Sunday 26 June 2011

{My Little Fajita}

We swaddled our son for his sleeps when he was a baby and I do believe that it helped settle him. I did try one of the fancy velcro swaddle wraps but he managed to wriggle his way out of it and we resorted to using a simple cotton sheet.

This time round I thought I would try a Swaddle Pod. It's basically a soft, stretchy pea pod that allows the baby to move a little but not to startle awake. As far as I'm aware it's designed to mimic the womb. There is a two way zip that also allows you to change nappies without removing it completely.

My daughter in her Swaddle Pod!

It's been great and I would highly recommend it.  The one shown above is for babies 7-12 pounds and I've already had to invest in a larger size - she's just growing so quickly!  

I couldn't seem to find a Summer Swaddle Pod in a larger size, so I have bought a Woombie Original Swaddle.  The Woombie is more expensive but it does look more comfortable around my daughter's neck compared to the Summer Swaddle Pod as the zip is tucked under a soft velour tab.


We still use a sheet to swaddle our daughter occasionally (when the pod has been projectile vomited on for example!) and my husband thought that it looked like he was making a little fajita wrap, hence the title of the post! Very cute!


Tuesday 21 June 2011

{The Longest Day}

It was this day 10 years ago that my mum passed away.

My sister and I took our gran and visited her grave this morning to lay some flowers. I had also purchased 10 Chinese lanterns to light this evening but it is raining here in Glasgow (it rained all the way from Aberdeen to Glasgow this lunchtime on my drive back!) so unfortunately I'll have to save them for another time.

Miss you always.


Saturday 18 June 2011

{Addiction}

I'm an addict... there, I said it.

It started fairly recently, and it is all Becky's fault!

I have become addicted to Pinterest!

For those of you that haven't heard of it, Pinterest is a virtual pinboard where you can catalogue all the interesting and inspiring images you find on the internet... and I'm hooked.

This was one of my first pins...

Print by mobijo, which you can buy from Etsy.

With this in mind, I have started to make some changes in my life. It started with a small one...I have stopped taking sugar in my tea (I went cold turkey too... no more half spoons!).  Hopefully I'm as successful with the bigger changes... I have made a commitment to myself to get in shape and on Thursday I hired a personal trainer.  I start in a fortnight and in the meantime she has asked that I keep a food diary. I'm new to blogging but I have been following The Organised Housewife, and it was perfect timing that Katrina shared another of her free printables, a weekly food diary.

Friday 17 June 2011

{Support, in more ways than one}

One of my tips for new mums is to get yourself a support network of friends and/or family. I'm lucky that, in addition to my husband, I have both. And don't be afraid to ask for help.

My in-laws are lovely and have been a great help to us. I'm thankful that they live nearby and are always willing to give me a hand, even at short notice. My own mother died when I was university 10 years ago and my father is currently living in Oman. My sister does live in the UK, but she is based in Aberdeen which is a 2.5-3h drive away (depends how fast you drive!)... I just wish she lived closer.

I attended yoga classes when I was pregnant with my son and I'm still in touch with a number of the girls from the class and we meet as regularly as we can (with and, more importantly!, without little ones). I also have two very good friends that live in Glasgow not far from me... one of whom is getting married next month and I am honoured to be one of her three bridesmaids.

Which brings me onto my other support... Spanx! With the wedding looming I'm conscious that I'm still carrying some baby weight (I know, I need to give myself a break... she's only 8 weeks old). I recently headed into Glasgow city centre to House of Fraser to hit their lingerie department and purchased a Spanx strapless slip and a Wonderbra ultimate strapless. A great investment and the Spanx has made me feel a million times more confident about my flabby, post-baby tummy. A friend had suggested I go to Frasers, and she was right - the customer service was amazing. I was a little rushed as my daughter started to scream to be fed (she does know how to pick her moments!) but I do intend on going back when I have more time and I think I will use their complimentary personal shopping service.

I'll just quickly mention that Becky, the bride-to-be, also has a blog and you can read all about her wedding planning here.

Thursday 16 June 2011

{Beginning, Middle & End}

Every story should have a beginning, a middle and an end.

So it seems sensible to start this blog at the beginning and give you, the reader, a very quick overview of my story thus far.

I'm a 29 year old wife & mummy living in Glasgow, Scotland. My son is nearly 2 years old (where has the time gone?!) and he is a proud big brother to his wee sister who is just 2 months old. It's been a tough journey into mummyhood... My first pregnancy was plain sailing until I reached 28 weeks. It was at this point I developed a horrendous itch that kept me up most of the night (I was subsequently diagnosed with obstetric cholestasis, OC). I then unexpectedly went into labour 7 weeks early and gave birth to a tiny but otherwise healthy baby boy. My son spent the first 3 weeks of his life in the neonatal unit at our local hospital as he was unable to suck properly and so had to be fed via a nasogastric tube. When we eventually took him home with us, he ended up back at hospital after a few days due to constant vomiting. He was then admitted to the children's hospital for an operation for pyloric stenosis and was there for a week. He suffered from reflux, colicky symptoms for what seemed like forever... It wasn't until he was 13 months old that things became more manageable and he suddenly became content rather than cranky. So far things have been easier with my daughter. She was born at 37 weeks following induction as I developed OC symptoms (the dreaded itch!) again.

The middle, well... you'll just have to watch this space! And the end... that's yet to come.

(Phew, first blog post complete!)

Beauty with a Conscious

I volunteer most weeks with the Prince and Princess of Wales hospice, located in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, where I deliver a mindfulness m...