have written on here so here is an update of what has been happening for these past 6 months.

Lets start with solids as that is a big milestone at 6 months old.
It was exciting to give her her first taste of food as she had only ever consumed breast milk so this mummy was determined to see how Ella would react. I started her off with a 2pm solid feed as she seemed happy at this time all rested from naps. Her first food was purred banana. I didn't want to bother with the baby rice cereal stuff as it really has no nutritional value. It was so hard to get her to open her mouth and spoon feed her this but after a few taps on the mouth and taste of the banana she finally let me spoon fed her. She only had a few spoon fulls so I usually ate the rest of it. It was like a daily smoothie for me, tasted gooood!! It felt like forever to get to her eating I cannot remember the order of what I feed her but I just eventually started giving her different fruits cooked and cooled pear and apple then I moved on to giving her vegetables such as carrot pumpkin potatoe kumara. While I was getting Ella into solids she became very fussy with taking naps during the day again and I was really struggling and was starting to become obsessed with getting everything right and organised as I am a person who runs more smoothly when there is routine. I turned everywhere to solve my problem of getting Ella to sleep during the day. I was getting frustrated and angry it wasn't working and Ella was getting more and more overtired. I swear I tried all the tricks in the book. I ask for advice for family and friends and also from the ladies on the mummy group on the facebook even look at website on the internet I called plunket and healthline and still I was obsessed with no real plan to get Ella sleeping. I spent a lot of my day stressing out about it and crying. Enough about that where was I that's right SOLIDS..once ella was enjoy her fruits and veges I started introducing meat by mixing it into her veges and she wasn't to keeen but with time she was being spoon by me and was actually enjoying it by the age of 8 months. Must of been because she started crawling at 7 and a half months old. All that crawling must of worked up her appetite. I ened up buying Ella baby food from the supermarket as it was becoming to time consuming and a waste of food to make it myself so I brought baby food pouches. I pick the fruit one mostly as she like banana the most and I started picking the more meat and vege ones. So preparing her meals was much easier she either ate it cold straight from the pouch or I heated it in a bowl in the microwave for about 20-30seconds on med.high. So it took from 6-8 months to get her eating lunch and dinner which was only few spoons and it slowly increased day by day till i felt she was ready for breakfast. I never pushed breakfast on her because she never really wanted it as she just get a breastfeed first thing in the morning even sometimes she wouldn't have breastfeed in the morning either because of the 2 night feeds she had.

Ella started crawling at 7 and a half months. 
Not long after that she was moving across furniture and reaching out to other furniture across from her so she was getting mobile quicker than a thought a baby would.

By 8 months she was a successful crawler and was already looking ready to stand on her own as she was standing for more and more seconds each day, went from 2 second to 4 to 8 and so on.

At 9 months old Ella and i had become bit more relaxed with her sleeping for naps and at night as I thought to myself is it really worth the effort and energy when all it is doing is stressing her and I out so by 9 months she was sleeping really well and with that she was more comfortable with eating solids. She eats what we at this point a little bit mashed then how i would have my food but the same stuff and she loves getting messy and squashing her food through her finger and rubbing it all over herself and her high chair. I brought a high chair from a friend of mine so I got a awesome deal and didnt have to pay much at all. Overall the 9 month mark of being mum is so much more relaxed for me but it still isn't easy but I am coping so much better.

Between 10 month old and now 11 month old Ella cut her first tooth. The top middle left tooth look so cute when she bites into biscuit and leaves a tooth mark. So these part two months has been tough because of this teething business going on so sleep has been a little tricking for my little one and she is wanting to chew and bite anything and everything. Glad she has not bit me yet. She has been wanting to breastfeed a lot more and has been rather clingy towards me and it driving me crazy though I do like the cuddles. To this day today Ella is cutting a second tooth but it is playing pee-a-boo and hide and go seek so it playing on her gums. I'm rubbing teething gel on her gums and sometime giving her pamol and it seems to be helping especially before meal and before bed.

So summing this all up life as a young mum has been a wonderful journey for this almost one year of it. Im proud to be still breastfeeding and never needed to spend a cent on formula for my baby. I'll wean my girl when she is ready as of now she is far from it.

Baby Update + 21 weeks postpartum

My baby girl is 21 weeks old now making her 5 months in 5 days time. It so exciting she is getting so much closer to 6 months. And we all know what 6 months means. Solids!! I can't wait to get her started with having a taste of purred food. I just brought her baby spoons. I tested to see if she is close to being ready for solids because she showing all the signs and i just had to see if she would eat a little bit off the spoon and to my surprise she tasted it and swallowed I'm so excited for her. She was enjoying the purred banana i gave her. I only gave her tiny bit on her spoon 3 times. The test was great. 

I have a Plunket metting on Friday 14th in the morning and we are going to talk about solids and of course get her weighed and measured and also her development. I'm going to see if they think she is ready and I can get her started on food. I am still going breastfeed her of course it is still needed. I plan to wean her when she wants to wean herself, I don't mind if it over 2 months. Breastfeeding is the best!. 

She is hitting all the milestones for her age. She is not sitting up but she is rolling over every now and then though it is very rare to see, she doesn't roll over much at all. Grabbing and reaching for toys is so easy for her now and she is chewing and reaching for anything everything now especially my food and drinks. Her speech has developed a bit more she is babbling saying abaa and amaa, as she says abaa she opens and closes her mouth to help make the sound it so adorable. I swear i heard her say Mumma quite a few times but im not sure its that. Right now it an exciting time for this mumma. Omg she loves her jolly jumper she squeal and coos and babbles so loudly and bounces one foot after the other sort of like skipping.

Enough about her now about my. I'm 21 weeks postpartum and I feel really great. I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. My jelly belly is starting to firm up nicely. I still have a lot of toning to do but it is okay. I have no excerise routine anyway. I am only breastfeeding and doing a daily walk and sometimes twice a day. My dog loves it when i do a walk twice and plus it make my daughter have another nap. The pram sends her to sleep well most of time when she not talking away to herself in her baby language. It great to have a happy baby she is mostly happy all he time. She only ever cries when she is hungry, has dirty nappies, doesnt want to have a nap and is bored of having tummy or floor time. She has always been quite an easy baby. ahh Knock on wood. I actually did it just then. 

overall she is doing really well and so I am and my partner is getting so much more involved it is s great!

4 Months postpartum

I've been a mum for 18weeks now and im still loving it there are time when I want to just run away when things are not working out but I stay strong and handle the jandle. With being a mum i have never had so much patience and never as strong, determined and consistent as I am now. You got to have all those qualities to get though the minutes, hours, early hours and day n nights. I moved my daughter to her room at 3 months and she doing so great at sleeping at night it very rare for me to get up in the mid of night feeding her. I'm also enjoying early nights too as she has a much earlier bedtime of 8:30.

Well I've had some difficulty these past few days because I decided to put Ella in her cot now and it been so hard to get her to have a nap during the day she cries and cries and yells it like she telling me off and being very stubborn. I used to rock her bassinet back and forth to get her to sleep but i can't do that in the cot as it has no wheel it all wood so there no way i can rock or make the sound of the bassinets wheels so now it just the radio, my presence and my touch for reassurance and my gosh 2-3 hours of a crying baby is draining. What do you do to get an infant to sleep during the day? It seems totally impossible! but it's do-able when you figure out what works for your baby. I have to totally tire her out by a lot of stimulation and time outside otherwise ill have a crying baby for ages in her cot.

I know it only been two days in her cot but it feels like it has been forever as her naps are not working but she sleeps wonderfully during the night. I can't complain about that but this mumma needs timeout during the day. Sometime naps work but half the time naps don't. Looks like playtime for my girl is going to get a lot more active so i get her tired out so nap time is easier so I can enjoy my own alone time even if it just 30mins. I go crazy because when i put her down for nap it takes 30mins to feed her read book to her and stop her crying. sometimes the crying goes for 40mins or more. I may be over doing it but I want a routine for her to sleep at 11am and 2pm everyday and i believe routine helps babies because it help them know what happens next. So to some this all up im trying to get my daughter to nap in her cot and not cry for 30mins straight. It should be this hard for a 3 month old right?

Part from sleep im also having problem getting her to breastfeed in the morning she wakes at 7am and doesnt want it she sucks 3 times then unlatches and it feels like im fighting then she shows signals that she hungry but she refuses. it not til 10am or even 12pm till she actually breastfeeds it worries me so much..I trying new feed times so her eat..Sometime she wakes at 5am for a feed so it could be why but it only just become a problem. All i can do is wait till she hungry so my feeding routine has flew out the window and it at any time though i still try to feed close to her normal 3 hourly times 6am 9am 12pm 3pm 6pm 7pm (sometimes 12am) 5am. I may be ranting on a bit but thiss is what on my mind and i thought id write something new on here

Facebook Mummy group

One day I was on Facebook and my cousin invited me to a closed group called Mummy Matters. I didn't even know there were such a thing as groups on Facebook. I couldn't believe it there were so many mums on it from all over the world commenting about what ever is on their mind about their babies and pregnancies. At the time I was about 7 months pregnant so many of the comments that were posted I could relate to. The group is a place for mother to just let their hair down and talk about what ever is bothering them without feeling misunderstood or judged and just mums getting along and helping each other out if one has a question about pregnant, babies, their annoying husbands/partners/sperm donors and any life troubles.

I found it do helpful when i had so many questions since i am a first time mum so I posted alot and have begun to get recognize some of the ladies name but i grew bored of mummy matters and found a new group called 203 October babies and I have been on it since it the best one so far. All sorts of ladies around the world even few New Zealanders too.

The support system for new mums these days has grown so much and is now so much stuff on the internet and even coffee group or parent hubs to go to to chill out with yours and other baby it great because being a parent is hard especially being a mum.

If you struggling never turn down help it is good to have help and with being a mum iv asked for hhelp a lot more than i ever have in my life.

14th Week as a Mother

Time keeps going by so fast, my baby girl is already 3 months old. I can't believe how big she is getting. I moved her into her own room but she is still in her bassinet, it a fair bit till she grows out of it of course. She has been sleeping so well all on her own. Her and I now get a descent 5 hours sleep at night. She wakes up 4am still. The easy baby I knew is no more. It been driving me crazy because it has interrupted her daytime naps, her feeds and playtime. Instead it's no morning nap and she naps at 1pm.

Breastfeeding has been difficult because she cries and flails about when I go to feed her even when she is hungry. She shows me all the signs. Dribbling, sucking hands, air sucking, lip smacking, turning to my boob like she smelling the milk. I've had problems with oversupply so I have been block feeding and pumping a little out so she doesn't choke and miss out on my hind-milk (the high calorie fat milk). If you don't know what block feeding is it's when you feed baby on one breast for a few feeds and pump a little from other breast if it like a rock melon (really hard) then repeat again but switch breasts. Other than that breastfeeding is painless and comfortable, well, it is when my baby isn't pinching or scratching me with her cute little hands.

My baby girl has been very picking she only like feeding off my right breast and not my left boob for some reason. She only breastfeeds on my left boob when she is tired.

I rang plunket and they suggested me to do a feed & sleep blog to see what time period she is fussy. After two nights I figured out that she fussy between 6pm - 9pm. It's the worse time because it when we all want to settle down for night time and instead we have a screaming baby. It's hard when your baby cries and nothing soothes them fast so you got to  try everything in the book. Night time baths is so helpful, it's the only thing that settles her enough to breastfeed her to sleep. Yes I nurse my baby to sleep else we will hear constant crying.

Three months of being mummy has been an eventful & exciting & tiring time for me but i have been enjoying seeing my girl growing up even though I want her to stay little & cute.

The milestones are the best. She can hold her head up really well. She likes sitting up and standing with me supporting her of course. She really liked the play mat with the dangling town by, she grabs & hits them (the sad thing is, is that she has grolwn bored of it) and she is alert of her surrounding by seeing & hearing. She is full of smiles and she is starting to giggle but it more of a squeak gargle sound. Whenever she cries i swear i her say mum but im not sure.

She is hitting all the milestones of a 3 month old part from rolling over because she absolutely hates tummy time i tried all i can so I give her small dozes of tummy time otherwise her arms and legs are quite strong.

She is weighing at 12lbs 5oz right now and she is fitting into some newborn and mainly 0-3 month old clothing now yay.

So I sum it up this has been a wonderful journey for me even if breastfeeding has been challenge. Life's all about learning don't cha think!

First Cloth Nappy

Yay I just brought my very first cloth nappy with 2 liners for baby Ella. The cloth nappy has come a long since the olden days. No more pins, it all domes now and no folding skills is needed. just put them on like a disposable. I still have not used this cloth nappy yet as I am doing the three soaks and 3 washes to get the liners really absorbent as it says on the instructions.

I am a newbee so this is a trial run for me to see what it like and if it works out, I may be a convert!! For 8 weeks I have been putting the disposable on my baby and she keeps getting crease line on her from them, now they not as bad because she is in infant size but she still gets a few lines on her..Does cloth do that? I wouldn't know if cloth does never seen or used them on any baby before.

I so excited about using them as I have heard wonderful things and they so cute with the patterns you can get. Yeah u gotta wipe or spray the poop off but it is easy enough to do that and wash in washer machine..

I'd save so much money as I will buy a certain amount of cloth nappy and then I never need to buy again. i'd save more than $2500 a year. sounds good to me i will rather wash them then throw out loads of disposable nappies that take 70-100 years to break down. I feel sorry for the planet. Im not a total saves the planet kinda person but I am aware.

So yay to cloth diapering and wash me luck !

Make a Stop To Mothers Being Judged

☆ First of all being a mother isn't easy at all especially when it is your first child. You do not know what to expect and how it will feel physically, mentally & spiritually. You ask yourself so many questions. You have mixture of positive and negative feelings.Your emotions go out of whack (mainly because of the hormones). You wonder if you'll ever get decent sleep again and time for yourself. Being a parent in one word it is HARD! Not only for the mother but the father too. It's hard but very rewarding to see your beautiful child develop and grow. Another thing is you will never be ready for a child until you have the child in your arms and start settling to the fact that it is not all about yourself now it's about looking after this helpless little human being. I tell you one thing you will never feel the same again, you'll still be you but you will change in some ways. I know I have and I feel like a better person because it. Going into labour and birthing a child was a life changing experience like no other that I ever felt. I sit here to this day wondering how i managed to push out a 8 pound baby in the bath without pain medication. I did it! And I'm happy to start and continue my journey into motherhood.

  ☆ So I guess you are wondering. Why did I start this blog? I wanted to have somewhere to write a diary to look back on, share my story about my pregnancy, labour and birth plus what it is like being a first time mum. I would like to get my story out there to make other mothers and young ladies find out what is like. I know there are many mummy bloggers out there that do the same well this is my story and it is different to all the others. All pregnancies and woman are different. No one is the same. We all have our different views, beliefs and opinions, different situations and lifestyles, different body types and cultures.

  ☆ I may not be a teenager but I would like to say this. There are so many teen mums out there who are solo mothers with an absent fathers of the child or don't know who the father of the child is. There's teen mums who are co-parenting because they are not with the father or they're still living with their parents. Most of them still go to school and some dropped out to look after their baby. Some teen mums put there child up for adoption and some have abortions. But there are some teen mum who are with the father of their child. Every case is different and just because their teens doesn't mean they are not capable of being a mother. Teen mothers are just as good, or even better!!

What ever the situation, what the ever lifestyle, no matter what the age... a mother is a mother and she makes the decision on what sort of mother she is or will be. Mothers have the most hardest job in the world. Yes being a mother is a job. They shouldn't be judged by the way they do their job. Do you go judge the husbands, fathers and boyfriends out there working? No! so why should woman be treated differently. Mums do what is best for them and their child(ren) and they certainly do their best that they can to financially support themselves to give their baby the best life they can whether she works or the father of baby works. I'm very lucky to have what I have.

So please be thankful for what you do have even if it is not the best. Be thankful because there are many who aren't as well off. What im trying to say is the motherhood is not easy no matter what situation you are living in.


So this is me a first time mum who is doing her best to learn how to be a mother as she goes along with the help and support of family, friends, midwife, mummy bloggers/vloggers, plunket nurse and maybe your fellow supporters reading this. I don't expect anything just somewhere to share my story and may be make one other lady out there feel not so alone.

If I can do it and many other can I'm sure you can be an awesome parent too :)

please leave a comment below and tell me what you think about mothers being judged


--Pictures from google.com

6 Weeks old Immunisations

On the 28th of November my daughter was 6 weeks old.
I can't believe how fast the weeks have gone by.
It mean't that she is old enough to get her first set of immunisation shots (vaccines).
I was immunised and I think that my daughter should get it too.
There are many parents out there delaying getting there children immunised because they have fears of what it being injected into there innocent child or because of the pain of the needle. I understand that.

When it came to the time of her being injected I was super nervous and scared for her but I held her. Suddenly the needle was slowly injecting the fluid into of the INANRIX -hexa vaccine into the side of her left thigh and then the next injection SYNFLORIX in the other thigh. . She was screaming and crying loudly as it was happening. I was holding her tight. My baby was in pain. It made me cry along with her but before we both knew it, it was over and done with. She crying and moan for a bit but once she got home it was like it had never happened. She is the same child that went into the doctor but with only one difference she is protected from Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Polio, Hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b and Pneumococcal disease.

I was quite nervous and scared for her getting it done but I prefer for her to get these few injections and be prevented from being sick with a the many diseases that are floating around. I would want her to experience the time in hospital and feel the pains and aches of what these diseases can cause.
That is the reason why I wanted her to be immunised.

  I didn't go to the doctors without research.
I made sure I knew what was going into my daughter soft chubby thighs.
The Infanrix -hexa in one thigh and the Synflorix in the other.

 These injecions prevent babies from getting them nasty diseases in New Zealand
 The first set of injections are there stated below

Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis/Polio/Hepatitis B/Haemophilus influenzae type b
1 injection (INFANRIX® -hexa)

and..

Pneumococcal
1 injection (SYNFLORIX®)


Don't get me wrong though these diseases may not be easily caught or let alone be here in New Zealand but do you really want to risk it. I don't.

So at the end of the day I'm happy to say my child is immunised and I'll ave no problems taking her to day care and pre school.

Many of you may disagree with me so please tell me your thoughts and opinions abut this.