No longer a baby...

Our little girl turned 1 last week. It is a major milestone in any child and any parents life. She is our baby and we don't think there will be any more so we are moving into a new phase in our life as a family. We no longer have a baby in the house. We have two toddlers...

As a newborn you were really good. You fed and slept well. You loved cuddles as all babies do. You felt like an easier baby than H. For two reasons, I wasn't a first time Mother and you didn't suffer from reflux and colic like H did.

H improved at the 10 week mark and if anything you got trickier at that time. You decided you didn't want to feed as well, and you weren't sleeping as well as you were snacking instead of taking a full feed. This was a result of me basically drowning you due to a fast let down. You poor little thing... milk would actually come out of your nose when feeding... even when I was feeding lying down to slow it down.

We got there in the end and you actually slept through the night at 5 months... this was earlier than H but you haven't slept through as consistently as him. H slept through at 6 months and has been brilliant ever since (touch wood)... you are both terrific sleepers. Your teeth give you grief from time to time but you are a happy child most of the despite the pain and discomfort.

Life is amazing with you and your brother. You were sitting at 6 months. You crawled at 8 months and you took your first independent step at 12 months and 2 days exactly...

You are a great eater... you love food as your gorgeous cheeks indicate. You were a very animated baby and are a very animated little girl. We know what you're thinking as like your Mum... you wear your emotions on your face.

You are extremely determined and already throw a good tantrum. You blossomed at the 10 month mark and there is no stopping you. You adore your big brother. The way you look at him, cuddle him and think he is hilarious makes me melt...

He adores you too. He can be a bit of a rough older brother at times but I have no doubt you will hold your own and then some. You are already not backwards in coming forwards when you aren't happy with him for taking a toy or other thing away. I try not to intervene too often and let you work it out as much as you can.

When he is unhappy you get sad too and go over to him and cuddle him. You are very caring and loving.

H is very caring and protective of you too. Since day one he has referred to you as Sissy. He introduces you to everyone as Sissy... 'this is my Sissy' When I pick him up from a day at kindy the first thing he asks for is you if you're not with me. He makes a big deal of telling and showing everyone his Mummy and Sissy are there.

He looks out for you and tells me if you have something in your mouth or are doing something he knows you shouldn't be doing. He is my eyes in the back of my head. He will always be your protector and your loving older Brother.

You have a cheeky side and love to laugh and have fun. You are extremely affectionate which is absolutely heart melting. I got very lucky with two affectionate children and I relish every hug and kiss and cuddle time together.

You are a very wanted, welcome and loved member of the family and we feel so blessed to be your parents.

We love you baby girl... Happy Birthday.

Jx

All images are Copyright of Jessica Flett

Time flying by...

Tiny Toes Copyright Jessica Flett

Sorry I have been so absent in recent times... we have a new addition to the family. I know this is not news to many of you. We had a little girl in June and she is wonderful. It's hard to believe she is already 6 months old!

I was really sick throughout my pregnancy with her and since her arrival I have been up to my arm pits in all things children... nappies, feeding, sharing my time, setting routines and generally trying to get out of the house.

To be honest I found it a little easier when she was a newborn as far as getting out and about. Now she is on much more of a set rhythm and getting established on solids your windows of time to get out and about a few...especially with a Toddler in tow. It's takes sooooo much longer with two!! Those of you with more....I salut you!! Like anything that is new I know we will adapt and evolve over time and current frustrations will give way to new frustrations.

I am loving getting to know a new little person and having a little lady. Our little man has welcomed his Sister with open arms and I count my lucky stars. I am not so naive to think it will always be this smooth sailing but I'm just so thrilled we're off to a promising start. She absolutely adores him and he was the first one to make her giggle which just made me burst into a thousand pieces.

As I hopefully claw back some more time in my day going forward I hope to be able to get on here and post more frequently.

I hope you're all enjoying the beginning of the festive season and I hope you have wonderful Christmas's planned. I know I'm looking forward to our first Christmas as a family of four.

Jx

Welcome to the World...

A baby being born is a miracle and a cause for celebration. Becoming a parent for the first time is exciting, scary, painful, tiring, joyous, nerve wracking and amazing. The pressure you feel as a parent to be the best parent you can be knowing you are going to make mistakes along the way is immense (well it was and is for me)...

Now... imagine all of this with the eyes of the world on you and the pressure of parenting the future King of Great Britain. My heart goes out to Kate and William, what they and their little Prince will have to endure under the watchful eyes of the world.

I really hope the world's press can be respectful and give them some space so we don't have a repeat of Princess Diana. 

I admire Kate and William's balance of tradition and modern day. They are being respectful of the traditions whilst trying to do things their own way as well. For example I was thrilled to hear William was staying with Kate at the Hospital for their first night as parents. From experience that first night can be nerve wracking so sharing that together is wonderful.

I have no doubt William will fiercely protect his little family and give his son as normal an upbringing as possible.

I send all my warmest congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and to the Prince of Cambridge. Welcome to the world, you are much beloved.

Jx

Chic Maternity Style

Hi All...

Firstly... Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a wonderful festive season and your 2013 is off to a cracking start. It has certainly been a hot start to the year. I hope you've all managed to stay cool and out of bushfire danger.

Secondly... my apologies for my absence. I have had to take a break from ALPOTW due to severe morning sickness. We are having another baby in June and for whatever reason I have been horribly sick this time around. I am finally starting to feel my normal self again (as much as you can when you're pregnant!!!) and was just looking around the web at maternity style. I have found The Hatch Collection (via A Cup Of Jo) and think their clothes look gorgeous. I think I will buy myself a little something as a pick me up. Their pieces work for before, during and after baby which makes it even better.

I have found with this pregnancy a lot of the clothes I had for the first are not quite right as I was working full time so it was a work wardrobe. I don't want to buy too much or spend too much but still want to look my best if I can. So far I have been able to get by with bigger no maternity dresses and thank goodness for my maternity casual pants as I have been in them since 11 weeks - boy have I popped quickly!!

I love this caftan dress - it's on sale too - added bonus!!

Here

I love the tank too - cool and casual = easy to wear!

Here

I adore this but know I could never pull it off...

Here

I love this and am definitely getting one for the wardrobe as it will be perfect... I love a good hoodie and this way I still stand a chance of looking chic whilst being really comfy! Don't you love a good Win-Win?

Here

There are heaps of other great items so head over to their website and check them out. I really love that their pieces work for before, during and after pregnancy. They look chic and easy to wear... perfect for the awkward and sometimes depressing fashion moments pregnancy can present.

Over the next little while I'll probably be posting more pregnancy related posts like this one and some on getting ready for baby posts... I hope you enjoy them. If you're pregnant too... Congrats!!

Jx

Sleepy Wrap...

Yesterday I caught up with a very dear friend who is having her 3rd baby in the very near future. When we were chatting to arrange the lunch date she asked me if I used the Ergo Baby with H as she had heard and seen very good things about it and was thinking about possibly getting it for this baby. I used a Baby Bjorn (as did she with her previous 2) but I said I would more than likely get an Ergo if we have another as I too have heard and read very good things about them. They look very cosy and I think you would get longer use out of them than the Baby Bjorn.

I found the Bjorn excellent but once H hit the 9+ kg mark he was just too heavy for it and within 10 minutes of him being in it I would have a headache from the stress it put on my shoulder muscles... so I had to stop using it. From what I have seen of the Ergo Baby this is less of an issue and many people have used their Ergo baby up until their little one is 2.

The other great item I have and still use is a Sleepy Wrap. The Sleepy wrap is also know as the Boba BabyWrap...it is a one size fits all wrap so it's easy for both parents to use without any adjustments...it has many different carrying positions from birth through to 18 months.

I took the Sleepy Wrap over to show my friend yesterday and she thought it was great and also something she would use with her little one.

In my experience of the sleepy wrap it is not as tricky as it looks to tie (practice makes perfect) and it distributes the weight evenly. When I put H into the wrap now there is no pressure on my shoulders or back...he is cosy and I am comfortable - WIN/WIN!!

I don't have a recent photo of H and I using the wrap but I have one from when he was little and another from when he was 7 months old...

There are many instructional videos on YouTube demonstrating the different ways to carry the baby...here is the one for the newborn hold...

I think these make great gifts for parents to be so if you are interested in the Sleepy Wrap you can find them here and here.

There are many wraps out there which I am sure are just as effective. I have only had experience with the sleepy wrap so am writing from my own personal experience...

If you have used one before or similar I would love to hear your thoughts...

Do you know anyone who has used one and what they thought of them?...

Do you think you would use one when your time comes?...

Jx