12lb 8oz!

Just had Alice weighed and she is now 12lb 8oz - fantastic! Still dead on the 50th percentile for her weight so I'm really happy. It's really easy to worry that I'm not feeding her enough or that she's not getting the nutrients she needs from breastmilk so I'm always quietly relieved to find out we're doing okay.

She had her second set of jabs yesterday, and although the injections themselves weren't as bad (she'd stopped crying by the time we left the room), she had a really fussy evening where nothing seemed to settle her. I eventually gave in and gave her a little Calpol, and that seemed to calm her down. Poor little one!

I bought a few more of the nappies we like (BumGenius if I haven't said that enough times on here :P) so we won't have to wash as often if I don't get chance / the weather is crap. I do love nappies.

Stressing a little about the big move this weekend but I haven't really had chance to pack anything else up - I don't really get time to do anything myself with Mitch away. So it's going to be a busy few days over the weekend - luckily he has Mon / Tue off work next week to help with the move and unpacking, and I can supervise from the sofa!

If I don't get chance to blog more - wish us luck with the move!

With love and light xo

Dear Alice - 2 Months

(Your daddy loves this picture for some reason!)

Dear Alice,

Today you are 2 months old exactly. That means it is exactly 2 months, pretty much to the same time of day, that you came into the world. How amazing is that?

So much changes every day that it's so difficult to remember how quickly you are growing up. I keep trying to take a step back and appreciate how perfect you are, and how big you're becoming!

At 2 months old:

- You weighed 10lb 10oz a few weeks ago, so I would guess you're probably just over 11lb now. You are still very long, so we think you're going to be a tall little lady!

- You are now completely out of your newborn clothes, and struggling to fit into a lot of your 0-3 sleepsuits - mostly because of your length rather than your size! I'm trying to cram as much wear into your beautiful little clothes before we have to start putting some of them away.

- We are now using cloth nappies exclusively, including at night. So far we're still doing really well, and as mentioned in the previous post we are really happy with these. You seem to really like having a big cuddly bum too! We are also using reusable wipes when we are at home now to avoid using chemicals as much as possible :)

- You had the first set of your jabs, which was awful but necessary. You have another 2 sets to go at 12 weeks and 16 weeks. Mummy doesn't like seeing you in pain!!

- The most exciting development for us (well me!) is that you are now smiling! And what a beautiful smile it is too. You completely beam at daddy, and it just makes everything seem perfect. You don't smile as much for mummy but I think that's because you see me all the time! You smile in the bath, and especially smile in the mornings when you're in bed having a cuddle with mummy and daddy.

- You're holding your head up and looking round a lot more. You always want to be sat up and seeing what's going on in the world - you don't want to be lay down as you want to be a nosy bear!

- You're also now awake a lot more during the day. I'm hoping that this means over the next few months your night time sleep will get better, but we're not going to force you into a routine. You're in charge little one :)

- Mummy is getting a little more confident with feeding, and we've been feeding out and about. I finally feel like we've cracked it, and that I can hopefully carry on breastfeeding till we're both done!

- You react a lot more to voices and noises, and you follow people round and focusing on their eyes. It also means you want to be looking at mummy all the time, so you love being in your bouncy chair and watching me make lunch or vacuum up!

You can read the other Dear Alice posts by clicking here :)

With love and light xo

Useful Things

I was thinking last night about things I could write about, and thought about a few items I've / we've found incredibly useful over the past 2 months. This is by no means a list of things you need, but definitely things that have helped us out a little :). Infact, I might split the list up and make it a regular thing! If you have any suggestions / advice just let me know :)

- Hotsling

(I got mine second hand for £5, but new about £40)

Alice pretty much wants to be carried all the time - she wants to be able to see what's happening and what everyone's

doing, and be close enough to me that she can pull on my top to remind me that tea time is happening!

The link is to the adjustable one and mine isn't, but the ease of it is amazing - it's literally just a pouch of material that I c

an put her in to carry her round. It's comfy, easy to use, and takes up no space at all in my nappy bag. I just chuck it in and it saves my arms carrying her round if she wants cuddles when we're out and about.

It's a lifesaver at home too, I can do the washing up, peg clothes out, tidy up etc. She has a nice l

ittle doze and I don't feel guilty about not getting anything done - winner!

Plus mine has a lovely pattern on (as pictured) and I get lots of compliments, that must mean I need another one right ;). I must stress how much I prefer the Hotsling to the Babasling - I find

that faffy and uncomfortable!

- Rear View Car Mirror

(£5.97)

By no means a necessity, but I find being able to see her in the back seat when we're driving really reassuring. I can easily see what she's up to, and if she's awake or sleeping - often a key factor in the decision making of where we're going and what we're doing!

And this is super cheap and easy to fit - it just attaches to the back head rest. One thing I did forget to check is if we had read head rests though, and turns out we didn't. However Mitch did a quick switcheroo for me! Problem solved. Would definitely recommend. It also has the added effect of distorting her head slightly which makes me giggle.

- BumGenius V3 Nappies

(I paid £5 each for these I think on an offer, but normally around £14.99 new)

I could write pages and pages about how fantastic we've found the cloth nappies and how happy we are with the decision to use cloth, but I just particularly want to focus on the type of nappy, and I'll maybe do a longer cloth post later.

The V3 are the old version, but just as good as the V4s. I also want to mention the BumGenius All In One Nappies which are sized, and we had 6 small ones of these for the first few weeks - they do from 8lb to 15lb so we're still using these but they take longer to dry.

The V3 nappies are classed as Birth to Potty nappies, so fit from about 8lb to hopefully when she potty trains - because they have various poppers to adjust the size and fit for the age she is (better explanation here).

We love them for many reasons, but a few include: Saving money - obviously a big reason, and a very important reason. Although the inital outlay was more, we should hopefully save a significant amount in the long term, and obviously these can be reused again and again. Reducing landfill, this is really important to me / us. Comfort, they look so super comfy! And I'm trying to avoid using chemicals on Alice wherever possible.

We've found the BumGenius the best so far for fit, ease of use, speed of drying, and absorbency.

I might sound like some crazy hippy, but that's fine. I have no confidence in most of my decisions, but I've been really happy with this choice so far.

Okay, little one is crying so I'm off for now. Will do some more of these soon, but please leave any comments with questions or suggestions :)

With love and light xo

6 Weeks

Alice is now over 6 weeks old, and a lot has happened in the past few weeks! These past few days she has just started with a few little smiles - daddy was the first to see one of these but she's flashed a few more over the weekend. She has a beautiful smile, and it just makes everything in the world light up! Although I'm obviously going to think that.

She's much more alert, and is constantly looking round and taking in the sights and sounds around her. When we're out in the pram she sometimes cries, just because she can't see the world! She makes eye contact with everyone, and follows faces and voices round the room.

We had a lovely day out last weekend to Newstead Abbey, to look round the gardens and have a walk in the sunshine! It's so nice to be able to get out and about a little more now, especially as a little family. It's getting easier to go out now I'm more confident with breastfeeding, as having to time everything round feeds and sleep was proving difficult! Over the past week she has fed in Newstead Abbey, 2 pubs and a garden centre! No negativity as of yet, and each time I'm becoming a little braver I think. I'm determined that I'm not going to stay in the house all the time, so this needs to be done.

A few snaps from Newstead -

We're still getting on well with the cloth nappies, and have now managed to start using these at night time too. We both seem to favour the Bum Genius nappies, so I'm glad I mostly got these. I'm really glad we decided to use cloth - they look so comfy and squidgy! I realised I had no photos of little one in the nappies, so here is her in an Itti Bitti Snap-In-One -

I just cannot believe how big she is getting. She is being weighed on Thursday by the health visitor, so we'll see how much weight she's actually put on. She's out of all her newborn clothes now, and nearly out of some of her 0-3 month clothes!

Finally, a big congratulations to Charlotte and Holly on the birth of their lovely little girls, we are all so lucky :)

With love and light xo

Dear Alice - 1 Month

Dear Alice,

Yesterday you were exactly 1 month old! Where has this time gone? I cannot believe it was a month ago today that you arrived into the world, and changed our lives in every possible way for the better!

In the past month so much has changed, yet it feels like you've always been here and have always been part of our lives. In part I'm excited by how much you've grown in the last month, but I'm also terrified - I love you being so tiny and so dependent on us, and part of me wishes you could just stay so small forever!

At one month old:

- You now focus your eyes a lot more, and make eye contact with whoever is holding you or talking to you at that moment! You follow people or objects around the room (especially mummy!!) and seem quite alert and interested in the world - more so every day.

- Every day you are awake more and sleep slightly less in the day, seeming much more interested in cuddles, being awake, and food!

- I feel like we've finally got the hang of breastfeeding, after many ups and downs. I'm sure there will be a lot more to come, but it no longer hurts, and your latch is now spot on most of the time. You are a very hungry baby but you seem to be growing big and strong so that's fine by me! I have no idea how much you weigh at the moment but you are definitely growing.

- One of the ways we can tell you've grown - you're nearly out of your newborn clothes! That's so sad - you were barely in them 5 minutes! We can still fit in a few so we're mixing and matching with the 0-3 month clothes.

- We are now using cloth nappies all day, and still using disposables at night. We all seem to be loving the cloth nappies, and I definitely love the funky patterns! We're not using BTP nappies yet, just the small size ones. Favourite brands so far - definitely the Bum Genius AIO, followed by TotsBots Teenyfits. On daddy's suggestion we're trying cloth tonight so will keep the blog updated...

- Had sort of settled into a routine, but then have completely thrown it out the past few days! We'll see how you go - you're letting us know which routines work for you and that's fine by us.

- We both miss daddy every day when he's at work, and look forward to 5 when he comes home to give us both cuddles! It's so strange, I feel like we wake up in the morning, then 10 minutes later it's time for Mitch to come home - the day completely flies by and I have no idea where the time goes!

Finally, in just 1 month, neither of us can imagine life without you. You bring lots of sunshine into our lives, along with poo-y nappies and sicky shoulders :)

With love and light xo

37+2 - Nappies!

With love and light xo

32 - The story so far...

Picture taken with my shiny new camera remote!
So today I am 32 weeks pregnant, or 8 weeks (56 days) away from my due date, a date that still seems a distance of about ten thousand years into the future!

I'm still feeling mostly very good, with very little to complain about really. Back and hip ache have been getting to be a daily thing, but nothing too crippling and certainly nothing I can't cope with – and who am I to moan about daily back rubs and getting the sofa to myself!

I've had a busy few weeks at work, and I'm really trying as hard as I can to complete my teacher training work. The deadline is the 11th June, but obviously I'm going to be somewhat preoccupied through April / May / June, so trying to get as much as possible done beforehand. This was really worrying me last week, and there have been more than a few tears shed, but I'm only one person, there are only so many hours in the day, and I can only do so much! Written myself a schedule of things I can be doing next week so really hoping to get some big chunks done.

Another thing that's been on my mind over the past few weeks is a bit of an exciting development house wise! I'm going to keep it quiet for the next few weeks, but if anyone is looking for somewhere to rent sometime in the next few months then get in touch with me :)

I've finally managed to get off my lazy bum and start doing some exercise this past month or so, not tons but more than before! Going swimming once a week, which I suppose is better than nothing. Would love to get out and do some more walking but the weather's not really been fit, hoping that this changes soon and we can get in a few nice walks before baby is here!

Sleeping a lot better lately, seem to be dead to the world this week, maybe waking up every few hours to change sides and relieve an achy hip, but other than that very well! Counting my blessings with this at the moment, as I know I'll be up every 10 seconds to pee soon enough! I'm thinking it's because my bump is so high at the moment, that she's not really pushing on my bladder. Also not waddling yet, again because I think she's so high up! This has been leading to a lot of being out of breath from going up 2 flights of stairs though.

The movements I've been feeling have definitely changed, from defined pokes and prods to more “swooshy” (?) movements, like I can feel her moving around and changing position and my whole tummy changes shape – it can be quite strange / surreal! Tried to get a video last night but she stopped as soon as I started filming obviously.

I've had 3 antenatal classes so far, and they've actually been really useful and interesting. They've only been 45 / 50 minute classes, but we've covered relaxation methods, breathing, birthing and labour positions, and other bits and pieces. The physio that takes the class is really fantastic and a big hypnobirth / natural birth advocate. Although a lot of the stuff she's going through is stuff I've already read and I'm aware of, it's very reassuring to hear a medical person repeating things back to you. I do feel a bit like the odd one out at the classes though, but I've always been a bit odd I suppose!

In other baby news, I haven't really bought anything else or done anything else! I received a gorgeous hamper full of baby things last weekend that was very much appreciated, lots of lovely things to stash away! Bought a few bits for my hospital bag on Monday but still not got round to packing it, possibly a weekend job along with trying out the car seat? I keep putting off buying things but I will get a move on soon.

I have put myself on a nappy buying hiatus until baby comes, just because I may not even get on with the cloth nappies! We have a nice little stash now, consisting mainly of Bum Genius (a combination of the V3 BTP and All-In-Ones), TotsBots (some V1 and some V2), a few Bambooty, and just some other bits and pieces I've picked up from the pre-loved board on BabyCentre! I keep meaning to take pictures of them all so I'll try and do that soon too.

Finally, a bit of a question. Those of you that have had babies before, did you wash all the clothes before they were born?

With love and light xo