One year old Update!

Rhodri's 12 Month Update

My baby boy is 12 months old. I have a one year old now! I don't know where the time went but it is crazy to me that my tiny little baby is now a little boy who gets more mobile, talkative and cheeky with each day that passes! 

As I'm typing this I am listening to my little darling using his cot as a trampoline. His name is written above his cot in wooden letters, he is currently attempting to pick them off the wall. Accompanied with lots of "Oooo", "uh-oh" and "Mamamamama ha!". I have no idea what joys await me tomorrow morning but I've become accustomed to this new phase of his development I like to call "Next stop Toddler-ville". 

Here's what happened this month -

Weight: He hasn't been officially weighed, but last check he was 9.5kg which puts Rhodri's weight back on his normal weight curve and on the 50th percentile line which I'm very happy with.

Height: He's won't be measured until his 1 year check up, which is due next week.

Clothing size: Rhodri is wearing a mixture of 9-12 and 12-18 month clothes. Most 9-12 fit him well, but some things (especially trousers) tend to look better in the next size up.

Sleep: He sleeps 6.30pm - 6.30am.

This months milestones: 

• Teeth - We are still on 6 teeth. He chews on his fingers alot. This is usually a sign more are on their way, but for the time being there are no other signs that the teeth will be making an appearance anytime soon. 
• Words - We have Mamma, Dadda, Nanna, Faff (One of his Auntys), Ta, Cat, Hiya, Yes, Go and Buhbuh (we think this is bye) from previous months. He is still working on Bottle, book and come. His newest words are Out, Ow and Uh-oh
• Walking/Crawling - About a week after he turned 11 months Rhodri started to stand on his own. I thought to myself, this is it. He's going to walk before he turns one. But no, two days later he refused to stand unaided and learnt to Crawl instead!! The day after his first birthday he took his first 2/3 steps unaided, but has now reverted to scooting around the furniture.
• Social skills - Very social child. Going through a phase where in the first few minutes of being with someone he 'plays shy'. After the first few minutes pass he reverts to his smiles, laughter and usual playful behaviour.

This months special outings:

• Rhodri has been enjoying spending time with his grandmothers while Mummy & Daddy are in work.

• We still spend every Thursday with his Aunty and cousins. Rhodri loves this family time.

• Rhodri spent a week with Mummy who took the time off work for some bonding. We thoroughly enjoyed playing, cwtching and quality time together.
• Rhodri's first birthday. He spent the day with Mummy and Daddy, had lots of gifts and cards. Had some visitors and then went out for a meal with a lot of his favourite people. There were some very special people missing but he gets to catch up with them all soon and he can't wait for that :)

Baby gear love: I bought myself a new wrap and I am totally in love!! It's the Lenny Lamb Broken Twill in Strawberry Blueberry. I had it 2nd hand so it was already broken in for me. It is so comfy and much easier to wrap with than my previous wrap. I love it and so does Rhodri.

Baby's routine: 

Rhodri wakes around 6.30am. He has porridge, toast or fruit a bottle of milk and then we brush his teeth. Change of clothes before we leave the house around 7am and drop him at his grandparents. We pick him up around 4.45pm get him home and have dinner. He has a little bit of a play and explore, before taking a bath. He normally watches 'In The Night Garden' before we head up to bed. A bed time story and then in his cot. We will normally hear him play for a good 20 minutes in his cot, but once he tires himself out he lies down and goes to sleep.

On the days he doesn't stay with his grandparents at 7 am we will play with his toys downstairs. Around 9am he will go for a nap. This will last at least an hour, sometimes 2 hours. Once he wakes up he has his second bottle and playtime resumes. around 12pm he has lunch. If we are going out we tend to head out after lunch. If not we go and play in his tent in his nursery. It has some balls and bean bags so he likes to throw them about and put different toys in his tent. Around 2.30 pm he will take another 1hour nap. When he wakes he has his third and final bottle of the day. We play some more, or go out for some fresh air before reverting to the usual night time schedule of dinner, bath, story, bed.

Highlights of the month: 

• Rhodri turned 1 this month. Bitter sweet to have my baby grow up so quickly. Of course I am happy that he is growing up and developing well, but yes I do miss my tiny little baby and those cute sleepy cuddles. These have now been replaced with "Let me go" squirming and "slap" I found your face mum!
• I love all the things he's learnt. Clapping, blowing kisses, waving, pretend coughing, standing up, crawling, walking around. Simple things for us to do, but the effort he puts in to doing and learning these things makes me appreciate it all.
• Celebrating his birthday and looking back on a year with Rhodri was the main highlight this month. 

Rhodri's monthly favourites: 

• Toy - Scout - his talking dog.
• Teddy - Goodnight bear.
• Food - Banana, toast, strawberry yoghurt, raisins.
• Music - All music, pretty much anything in the UK top 40, along with the classics such as Queen, Bon Jovi etc!! 
• Activity - Crawling, cat chasing and turning lights on & off.
• Person - Mummy & Daddy of course!
• Book - The Gruffalos Child

Rhodri's monthly dislikes:

• Being told "No". 
• Having anything dangerous or breakable taken away, or put out of reach.

Thats all for this month. As always thanks for reading!! xoxo

Rhodri's 10 Month Update

Rhodri's 10 Month Update

Hello there! I know posts have been thin on the ground recently, but I am working hard at developing some sort of work/home/blog life balance. I have a few posts in the pipeline and am grateful for all of you who read my blog and who are patient as I figure out how to juggle everything

My baby boy is now 10 months old.  He is in to everything. Everything is a toy, and belongs to him! He seems to change almost every day, constantly growing and learning. Now that I'm back in work it seems like by the time the weekend comes around and I can spend the full day with him, he's learnt so much without me. He's more and more like a little boy, and less like a baby every day. I am loving watching the changes and development. Here's what's happened in the last month!

Weight: Rhodri hasn't been weighed this month, judging by the return of his appetite I think he is probably right back on track. 

Height: We haven't had this checked since last month. He's not likely to be measured until his 1 year check up.

Clothing size: Around two weeks ago Rhodri moved up to his 9-12 month clothes. I probably could have held out a little longer as the arms and legs seem slightly too long. He was in that awkward stage where 6-9 was starting to get small and I'd rather his clothes were too big than too small.

Sleep: He sleeps 7pm - 6.30am. We do sometimes have to wake him at 6.30am so that we can get him out the door and get ourselves to work, but more often than not once he hears us stirring he starts to wake also.

This months milestones: 

• TEETH!! Holy moly! We went two and a half months with just the two bottom two teeth, when finally one of his top front teeth came through. Then two weeks later he is teething with three more top teeth! The poor little man is teething like crazy! We have made his first dentist appointment for next month, and hopefully by then the three teeth will be through!
• Rhodri is learning more words/sounds. Mamma and Dadda he has down to an art. He's working on Yes and Bye at the moment.
• In the past week Rhodri has been standing unaided for a few seconds. Not for long, but we are getting there and his balance is noticeably improving.
• He can walk when holding on to furniture or our hands.
• Still not crawling, but he has recently moved from a sitting to almost crawling position before lying down and giving up... it's progress!
• He is showing signs of being sociable with other children. Although he can't talk to them, he mimics the sounds or crys they make to try and grab their attention.
• The health visitor visited me after my first week back in work and said Rhodri showed signs of Separation Anxiety. He wasn't overly upset, and he quickly warmed to her again and showered her with smiles. But showed that he was certain who his Mummy was and who the stranger in the situation was.

This months special outings:

• Rhodri has had a few outings to the park. He loves the swings. Slides are mildly interesting. Nosing in on other peoples conversations is of course the best part of any outing.
• We continue to spend Thursdays visiting his Aunty and cousins. Sometimes when he's really lucky his girlfriend is there too. He's very fond of women. Flirt.

Baby gear love: My brand new woven wrap. I'm still getting to grips with it but I am enjoying trying out different carries using my wrap. I am building up the confidence to take him out minus the pram and with just the wrap.

Baby's routine: You can read our bed time routine HERE. 

Around 6.30am he wakes up, he has porridge and a bottle before brushing his teeth and being dressed for the day. We tend to leave the house around 7am dropping him off before heading to work. His grandparents play with him, take him out and just enjoy him of course. He naps around 9 for two hours. Has a bottle and lunch around half 11. Second nap half two ish for an hour. His last bottle after the second nap. I pick him up around 4.45pm. When we get home he has dinner and we resume the normal evening routine. Thursdays & Weekends Rhodri doesn't go to his grandparents and so I try to maintain the routine while still making memories and enjoying quality time together.

Highlights of the month: 

• Rhodri is constantly babbling and chatting. He laughs and giggles alot. Seeing him attempt communication is so rewarding and enjoyable to hear.
• Rhodri claps, waves and does a lot of dancing. I find it so lovely to see him enjoying movement and music. It's lovely to see him so happy.
• Getting home from work every day and getting smiles, kisses and cuddles is the best.

Rhodri's monthly favourites: 

• Toy - Anything musical
• Teddy - Goodnight bear.
• Food - Cauliflower, banana Pancakes and toast.
• Music - He just loves music. Sam Smith, Taylor Swift, Sia, Meghan Trainor... pretty much anything in the top 40 are his favourites. He loves Queen and Bon Jovi too. Anything he can bop along to!! 
• Activity - Standing, walking, dancing.
• Person - Mummy & Daddy of course!
• Book - The Gruffalos Child.

Rhodri's monthly dislikes:

• Being left the first few days Mummy went back to work.
• Being dressed. Particularly dislikes putting coats on - this continues to be an issue.
• Being put in/strapped in to seats, chairs, prams. He wants to be held or walking and doesn't particularly like being restrained.

Thats all for this month. As always thanks for reading!! xoxo

New Beginnings

The last 11 months have been full of memories. Some not so good... like a flooded kitchen and bathroom or a poorly son. But mostly full of amazing memories. For 11 months I have been on maternity leave and it seems like just yesterday I came home from my last day and rang my Mum. It hit me like a bus that day, I wasn't just pregnant, I was actually going to have a baby! 

That sounds daft I'm sure, but it sure does become 'real' and that for me was the moment it really hit home. For a month I was waiting for this baby and the next chapter of my life. Always knowing I would be returning to work and not even fazed by the idea.

A month later my gorgeous little boy was born. He rushed in to my life and every day since has been a blur of happiness, life lessons and overwhelming love. Immediately the idea of returning to work became sad. Because it meant I wasn't always going to have these long days of cuddles, playing and learning.

Rhodri, 12 hours old

For 9 and a half, almost 10 months I have lived and breathed being a Mum. I sometimes joke that I forget what I did before Rhodri was born. But truthfully it's not really a joke. Within a short few hours with my son, I couldn't have imagined life without him and although being a Mum was so new, it seemed like I had known this little boy forever.

But now Rhodri and I approach a new chapter in our lives. Tomorrow morning Rhodri will go to his grandparents and I will return to work. Yes the 11 months is finally up and I can hardly believe it!

I know it will be hard to leave my little man behind, I know that given the opportunity I'd gladly stay home and raise my son. But I also know that a tiny part of me is a little excited. It will be strange, and yet I look forward to seeing the faces of my colleagues, having a conversation that has actual English words in it. It will be bizarre yet refreshing to be Rachel and not Rhodri's Mummy for a few hours a day.

So tonights post is a good bye to the days of being a Stay At Home Mum. A new beginning of being a Working Mum. Here's me trying to look on the bright side of not spending 24/7 with my favourite person and trying to be positive about a change that was always going to happen.

Any working mums out there, how did you manage with the transition? Any hints, tips and funny stories always welcome!!

As always, thanks for reading!!

Rhodri's 9 Month Update

9 Month Update

I now have a 9 month old! That's a pregnancy... how crazy is that?! This month has really flown by and with only two weeks left until I return to work I've been filling our days with lots of fun activities. As much as I've loved that quality fun-filled time together, it does make time fly by even more. So lets take a look at what's been going on since Rhodri turned 8 months old, up until he hit 9 months old. 

Weight: Weight wise Rhodri has fallen slightly under his growth line. We know this is because he was quite poorly for almost two weeks this month. During that time he refused solids and he dropped from three bottles a day to two on a good day. Since getting better he has returned to his eating pattern so I'm sure he will be back on track soon.

Height: The health visitor measured him at his 6-9 month check and he is now 71cm long. This puts him just shy of the 75th percentile line. So he is long/tall but not massively. 

Clothing size: 6-9 months still.

Sleep: He sleeps 7pm - 7am most nights. When he was ill Rhodri woke at 10pm, 12pm & 4am every night. As soon as he was better we reverted back to his normal sleep pattern.

This months milestones: 

• Rhodri has learnt to wave. He was very keen to show this talent off at the beginning of the month but as time has gone on he doesn't wave as often, usually only when the mood suits.
• Rhodri has learnt to pull himself to a standing position using Mummy for support.
• While sitting on the sofa Rhodri will shuffle down on to his back, roll on to his tummy and then scoot off the sofa so he is standing up and holding on to the sofa.
• Rhodri is recognising who people are. So if I say 'Where is Nanna?' he looks at his Nanna.
• Rhodri says Dadda clearly. He sometimes says Mamma but usually reserves this for when he's upset.

This months special outings:

• We took Rhodri to an indoor play centre with his cousins. He was too young for most of it, but thoroughly enjoyed the ball pit!

Baby gear love: There's nothing in particular ... calpol with a syringe I guess? Anything that makes giving medicine easy is a plus.

Baby's routine: You can read our bed time routine HERE. 

Daytime wise he wakes at 7am, has porridge for breakfast, has a bottle, plays in his door bouncer or walker. Around 9.30am he goes for a nap. This is usually for about 2 hours. He then has a little play until 12pm when he has lunch and his second bottle. We play with his more interactive toys until about 2.30pm when he goes for a second nap. This is usually an hour nap. Once he wakes up we tend to play with his sensory tent and then he goes in the door bouncer or walker for a bit as well. This takes us up until dinner time which the bedtime routine covers :)

Of course there are days this differs slightly, if we go out he tends to avoid naps as long as possible and playtime isn't so scheduled but you get the gist.

Highlights of the month: 

• It was really miserable when Rhodri was ill, but the highlight of the month was seeing him starting to smile and babble again when he was feeling better. They were the sweetest smiles I've ever seen.
• He's a lot more vocal and I love that. He's always been very babbly, but after he was over his illness this has been a lot more noticeable.

Rhodri's monthly favourites: 

• Toy - A musical yellow starfish mirror toy
• Teddy - goodnight bear and his caterpillar
• Food - Banana pancakes, lamb & winter veggies, cauliflower.
• Music - Sam Smith 'Stay With Me' 
• Activity - Standing up holding on to the coffee table and bashing the table with coasters, remotes etc.
• Person - Mummy & Daddy of course!
• Book - The Gruffalos Child.

Rhodri's monthly dislikes:

• Medicine.
• Being dressed. Particularly dislikes putting coats on.
• Being strapped in to prams/car seats.
• Afternoon naps

We are still waiting for more teeth to arrive. His first two came through just before he turned 7 months and although he's been teething this entire time, no other teeth have come through yet! It looks like more are coming, but I said that last month!!

That's all for this month. As always thanks for reading! xoxo

11 Questions by UmmBaby

Salma, from UmmBaby, kindly nominated me for the Liebster award.

As I've already done the Liebster post twice (You can read it HERE and HERE) I thought I'd just answer her 11 questions rather than do the whole process again. You can click the links above if you missed my original post!

1. What is the inspiration behind the name you chose for your blog?

Yikes this sounds boring but basically I am a blogger and a mummy. I always call myself Mamma to Rhodri and I just liked the way it sounded!

2. Which city would you love to move to and why?

I actually quite like the city I'm in now - Swansea. I have the beach very close by, plenty of places to go shopping and nothing is that far away from the city centre. It works for me.

3. Who is the one person that can cheer you up no matter how rubbish you feel?

Rhodri. It doesn't matter how tired, fed up or annoyed I am. A cuddle, smile or giggle from him and I'm good to go.

4. What is your favourite type of cuisine?

Italian! I could eat Italian food all day every day. 

5. If you could only use one lipstick/balm/gloss for the rest of your life, what would it be?

My Rimmel Lasting Finish in Nude Pink. 

6. If your teenage son/daughter wanted to read your blog, would you let them in?

Yes absolutely. I'm not writing anything that I don't think he should know about and personally if he wanted to read it, I'd take it as a compliment!

7. What is your favourite flower?

Roses. In particular white but any Roses are gorgeous. 

8. What meals would you have dehydrated and vacuum packed if you had to travel to space?

Pasta, pasta, pasta. Pizza too... anything Italian! Haha.

9. Where do you do most of your blogging?

On my laptop while sat on the sofa. It's comfy and works for now! We don't have a desk or computer desk at the moment, but once our DIY and decoration projects are completed I'll be doing my blogging at a desk in the corner of our living room.

10. Which sport do you love to watch more than play?

I don't really love watching any sport. But the one I complain least about having to watch is Rugby.

11. What's one piece of advice you'd give to your teenage self?

Learn to drive as soon as you can. Don't put it off. Later on in life it will make things soooo much easier.

OR ... Stay positive. Doesn't matter what life throws at you, you will get through it stronger than ever. Stay positive!!

Thanks again for the nomination, hope you enjoyed my answers Sal :) xxx

Review of Baby's Big Box of Little Books

You might have noticed in Bed Time Routine of my 7 Month Old that Rhodri has a little collection of books slowly building on his bookshelf. Every night either me or my husband read him a bed time story before he is put in his cot and left to drift off to sleep. I've done this since he was about 8 weeks old and since he has gone to bed in his own room. 

Story Time

Why, you might ask, have I read to him since he was so little? Well I think it's important to encourage all children to read, it sets them in good stead for school. For babies it encourages them to learn to talk and communicate with others.

I think the earlier we introduce books in to their routine, the easier it is for them to fall in love with stories and characters. I'm a bit of a book worm myself, often escaping in to the pages of a good read. I hope that Rhodri will one day enjoy the comforting pages of a book and enjoy reading more than games consoles... I can hope!

So when Puffin Books kindly sent me Baby's Big Box of Little Books to review I couldn't wait to give them to him and see what he made of them! The books are written and illustrated by Janet & Allan Ahlberg. They wrote and illustrated one of my all time favourite childrens books - The Jolly Christmas Postman, so I had high hopes for these little books. I wasn't disappointed!

Having first received them, I was full of ooo's and aahh's at the presentation on these lovely little books in their presentation box.

I was also impressed with the box itself as it's quite sturdy and has a magnetic flap to keep the box closed. This keeps them all neat and tidy, minimising the room they take up on his relatively small book shelf.

 

 Inside the box, there are 9 little books. Each book has a different 'topic'. There are Mornings, Toys, Baby, Inside, Pets, Outside, Games, Family & Night-Times.

 

 Each little book is sturdy, always good with an 8 month old who has managed to rip a few paper book pages already!

The pages are thick, perfect for little hands to grab and keep hold of. Rhodri hasn't quite grasped how to turn pages yet but he held the book letting me turn pages for him, which is definitely progress!

 Inside each book words relating to the 'topic' are printed, illustrated with a clear and easy to relate to picture. They are very easily recognisable for babies and young children, which seems to keep Rhodri engaged. The words, at the moment, don't mean a lot to him. But the pictures keep him engaged, which will eventually make the words mean more to him.

 Each book has 5 words in, so a nice little bite sized portion of learning.

I love that these books introduce simple, everyday words. They are familiar words and concepts to him which keeps him interested in the books and pictures. Although Rhodri will sit and listen to a story every night, I feel that is partly because it is routine or habit, and because he is getting a cuddle at the same time. Normally a book in the day time would be considered a toy for chewing and throwing. These books have escaped that fate and Rhodri has enjoyed looking at the pictures with me.

I quite enjoy the fact that there are different topics that relate to every day life, so I can pull the books out at different times of the day for us to look at together. We have a cat, so if he's trying to play with the cat I will pull out the 'Pets' book and show him the animals. He definitely seems to enjoy that he recognises certain things from the books.

I really love these books and think they are perfect as a gift for a baby or to give Mum at the baby shower. It's a lovely little addition to our book collection and I think every Mum and baby should have these! The books are good quality, well illustrated and perfectly aimed at children who are learning, babbling and starting to gain a vocabulary. I would definitely recommend all my Mummy friends add this to their collection!

You can grab your self a set from Amazon or Waterstones. RRP £9.99 but both retailers are selling this lovely set for £7.99 (prices correct as of 21/01/2015).

**Disclosure: Puffin Books kindly sent these books to myself free of charge in return for a review. All opinions are honest and in my own words.**

Today.

I'm not happy today.

That's a hard thing to write or admit on a blog isn't it?

I am honest with you all about my life as a first time mummy, I share the fact that Baby brain sends me doolally and has me walking up and down my street like a crazy woman checking if my front door is locked. I share the fact that I sometimes spend too much time day dreaming over the crusts from a loaf of bread. I even shared the pictures of myself 9 stone heavier.

Despite that we all tend to keep a little something back don't we? Especially on the blogging front, we write comical stories about nappy changes and the constant lessons we learn as parents. We write touching and endearing posts about how much our children mean to us. Sometimes we share some artistically taken well edited photos... or if you are like me you point, shoot and "that'll do."

We share the ups and downs in a very toned down way. An approach I seem to have adapted to my everyday life too. When I've had a rubbish day and I really want to scream & shout I rarely show it. If I shout around you then you need to know I've really hit my limit because I don't do sad or angry very well any more. I have one setting 'I'm fine'.

I think the only two people who ever see the full good, bad & ugly these days are my mother and my husband. Mum gets the day time rampages over the phone, and hubby gets the left over emotions after a day of either calming down or winding up.

On the days where the post man woke the baby up from his nap with ridiculously loud knocking, even though we have a door bell. The days where you've just cleaned the entire house so naturally baby spits his food everywhere and the cat kicks litter everywhere. The days where the nappy leaks everywhere and no amount of wipes can clean this mess. The washing machine gives up, shortly after the nappy leakage. The days where you think, if one more thing goes wrong I'm going to scream. Those are the days I find myself smiling and saying "I'm fine" before I even have a chance to think about it.

For the longest time I've felt the pressure to not show how I feel. To not say it. Like it's a bad thing to admit I feel something other than happiness.

So today I'm going to take a moment to say that I'm not OK, and that's alright too.

I'm a Mummy and I love it. Honestly it's the best thing that's ever happened to me, and on the days where I don't feel happy I feel an overwhelming sense of guilt. How dare I not be happy when I have everything I ever wanted and more. How dare I! Well let me tell you, I'm human and sometimes I'm unhappy because I woke up on the wrong side of bed. Sometimes I'm unhappy because we all have private battles and wounds that have barely healed. Being a Mummy, and loving it, doesn't mean we can't be sad sometimes.

So I am admitting I'm not OK, that I don't want to smile but I will for my little boy. I'm admitting that my heart aches a little today, especially today. Pre-Rhodri it would be one of those days I would have crawled back in to bed and hidden under the duvet for the rest of the day. As I watch him play my heart is filled with love & joy, but there's a piece of my heart missing and it's aching today.

Today is a battle, a very private battle, and there I go keeping a little something back again. I guess we all have those things that remain private, but today my blog won't tell cute stories, or make jokes about how forgetful I can be. Instead I just want to leave a message for you all:

It's OK to not be OK. In this world where being positive is such a virtue, where we are frowned upon for wearing our hearts on our sleeves and we too quickly find ourselves saying we are fine when we are not. We sometimes forget that we are allowed to be human, to be hurting, or to just be having a bad day. So let me say it again. Today I am not OK, and that's OK too...

Introducing Baby R

Last Friday night during #mblogchat I asked some of my fellow mummy bloggers a question on Twitter. How do they decide how much of their lives, or more specifically their children, to share with their blog readers? The overwhelming response was that of course it's personal choice and you need to do what feels right to you. They were kind enough to share with me what they had chosen. A lot of people chose to share names and photos, just as many used photos but just an initial, no name. 

For some time now I have found my self typing Baby R's name automatically before deleting it. Adding a photo to a blog post before realising Baby R can be seen. It started to feel like I was hiding him from you all. This couldn't be further from the truth. I am so incredibly in love with my son, and so proud of him. I want to show him off but of course I want to protect him.

So Hubby & I had a little chat and we decided that we will allow photos of him on my blog but any pictures we include will be taken with his face out of view or blurred. This isn't because we are ashamed of him, quite the opposite. I'm that Mum who constantly has a camera (or at least a phone that has a camera) in my childs face.  The only reason we are keeping his face from view is because he is our son, we want to protect him and we want to ensure we have control over his photos and who sees them.

In addition to this we decided that we were OK with sharing his first name. This is mainly to make writing about him that much easier. It is after all my parenting blog, and he is my child! We want to protect him but feel there is very little damage that can be done with a picture from the back of his head and his first name. So here it goes...

My name is Rachel, I'm married to Chris and our son is called Rhodri. It's the Welsh name (we are Welsh) of a 9th century King who was a great warrior. Rhodri has always been our little fighter, the name fitted for our baby if it was a boy. Once he was born and he was definitely a boy, once I saw his face I couldn't imagine any other name for him.

Rhodri, 6 months, discovering the joys of sitting unaided.

As always thanks for reading xoxo

Bed Time Routine of my 7 month old

Since Baby R was born, it became quite clear to me he was a child of habit. He whimpered for his first feed 3 hours after he was born and for the next few weeks, (until his reflux became an issue) he fed every 3 hours at daytime. He slept at the same times and woke at the same times every day. 

So, seeing as he seemed to like routine, once he started sleeping through the night we established a bed time routine for him. 

It can change slightly with times if we've had a busy day, or if we are out visiting family. I try not to be too rigid with it and if he is tired earlier than usual we don't force him to stay up. Sometimes I miss out parts of the routine deliberately, this is so he doesn't need the entire routine to help him go to bed. If he doesn't have a bath one night or if he's staying with his grandparents he still needs to be able to go to bed, and some of his routine isn't always going to be possible. So it is flexible to a degree, but our routine looks a little something like this:

4.30 - 5pm Dinner Time 

Around this time of evening eye rubbing is Baby R's favourite thing to do. He's getting tired but won't nap even if I did attempt to put him down for one. It is also this time of day he starts making a popping noise by smacking his lips together and this is his 'I'm hungry' sign. So once the rubbing of the eyes commences or he lets me know he's hungry, I take him in to the kitchen and sit him in his highchair with his highchair toy (1st on the list in my 3-6 month Must Haves). I make his bottle and put it to cool before feeding him his solids. Sometimes he has food from a jar or a pouch, other times he has what me & hubby are eating but mashed up a bit. Either way, once food is ready I take his toy away and he eats his dinner. After he's eaten his food and chucked strategically placed what he doesn't want on the floor, highchair, his face, bib and clothes we attempt to wipe up the mess. The majority of cleaning is met with little fuss, but as soon as I wipe his face I am told in no uncertain terms that he doesn't like it. 

I grab his bottle, remove him from the highchair and we go sit on the sofa together while he has his bottle. He's getting more mobile and active these days so bottle time & bed time are rare opportunities for a cuddle! This is his last bottle of the day. Baby R used to have a feed/bottle at bed time, but he eliminated this himself and started refusing any bottle offered to him at bed time.

5-5.45pm Play Time

After dinner Baby R has his final 'Play Time' of the day. I like to let him burn off that excess energy he suddenly acquired from nowhere! Usually he goes in his door bouncer or walker/activity centre. He loves being stood up so these are his favourite things to play with, but occasionally he's not in the mood for either of these activities so we will play in his sensory tent, or with some of his other Christmas gifts. I will normally put Cbeebies on the telly, music on my phone or Baby Einstein on YouTube for him. Some days he will take great interest in the programmes or songs but usually it's just background noise to him. He doesn't like the house to be too quiet so background noise keeps the levels of happiness up.

5.45-6.15pm Bath Time

Bath time!

I run Baby R a bath most nights. At the moment he is enjoying Johnsons Baby 2in1 bubble bath & wash. I use Johnsons Baby Shampoo with calming Lavender. I put his bathtime buddy (a sponge shaped like a frog, his bath book, a hippo water squirter and his rubber duck for him to play with and then sit him in the bath. For those who have read my must have posts you will notice we are no longer using the bath seat. I still love it and if he's very tired having a bath I will lie him in it, but he enjoys sitting up and playing in the bath these days.

Although Baby R is currently using and loving a lot of Johnsons products, our bathroom cupboard is filled with lots of different products/brands. I was bought a lot while I was pregnant and most of what you see in the picture is my pre-pregnancy stock. I like to try different brands to check he isn't allergic or sensitive to anything. 

Once Baby R is all washed, and he's had a good 10 minutes of playing & splashing I take him out of the bath wrap him in his hooded towel and dry him off. Twice a week I put baby lotion on him to try and keep that skin lovely and smooth. If I use it any more or less often his skin suffers. Twice a week works for us. Then it's a clean nappy and fresh PJ's to end his bath time ritual. He is always calm an relaxed after his bath.

6.15-6.25pm Bed time story & cuddles

Baby R's book collection

Baby R has quite a collection of books already. We even have a few in Welsh for him, although my pronunciation isn't the best, we are hoping it will stand him in good stead for school. We normally read him one book, but if the story is long we will split it in half. The favourites at the moment are One Ted Falls Out of Bed & Guess How Much I Love You. We have a cuddle, read the story and look at the pictures together.

6.25-6.45 Quiet Time & Bed Time

Calpol, Slumber Buddy, Light Show & Goodnight Bear

Obviously calpol isn't a constant in our routine, but I'm 'featuring' it because at the moment Baby R is teething. He has two teeth and another two are trying to push their way through. I have tried every teething product I could get my hands on. Even the so called miracle teething powders but nothing really helps him much. If he is showing signs of suffering with teething at bed time, we will sometimes give him a dose of calpol to take the edge off so he can get to sleep. Then we put on his Slumber Buddy which shines stars on the ceiling and plays different lullabies or soothing sounds. Brahms Lullaby is Baby R's favourite. We have a cuddle and some quiet time in the rocking chair and wind down. At the end of our routine Baby R is placed in to his cot, while still awake. He is given his goodnight bear and tucked in. I say "It's bedtime now, night night." and then leave the room. Normally he is asleep before I get to the bottom of the stairs but sometimes his chattering can be heard over the monitor for a few minutes. After a few tired giggles & some cooing he drifts off. By 7pm he is asleep.

Coffee and some Brahms!

After that I settle down with a cup of coffee, the baby monitor & YouTube. If Hubby is home we natter and catch up, if not I enjoy the quiet time. That's it then until 7am when Baby R wakes us up with the joyful babbling and giggles over the monitor. It really is the cutest alarm clock ever!

What does your little ones bed time routine look like? Let me know down below. If you're a blogger and have already written a post about it then leave the link for me in the comments so I can have a read! As always thanks for reading! xoxo

My Big Fat Weight Loss Jouney - Part 1

If you read my Liebster Award Post, or if you follow me on twitter you might well know that over the past three years (12 months of which I was pregnant) I have lost 9 stone in weight. Shockingly, despite all that weight loss I'm still not at my goal weight and still have a further 2 stone and 6 lbs to loose. 

My three year journey has been quite a journey so I'm going to split this in to two parts. Part one is the lead up to weight loss, and part two (coming soon) will be about my actual journey, the diets I tried, the hurdles I faced and how I plan to reach that final goal by the end of this year!

I won't be putting my weight on here, but I'm sure you can all guess from the 11.5 stone total loss goal, that I probably weighed more than your average British woman in her 20's. My BMI started at just shy of 50. Which you probably all know is morbidly obese and incredibly unhealthy. I had eaten my feelings for many years, along with a truck load of pizzas, chocolate bars, ice cream and pretty much anything I could get my hands on. I did eat healthy meals the majority of the time, but my snacking habit was ridiculous. 

I knew what I was doing to myself and to my health, but honestly I just didn't care enough to stop eating. I was in a really dark place, throwing the biggest pity party ever, due to non weight related health problems and just added to them by making myself so overweight and unfit that I was always ill. 

Back on NYE 2010 my hubby proposed to me after six months of dating. We had been best friends for 5 years at that point and he had spent the last 18 months seeing me through one of the most difficult times of my life. We'd gone from friends to partners and I'd fallen head over heals for him, so of course I said yes! We spent the next few months wedding planning and discussing things like starting a family. It was at that point I decided something had to be done about my weight. If I was going to be someones wife I needed to commit to them for life, I needed to live longer than 40! If I was going to be someones mum I needed to be able to take care of them, play with them and help them to be happy & healthy individuals. I couldn't do that while I was overweight, unhealthy and unhappy. So I finally decided in July 2011 that this was it. I was going to go on a 'diet' or rather I was going to change my relationship with food forever and I was going to be healthier.

I used things like my wedding dress, the wedding photos and wanting to have children as my incentives and on day one I got my now husband to take a picture of me. A picture of me at the heaviest I'd ever been and at a weight I have vowed I will never ever get close to again. Here are the photos that were taken, please forgive the poor quality, they were taken on my old phone 3 years ago, and weren't intended for blog posts! 

July 2011

I have now lost 9 stone and this is what I currently look like, taken 06/01/2015. Forgive the lack of make up. I realised I didn't have anything from Xmas or NYE that didn't have the baby in. As Hubby and I are undecided on whether or not to share pictures of Baby R on my blog we took an impromptu photo at 11.30pm and frankly you were lucky I wasn't in PJs at that time of night! :)

Find out how I did it, the hurdles I faced and how I plan to drop the final bit of weight in Part 2 (coming soon). As always thanks for reading xoxo