Thursday 14 November 2013

3 months old

Friends, Life is crazy!
My little blog has gotten neglected as I went back to work and am trying to figure out the new Balance of work & family.
 
here's a quick photo update of our munchkin at 3 months
 
 
 
 
You can check out the previous months posts by clicking on the links : 1 Month & 2 Months
 
 
 

Monday 7 October 2013

2 months old

How is my baby already two months old?????
She has changed so much and is becoming such a joyful chatty baby:) I'm really enjoying her !
Without Further ado :)





check out last months picture here


Friday 4 October 2013

Nativity plank art

this is another project that is a long time coming... almost a year in fact. It also took me about 3 hours longer to finsh than it should have cos I had to do it in Nap times :)

I saw this


on pinterest last year and immediately wanted on. For those of you who don't know me well I LOVE Christmas and all it brings :) I have Christmas décor stashed all over the place and knew this was the perfect addition.

I contacted Judith from Trendy Walls who you might remember from my post about our Mirror and sent her the picture and she made me the stickers I needed...


In all fairness I did try and finsh this when the stickers arrived but we were building and staying with my inlaws so crafting space was limited (and I couldnt figure out how to get a plank and bought a canvas that was way to small so the stickers just went back into a box)..

While Cleaning up our garage a few weeks ago I found a plank left over from when my dad added a shelf to our kitchen Island that was the perfect size

After painting it red like my inspiration picture we were good to go


I'm beyond pleased with the results!!




roll on Christmas :)


Wednesday 2 October 2013

39 & 40 weeks pregnant

So I'm only about two months late with this post ... whoops!
I wanted to complete the series though so here are week 39 & 40 combined (cos you know after everyone telling me how huge I was and that the Baby was going to come early she was late!)

How Far Along: let pretend here shall we ;)

Size of Baby: Baby came out weighing 3.58 kg's  and
was 51 cm long

Picture of Baby:

By this stage Baby Sprinkle was about the size of a watermelon



Belly:




Sleep: the last two weeks were pretty bad.. I couldn't shake the flu and spent the majority of the night blowing my nose

Movement: up and down ... but definately moving down!
Symptoms:  there isn't a Symptom I don't have :)

Food Cravings:still very thirsty all the time!

What I Miss:  movement

What I'm Looking Forward to: this little ones arrival!! We were MORE than Ready for her and my parents arriving:)


Thursday 5 September 2013

the start of a new project:1 month old

I cannot claim this is an original idea but taking inspiration from many out in the blogosphere I'm going to attempt to take monthly pictures of Isla using the same props to show how much she grows over a year... I am by no means a photographer and have an overly complex camera I have no idea how to use so please bear with me (I am open to photography tips).


Meet Stan (the lamb)... He is the 'yardstick' against she will be measured :)


I can't decide if I like the chair or whether the overhead shot is better ... Thoughts ??

and just cos my baby is cute I added some other pics for your viewing pleasure :)






Thursday 29 August 2013

Things we couldn't live without: Newborn Edition

I loved reading these posts before I had a little one but now having lived through 3.5 weeks of my own newborn  I feel some important things were left off of a lot a lists. So in the interests of preparing the multitude of people in my life expecting there own blessing here are some things we couldn't have done without ...


1) Nipple Cream: Get the good stuff ( i.e. Lanisonah) , this is not a place to try and save money ! trust me on this one.

2) Nursing tank tops: again, these don't come cheap but they are SO worth it especially when you don't want to be completely house bound while  breast feeding. They allow you to lift your shirt without exposing your post-baby-belly to the world .

3) Swaddle Blanket: We have a 'Baby Sense' one that rocks!

 Its amazing how they help to settle Isla down and stops her little baby 'flailing arms' reflex from waking her up. Receiving Blankets work well too!We have a shaped one too (with velcro) but trying to slide her into it is quite hard, the baby sense one is cut into a triangle shape which you just wrap which is much easier.

4) Baby Grows (Onsies) : we got some very cute outfits that we've enjoyed dressing our little blessing in but there's a reason these simple things have stood the test of time. They are the quickest and easiest thing to dress a baby in (especially if you haven't quite mastered how to slip a vest over a floppy new-born's head)

5) Boppy/Nursing Pillow

this not only helps for feeding (especially after a c-section) but it serves as a nice place to prop up the baby and also help them to feel a little more Snug if you can't spend every moment holding them:)

6) Help: Hubby took leave from work and My mom was here for the first 3 weeks of Isla's life and it was amazing. Today's actually the first day I've been completely home alone with her since she was born and I'm missing the company and extra set of hands to hold her so I can take a shower ;)

7) Newborn Pictures: do them !! they change so fast its absolutely precious to have a memory of when they are tiny



Tuesday 20 August 2013

please forgive me

please forgive my lack of posting.... things got a little crazy round here :) 
introducing:


Saturday 27 July 2013

Things that surprised me about pregnancy

At  39 weeks pregnant I feel that I can share a bit on the topic of pregnancy :)
There are many symptoms that really surprised me when I first experienced them only to discover(with a bit of research) they were actually pretty common. We all know about the obvious symptoms eg : morning sickness/cravings/big belly/some swelling but there are some strange things out there that I never knew about
Carpel Tunnel Syndrome:

This is apparently really common during pregnancy. Something about pregnancy hormones causes your nerves/joints to relax which means you can develop this pretty painful side effect. It makes your hands go dead or causes extreme pins and needles in your hands/wrists.Not helpful when one needs to type/write a lot and strangely very painful at night.
Body heat:

I am forever grateful that the last bit of my pregnancy has been in the winter ! I would have probably overheated otherwise . I feel like the human furnace

Rib Flair:

A very uncomfortable pain at the the top of my bump just under my ribs... its like a shooting pain every-time I sneeze or move in the wrong way and can be so painful it takes my breathe away...

For interests sake I asked some of my friends who recently became mom's to share their experiences too.. 
Krista: Mom to Klaire (almost 8 months old)

"I definitely had both fun and not-so-fun surprises during pregnancy.
• A couple fun ones… Whenever I would eat chocolate, Klaire would start to go crazy, bumping around in my belly… In my last trimester, Klaire often had the hiccups; but, without fail, she would always get them when I took a bath!
• A not-so-fun one… I expected most of the major discomforts that came along with pregnancy, but one that surprised me the most was the last two months of my pregnancy, I had awful pain in both hips when I would lay on my side (which is pretty much the only option by then!), so I got very little sleep. I couldn’t sleep for more than an hour at a time without waking up in excruciating pain. I’d roll over and sleep for an hour, only to wake up an hour later and repeat the whole process. "
Kerry: Mom to Luke (just over 3 months old)
My most surprising symptom was extreme bloating. Other than that I had an awesome pregnancy!

Tamlyn: Mom to Ricky (4 months old)

My most surprising symptom was my lack of symptoms!  I had a very positive pregnancy experience from beginning to end.  Of course I had my fair share of morning sickness – I don’t think anyone truly escapes that inconvenience – but I started taking Asic and it disappeared entirely!  Because of its antihistamine properties, acid reflux in later pregnancy was almost non-existent, so double bonus!!  All the usual pregnancy symptoms – aches and pains, mood swings, food cravings, lack of sleep – just never showed up!  Even the belly didn’t properly arrive until over half way through, so I had little to no use for maternity wear, which was exactly the opposite of what I expected!  Food-wise, I went off peanuts – the smell was enough to send me running for the bathroom! – and I found myself eating less meat and more fruit, vegetables and dairy, but there was nothing I had to have RIGHT NOW!  The closest I got to anything I expected was in my final two weeks of pregnancy.  Ricky was one VERY active baby and, due to the reduced amount of amniotic fluid, every kick and jab took my breath away.  I loved it though!  Being pregnant was some of the best fun I’ve ever had! 


Friday 26 July 2013

Baby update: 38 weeks

How Far Along: 38w 6 day ... I'm actually right on time , Go me ;)

Size of Baby: Baby should weigh about 3 kg (psssh ja right , I'm thinking more like 3.2 if not more ) and be about 50cm long

Picture of Baby:

By this stage Baby Sprinkle is about the size of a pumpkin... (sounds about right )



Belly:


Sleep: not going so well, on top of being 38 weeks prego I managed to get a pretty bad case of bronchitis flu so I've had a blocked nose and lots of trouble sleeping cos every time I lay down I can't really breathe

Best Moment of the Week: The arrival of Baby James! so Excited for my friends and Sad i can't see him
Movement: up and down ... but definately moving down!
Symptoms:  there isn't a Symptom I don't have :)

Food Cravings:still very thirsty all the time!

What I Miss: Family and friends close by... Would be nice to be able to visit with more people...  

What I'm Looking Forward to: this little ones arrival!! We are ready (MORE than Ready) for you to make an appearance little one!


Monday 22 July 2013

Baby Update: 37 weeks

How Far Along: 38w 2 day ... I'm late this week again ...oh well:)

Size of Baby: Baby should weigh about 2.9 kg and be about 48cm long
(the people that made this list had small babies!! ;) )

Picture of Baby:

By this stage Baby Sprinkle is about as long as a leek



Belly:


Sleep: not going so well, haven't slept properly for the last week

Best Moment of the Week: starting Maternity leave (although I am a bit unsure how I'm going to fill all this free time till she arrives :) ) and a sweet baby shower thrown by some special friends this side of the world...
Movement: still fluctuates... went to the doctor (weekly appointments now) and she has moved down more and is engaging.. any time now..
Symptoms:  there isn't a Symptom I don't have :)

Food Cravings: been drinking like crazy, I seem to be thirsty all the time!
What I Miss: Family and friends close by... Would be nice to be able to visit with more people...  

What I'm Looking Forward to: still waiting on the arrival of special little boy :) (Come on buddy) and the count down to our own special sprinkle:) Less than two weeks to go!!


Friday 12 July 2013

Baby Update: 36 weeks

How Far Along: 36w 6 day ... Can hardly believe it!!

Size of Baby: Baby should weigh about 2.7 kg and be about 46.5cm long
(the people that made this list had small babies!! ;) )

Picture of Baby:

By this stage Baby Sprinkle is is about as long as some Swiss Chard






Belly:

 
Sleep: ja, that's not going so well!
Best Moment of the Week: hearing about how the ladies from our Antenatal classes have started having their babies... not long to go now :)
 
Movement: fluctuates... went to the doctor and she has moved down and is starting to Engage..
 
Symptoms: at 8 months pregnant I don't there is is a Symptom I don't have :) (this statement still stands)
Food Cravings: nothing much...
What I Miss: being able to put on a pair of socks... for some reason i cannot reach my right foot. Left is fine but the right foot is unreachable. 
What I'm Looking Forward to: the weekend !! 3 weeks till my due date tomorrow!! and the hopefully soon arrival of another special little boy :)


Monday 8 July 2013

Adventures in Nursery land Part 4: painted furniture

If you can remember way back to my first Nursery Post I mentioned how we were going to paint the dresser in the baby room with Chalkboard paint... That was in April and we finished it yesterday ! Procrastinate much ?
 
Life doesn't stop unfortunately when you have a baby on the way ( although it definitely should slow down in my opinion) but every time we planned to get a start on these projects something would come up and it would get bumped down the list. I even got to the point where I was trying to convince myself it wouldn't be SO bad if it didn't happen.Thankfully two weekends ago I finally bit the bullet and jumped right in :)
 
The Bookshelf was mine as a child and has lived in many places throughout my various homes :) It looked like this before we started. Not to bad from far but up close it was chipped and kind of just blended in with the wall behind it.
 
 
The chest of drawers was one we inherited from W's Gran when she passed away. We used it in our spare room before and then decided it was the perfect height to use as a change table. Being the bad blogger I am I forgot to take pictures before taking the drawers out but I'm sure you get the idea
 
 
 
There was a layer of varnish that needed to be sanded off first so I used our electric sander (if you are planning on refinishing furniture invest in one! It was a such a time saver and not that expensive). The bookshelf had been painted previously so we just roughed it up with the sander to allow the new paint to stick
 
 
The Chest of Drawers hadn't be painted before so my Sister in Law painted Primer on it (it was stinky stuff so I stayed away and we made sure to do it outside )
 
 
When we started painting we quickly realised that we needed more than just one can of paint (and then I overcompensated and bought way to much! chalkboard paint anyone?).
 
 
It was quite a messy endeavour
 
 
The Final Product turned out amazingly! It's such a contrast and even though the 'grey' paint is not as grey as I thought it would be (more a blue/green/grey)  its still pretty cool:)
 
 
Apologies for the overexposed picture but I wanted to show the stencil detail on the drawers and this was the only way to do it...
 
 
Everything's back in the room and the Drawers are started to get packed.
Rooms officially ready!
EEEEKKKKK!!!