Our week in photo's


A word of warning before we begin.. This is going to be a very photo heavy post! Photography has always been a big part of my life and even though I tend to use my phone more than my DSLR these days I am still as snap happy as ever. I have to admit there is not a day that goes by that I don't take a photo of Noah and I have accumulated around 6000 photo's of him already. Which is a bit mental when you take into consideration the fact that he is only 8.5 months old! 

I've decided to start documenting our weeks in photo's here on the blog. I have found it tough to find time to blog lately between moving in with the inlaws, the house renovation and looking after a baby so I'm not going to make it a religious thing and just post when I can. 

21st of July to 27th of July:

We've had a mini whirlwind of a week this week with many walks, trips to the park and paddling pool fun. Your auntie also insisted on giving you your first ice cream (right before your lunch) so I couldn't refuse! We've been making the most of the weather but retreating inside when it got to hot. I always slathered you in sun cream but as you are so fair I am always concerned that you will burn. Towards the end of the week we did have a trip to A&E which I will blog about on your 9 month update. You are such a cheeky boy and at the minute you are find everything I say funny!

Here is our week in photo's:




















Noah's first paddle


Summer was all about sunshine, paddling pools and lolly ices when I was a child. I have many fond memories sat outside in the sun in a tiny paddling pool, splashing about with my brother and sister. The minute it was relatively warm outside we were digging out our swimming costumes and itching to get in water! It was a great way to have fun and cool down too!  

I couldn't wait for Noah to have his first paddling pool experience so as soon as we started getting a bit of nice weather I went out and bought him a little paddling pool of his own. I literally could not wait to let him take his very first dip!


Yesterday was the day, it wasn't too hot or to cold. We pumped up the paddling pool and filled it up with luke warm water. The minute we sat Noah in the pool he sat there in pure awe and beamed from ear to ear. It was like he realised the pool was different from the bath, that he was outside and he found it very funny. He sat there getting very excited whilst he splashed and kicked at the water, drenching both Nick and I in the process! He would fold over on his belly and trying to drink the water too, which we found hilarious! We also led him on his back in the pool and he laid there staring at the sky with a cute little smirk on his face.

When I sit back and watch Noah experience, enjoy and learn these new things I can't help but think "This is what life is all about."  With that thought I can't help but smile.


Baby Diary: 8 Months Old


Ok seriously, where is the time going? As you get older the time just seems to be going faster. I really wish I could hit pause for a while and savour every single moment. You have learnt an insane amount this month which I will mention on your milestones. You astound us on a daily basis, you incredible being you! 



Character
You are a very cheeky and smiley baby but you are currently going through your 8 month leap (which I have found the toughest leap to date.) I've found with this leap you do have more off days than usual. On these off days you want to be attached to my hip, are rather whiny and can't entertain yourself for longer than 2 minutes. It's no surprise though as this leap is not only the most difficult but you have learnt so much in such a short amount of time so it's no wonder you are feeling rather cranky some days! 


Size
You are still wearing 6-9m clothing but I think you will be in the next size up in babygrows by the time I write your 9 month update. You are also still wearing size 3 nappies but I am thinking of moving up into the 4's in the next week or two. I still need to get you weighed but it's rather difficult at the minute being between houses. You are still long and skinny but you are solid weight. I can't believe how big you are becoming.


Health
The day you turned 7 months you woke up with your very first cold which I documented on your 7 month update. I was hoping it was going to be a quick and easy cold but it ended up turning into a nasty chest infection and conjunctivitis. You were prescribed antibiotics and eye drops for it. It took a good two weeks for you to recover fully. Other than that you have been okay other than the occasional constipation. We also have no teeth yet and no issues with teething. 


Feeding

You are still a huge foodie! You get so excited when I put you in your high chair, you sit there bouncing in your chair until you see your meal coming. You are having three meals a day; breakfast, lunch and dinner. You have a varied diet with lots of fruit and veg. You prefer to feed yourself so we now spoon feed you some foods but offer finger foods with every meal too. At the minute you adore strawberries, tomatoes and cheese but there isn't much that you don't.

You have x4 5oz bottles of milk a day. Morning, before lunch, afternoon and night. We are trying to bring the morning bottle later so we can eliminate the before lunch bottle. You were having 3 bottles a day but since living with the inlaws and sleeping in a very bright room you have been waking up at the crack of dawn for a bottle.

You drink between 6oz or 9oz of very diluted juice a day too. I am currently giving it to you in a bottle as I have misplaced all your sippy cups in the move. I need to either find what we have done with them or buy some new 
ones. 



Sleep
As I said in the 7 month update we have been struggling since we moved in with your Grandparents (still waiting to get into our new home) The room is very bright and hot in the mornings and you aren't a fan of the travel cot. I end up bringing you into bed with me but it's just a queen bed and you are taking up so much space these days! I think you are missing being in your cot. Hopefully we will be in our new house in the next few weeks and we can get you back into the habit of being in your own cot. Time wise you usually sleep 8pm - 8am but not through. Sometimes you wake at 2am, sometimes 4am and sometimes 6am. Sometimes once a night and sometimes twice. You've only started waking so much since the 8 month leap begun. It's like you are newborn again.


Milestones


- Sitting. I now feel I can leave you sitting unaided and don't worry about you falling. I do still put cushions behind you thought just in case. You also reach right across for toys whilst you are sitting and quickly regain your balance. 

- Crawling. You aren't crawling just yet but you can now hold all your weight on all fours. I was amazed that you could do this because although you have always had a lot of strength in your legs you haven't in your arms. I don't think you will crawl for a while though and have a feeling that you will be a bum shuffler.

- Vocal. You have become even more vocal this month. You say baba a lot, mainly when you are upset! I would love to know what that means to you. You have said mama a few times but when I ask you to say it you shake your head and smile, you little tinker!


- Feeding. You can now hold your own bottle but you are still rather lazy with it and prefer me to do it for you. You also grab the spoon to attempt to feed yourself.


- No. You now shake your head side to side. Only sometimes though and I do wonder if you know what it means as you do seem to do it in context a lot of the time!


- Movement. You seem to be reaching for everything and anything now and really contort your body in all sorts of ways to do so. Only really when you are sat up or led on your back though as you still hate to be led on your stomach. You also do a reverse "worm" to move across the floor! It's so funny to watch you do it, it's like you are thrusting!


- Clapping. You now clap your hands when we clap, say "clap hands" or if there is something you like. I had been trying to teach you how to clap for a while and the day you did it back my heart literally melted. 


- Standing. You can walk in your walker and have begun holding your weight up against the sofa for 30 seconds at a time. We are going to be practicing standing against furniture a lot this month to see how you get on. 

- Understanding. You seem to have such a great understanding of words. Bok bok, milk, juice, hiya, mama, dada, tree's, light. We now say "Where's the light?" or "Where are the tree's?" and you will look directly at them. You little clever clogs! 

- Dancing. If you are sitting up and music comes on sometimes you will bop up and down to the tune. Sometimes you will dance and clap at the same time. Absolutely adorable! 



Things you like

- SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS. You still love good old Spongebob.

- Feeding yourself.

- Gadgets. Mobile phones, ipads, remote controls. Why is it that babies always want to play with things you would rather them not? Even when you buy toy mobile phones or remotes they always seem to know that it's just a toy and aren't interested!

- Sitting and playing. You love to sit with all your toys in front of you and it's so fascinating to watch you play.

- Trollies. You sat in the big boy seat of a trolley for the first time this month. You beam from ear to ear and become very giddy when you are sat in one. I think you are relishing being able to do more things now. 

- Having your nappy changed. 

- FOOD! 

- Being giddy! 

- Swings! Another first for this month was sitting in the swing. Another thing you now love! 



Things you don't like

- Having your face wiped. 

- Having something taken off you.

- Sleep. You used to love sleeping so much but we now wake frequently throughout the night. I am hoping it's the leap and you will go back to your old ways. 


We love you so much Noah Noo Noo! Lets hope this month doesn't pass us by so quickly! 

Cravings and nausea and heartburn, oh my!


It's no secret that I loved pregnancy. I was one of those annoying pregnant woman that thrived through it and seemed to bloom. From the very beginning I embraced it and until I gave birth to my son it was the happiest time of my life. The knowledge that my partner and I had created a life together was incredible. Then going on to carry and nurture that precious life inside of me for nine months is simply indescribable, there are no words!

Nausea
Although I was lucky enough not to experience morning sickness I often felt extremely nauseous. In my first trimester there were only certain foods that I could eat. The thought, look and smell of most foods turned my stomach.

Cravings
Thankfully once in second trimester the nausea stage came to an end and all I wanted to do was eat, eat and eat. It was like my body was making up for lost time! Nevermind "eating for two" I was eating for five thousand! When my appetite returned I then started to get those illusive cravings. You name it, I craved it. My main cravings where; milk, crisps, crunchy nut cornflakes, orange juice and chips and gravy!

Heartburn
It's no wonder that with all the eating and all the cravings that heartburn raised it's ugly head. Not only are certain foods a trigger for heartburn but when you are pregnant you are prone to experience it more. There are numerous causes for heartburn during pregnancy such as hormonal changes in first trimester and the womb pressing on the stomach in second and third trimester.


Heartburn and indigestion symptoms- 

Heartburn

  • The symptoms of heartburn (acid reflux) are generally described as a kind of tightening or burning sensation in the back of the throat and chest area
  • Some people also experience a bitter or acidic taste in the back of the throat

Indigestion

  • With indigestion, pain may be felt in the chest or top of the stomach
  • However many people complain of feeling 'bloated' or uncomfortably full and gaseous - needing to burp, belch or pass wind a lot
  • There may also be nausea or vomiting and a loss of appetite.

I suffered with heartburn throughout my pregnancy. I would wake up with it and would go to bed with it too. This was before I was prescribed Gaviscon (which is safe to take while pregnant) and it helped tenfold. I found taking it in the morning and after I ate relieved my symptoms so much and made me a happy Mummy to be. You have so many things on your mind, so many things to do and very little energy when expecting, heartburn is something you don't want to be dealing with and you don't need to. Don't believe the myths that you are carrying a hairy baby, go get help - Gaviscon works wonders! 

Our home - Recent buys

With the house renovation currently in slow motion I have felt like a spare part. As I mentioned in my last post it still doesn't seem real that we have bought a house and I can't imagine us living there. Maybe because it's still so bare and it feels like we've been working on it for forever? I don't know, it's hard to describe. I know that once we are in there, making memories it will quickly start feeling like home.

Having idle hands I've turned to shopping and I've been buying little bits and pieces for our new home. I am scrolling through eBay and local buy and sell pages every night trying to spot some last minute bargains. I have bought a few pieces of furniture on eBay which I intend to repaint, upcycle and blog about soon.

But for now here are some of my recent home decor buys-

Heart alarm clock - B&M bargains - £2.99

Family Rules sign - The Range - £15

Shabby chic frame - B&M Bargain - £9.99

I love all three and as they were all so cheap I could justify the spend. The clock and the picture frame are both going into our bedroom but I am still undecided about where to put the sign. 


What do you think of my recent buys? Where is your favourite store for home decor? 

Our home: Where we are now


It feels like such a long time ago when we were handed they keys to our first family home and I would of thought by now we would be in there but we aren't. We are currently living with Nick's parents and have been for about 5 weeks now. It's great that they have welcomed us into their home whilst the work is being done but I do miss our own space and having the occasional PJ day!

Our house is getting there slowly but at the minute the work has been put on hold. Our chief builder/handy man/kitchen fitter/bathroom fitter/plumber/electrician/step dad is currently on holiday so there's not much that we can do. That being said we have been doing the odd jobs here and there. 


Last week we started grouting the bathroom which was fun! We did as much grouting as we could but as there are tiles that still need to go up. We've painted the ceiling too and the bath and shower have been installed. The toilet, sink and radiator are waiting to go in but all the plumbing has been completed. I feel the bathroom is really coming along now and is completely transformed. We decided to tile the entire room which is more expensive but I just love the look of a fully tiled bathroom, it reminds me of a spa! 


The bedroom is almost finished. It's fully decorated and all the woodwork has been sanded, painted and glossed. All that's left to do in the bedroom is to pick a carpet! We are holding off on fitting a carpet until most of the work has been done as the house is still very dusty. 


The kitchen is still how it was 2 months ago. The units, worksurface, sink, taps, oven, extractor are all in. As well as the dishwasher, washing machine and fridge freezer. It just needs the odd few jobs; plinths, painting, tiling, ceiling, lights. Then the big job! We decided we want wood effect tiles in the kitchen as not only will they be hard wearing but they match the wood work surface perfectly too. But the floor is very uneven in the kitchen so before that can be done the floor needs to be leveled and it can be quite pricey! I think it will be worth it though. I can't wait to see the kitchen finished. 


Every other room is pretty much the same as it was the last time I updated. The living room is finished. Hallways stripped back. Dining room half lined but lots of plastering needs to be done. Noah's room is bare and needs a lot of work too!  

I still find it hard to imagine us in the house. I know we have bought it and have been working on it for the past couple of months but it still doesn't seem real to me. It doesn't feel like "our house" but I think we will need to live and create memories in it before it does. 

My boy lately

Like any Mummy I am obsessed with taking photo's of my baby. I have always loved photography so it was only inevitable that I would take thousands of photo's and spam all my social media feeds daily with pictures of Noah. I have already taken around 7000 photo's of him and he isn't even 8 months old yet, crazy I know. I thought I would share some of my favourite recent shots with you. He's so cheeky and always camera ready! 

So here's your warning - baby spam alert!









Review: Nonabox - June Edition


We have been lucky enough to review Nonabox numerous times now and it's a subscription box and company we know and love. I was a little disapointed with last months box but on a whole Nonabox don't fail to deliver so I was very excited to see what was in June's edition. 



Here is what was inside

Weleda Baby Oil - £9.50

Weleda Baby Shampoo & Body Wash - £6.95

Weleda Nursing Oil - £7.95

Water Wipes Make Up Removal Wipes - £2.99

Smallprint Magic Inkless Print Kit - £11.99

Ella’s Kitchen - Pork Stew - £2.19


Total - £41.57


I was happy with the items that were in this months box as the majority of the items I will use. I am a huge Weleda fan and wasn't aware they did a baby range so I am looking forward to giving Noah the Weleda treatment. 

I am always using Noah's baby wipes to remove my make up so I was delighted to see they had included make up remover wipes in the box. Again Waterwipes are another brand that I love and just like I was unaware Weleda made a baby range I was unaware that Waterwipes made wipes for adults! 


It was a shame that no stage 2 foods included as the toddler meal from Ella's kitchen is just going to be wasted but I know that these are just sample boxes. If you sign up online and tailor your box you will only receive items that are suitable for your babies age so you don't need to worry about that. 

Considering Nonabox costs £25 a month the box was great value. I wouldn't hesitate in subscribing. If you would like to know more then simply click here. 

- I was sent this product for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.