Soap Nuts!

I was giving up on cloth nappies altogether before I discovered this wonderful, natural product. 

No matter what I did my nappies would always end up smelling and were becoming less absorbent. I tried using less and less detergent, sun dry morning through to afternoon and hot water strip my nappies, but they still always smelled. 

You can't use bleach on MCN's (modern cloth nappies), like you could with the old terry towel squares. I was initially using rockin green detergent, but it isn't cheap and you have to get it shipped out as it's only sold in specialised stores. It worked well and was also all natural which I liked, but I just couldn't keep paying for it any more. I recently found soap nuts which is another natural alternative to detergent, and boy oh boy do they do a great job! My nappies don't smell at all and come out beautifully clean. I won't be using anything else on my nappies now.

There are also many other uses for soap nuts around the house -

• laundry liquid
  
• hand soap
• shampoo (replaces shampoo and conditioner together, try a spray bottle!)
• pet shampoo (leaves hair soft and silky, will also repel fleas, mites, ticks, mosquitoes etc)
• general purpose cleaner for the kitchen and bathroom
• carpet cleaner (spray or sponge onto stain and blot clean)
• dishwasher soap (liquid in dispenser section with optional 1tbs vinegar as a rinse aid)
• pest spray (use spray bottle to spray bugs on plants)
• glass cleaner (1tbs soapnut liquid, 1 tbs vinegar and 1 cup water)

Here is a link with some faq's about the nuts if you are interested - http://www.wildsoapnuts.com.au/FAQ.html

Sucker for punishment

Yep, that's me. There is no other way to describe it. I would have to be to go out and buy a puppy when I am in the midst of toddler wrangling and baby growing. 

Meet Abbey! Isn't she a cutie?

We added this new addition to the family 4 weeks ago this Saturday, and she is an absolute delight! We have been wanting a dog for a while now, but have taken a long time in researching and deciding which breed of dog would fit into our growing family perfectly. I have always had dogs as pets growing up and have always wanted one for my own family. 

We decided on a Cavoodle (poodle x cavalier), as they are great with kids, loving, loyal, gentle natured and very easy to train. Abbey is such a cute, loving dog and is quickly becoming Mikayla's best friend. These two are inseparable, and you can always find them getting up to mischief together, leaving one very tired Mummy at the end of each day. I love seeing them together and can only imagine how their bond will grow as they both grow up together. Abbey has really helped Mikayla come out of her shell and has given her a lot more confidence with so many things. Plus it will be great for Mikayla to have a little friend to occupy her when this new bubby comes along.

Here are a few pics of the terrible two together -

Just thought I would mention...

that Alex and I are expecting baby number 2 in early November!

We are so thrilled to be expecting again and can't wait for our newest little family member to join us. Mikayla and bubby will be a month shy of being 2 years apart and I think that is a perfect gap. I can already tell Mikayla will be the best big sister in the world and can't wait to see her with her little Brother or Sister. She is so sweet and already pulls up my top and kisses my belly constantly. 

I am 19 weeks and 3 days pregnant at the moment and we find out the sex on Monday. I am so excited to find out what we are having. I think I am more anxious about it this time then last. I would love a little sister for Mikayla, as I had nothing but brothers growing up (four to be exact), and I always wanted a sister of my own to hang out with. I would love to see that with my own children. Though a boy would be wonderful as well, I think it would be so cute to see a mini Alex running around.

My baby bump, 19 weeks and 3 days

Making toilet training a little easier

It is really starting to get cold here at the moment, and all these extra clothes we are putting on our children is making it a little harder for toilet training. I have had Mikayla using the potty from the time she could sit. Just mainly getting use to it and helping her figure out how her body works and the signs that tell her she needs to go toilet. 

I have to admit though I have been pretty slack at keeping up a routine and being stringent with it, but now Mikayla is 18 months, I figure it's time to knuckle down and get on it before she reaches the terrible two's and it becomes a lot harder. Though I do think this little girl of mine is heading into that wonderful stage I have heard so much about already. Someday's I swear I just talk to myself. I am discovering very quickly that I have one very strong willed daughter, eeep!

I have been getting rather frustrated with the multiple layers of clothing I have been having to take off just to see if my daughter may or may not actually use the toilet, only to put them all back on again, and 10 minutes later I spy her making some gesture or another that makes me think may be her new queue to let me know she needs to go. It's usually not, but sometimes I get lucky. Ahhh the joys of it all.

I have been looking/drooling at the really cute baby leg warmers on Etsy and thinking about how much easier they would make this whole process, as well as look super cute on my girl! The idea is that she can still just run around in her knickers and keep her legs warm without her going through multiple sets of clothes a day if she has an accident or two... or three (I swear this girls bladder is the size of a pea).

I wondered if they would be that hard to make myself and went searching the net to try and find an easy to follow pattern. After 10 seconds of searching I was lucky enough to find a great Blog (I now follow) written by a wonderful women who has shared a really easy to follow pattern using knee high socks. You can find it here, the whole blog is definitely worth a look though.

After finding this pattern at about 4pm on a Saturday afternoon, I was super excited and decided I needed to dash out to the shops to get these socks right away. I had the good intentions of getting back and making the leg warmers that night. I was keen to make this toilet training business easier on me and Mikayla. With the shops all starting to close around me, and babe in arms, I quickly found four  pretty cool pairs at Target (Target also being the fourth shop I had to check to find any, grrr!).

It's now Monday afternoon and I have now finally started and finished the four pairs of baby leg warmers. Mikayla has been wearing a pair for the last hour and they have already been a huge success! I love them!

Here are three of the four pairs I made.

And here is my gorgeous girl rocking the other pair.

Give them a go! :)

Breastfeeding

Mikayla is now 13 (almost 14) months old. My goal before she was born was to breastfeed to at least a year old, and I DID IT!!! YAY! I am so very happy that I was able to breastfeed my daughter. I know a lot of women are unable to due to a lot of different reasons and that makes me even more grateful that I was able to.  

In the beginning though I wasn't sure If I would ever see this day, and came so close to giving up all together a few times. Looking back, before Mikayla was born, I guess I was naive in thinking that breastfeeding was as easy as putting a baby on a boob. I mean how hard could it be right? WRONG!! I figured out very quickly that breastfeeding is a learned skill for Mum and Bub and that it needs lots of practice.

Mikayla refused to latch. While in hospital after her birth I had so many different nurses coming in with their opinions and techniques trying to force my daughter onto my boob. It was so stressful and I hated hearing my baby scream as they pushed her little face at my boob. I ended up just going home with a nipple shield, which was the only way she would latch. I had plenty of milk. My boobs were the size of melons and they felt just as hard. I was in agony the first few days until my milk settled down. I was leaking constantly and could not go a minute without a bra and breast pads (actually I have only recently been able to go without the pads stuffed into my bra). My nipples hurt from the shield and I dreaded having to latch her. She was a  great feeder, but just refused to latch naturally. I was so stressed and upset that I was not able to feed my daughter properly. I had been told by the midwives that if she continued on the shield that my milk would more then likely dry up and she would become attached to the shield and never want my nipple. Feeding with the shield was also really messy and I would soak a towel at every feed. I spent a lot of time crying and feeling very down on myself. Breastfeeding was turning into a nightmare!

Luckily I did have a lot of support from my husband and Mum. They knew how much I wanted to breastfeed and didn't let me give up. When Mikayla was four weeks old I went to see a midwife at a baby clinic for her check up. A lactation consultant happened to be there at the time and the midwife asked her  if she could give me any advice. The consultant gave me a DVD on latching to watch and booked me in for an appointment the following week. I watched the DVD as soon as I got home and on the next feed tried to latch Mikayla without the shield. SHE LATCHED!!!! I was over the moon with excitement! I was feeding my daughter the way I dreamed of doing for weeks. It took another week of complete stress getting the knack of things. Once I stopped using the shield, my already large milk supply doubled, and I had a very fast let down. I almost drown my baby girl at every feed and I hated it. I found that the best way for Mikayla and I to feed was to have her lie on top of me so she had to pull the milk up rather then it pouring into her mouth uncontrollably. It was a lot easier and I only had to do this till she was a bit older and could handle the fast, and large amount of milk.

If only I knew then what I know now. Breastfeeding has become second nature and I am so happy I stuck it out. I love feeding my little girl and although she has already practically weaned herself, I know I am going to miss these special moments together. Mikayla started to lose interest in her day time feeds from around 10 months. She is now down to just her bedtime feed, although I don't think she will be giving that one up for quit some time, and that is ok with me.

------------------------

Tips on what I learned during breastfeeding -

- Practice makes perfect!

- Always use Lanolin (wool fat) before and after every feed.

- Stock up on breast pads and towels.

- You can only do your best! If it works it works, if it doesn't it doesn't.

- Try not to stress of tense (you back muscles will thank you for it)

- Every baby is different!
- If you are having difficulties, see a  lactation consultant.

Most importantly, remember, it does get better :)

LOVE

Happy Birthday Mikayla

Ok, so her actual birthday was almost a month ago now, whoops!! I have been meaning to post about it everyday since, but time always seems to get away from me and I forget all about it. So I have finally sat down at the computer and am determined to finish this post to share with you my baby girl's first birthday.

I had been planning for months what type of party I would have for Mikayla's first birthday. Meticulously going over every detail on the theme, guest list, food, drinks, nibbles, cake, games and decorations. It was all finally planned and settled. I had bought everything needed to pull this day off for my precious girl.

But then...Mikayla got sick three days before her party. She was running high temps and was really lethargic. I thought it may have been teething temps as her top gums were red and swollen from the teeth trying to push their way down. Her temps cleared for a day and I thought things would be fine for her party, but the morning before her birthday she woke up covered in a blotchy rash all over her back and tummy! I rushed her to the doctors and was told she had a contagious virus. I couldn't believe it!!! Mikayla has been the picture of perfect health from the moment she was born, only ever having one mild cold which cleared quickly over winter. Of course I had to cancel the party i had spent months planning. I rang all my friends with kids and told them what had happened, everyone was so upset and very sad for Mikayla. Luckily most of our immediate family was still able to come for a small get together to mark the occasion. Mikayla is the only child on both sides of the family so there was no risk of passing it on to other children (kids are more susceptible to this kind of virus).

It turned out to be a great day! Although Mikayla was still a little lethargic in the morning, she picked up around lunch time and had a great time with everyone. She was so wonderful and I could not be prouder of her.

Here are some pictures from the day -

All ready for her party.

Present opening time!

Mikayla with her Grandma (my Mum).

Mikayla was very excited about all her presents. She opened each one patiently.

Reading her new books.

Watching the bubbles in the air.

Playing outside with Nanny (Alex's Mum), and Uncle Aaron (my Brother).

Everyone singing happy Birthday.

Eating her Birthday cake.

A very happy little girl with all of her presents the next day.

Thank you to every one who came, and for making it such a wonderful day for our Beautiful little girl xoxo

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