March 2017 – Loving Little One

Newborn Must Haves; 5 things that made our first 5 weeks a breeze

Now that Violet is about 7 weeks I’ve had a decent amount of time to figure out which newborn items I’ve been absolutely saved by. And there are a few! I’m not going to say you need these things, because cave people had babies and survived without all of this stuff, but hey, they’re nice to have.
1) Manduca Baby Carrier

So this item I can safely say has been a godsend for us. Having a Bub that is a little fussy recently with not wanting to be put down, this gives us the freedom of having not one, but TWO hands again!! It’s adjustable, comfortable and best of all, it’s made so that you’re able to, as Bub grows, wear it to suit the way your baby would prefer to be carried. On your back? You got it. On your side? Yep. Way up front near boob smell? Hell yeah!

The actual carrier I was given as a gift from my wonderful Gran, and the cute little zippy colourful accessory you see on the front is actually a new born accessory. You’ll see that it makes the carrier curvier, meaning it fits a newborns spine better than if it was straight without it. I find that when I’m using it with the accessory I feel less need to put my hand on her back to support her.

A massive thanks to the peeps at Fertile Mind Australia for sending us the newborn accessories to try out! I can say with all honesty, they really do make the carrier safer for a littler baby and make it so much more comfortable to wear. If you’re looking for the Manduca carrier for your own Bub you’ll find it at their website! https://www.fertilemind.com.au/category-manduca-baby-carriers-slings-and-accessories-159.aspx
2) Strider Compact, Duluxe Edition

We hunted around for ages to find a stroller that we really truly liked, and here it is. We splurged a little and got the deluxe edition because it was just that little bit more, and we honestly couldn’t have made a better choice. The pram itself is extremely diverse as you can purchase the capsule that can fit to it, the bassinet and even a second seat (yay for when Bub #2 comes along, eventually!). It’s super smooth to drive, has an awesome warranty, a huge space underneath for all the sh*t you need to carry around as a parent, and, my favourite, the brake, it’s not one that you have to flick back up with your foot, you simply push the pedal down to put the brake on and push it again to take it off (EASY TO USE WEARING THONGS! lol if you’re a parent that used older strollers you’ll get it).

It’s also super airy, I found that the other pram (using the capsule with) got really quite hot, and poor Violet always seemed to be covered in sweat on her back when we took her out. It also came with a range of accessories like a rain cover, bug and wind cover and an awesome pocket insert to keep all your stuff organised.

It’s been a quite a few outings with us, and I haven’t found a fault yet! Best of all, it’s easy to fold and lightweight (weak little me can easily get it in and out of the car within about 30 seconds. We purchased ours online at Baby Bounce (and it’s currently on sale!)
3) Serina Joie rocker

Totally something from the space age right? This thing was our saviour in the first few weeks. When Bub is still super sleepy and super small. It rocks, gently or super quickly if you want, and keeps Bub happy when you’re not holding them. It’s also adjustable so when baby is bigger they can sit up and see more.

This was a gift from Nan-ma (Dans mum) and though it would be pretty costly to buy yourself if you can suggest it to a few people to put in to get you one for your baby shower or something of the like you definitely won’t regret it. Violet loves hers and spends a lot of the day time in it while I am getting housework done. Not to mention, how beautiful is it? Made very well and very good quality. You can purchase this at Baby Bounce!
4) Collette by Collette Hayman Nappy Bag

After that Mimco bag look without the $300 price tag? Look no further than Collette. Stylish, affordable and best of all, practical. Super happy with the quality and the size. Can’t go wrong really. This one was a gift from my mum!
5) Natural Rubber Soother

I honestly think that anyone who chooses not to give their child a dummy is a damn hero! How?! Violet is the kind of baby that sucks for comfort, so naturally a dummy was our only solution (unless I wanted her on my boob 24/7, which I did not)

The natural rubber soother is exactly what it says it is. It’s got a super long nub, which Vi loves because it’s more like a nipple than most dummies. And we can rest easy that there are not as many nasties in it as there could be in other brands, because it’s all natural! We for hers from our local organic store

Violet Rae Cook: 6 Week Update

Don’t ask me how we are already at 6, nearly 7 weeks… I simply can’t answer it, and it makes me quite anxious to think just how damn quickly time is passing.

Every day that passes we see more and more of Violet’s personality shine through, and god, it only makes us love her more. She’s curious, happy, and bloody strong! I didn’t think it was possible but for such a small baby she can pack a kick, and a head butt, that’s for sure.

At 4 and a half weeks she ROLLED! Which initiated the transition from her cradle to her cot, like a big girl in her very own room. Of course, she’s not slept through yet, but is adjusting impressively well to self settling and waking up in her own room by herself.

At 6 weeks we got our first real social smile. And let me tell you, that brings tears of happiness to any new parents eyes. After weeks on end of changing nappies, feeding all hours of the day and soothing a screaming baby, to finally see their little smile, it wells your heart. Somehow making everything you’ve been through so much more worth it. And I’m probably a bit biased but that smile is absolutely gorgeous. I’m living for the cute little gurgling baby sounds she makes as she watches our faces intently, taking all of the world in.
And great news! She’s absolutely loving her baths now, if you’ll remember in my last post I said she hated them and would scream bloody murder every time we tried to get her in there. But I can happily say she had about a half hr bath with me tonight and loved every minute of it.

It’s safe to say that we’re adjusting a lot better to this whole parenting gig. You don’t believe it in the beginning when they tell you that you’ll get used to not having enough sleep, but you really truly do. I feel fully functional on 6 hrs of broken sleep a night, and I’m damn proud of myself for it. Nappy changes happen in under 2 minutes these days, and we haven’t had a poo-splosion in weeks, which I nail down to the fact that we can actually put a nappy on properly!

On Monday we had her 6 week immunisations, and if you’re a parent you’ll share my pain, I honestly think it hurts more to watch than it actually is painful for Bub. But it’s comforting to know that she’s more better equipped to deal with all different types of bugs the world could throw at her. And that she can now socialise with other babies! Which I’m hoping to get happening in the next few weeks by attending lactation groups and mothers groups.

I feel like she’s very easy on us, I mean obviously she has her moments but every baby does. She’s settling in so well to being a little human. And god, I never knew how much love you could hold in your heart until now, and I tell you what, it just keeps growing and growing.

Violet Rae: One Month Old

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I’m actually 100% in denial. It seriously cannot have been a whole month since Violet was born… But at the same time it feels like she has been in our lives for a lifetime. The past month has been one of the hardest, but most rewarding months of my life. Who’d have known 10 months ago we’d be on this journey together here right now.

These first four weeks have certainly been a massive learning curve. Learning to change nappies (lots of them), learning to breastfeed (and all the fun that comes with it) and also learning to let go of our once very-well rested life and to welcome a new life of a lot less sleep, but a lot more love.

I want to say that Vi is a relatively easy baby, but then again I’ve never had a baby before so I don’t really have much to compare her to. Her first two weeks she didn’t really cry much at all, she just ate and slept and pooped. And then of course when my mum left at the two week mark was when she started being a little bit more cheeky. I can’t say she’s been anywhere near a handful though. She’s easy to sooth, sleeps in relatively regular stints (meaning we have somewhat a pattern to our small amount of sleep) and hasn’t had any issues with breastfeeding besides occasionally overeating and then spewing it all down my front, you know, as babies do.

I must say I’ve never known a baby to grunt as much as this little one… and headbutt peoples shoulders to the point where she looks like she’ll give herself a concussion. Babies are certainly interesting little creatures… But we see more and more personality within her every single day, and fall more and more in love with her because of it.Currently she’s gained almost a whole kilo since she was born, and we haven’t measured her length recently but I feel like she’s certainly grown a whole lot that way as well.

We’ve also done a lovely little trip up to visit my family in Gladstone and Dan’s family in Bundaberg. And while we were there we had the privilege of getting some beautiful photography done (I’ll attach some sneak peeks below), thanks to my mum and dad for the gift of capturing those precious moments while she is still so little. (the photography is Dream Capture by Clarissa if anyone is interested, and she is just as lovely as her photography so I’d highly recommend her!)

Having a newborn is tricky for a number of reasons. Tricky because if you’re a new parent and you have no idea what you’re doing. But can take solace in the fact that everyone out there was a new parent once, and you’re probably not the only mum to get poop on your hand and not realise until an hour later, or, in your sleep deprivation mistake your pillow for your baby. Every single day we learn new things along with Vi, and it’s been such a blessing watching her become the happy, beautiful little girl she is. It’s so daunting how quickly this month has flown by, I guess people really mean it when they say that they grow up fast…

Happy One Month beautiful little girl