Letter to my Gorgeous Birthday Girl

You have just turned one year old and I could not be prouder of you my Darling Daughter. We made it through our first year together and watching you grow from a helpless baby into an independent little girl has been one of the best experiences of my whole life. You make every day wonderful and I could not imagine life without you. I cherish you more then anything else in this whole world.

You are such a happy and affectionate girl who loves nothing more then cuddles and kisses with Mummy. I really hope this never changes because I love nothing more either. You have been fully breastfed and love your booby. Now that you are eating more solid food through out the day you have started to wean yourself and Mummy is starting to realise that booby's day's are numbered. I have loved this special bond we have shared together and will miss it when it is gone. I am very grateful that I could do this for you, it has been a wonderful experience. 

You are so clever and mastered most of your mile stones pretty quickly, except for walking, but you will do this in your own time. I have loved watching your personality grow over this past year and you have definitely made me laugh with you absolute cuteness! You are such a girly girl, with such a delicate nature. You are very gentle and kind and love to dance! Everyone who meets you absolutely LOVES you, and says how beautiful you are. You get many compliments which you love to hear. Daddy is already worried about all the boys he is going to have to deal with when you are older.

You like to do things in your own time with out being pushed, otherwise your stubborn nature comes out, and boy oh boy can you be stubborn! You do not like being told off, but very rarely do because you are a very quick learner of right and wrong. Mummy just has to say 'No' and you usually immediately stop and don't do it again. 

Mummy is your most favourite person in the world right now and you do not like being to far away from her. You have even started getting angry at Daddy if he gives Mummy a cuddle. We think it is really funny and cute. You are very protective of Mummy and don't like if she is upset. You know exactly how Mummy is feeling and your moods often reflect hers. We really have a close bond and I hope we always will.

I love you beautiful girl, you are my angel xxx

Mikayla on her Birthday

and she sleeps!!!

Woo hoo!!! This is the fourth night in a row Mikayla has slept through the night from 7.30pm to 5am. When she wakes at 5am Daddy, who is up and getting ready for work, will get her and bring her into bed with me. We will then sleep for another 1 - 2 hours together if I'm lucky. She has even taken to having a 1 - 2 hour morning nap at around 8.30am. I'm not sure if she is having a growth spurt or it is this hot and humid Aussie weather that is draining her. I don't really mind, as long as we are both getting a decent amount of sleep :) 

 Mikayla has also been learning how to handle a spoon and bowl to feed herself. She has picked it up really well, and I love that look of pride she has in herself when I give her lots of praise and tell her what a great job she is doing. She is just so cute! She is really developing now and learning new things all the time. I am one proud Mumma :)

Getting her food all by herself

Eating her food all by herself

One very proud little girl

Such a cheeky thing!

Sorry it's been a while

I have been so slack with blogging since coming back from holiday, but I do have an excuse.

We decided it was time to move Mikayla into her own room when we got back and she hasn't  been sleeping very well ever since. She has been waking constantly and sometimes for hours at a time. I do think teething is also to blame for this backwards step in sleeping.

Though there is hope. Last night was the first night Mikayla has slept through a full night in ages. I wonder how tonight will go. Was it a fluke or is it the start of her sleeping through again? We shall see.

Anyway, lots has been going on lately. We are preparing for Mikayla's first birthday party which will be in 2 weeks!!! I can't believe it has been a year already. Gosh it goes so fast. I can't believe my baby girl will be 1 soon. It feels bitter sweet to be honest. I am excited that she is growing up and doing lots more things and becoming such a beautiful little girl, but also a little sad that that little baby I held in my arms not so long ago is growing up and is no longer a baby any more and never will be again. Ahh the torments of motherhood, lol.

We will be having a small get together at our house with just close friends and family. I have decided to go with a rainbow colour scheme for the party, so have been busy crafting things for it. I even made Mikayla a rainbow tutu for her to wear in a photo shoot I wanted to do for her birthday invitation. I am really happy with how it turned out. What do you think?

This is the photo I took for Mikayla's birthday invitation

I am really looking forward to it and am hoping it will be a great day and that Mikayla will enjoy herself too. Lots to do in the mean time though.

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I also wanted to share some photos from our holiday at the coast. We all had a great time and Mikayla was an absolute angel. She slept most of the car trip there and back so that was a relief. She loved the beach and spending lots of time with Mummy and Daddy.

Mikayla enjoying herself at the beach

Splashing in the water

Crawling around in the water

Mikayla and Daddy at the beach

Mikayla and Mummy at the beach

Mikayla's first sand castle

First time in the waves

We visited Nanny (Alex's Mum)

Riding on Daddy's shoulders

There is so much more I would love to share, but it will have to wait for another day otherwise this post would be huge! Have a wonderful day :)

First Anniversary

This weekend will mark mine and my husband's first year wedding anniversary! Can you believe it?! So much has happened in our first year of marriage. One of the biggest being the arrival of our baby girl.

Looking back on our wedding it seems like a blur now. Thank goodness for photographs! I do remember it being one of the happiest days of my life though. I am so happy to be married to the man of my dreams. I could not have asked for a better husband. We have been together 7 years this year and still I love when he walks through the door and miss him every moment he is away. He is my sole mate and I love him more then words can say.

We will be going away on a holiday for 5 days up the Sunshine Coast next week and I am so excited! It will be our first holiday away with another little family member to consider as well. I am freaking out that I will forget something important, and praying that she will have a good time. There is so much to pack when going on holiday with a baby. The car is going to be jam packed and our car roof racks will be put to good use. I hope to have lots of pics to share when I return.

Alex and I on our wedding day. I was about 28 weeks pregnant.

My Fussy Eater

After starting Mikayla on solids at five months old it was a struggle to find anything that she would happily eat. Many days were spent in the kitchen creating delicious and nutritious purées for my baby girl. Sadly after all my hard work I was only confronted with a clamped mouth and much gagging and spitting if I managed to get anything past those tight lips. I was so disappointed :(

I knew Mikayla was getting to the age where her iron levels were depleting and she needed more then my breast milk could provide. After reading about "baby led weaning" I decided to give it a go and see if this would intrigue her delicate taste palette.

She happily took to feeding herself the little bits of whole food I would cut up for her and lay out on her high chair table. It is so cute watching her munch away on these little bits of food. She is so independent already. I am just happy she is getting more nutrients and starting to expand her tastes.

My little munchkin with her selection of foods.

This smile says it all.

Sleeping Beauty

My life has become so much easier now that Mikayla is actually taking naps throughout the day. I feel better, she feels better, everyone is definitely better :)

Mikayla refused to nap during the day for a very long time. This was a big reason my blog went neglected. The only way I could get her to nap was in my arms, and boy would I cop it if I should try put her down.

Looking back I can see clearly how it was actually my actions enabling this behaviour. As soon as she started crying I would pick her back up and rock her back to sleep in my arms and then sit with her until she woke up on her own. How silly I was. Although I loved this time with her and the bond we were sharing, I became so exhausted and deflated. I knew I had to make some changes for her sake and mine. I wasn't teaching her any good habits and every mother needs some time to themselves.

My husband and I decided first of all to buy a better cot mattress. We originally bought just a standard hard foam mattress that was covered in PVC. Mikayla seemed to toss and turn a lot at night and would get sweaty from the plastic. I had a feeling this was another reason she was waking so frequently at night too. So after spending way more then you would think a decent cot mattress would cost, we noticed a huge difference in how Mikayla slept. With a few tips from the Baby Whisperers book Mikayla was having 1-2 hour naps in the morning and afternoon with out any trouble.

Off course a big part of this was having to drastically change my behaviour as well. I stopped picking her up if she cried when I lay her down. I am not a huge believer in the "crying it out" method, so I opted for a gentler approach. If she cried I would stand by her cot the whole time speaking soft words of comfort, and if need be, a hand on her belly or stroking her hair. Mikayla could stand up by the time I started trying this method so she would often just climb up the side of the cot and reach up for me. The baby whisperer suggests the "pick up, put down" method which I chose to use. Off course Mikayla was not too happy the first time I used this method, but eventually got the message and drifted off to sleep. Since that first time, she goes down for her naps without a fuss.

She still has good and bad nights (although a lot better since introducing the new method), but a lot of this is due to wind problems she has suffered since birth. I have been to the Doctors and have tried many medicines and advice but nothing helps. I am hoping she will grow out of it as her belly matures (fingers crossed).

Anyway, I just wanted to give my experience on sleep training and how I dealt with it. I hope this helps any other Mothers out there who are having a hard time getting their babies to sleep.

Teeth and Chocolate!

Teeth...

Isn't that smile even cheekier then before?

When I wrote my last post Mikayla only had the one tooth, but I knew the second tooth wasn't very far behind. It actually broke through the very next day. I was so excited!

and Chocolate...

Hehe! Look at that chocolate grin.

I decided to give Mikayla her first very own chocolate freddo to munch on this weekend, and boy did she love it! It was so cute watching her devour it, though I am not sure how much she actually got in her mouth judging by that chocolate beard she is wearing.

So cute! Even covered in chocolate.

Trying to share with Daddy.

These photos reminded me of a photo my Mum had taken of me at a similar age eating chocolate. So I went hunting for it and found it tucked away in my baby album. I thought it would be fun to share it with you so I scanned it.

Me as a baby eating chocolate.

I actually think Mikayla and I look very similar. What do you think?

Woo Hoo!!

We have our very first TOOTH!!! I am so happy that my baby girl has FINALLY cut her first tooth, and the second one isn't far behind either. The gum has gone clear and I can see it just under the skin waiting to come through. I love seeing this little tooth every time she smiles. It is so darn cute!

We have been waiting 9 loooong months for this tooth to make its appearance. Mikayla hasn't been handling teething very well. I had tried everything to ease her discomfort but nothing seemed to help. She has been teething on and off from 4 months, and my goodness it has been hard. Mikayla was actually sleeping through the night from 7 pm - 7 am until teething kicked in, and I think that's when I began some "accidental parenting" and started some bad waking during the night habits. At one point I was barely getting 2 hours in a row of sleep because of the constant waking and feeding, plus she refused to nap during the day. Mikayla also refused to sleep in her cot and would only sleep if I was next to her. Following some advice from the Baby Whisperers book on sleeping, I have now started a more structured night time and daytime nap routine and things are going a lot better. Mikayla is now always sleeping in her cot, having two 1-2 hour naps a day, and usually only wakes once a night for a quick 2 minute feed. I am doing a lot better now too :)

I hope to have a picture soon, if I can manage to get one, of her new cheeky grin.

Milestones

So I have been pretty slack with my blog since Mikayla has come along. I really wish I would keep up with it more because I really enjoy it. I always seem to get distracted though and then forget about it. There is so much to do and so little time.

Anyway since I have missed blogging about most of Mikayla's milestones I thought I would do a quick list of a few of them up to 6 months.

First proper smile was at 6 weeks

First time we heard that gorgeous giggle was at 8 weeks

Could lift her head up and support it in the air for a good length of time at 4 weeks

Slept through the night from 8 weeks (until teething kicked in 2 months later)

Got ears pierced at 3 months, and have not had any trouble with them

Rolled over from back to belly at 3 1/2 months, then front to back at 4 months

Army crawling at 5 months

Sitting unsupported at 5 months

First solid food at 5 months (it was baby rice cereal)

Drinking from a sippy cup at 5 months, and started drinking from a straw at 7 months.

Mikayla's first word was "Mumma" at 6 months. I was so happy!

My little girl has grown up so quickly and it is an honour to watch her grow. Mikayla is now crawling up a storm and climbing everything in site. She constantly keeps me on my toes and I love it! I can't believe in just 3 months she will be 1 year old!

Happy Fathers Day!

It was Fathers day here in Australia this Sunday just gone, and more importantly it was my husbands first ever Fathers Day! He is such a wonderful Dad to our beautiful daughter, I love seeing them together. They already have a wonderful bond and I am sure it will just get stronger and stronger as she grows.

We had decided through the week that we would go to the Roma Street Park Lands for the day, which is near the city. We had never been there before and have always wanted to check it out. Although sadly when we first got up in the morning the sky looked very cloudy and gloomy. We were very disappointed and almost decided not to go, but we really didn't want to sit around the house all day so we thought we would risk it and see how we went. Luckily we took that risk because it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day in the City.

Proud Daddy with his baby girl

Love, love, love her smile!

Standing in front of a waterfall. It was very loud and sprayed a mist of water every where. Mikayla was very intrigued.

I love these two so much!

Mikayla looking at a yellow flower that I picked for her from the gardens.

Daddy and Mikayla

The beauty of this girl just takes my breath away.

I am so happy we took the risk and decided to go. It was such a wonderful day and Alex loved his first Fathers day.

My Darling Daughter Mikayla

You are almost eight months old now and growing up so fast. You have definitely developed your own little personality and are getting very good at letting us know exactly what you want. You are learning new things everyday and developing new skills that you are fast perfecting. You are constantly making us laugh and utter sighs of happiness. You especially love kisses and cuddles, which Mummy loves and takes full advantage of.

You are such a beautiful girl Mikayla, inside and out, and I cannot imagine living my life without you in it. You have given us so much joy and happiness over these past months. You are such a happy girl too, which makes me a very happy Mummy. You love to laugh and play, and oh boy that smile of yours. You have the best smile I have ever seen. You get compliments on it all the time.

You are definitely a Mummy's girl, which I love and I hope never changes.

I will love you forever with every fibre of my being,


Mummy xo

Growing, Nursery, Cloth Nappies and a Move

My beautiful daughter Mikayla is growing and developing in leaps and bounds. Some days I wake up and look at her and think "were you this big yesterday?". It is incredible how fast they learn and do new things. Mikayla is 3 1/2 months and loves to smile and laugh. She is such a happy baby which makes me a very happy Mummy. Her hand and eye coordination is getting really good now and she even had her first roll from back to tummy the other week. She loves to sit up, but hates to lie down unless it is on her play mat. She will endure tummy time for about 5 minutes before getting fed up with it and demand to be picked up. She loves her baths and showers with Mummy and she will talk your ear off almost all day long. Can you tell I am a proud Mumma?

I didn't realise that babies came with so much. I swear Mikayla has more stuff then I do. I am constantly buying new toys and books to keep her stimulated. We are fast running out of room in our small town house so Alex and I will be moving into a larger house next month. I can't wait!

Here are some pics of Mikayla's nursery before I pack it all away -

Mikayla currently sleeps in a bassinet beside my bed, but she is getting way to big for it now. As soon as we move she will be going into her cot which will be moved into our room. I couldn't stand having her in another room just yet. She usually sleeps from about 9pm till 7am at the moment which I love. She still has short naps throughout the day but her best sleep is at night. I love cloth nappies! My favourites are just the simple bamboo flat nappy with a PUL cover. I find they work the best for me. I love them more then the disposables and find they hold a lot more also. I found the disposables leaked through the longer sleeps at night and actually started to smell. I don't mind the washing and don't think it is harder in any way to use cloth. The only thing I use the disposables for is when Mikayla is wearing little jeans or tights where the bigger cloth nappies won't fit and look weird.

This is the bamboo flat nappy modelled by my beautiful girl


This is the nappy with a cover over the top


and this is my rolly polly baby :)

and here are a few more pics from this past month -

That smile just melts my heart!

My beautiful dughter and I on my Birthday


Mikayla and her Daddy


I set this photo up at home on my bed and thought it turned out really well


My cheeky Monkey

Well I could sit here and post pics of my gorgeous girl all day, but I just don't have the time. I have dinner cooking in the oven that's almost done and a baby I can here stirring from her sleep, so I must be off and hope to be back soon. Take care everyone :)