Project 52 - 3/52

I didn't manage to get a photo of me this week. Not much has changed though. In pretty sure I've stopped growing any bigger for the moment!

I got this hilarious picture of Noah though. He loves to make me laugh and is always coming up with silly things to make me giggle. Normally he would do things like this to avoid eating lunch, but there's nothing keeping this kid from his food at the moment. I'm expecting him to grow a foot in the next couple of weeks with the amount he's eaten!

The Hospital Bag

I have begun the laborious task of packing a hospital bag. I'm actually still undecided whether I want a home birth or to go into hospital (edit: I have just reserved a birthing pool to hire so I can have a home birth, so hope I never need to take this carefully packed bag anywhere!). I'm packing the bag anyway, just in case is always good, but also because everything will be in one place and I won't be trying to send Thomas all over the place to fetch things!

I am going to use the Ju Ju Be - Be Prepared that I previously wrote about, you can find the original post here. It's way too big to use as a nappy bag for Noah now instead we just use a little back pack for short trips or the BFF for longer trips (post to follow on that at some point I'm sure!). I have written a ginormous list though, which even the BP may not handle! I can't remember what I took last time and I'm sure I didn't touch most of it! I do like to be prepared though as the bag says!

So is my list of what to include in your hospital bag

• Dressing gown - always good to feel a little decent
• Slippers and socks
• An old nightie or tee to birth in
• Massage oil - Noah was born back to back, all Thomas did the whole night was rub my back when I was contracting. I wish I had had a lovely scented oil then.
• Vaseline - I always have dry lips but air conditioning in hospitals is the worst!
• Isotonic drinks and plain snacks - just incase I''m in for a long haul!
• Books/kindle/magazines/iPad
• Ipod speakers
• Hairbrush, hairbands and grips - will definitely be popping my hair up into a french plait for post birth photos!
• Make up - I can't stand to look at the photos of me with Noah after he was born, I fully intend to fake it!
• Spare clothes for hubby/birthing partner
• Swimming things for us both - I really want to make sure I actually get to the water this time!
• Charger for iThings
• Fresh, comfortable, breast feeding friendly clothes
• Nursing bras
• Wash things - including nipple cream, breast pads, maternity pads and a towel
• Baby clothes - I have 2x vests, 2x sleepsuits, booties, a hat, 2x cardigans, a going home outfit and a blanket
• Newborn nappies

Then I also have a post it with things to grab at the time;

• Camera - make sure it is charged!
• My amazing pregnancy pillow that is great for lying down, back support and will be good for breastfeeding support too I hope!
• Phone
• Maternity notes
• Baby car seat

I think that covers all the things, of course I also have the kitchen sink. I know I am an overpacker! What have I missed? Any other suggestions? I also read an excellent hospital packing blog post a while ago on Gas and Air written by a midwife and mother so pretty handy!

Bx

Project 52 - 2/52

Late already! I have definitely decided to do a photography course, they are much cheaper than I was expecting. There is one in Ashford starting in April so I'm hoping to do that one!

We had a tea party, Noah helped me cook and wash everything up!

I hate everything about this picture, my bum looks huge, I am so shiny,  my hair is horribly greasy and I have to wear uggs or slip on Vans otherwise I have to get Thomas to put my shoes on!

Unisex Baby Clothes

Wow.

That is about all I can say!

On Saturday, Thomas, Noah and I decided we would avoid the rain and head to some shops to get the new baby (known quite firmly as 'Flapjack' in this house) some clothes. I kept all of Noah's clothes from when he was a baby, I tried to keep things as unisex as possible. Turns out they aren't at all, looking at them now and imagining a girl in them just doesn't work. It's also very clear Noah was born in June, there are nowhere near enough warm things for a February baby! So we went to get some nice warm little outfits.

We got.......nothing.

White anyone?

EVERYTHING for new babies is pink, blue or white. We have never wanted to find out the sex of our baby before it was born, but it seems like that makes you the most boring parents who would only want to dress their child in white! Only on coming home did I find a few items on the Mothercare website that were red, and these were definitely not in store. So we have decided to just grab a few white sleep suits, which I think I might tie-dye, to get us through the first few days and then we shall be going out on a shop for sex specific winter clothes!

This is sold out! Why could they not also have this in orange, bright yellow, green......?!

It puts me in mind to start up a unisex baby clothing company, if only I had an inch of designer/crafter in my body! Some one want to pair up with me? I could do the business side of things? Alternatively if someone could point me towards some affordable unisex clothing that would be fab!

Bx

The 2014 To Do List

You may remember that at the beginning of last year Thomas and I made a list of family goals. You can view the original post here.
We didn't complete all of them, but they are just goals, not something to beat ourselves up about if we don't quite get there. So here are the things to cheer about.......

-We made that baby!!!!
-We are getting better at keeping things tidy  
-We almost always eat at the table, tv dinners are a special treat (which is of course what we are doing    right now!)
-We are much better with our budget
-I got my tattoo done
-I was a much healthier weight before I got pregnant!

And so this year! Some are the goals we didn't achieve last year some are new goals!

-Potty train Noah
-Read 25 books/get to 80 on my book list
-Finish distance learning
-Pay off debts
-Get involved in baby wearing
-Teach Noah the pop beat on the drums
-Have watched 100 movies in total from 1001 Movies book
-Bake macaroons
-Travel to some new places

A smaller list than last year's, which is probably sensible what with a new baby arriving and all! What are your goals for the new year?

Bx

The 52 Project 1/52

In an effort to rekindle my love affair with my blog and to get better at using my camera, I have decided to embark upon The 52 Project. Lots of people in the blogosphere did it last year and I loved seeing the pictures. My camera skills leave a lot to be desired! Maybe I will look for a photography evening class this year!

So, the project aim is to take a photo of your child once a week, every week, for a year. As some of you know we will have another little one arriving soon, so I felt this year would be a particularly interesting year to do it! Babies change so much in the first year that it will be great to document that. I find it harder to notice Noah changing now, just all of a sudden he seems different, so I am looking forward to being able to see his changes documented.

So here is week one's effort!

This kid is really determined to stick to his new year resolution

The bump at almost 33 weeks. I feel huge, I never feel like I look nice so having this picture is a huge challenge for me!

Toddler Sleep Problems

Getting a toddler to sleep. Such fun! This picture is the from the first night of when we began to resolve our problems!

Here's what happened tonight. We had a bath, mostly stress free, although he loves to splash me at the moment so the bathroom ends up SOAKED! He did not want to get in his jammies (the sign he wasn't going down easy). Then it was story time, he was not listening at all just pottered around the room whilst I read. After the first story he brought me a different one, sat on my lap and listened really nicely cuddled up to me and rubbed his eyes trying not to fall asleep. Here I'm like, 'wahoo he's going to sleep easy tonight'. So wrong!

I then put him in bed and he sort of stayed put. Now normally I will sit and read my book whilst he falls off to sleep but I had forgotten to bring it in. I could see he wasn't going off quickly so I asked him to stay put whilst I went and got it. Stay put he did not! He got out of bed shut the door behind me and got back in bed. That seemed like quite clear message so I left him to it. About five minutes later I could hear a lot of crashing around. I went up to tell him to get into bed but he refused to stay put so I left him again. Within five minutes he was crying my name. I went up again and stayed outside the room, I told him I would come and sit with him if he got in bed and refused to come in until he got into bed. Once he was in, I sat down and read my book, he was asleep very quickly and I stayed reading for ages because it was a good bit!

Now it may not sound like it but that felt like a success! I didn't need to stress, I could tell when things were going to work and what he would listen to.

Why is bedtime such a chore?!

It started when we got back from Antigua. Before that it was story, in the cot, leave the room, never go back! Whilst we were away we were either in the room or he fell asleep in the buggy. There was no routine at all. When we got back bedtime became hell!

After 10 days of fighting he told us quite clearly that the cot was the problem. So right there and then we took the sides off and turned it into his big boy bed! The first few nights were fine but after that it became a fight again. We couldn't get him to stay in bed and it was just more fight than we could handle. After much reading online we decided to put a stair gate across his door so we could just leave him to sort himself out.

Now it's a juggle each night figuring what kind of mood he is in. He does go to sleep easier if we sit in with him whilst he drifts off, but some nights we can just tell it will be easier to leave him to it. I actually love sitting in with him. Watching that kid fall asleep is one of my all time favourite things to do, but also how can I complain about getting to read every night! In the last week whilst Thomas has been studying hard I've been on bedtime duty and read half a book!

Does anyone else have any bed time nightmares? Fears of moving from a cot to a bed? Would love to hear your stories.

Bx